Sonic Rush Adventure
Encyclopedia
is a 2007 Sonic the Hedgehog platform game
for the Nintendo DS
videogame handheld, developed by Dimps
and Sonic Team
, published by Sega
. Sonic the Hedgehog
and Blaze the Cat return as playable characters, alongside a new, slightly hotheaded female raccoon named Marine the Raccoon. Sonic Rush Adventure is a direct sequel to Sonic Rush
, and the first game in the Sonic series to allow online head-to-head play, via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
.
and Tails
are flying in Sonic's airplane, searching for a mysterious energy signal that appeared on Tails' radar. As they travel farther and farther across the ocean, a sudden storm approaches, and a tornado appears. Sonic warns Tails of the danger, but Tails, not hearing him, continues flying onwards. All of a sudden, the plane is hit by a lightning bolt, and falls into the tornado, leaving a green flash in the center of the vortex. Awhile later, they are awakened by a young, energetic raccoon named Marine, who tells them that they have landed on Southern Island. They find her in the middle of testing a ship she has made, which blows up not long after she tests it. She explains to them about her dreams of building a ship to explore the world's oceans, as she wanted to do this ever since she was shipwrecked on Southern Island. Tails offers to help rebuild her ship, hoping that she could also help him and Sonic find their way home.
Sonic sets off to explore the island for shipbuilding materials, as Tails starts to work on Marine's ship. Sonic returns, and discovers the smaller, faster vehicle that Tails and Marine have made. While Marine, Sonic, and Tails try out the vehicle, they soon encounter various islands and a band of pirates on their search for a treasure, led by the notorious Captain Whisker. These pirates have treasure and loot in their sights, and they won't let anyone - not even Sonic the Hedgehog - stop them or get in their way.
Unexpectedly, as Sonic races through this chaotic world, Blaze appears. Blaze reveals to them that they've accidentally traveled to her dimension during the storm. It turns out she is after Captain Whisker, and decides to go along with Sonic, Tails, and Marine, in order to get some clues to the captain's whereabouts. Throughout their adventure, they finally find and confront Captain Whisker and his right hand man, Johnny. After they defeat the two robots, Marine is kidnapped. Sonic, Tails, and Blaze pursue the kidnapper, and defeat him, freeing Marine. After that, Sonic and the gang return to Marine's island. Suddenly, an earthquake occurs, making Sonic and company leave the workshop, to see what is happening. A robot appears, along with Dr. Eggman. It seems Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega, an ancestor of the doctor, are behind everything. The evil geniuses head to the center of Blaze's home planet to receive the power of the stars, which Eggman Nega claims has more power than both the Sol and Chaos Emeralds combined. Sonic, Tails, Marine, and Blaze try to stop the villains with a vehicle that Tails had built, but Sonic is too late, as Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega use the power of the scepter to make their machine more powerful.
When Marine and Tails are separated from Sonic and Blaze, the hedgehog and cat confront Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega. By using the Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds, they transform into Super Sonic and Burning Blaze respectively, to fight both Eggmans. Eggman Nega tries to destroy Blaze's planet, but with the help of Marine, Super Sonic and Burning Blaze defeat them. The story ends with Tails building a craft that uses the power of both the Chaos Emeralds, and the Sol Emeralds. Sonic and Blaze then shake hands in congratulations to each other. Before Sonic and Tails head on their way, Marine appears with her new vehicle, and tells Sonic and Tails that she will study to become a captain. Sonic and Tails wish her the best of luck, and that they will meet each other again some day.
in an alternate 'dimension' from the normal Sonic one. The main island in the archipelago
, called Southern Island, houses the village that serves as a headquarters for Sonic and the others, known as Windmill Village. While on it, you can save through the pause menu.
named Wave Cyclone, a sailboat
named Ocean Tornado, a hovercraft
named Aqua Blast, and a submarine
named Deep Typhoon. On the Wave Cyclone, Sonic can collect rings and perform tricks to fill up a Boost Gauge. When Sonic uses the boost, the waterbike speeds up and becomes temporarily invincible until the Boost Gauge runs out. While using the Ocean Tornado sailboat, you can shoot enemies and rings with either bullets, cannonballs, or a flamethrower. Each varies in strength and clip size before reloading. Sailing in the Aqua Blast is roughly similar to using the waterbike, however there are no ramps, and holding the stylus down charges up a laser which is fired by releasing it. Using the Deep Typhoon submarine involves tapping (sometimes sliding) rhythmically on enemies and powerups to fire missiles at them.
When the player arrives at one of the seven main islands, his objective is to get to the goal at the end of the level. Sonic Rush Adventure uses the trick system, first introduced in Sonic Advance 2
. By doing tricks or defeating enemies, the Tension Gauge will fill up, allowing the character to perform a Super Boost until it runs out. The Tension Gauge decreases over time and whenever the character takes damage. There are two acts per level, and after completing them, a 3D boss battle is played.
After unlocking Blaze, the player is given a choice of what character to use. While neither character differs extensively from the other, there are several key differences. Blaze can hover, and her aerial tricks propel her higher. Also, when she encounters flames, they die down, allowing her to pass unharmed. However, Sonic is faster than Blaze.
One of the main tasks within the game is to gather up materials so that Tails can build new ships and equipment to allow progress within the story. At Marine's house, the player can also engage in multiplayer battles using DS Download Play, as well as playing using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
, which allows people to race against each other online using Sonic or Blaze, or Ring Battles where the player has to collect as many rings as possible, spread throughout the map.
Among other events, Sonic can find Johnny and end up racing for one of the Chaos Emeralds. Blaze has her own set of jewels to collect, the Sol Emeralds, and she can earn them by completing a series of special missions. Collecting all fourteen Emeralds will unlock the final stage.
, the ring meter will count down. If it gets to Zero, you die.
and hip hop
influences that first used in Sonic Rush
. The music is atypical for the Sonic series, along with its many small phrases and words throughout the songs. Sega composer Teruhiko Nakagawa is the sound director and composer of Sonic Rush Adventure.
The theme song of the game is "A New Venture", exclusive to Sonic Rush Adventure with female vocals by Tahirih Walker and lyrics by Sakae Osumi. The official soundtrack of the game, titled Sonic Rush Adventure Original Soundtrack was released on October 18, 2007 in Japan, along with 52 original tracks.
based on 36 reviews, and 78% on Metacritic
, based on 32 reviews. The game was praised for its noticeable improvements over Sonic Rush. GamePro praised the game for its length and graphics, but criticized some of the voice sound effects during races. GamePro praised the games 3D sections and multiplayer battle mode. However, some reviewers criticized having to replay levels multiple times, and weakness in the story sections.
Sonic Rush Adventure also won IGN's Best Platform Game of 2007 for the Nintendo DS and Official Nintendo Magazine's Gold Award.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
videogame handheld, developed by Dimps
Dimps
is an Osaka, Japan-based video game development studio with an additional office in Tokyo, Japan. Employing a staff of 218 people, it is known for developing such games as the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai trilogy for the PlayStation 2, and the Sonic the Hedgehog games specific to the Game Boy Advance and...
and Sonic Team
Sonic Team
is a Japanese computer and video game developer established in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan in 1990, originally known as Sega AM8. The Japan-based division is also known as G.E. Department Global Entertainment. The studio has collaborated with several in-house Japanese studios as well as other American-based...
, published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
and Blaze the Cat return as playable characters, alongside a new, slightly hotheaded female raccoon named Marine the Raccoon. Sonic Rush Adventure is a direct sequel to Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush
is a 2005 platform handheld video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps exclusively for the Nintendo DS as part of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released on November 15, 2005 in North America, November 18 in the PAL region, and November 23 in Japan. It is a 2D platform game, but Sonic's...
, and the first game in the Sonic series to allow online head-to-head play, via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
.
Story
Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
and Tails
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
are flying in Sonic's airplane, searching for a mysterious energy signal that appeared on Tails' radar. As they travel farther and farther across the ocean, a sudden storm approaches, and a tornado appears. Sonic warns Tails of the danger, but Tails, not hearing him, continues flying onwards. All of a sudden, the plane is hit by a lightning bolt, and falls into the tornado, leaving a green flash in the center of the vortex. Awhile later, they are awakened by a young, energetic raccoon named Marine, who tells them that they have landed on Southern Island. They find her in the middle of testing a ship she has made, which blows up not long after she tests it. She explains to them about her dreams of building a ship to explore the world's oceans, as she wanted to do this ever since she was shipwrecked on Southern Island. Tails offers to help rebuild her ship, hoping that she could also help him and Sonic find their way home.
Sonic sets off to explore the island for shipbuilding materials, as Tails starts to work on Marine's ship. Sonic returns, and discovers the smaller, faster vehicle that Tails and Marine have made. While Marine, Sonic, and Tails try out the vehicle, they soon encounter various islands and a band of pirates on their search for a treasure, led by the notorious Captain Whisker. These pirates have treasure and loot in their sights, and they won't let anyone - not even Sonic the Hedgehog - stop them or get in their way.
Unexpectedly, as Sonic races through this chaotic world, Blaze appears. Blaze reveals to them that they've accidentally traveled to her dimension during the storm. It turns out she is after Captain Whisker, and decides to go along with Sonic, Tails, and Marine, in order to get some clues to the captain's whereabouts. Throughout their adventure, they finally find and confront Captain Whisker and his right hand man, Johnny. After they defeat the two robots, Marine is kidnapped. Sonic, Tails, and Blaze pursue the kidnapper, and defeat him, freeing Marine. After that, Sonic and the gang return to Marine's island. Suddenly, an earthquake occurs, making Sonic and company leave the workshop, to see what is happening. A robot appears, along with Dr. Eggman. It seems Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega, an ancestor of the doctor, are behind everything. The evil geniuses head to the center of Blaze's home planet to receive the power of the stars, which Eggman Nega claims has more power than both the Sol and Chaos Emeralds combined. Sonic, Tails, Marine, and Blaze try to stop the villains with a vehicle that Tails had built, but Sonic is too late, as Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega use the power of the scepter to make their machine more powerful.
When Marine and Tails are separated from Sonic and Blaze, the hedgehog and cat confront Dr. Eggman and Eggman Nega. By using the Chaos Emeralds and the Sol Emeralds, they transform into Super Sonic and Burning Blaze respectively, to fight both Eggmans. Eggman Nega tries to destroy Blaze's planet, but with the help of Marine, Super Sonic and Burning Blaze defeat them. The story ends with Tails building a craft that uses the power of both the Chaos Emeralds, and the Sol Emeralds. Sonic and Blaze then shake hands in congratulations to each other. Before Sonic and Tails head on their way, Marine appears with her new vehicle, and tells Sonic and Tails that she will study to become a captain. Sonic and Tails wish her the best of luck, and that they will meet each other again some day.
Setting
The game is set in an archipelagoArchipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
in an alternate 'dimension' from the normal Sonic one. The main island in the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
, called Southern Island, houses the village that serves as a headquarters for Sonic and the others, known as Windmill Village. While on it, you can save through the pause menu.
Gameplay
As Sonic, the player begins each adventure from Windmill Village on Southern Island. Bring up the Sea Chart, you have to plot your route using the stylus. After plotting the desired route, the character begins to race to one of the seven main islands using one of the four ships, a waterbikePedalo
A paddle boat or "pedalo" is a form of waterborne transport, primarily for recreational use, powered through the use of pedals....
named Wave Cyclone, a sailboat
Sailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
named Ocean Tornado, a hovercraft
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
named Aqua Blast, and a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
named Deep Typhoon. On the Wave Cyclone, Sonic can collect rings and perform tricks to fill up a Boost Gauge. When Sonic uses the boost, the waterbike speeds up and becomes temporarily invincible until the Boost Gauge runs out. While using the Ocean Tornado sailboat, you can shoot enemies and rings with either bullets, cannonballs, or a flamethrower. Each varies in strength and clip size before reloading. Sailing in the Aqua Blast is roughly similar to using the waterbike, however there are no ramps, and holding the stylus down charges up a laser which is fired by releasing it. Using the Deep Typhoon submarine involves tapping (sometimes sliding) rhythmically on enemies and powerups to fire missiles at them.
When the player arrives at one of the seven main islands, his objective is to get to the goal at the end of the level. Sonic Rush Adventure uses the trick system, first introduced in Sonic Advance 2
Sonic Advance 2
is a side-scrolling platform game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, developed by Dimps and published by THQ for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in Japan on December 19, 2002, in North America on March 9, 2003, in Europe on March 18, 2003...
. By doing tricks or defeating enemies, the Tension Gauge will fill up, allowing the character to perform a Super Boost until it runs out. The Tension Gauge decreases over time and whenever the character takes damage. There are two acts per level, and after completing them, a 3D boss battle is played.
After unlocking Blaze, the player is given a choice of what character to use. While neither character differs extensively from the other, there are several key differences. Blaze can hover, and her aerial tricks propel her higher. Also, when she encounters flames, they die down, allowing her to pass unharmed. However, Sonic is faster than Blaze.
One of the main tasks within the game is to gather up materials so that Tails can build new ships and equipment to allow progress within the story. At Marine's house, the player can also engage in multiplayer battles using DS Download Play, as well as playing using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
The is an online multiplayer gaming service run by Nintendo to provide free online play in compatible Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS and Wii games. The service includes the company's Wii Shop Channel, DSi Shop, and Nintendo eShop game download services...
, which allows people to race against each other online using Sonic or Blaze, or Ring Battles where the player has to collect as many rings as possible, spread throughout the map.
Among other events, Sonic can find Johnny and end up racing for one of the Chaos Emeralds. Blaze has her own set of jewels to collect, the Sol Emeralds, and she can earn them by completing a series of special missions. Collecting all fourteen Emeralds will unlock the final stage.
Final Boss
After defeating Captain Whisker and Jhonny, you are faced with the Ghost Titan. This is the second to last boss of the game. But after that, when you have collected all the chaos and sol emeralds, Eggman and Eggman Nega join the story in the Egg Wizard. You then transform into Super Sonic and Burning Blaze as you face the Egg wizard in a stage called Deep Core. Just like the original Sonic RushSonic Rush
is a 2005 platform handheld video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps exclusively for the Nintendo DS as part of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released on November 15, 2005 in North America, November 18 in the PAL region, and November 23 in Japan. It is a 2D platform game, but Sonic's...
, the ring meter will count down. If it gets to Zero, you die.
Music
The music in the game keeps its overt funkFunk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
influences that first used in Sonic Rush
Sonic Rush
is a 2005 platform handheld video game developed by Sonic Team and Dimps exclusively for the Nintendo DS as part of Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released on November 15, 2005 in North America, November 18 in the PAL region, and November 23 in Japan. It is a 2D platform game, but Sonic's...
. The music is atypical for the Sonic series, along with its many small phrases and words throughout the songs. Sega composer Teruhiko Nakagawa is the sound director and composer of Sonic Rush Adventure.
The theme song of the game is "A New Venture", exclusive to Sonic Rush Adventure with female vocals by Tahirih Walker and lyrics by Sakae Osumi. The official soundtrack of the game, titled Sonic Rush Adventure Original Soundtrack was released on October 18, 2007 in Japan, along with 52 original tracks.
Reception
Like its predecessor, Sonic Rush Adventure was critically well received, scoring 80% on Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
based on 36 reviews, and 78% on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, based on 32 reviews. The game was praised for its noticeable improvements over Sonic Rush. GamePro praised the game for its length and graphics, but criticized some of the voice sound effects during races. GamePro praised the games 3D sections and multiplayer battle mode. However, some reviewers criticized having to replay levels multiple times, and weakness in the story sections.
Sonic Rush Adventure also won IGN's Best Platform Game of 2007 for the Nintendo DS and Official Nintendo Magazine's Gold Award.