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Dom Robinson reviews
THQ
Sonic Advance 3 
Sonic Battle
Another part of your task is to find all ten Hidden Chao characters scattered about each zonein order to collect a Special Key to unlock the aforementioned transporter. If you get stuck there arealso Omochao you’ll find around the place, some of whom will provide handy hints while othersjust state the obvious.
Oh, and when the game is over, any completed zones and acts will remain that way – which hadme worried before I realised since I didn’t want all my hard work undone again!
Graphically, this is another outstanding outing on the GBA for Sonic, and in fact, anyconsole. Ok, so it doesn’t seem particularly different in the way things are handledbut do you need it to differ much? Sonic games always were about simplicityand, just as importantly, FUN, and there’s bucketloads of that to be had here.
The level design as intricate as ever, running round circles aplenty at blisteringly fast speeds,blending in with pinball-style bumpers that apparently push you backwards and then you start goingforwards again round the same part of a level. Sounds far more complex to explainthan it does to actually play, but once you’ve had a go you’ll realise what I’vesaid does actually make sense…
When it comes to the audio, the music and SFX are fine and in keeping with the styleof the game, but nothing on the GBA ever sounds much better than a polyphonic ring toneso don’t expect it to go overboard here.
It doesn’t stop there, either. For those with a friend, and in some cases friends withboth a GBA and a copy of this game (now there’s a plug for clicking on the Amazon linkabove!), the multiplayer option for the basic game gives you the chance to control bothyour main and partner characters. (This option requires both of you to have the game)
Yes, you can let the partner hang about in the backgroundduring a single-player game but they don’t do a great deal at first apart from clearing upafter you until you’ve figured out how to grab hold of and utilise them in a bid to reachcertain sections of the set that you otherwise wouldn’t have found.
Battle modes are also available as a multiplayer game for 2-4 players. If you have a singlegame pak, you’re all playing against each other around the same game zone to find andcollect all the Hidden Chao, and if another player you come across has Chao, you can attackthem to steal it.
The Multi-pak Battle mode is different in that, once each of you has a copy of the gameand you’re all linked up, you’ll pair off and run through the chosen level until thefirst one completes the level.
A ‘Time Attack’ option is also available, but this is simply trying to complete a levelfaster than you did before. Each zone also contains a mini-game for you to collect aChao and to better oneself.
Sonic Advance 3 is a worthy addition to the Sonic family by far, but if you haveone or more of the previous similar titles then you’ll be best advised to try this oneout first unless you have a complete addiction to the little blue hedgehog and just mustbuy every one of his games. And why not…
SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC
PLAYABILITY
ENJOYMENT
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.