I was meant to write this last month but I kept putting it off.. Anyways, I finished Sonic Adventure 2 recently and wow was it a wild ride from start to finish. Not to be dramatic, but I think this is one of the most important gaming experiences in my life. It literally changed my brain chemistry, slash positive slash negative. 

Shoutout to Lee and Nov for watching me play, for being moral support and helping me with hints during Mad Space, because you too can inflict psychic damage on your friends as you fail to find pieces of the chaos emerald for the hundredth time in a row. 

Story

SA2 is about Sonic and Shadow, good vs evil, hero vs dark... It marks Shadow's debut as the darker counterpart of our favourite blue hedgie as he takes revenge on humanity for Maria's sake. As such, Sonic 3 follows the storyline of SA2 with some differences.

I'm not sure what the optimal viewing order is, Sonic 3 first then SA2 first or SA2 then Sonic 3, but whichever it was I watched the movie first then played the game and it was still just as exciting as if I did the opposite (I assume). Seeing what parts of the game inspired Sonic 3 was really exciting, and also feeling some sense of disappointment that some parts weren't included/only vaguely alluded to (I still can't hear City Escape in the movie...). 

In some ways, I prefer SA2's version of the story. Sonic discovers there's someone who can keep up with him, same for Shadow, or the whole space station thing with Shadow being a creation rather than extracted from a meteor... But that doesn't mean I didn't like how Sonic 3 adapted it, because at its core, both the game and movie are about two hedgehogs who go down different paths, who are more similar than they are different, and about the people in their lives they live to protect. 

A thing that the movie does better... As I'm writing this I realise why Amy gets to have her own movie. It's really great that they're letting her have her spotlight as opposed to SA2 where she was mostly on the side. That being said, from a funny pov it's really funny that Shadow hears one girl plead for him to save humanity and he's like oh shit yeah that's what Maria wanted. Bro only knows one girl.

Ok I'm developing thoughts as I write but that's enough about Sonic 3 this is about SA2. 

There's a lot of fun to be had with GUN's mistaking of Sonic for Shadow. The theory that they wanted to use Sonic as a scapegoat for Shadow is an interesting one, and Sonic looking like he's black/red under the covers of the night is also pretty funny considering the ongoing gag of people mistaking Shadow and Sonic even though they're clearly different colours. 

Getting to see Knuckles and Rouge's first meeting was also great. I always knew they had that kind of dynamic but seeing how it progressed in the source material let me see how fun these two were. Knuckles 'I'm always punching guys, girls. I'll punch a baby, I don't care' the Echidna

Overall, I just had a really good time! I have a whole bunch of miscellaneous thoughts about Sonic and Shadow's parallels and dynamic but idk if I can form coherent sentences about it so who knows if that'll ever see the light of day. But tl;dr on a hypothetical sonadow over-analysis corner: whether you ship them or not they're so narratively important to each other

Music

It's probably a crime to not have banger music in a Sonic, they were all excellent

• Live & Learn: Hearing it in the main menu, as a leitmotif during the Biolizard's fight then finally in the actual fight itself was just a crescendo of hype - the buildup to it both ingame and me holding off on listening to it normally irl... Made me so happy

• For True Story: STARS DON'T TWINKLE, THE MOON DOESN'T SHINE. I love this track so much, even when I played the rival battle first something about it just scratched my brain in the right places. The way it's a mixture of both Sonic and Shadow's styles of music, it really is the theme to their fight, character and dynamic distilled into musical form - it's just so so peak

• Highway in the Sky: MFW FINAL RUSH (SA2, SONIC) AND SPACE COLONY ARK (SHADOW GEN, SHADOW) SHARE THE SAME TRACK, WHAT??? WHAT. sorry this makes me crazy, they make me feel ill. I know they're both set in the same location but this truly was our Sonic x Shadow generations

• Throw It All Away: Everybody tries to be straight... Shadow I know what you are. Gay ass line aside I just really like how it sounds and the lyrics 

• Escape from the City: It's been a comfort song of sorts since I played Sonic Generations, when I feel down it reminds me that things will be ok. Getting to hear it in the original context made me really happy

• It Doesn't Matter: It describes Sonic perfectly! And it's so energetic and fun, just like him. Sonic's songs make me keep going

• Supporting Me: Man I wish they kept the vocals for Shadow gen!! It's so good, and the Live and Learn leitmotif is just CHEF'S KISS. It also has the same vibe as Throw It All Away, living weapons solidarity

Idr the names but Rouge and Knuckles' had some really banging tracks too. The 'Rouge is sexy and smooth, she's coming for my jewels.' line from Knuckles' is crazy though like GIRL YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT

Gameplay

Where do I begin.

It makes you appreciate modern gaming that's for sure. Not having helpful markers to know to know where you're targetting (and also being able to use different buttons, though I use the legacy set-up in Shadow Gen so idk how valid my opinion is) and constantly sliding off the stage is wild. 

One of my favourite stages from Sonic Generations is City Escape, so of course I was elated to play the original from where it originally came. It was great, as expected. What I wasn't expecting, however, was that the context of Sonic rolling around at the speed of the sound in the city is because he was RUNNING FROM THE COPS. He isn't skateboarding through the city for funsies, he's literally a wanted criminal. It's SO funny.

The physics and walls in this game are crazy. The amount of times I slid through a wall in Rouge's driving section is more times than it should've been. Speaking of Rouge, her stages in general are pretty crazy. 

To wrap it all up, I can't start to speak about the cultural impacts of SA2 on the gaming world or whatever because I have no idea. But what I can say is that it's had a profound impact on me, slash positive slash negative. 

Tl;dr I'm so glad I played it despite the trials and tribulations it put me through (again, how were kids playing this???). Yesterday I fell off the edge while fighting Shadow in Final Rush, so that's how my life's going. (At the time of me editing this post, I got an A in White Jungle and I feel like I won in life)

I don't think I have the strength to replay the entire game (the Rouge stages, oh my god) but I am enjoying the boss rush and Sonic/Shadow stages. It really is so much fun, I love Sonic Adventure 2.

Some other games I played these months that I have thoughts about

• Unpacked (the environmental storytelling is peak and the pixel artstyle is super nice)

• Firework (an indie title I hadn't heard of before with a focus on Chinese cultural customs and the dead, really interesting so far with good scare)

• Powerwash Simulator (according to Pat Polygon, a dad game - a 'mindless Minecraft parkouring while having a good yap session with your friend' type game, the best part is at the end when you're scrambling around to find the last bit of dirt)

• Another Crab's Treasure (very cute soulslike with satisfying gameplay, I like the artstyle so much)