[Holding Right To Win Isn't So Bad!]
Sonic Advance 2 is a game where you hold right to win the game. You occasionally do other things like press the A button or have the game expect you to know some bullshit-ly niche "trick" mechanic out of nowhere in the fifth zone, but even then you’re still more or less holding right all the while. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this—in fact, it’s encouraged by each level’s design. Notably, every single level in Sonic Advance 2 goes by quickly simply by holding right as the game leads the player down a very fun and direct path. From an outside perspective, this previous sentence probably sounds like the dumbest sentence ever written. “Of course you beat the level by holding right. It’s a goddamn two-dimensional platforming game about going fast for crying out loud. If you were to go slow, then what the hell would be the point?” But think about it: when have you ever gone to the left LEFT in a 2D for a majority of the stage in a Sonic game? In a not very fun, Marble Zone Act 2, that’s when.
So yes, you really only need to hold right to beat Sonic Advance 2. But isn’t that inherently what you’re doing in every Sonic game anyway? And if the game is going to give you speed, it needs to make sure that the speed feels good and doesn’t stop abruptly, which Sonic Advance 2 rarely ever does. Playing as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, or even the secret character Amy, the player is whipped through a rollercoaster of zones with each stage introducing something new to keep them going quickly. Leaf Forest uses gigantic loop-de-loops, Music Plant has giant sets of parallel piano keys, and Sky Canyon is littered with various fans and windmills. Course design choices such as these keep the player moving from one checkpoint to the next, all while ensuring that traveling through each zone never feels especially viscous. You feel fast. There’s not really a better way to put it. There’s even this mechanic that is present when the player has sustained movement in a direction for a long enough period of time called “Boost Mode”. As its name implies, this allows the player character to move literally so fast they leave after-images. It’s cool as hell. Holding right implies you will eventually go fast. And going fast in a Sonic game is fun. If we believe in the commutative logic of these two statements, then holding right is fun.
Sonic Advance 1 is too slow. It valiantly tries to reintroduce a lot of the platforming mechanics and level design present in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but it simply doesn’t work for me. The game can be unbearably slow at times, and the Gameboy Advance screen does it no favors—good luck trying to figure out where the hell the next jump in Egg Rocket Zone is. Advance 3 tries to combine the aspects of Advance 1 and 2 into a single game, but its level design is arguably worse. Route 99 is a crime against level design with its fast-paced sections leading immediately into devilishly-placed enemies or instant-death crushing blocks, and it's the first zone in the game. And by the time the player gets to Chaos Angel, the game has conditioned them to move very quickly while holding a certain direction, inevitably leading to their demise at the start of the first act with the falling platform section.
Meanwhile, Sonic Advance 2 is consistent with what it's trying to be: a fast-paced platformer with fewer precise platforming sections in favor of fast paced action moments. The only asspull Sonic Advance 2 pulls is that previously referenced spot in Sky Canyon Act 1, but even then the momentum of the required mechanic still keeps the player moving at a breakneck pace. I’m not going to say that otherwise instant-death section of Sky Canyon Act 1 isn’t bullshit, it absolutely is. And to be honest, Sky Canyon Act 1 is kind of a bullshit level all around. My favorite bullshit level, but still awful all the same. It’s got this whole, “clouds covering the bottom of the screen so you can’t see the platform or know exactly what’s beneath you” thing going on, and it’s a real hassle to manage when you’re ascending the bounding platform tower section at the end of Act 2. And the boss has like two different attacks that instantly kill you if you get slapped. Which, to me, is incredibly obnoxious. But honestly, to me it’s easily the most memorable zone in this game for these reasons. That little section of learning the trick mechanic, or knowing that I can chain bounce off these platforms in a certain way to keep my momentum with these fans, or how I have to not in fact jump at the upside down section every single time lest I die. Again. Even then, Sky Canyon is one of those incredibly memorable levels because of how cool it is to beat while going quickly. I’d even argue that the fun in Sky Canyon comes from the satisfaction of clearing the zone at a breakneck pace, thanks to the reflective, speed-welcoming, level design.
That’s the thing about Sonic Advance 2 overall, despite its simplicity in mechanics and player interaction, it’s ultimately very fun. It’s fun to blast through Hot Crater and get 100 rings in under a minute simply by following the inherent path laid out by the designers. It’s fun to zoom up and down the seizure-inducing slopes of Techno Base. It’s fun to let the gravity mechanics of Egg Utopia carry the player from one platform to the next. The only true portion of the game that isn’t “fun” in my eyes is some of the musical instrument obstacles that slow down the gameplay in Music Plant, and the ridiculously anti-concept Final Boss though the latter is a conversation for another time. Simple mechanics can be fun if the level design flows well around said mechanics, and I believe this fact applies to approximately 90% of Sonic Advance 2.
I asked some people in a game dev server I’m in about this balance of oversimple controls and gameplay vs. player enjoyment, and I got some interesting responses with one that I really found compelling.
“[Games] are mainly about having fun and entertaining the player. As long as that is fulfilled, I don't think it matters how simple it is.” - ForlornAlex
Complicated platforming mechanics can be an absolutely lovely time when the player eventually figures them out. I think of these mechanically-rich action platforming games that are “hard but fair” like Celeste and Metroid Dread. They don’t expect the player to know the complicated movements they theoretically have access to from the very start of the game. With Celeste in particular, there are plenty of movements like ultras, wavedashes, and even demo dashes that are clearly doable by a knowledgeable player at the very start of the game, without the game teaching them. These fast-paced movements are also incredibly fun to execute, but in contrast to Advance 2, require extensive practice. While pulling off a “reverse extended hyper” can be incredibly satisfying, for some, the grind to master this movement is decidedly not fun. In comparison, Advance 2’s most difficult mechanic for new players to grasp is the “Trick” movement, which simply involves pressing the right shoulder button “R” and a direction on the D-pad.
This simplicity, of course, raises a new question: “Is there any challenge in this game that isn’t a totally unfair surprise?”. Truthfully, the answer to me is no. At least, not in the levels themselves most of the time. The final zones of the game, Techno Base and Egg Utopia, do feature parts that involve quick reactions in order to ensure that when the player is moving quickly to the right, they’re not also moving quickly downwards towards their death. But even then, these sections are pretty well-telegraphed by the game with Techno Base featuring cyan hexagons and Egg Utopia having a space background to signify when the player is above bottomless pits. The true challenge comes in some of the later bosses, mainly Egg-Go-Round, and its terrible RNG-based attacks. Ironically, my disdain for this boss comes from its difficulty which hilariously stems from knowing when NOT to hold right.
So yes, you really only need to hold right to beat Sonic Advance 2. But is that a bad thing? The game is still very fun despite the mechanical simplicity. Advance 2 is not necessarily a hard game, but it isn’t really trying to be either. Rather, it is trying to be a game where the player can recklessly abandon any speed limits and rollercoaster through a series of incredibly appropriately designed levels. They do go by quickly, yes, but they happen to be memorable excursions that have their own identities throughout the franchise. Advance 2 is simple enough to pick up and play through in a short burst while still being very fun to play, and to quote a man who knows a lot about video games, “If it isn’t fun, why bother?”
Rating: [85]
Sonic Advance 2 is a game where you hold right to win the game. You occasionally do other things like press the A button or have the game expect you to know some bullshit-ly niche "trick" mechanic out of nowhere in the fifth zone, but even then you’re still more or less holding right all the while. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with this—in fact, it’s encouraged by each level’s design. Notably, every single level in Sonic Advance 2 goes by quickly simply by holding right as the game leads the player down a very fun and direct path. From an outside perspective, this previous sentence probably sounds like the dumbest sentence ever written. “Of course you beat the level by holding right. It’s a goddamn two-dimensional platforming game about going fast for crying out loud. If you were to go slow, then what the hell would be the point?” But think about it: when have you ever gone to the left LEFT in a 2D for a majority of the stage in a Sonic game? In a not very fun, Marble Zone Act 2, that’s when.
So yes, you really only need to hold right to beat Sonic Advance 2. But isn’t that inherently what you’re doing in every Sonic game anyway? And if the game is going to give you speed, it needs to make sure that the speed feels good and doesn’t stop abruptly, which Sonic Advance 2 rarely ever does. Playing as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, or even the secret character Amy, the player is whipped through a rollercoaster of zones with each stage introducing something new to keep them going quickly. Leaf Forest uses gigantic loop-de-loops, Music Plant has giant sets of parallel piano keys, and Sky Canyon is littered with various fans and windmills. Course design choices such as these keep the player moving from one checkpoint to the next, all while ensuring that traveling through each zone never feels especially viscous. You feel fast. There’s not really a better way to put it. There’s even this mechanic that is present when the player has sustained movement in a direction for a long enough period of time called “Boost Mode”. As its name implies, this allows the player character to move literally so fast they leave after-images. It’s cool as hell. Holding right implies you will eventually go fast. And going fast in a Sonic game is fun. If we believe in the commutative logic of these two statements, then holding right is fun.
Sonic Advance 1 is too slow. It valiantly tries to reintroduce a lot of the platforming mechanics and level design present in the original Sonic the Hedgehog, but it simply doesn’t work for me. The game can be unbearably slow at times, and the Gameboy Advance screen does it no favors—good luck trying to figure out where the hell the next jump in Egg Rocket Zone is. Advance 3 tries to combine the aspects of Advance 1 and 2 into a single game, but its level design is arguably worse. Route 99 is a crime against level design with its fast-paced sections leading immediately into devilishly-placed enemies or instant-death crushing blocks, and it's the first zone in the game. And by the time the player gets to Chaos Angel, the game has conditioned them to move very quickly while holding a certain direction, inevitably leading to their demise at the start of the first act with the falling platform section.
Meanwhile, Sonic Advance 2 is consistent with what it's trying to be: a fast-paced platformer with fewer precise platforming sections in favor of fast paced action moments. The only asspull Sonic Advance 2 pulls is that previously referenced spot in Sky Canyon Act 1, but even then the momentum of the required mechanic still keeps the player moving at a breakneck pace. I’m not going to say that otherwise instant-death section of Sky Canyon Act 1 isn’t bullshit, it absolutely is. And to be honest, Sky Canyon Act 1 is kind of a bullshit level all around. My favorite bullshit level, but still awful all the same. It’s got this whole, “clouds covering the bottom of the screen so you can’t see the platform or know exactly what’s beneath you” thing going on, and it’s a real hassle to manage when you’re ascending the bounding platform tower section at the end of Act 2. And the boss has like two different attacks that instantly kill you if you get slapped. Which, to me, is incredibly obnoxious. But honestly, to me it’s easily the most memorable zone in this game for these reasons. That little section of learning the trick mechanic, or knowing that I can chain bounce off these platforms in a certain way to keep my momentum with these fans, or how I have to not in fact jump at the upside down section every single time lest I die. Again. Even then, Sky Canyon is one of those incredibly memorable levels because of how cool it is to beat while going quickly. I’d even argue that the fun in Sky Canyon comes from the satisfaction of clearing the zone at a breakneck pace, thanks to the reflective, speed-welcoming, level design.
That’s the thing about Sonic Advance 2 overall, despite its simplicity in mechanics and player interaction, it’s ultimately very fun. It’s fun to blast through Hot Crater and get 100 rings in under a minute simply by following the inherent path laid out by the designers. It’s fun to zoom up and down the seizure-inducing slopes of Techno Base. It’s fun to let the gravity mechanics of Egg Utopia carry the player from one platform to the next. The only true portion of the game that isn’t “fun” in my eyes is some of the musical instrument obstacles that slow down the gameplay in Music Plant, and the ridiculously anti-concept Final Boss though the latter is a conversation for another time. Simple mechanics can be fun if the level design flows well around said mechanics, and I believe this fact applies to approximately 90% of Sonic Advance 2.
I asked some people in a game dev server I’m in about this balance of oversimple controls and gameplay vs. player enjoyment, and I got some interesting responses with one that I really found compelling.
“[Games] are mainly about having fun and entertaining the player. As long as that is fulfilled, I don't think it matters how simple it is.” - ForlornAlex
Complicated platforming mechanics can be an absolutely lovely time when the player eventually figures them out. I think of these mechanically-rich action platforming games that are “hard but fair” like Celeste and Metroid Dread. They don’t expect the player to know the complicated movements they theoretically have access to from the very start of the game. With Celeste in particular, there are plenty of movements like ultras, wavedashes, and even demo dashes that are clearly doable by a knowledgeable player at the very start of the game, without the game teaching them. These fast-paced movements are also incredibly fun to execute, but in contrast to Advance 2, require extensive practice. While pulling off a “reverse extended hyper” can be incredibly satisfying, for some, the grind to master this movement is decidedly not fun. In comparison, Advance 2’s most difficult mechanic for new players to grasp is the “Trick” movement, which simply involves pressing the right shoulder button “R” and a direction on the D-pad.
This simplicity, of course, raises a new question: “Is there any challenge in this game that isn’t a totally unfair surprise?”. Truthfully, the answer to me is no. At least, not in the levels themselves most of the time. The final zones of the game, Techno Base and Egg Utopia, do feature parts that involve quick reactions in order to ensure that when the player is moving quickly to the right, they’re not also moving quickly downwards towards their death. But even then, these sections are pretty well-telegraphed by the game with Techno Base featuring cyan hexagons and Egg Utopia having a space background to signify when the player is above bottomless pits. The true challenge comes in some of the later bosses, mainly Egg-Go-Round, and its terrible RNG-based attacks. Ironically, my disdain for this boss comes from its difficulty which hilariously stems from knowing when NOT to hold right.
So yes, you really only need to hold right to beat Sonic Advance 2. But is that a bad thing? The game is still very fun despite the mechanical simplicity. Advance 2 is not necessarily a hard game, but it isn’t really trying to be either. Rather, it is trying to be a game where the player can recklessly abandon any speed limits and rollercoaster through a series of incredibly appropriately designed levels. They do go by quickly, yes, but they happen to be memorable excursions that have their own identities throughout the franchise. Advance 2 is simple enough to pick up and play through in a short burst while still being very fun to play, and to quote a man who knows a lot about video games, “If it isn’t fun, why bother?”
Rating: [85]