JavaFox

I like it. I picked it up yesterday and am in the fourth zone. I'm having a lot of fun, blazing through levels; I find myself racing at full speed or flying through the air a lot. That's cool. I like the little voice clips. I think the game handles very well, and has some colorful and pretty graphics.

I am of the opinion that Sonic Team's level design has actually improved considerably since the start of the Advance series. The levels have multiple paths (if I'm having trouble with one route, I usually just backtrack and can almost always find another way) and are complex and interesting.

I'm not so sure about the music in this game quite yet. I think most can agree that one of Sonic Team's biggest strengths is its music. Except for the delightful surprise that was the remix of Green Hill Zone's track, I can't actually say any of the music I've heard so far was particularly memorable. I'm not that far into the game, though.

I liked Sonic Advance 2 a lot, and I like Sonic Advance 3 more. The game is fun, the graphics are colorful, the level design is strong, and the game is fast-paced and fun. The partner thing really is unobtrusive -- I really don't find myself using it much at all.

One thing that I find significant is that SA3 is the first Sonic game since Sonic 3 to feature cooperative play. A buddy and I played through a few levels cooperatively and it was fun, although being able to summon your partner at any time as well as having to share rings can conceivably get frustrating. Make sure you play it with someone that's reasonably good at Sonic games. I can see myself getting a lot of multiplayer play out of this cart, which is something I can't say for many of the carts I own or play.

BiGBrOwNPimpsta

hmmm GBA emulator here i come lol

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Rayder

I'm thinking this may be my best bet for determining which games to get for the GBA. I don't really fancy playing GBA games on the PC (seriously outclassed, ya know?) but it will tell me if a game is good or not.

That shouldn't be illegal, should it? I mean, I'm only trying to make sure I don't buy a stinker.

From things I've read and JavaFox's review, Sonic 2 sounds like the one I'd like. I've read some reviews of Sonic 1 saying that it had alot of cheap hits in the levels....like spike strips that pop up in the middle of your zooming across a level. That would tick me off. Sonic 3 sounds a little over-the-top with all the cooperative play and varying paths. So S2 might be the happy-medium for me to start with anyway, then go to S3.

Of all the old Sega Genesis Sonics, Sonic 2 was my favorite. Any of the Sonics after that got to look way too busy graphics-wise and seemed confusing to look at in terms of WHERE the paths were sometimes. 2 seems to be the magic number here.

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JavaFox

I think you'll enjoy Sonic Advance 1 more than Sonic Advance 2. Try them both out. SA1 plays much more like a classic Sonic game. SA2 has a distinctly different feel, and has complex level design that is rivalled by SA3 -- there are multiple paths there as well. I like all of the Sonic Advance games, but I like SA3 most, SA1 second (because of its classic feel), and SA2 third.

But, like I said, try them out.