Sonic Advance 3 (2004). Play online
Game Info
3.8 / 5
- Platform
- Game Boy Advance
- Genres
- Action · Platformer
- Player Perspective
- Third person
- Developer Companies
- Dimps
- Publishers
- THQ · Sega
- Release date
- 7 June 2004
- Languages
- 🇯🇵 Japanese
Summary
Sonic Advance 3 lets you tag‑team with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy or Cream, and each buddy brings a clear twist to the classic side‑scroller – Sonic amps up speed, Tails adds jump power, Knuckles boosts attack, Amy smashes with her hammer and Cream executes homing attacks with Cheese. The game splits the world into seven zones, each with three acts and a boss, and hidden Chao scattered throughout unlock special stages where Chaos Emeralds await.
Beyond solo runs, the GBA link cable opens up four‑player battle modes for racing and Chao‑collecting, which feels surprisingly robust for a handheld. Visually, the title mixes bright 2D sprites with clever pseudo‑3D rotation effects, earning praise for its colorful, angular style and upbeat tunes. Critics highlighted the replay value added by character abilities, and the game even nabbed Handheld Game of the Year at the 2004 Golden Joystick Awards, selling over 100,000 copies in the UK.
Storyline
Before the adventure begins, Doctor Eggman constructs a robotic assistant called Gemerl using parts from the destroyed Emerl. He then tries a Chaos Control experiment with the Chaos Emeralds, but the process backfires, ripping the planet apart. The fracture separates Sonic and Tails from Amy, Knuckles and Cream, while Eggman captures the scattered heroes and plans to build a mini‑empire on each world fragment. Determined to fix the mess, Sonic and Tails dash through the game’s seven stages, rescuing their friends and reclaiming the emeralds.
The showdown occurs at the Altar Emerald Temple. Defeating Eggman without all seven emeralds merely sends him and Gemerl plummeting, and Omochao snaps a photo of the five heroes. If the player has gathered every emerald, Gemerl transforms into a giant orb, but Sonic powers up into Super Sonic and, with Eggman’s reluctant aid, shatters the robot. Tails later repairs Gemerl’s broken body, and the story ends with Cream happily playing with the now‑friendly Gemerl at her mother Vanilla’s house.
Edited by Maya Carter
