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158-750: Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Dreamcast . It was the first main Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog , Miles "Tails" Prower , Knuckles the Echidna , Amy Rose , Big the Cat , and E-102 Gamma in their quests to collect the Chaos Emeralds and stop Doctor Robotnik from unleashing Chaos , an ancient evil. Controlling one of

316-509: A port of Sonic Adventure for the GameCube and Windows . While mostly identical to the original release, Sonic Adventure DX features updated graphics, including updated textures and more detailed character models, aims for a frame rate of 60 instead of 30, and sports a redesigned Chao-raising system that uses connectivity with the Game Boy Advance (GBA). It includes 60 new missions and

474-464: A shoot 'em up in Sonic and because of Iizuka's desire to include "some type of satisfying gameplay that couldn't be done with Sonic". Neither Big nor Gamma were intended to play a large role, thus both of their campaigns were short. Iizuka also wanted to create a villain who would have been impossible to make on older hardware. He settled on something liquid and transparent and created Chaos. Iizuka presented

632-599: A true 3D platformer is a French computer game called Alpha Waves , created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST , Amiga , and IBM PC compatibles . Bug! , released in 1995 for the Saturn , has a more conservative approach. It allows players to move in all directions, but it does not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player can move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like

790-612: A virtual pet . Players can hatch, name, and interact with multiple Chao, and they can raise the status of their Chao by giving them small animals, which can be collected by defeating enemies within the Action Stages. The Dreamcast's handheld Visual Memory Unit (VMU) allows the player to download the minigame Chao Adventure , in which their Chao walks through a course to evolve and improve its skills. Evolving one's Chao improves its performance in competitions called Chao Races. Eggs that can produce special types of Chao are hidden throughout

948-448: A 1980 arcade release by Universal , is sometimes credited as the first platformer. Another precursor to the genre from 1980 was Nichibutsu 's Crazy Climber , in which the player character scales vertically scrolling skyscrapers. The unreleased 1979 Intellivision game Hard Hat has a similar concept. Donkey Kong , an arcade video game created by Nintendo and released in July 1981,

1106-401: A 2D plane are called 2.5D , as they are a blend of 2D and 3D. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami 's Antarctic Adventure , where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for

1264-406: A 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure , for its Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 , but its levels were more linear, fast-paced, and action-oriented. Player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC ) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than

1422-462: A balance between open-ended and guided exploration. Another platform-adventure released that year, Pony Canyon 's Super Pitfall , was critically panned for its vagueness and weak game design. That same year Jaleco released Esper Boukentai , a sequel to Psychic 5 that scrolled in all directions and allowed the player character to make huge multistory jumps to navigate the vertically oriented levels. Telenet Japan also released its own take on

1580-481: A bouncing car that jumps on various platforms such as buildings, clouds, and hills. Jump Bug offered a glimpse of what was to come, with uneven, suspended platforms, levels that scroll horizontally (and in one section, vertically), and differently themed sections, such as a city, the interior of a large pyramid, and underwater. Irem's 1982 arcade game Moon Patrol combines jumping over obstacles and shooting attackers. A month later, Taito released Jungle King ,

1738-525: A brief burst of episodic platformers where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase. The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres. The Saturn , PlayStation , and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured

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1896-408: A broad category of action games, referring to a variety of games that are driven by the physical actions of player characters. The term dates back to the golden age of arcade video games in the early 1980s, when the terms "action games" and "character games" began being used to distinguish a new emerging genre of character-driven action games from the space shoot 'em ups that had previously dominated

2054-407: A contrast to the others' straightforward ones. Sonic Adventure was the first time Amy was playable in a Sonic platformer, and Iizuka aimed to use her to add tension, such as hiding from pursuers, that Sonic's gameplay could not offer. Because Sonic Adventure had a stronger emphasis on storytelling than previous games in the series, the team implemented hub worlds to "draw the players deeper into

2212-497: A creature that, thousands of years ago, helped to protect the Chao and the all-powerful Master Emerald , which balances the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds. When a tribe of echidnas sought to steal the power of the Emeralds, breaking the harmony they had with the Chao, Chaos retaliated by using the Emeralds' power to transform into a monstrous beast, Perfect Chaos, and wipe them out. Tikal,

2370-414: A defense. Some levels include minigames separate from the main story. These feature different styles of gameplay, among them rail shooting , racing , pinball , and sandboarding . Some minigames can only be accessed with particular characters. Fulfilling certain objectives allows the player to obtain bonus items. Unlocked minigames and stages the player has completed can be accessed from a Trial Mode on

2528-450: A forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier . 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games . Square released its sequel, JJ , later that year. The earliest example of

2686-605: A high quality of animation. The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles . It inspired Commander Keen , released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics. Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers for MS-DOS compatible operating systems, including Duke Nukem , Duke Nukem II , Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure , and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software . These fueled

2844-488: A larger number of player characters to choose from, with some basic moves available to all or most characters and some unique moves only available to one or a few characters. Having many distinctive characters to play as and against, all possessing different moves and abilities, is necessary to create a larger gameplay variety in such games. Similarly to MOBAs, hero shooters emphasize pre-designed "hero" characters with distinctive abilities and weapons that are not available to

3002-399: A major technical advancement and praised the visuals and gameplay. Though critics noted glitches and camera problems, and reactions to the audio were mixed, they considered Sonic Adventure an exceptional game; some speculated that it could help re-establish Sega as the dominant console manufacturer after the unsuccessful Saturn. Journalists have retrospectively ranked Sonic Adventure among

3160-448: A new series of robots, including E-102 Gamma, and orders them to find Froggy, a frog who ate a Chaos Emerald; Froggy's owner, Big, seeks him as well. In Station Square, Sonic's friend Amy decides to protect a Flicky being pursued for its Chaos Emerald. When she and the Flicky are captured, Amy convinces Gamma not to work for Robotnik. Gamma helps her to escape before seeking out and destroying

3318-626: A new style was adopted because the Dreamcast's sound was a significant advance from that of the Genesis; Senoue added he felt more comfortable composing rock music and wanted to create music everyone could enjoy. Despite the different styles, Senoue did retain some music from the Genesis Sonic games: the music for the Windy Valley and Twinkle Park levels were rearranged from Sonic 3D Blast (1996), while

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3476-623: A number of successful 2D platformers. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom 's Mega Man character . Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive. The difficulties of adapting platformer gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing

3634-458: A place where Adventure 3 makes sense, then you might see an Adventure 3 come out". In December 2018, Iizuka expressed interest in remaking Sonic Adventure . The plot of Sonic Adventure was adapted in the second season of the 2003 Sonic the Hedgehog anime series Sonic X . American licensing corporation 4Kids Entertainment hired a new voice cast for the English-language dub but

3792-413: A player typically creates or takes on the identity of a character that may have nothing in common with the player. The character is often of a certain (usually fictional) race and class (such as zombie , berserker , rifleman , elf , or cleric ), each with strengths and weaknesses. The attributes of the characters (such as magic and fighting ability) are given as numerical values which can be increased as

3950-441: A quarter and a third of all console games. By 2006, the genre had experienced a decline in sales, representing a 2% market share as compared to 15% in 1998. In spite of this, platformers are still being commercially released every year, including some which have sold millions of copies. A platformer requires the player to maneuver their character across platforms to reach a goal while confronting enemies and avoiding obstacles along

4108-466: A shift in design. Later 3D platformers like Banjo-Kazooie , Spyro the Dragon , and Donkey Kong 64 borrowed its format, and the "collect-a-thon" genre began to form. In order to make this free-roaming model work, developers had to program dynamic, intelligent cameras. A free camera made it harder for players to judge the height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of

4266-406: A showcase for the system. The audio received mixed responses. GameSpot and Game Revolution called the full-motion video (FMV) cutscenes and voice acting well-produced and fitting, though GameSpot noted poor lip-synching. IGN thought the cutscenes were repetitive and described the voice acting as "a complete joke" and "downright awful", particularly Tails's voice, and later naming it among

4424-406: A side-scrolling action game some platform elements: jumping between vines, jumping or running beneath bouncing boulders. It was quickly re-released as Jungle Hunt because of similarities to Tarzan . The 1982 Apple II game Track Attack includes a scrolling platform level where the character runs and leaps along the top of a moving train. The character is little more than a stick figure , but

4582-634: A side-scrolling playfield. Examples include beat 'em ups like Kung-Fu Master and Double Dragon , ninja action games like The Legend of Kage and Shinobi , scrolling platformers like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog , and run and gun shooters like Rolling Thunder and Gunstar Heroes . "Character action games" is also a term used for 3D hack and slash games modelled after Devil May Cry , which represent an evolution of arcade character action games. Other examples of this sub-genre include Ninja Gaiden , God of War , and Bayonetta . Fighting games typically have

4740-601: A similar virtual pet system, the "A-Life", in Nights into Dreams ; Iizuka used the A-Life as a base, while improving it with the VMU and the option to improve its skills. Iizuka hoped it would be made into a character players could touch and raise. It was also designed to appeal to casual gamers not familiar with games like Sonic , and to add replay value . The design took considerable time to finalize and had to be made as simple as possible because

4898-665: A teenager with a rebellious personality to appeal to gamers who saw the previous generation of consoles as being for kids. The character's speed showed off the hardware capabilities of the Genesis, which had a CPU clock speed approximately double that of the Super NES. Sonic 's perceived rebellious attitude became a model for game mascots. Other companies attempted to duplicate Sega's success with their own brightly colored anthropomorphisms with attitude. These often were characterized by impatience, sarcasm, and frequent quips. A second generation of platformers for computers appeared alongside

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5056-469: A template for what were initially called "climbing games". Donkey Kong inspired many clones and games with similar elements, such as Miner 2049er (1982) and Kangaroo (1982), while the Sega arcade game Congo Bongo (1983) adds a third dimension via isometric graphics . Another popular game of that period, Pitfall! (1982), allows moving left and right through series of non-scrolling screens, expanding

5214-546: A young echidna who befriended Chaos, imprisoned it in the Master Emerald along with herself. Robotnik shatters the Master Emerald to release Chaos and tests its natural form on the city of Station Square. After police fail to defeat Chaos, Sonic and Tails work to stop Robotnik from empowering it with the Chaos Emeralds. Knuckles, the only remaining echidna, sets out to find the shards of the Master Emerald. Robotnik activates

5372-537: Is backwards-compatible with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S . Reviews of the 2010 rerelease were generally unfavorable, with criticism directed at the perceived lack of effort put into the port. IGN called it "so fundamentally flawed that it borders on unplayable", observing that the sections that worked best required the least input from the player. IGN criticized the lack of widescreen support but offered minor praise for its steady frame rate. 1UP.com lambasted

5530-488: Is central to the genre, though there are exceptions such as Nintendo 's Popeye and Data East 's BurgerTime , both from 1982. In some games, such as Donkey Kong , the trajectory of a jump is fixed, while in others it can be altered mid-air. Falling may cause damage or death. Many platformers contain environmental obstacles which kill the player's character upon contact, such as lava pits or bottomless chasms. The player may be able to collect items and power-ups and give

5688-469: Is in a vector game called Major Havoc , which comprises a number of mini-games, including a simple platformer. One of the first raster -based platformers to scroll fluidly in all directions in this manner is 1985's Legend of Kage . In 1985, Enix released the action-adventure platformer Brain Breaker . The following year saw the release of Nintendo's Metroid , which was critically acclaimed for

5846-460: Is somewhat common in first-person videogames, such as in Myst , but is more often done in strategy video games such as Dune 2000 , Emperor: Battle for Dune , and Command & Conquer series. In such games, the only real indication that the player has a character (instead of an omnipresent status), is from the cutscenes during which the character is being given a mission briefing or debriefing;

6004-465: Is the endless runner , where the main character is always moving forward and the player must dodge or jump to avoid falling or hitting obstacles. Various names were used in the years following the release of the first established game in the genre, Donkey Kong (1981). Shigeru Miyamoto originally called it a "running/jumping/climbing game" while developing it. Miyamoto commonly used the term "athletic game" to refer to Donkey Kong and later games in

6162-611: The Atari 2600 , with 256 horizontally connected screens, became one of the best-selling games on the system and was a breakthrough for the genre. Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle was released on the ColecoVision that same year, adding uneven terrain and scrolling pans between static screens. Manic Miner (1983) and its sequel Jet Set Willy (1984) continued this style of multi-screen levels on home computers . Wanted: Monty Mole won

6320-675: The MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year, including an arcade video game version, NES , and ColecoVision . 1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure , which was designed by Hideo Kojima . It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings . In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner , designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli . Using

6478-516: The Master System with Alex Kidd in Miracle World . It has horizontal and vertical scrolling levels, the ability to punch enemies and obstacles, and shops for the player to buy power-ups and vehicles. Another Sega series that began that same year is Wonder Boy . The original Wonder Boy in 1986 was inspired more by Pac-Land than Super Mario Bros. , with skateboarding segments that gave

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6636-617: The Nintendo 3DS version contains a remake of Emerald Coast. Several characters that first appeared in Sonic Adventure appeared in later games. As well as appearing in Sonic Generations , Chaos is an antagonist in the 2017 entry Sonic Forces ; it and Gamma are playable characters in the 2004 fighting game Sonic Battle ; and a recreation of its boss fight appears in Mario & Sonic at

6794-675: The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, became the archetype for the genre. It was bundled with Nintendo systems in North America, Japan, and Europe, and sold over 40 million copies, according to the 1999 Guinness Book of World Records . Its success as a pack-in led many companies to see platformers as vital to their success, and contributed greatly to popularizing the genre during the third and fourth generations of video game consoles. Sega attempted to emulate this success with their Alex Kidd series, which started in 1986 on

6952-494: The Tamagotchi -like memory card to incubate eggs for little pet creatures" and "some good action segments". The camera system and glitches were criticized by many reviewers. IGN called the camera "incredibly" frustrating and inconsistent, and GameSpot noted it caused problems with collision detection . Edge complained the camera sometimes goes behind walls. Authors from GamesRadar retrospectively wrote that Sonic Adventure

7110-581: The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 , followed by a Windows release in March 2011 via Steam . This version is based on Sonic Adventure DX and supports high-definition visuals at a 4:3 aspect ratio. Sonic Adventure DX 's additional content was removed, but the mission mode and Metal Sonic can be reimplemented by purchasing additional DLC. The game was also included in the Dreamcast Collection compilation in 2011 and

7268-465: The arcades in the late 1970s. Classic examples of character action games from that period include maze games like Pac-Man , platformers like Donkey Kong , and Frogger . Side-scrolling character action games (also called "side-scrolling action games" or "side-scrollers") are a broad category of character action games that were popular from the mid-1980s to the 1990s, which involve player characters defeating large groups of weaker enemies along

7426-408: The industry "forever". Joystiq wrote that both Adventure and the original Sonic the Hedgehog had innovated—in 3D and 2D games, respectively—through effective linear level design and by feeling "good to play". In 2009, GamePro listed Sonic Adventure as the seventh-best platform game of all time, saying that it had not aged well in certain aspects but that its core gameplay remained among

7584-443: The title screen . Like previous Sonic the Hedgehog games, players collect golden rings as a form of health : if the player character possesses rings when they are hit by an enemy or other hazard, they will survive, but their rings will scatter and blink before disappearing. Canisters containing power-ups , such as speed shoes, additional rings, invincibility , and protective shields, are also hidden in levels. In several stages,

7742-533: The virtual camera , it had to be constrained to stop it from clipping through the environment. In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal , which was a 3D first-person shooter game with platforming. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies

7900-513: The 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog reboot heavily references Sonic Adventure ' s Emerald Coast stage. To celebrate the Sonic series's 20th anniversary in 2011, Sega released Sonic Generations , which reused aspects from past games in the franchise. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows versions contain reimagined versions of the Speed Highway level and the Perfect Chaos boss fight, and

8058-540: The Adventure Field. Once the player accesses an Action Stage, they are tasked with a specific objective, which is different for each character. Sonic must reach the level's end similarly to prior Sonic the Hedgehog games; Tails must reach the end before Sonic; Knuckles must find three hidden shards of the Master Emerald; Amy must solve puzzles and avoid being caught by a robot; Big must fish for his pet frog; and Gamma must fight his way through stages using projectiles as

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8216-482: The Adventure Fields. Players can earn emblems by playing through Action Stages, searching through the Adventure Fields, or winning Chao Races. Each Action Stage has three emblems that can be earned by replaying the stages and fulfilling objectives, such as beating the level within a time limit. Doctor Robotnik seeks a new way to defeat his nemesis, Sonic, and conquer the world. He learns about an entity called Chaos,

8374-447: The Cat is slow and carries a fishing rod he can cast; and E-102 Gamma can shoot laser beams. At the start of the game, the player is placed in one of three Adventure Fields, open-ended hub worlds inhabited by advice-giving NPCs . The player is guided and instructed by the voice of Tikal the Echidna. Through exploration, the player discovers entrances to levels called Action Stages, some of which must be opened using keys hidden in

8532-463: The Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and defeats Perfect Chaos. Chaos calms down when it sees the Chao living peacefully in Station Square, and Tikal takes it somewhere safe to live in peace. Afterward, Sonic pursues a fleeing Robotnik. During the early 1990s, Sega was one of the most successful video game companies due to the rise of its Genesis console. Genesis sales were driven by

8690-673: The Dreamcast console along with a non-retail version of the game, Sonic Adventure: Limited Edition . The promotion began on July 15, 1999, and took place at 1,055 Hollywood Video stores across the country. The localized version was released in North America on September 9, 1999, as a launch game, and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It includes Japanese and English-language audio and Japanese, English, Spanish, French and German subtitles. Online features—including Chao daycare and downloadable content (DLC) such as minigames and new level assets—were also added. The American release of Studio Pierrot 's Sonic

8848-460: The Enchanted Castle , which was only modestly successful. That same year, Capcom released Strider in arcades, which scrolled in multiple directions and allowed the player to summon artificial intelligence partners, such as a droid, tiger, and hawk, to help fight enemies. Another Sega release in 1989 was Shadow Dancer , which is a game that also included an AI partner: a dog who followed

9006-478: The Genesis games, but quickly discovered the characters' bodies were too short and their heads too big, making them difficult to see. Retro game characters, such as Pac-Man , were also being reborn in a more "urban" fashion around the same time, something that made Sonic Team jealous and feel the original character designs were dated. As such, Yuji Uekawa redesigned each character to suit the transition to 3D and to give them "new, edgy, more Western" design. Looking to

9164-614: The Hedgehog (1996) original video animation coincided with the Western release of Sonic Adventure , while DIC Entertainment 's Sonic Underground (1999) was commissioned to help promote the game. The localized version was released in Japan as Sonic Adventure International . Before release, Sega projected to sell a million copies of Sonic Adventure . Sonic Adventure is the bestselling Dreamcast game; by August 4, 2006, it had sold 2.5 million copies, including 440,000 in Japan and 1.27 million in

9322-424: The Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme , was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug! . Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, the game never made it to market. In the 1990s, platforming games started to shift from pseudo-3D to "true 3D," which gave

9480-549: The Japanese cast from the games reprised their roles in the original version of the show. Archie Comics also adapted the game in its Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series. The comic offered an explanation for the altered character designs and established that Station Square was hidden beneath Sonic's planet, Mobius. Platform game The genre started with the 1980 arcade video game Space Panic , which has ladders but not jumping. Donkey Kong , released in 1981, established

9638-547: The Olympic Winter Games . The Chao creatures also feature predominantly in later games. One of the characters introduced in Adventure , Big the Cat, became infamous for his negative reception. Game Informer considered his gameplay painful and boring, while Destructoid decried his portrayal as a "mentally handicapped imbecile" and his voice actor's incoherent performance. Big is widely considered by video game journalists

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9796-547: The Saturn with a 20-strong team. Sonic Team created the first prototype using the Nights engine, but the Saturn's limited capabilities made development difficult. Sega president Hayao Nakayama informed Naka of the Saturn's successor, the Dreamcast, and he believed the new console would allow Sonic Team to create the ultimate Sonic game. When the team learned the Dreamcast was nearing completion, they moved development to take advantage of its greater quantity of RAM, stronger CPU , and

9954-642: The US. In Europe, it sold 86,000 copies during its first five days on sale. In the UK, it was the top-selling Dreamcast launch game. After the North American release, there were complaints of a number of Sonic Adventure discs failing to load. Sega of America determined that this was a software problem due to errors at one manufacturing facility and tracked the faulty software. Most copies were unaffected, and customers with defective copies could trade for working ones at retailers. As

10112-462: The United Kingdom press. Examples include referring to the " Super Mario mould" (such as Kato-chan & Ken-chan ) as platform games, and calling Strider a "platform and ladders" game. The genre originated in the early 1980s. Levels in early platform games were confined to a single screen, viewed in profile, and based on climbing between platforms rather than jumping. Space Panic ,

10270-411: The VMU. Some critics compared Sonic Adventure to Super Mario 64 —Nintendo's "groundbreaking" 1996 game that propelled the Nintendo 64 and the 3D platform genre. Edge said Sonic Adventure was a worthy rival to Super Mario 64 , but AllGame wrote that Sonic Adventure was not as ambitious and that those looking for exploration would be disappointed with its linear gameplay. They compared it to

10428-405: The VMU. Not wanting to waste their completed work, they placed it as a bonus in the compilation game Sonic Jam , the final Sonic game for the Saturn. Development on the Dreamcast began in July 1997. Iizuka served as director on Sonic Adventure , while Naka produced. One of the largest video games created at the time, the team had grown to 60 after 10 months, and over 100 developers worked on

10586-451: The Year". Another term used in the late 1980s to 1990s was "character action games", in reference to games such as Super Mario Bros. , Sonic the Hedgehog , and Bubsy . It was also applied more generally to side-scrolling video games , including run and gun video games such as Gunstar Heroes . Platform game became a common term for the genre by 1989, popularized by its usage in

10744-519: The acrobatics evoke the movement that games such as Prince of Persia would feature. B.C.'s Quest For Tires (1983) put a recognizable character from American comic strips into side-scrolling, jumping gameplay similar to Moon Patrol . The same year, Snokie for the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers added uneven terrain to a scrolling platformer. Based on the Saturday morning cartoon rather than

10902-412: The animation of Walt Disney and Looney Tunes for inspiration, he made Sonic more mature, taller and slimmer, and gave him longer quills. He darkened his blue color and gave him green irises to contrast with the rest of his color scheme, as well as reference Green Hill Zone . Uekawa tried to make Sonic look like a comic book character and compared the style to graffiti. After redesigning Sonic, he made

11060-464: The basic gameplay of the original Genesis games. IGN said the game would keep players busy even after completion, noting its internet connectivity and other extras. However, Game Revolution said apart from being quicker, it did not advance the platform genre's design. Retrospectively, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die called its environments vast and twisted, stating it "brilliantly" captured traditional Sonic elements. The Chao minigame

11218-415: The basis for the non-linear mission structure found in most open-world, multi-mission, sidequest -heavy games. Another Capcom platformer that year was Bionic Commando , which popularized a grappling hook mechanic that has since appeared in dozens of games, including Earthworm Jim and Tomb Raider . Scrolling platformers went portable in the late 1980s with games such as Super Mario Land , and

11376-414: The best Sonic games, and it is recognized as an important release in both the series and the platform genre. Many characters and concepts introduced in Adventure recur in later Sonic games. Sonic Adventure 2 was released in 2001. Adventure was ported to the GameCube and Windows in 2003 with modernized graphical choices, more challenges and additional content, while a high-definition version

11534-585: The best of the Sonic series. Several journalists ranked the game among the series's best, but Kotaku argued the addition of voice acting and greater focus on plot changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept". Many of Sonic Adventure ' s designs and concepts were reused in later Sonic games. The direction, basic gameplay, and Uekawa's modernized character designs became series staples. The first level in

11692-402: The biggest challenges the Adventure designers faced was transitioning Sonic 's 2D style to 3D. In the Genesis Sonic games, the player simply had to go right to reach the end of a level, but in Sonic Adventure they could move in every direction. The designers created models for the stages before testing it as the player character, resulting in trial and error. This made Iizuka realize

11850-400: The characters equal playtime. Like its predecessor, Sonic Adventure 2 received positive reviews. A concept for Sonic Adventure 3 was reworked into the 2008 game Sonic Unleashed . In 2017, Iizuka stated there were no plans for a third Sonic Adventure game, saying it would not advance the series's design. He did not rule out the idea, saying "If we can get the gameplay to evolve and get to

12008-424: The completed level designs, Iizuka and Naka decided to repurpose them for other player characters. Iizuka said they felt it would be "a waste if Sonic just quickly ran through the levels that we spent so much time creating". The first characters besides Sonic added to the game were Tails and Knuckles; Tails's stages turned portions of Sonic's levels into races, while Knuckles's treasure-hunting missions were designed as

12166-415: The concept to Naka, who was impressed. Chaos was originally intended to have realistic blue scales in his final form, but this was abandoned because of the technological constraints of the Dreamcast. While some Sonic games, such as 1993's Sonic CD , contained limited voice work, Sonic Adventure was the first Sonic game to feature extensive voice acting . The decision was made early in development as

12324-589: The console as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in North America, along with Super Mario World , while Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis . Sonic showcased a new style of design made possible by a new generation of hardware: large stages that scrolled in all directions, curved hills, loops, and a physics system allowing players to rush through its levels with well-placed jumps and rolls. Sega characterized Sonic as

12482-423: The console specifically for Sonic Adventure . According to former Sega of America producer Mark Subotnick, Naka canceled Geist Force , an on-rails shooter that was planned as a Dreamcast launch game , so he could use its proprietary software for Sonic Adventure . Sonic Team felt challenged by the new hardware to recreate Sonic and his world in a new way. They began development using the character designs from

12640-421: The criteria of a platformer, and was billed as an action adventure . It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D , in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between. Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute , with bringing Sonic

12798-419: The earlier Clockwork Knight . The game plays very similarly to 2D platformers, but lets players walk up walls and on ceilings. In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback . Entitled Fade to Black , it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platformer series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet

12956-498: The endeavor; his refusal to let STI use the Nights game engine was instrumental in X-treme 's cancellation. Due to the lack of Sonic games on the Saturn, according to Retro Gamer , Sonic became part of the "background" by mid-1997, so "it was astonishing to see that, just six years after his debut, Sonic was already retro." Nights into Dreams designer Takashi Iizuka felt that Sonic fans had been let down because Sonic Team

13114-514: The environments, "giving the player an element of discovery in addition to the platforming". The team also wanted to add elements unexpected in a platform game; for example, the level in which Tails sandboards was inspired by a group of sandboarders in Ica, Peru . Some levels reference past Sega games, such as Ice Cap (1994's Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ) and the Tornado levels (1995's Panzer Dragoon ). When seeing

13272-444: The first Sonic the Hedgehog game to feature full 3D gameplay. X-treme suffered a series of setbacks and was canceled in 1996. The cancellation is an important factor in the Saturn's commercial failure , leaving it with no original Sonic platform game. Meanwhile, Naka and Sonic Team developed original Saturn games, such as Nights into Dreams (1996). Naka wanted a 3D Sonic game, but felt that only Sonic Team should undertake

13430-521: The first award for Best Platform game in 1984 from Crash magazine. Later that same year, Epyx released Impossible Mission , and Parker Brothers released Montezuma's Revenge , which further expanded on the exploration aspect. The first platformer to use scrolling graphics came years before the genre became popular. Jump Bug is a platform-shooter developed by Alpha Denshi under contract for Hoei/Coreland and released to arcades in 1981, only five months after Donkey Kong . Players control

13588-468: The first fully 3D Sonic platform game, Sonic Adventure was highly anticipated. It received critical acclaim, and Computer and Video Games ( CVG ) called it one of the greatest video games of all time . Sonic Adventure won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award in the "Favorite Sega Dreamcast Game" category, and it was a runner-up for GameSpot ' s annual "Best Console Platform Game" award, which went to Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999). The game

13746-580: The first time in-game. Similarly, he avoided referring to Tails as "Miles", which he was commonly called in Japan. Because Sonic Adventure was a Dreamcast launch game, the team strove to demonstrate the console's capabilities with realistic graphics. To achieve a more realistic feel for the environments, the core members of Sonic Team visited temples, jungles, and ancient ruins in Mesoamerican landscapes, including Cancún , Guatemala , and Peru . While Sonic Team members had to draw artwork by hand for games in

13904-530: The foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation . In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story , Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , Goemon's Great Adventure , and Mischief Makers —and most met with a tepid response from critics at

14062-464: The game a greater sense of speed than other platformers at the time, while its sequel, Wonder Boy in Monster Land added action-adventure and role-playing elements. Wonder Boy in turn inspired games such as Adventure Island , Dynastic Hero , Popful Mail , and Shantae . One of the first platformers to scroll in all four directions freely and follow the on-screen character's movement

14220-576: The game could save the Dreamcast, which had not sold well by the end of 1998. CVG also thought it could re-establish Sega as the dominant console manufacturer after the relatively unsuccessful Saturn. In 2001, Sega announced it would transition from a first-party to a third-party software publisher, in response to the international failures of the Saturn and Dreamcast. Wanting to reach new players by creating an enhanced version of one of its older games, in June 2003 Sega released Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut ,

14378-400: The game in only a day or two but, even then, the ride is worth the price of admission." AllGame wrote that the game was an impressive showing of the Dreamcast's potential and that it was among the best of the series. Edge said its criticisms such as scenery pop-up and instances of poor collision detection are "minor flaws in an otherwise very fine piece of work". Arcade and CVG speculated

14536-468: The game in total. Sonic Team undertook development in conjunction with the Dreamcast, aiming to release the game in December 1998, even if it meant making improvements after release. Developing Sonic Adventure at the same time as the system, which was not completed until two months before the game's release, gave Iizuka influence over the console's development; for example, he was able to request more RAM for

14694-556: The game play style different. Characters can learn new abilities or augment existing ones over the course of a match by collecting experience points. Choosing a character who complements the player's teammates and counters their opponents opens up a strategy before the beginning of the match itself. Playable characters blend a variety of fantasy tropes, featuring numerous references to popular culture and mythology . In both tabletop role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy ,

14852-421: The game was more story-focused than previous Sonic games. Sonic Team's staff had differing opinions about how Sonic should sound. Iizuka recalled that the only element they agreed on was to avoid using an anime voice actor, favoring a film actor with an "over-the-top" voice. Sonic Team cast Jun'ichi Kanemaru as Sonic. In an interview celebrating his 30th anniversary as a voice actor, Kanemaru said one reason he

15010-399: The game was released on Steam in Japan, having never been made available in the region previously through the platform. The release was teased in December 2023. With most contemporary 3D platform games focusing on exploration and collecting items, Sonic Adventure stood out with its linear gameplay. According to GamesRadar , as one of the first sixth-generation console games, it changed

15168-451: The game. Some games, such as multiplayer online battle arena , hero shooter , and fighting games , offer a group of player characters for the player to choose from, allowing the player to control one of them at a time. Where more than one player character is available, the characters may have distinctive abilities and differing styles of play. A player character may sometimes be based on a real person, especially in sports games that use

15326-498: The gameplay from its precursor but traded the frog-like mech for a cartoony rabbit mech called Robbit. The title was successful enough to get two sequels and is remembered for being the first 3D platformer on a console. Rob Fahey of Eurogamer said Jumping Flash was perhaps "one of the most important ancestors of every 3D platformer in the following decade." It holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records . Another early 3D platformer

15484-413: The gamer progresses and gains rank and experience points through accomplishing goals or fighting enemies. In many sports games , player characters are often modelled after real-life athletes , as opposed to fictional characters. This is particularly the case for sports simulation games , whereas many arcade-style sports games often have fictional characters instead. A secret or unlockable character

15642-452: The genre continued to maintain its popularity, with many games released for the handheld Game Boy and Game Gear systems. By the time the Genesis and TurboGrafx-16 launched, platformers were the most popular genre in console gaming. There was a particular emphasis on having a flagship platform title exclusive to a system, featuring a mascot character. In 1989, Sega released Alex Kidd in

15800-413: The genre, such as Super Mario Bros. (1985). Donkey Kong spawned other games with a mix of running, jumping, and vertical traversal, a novel genre that did not match the style of games that came before it, leaving journalists and writers to offer their own terms. Computer and Video Games magazine, among others, referred to the genre as "Donkey Kong-type" or "Kong-style" games. "Climbing games"

15958-413: The graphics were only marginally different, and dissatisfied with its collision detection. GameSpot offered some praise for the extra features, such as the missions, but concluded players were better off playing the Dreamcast version. IGN agreed, calling it "a sloppy port of a game that has long been undeserving of its high praise." IGN noted its frequent frame rate drops and described its camera one of

16116-510: The importance of the game's camera . Some levels, such as the Lost World, were rebuilt dozens of times. Sonic Team split levels into parts to save memory. One particular difficulty was defeating enemies; in the 2D games, enemies were beaten simply by jumping on them, but this was harder to achieve in a 3D game. Therefore, Sonic was given the ability to target enemies in mid-air. Iizuka said the cinematic sequences were conceived to take advantage of

16274-479: The level clear jingle was taken from Sonic 3 . He chose to reuse his 3D Blast tracks because he felt they were strong enough to be more widely heard, as they were only used for the Genesis version (which was not released in Japan). Senoue composed several songs with English lyrics to highlight the various characters' personalities, and collaborated with Tokoi and Kumatani to polish them. The main theme, "Open Your Heart",

16432-454: The levels were open and had objectives. Completing objectives earned the player stars, and stars were used to unlock more levels. This approach allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for exploration, but it meant less jumping and more action-adventure . Even so, a handful of boss levels offered more traditional platforming. Until then there was no settled way to make 3D platformers, but Super Mario 64 inspired

16590-451: The main character new abilities for overcoming adversities. Most games of this genre consist of multiple levels of increasing difficulty that may be interleaved by boss encounters, where the character has to defeat a particularly dangerous enemy to progress. Simple logical puzzles to resolve and skill trials to overcome are other common elements in the genre. A modern variant of the platform game, especially significant on mobile platforms,

16748-489: The maze game, Namco's 1984 Pac-Land is a bidirectional, horizontally-scrolling, arcade video game with walking, running, jumping, springboards, power-ups , and a series of unique levels. Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani described the game as "the pioneer of action games with horizontally running background." According to Iwatani, Shigeru Miyamoto described Pac-Land as an influence on the development of Super Mario Bros. . Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. , released for

16906-405: The more linear 3D platformers like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that limited player control. Games with more open environments like Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie used intelligent cameras that followed the player's movements. Still, when the view was obstructed or not facing what the player needed to see, these intelligent cameras needed to be adjusted by

17064-441: The most annoying to feature in a video game. AllGame was conflicted; they appreciated Tails's portrayal but found Sonic's and Knuckles's voices unfitting. GameSpot and AllGame praised the rock-style music, but Game Revolution described the score as "absolutely horrible". The gameplay was generally praised. GameSpot admired the straightforward, linear approach to the 3D platform genre and particularly praised it for keeping

17222-414: The most graphically impressive platform game released up to that date, praising its cinematic sequences and describing it as "engrossing, demanding, and utterly awe-inspiring". GameSpot agreed and said only Soulcalibur ' s graphical quality surpassed that of Sonic Adventure . Edge felt the graphical features showed off the Dreamcast's potential to the fullest and that the game was "perfect" as

17380-536: The names and likenesses of real athletes. Historical figures and leaders may sometimes appear as characters too, particularly in strategy or empire building games such as in Sid Meier 's Civilization series. Such a player character is more properly an avatar as the player character's name and image typically have little bearing on the game itself. Avatars are also commonly seen in casino game simulations. In many video games, and especially first-person shooters ,

17538-526: The new wave of consoles. In the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, the Amiga was a strong gaming platform with its custom video hardware and sound hardware . The Atari ST was solidly supported as well. Games like Shadow of the Beast and Turrican showed that computer platformers could rival their console contemporaries. Prince of Persia , originally a late release for the 8-bit Apple II in 1989, featured

17696-462: The option to unlock emulations of all 12 Sonic games released for the Game Gear . Additionally, Metal Sonic can be unlocked as a playable character if all 130 emblems are collected. These features were added to appeal to players of the original game. Sonic Adventure DX received mixed reviews. GameSpot was disappointed the rerelease did not address the problems of the original version, irritated

17854-504: The other characters fit this new art style. Hoshino noted that the characters' longer limbs made it easier to recreate their 2D poses in 3D. Sonic Adventure features two new playable characters, Big and Gamma. Sonic Team had already implemented an in-game fishing rod with no context or use, leading to the creation of Big. Big was designed to be giant and relaxed so the player would not expect something more intense. Gamma and his playstyle were created in response to fans who wanted elements of

18012-420: The other characters. Hero shooters strongly encourage teamwork between players on a team, guiding players to select effective combinations of hero characters and coordinate the use of hero abilities during a match. Multiplayer online battle arena games offer a large group of viable player characters for the player to choose from, each of which having distinctive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses to make

18170-518: The other robots in his series, sacrificing himself in the process. Tails foils Robotnik's contingency plan to destroy Station Square via a missile strike. Although Sonic disrupts Robotnik's plans, Chaos absorbs the Chaos Emeralds, transforms into Perfect Chaos, rebels against Robotnik and destroys Station Square. Through flashbacks from Tikal, who was also released from the Master Emerald, Sonic realizes that Chaos has been in constant torment and sorrow, and that imprisoning it again will not stop it. He uses

18328-678: The past, for Sonic Adventure they were able to use photographs taken during their visits as textures . The greatest influences were the Tikal ruin in Guatemala and Machu Picchu in Peru. The character Tikal was inspired by Peru and took her name from the Guatemalan ruins. The 3D visuals were created using a Voodoo2 graphics chip. The levels were designed to feature gameplay similar to the original Genesis games and to take at least five minutes to complete. One of

18486-408: The platform-action game, Valis , which contained anime -style cut scenes . In 1987, Capcom 's Mega Man introduced non-linear level progression where the player is able to choose the order in which they complete levels. This was a stark contrast to both linear games like Super Mario Bros. and open-world games like Metroid . GamesRadar credits the "level select" feature of Mega Man as

18644-416: The play area. Nintendo 's flagship Super Mario Bros. (1985) was a defining game for the nascent genre, with horizontally scrolling levels and the player controlling a named character—Mario, which became a mascot of the company. The term platform game gained traction in the late 1980s, as did the alternate form platformer . During their peak of popularity, platformers were estimated to comprise between

18802-549: The player around and aid in battle. In 1990, Hudson Soft released Bonk's Adventure , with a protagonist positioned as NEC 's mascot. The following year, Takeru's Cocoron , a late platformer for the Famicom allowed players to build a character from a toy box filled with spare parts. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, along with the eagerly anticipated Super Mario World . The following year, Nintendo released

18960-425: The player character is a "blank slate" without any notable characteristics or even backstory . Pac-Man , Crono from Chrono Trigger , Link from The Legend of Zelda , Chell from Portal , and Claude from Grand Theft Auto III are examples of such characters. These characters are generally silent protagonists . Some games will go even further, never showing or naming the player character at all. This

19118-485: The player engages Robotnik or Chaos in a boss fight and must deplete the boss's health meter to proceed. Each character starts with a limited number of lives , and the player loses a life if the character drowns, gets crushed, or is hit without any rings in their possession. The game ends when the player runs out of lives. Lives can be replenished by collecting 100 rings or a 1-up . Players may also discover Chao Gardens, hidden, protective environments inhabited by Chao ,

19276-508: The player is usually addressed as "general", "commander", or another military rank. In gaming culture, such a character was called Ageless, Faceless, Gender-Neutral, Culturally Ambiguous Adventure Person, abbreviated as AFGNCAAP; a term that originated in Zork: Grand Inquisitor where it is used satirically to refer to the player. Character action games (also called character-driven games, character games or just action games) are

19434-405: The player more control over the character and the camera. To render a 3D environment from any angle the user chose, the graphics hardware had to be sufficiently powerful, and the art and rendering model of the game had to be viewable from every angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to make such games but introduced several new issues. For example, if the player could control

19592-993: The player. In the 1990s, RPGs , first-person shooters , and more complex action-adventure games captured significant market share. Even so, the platformer thrived. Tomb Raider became one of the bestselling series on the PlayStation , along with Insomniac Games ' Spyro and Naughty Dog 's Crash Bandicoot , one of the few 3D games to stick with linear levels. Moreover, many of the Nintendo 64 's bestsellers were first- and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64 , Banjo-Kazooie , and Donkey Kong 64 . On Windows and Mac , Pangea Software 's Bugdom series and BioWare 's MDK2 proved successful. Several developers who found success with 3D platformers began experimenting with titles that, despite their cartoon art style, were aimed at adults. Examples include Rare 's Conker's Bad Fur Day , Crystal Dynamics 's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver , and Shiny Entertainment 's Messiah . In 1998, Sega produced

19750-521: The popularity of Sega's flagship franchise of 2D platform games, Sonic the Hedgehog . During this time, series co-creator Yuji Naka worked with Sega Technical Institute (STI) in the United States to develop Sonic games. After the completion of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, Naka returned to Japan to work with Sonic Team . STI began developing Sonic X-treme for the Sega Saturn , planned as

19908-462: The port for what they called its slapdash quality, criticizing its display, controls, and dated design, and saying that it "feels like it wasn't even tuned for the Xbox 360 controller and its analog sticks." Destructoid was less harsh, writing that fans of the franchise would be able to enjoy the game but warning casual players that "all you'll find is a relic that was once considered greatness." In 2024,

20066-509: The rest of Sonic Team on August 22, 1998, at the Tokyo International Forum . The team showed off several dynamic elements, such as a chase sequence from the first level and Tails's sandboarding sequence. The presentation ended with a live performance of "Open Your Heart" alongside a RealVideo clip montage. Naka described the debut as intense, having "[given his] all" to make it fit for release. On December 23, 1998, Sonic Adventure

20224-482: The rules of the game. The characters that are not controlled by a player are called non-player characters (NPCs). The actions of non-player characters are typically handled by the game itself in video games, or according to rules followed by a gamemaster refereeing tabletop role-playing games . The player character functions as a fictional, alternate body for the player controlling the character. Video games typically have one player character for each person playing

20382-417: The seven Chaos Emeralds and the entity Chaos . Six player characters are unlocked as the game progresses, each with their own story and attributes. Sonic the Hedgehog performs a spin dash, homing attack, and light-speed dash; Miles "Tails" Prower flies, swims, and attacks robots using his tails; Knuckles the Echidna glides, climbs walls, and punches; Amy Rose can defeat enemies using her hammer; Big

20540-433: The similarly linear Crash Bandicoot but felt Sonic Adventure was more confined. Still, they praised the gameplay as varied and said its replay value was strong. The journalists Rusel DeMaria and Johnny L. Wilson retrospectively wrote Sonic Adventure was not as strong as Super Mario 64 and "failed to catch on with players in nearly the way that [ Mario ] had done", though it had fascinating features, such as "the use of

20698-492: The six characters—each with their own abilities—players complete levels to progress the story. Sonic Adventure retains many elements from prior Sonic games, such as power-ups and the ring -based health system. Players can play minigames such as racing and interact with Chao , a virtual pet . Sonic Team began developing Sonic Adventure in 1997, after the cancellation of the Sega Saturn game Sonic X-treme . Led by director Takashi Iizuka and producer Yuji Naka ,

20856-455: The songs helped define Knuckles and Amy's personalities, as they had not received much character development in Sonic games until Adventure . A two-disc soundtrack, Sonic Adventure "Digi-LOG Conversation" Original Sound Track , was released in Japan in January 1999. In May 2011, the soundtrack was rereleased to commemorate the Sonic franchise's 20th anniversary. A two-volume digital soundtrack

21014-496: The team strove to reinvent Sonic for the 3D era of video games. Adventure features a stronger emphasis on storytelling and role-playing elements in contrast to previous Sonic games, while Yuji Uekawa redesigned the series's characters for their transition to 3D. Sonic Team attempted to demonstrate the technical prowess of the Dreamcast with realistic graphics and drew inspiration from locations in Peru and Guatemala . The soundtrack

21172-441: The time. Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US, and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release. The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers , while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on

21330-531: The top down perspective, Frogger (1981) as climbing games. In a December 1982 Creative Computing review of the Apple II game Beer Run , the reviewer used a different term: "I'm going to call this a ladder game, as in the 'ladder genre,' which includes Apple Panic and Donkey Kong ." That label was also used by Video Games Player magazine in 1983 when it named the Coleco port of Donkey Kong "Ladder Game of

21488-437: The video game industry internationally. The following year, Donkey Kong received a sequel, Donkey Kong Jr. and later Mario Bros. , a platformer with two-player cooperative play . It laid the groundwork for other two-player cooperative games such as Fairyland Story and Bubble Bobble . Beginning in 1982, transitional games emerged with non-scrolling levels spanning multiple screens. David Crane's Pitfall! for

21646-442: The virtual pet's look changes form as it evolves. Sonic Adventure ' s score was primarily composed by Jun Senoue , with additional music by Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi, and Masaru Setsumaru . Adventure was Senoue's first project as sound director and its scope meant he had many more responsibilities, including schedule management, compared to his previous games. Despite this, Senoue said he did not feel much pressure, as he

21804-455: The visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D. The first such game was Saturn launch title , Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country . Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between

21962-428: The way. These games are either presented from the side view, using two-dimensional movement, or in 3D with the camera placed either behind the main character or in isometric perspective . Typical platforming gameplay tends to be very dynamic and challenges a player's reflexes, timing, and dexterity with controls. The most common movement options in the genre are walking, running, jumping, attacking, and climbing. Jumping

22120-480: The world." The hub worlds' emphasis on exploring to find new areas and power-ups was inspired by The Legend of Zelda . When seeing the completed level designs, Iizuka and Naka decided to repurpose them for other player characters. According to Iizuka, the team tried to include as much content as possible. One addition was the Chao-raising system, which Iizuka conceived to take advantage of the VMU. Sonic Team had used

22278-415: The worst character in the Sonic franchise, and was named one of the worst game characters in a poll conducted by 1UP.com . On October 4, 1999, Sega announced that a sequel to Sonic Adventure was in development. Sonic Adventure 2 made its debut at E3 2000 and was released in June 2001. The sequel was designed to be more action-oriented than the slower-paced, story-centric Adventure and to give all

22436-513: The worst in a video game. IGN said the connectivity to the GBA Sonic games added depth but concluded this was not enough to compensate for the port's problems. Nintendo World Report was more positive, praising the Game Gear games for retaining their multiplayer support and finding Sonic and Tails' gameplay enjoyable. In September 2010, Sega rereleased Sonic Adventure as a downloadable game for

22594-413: Was Floating Runner , developed by a Japanese company called Xing and released for PlayStation in early 1996, before the release of Super Mario 64 . Floating Runner uses D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64 , which is a game that set the standard for 3D platformers. It let the player explore 3D environments with greater freedom than

22752-408: Was "horrendously buggy", singling out falling through floors and getting stuck, but also said the sheer amount of content made up for this. GameSpot thought Sonic Adventure redefined the possibilities of the platform genre, and according to CVG , "many things you thought were impossible to see and experience in computer games are now here". According to Next Generation , "Expert gamers may beat

22910-464: Was a Sonic fan and had contributed to previous games' soundtracks. In contrast to previous Sonic games, which featured electropop soundtracks, the Adventure sound team preferred "hot, funky , and rock 'n' roll " music. Iizuka noted that Sonic Team's primary goal with Adventure was "to evoke the essence of Sonic by going from 2D to 3D", and felt the music needed to exceed fan expectations due to previous Sonic soundtracks' popularity. He stated

23068-465: Was a finalist for " Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering " during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards , which went to Unreal Tournament . The visuals and presentation attracted acclaim. Arcade described it as a "quantum leap forward" in aesthetics and visual detail in video games, and Hyper estimated it exceeded graphics of high-end personal computers. IGN called it

23226-497: Was a primary way to attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform or released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West. The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal . An early title for Sony's new PlayStation console, Jumping Flash! , released in April 1995, kept

23384-454: Was also released on iTunes and Spotify in September 2014 and January 2017, respectively. Brave Wave Productions released a vinyl LP version of the soundtrack including interviews with Senoue and Iizuka in 2018. Sonic Adventure was kept a secret during production, though screenshots were leaked in mid-1998 and plans for a 3D Sonic game had long been rumored. It was unveiled by Naka and

23542-546: Was cast was because of his ability to speak English. After Sonic Team USA was formed, they hired American actors to translate the Japanese script. The English-language voice cast consists of Ryan Drummond as Sonic, Corey Bringas as Tails, Michael McGaharn as Knuckles, Jennifer Douillard as Amy, Jon St. John as Big and E-102 Gamma, and Deem Bristow as Robotnik. Iizuka used Sonic Adventure to introduce Robotnik's Japanese name, "Dr. Eggman", to western audiences; he accomplished this by having Sonic insult Robotnik when they meet for

23700-521: Was found in any previous game in the genre. With this in mind, Nintendo put an analog control stick on its Nintendo 64 controller, a feature that had not been seen since the Vectrex but which has since become standard. The analog stick provided the fine precision needed with a free perspective. In most 2D platformers, the player finished a level by following a path to a certain point, but in Super Mario 64 ,

23858-418: Was not focusing on the series. Additionally, Kazuyuki Hoshino , who would serve as art director on Sonic Adventure , said he thought during the Saturn era Sonic had become outdated. In August 1996, shortly after the completion of Nights into Dreams , Iizuka proposed Sonic Adventure as a role-playing-style Sonic game with a greater emphasis on storytelling. Sonic Team started to work on it in April 1997 on

24016-441: Was noted as a major departure from the gameplay of the series. GameSpot wrote that "while really just a diversion", the Chao were an interesting, fun addition, singling out their internet functions as a highlight. AllGame said the Chao helped increase the replay value, although it was "strange", required patience, and did not provide bonuses in the main game. Game Revolution called the Chao "a neat addition" and praised its use of

24174-509: Was performed by Hardline 's Johnny Gioeli ; other songs were performed by Gioeli, Marlon Saunders, Dred Foxx, Ted Poley , Nikki Gregoroff, and Tony Harnell . Sonic Adventure marked Senoue's first collaboration with Gioeli; the two later formed the band Crush 40 (originally known as Sons of Angels), and continue to make music together. Iizuka was inspired to use "Open Your Heart" as the final boss music by films, which he noted often use main themes during dramatic events. Iizuka also felt that

24332-579: Was primarily composed by Jun Senoue , who preferred rock music over the electropop of previous Sonic games. Following its reveal at the Tokyo International Forum in August 1998, Sonic Adventure was highly anticipated and was released in Japan in December 1998, North America in September 1999, and Europe in October 1999. It received critical acclaim and became the Dreamcast's bestseller, with 2.5 million copies sold by August 2006. Reviewers considered Adventure

24490-431: Was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2010 and for Windows in 2011. Reviews for these releases were less positive; critics felt the game had not aged well and ran at an inconsistent frame rate . Sonic Adventure is a 3D platform game with action and role-playing elements. Players control one of six anthropomorphic protagonists as they venture to defeat Doctor Robotnik and his robot army, who seeks

24648-456: Was released in Japan. The Japanese version shipped with many glitches ; according to Iizuka, this was because the game was produced on a tight schedule, so Sonic Team did not have time to fix them. Several members of Sonic Team flew to Sega of America to establish Sonic Team USA and patch and translate the game. Prior to the launch of the Dreamcast in the United States, Sega made an exclusive deal with Hollywood Video to allow customers to rent

24806-418: Was the first game to allow players to jump over obstacles and gaps. It is widely considered to be the first platformer. It introduced Mario under the name Jumpman. Donkey Kong was ported to many consoles and computers at the time, notably as the system-selling pack-in game for ColecoVision , and also a handheld version from Coleco in 1982. The game helped cement Nintendo's position as an important name in

24964-534: Was used in Steve Bloom's 1982 book Video Invaders and 1983 magazines Electronic Games (US)—which ran a cover feature called "The Player's Guide to Climbing Games"—and TV Gamer (UK). Bloom defined "climbing games" as titles where the player "must climb from the bottom of the screen to the top while avoiding and/or destroying the obstacles and foes you invariably meet along the way." Under this definition, he listed Space Panic (1980), Donkey Kong , and despite

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