 SNES DRUNK! One of the very first Sonic games ever released on a Nintendo platform was Sonic Advance for the Game Boy Advance. It can't be overstated how surreal this was to see. I mean, this was like watching Batman fight Magneto, or watching DOGS playing poker? Now, usually when a high-profile franchise makes such a big switch like this, that's almost always bad news, like when EA bought Maxis, which eventually led to the stunningly stupid layout for the 2013 SimCity game. Ugh. In this case, though, despite the switch from Sega consoles to Nintendo, Sonic Team was still in charge, so there's not exactly a total overhaul or anything. And yeah, I know what you're thinking. Oh no, it's a Sonic game made in the 21st century. It can't be good. But Sonic Advance was made before the wheels came off the entire series, so this does have the feel of a classic 2D Sonic game. Sonic Advance isn't quite on the level of the original Genesis games, but it's still pretty good. The thing that makes 2D Sonic games so great is that they only get better the more you play them, because as you get more and more familiar with each wide-open level, you begin to recognize patterns and you remember the placements of enemies, barriers, ramps, springs, and power-ups. In other words, the more you play a Sonic game, the faster you get at it, and the faster you get, the more fun it is. And Sonic Advance is no exception. I will say this game doesn't feel quite as fast, and the level design is just pretty good, and not as streamlined, polished, and just immaculate as games like Sonic 2 or Sonic 3. But let's face it, those games are untouchable in that regard. Sonic Advance does feel familiar to those games. I'll give it that. One interesting feature is that you can also play as Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, and that's kind of weird because so many of these levels were made with Sonic or Tails in mind. There are a couple instances where it's handy to use Knuckles, but Amy is just odd. She just has this big hammer and can't spin, or even jump on enemies. I read an old review of this game somewhere that said, the different characters function as a makeshift secondary difficulty setting, and I have to agree with that, because if you really want to challenge, then beat this game with Amy. And if you want to complete this game to 100%, you'll have to do that anyway, because you have to beat the game with all four characters to unlock the last few levels. Anyway, yeah, don't let the ugly demise of the Sonic franchise dissuade you from getting Sonic Advance. Yeah, it was made in 2001, and my first thought, admittedly biased, was, oh god, it's gotta be terrible. But it's a very good Sonic title. The visuals are exactly the quality you'd expect from a 2D Sonic game. The music is just okay, it doesn't touch the Sega games, but it's not bad. The level design is sharp, and the boss fights are fun. There's also two sequels, Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Advance 3, and all three games are around $6 or $7 in cartridge form. So yeah, if you're looking for a decent Sonic game in that classic 2D style, and you might have missed Sonic Advance, pick it up for cheap.