Note: Due to the japanese version of this game, with japanese manual, I know very little about the storyline to this game. Thanks to the option of setting it to English text in the cutscenes did not help at all with figuring out the story either. Lets just say that the story has Robotnik in it, and through the bosses you battle, you save characters (Tails/Cream...) and then you can play as them like in Sonic Adventure. And you start with Sonic, get Cream in the first zone, Tails in the 4th zone, and Knuckles in the 5th. There are 7 zones overall.

Graphics

Ok, if you Game Boy Advance Sonic freaks were disappointed in the graphics in the original Sonic Advance, which looked more 16-bit than 32-bit, this may or may not make you feel better. From the beginning, you get to see that the graphics are better in Sonic Advance 2 than the first one. The sprites on the characters have a whole shit load more animations than the first one, (the running animation has more new skool Sonic look to it) the backgrounds look more GBA quality, and there are some neato sprite effects that weren't in the first one. But overall... I still think this could get better. The graphics aren't the best GBA can do, and still looks like the old 16-bit systems can do it. But overall, its pretty good. You won't be disappointed.

8.5/10

Sound

The sound effects are taken right out of the original Sonic Advance, with a few added sounds. The music is actually memorable in this game, and works great for the levels they're in. There really isn't too much to say here, but its good. Nothing wrong with the sound, and improvement over the original.

9/10

Gameplay

Geez. This is absolutely the FASTEST 2-D Sonic game in existence. Sonic Team pushed the GBA to extreme speeds in Sonic Advance 2, making it feel much faster than even the 3-D Sonic games at times. (You even get a running start, which is different, but gets more essence of speed.) Sonic Team is at the top of their game with Sonic Advance 2's level design. In the first level, Leaf Forest, just hold left on the D-pad for a while and you can see Sonic/Tails/Cream/Knuckles hit rails, go around loop-de-loops, hit more speed ups, and it never seems to stop for the first few levels! The level design combined with the speed of this game is the greatest attribute to this game, and makes it feel more "Sonic" than alot of the other Sonic games out there today. I do have a complaint however. The bosses suck. All of them consist of running after the boss, staying away from obstacles he shoots at you, and hitting him at the right movement, like the boss in Mushroom Hill Zone in Sonic & Knuckles, except... all the bosses are like that. Sorry, I do NOT like that concept, it annoys the heck out of me, and I want more originality in all of the bosses. But overall, Sonic Team is still at the top of their game in level design, and Sonic fans will have no complaint on that.

9/10

Replay Value

If Multiplayer and Time Attack modes keep you hooked, the great level design will more than have you keep on coming back for more. Thumbs up on that brother!

9.5/10

Bottom Line

One of the best 2-D Sonic games, even with the horrendous boss design. This everyone must check out once it hits the stores here.

8.9/10