| Game Reviews From a Parental Perspective! | |
|
|
|
| Home | Forums | Review Archive | Columns | Feature Articles |
|
Home >
Review Archive >
Video Games
> Results: Sonic Battle
Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Scroll down for our Kid Factor. 
Let the fur fly! One day, Sonic the Hedgehog finds a strange robot on the beach. After some investigating, Sonicﾒs pal Tails discovers that the robot has a special skill. This robot can copy and learn the fighting moves of anyone he sees. This special robot is powered by Chaos Emeralds, so Sonic names him ﾑEmerl.ﾒ After hearing this, the evil Dr. Eggman plans to capture Emerl, so Sonic and friends take it upon themselves to train Emerl to fight on their side and thwart Eggmanﾒs scheme.  Sonic Battle isnﾒt the first fighting game starring Segaﾒs blue mascot. A long time ago, there was a 3-D polygonal fighter called Sonic the Fighters. Sonic Battle is actually more akin to Power Stone or Super Smash Bros. Pick one of your favorite Sonic characters, like Tails, Knuckles, Cream, etc. and knock each other silly in 3-D battle arenas. Story Mode is the meat of Sonic Battle. Here youﾒll take control of each starring character as they take Emerl on an adventure. Emerl is a very important part of Sonic Battle as he is a fully customizable fighter. Each battle that Emerl participates in earns him two things: Skill Points and Move Cards. Skill Points are like experience points in RPGs. The more points you have, the more Move Cards you can equip to Emerl. Move Cards are special attacks that you can equip to Emerl. Each attack imitates one of the other charactersﾒ moves. Each and every characterﾒs punch, kick, special attackﾗeven fighting stancesﾗare cards that can be equipped to Emerl. Itﾒs your job to give Emerl the best cards to make him the strongest fighter around. You can mix and match movesﾗno two Emerls will be the same. This gameplay aspect makes Sonic Battle a lot deeper than most silly fighting games. You can also link up to other Game Boys for up to 4 player battles and arcade style mini games (like a Minesweeper clone). Graphics are bright and colorful and feature fully 3-D areas. Music is a little disappointing, but the characters have voice clips and well animated sprites. Play control is simple: A jumps, B attacks, R is for special moves and L blocks. Hold down the L button and you can charge up your life and power meters. Sometimes the play control isnﾒt as precise as it should be, and the game can be a little repetitive, but overall Sonic Battle is one of the best GBA fighters around.  Kid Factor: Kids will love being able to fight as their favorite Sonic characters, plus collecting and customizing Emerl with Move Cards is appealing as well. Sure Sonic Battle is a little violent in that you are knocking cute furry critters senseless, but itﾒs all very cartoony and no worse than Super Smash Bros. Since right now this is about as close as youﾒll get to Super Smash Bros. on Nintendoﾒs handheld, Sonic Battle comes highly recommended to Sonic freaks and silly fighter fans alike. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 6+ Genre: 3-D platformer ESRB Rating: E for Everyone Reviewer: Cary Woodham Producer: Sega Developer: Sonic Team Score: 4 stars Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Sonic Battle |
Read the GamerDad 2007 Holiday Guide!
|
Please Note: GamerDad is not intended to be read by anyone under 18. We stay clean, but be warned! Content Management System developed by Redbird Solutions. |
