User Reviews (1 - 11 of 36)

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Bland

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 15
Date: June 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I can honestly say that this is the worst 2d sonic game that I have ever played. In fact, this is a good reason why Nintendo should not risk making a brand new 2d Mario game.

There are several fundamental problems with the stages themselves. First of all, the levels are boring. They are way too large for their own good and it is nearly impossible to memorize the stages even after playing through them over 10 times. Next, the game takes cheap shots at the player by positioning traps and enemies at certain points where the player will most likely be running at full speed. One possible reason for this may be the fact that the Sonic characters have become too powerful. By this I mean that they have ability to attack their enemies directly without rolling into them. This feature is not new to this game but is still kind of pointless. Sonic does not need to be drop kicking his enemies. Also, the stage structures aren't that good. They seem to focus on loops, hills and rails, while leaving out any real platforming elements as well as secret little areas to find, which baffles me. Worst of all, every zone has ten hidden Chao creatures, which must all be found in order to play the special stage. Finding these little bastards is tedious work, to say the least and is much more of a relief than a reward when actually accomplished. In the old sonic games, the special stages were among the most exciting elements of the game and you only needed to find ONE hidden entrance in order to play them instead of TEN hidden Chao. STUPID.

Sonic Advance 3 has also implemented this "partner" system. I use the term loosely because the "partner" will be off the screen within ten seconds just like Sonic used to ditch Tails way back in Sonic 2. However, depending in which partner you select, the primary character gains certain abilities and sometimes loses others. This turns out to be more irritating then anything. The character's abilities (which they already have too many of) should just be left alone so that each character can be played in their natural form. The partner system in this game is even more pointless and annoying as the one found in Mario Kart: Double Dash!

The game also includes a few mini-games including one where you have to defeat ten enemies in a minute and another where you have to press certain switches for points in a limited amount of time. They are mediocre and a far cry from the slot machine and bubblegum machine mini-games of old.

The only real good thing about this game is the graphics, which are pleasant to look at and way better than that of the old Genesis games. The sound isn't too shabby either.

As a huge fan of the classic Sonic games, I really tried to enjoy this one. But in the end, the bottom line is that the game is just not that fun to play. By the third zone, most players will probably be tired of playing and only continue on just for the sake of finishing it. Find all 70 Chao creatures is definitely not worthwhile. I honestly cannot recommend this game to anyone but the most hardcore of Sonic fans. To the average gamer however, this is not really even worth a rental. An extreme disappointment.

Its okay but not great.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 11
Date: July 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If youre looking for a great sequel this is not it and after the disaster that was Sonic Heroes it is clear that the Sonic series is going downhill.But what would you expect?There have been several Sonic games before these 2 mediocre pieces of crap so they probably ran out of ideas.If youre looking for a great game just wait until F Zero GP Legend and Star Fox 2 come out.Pass on this.

Fun but not that fun.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: September 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Sure, running through a level at top speed is super fun but you don't really get to do that when enemies are cleverly placed so you always hit them ruining the fun.
The 2 character team was a nice idea but it'd be better if it was optional. Don't get me wrong I was as psyched as the next Sonic fan was for this game but came out disappointed. I took my cousin to the store soon after I got my last paycheck in 2004 to get 2 copies so we could have the experience together. And although playing with a real player is much more entertaining this game could've been much more.

Nice music
Nice graphics
Gameplay is alright
Sense of speed is nice (when you get a chance to keep it for a bit)
Choice of characters is decent

Now I don't hate the game but man I went out and spent 60 bucks! Not worth it at all. Buy them used if you have to! ^_^

Good? Maybe. Long? Very.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: October 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Sonic Advance 3 is the long anticipated sequel of the already popuLar Sonic Advance series. Sonic Advance 2 was longer, funner and more challenging and Sonic Advance 3 takes the formula a little longer.

You select a partner to help you in this game, varying from partner to partner there is Speed, Fly and Power formations which are different to each set of partners. They all make the game harder, easier, funner or more challenging. ALso the character that you control, the char. you control varies between partners. It is quite fun to play with the different combos.

Ah yes, the game would be twice as more fun if you haven't played Sonic Advance 2 immensly like me and got a habit of using the R stunts; they're back but not compatible with every partner team.

If you love a game that takes a long time to beat and has replayability, this game is for you!

Pretty good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: June 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

What's different this third time around for Sega's little blue ball of extremity? The hook in Sonic Advance 3 is that you can play as any two of the five heroes (Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Cream) at the same time with a friend controlling the second character on a second GBA. The catch is that in single-player mode, you can't switch to the secondary hero; they're mostly just there for backup and show, and to help you perform special combo moves unique to each duo. The way you progress through levels has also changed a bit as well. Rather than simply moving from act to act in a linear fashion, the game now features a "hub" world that connects each stage's three acts and boss level. Hub worlds also contain mini-games-if you can find them-that earn you bonuses like extra lives. But despite these changes, the basic Sonic 2D building blocks-the straightforward "go right and go right fast!" gameplay-are still the foundation, and the tendency toward repetition (it's all springboards, loops, and grind-rails in Sonictown) won't win any new fans for the franchise. Aside from some garish tunes in the Toy Kingdom, the game sounds and looks great, and the use of color and character animation is a step above even the already sharp-looking Sonic Advance 2, but the series is definitely losing momentum. The hedgehog species is heavy on attitude but has a hard time with evolution.

A 'Sonic Heroes' wannabe turning out to be good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: February 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The focus of 'Sonic Heroes' was simple. Pick one of 4 teams and play around with them in lush greenery and owerwhelming bases. But the teams sometimes had characters that just disn't fit for each other. The Chaotix together again? I like that. Shadow The Hedgehog and Rouge The Bat along with a murderous robot? Don't mind if I don't! Enter: SONIC... ADVANCE... THAREEEEE!!! You can now SELECT the teams. But due to limite dcharacters ('Heroes' had 12 this has... 5...) there is a possibility the team options could get shallow. Well they are. But they are fun! 7 zones, 3 acts in each and a boss (The seventh zone had 3 bosses. Regular, final and extra). Quite good. A good thing about the teams: You get a different set of moves depenting what character you are playing with.

My favourite teams are:

1. Amy & Sonic
Lovely Couple

2. Sonic & Knuckles
Fighting Buddies

3. Tails & Amy
OK

4. Knuckles & Amy
OK

5. Knuckles & Tails
OK

6. Knuckles & Cream
OK

The graphics are great for a GBA title. Though not running as smoothly as the Genesis titles, the graphics are extraordinary for GBA. After the steaming pile of cack that was 'Spider-Man The Movie' (The 3D stages were a nightmare), Sonic Advance 3 uses the GBA's graphics to full effect. The shading might be a complete crap, the animation very fake and details even worse than Sonic The Hedgehog 1, but overall, it's great.

The sound itself would fetch the game 10/10 in any magazine. Even with the crappy voices, the sound is outstanding. Talking about voices, almost every voice in the game sucks like a super-powered 500 thousand feet tall vaccum. Sonic sounds like a teenager playing an arcade game aimed at 5-year-olds, Tails sounds like an idiot (Wait... he always does.), Knuckles sounds... actually good but he has no emotion in his voice. Pick up a copy of Sonic Adventure 2: BATTLE and see him go all emotional and lovestruck. Hee hee. Cream sucks. Amy rocks. Eggman rocks. Gemerl is a mute. That sums it up. The music is great. From CyberTrack's techno beats to Sunstet Hill's excellent Green Hill remix and Route 99's upbeat and light-hearted GameBoy madness, the music rocks. The other music and SFX all rock.

The plot is simple. Eggman creates a terrifying robot of doom and uses it to take it over the world, blahblahblah, Sonic and his pals must stop him... yada yada yada... oh! Get this: Knuckles DOESN'T get tricked. Congrats Knux. You have gotten a real, authenic brain! YAY. He also didn't get tricked in 'Heroes' or SA2:B but... meh. There is a major plot-twist right at the very end of the game. If you don't want to hear it, then don't read more. If you want to know then keep reading:

-SPOILER WARNING-
Gemerl, Eggman's latest robot of DOOM *echoes* gets all mad and turns on Eggman (Déja Vu?) and absorbs the power of The Chaos Emeralds (THAT happend with Metal Sonic in 'Heroes' by the way) and becomes Super Gemerl. He looks ugly. Then Sonic goes Super Sonic and teams up with... EGGMAN? Sonic and Eggman then defeat Gemerl and save... well nothing. They just defeated him. Then Gemerl goes good and befriends Cream (typical). Sonic Advance 3 has arguably the worst ending in Sonic history. No Sonic 3 & Knuckles may have an abysmal ending but SA3 is quite worse.
-END SPOILER (that took long)-

Best new feature: The team-up system (Not quite new but still great.)

Worst new feature: Chao Playground. The CP is just stupid. Rescue Chaos then go to CP and watch them move around it. WOW!

Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 9/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Lifespan: 7/10

Overall: 8/10

A must-have for all GBA owners. Over and out! See what I did? Over and OUT!!! Like the announcer in the Advance 3 game would say: OVEER AAAND OOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUT!!!
Hee hee.

Sonic Advance 3-a must-have for Sonic fans!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Excellent graphics and is very entertaining! Exciting gameplay and cool levels. Fun for everyone! This game has good music and you can partner up with different Sonic characters- like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy. Although some bosses are difficult to defeat, it is a very good game overall.

Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 13
Date: August 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game gets complicated when you first start but overall the game is great.

Sonic Advance 3

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 8
Date: July 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The game has good graphics and sound, but is very hard.

Help meeeeeee! I can't get past act 2 of Twinkle Snow!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: July 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I found Sonic Advance 3 a good game. Well to tell the truth I still finding it a good game apart from that I can't get past act 2 of zone 5. (The zone is called Twinkle Snow. I have done act 1 and 3 though!) The other annoying thing is that when you get Knuckels in Zone 2 (Sunset Hill) well, I thought that I would get Cream in Zone 4 (Toy Kindom).(...)

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