Why I Love Sonic Adventure: A Retrospective

In 2001 I played Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast for the first time, and it left a lasting impression on me.
In this short retrospective, I’ll talk about why I love Sonic Adventure in spite of its flaws!

My png/art was made by @ E039_JTRAB on Twitter!

[YewfNet]

I’d like to say, I know this video is quite short! I’m still learning how to write scripts that are more fleshed out 🥹 I am working on making longer videos, but I’m glad so many people have liked these ones so far! 🩷

[ColdCryomancer]

Its SO awesome to see Women who love sonic. When we were kids with our dreamcasts I though I was alone. I was the only Kid I knew who liked Sonic.
Now I'm 31 and its so heartwarming to know there were always people out there who cherished this series all along.

[FatherJosephofMomma]

"I've been a sonic fan"
sold, subbed.

[patrickholt]

Sonic adventure 1 is baller and nothing can change that.

[nickthepick]

I find it no coincidence that Gamma "died" the archie comics the same way Amy gave him life. He imparted Omega with a bit of his soul. Shadow was devastated that he failed to save another "living weapon" like himself. I love stories like this where robots gain feelings, and people influence them. It's akin to people irl. We're made up of things we picked up along the way.

[NottJoeyOfficial]

Getting into Sonic in the 2010s was so hard because of Game Grumps and other anti Sonic movements. There really was a hoard of people out to call even the best Sonic games bad for some reason. So happy to see the love for Sonic Adventure, especially now that that era of Sonic is over. Thanks for the great video!

[McGuire_Services]

Gamma is one of the best written characters in sonic. Shadow is good too but his story gets muddled with every new game, gamma made his mark and left gracefully.

[Leonardovideogoes]

Sonic deserves respect. the 2010s made it as uncool as possible

[Leonardovideogoes]

Sonic Adventures really needs to be appreciated, but instead of insulting the problems, it's better to talk about what needs to be improved for the next game.

[AlphaBetta]

My favorite thing about SA was the open world hub areas. It really helped give the game the "adventure" vibe that I felt SA2 lacked. Plus, having individual chao gardens in each hub that felt like they were part of the world as you were exploring. I really hope we get a similar style adventure game in the future, with even more open world exploration and Chao features like hidden eggs and items to collect.

[YuumasLover-Zed]

I love the idea that Gamma won the fight against Sonic and could have ended him right there before Amy stops him. Eggman unknowingly builds the machine to put an end to Sonic, but doesn't because it grew a heart. I look forward to more here.

[riko-DLC]

I'm not a huge fan of Sonic Adventure myself, but I have a lot of respect for people who are really passionate, and I LOVE hearing people gush about it.

[Cifesk]

It's crazy how SA1 is still, to this day, one of the most impressive Sonic / SEGA games of all time, especially when you consider how ambitious it was and how much they managed to pack into it in a system like the Dreamcast. The technical feats were crazy and the game being pretty good in almost everything it tries to do is also impressive
Great video btw, subbed 🙏

[joshuareesor]

One of the small things I have always liked about Sonic Adventure is the various stories of the human citizens in Sation Square (and Mystic Ruins), as they complement the multiple perspectives you get from the playable characters and make the world feel more alive. You get to see their small struggles; from longing love, to gambling issues, to worker strikes, making it feel like everyone is having their own little adventure. Plus, many of them get unique dialogue depending on who you're playing, from being straightforward around Sonic, to being familiar around Amy (who lives there), to being scared by Gamma.

It's a bunch of extra dialogue that most people will just skip over or won't keep track of as they follow the main story, and while not the deepest, it still gives extra value to the overworld beyond housing the level entrances and gives further replayability for the explorative types. It's almost like Majora's Mask, where you adventure to protect the destruction of a major location, having a bunch of side stories that flesh it out and make it feel worth saving. Though, unlike Majora's Mask, you tragically can't save Sation Square by the end, giving even those stories with a happy resolution a sadness, that all their efforts will be cut short, once you know the ending.

[blastoiselovr]

I have a lot of memories of me just running through station square to just chill out after a bad day

[Okeana_Aster]

This might be a controversial take, but my favorite part of SA1 is the Egg Viper boss. It has so many layers to it. When something isn't working, Eggman actually adapts and changes strategies. You can feel that Eggman is throwing everything he has, the best weapons he can create, at Sonic in this fight.

I mean think about it, it needs time to charge, so Sonic can interrupt it, but Eggman equipped the Egg Viper with a laser that Sonic *CAN'T AVOID* at all, no matter how fast he goes, and will one-shot him even if he has Rings.

It's pretty impressive that Eggman built a laser that Sonic can never avoid. I mean it's Sonic, his whole thing is being faster than anything Eggman throws at him. But not this. Eggman did it, he built a weapon that can defeat Sonic.

The laser needing to charge makes sense, because for it's really powerful, and after Sonic interrupts it for the first time, Eggman actually puts distance between him and Sonic. And when Sonic still manages to interrupt it, he realizes this plan isn't working and moves on to the next weapon.

And after using the lasers, he actually breaks the plateforms Sonic is on one by one, putting him on a timer basically, all the while continuing to attack him in various ways, and if Sonic can't figure out how to counter Eggman's weapons quickly enough, he'll just be left to fall to his demise.

He has a lot of weapons on this thing, and when you eventually overcome all them, you feel proud, because after Eggman threw everything he has at you, even trying to crash land into you as a desperate last-ditch effort, which you can't avoid if you only have one plateform left to stand on, you came out on top.

It really feels like you've proven the superiority of nature over the machine, which is one of Sonic's themes, the fight between nature and technology. And you won that fight. You overcame Eggman's genius and weaponry using your skill, and it's really satisfying.

This is really a great example of what a good boss fight should be like... minus the jank ^^'

[PostMesmeric]

For all the Sonic Adventure retrospectives out there, it's always nice to hear someone show their genuine appreciation for the game, because everyone seems to love this game for different reasons, which I honestly think makes it super fascinating. Examining the media we love from a personal standpoint always seems to dig up some great, unique angles. I know analytical content like retrospectives or video essays can feel like a whole new world compared to streaming, but I think you're on the right track. I really enjoyed this personal look into a game well worth the appreciation, so keep up the awesome work. Looking forward to seeing this channel grow.

[Yael_ch]

Currently replaying this game again. It still holds up as my favorite sonic game, and hell, even one of my favorite games of all time. You can tell there was true passion poured into this game. Sonic Adventure is a true classic 🔥

[ChickenReviews]

I love how you talk about games in such a casual and comforting way.

E-102 Gamma’s story Hit HARD for me as a kid and his death was the first time I had ever cried for a video game character.

🤔 I found your video randomly through recommendations and I gave it a watch. You deserve the likes and subscribers!

I hope you continue to make more videos! ❤

[startend]

My favorite Sonic game ever. Peak. Such passion and love went into this game. Timeless. It never get old.