When I was younger, my parents bought the Nintendo range of products, while one of my friend’s parents bought him a Sega Genesis. So when we went over to each other’s house, we got to play something we normally didn’t get to. I always had fond memories of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis, and was one of my favorite games I played on that system. When the Dreamcast launched a few years ago I opted not to purchase it and just continue to use my PSX and N64 until the PlayStation 2 came out, since one of my friends went ahead and bought one. The first game he got was Sonic Adventure, and we popped it in. This game was great because Sonic had finally been brought into 3D glory just like Mario had.

Now the Dreamcast is but a forgotten memory and we are starting to hear tidbits of the next generation of consoles on the horizon. Sega decided that they wanted to bring Sonic Adventure to a broader audience who didn’t get to play it on the Dreamcast. So they released Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut for the Nintendo GameCube, and this game has many things that the previous game did not have, but is it worth it? Lets find out if a game that is over four years old still has what it takes to compete with games that are released new.

Dr. Robotnik is back again to destroy the world with a new plan in Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut. His plan is to get all seven chaos emeralds and than do very malicious things till the world is his for the taking. Our hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, will not let this happen; and this sets up the events that will take you through six different characters to see what will happen in the end.

This game has a flow that it goes through in each level. First there is the Adventure Field, in this place players have no time limits or any restrictions. While in this field, players must talk to NPC to find out what to do next. When they finally figure out what to do they are transported to an action stage. The action stages are the true part of this Sonic game, in these various stages players will run, collect rings, and rescue animals, just like in the previous Sonic games. The problem with this setup is the Adventure Fields really take away the whole Sonic feel to the game, it is almost like a chore to find out where to go, so they can play Sonic as it is meant to be played: fast. On the other hand, I have to complement the Sonic Team for trying out a new approach to their franchise, if the Adventure fields didn’t feel so forced it would have made this game a thousand times better.

This game also includes the highly popular Chao mini game. A Chao is a virtual pet, and I believe that this was included because virtual pets were all the rage in the late 90’s. To raise a Chao you first have to find an egg, then hatch it and then feed it. The Chao also responds according to the player’s actions all throughout the game. There are also a variety of mini games that are based around this Chao that you have to take care of. These are handled by hooking up your Game Boy Advance to your GameCube via a link cable. The only bad thing about this is that the Game Boy has to be hooked up to your GameCube to play these games, unlike the original games, where players would take their VMU around with them. It is still nice to see that these minigames are still included with Sonic Adventure.

Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut is rated E for Everybody and contains violence. The game requires 9 blocks of your memory card for saves. It is also progressive scan, Game Boy Advance, and Dolby Surround Sound Pro Logic II compatible.

Gameplay: 8.5
This is a Sonic game so what do you expect to find in here? The answer is speed, speed, and more speed, and the game delivers this while in the action stages. There are also six different playable characters, and they each have their own set of moves that they perform, and make the game not have any repetition. The nice thing is that they unfold the story; so in order to see the entire story you will have to play as all six to see what truly happens. Also it was nice to see that the Chao mini games made it over to the GameCube conversion.

Graphics: 8.4
Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut looks just as good as it did on the Dreamcast when it was launched four years ago. Sonic is constructed with a high polygon count, and is textured really well. Each of the different environments looks really nice and the use of textures is really abundant. There are only a few downfalls there, the camera still has a few problems and the biggest disappointment is the frame rate. You cannot have a Sonic game and it slow down, that is just not a possibility. Unfortunately the frame rate dips certain times during the course of the game. The drop doesn’t stall the game in any factor but it is noticeable. Overall the graphics have lasted the test of time.

Sound: 8.3
Sonic Adventure DX: Directors Cut supports Dolby Surround Sound Pro Logic II, and it sounds nice, if you have the proper setup to take advantage of it. The music that is in the game does get a bit cheesy at times, but it is what people might expect if they have ever played a Sonic game in the past. The voice acting is a bit on the cheesy side but it is not as irritating as other voice-overs I have heard in the past. The sound effects are also nicely done and sound really crisp.

Difficulty: Easy
The game is on the easy side, but it could be because of a few factors. One of them is that I have played a significant portion of the Sonic Adventures on the Dreamcast, so I know where all of the good shortcuts are. The second reason could be the fact that the game is catered towards a younger audience. The reason I find it so easy is the bosses never gave me a real challenge; I never got the feeling that there was any way I could possibly die other than clumsiness on my part. This game is catered towards a younger audience, but it is still fun for older gamers.

Concept: 8.1
I can't really rate this fairly since this game is over four years old, and the concept was mostly new at that time period. What does make this a higher rank in this category is the inclusion of all of the Game Gear Sonic games.

Overall: 8.3
Get this game if you are a true Sonic fan, or even a casual one. This game offers tons of different things to do that include: six different playable characters, a new mission mode, and even the Game Gear Sonic games. Even though there are some minor complaints this is a game worthy to be in your GameCube collection!