What do you think about when you hear the name Sonic the Hedgehog?  Super fast gameplay?  Mario wannabe? Engaging platform character that has been around over 10 years?  Maybe one or all of the above.  With Sonic Battle, Sega has decided to try a different approach with the blue hedgehog.  Say hello to part fighting game and part robot simulation game. 

There are several different gameplay modes in Sonic Battle: Story Mode, Battle Mode, Challenge Mode, Mini Game, and Training Mode.  The Battle Mode, and Challenge Mode are in essence the same game, which is how most of the entire game is played out.  You control one of the casts of characters from the Sonic series and duke it out against up to three other characters.  All of the battles take place in a small playing field, which might remind some players of a strategy RPG layout (ala Final Fantasy Tactics).  But the battles are all out action.  The first character or player that scores the most knockouts wins the battle.  It’s a very simple idea and for the most part it works.  The action can get intense even for a GBA game with all of the characters at each other relentlessly the entire time.  In Battle Mode you can compete up against three other player controlled characters.  In the Challenge Mode you compete against a certain number of enemies that you must defeat in order to unlock the next difficulty level.

Story Mode is the story of Hedgehog and his robot friend.  You start off the Story Mode in control of Sonic as he finds a robot on the beach.  He takes the robot to Tails to be repaired and finds out that once again that Dr. Eggman is up to no good.  For Sonic veterans it should come as no surprise that the story still revolves around the Chaos Emeralds as well.  The story is played out in simple cut scenes where the characters in the game discuss the unfolding story before engaging in battle.  All of the battles are played out exactly the same as the Battle Mode.  But the story doesn’t revolve just around Sonic this time.  After a while in Story Mode you take over control of the robot, Emerl (short for emerald).  

At first Emerl is almost a clean slate.  He doesn’t have a wide variety of moves or attacks he can use.  It’s up to you to take control of him and obtain new moves and attacks for him to use.  So now you can breed your own robot in a Sonic game!  As you fight different characters in the story mode, you’ll obtain new attacks and moves that Emerl can use.  The moves & attacks you obtain or “Capture” are represented as cards.  You can even trade the cards you captured in the game with other players that have the game by using the link cable.  What’s unique and interesting about obtaining the new moves is you have to have enough Skill points for Emerl to use them.  Each move & attack has a certain value assigned to it and for each move you assign to Emerl he uses Skill points.  If he doesn’t have enough Skill points, then he might be limited to use just 5 attacks instead of the 10 cards you’ve captured.  You’ll earn skill points by fighting in battles in the story mode.  If you can obtain a Chaos Emerald you’ll earn 10 skill points.

The idea of raising Emerl is a great idea, and definitely somewhat unique for a Sonic game.  It’s similar to raising the chaos as in the Sonic Adventure games, but you have a great deal of variety and control when setting up your moves with Emerl.  But what seems to hurt the pacing of the game is when you indeed start controlling Emerl.  At the beginning of the game you’ve had control of Sonic.  Of course Sonic is a powerful character in the game and you won’t have a problem with most of the battles.  But when you have to take control of Emerl, be prepared for the pace of the game to slow down.  It will take several battles to get Emerl to the point where Sonic is at in the beginning of the game.  Sure it’s fun building and controlling Emerl, but it feels as if you’re starting from scratch when you start using him.  Emerl doesn’t move as fast as Sonic and he isn’t as powerful as Sonic at first.  Having to adjust to him can take a while.

The Mini Game mode is a collection of games that you unlock as you progress in the game.  The mini games are for multiple players, which requires you to have friends with the game and link cables.  The Training mode allows you to try out the battle mode without the computer’s retaliation.  It’s a good way for players to start out with this game, since the game is a departure from previous Sonic games.

Sonic Battle is a good game, but a game that some Sonic fans probably won’t enjoy.  It’s a novel idea to change and invent new types of games for a legendary character.  For the most part Sonic Battle succeeds, but it might leave some players looking for the good old blast processing days.

Gameplay 7.5 

The actual game depends heavily on the battles, which are a blast.  The battles are always fast paced and fierce.  It’s as if the battles are a never ending, intense button-smashing spectacle.  You have the capability to pull combos during the battles, but sometimes it felt I would have better luck performing a move by mashing the buttons.  You can even set the order and type of attack your character will use before each battle.  When you have up to three other characters attacking you at one time, you’ll probably forget about trying to pull off a special move and mash away. The controls are tight and responsive but the amount of action takes away from you trying to pull of particular moves.  On the other hand, editing the settings on Emerl is deep addition to the button mashing.  As you earn more skill points you can edit Emerl’s entire move list.  You can even store all of your edits for Emerl in three different settings.  This allows for an almost limitless amount of customization for controlling Emerl.   

Graphics 7.8 

The graphics for all of the characters are excellent.  The characters are detailed and mimic their console counterparts.  The characters even have their own unique and special attacks that are animated nicely.  The graphics for the battle stages are entirely in 3D.  They lack the detail of a console 3D world and seem rather washed out and bland.  The Game Boy Advance might not be a 3D powerhouse, but it didn’t stop Sega from trying.  Sometimes during a battle the characters would almost disappear from view when they were knock out.  The character would respawn at another point on the stage, which you couldn’t see.  This would happen when you knock a character across the screen as well.  It was a guess gaming trying to figure out where the enemy went.  With the 3D layout of the stages there were a few occasions when your character would be behind a wall that would block your view. 

Sound 7.3

The sound effect and music are well done, but nothing spectacular.  The music could be described as a cross between rock & vintage 16-Bit era game music.  All of the sound effects for the attacks came across loud and clear.  All of the characters even had their own specific phrases recorded into the game.  The music and sound effects fit the game and didn’t take away from the game.

Difficulty Medium 

The difficulty for the Story Mode starts off easy, especially when controlling Sonic.  When you take over control of Emerl the difficulty is ramped up another level.  Since Emerl isn’t as powerful as Sonic, you’ll be faced with losing many battles in order to earn enough skill points for Emerl.  The Challenge mode offers a nice ramping process for the difficulty.  The first Challenge you have to complete is on the easiest difficulty setting and when you finish it off, you then unlock the next difficulty level. 

Concept 8.0 

While adding pieces of an RPG game into a Sonic game isn’t a new concept; Sonic Battle still does a good job of keeping its idea unique.  The amount of settings you can customize with Emerl is amazing and is something that can keep you playing the game for a long time.  Playing to obtain new cards for Emerl to use can become its own game in itself.  Being able to trade with other players is always a welcome addition for Game Boy owners with a link cable.  The battles, at first, are a blast to play but after time can get repetitive.  It’s what you’ll spend the majority of time doing in the game, which will probably be too much for some players after a while.     

Multiplayer 8.3 

The game was really designed as an entertaining and enjoyable multiplayer game.  Up to four players can duke it out in the Battle Mode, as long as they have the game and a link cable.  The first player can even set Battle rules for the game, such as the time limit, which maps to battle on and even a tag option to team up against two other players.  You even unlock Mini games that all four can compete in as well.  The multiplayer mode is a great addition to the game. 

Overall 7.8 

Sonic Battle is an entertaining multiplayer game that has a unique and interesting single player story mode.  Competing against your friends is always fun and that’s what gaming is all about, having fun.  Sonic Battle’s multiplayer mode will give players a great deal of fun, free for all, fighting action.  The amount of customization available in the story mode with Emerl is very impressive.  You can spend hours trying to get just the right setup for Emerl.  But not everything in Sonic Battle is as good as it could have been.  While the battles are fun, they will get repetitive for most gamers.  Even though the controls are tight and responsive, you’ll be left wondering why your character didn’t pull off a move that you entered.  Button mashing will probably work fine for most players, instead of trying to work on a particular move.  The stage graphics can also get in the way while in a battle.  Not being able to see the enemy or even your character is not always a good thing.  Even with its faults, Sonic Battle is a solid, enjoyable Game Boy Advance game that will please most gamers.