Sonic Advance 2

The original Sonic Advance marked a huge point in videogame history: it was the first time Sega's key mascot made the move to a Nintendo system, as for years the blue hedgehog was one of Mario's key gaming competitors. The first Sonic game on a Nintendo system was also an excellent design, proving that there were no hard feelings involved in the move.
And because the original Sonic Advance was a huge success for Sega on the handheld, a sequel was inevitable. Just about one year later the team responsible for the game worked up a new adventure for the hedgehog and his pals, and this sequel, while looking very similar to the game released last year, offers a faster, deeper, and, of course, a more fun gaming experience than the original Sonic Advance.

First glances at Sonic Advance 2 and the previous release last year will lead folks to believe that the sequel is simply the original game with new levels. But once players head off into the first round, the differences are almost night and day. Sure, the games utilize similar engines for their side-scrolling gameplay, and character art assets have obviously been borrowed out of the original GBA game, but it's unfair to assume this game is just a rehash. The action is much faster and the graphics are more vibrant with tons more character animation to give the sequel a lot more personality.
The level designs in Sonic Advance 2 are far and away the biggest change to the Game Boy Advance series. Not only are these rounds absolutely massive, they're also balanced a lot better; players who found themselves frustrated by a strategically placed spike strip that "conveniently" pops up underfoot during a super speed sprint will definitely notice that these annoyances have been almost completely removed from play. The spike strips are still in the game (it's a Sonic staple, after all), but they're mostly positioned in locations that are clearly visible during some of the areas where players would be jumping and running at a more leisurely pace. Players still have to be quick with their jumping during a fast-paced run, since the crafty level designers put branching platforms all over the place...and the only way to get to certain areas in a level is to time the jumps perfectly to reach those particular platforms.
Just like the past games in the Sonic series, the idea is to run through the levels, collecting rings and defeating/avoiding enemies; taking a hit from a hazard will send all collected rings spilling all over the place, and without a ring in-hand, another hit will cause a painful death. All of the levels in this game feature their own network of platforms, tubes, rails, and other nifty platform elements that send our hero flying at top speed. In all honesty, Sonic Advance 2 isn't a terribly difficult game to beat the first time through. There aren't that many death gaps to fall into, or challenging jumps to perform. The first time through with Sonic will take only a couple of hours. But that's the absolute, bare minimum accomplishment in Sonic Advance 2.