The creation of Sonic Adventure 2 (SA2) was a logical step for SEGA after the great success its predecessor had. However, since then SEGA’s, financial woes had forced the company to become a software only company and as such, SA2 the distinction of being the last Sonic game on a SEGA console ever!

SA2 was such an impressive title it very much left people wondering why the Dreamcast suffered such an unfair fate.

Sonic Adventure 2 European Case
		Case Quote "The world can be a confusing and dangerous place, especially when there are two of you! Sonic must face the new, villainous hedgehog Shadow but you must choose how the story unfolds – you can be a hero, or make friends with the dark-side! In the most thrilling Sonic Adventure ever created there are 6 playable characters, new moves to master, over 30 challenging stages and 3 different 2-player games – will you save the world or conquer it?"

HISTORY

The original Sonic Adventure (SA) was a much welcome return for Sonic after several disappointing years prior. Following excellent reviews of the original, development on the sequel began very soon after at the newly established Sonic Team USA studio at SEGA's headquarters in San Francisco headed by Takashi Iizuka, a long term figure within the original Sonic Team. The game took approximately a year and a half to complete.

It was released globally on June 23rd 2001 as part of the 10 year anniversary of the original [Sonic The Hedgehog] and SEGA billed the game as the last Sonic game there would be for the Dreamcast which had seen its hardware production cease some six months prior.

The format of the game was altered to become more focused on action and along with changes to the gameplay two new long running characters of the series: Shadow The Hedgehog and Rouge The Bat were introduced. Also the Chao and Emblem systems were tweaked.

Gameplay changes aside, Sonic Team hugely improved the performance of the graphics engine, something that had irritated many people playing SA with its wildly fluctuating framerate. This was corrected with a smooth framerate and glorious effects that showed off the power of the console (especially through a VGA connection) but perhaps moreover showed what potential the system still had. Coupled with this was some of the best music accompanying a Sonic game ever which later inspired three soundtrack releases.

It was also an excellent example of the use of online functionality in a game, an emerging feature at the time and pretty much unique to the Dreamcast with new downloadable content made available during the games time in retail.

SA2 surpassed its predecessor by quite a way with fans, gamers and critics alike very impressed and it was affectionately regarded as one of the Dreamcast's send off titles.

However, at the same time SEGA's task to sort its finances and restructure had now recently began...SA2 would become a very important game for the company.

An upgraded version was released as a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube in 2002. Dubbed Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (SA2B) it had additional 2-Player modes, maps, many changes to the Chao system and unlockables. It supported 480p graphics for high definition displays of the day. It also was the first title to use the Gameboy Advance (GBA) link-up even beating Nintendo using it on their own system. For more information checkout the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle feature.

But, on the flip-side of the shock and horror felt by some SEGA and Sonic fans alike, the game had been released against the somewhat gloomy backdrop of SEGA's desperate reconstruction after becoming solely a third-party developer and goal to eventually return to profitability. Thankfully, SA2B sold very well and paved the way for future Sonic titles on Nintendo's platforms.

SA2/B have remained the last game in the 'Adventure' series which many fans cite as possibly Sonic's finest outing.

In 2011, some stages from SA2 were recreated in Sonic Generations; the game celebrating Sonic's 20^th Anniversary.

Since the original release in 2001 and the Gamecube release in 2002, there were no other ports of SA2 to the likes of the PC which puzzled some considering how well it was received but after much petitioning of SEGA, the game was released on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and PC complete with the high definition makeover in the autumn of 2012 (October 05 Europe) alongside another Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio as part of SEGA's Heritage Collection.

STORY

Sonic Adventure 2 Prologues
Hero Prologue It was just another ordinary day...until Sonic, hero of justice, is accosted by a secret military force known as G.U.N. Escaping the confines of a high security helicopter, Sonic leaps down into the city streets in an effort to flee from his captors. Suddenly, a mysterious black hedgehog appears in front of him, grasping a Chaos Emerald in his hands. Meanwhile, across the globe, unexplained incidents occur following the declaration of world conquest by Dr. Eggman himself. Once aware of the connection between Shadow and Dr. Eggman, Sonic begins his quest to stop their evil plan, helped along the way by his old friends: Tails and Knuckles.	Dark Prologue While searching for a top secret weapon known only as "Shadow", the evil genius, Dr. Eggman, penetrates the security of a high-level military base. Deep inside the compound, Dr. Eggman discovers that the weapon is actually a black hedgehog claiming himself to be the "ultimate life form", a creature known as "Shadow". Shadow invites Dr. Eggman to Space Colony ARK and reveals the Eclipse Cannon - an enormous weapon capable of destroying the world, more than enough to entice the evil genius to help out Shadow in his quest to conquer the world. Just as they begin to revel in their plan for destruction, the villains are startled by a menacing bat named Rouge who offers help as well. Thus the plot to conquer the world begins...
Prologues taken from European manual
Last Prologue On the Space Colony ARK, the Chaos Emeralds have triggered a program created to exact revenge on the ungrateful people of Earth orchestrated by a brilliant scientist (with links to current events) whom felt betrayed by the humans below, specifically the military (G.U.N). All must come together to prevent the global disaster but at what cost/sacrifice will fighting the ultimate life form have?

GAMEPLAY

Overview

SA2 is a full 3D construct following the basic principles of previous Sonic games and is presented in a more linear progression much like the old-skool games. The open Adventure Fields are gone and cut scenes between stages advance the story.

Initially, the game has two overlapping stories, "Hero" and "Dark" that both reach a final confrontation with each other. When both of these stories have been played out a third one will open which needs to use of all six characters played back-to-back to achieve the true ending.

In Hero and Dark stories, action is split among three characters creating three types of gameplay which although are taken from the original SA are now much more focused. At intervals between these stages will be boss fights.

Therefore, six playable characters are in the main game: three in each of the two stories hence a character in one story has a corresponding character in the other.

Big the Cat only makes cameo appearances in stages (some of which can be tricky to spot) and other familiar characters such as Amy and Big (secretly) only show up in cut scenes but are playable in certain 2-Player modes where more familiar characters can be unlocked for competition.

Amy Rose talks to imprisoned Sonic

[Shot of Big in City Escape/Green Forest and Amy in Cut Scene before Metal Harbour]

Cast of Characters

Sonic Adventure 2 Playable Characters
Hero Story	Dark Story
Sonic Abilities Grinding Homing Attack Somersault Spin Dash Light Dash Light Attack Bounce Attack Magic Hand	Shadow Abilities Grinding Homing Attack Somersault Spin Dash Light Dash Light Attack
High Speed Action Their stages are an adrenaline rush through an area where the mission objective is to reach the goal ring. These will offer some of the best action seen in Sonic games of the 3D variety.
Tails Abilities Volkan Cannon Lock-On Laser Propeller Punch/Punch Hover	Dr. Eggman Abilities Volkan Cannon Lock-On Laser Propeller Punch/Punch Hover
Lock-On Shooting Both characters have mechs armed with weapons to traverse the landscape or facility. In these stages, rings are around, however, an extra lifeline is an energy bar for their vehicle.
Knuckles Abilities Punch/Kick Climb Swim Spiral Uppercut/Screw Kick Dig Sunglasses/Treasure Scope	Rouge Abilities Punch/Kick Climb Swim Spiral Uppercut/Screw Kick Dig Sunglasses/Treasure Scope
Treasure Hunting The hunting will mostly involve collecting three fragments of the Master Emerald though there are stages that require finding keys.

As with SA, characters find level-up items (described below) for new abilities with one common among all the characters being Mystic Melody.

Other nuances include grinding making its first appearance as part of usual gameplay in a Sonic game.

The game is compatible with the jump pack/vibration pack (puru-puru) and the VGA connector.

Controls

Basic

Many controls are common between the characters. The default are:

The Analogue Stick will move your character around. A slight push will produce a walk whereas a full push will make them run. It is also used to steer them.

The physics will differ slightly with moving the mechs. They 'feel' heavier because they take longer to reach top speed and turn slower.

The D-Pad can be used to view around your character to a small degree.

BUTTON A is JUMP.

BUTTON B and X are ACTION for that character. There will be several. See below.

BUTTON Y switches between available character actions as there could be more than one.

LEFT-TRIGGER and RIGHT-TRIGGER rotates the camera. Useful for observing the surroundings.

START - Pauses the game and displays the menu. During this, Chaos Drives and animals your character has collected will be displayed in the bottom-right corner.

Actions (BUTTON B or X)

The action changes according to the situation. For example there will be a different action if already airborne. When there is more than one action that can be used, press BUTTON Y to change to another action. For example, in Chao World when standing next to your Chao BUTTON B could be to Pick, Pet or Whistle. BUTTON Y selects between these actions.

The following actions are basic actions characters start out with. More actions are available after finding level-up items for which instructions will be given on screen at the time of collection. Each characters actions are similar to their counterpart (i.e. Sonic/Shadow, Tails/Dr. Eggman, Knuckles/Rouge). See abilities above.

Sonic/Shadow

Somersault/roll: To get through small gaps or break containers.

Spin Dash: Hold BUTTON B and then release to roll at high speed. Can kill enemies. Cannot break boxes!

Homing Attack: BUTTON A while airborne to lock-on and attack nearby enemies. This can be done to attack a series of nearby enemies. It is an essential skill to master.

Grinding: After landing on a grind rail, BUTTON A jumps, BUTTON B is crouch and the Analogue stick is to balance.

Tails/Dr. Eggman

Volkan Cannon: BUTTON B will fire their mechs weapon which can break containers and some objects. Hold this button and use the analogue stick to move the reticule to target enemies nearby. Release BUTTON B to fire at them simultaneously.

Punch: BUTTON B when near the enemy.

Knuckles/Rouge

Punch/Kick. BUTTON B. Can destroy enemies and break objects such as containers.

Gliding: Hold BUTTON A whilst airborne. Good for moving to other platforms or travelling long distances.

Climbing: Glide onto a wall to stick to it. Note that not all walls can be climbed. Move around with the analogue stick.

Swim: BUTTON B dives and BUTTON A returns to the surface. By default, there is a limited oxygen supply and you must come up for air.

On-Screen

Onscreen indicators will vary slightly between the different types of gameplay:


Sonic/Shadow	Tails/Dr. Eggman

Score Elapsed Time Number of Collected Rings Remaining Lives Action for BUTTON B Small Animals and Chaos Drives Collected	Score Elapsed Time Number of Collected Rings Remaining Lives Action for BUTTON B Small Animals and Chaos Drives Collected Health Gauge
Knuckles/Rouge	Kart Racing

Score Elapsed Time Number of Collected Rings Remaining Lives Objectives Collected Action for BUTTON B Small Animals and Chaos Drives Collected Treasure Radar	Elapsed Time Time Limit Number of Collected Rings Remaining Lives Time Elapsed to Reach the checkpoint

Score and time are linked to a grading system.

Stage Contents

SA2 contains many recognisable elements from previous Sonic games. A brief rundown follows.

Stage Contents
Support Items	These are stored in various capsules and broken open by jump, kick/punch or shot.
High-Speed Shoes	These give a temporary speed boost.
Invincibility	For a short period of time enemies or hazards such as spikes, electricity and explosions can not hurt you.
Ring/s	Will give 5/10/20 rings.
Shield	This green orb will protect your character from one hit.
Magnetic Shield	This blue orb will protect your character from one hit and will attract all nearby rings.
Extra Life	Rewards an extra life. These are usually hidden. Will have a graphic of your character in the capsule.
Health	Restores the HP bar of the mech in Tails and Dr. Eggman stages.
Bomb	Instantly destroys all onscreen enemies.
Rings	As always, these serve as a lifeline. Collecting a hundred will grant an extra life. Like in SA, Sonic and Shadow can utilise lines of these for the Light Speed Dash. For Tails and Dr. Eggman stages, collecting rings will gradually recover lost HP/health on their mech/walker.
Point Markers	On High Speed Action and Lock-On Stages, there will be markers at points in the stages. Walking through these activates them saving the characters time and position. If the character dies they restart from this point with the time it was originally activated but with a score of zero which will then affect your grade. If having a certain amount of rings you will receive a bonus item. 90+ Shield 80+ Speed up 60+ 20 Rings 40+ 10 Rings 20+ 5 Rings
Objects
Springs	These can come individually or in arrays. They spring your character high into the air when touched. Sonic and Shadow can use the Homing Attack on them.
Dash Panel	Will give a temporary boost of speed and are essential for getting through loops and up very steep hills, ect.
Jump Plate	Will launch your character into the air with forward momentum. They are usually the only way to clear large gaps.
Pulley	Provide a lift to otherwise inaccessible areas. They are activated when your character touches them.
Giant Weights	They plunge down at speed and are equivalent to being hit by an enemy. Some will rise and fall in a pattern whereas others are essentially traps that activate when walked underneath. There maybe a switch nearby to permanently deactivate them. They may also be useful in reaching out of sight areas.
Switch	These are multi-function devices and can be used for opening doors, deactivating force fields or suspending weights amongst other things. To activate a switch a switch simply walk over it and it will light up. You may have to explore the surrounding area to see what the switch affected.
Rocket	When grabbed will transport your character a long distance almost instantly and let go automatically when the journey is over. They can be the only way to reach some areas.
Missile	To launch a missile simply step onto the green button adjacent. They are used to break open objects that maybe blocking your path, or to open a cage where a small animal maybe imprisoned.
Animals and Pipes	Hidden about each stage will be small animals that need to be rescued. Simply walk over them to add to your collection. They can be crawling about in certain places, hidden in containers, or captive in cages, however, they also like to hide inside pipes. By moving your character to the opening of the pipe and by pressing BUTTON X or B they will whistle down it and the animal will pop out. These animals can be deposited in a Chao Garden.
Chaos Drives	These crystalline objects are left behind after destroying robots. Walk over them to add to the characters collection. Deposit these in a Chao Garden.
Air Bubble	These are found underwater and replenishes a characters air supply to prevent drowning. Simply touch to absorb.
Goal Ring	Signifies the end of a stage on Sonic/Shadow and Tails/Dr. Eggman stages. Walk into it to proceed to next stage or Chao World. When completed, your score, time and rings collected out of the total available are displayed. Extra Points for Time Bonus (the shorter the better) are awarded. 10000 if t≤60s and -20t + 11200, t>60s. And you are graded. More detail below.
Containers	There are 5 types of containers. Some can not be broken by any characters.
Cage	Can only be destroyed by a missile or a bomb from Kiki [enemy]. They usually contain small animals but arrays of them can block your path.
Wooden	Can be broken by all characters. Usually empty but may contain a capsule or animal.
Iron	Can be broken by characters with the appropriate level-up item. Usually empty but may contain a capsule or animal.
Lead	These can not be broken by any characters but tend to be placed so that they get used as steps.
Chao Containers / Boxes	There are three of these blue boxes in each stage and any character can break them open without needing a level-up item. The first box will contain the Chao Key that grants access to Chao World at the end of the stage. The second will contain four small animals and the third will contain the special small animal for that stage.
Misc Breakables	These could be carts, barrels. pots, pods or walls which can be broken with the appropriate level-up item but may obscure an animal.
Hourglass	These need to be flipped over and temporarily opens doors. As the sand falls through the hourglass, the door will slowly close. These are only seen in two stages: Sonic in Pryamid Cave and Knuckle's Death Chamber. Sonic can use Homing Attack on them when very close by, Knuckles punches.
Others
Omochao	These little critters act as the guide through the game and will give tips and pieces of information about the contents of a stage. For example, the need to activate a switch or how many animals are hidden. To activate them, simply touch. They can be picked up and moved/harassed/thrown and will complain ha ha.
Gold Beetle	This is a gold version of one of the standard enemies. They only appear for a very brief period in a fixed location in each stage and are worth 1000 points when destroyed.
Ancient Shrine	These are used in conjunction with the Mystic Melody Level-Up item. When activated they can cause platforms, rings, and blue swirls to appear. These mostly open up a path to the Lost Chao and/or a shortcut.

Enemies

In each stage will be a variety of enemies with differing abilities. Enemies can be destroyed by using the attack method of your character. Generally they can be destroyed with one hit and will leave behind Chao Drives, small units of energy that can be taken to a Chao Garden.

Enemies in the form of robots of Eggman's invention will release an animal when broken open. These look just like the other animals hidden throughout each stage but will not count towards the goal of finding all of the hidden animals.

Scoring / Technique Points

During the course of play bonus points are awarded for good technique and the criteria is different in each stage.

Examples can be:

For Sonic and Shadow this will be for performing tricks from jump-boards (ramps) or continuous use of the homing attack.

For Tails and Dr. Eggman this will be for defeating more enemies in one spread with the Lock-On weapons.

For Knuckles and Rouge, the bonus depends on the number of hits you took. Less hits = more points.

The award is displayed in the top-left of the screen and will range from:


Super, Perfect!	2000
Extreme	1500
Awesome	1000
Tight	800
Radical	600
Cool	500
Jammin	400
Great	300
Nice	200
Good	100

Character Level-Up Items

Through the adventure characters will require new abilities. These will be granted by finding special items in the stages. These grant new abilities some of which will allow taking other routes through the stages.

Their locations and detail are in the table below.


Level-Up Item and Location	Ability	Requirements
Sonic
Magic Gloves found in City Escape	Enables Magic Hand	Bounce Bracelet Flame Ring
Light Shoes found in Metal Harbour	Enables Light Speed Dash	None
Ancient Light Green Forest	Enabled Light Attack	None
Bounce Bracelet found in Pyramid Cave	Enabled Bounce Attack	None
Flame Ring found in Crazy Gadget	Increases Somersault attack power and allows breaking of iron containers.	None
Mystic Melody found in Final Rush	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines.	None
Shadow
Flame Ring found in Radical Highway	Increases Somersault attack power and allows breaking of iron containers.	Air Shoes
Air Shoes found in White Jungle	Enables Light Dash	None
Ancient found in Sky Rail	Enables Light Attack	None
Mystic Melody found in Final Chase	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines.	None
Tails
Laser Blaster found in Prison Lane	Increases Lock-on missile attack power	Bazooka
Booster found in Mission Street	Enables hovering	None
Bazooka found in Eternal Engine	Increases Volkan Cannon attack power, breaks iron containers	None
Mystic Melody found in Hidden Base	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines.	Bazooka
Dr. Eggman
Laser Blaster found in Iron Gate	Increases Lock-on missile attack power	Large Cannon
Jet Engine found in Lost Colony	Enables Hovering	None
Large Cannon found in Weapons Bed	Increases Volkan Cannon attack power, breaks iron containers	None
Mystic Melody found in Sand Ocean	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines	Jet Engine
Knuckles
Shovel Claw found in Pumpkin Hill	Enables digging.	None
Air Necklace found in Aquatic Mine	Allows breathing underwater.	None
Hammer Gloves found in Death Chamber	Increases punch attack power, breaks iron container.	None
Sunglasses found in Meteor Herd	Allows Knuckles to see invisible items.	Hammer Gloves
Mystic Melody found in Wild Canyon	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines.	Shovel Claw
Rouge
Pick Nails found in Egg Quarters	Enables digging.	None
Treasure Scope found in Security Hall	Allows Rouge to see invisible items.	Iron Boots and Mystic Melody
Iron Boots found in Mad Space	Increases kick attack power, breaks iron container.	None
Mystic Melody found in Dry Lagoon	Plays mysterious melodies to activate ancient shrines	Pick Nails

As you may have noticed, Hero and Dark characters essentially collect the same items and obtain the same abilities.

Missions and Emblems

Emblems are awarded for satisfying certain conditions such as clearing a stage or winning at a Chao Race.

Each stage has five missions associated with it and an emblem is awarded when one is completed. The five missions are typically the same across the stages though there is some variation. They are:

Mission 1: Reach the Goal. These will be completed as a story is played through. You will find this is worded differently for plot reasons.

Mission 2: Collect 100 Rings.

Mission 3: Find the last Chao. This may require using Mystic Melody or some other character Power-Up.

Mission 4: Reach The Goal With in X time/Get the emerald pieces in X time.

Mission 5: Clear Hard Mode.

Some of the missions will require a character having obtained one or more of their upgrade items. For example, to complete Mission 4 Sonic may need to have obtained the Light Shoes for extra speed.

Performance will be graded from A (best) to E (worst) and the criteria for the grades will vary between the stages based upon points and time.

You can verify the emblems that you have collected by using the Emblem Results screen in the Extra part of the main menu.

Emblem Results

By collecting all 180 Emblems you are rewarded to a playable 3D rendition of Green Hill Zone!

Chao and Chao World

These water-shaped critters now have no role in games story unlike in SA and are now held separate from the rest of the game in Chao World, however, Chao Raising/Farming is much expanded and there are 10 emblems available as a reward for the effort.

Chao World itself is made of three areas:

Chao World Lobby

Chao Garden (Default)

Chao are found in the Chao Garden in spotted eggs initially. Upon hatching they are able to crawl but cannot swim. They feed on the fruit on the trees which characters can shake loose or others specially grown.

Chao Garden (Default)

Chao now sport 7 stats or traits in total. They are:

Speed, Power, Fly, Swim, Intelligence, Stamina and Luck.

During their childhood, the different animals and Chaos Drives found in the games main stages, increase and decrease the various stats on a Chao. For example, a gorilla will improve a Chao's strength and a yellow Chaos Drive will improve a Chao's swimming. It's appearance will also be effected.

However, in order to improve a Chao's Intelligence, Stamina and Luck, special fruit only found only in the Chao Adventure 2 mini-game (see below) must be acquired and bought to the Chao Garden.

Chao munching on a fruit found in Chao Adventure 2

When a Chao begins to grow up, it will cocoon and then transform. Depending on how the Chao was raised and treated during its childhood, it may become a generic Chao, a Hero Chao or a Dark Chao. These Hero and Dark Chao's will subsequently unlock the Hero Chao Garden or the Dark Chao Garden positioned vertically in the Chao Garden, akin to Heaven or Hell.

It is possible raise more than one Chao depending on space on your Visual Memory Unit (VMU) and take them to other players Chao Worlds.

The Chao Kindergarten is where Chao can be taken to be named, have its health and stats checked and learn new skills.

A Somewhat Raised Chao

It is possible to import Chao from SA but be warned its stats will be set to zero and it will no longer be usable back in SA.

Chao Adventure 2 (VMU Mini Game)

This game is available after transferring Chao to the VMU and removing it from the controller. It is a larger version of the first [Chao Adventure] found in SA with more of a focus on mini-games. Beware it will require 128 Blocks on your VMU.

Chao Adventure 2

Inside are collectable items and Chao can still be bred by connecting two VMU units together.

To begin the adventure press BUTTON A and BUTTON B together.

To quit the game press the QUIT BUTTON.

During play, if the Chao becomes tired or hungry it will stop its adventure. Give it a pat on the head or a snack to cheer it up and motivate it. The Chao may meet several people, some of whom make requests. Your Chao may even ask for your assistance.

The development of this adventure changes with the actions you select. Your Chao can be lead to the goal with the correct selections.

Menu Screen

Whilst in the Adventure, BUTTON A displays the menu screen. Use D-Pad UP and DOWN to select, BUTTON A to enter and BUTTON B to return.

It contains the following items:

Status - View Chao data.
Snack - Feed Chao with a snack.
Pat - Pat Chao on its head.
Scold - You may at times need to discipline your Chao...
Items - View or discard collected items.
Slots - Play a fruit-machine game. Match pictures of snacks to obtain them.
Hello - Connect two VMU's with Chao on and you may have a new egg...
Owner - View personal data of the owner of Chao. Name, age and sex.
Friend - View data of your friend's VMU (while in mating mode).
Options - Change various settings such as Chao name, edit players personal info (data exchange on/off) and toggle sound on or off.

Flying Fists Battle

When your Chao encounters an adversary Chao (bully) a battle begins. To punch press BUTTON A to stop the roulette that is displayed on the white bar. The Chao whose HP falls to zero looses the battle. If your Chao looses, it will loose the item that it carries.

Goal

There are two goals: a success goal or a failure goal. Reaching the goal with correct selections will result in a success goal and as a reward your Chao will receive a 'seed' which should be taken back to the Chao Garden.

These produce rare fruits. In order to plant these seeds, you need to first win the shovel and watering can in the beginner level Chao Races. After obtaining these two items, take the seed out of the VMU and give it to one of your Chao. The Chao will take it, plant it, perform a little dance and a small weed should appear. Eventually, it will grow into a tree that you can use to help improve your Chao stats.

Chao Racing

In the Chao Garden is the Chao Stadium where Chao can compete in a race. Up to eight can join a single race.

Chao Racing

Main Menu | Gameplay Modes

More gameplay modes become available depending on progress made in story mode and the total number of emblems collected. The Main Menu and its items are described.

1P-Play

Story

Begin or resume a story. If selecting a previously completed story then the option to select a scene is available.

Stage Select

Allows the playing of a mission on any previously completed stage. Chao Worlds can also be entered.

Kart Race

The Kart Race mini-game allows playing against the CPU or another player. The 1-Player version becomes available after completing the Kart Stage in either Hero or Dark Story Modes (Tails' Mission Street stage and Rouge's is Route 280 stage) and the 2-Player version is available when both are completed.

Shot 1, Shot 2

Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses based on the following:

Top Speed (SPD)
Acceleration (ACL)
Braking (BRK)
Grip (GRP)

The courses range in difficulty from: BEGINNER, STANDARD and EXPERT with a final DOWNLOAD option which accessed three courses High Speed Trial, Fantasy Zone, and EggRobo Toujou! from the official website (now obsolete).

When the race is underway, a 1 Player game uses the entire screen whereas 2-Player games use the top and bottom.

Three laps will be raced. By collecting 20 rings or more a short boost is available by pressing BUTTON Y.

Hidden karts can be opened for each character by collecting all of their mission emblems.

Boss

This mini-game pitches against the series of bosses in each story and compete for the best time. Either story must have been cleared for this mode to be available.

2P-Play

The three versus modes for 2-Players are unlocked after completing certain criteria in Story Mode. Note, if there is not a second controller plugged into the console the 2P option will be greyed out.

Action

Corresponding characters from Hero and Dark are able to play against each other in their respective fields/stages which are altered for competition in either a high-speed action race or combat. The goal for either player is to complete the stage before the other. Collect Rings to perform special attacks that hinder your opponent.

Race - Reach the goal ring. Split-screen.
Shooting - Destroy the other mech/walker or have them fall off the arena. (not split screen as its in an arena)
Hunting - Find two of the three emerald shards first. Split-screen.
Random - Automatically select a type of competition.
Stage Select - Select an arena for battle and then subsequently the type of competition.

There is an alternate costume for characters that can only be used in 2-Player mode. To make them available, all of their missions must have been completed with an "A" rank.

After getting all "A" ranks on a specific character's mission's, additional playable characters become available for 2-Player mode. See table below. They are: Amy and Metal Sonic whom compliment Sonic and Shadow; Chao and Dark Chao compliment Tails and Dr. Eggman; with Tikal and Chaos 0 complementing Knuckles and Rouge.


Character	How To Unlock
Amy Rose	Have all "A" ranks for Sonic.
Metal Sonic	Have all "A" ranks for Shadow.
Chao	Have all "A" ranks for Tails.
Big The Cat	Have all "A" ranks for Robotnik.
Tikal the Echidna	Have all "A" ranks for Knuckles.
Chaos 0	Have all "A" ranks for Rouge.

Chao Race

Your Chao can race against other players' Chao from any connected VMU's thus between 2 and 8 Chao can race.

First you must compete in Chao Race in either Story Mode or Stage Select Mode.

Kart Race

Simply a one-on-one match in any of the 6 Kart courses.

Extra

This mode offers a few miscellaneous features. They are:

Tutorial

Omochao explains the various control systems.

Emblem Results

View the emblems earned in the game. If selecting the stage and genre, you will be asked to challenge the new mission.

Download Event

These downloads were available for a short period of time and were required to be stored on a VMU and loaded into the game. They included Halloween and Christmas themes, and the EggRobo cart (from [Sonic R]) which could be used in the cart race.

It is still possible to find these files online if you can transfer them to a VMU.

http://members.tripod.com/sonic_213/

Options

There are a few options in the game none of which affect the gameplay. They are:

Change File

File Select. Select between different game saves on VMU's connected to the console.

Change Jump Pack Setting

Toggle attached Vibration Packs on or off.

Select language for voice and test

Toggle between English and Japanese used for the in-game voice and between English, Japanese, French, Spanish and German for the text subtitles.

Listen to BGM

Listen to the background music.

Change Stereo / Mono Sound

Toggle between Stereo and Mono Output.

Theme

Change the Menu Screen Theme. These are files that were downloaded and stored in a VMU. This is obsolete.

Change PAL TV Setting

Toggle between 50Hz and 60Hz display modes. This is not present if connected via VGA.

Homepage

This option used to access the official Sonic Adventure 2 website located at http://dricas.sonicretro.org/sonic2/

From there, gamers could access news, hints (strategy), Chao Daycare for trading, the Chao Black Market, Downloads for use with the game (menu themes, tracks and events), several BBS (forums), email contacts and a few links.

The Stages (Screenshots)

The colours of the stage opening banner will denote which character will be played. For example, blue is Sonic and Grey is Dr. Eggman.

Progress is saved automatically at the end of each stage.

Click on each story for screenshots of each stage.

Sonic Adventure 2 Screenshots

Hero Story (16 Stages, 8 bosses)	Last Story (Cannons Core)	Dark Story (14 Stages, 7 Bosses)

Green Hill (Extra Stage)

CHEATS AND TIPS

All 180 Emblems Game Save

Should you have the technology to transfer game saves between a PC and Dreamcast VMU's then a game save containing all 180 Emblems can be downloaded from http://bswirl.kitsunet.org/.

OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACKS

There are three official soundtracks to the game detailed below. They can still be bought easily from Amazon and Ebay though it maybe possible to download some of these soundtracks from Sonic Scene.

Sonic Adventure 2 Official Soundtrack

This was released by Tokyo Pop.

Sonic Adventure 2 Official Soundtrack Track Listing
01	It Doesn't Matter...theme of Sonic
02	Event: Let's Make It!
03	Escape From the City...city escape
04	Vengeance Is Mine...radical highway
05	Lovely Gate 3...egg quarters
06	Unknown from M.E...theme of knuckles
07	This Way Out...prison lane
08	I'm A Spy...security hall
09	That's The Way I Like It...metal harbour
10	Rhythm And Balance...white jungle
11	Won't Stop, Just Go!...green forest
12	E.G.G.M.A.N. ...theme of dr. eggman
13	Dive Into The Mellow...aquatic mine
14	Rumbling HWY...mission street
15	Fly In The Freedom...theme of rouge
16	Advertise: SA2...in the groove
17	Space Trip Steps...meteor herd
18	Soarin' Over The Space...cosmic wall
19	Believe In Myself...theme of tails
20	Highway In The Sky...final rush
21	Throw It All Away...theme shadow
22	Deep Inside Of...cannon's core #3
23	Supporting Me...biolizard
24	Event: The Last Scene
25	Live & Learn...main theme of SA2
26	Chao Race Extended Remix [Chao's Doki-Doki Banana Chips Run Mix]

Approx 78 Minutes

Sonic Adventure 2 Multi-Dimensional Original Soundtrack

This two CD set essentially includes all of the audio tracks from the game. It was released by Marvelous Entertainment Inc. (Cat No MJCG-80075) on the 5th September 2001.

Sonic Adventure 2 Multi-Dimensional Original Soundtrack Track Listing
Hero Side
01	SA2 ...Main Riff for "Sonic Adventure 2"
02	Event: Let's Make It!
03	Escape From The City ...for City Escape
04	The Mad Convoy Race ...for City Escape
05	That's The Way I Like It ...for Metal Harbor
06	Can't Stop, So What!? ...for Metal Harbor
07	Won't Stop, Just Go! ...for Green Forest
08	Keys The Ruin ...for Pyramid Cave
09	Unstable World ...for Crazy Gadget
10	Highway In The Sky ...for Final Rush
11	Boss: -GUN- Mobile
12	Advertise: SA2 ...in the groove
13	Event: Strategy
14	This Way Out ...for Prison Lane
15	Rumbling HWY ...for Mission Street
16	Chasing Drive ...for Kart
17	Down In The Base ...for Hidden Base
18	On The Edge ...for Eternal Engine
19	Advertise: SA2 ver.B
20	Kick the Rock! ...for Wild Canyon
21	A Ghost's Pumpkin Soup ...for Pumpkin Hill
22	Dive Into The Mellow ...for Aquatic Mine
23	Deeper ...for Death Chamber
24	Space Trip Steps ...for Meteor Herd
25	Boss: Masters Of The Desert
26	Event: Reunion
27	Advertise: Prof.Omochao
28	Chao Race Extended Mix (Chao's Doki-Doki Banana Chips Run Mix)
29	Chao Garden Extended Mix (Chao's Wack-Wack Up&Down the Ground Mix
Dark Side
01	Vengeance Is Mine ...for Radical Highway
02	Rhythm and Balance ...for White Jungle
03	Mr.Unsmiley ...for Sky Rail
04	The Supernatural ...for Final Chase
05	For True Story ...for Sonic vs. Shadow
06	Event: Conquest
07	Hey You! It's Time To Speed Up Again!!!
08	Still Invincible ...No fear!
09	Advertise: Rhythmic Passage
10	Boss: Suitable Opponent
11	Remember Me? - M.F.M. ...for Iron Gate
12	Way To The Base ...for Sand Ocean
13	Trespasser ...for Lost Colony
14	Crush'em All ...for Weapons Bed
15	Soarin' Over Space ...for Cosmic Wall
16	Event: 3 Black Noises (Revival... Chaos Control... Reflection)
17	Advertise: SA2 ver.C
18	Event: Sonic vs. Shadow
19	Bright Sound ...for Dry Lagoon
20	Lovely Gate 3 ...for Egg Quarters
21	I'm A Spy ...for Security Hall
22	34'N, 12'E ...for Mad Space
23	Event: The Base
24	Boss: Shut Up Faker!
25	Scramble For The Core ...for Cannon's Core ver.1
26	Cooperation ...for Cannon's Core ver.2
27	Deep Inside Of... ...for Cannon's Core ver.3
28	Supporting Me ...for Biolizard
29	Event: Madness
30	Event: The Last Scene
31	Live & Learn ...Main Theme of "SONIC ADVENTURE 2"

Approx: 152 Minutes

Sonic Adventure 2 Vocals Collection: Cuts Unleashed

Composed By: Jun Senoue

Published By: Marvelous Entertainment Inc.

Released: 8/22/2001

Sonic Adventure 2 Vocals Collection: Cuts Unleashed Track Listing
01	It Doesn't Matter
02	Escape from the City
03	Believe in Myself
04	Unknown from M.e.
05	Fly in the Freedom
06	Throw it all Away
07	Eggman
08	Live and Learn
Hidden Tracks
9 - 91	4 second gap
92	It Doesn't Matter (Instrumental)
93	Escape From The City (Instrumental)
94	Believe in myself (Instrumental)
95	Unknown from Me (Instrumental)
96	Fly in the Freedom (Instrumental)
97	Throw it all Away (Instrumental)
98	Eggman (Instrumental)
99	Live and Learn (Instrumental)

Approx: 74 Minutes

10^th Anniversary Set

These were not specifically a SA2 soundtrack and were produced by SEGA Europe and given free with the first 200 copies of the game ordered through their website. I managed to get mine by ordering the game a few minutes into the official release date.

Sonic The Hedgehog 10th Anniversary Set. Click for larger.

The pack contains a gold coin, booklet and gold audio CD containing a selection of tracks earlier games.

Sonic Adventure 2 10th Anniversary Set Track Listing
01	Sonic The Hedgehog - Title Screen (Mega Drive/Genesis)
02	Sonic The Hedgehog - Green Hill Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis)
03	Sonic The Hedgehog - Star Light Zone (Mega Drive/Genesis)
04	Sonic The Hedgehog - Special Stage
05	Sonic The Hedgehog - Final Robotnik
06	Sonic The Hedgehog - Completed
07	Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Emerald Hill Zone
08	Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Casino Night Zone
09	Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Special Stage
10	Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Completed
11	Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - Title Screen (Mega Drive/Genesis)
12	Sonic And Knuckles - Title Screen (Mega Drive/Genesis)
13	Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - Angel Island Zone Act 1
14	Sonic and Knuckles - Sky Sanctuary Zone
15	Sonic and Knuckles - Special Stage
16	Sonic CD - Japanese/European Opening (Full Vocal Version)
17	Sonic CD - Japanese/European Credits (Full Vocal Version)
18	Sonic R - Super Sonic Racin' - (Full Vocal Version)
19	Sonic R - Resort Park - (Full Vocal Version)
20	Sonic R - Credits (Full Vocal Version)
21	Sonic Adventure - Open Your Heart (Sonic's Theme)
22	Sonic Adventure -My Sweet Passion (Amy's Theme)
23	Sonic Adventure 2 - Vox Trax - It Doesn't Matter...theme of Sonic, City Escape, Theme of Amy/Rouge, Theme of Knuckles, Theme of Amy/Rouge, Theme of Shadow, Theme of Eggman, Credits Theme of SA2

Approx 60 minutes.

Other Versions: Xbox Live Arcade, PS3 and PC et al

The latest port of the game was released in October 2012 on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN and Steam as part of SEGA's Heritage collection. It shared the same release date as the legendary NiGHTS Into Dreams.

Its improvements are support for High Definition graphics and sound, online 2-Player modes with achievements for Xbox 360 players and trophies for PS3 players

In its standard form its seemingly a port of the Dreamcast original judging by certain graphical effects and the cameos of Big the Cat are still in the game.

Extra download content add the maps and characters from the Gamecube re-release of the game.

Sonic Adventure 2 Xbox Live Arcade Screenshots

Achievements for the Xbox 360 version are in the table below.

Sonic Adventure 2 (Xbox Live Arcade) Achievements
Achievement	Description	Points
Hello World	Hello, rookie, welcome to the Sonic World!	20
Chao!	Welcome to the Chao World!	20
Chao Raiser	Time to raise your Chao.	20
Hero!	You have cleared our HERO story.	20
Dark!	You have cleared our DARK story.	20
Boss Attack	Your skill is top notch!	20
Mission Complete	Now you are the master of this stage.	20
Heaven or Hell	You have successfully unlocked the HERO and DARK gardens.	40
Beyond Good and Evil	My hero, you have successfully saved the world!	40
Speedy Racer	Excellent driving skills!	40
Emblem Collector	Half way to go!	40
You Are The Legend	You are the Sonic expert now!	100
DLC Battle Mode
Karate Master	Beat all your enemies in Super Level in Chao Karate 1P mode.	30
Level 4!	Play all level 4 stages in Action Race, Treasure Hunter and Shooting Battle.	10
Emblem Mania!	Unlock all 180 emblems.	60

Misc Info

There are numerous cameos/references to NiGHTS in several stages. One example (pictured below) is in City Escape and another on the towers in Radical Highway.
This is also the case with Phantasy Star Online Ver 2 which was an upcoming release from Sonic Team at the time.
The unlockable alternative costumes for 2-Player modes differ between the Dreamcast original and SA2B on the Gamecube.
For Sonic Generations, City Escape is recreated on the console versions and Radical Highway on the Nintendo 3DS. In both console and handheld versions, Shadow returns in one of three rival battles. The Biolizard is the Dreamcast era boss in the 3DS version but Sonic is the playable character rather than Shadow.
The US as a whole inspired some of the environments of the game. This can be seen in City Escape as SEGA Studios USA was based in San Francisco, California.
In the final story, the Knuckles section was made easier for the Gamecube release. To be fair it is bloody difficult without the necklace which I discovered the hard way!
Yuji Naka appears as an extra in the Japanese TV commercial for Sonic Adventure 2.
Put the GDROM disc of the game into a PC and there are three bonus desktop images in .BMP format and different sizes. They are Sonic, Shadow and Chao.
In the UK, mobile phone company Orange offered a free mobile phone with the game.
The European case art specifically states there are 2-Player modes available yet it also states the game is for 1 Player.
There were some versions of the game that were pirated on CDROM. These had the quality of in-game video and music reduced so that it would fit on the lower capacity discs.
This was also the game where Robotnik was now known as Dr. Eggman.
There are some emulators of the Dreamcast VMU which allow the playing of Chao Adventure 2 amongst other titles. They can be found on various emulation sites.
For many years I have used the title screen music (SA2 ...Main Riff for "Sonic Adventure 2") for the ring tone on my mobile phone.