Sonic Advance

Sonic Advance is a completely original product that expands upon an existing design. This Game Boy Advance product takes themes and ideas established in the original Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Genesis, all the while adding new elements brought up in his newer adventures on the Dreamcast. Sonic Advance is a strict side-scrolling platformer that moves through more than twelve different levels in six separate environments. The first couple of levels are pretty much laid-out so that Sonic can stretch his furry legs to see what he's made of, since there are tons of straight-aways, corkscrews, jumps, springs to push our hero into his hyper speed...it's what he's known for, and his blazing velocity is accurately represented on the Game Boy Advance screen with no blur whatsoever. Thank god for high refresh LCD screens. The task is a simple matter of getting to the end of the round unscathed. Take a hit, and any rings that Sonic's collected along the way explodes out of his grip...as long as he holds onto one ring, he'll survive any hit from an enemy.
Many, if not all, of the levels are set in same locations used in the classic Sonic the Hedgehog series. The levels themselves are completely original, but the areas themselves dictate all of the obstacles and challenges. Casino Paradise Zone, for example, is full of the familiar pinball machine mechanisms, sending our character bouncing around the world like, well, a pinball. In the Ice Mountain Zone, you'll need to find pockets of air to survive the underwater areas. There are new ideas as well, like the grind function -- find a downward sloping rail along the way and Sonic will be able to slide down it without any loss of speed. The Secret Base Zone puts the GBA's transparency capabilities to use early on in a clever spotlighting effect...luckily it doesn't last long since it's really hard to see beyond this effect on the GBA's screen.