Your views on SA2 Vs. SA1

[Warhead2k89]

The whole "SA1 is better than SA2" thing is a pretty popular discussion amongst Sonic fans.

So, I'd like to ask:
Which do you believe is better?
Give out some reasons why, and what not.

[Leonard]

I prefered SA 1
I played neither when i was younger(i mean like younger than 12 or so).I think i liked SA 1 more it wasn't as boring for me but i don't know.
Oh by the way,I was also really disappointed when i finally played the game when it was released on Steam(i never played or saw anything about the game before) maybe because of all the good things i heard about the game and that it is the best game ever and best Sonic game by far etc.(and maybe because i didn't care about the Chao Garden at all)

[Exero]

They're just both really great, fun and memorable to play

[rev210]

SA1. Period.

[jimbox114]

SA1 is better. I feel like SA2 took away the overworld which I throught was a step in the wrong direction. SA2 just felt like a bunch of levels thrown together with a really lame story.

[Warrior of Right]

Sonic Adventure 1 WAY better.
You can just download a working config file on steam, has a resoultion that can stretch to widescreen was a quick fix just still not as good as 2004 version 1080p.

People rip on Adventure 1 cause you have to be big but you can be whatever character you want whenever you want and save him for last.
Unlike SA2 just same 3 characters over and over then switch to dark for reskin of the 3.
Sonic adventure 2 just has the rails and half the time you just go right through them.
Unless you just really like Bat Titts 1 better.

Still don't believe me? watch this boss battle for 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE1QLISu54A

This ghost boss got a serious case of the Derps

Also no overworlds and garbage soundtrack compared to SA1

[nyabuelita]

they're both great. maybe sa2 or original can't decide

[moike]

Love them both but they screwed up Knuckles/Rouge in SA2. That stupid radar pisses me off!

[Kohme]

They're both better than the other in their own regards. Which one you prefer depends on the games you like to play.

SA1 is fantastic for its atmosphere. It has a great soundtrack where each song actually complements the stages they play in. In Sonic's stages in particular, sections of each song seem to change as you pass through checkpoints, and usually the length of each song is the average amount of time it will take you to get to the end of the level. The game also has the best controls I've ever seen in a 3D platformer, making it really feel like you're the characters you're playing. Altogether the game is extremely engulfing and is a lot of fun to simply play.

SA2 is fantastic for its challenge. It includes five missions per level and a very well tuned ranking system. Ranks are based on score, and score in this game is determined either by your time alone or by a combination of time, enemies killed, and "combos" performed. This system keeps you on your toes and really makes you concentrate on your task to get an A. The level designs in general are significantly more challenging than the first game. SA2 has around two-to-three times the content of SA1.

I can't really say I enjoyed the story modes of either game more than the other. SA1 had an awful lot of terrible "gimmick" stages though. Like Big the Cat's =(.

Of course, SA2 is newer and thus has better graphics. The Steam port for SA1 is a lot worse than the port for SA2, though it can be replaced as mentioned by others.

In the end, if you prefer just having a good time playing games you'll probably prefer SA1. If you're more of a completionist you'll probably prefer the second.

[Leonard]

Originally posted by Kohme-G:

Of course, SA2 is newer and thus has better graphics. The Steam port for SA1 is a lot worse than the port for SA2, though it can be replaced as mentioned by others.

SEGA actually started to fix the game a bit,they already started to add Achievments and they stated that the game is going to be patched over the next few months

[Leonard]

I think same goes for the other 3 Games of the Dreamcast Collection

[Rora]

Originally posted by Leonard:

Originally posted by Kohme-G:

Of course, SA2 is newer and thus has better graphics. The Steam port for SA1 is a lot worse than the port for SA2, though it can be replaced as mentioned by others.

SEGA actually started to fix the game a bit,they already started to add Achievments and they stated that the game is going to be patched over the next few months

They may have taken their sweet time. But they are DOING IT.

Makes me Happy.

[Jeff]

I like the first a lot more. Both have bad cutscenes, but I tried playing SA2 again and could not stand how awkward they are.

Every player type got ruined in the sequal: Sonic and Shadow can't do a quick spin, and platforming on rails is a mess. Tails and Eggman have to stop before making a turn. Knuckles' and Rouge's emerald radar only detects one peice at a time and the stages are way too big (I think I spent 20 minutes on the planet stage!). And why are a million things assigned to B?

The bonus missions in SA1 are super clear about what you have to do and replaying each stage 3 times is a fair number. SA2 wants you to replay each stage 5 times and reach an undefined score, which means you will certainly play each much more than 5 times to get an A rank. Sure that means more content, but it's really a waste of time.

The level design in SA1 focuses more on platforming and less on speed, resulting in wider and (seemingly) free-er gameplay. SA2 has a lot more speed, which means very linear paths. Often literally hallways or halfpipes.

What SA2 does right is the chao garden. It's very deep, traveling is condenced, and you're placed there imediatly at the end of (almost) every stage. SA2 also has multiplayer which is a plus for those who have friends. Also the steam port is a lot better, but that's why you find the 2004 pc version of SA1.

I beat SA1 multiple times and recently finished it 100%, but I slogged through SA2 and was just waiting for it to be over. My opinion is very clear to me, but like, it's just my opinion man.

[skyace65]

neither is perfect. both have some very bad flaws holding the game back. The sad thing is if these games got the same treatment sonic CD got(being rebuilt), and had those problems fixed. both could be near perfect games.

[Gnidex]

SA1 is better in pretty much everything with exception of story, graphics and Chao (which I dislike even there).
- SA1 has 5 good gameplay styles. SA2 has one... kinda. I'll talk about it later.
- SA1 doesn't force me to play as any character. I can play them in any order I want.
- Levels in SA2 are too long for anyone except Sonic and Shadow. In SA1, levels have good length. Even Big's levels you can complete within a minute.
- In SA2, majority of the game is playing as Sonic and Tails - characters that go fast from point A to point B. In SA2, it's 1/3 if counting by levels and much less if we take also length of the levels into account.
- All gameplay styles in SA2 are degraded from SA1:
* Sonic has broken Lightspeed Dash, sommersaulting is annoying when I want to do something else and bouncing is a move that I use more often above bottomless pits than when I want. Spin Dash -> Jump was so fun to do in SA1 and almost useless in SA2.
* Knuckles has broken radar, too large levels, broken tips system that requires absolute knowledge about the level and every single landmark of it in the first place and punishes the player for using it. Radar is also garbage - one emerald at the time, worse sensitivity.
* Gamma's gameplay style is much slower and has awful turning - each time you turn and it's not caused by the camera, you lose ALL your speed. Which isn't usually much. Gamma had nice acceleration and he had wheels mode, so he wasn't as sluggish as Tornado III and Egg Walker.
- Worse level design. SA1 had great balance between speed, platforming and exploration and levels felt like small sandboxes (even if they weren't), but SA2 turned into linear racetracks with almost no alternate paths.
- Levels in SA1 were more unique. In SA2 uniqueness was traded for realism. In a series about blue one-meter high hedgehog who runs at the speed of sounds and eats chili dogs.
- Ranking system. I'm okay with existence of such, but not when it's required to unlock anything. Also, 1 death = E rank. That's cheap.
- Extra missions. In SA1 they feel a bit like filler, but they are okay, finish level with 50 rings or fast enough. But I simply can't imagine how much I would suffer trying to complete Lost Chao missions without internet guide. 100 rings missions are real pain for mechs and treasure hunters. For some levels you have to do entire level without getting hit... and do a bit more of it. And all that to just unlock hard mode. And Green Hill zone after getting all A ranks, what is a real pain. SADX also has really fun mission mode, which is great addition.

[Sam Lilly]

I like Sonic Adventure better. I felt like each campaign character actually had a bit of difference and a fun spin on gameplay. I only really hated Gamma because of autolock stuff and Big's campaign was just weird mixed in with the rest, not really all that bad. In Sonic Adventure 2 I liked one third of the game, the Sonic and Shadow levels. Tails and Robotnik were pretty clunky, the health bars made rings pointless unless you were already hurt and it doesn't matter as much how many you have, and why does tails need to be in a mech anyways? I also didn't think the Knuckles and Rogue parts were that fun. They were super mazey, the radar only found one thing at a time, and it took away from the great thing of the first game. In SA, Knuckles got to explore the same levels you already played through (most likely) as Sonic and Tails. It lets you appreciate the level design more when you have to slow down and search all around them. In SA2, most of these were their own levels and designed deliberately to confuse you. So liking 5/6 of a game is better than liking 1/3. Although, I DO like that SA2 cut out the overworld stuff as I found it to be a little bland and pointless the way it was done in SA. But the levels in SA were more fun. And I don't care for nor do any of the chao stuff. Especially with no way to export from Steam to a handheld to train on your own time. So, in short, I liked Sonic Adventure better than Sonic Adventure 2. Then again, it's a bit of a toss up between Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes, from what I've played.