#the fucking combo moves sonic and shadow were pulling

[starry-kattz]

WHY ISN'T ANYBODY ELSE SCREAMING ABOUT 'GRIM TIDINGS'??!?!!

[alfstop50]

Game #5: Sonic Adventure 2

”Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you.”

Released: June 23rd, 2001 Synopsis: Trouble brews in the air when Dr. Eggman reawakens Shadow the Hedgehog, a genetic life-form created by his grandfather years ago. While Shadow works with Eggman and treasure hunter Rouge to bring the world to ruin, Sonic, who has been mistaken for the villainous hedgehog, must band together with Tails and Knuckles to foil their plans. Chosen Music: Live & Learn --- Okay so to really understand why I have such a huge appreciation for Sonic Adventure 2, I need to take you back to when I first saw the game. Back to a time when I didn’t even know that such a wild and cool game could end up shaping me for years to come. Before that point, I never had a whole lot Sonic in my life growing up. The most experience I had was occasionally playing Sonic 2 at a friend’s house, avoiding Sonic CD like the plague because the American game over music is the stuff of nightmares, and seeing only a couple of episodes of the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog on TV. I didn’t even realize there was a gigantic console war going on between Nintendo and Sega in the 90’s, especially when the PlayStation had come out and I started seeing people owning a PlayStation more often than not. But it wasn’t until I was over at a friend’s house and they were showing off their fancy new Gamecube to me and my family, and they popped in a copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for our viewing eyeballs. That was the first time I had ever seen the game, and it looked nothing short of amazing. It wasn’t long until I got my own Gamecube and my own copy of Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and like, every single time I played it, either to go through the different campaigns (which I loved and helped to establish my love of different perspective campaigns) or to pick out my favorite levels over and over, I just had a blast. Any time I played a Sonic/Shadow level, I was encouraged to go for style at every turn and got rewarded for pulling off the sickest tricks and moves that I could, all while going as fast as possible to blow through each level. The Tails/Eggman levels were also tons of fun and there was a novelty to locking onto everything to get the biggest combo possible, or just tossing you into a level and saying HERE GO BLOW SHIT UP AND HAVE FUN. The Knuckles/Rouge levels tended to be more hit and miss (fuck Mad Space forever), but just about every single one of those had really awesome music in a game already full of awesome music. No matter what the level or which parts tended to drag a little bit, the game always understood how to just deliver fun from every possible angle. And... yeah, I suppose I should talk about the Chao Garden as well. Honestly it’s amazing how much care and effort went into this silly little diversion, but I couldn’t imagine Sonic Adventure 2 being the same without it. Raising Chaos gave going through the levels a whole new purpose, because now you were searching for specific animals or Chaos Drives to increase their stats, evolve them, and make them the best at racing or karate. I also really, really appreciated how a Chao reacted to either how much you love and care for them or how much you just fuckin’ throw them everywhere; it made me really understand what goes into raising pets and how much work it takes to keep them happy and healthy. I don’t know if we’ll ever see something like that again, but they damn well better bring it back some time within the next century. But what is it about Sonic Adventure 2 that’s gotten it this high up on my list? The answer to that is pretty simple, actually; this game was something that managed to expand my horizons beyond what I thought I knew. This was a game that got me to really embrace Sonic, how cool he and his friends were, and how much fun it was to blaze through the games as each of these characters. This, of course, led to a long and turbulent series of mishaps with the franchise, but I always found myself coming back to Sonic because I was a dumb kid who liked Sonic too much for his own good (I actually owned and beat Sonic 2006, for reference). It also helped that every time they came out with a new song to accompany a new game, I would just listen to that shit over and over again. Like, they’re not all winners like Live & Learn, but... I love the vocal tracks, and how they managed to keep my spirits bright even through those lonely days in high school, and how they just continually reminded me of how much I fucking love Sonic as a whole. And honestly, I’m okay with me liking Sonic Adventure 2 more than I should because this game has not aged well for most people. The story is hokey, physics are all over the place (though they usually feel fine to me), the two-player battle mode is just kinda there (even though I loved to just cheese the shit out of the all-rails level as Metal Sonic), and there’s not much to get out of it if you’re playing it for the first time as an adult. But I’ll always remember the music, the fun times, and the sheer joy of playing it, and how it’s stuck with me all this time, even today. It helped me develop a new understanding of the kind of stuff that I love, and I'd say it's responsible for how I'm still able to keep some optimism in my heart. I don’t even really need a Sonic Adventure 3 like most people are clamoring for, because I just know that nothing an Adventure 3 would do could ever top my love and respect for Sonic Adventure 2. Teaser for Game #4: An existentialist game