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SONIC ADVANCE
review | GAME BOY ADVANCE
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Publisher: SEGA.
Developer: Sonic Team; Dimps. Released: March 2002 (Europe). Genre: 2D Platformer. Posted 14th October 2025. By Tom Clare © 2025 |
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During his peak, the rapid blue hedgehog made his portable gaming bow via some well-received Game Gear outings, and by the end of the nineties, had even ventured onto a rival platform in the form of Sonic the Hedgehog: Pocket Adventure on the Neo Geo Pocket Color. However, with SEGA at a crossroads having recently exited the hardware market, Sonic Advance felt altogether more significant. The thought of a Sonic the Hedgehog entry appearing exclusively on a Nintendo system would, mere months earlier, have seemed unthinkable to fans. The early 2000s were a Brave New World for SEGA, but its biggest breadwinner needed no time at all finding its feet on the Game Boy Advance.
After years of half-baked side-ventures and not-quite-right attempts to modernise the series in 3D, Sonic Advance marked a clear return to form for the series, and easily the best Sonic platformer in two generations. A return to roots, this turbo-charged 2D platformer plays and looks a lot like the Mega Drive entries. In returning to the series’ happy hunting grounds, some of the magic evidently rubbed off on Sonic Team. Not only is the game a great fit for the GBA, but the developer finally seemed to discover their swagger again.
Like the Mega Drive games in the palm of your hand: Sonic feels at home on the Game Boy Advance
Without question, SA’s most resounding success is its stunning visuals. It’s among the best-looking games on the Advance. Six themed levels reveal a veritable carnival of settings that are elevated by elaborate, gorgeous-looking backgrounds alive with colour and nuance. All the series’ trademarks, like lush waterfalls, thrilling corkscrews, winding pipe networks, fireworks, and city lights, return with sparkle and vigour. Sprites look fantastic, exhibiting excellent, cartoon-inspired acrobatic manoeuvres. Advance is incredibly fast and unerringly smooth, with scrolling that’s as good as had ever been seen in the series to this point. It’s normally a good omen when a Sonic game gets its technical foundations nailed down, and here the controls are as sharp as a razor: very little lag, and not too heavy either.
Levels maintain an impressive degree of quality. Granted, there’s nothing to match the sheer memorableness of Chemical Plant, Scrap Brain or Sky Sanctuary zones in past entries, but a little retro familiarity goes a long way in what is tantamount to a celebration of Sonic’s early adventures. After clearing the predictably familiar Neo Green Hill opener, you’ll discover odes to Casino Night, Ice Cap, and Sky Sanctuary zones in the guise of Casino Paradise, Ice Mountain, and Angel Island, respectively. It’s not just replaying the old hits, however, as there are a number of neat new touches.
Levels maintain an impressive degree of quality. Granted, there’s nothing to match the sheer memorableness of Chemical Plant, Scrap Brain or Sky Sanctuary zones in past entries, but a little retro familiarity goes a long way in what is tantamount to a celebration of Sonic’s early adventures. After clearing the predictably familiar Neo Green Hill opener, you’ll discover odes to Casino Night, Ice Cap, and Sky Sanctuary zones in the guise of Casino Paradise, Ice Mountain, and Angel Island, respectively. It’s not just replaying the old hits, however, as there are a number of neat new touches.
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The Secret Base zone proves a strong early effort, with its moody, industrial vibe lent a spy-thriller vibe by zip wires and searchlights. Casino Paradise looks amazing, delivering a mid-game change of pace that encourages players to unleash and enjoy the loopy pinball physics. Here, the music is classic Sonic Team, with its jazzy warbles perfectly capturing the series’ distinctive audio approach. Angel Island’s sheer drops add a palpable sense of danger, granting a suspense that the series’ latter levels were so good at drumming up throughout the nineties, building as it does towards the fiery, climactic conclusion that is Egg Rocket.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, it doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel. However, where Sonic Advance does make strides is in the ability to play through the adventure as four different characters. As ever, Sonic is the speedy baseline, whilst Tails can hover and attack with his tail, and Knuckles can glide and climb walls, meaning the Echidna can reach new areas and tackle levels quite differently from the others. New to the 2D outings is Amy, whose hammer attack is an unusual and welcome alternative to jumping on enemy heads, though in replacing the spin-dash with a standing leap, you’ll need to seek different ways to generate (and maintain) momentum. Sterling level design ensures each character is engaging to play as, and there are very few serious fluctuations in difficulty. Despite the range of obstacles, each character can thrive.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, it doesn’t seek to reinvent the wheel. However, where Sonic Advance does make strides is in the ability to play through the adventure as four different characters. As ever, Sonic is the speedy baseline, whilst Tails can hover and attack with his tail, and Knuckles can glide and climb walls, meaning the Echidna can reach new areas and tackle levels quite differently from the others. New to the 2D outings is Amy, whose hammer attack is an unusual and welcome alternative to jumping on enemy heads, though in replacing the spin-dash with a standing leap, you’ll need to seek different ways to generate (and maintain) momentum. Sterling level design ensures each character is engaging to play as, and there are very few serious fluctuations in difficulty. Despite the range of obstacles, each character can thrive.
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There’s a dizzying athleticism and spectacle to it all; an instinctive quality that rewards platforming ability whilst also entertaining players with its rollercoaster speeds and marvellously elaborate layouts. You can expect plenty of secrets and a raft of different routes, depending on your platforming abilities, as skilled players will aim to keep Sonic in the upper tiers for the best rewards. As well as a slick, strident soundtrack and some impossibly stylish overlays announcing the levels, the bosses deserve special mention, acting as a sequence of nods to the classic instalments that are mostly great. Neo Green Hill sees Dr. Robotnik rolling along with a giant revolving hammer you’ll need to avoid being crushed under, whilst Casino Paradise sees him shooting out of pipes in unpredictable directions, not dissimilar to the final boss in the original Mega Drive outing.
Progress with each character is recorded after each level, making for an adventure that’s ideal for playing in bite-sized chunks. Six levels is a fraction on the short side, but beating levels opens up their Time Attack equivalents. Although these offer no specific goals, they do at least save players’ fastest times, making them a good option for quick sessions. Tiny Chao Garden acts as a Tamagotchi mini-game, where you can grow the stats of your critter by spending the rings collected throughout the zones on foods that benefit different statistics. A nice touch, though fairly inconsequential.
Progress with each character is recorded after each level, making for an adventure that’s ideal for playing in bite-sized chunks. Six levels is a fraction on the short side, but beating levels opens up their Time Attack equivalents. Although these offer no specific goals, they do at least save players’ fastest times, making them a good option for quick sessions. Tiny Chao Garden acts as a Tamagotchi mini-game, where you can grow the stats of your critter by spending the rings collected throughout the zones on foods that benefit different statistics. A nice touch, though fairly inconsequential.
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Sonic Advance represented the best Sonic game in a very long time, and in hindsight, it’s perhaps surprising that SEGA continued to persist with purely 3D console offerings for so long afterwards. Years before Sonic Generations and Sonic Mania would belatedly rectify this, SA was reminding gamers that all of Sonic’s strongest attributes shone brightest in 2D. A rebirth for SEGA and a reboot for Sonic, and at least on handhelds, Advance would mark the start of another fantastic lineage of platformers.
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VERDICT"A new period for SEGA and a timely reboot for Sonic. Advance comes respectably close to recapturing the series' 16-bit heyday, introducing an era of new fans to some beautiful, speedy platforming." OVERALL: 8/10 |
OTHER 2D SONIC THE HEDGEHOG GAMES REVIEWED
Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball (1992, Mega Drive)
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Sonic Rush (2005, DS)
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