History VideoGame / SonicAdvanceTrilogy

On December 20, 2001, [[CueTheFlyingPigs pigs flew]] in the video game industry when Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog finally made his debut on a Creator/{{Nintendo}} system with the release of the first ever original Sonic/Creator/{{Sega}} game to appear on a Nintendo system after Sega's switch to software manufacturing. The game was also released the same day in Japan along with the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube port of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', known as ''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'', with the Western version being released a few months later.

The ''Sonic Advance'' trilogy is a trio of games in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. Co-developed by Sega and Creator/{{Dimps}} and designed [[RevisitingTheRoots in the vein of the classic]] [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive/Genesis]] side-scrolling platformers, this trilogy is essentially lip-service for older fans, with some elements of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' thrown in.

Followed by a spiritual successor of sorts in ''VideoGame/SonicRush'' and ''VideoGame/SonicRushAdventure'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, which were also critical successes.

* BackThatLightUp: The third game had different color settings to suit different UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance backlight arrangements.

* DropTheHammer:
** Amy still carries around her usual mallet to strike down enemies with. When paired up with Knuckles in ''3'', she also uses a ''massive'' hammer, bigger than she is, for her standard attack.
** In ''3'', teaming up any character with Amy will replace their normal grounded attack with a hammer modeled after the one Amy uses, but with a color scheme based on the character wielding it. Tails can also use his while flying, and can fly much faster while holding it.
** Across all three games, the first bosses involve Eggman using a giant hammer. The first game sees him driving back and forth with his hammer continuously swinging around, the second is fought in an autorunner with the hammer used to slow the playable character down, and the third is stationary as the hammer is much bigger compared to the last two.

* RevisitingTheRoots: The Advance games are heavily based on the Genesis trilogy of old, albeit with a few minor physics tweaks thanks to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance's hardware.

* ActionizedSequel: ''2'' has much bigger emphasis on speed and mobility than the first game, starting with the fact that the playable characters begin levels as if they were about to run in a track & field race.
* AdaptedOut: The Android version of the first game only allows you to play as Sonic, with the other playable characters being either DemotedToExtra or completely absent.

*** Amy in the lead starts fiddling with her feet before sitting down, resting her face on her handss and skygazing. In the back, she appears to spot something in the distance and then turns to the screen and beckons you over. When she's paired up with Sonic (with him at the front), she leans down to look at something; if you position them right, as in, sonic in front of Amy with both pointed forward, it looks like she's observing him as he rests. She also has a different "about to move" animation with him, as she now has hearts floating off her head. Her animation doesn't change if she's in the lead and Sonic in the back.

*** Cream gets an ice cream cone from... [[{{Hammerspace}} somewhere]], and starts licking it (while Cheese begs for some through PuppyDogEyes).

*** Knuckles adjusts his gloves and starts practice jabbing.
*** Amy briefly yawns, notices the player and starts hopping in place to keep herself active.

The first game, ''Sonic Advance'' (2001), is perhaps the most reminiscent of the older games. The plot is very minimal (thwart [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]]!) and the gameplay is a bit slower than its successors but features a little more emphasis on platforming. This was the first 2D side-scroller in the series to feature Amy Rose as a playable character. The game was also ported to the short lived Nokia UsefulNotes/NGage as ''Sonic N'', but suffered from being transposed from the horizontal screen of the GBA to the ''vertical'' screen of the N-Gage (it also removed the Tiny Chao Garden).

*** Cream gets an ice cream cone from... [[{{Hammerspace}} somewhere]] and starts licking it, while Cheese begs for some through PuppyDogEyes.

* IdleAnimation: In the third game, since you play in teams of two, every character has at least two idle animations for whether they're in the lead or as support.
** Sonic in the lead lays down on his side and closes his eyes while a [[VisibleSilence ... bubble]] appears over his head. In the back, he stands straight while scratching his ear and pointing at you to get moving.
** Tails in the lead sits down and starts fiddling with his legs and looking around. In the back, he pulls out a pair of binoculars out of nowhere, looks around, and then turns to the screen and starts pointing to the direction he's sprite is facing as if telling you "look over there!"
** Knuckles at the front makes some practice jabs and then starts doing pushups. In the back, he stands perfectly still with his arms crossed and his eyes closed, though he occasionally opens one eye to glare at the player.
** Cream in the front sits down and falls asleep. In the back, she curiously staring at something on the ground.
** Amy in the lead starts fiddling with her feet before sitting down, resting her face on her handss and skygazing. In the back, she appears to spot something in the distance and then turns to the screen and beckons you over. When she's paired up with Sonic (with him at the front), she leans down to look at something; if you position them right, as in, sonic in front of Amy with both pointed forward, it looks like she's observing him as he rests. She also has a different "about to move" animation with him, as she now has hearts floating off her head. Her animation doesn't change if she's in the lead and Sonic in the back.

** The [=EggHammerTank=] from ''VideoGame/SonicPocketAdventure'' appears in both Sonic ''Advance 1'' and ''2'', and gets a SpiritualSuccessor in ''3''.[[note]]The third game's hammer boss also shows up in ''{{VideoGame/Sonic Rush|Series}}''.[[/note]] There are other throwbacks as well: ''Advance 2''[='=]s Techno Base Boss is a improved version of ''Pocket Adventure''[='=]s Secret Plant Boss, for example.

** Angel Island Zone in ''Advance 1'' takes place in [[FloatingContinent the setting]] of ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'' and part of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'', which was shown by the latter to be situated in the sky above Mystic Ruins. The level's background here shows the land below, and sure enough, it looks just like Mystic Ruins' jungle, even containing a {{Mayincatec}} structure resembling the Lost World temple from ''Adventure''.

** [[EvilKnockoff Mecha Knuckles]], the boss of ''Advance's'' Angel Island Zone, initially appears as a PaletteSwap of Knuckles--the palette in question is a throwback to ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', where Knuckles' {{NPC}} appearances gave him magenta fur and, [[https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/06/why-is-knuckles-colored-different-in.html thanks to a glitch]], yellow socks. Mecha Knuckles even throws in yellow gloves, either for funsies or as a second throwback to Knuckles' Fighting Gloves PowerUp from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure''.

** [[EvilKnockoff Mecha Knuckles]], the boss of ''Advance's'' Angel Island Zone, initially appears as a PaletteSwap of Knuckles--the palette in question is a throwback to ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', where Knuckles' {{NPC}} appearances gave him magenta fur and, [[https://s3unlocked.blogspot.com/2017/06/why-is-knuckles-colored-different-in.html thanks to a glitch]], yellow socks (Mecha Knuckles even throws in yellow gloves for funsies).

* LegacyBossBattle: A Pre-FinalBoss example. In ''Sonic Advance''[='=]s [[spoiler:final stage, Dr. Eggman reprises the first bosses from both ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1 Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'', complete with the boss themes from both games, before the actual FinalBoss battle occurs. And there seems to be no other reason for Eggman to go to the trouble of reenacting fights that he had lost before]].

** In a more obscure case in the same installment, the boss of Angel Island Zone, [[EvilKnockoff Mecha Knuckles]] – who isn't even shown to be a robot [[RoboticReveal until later into the fight]] – is pink and has yellow gloves and socks, seemingly in reference to how in ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles'', Knuckles has pinkish fur and yellow socks for some reason when appearing as an {{NPC}} in cutscenes, even though when playable, he has red fur and green socks just as portrayed by artwork. The boss fight's first phase is more or less a call back to the fight with Knuckles at Hidden Palace Zone in the same game.

* BonusFeatureFailure: In an odd example, ''Sonic Advance 2'' let you unlock the Tiny Chao Garden by meeting certain conditions in the game... Even though the first ''Sonic Advance'' had the exact same mode available from the start. The third game doesn't even have this feature.

Followed by a spiritual successor of sorts in the ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush]]'' games for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, which were also critical successes.

* EvilIsPetty: [[spoiler:After defeating the second game as every character, the unlocked final boss will have Eggman kidnap Cream's mother, Vanilla, before the heroes' eyes, seemingly for no other purpose than to [[ItsPersonal goad Sonic into a revenge face off]].]]

Dr. Eggman has hatched another evil plot to build his Eggman Empire by capturing animals and turning them into robots, as well as gathering the seven Chaos Emeralds in order to gain unimaginable power. Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, and Amy Rose set off on an adventure to free the animals and stop Eggman.

* SpiritualSuccessor:
** ''Sonic Advance'', being a 2D Platformer with modern Sonic sensibilities, is one for ''VideoGame/SonicPocketAdventure''.

** Across all three games, the first bosses involve Eggman using a giant hammer. The first game sees him driving back and forth with his hammer continuously swinging around, the second is fought in an autorunner with the hammer used to slow the playable character down, and the third is stationary and the hammer is much bigger compared to the last two.

** Inverted with ''Advance 2'', which pushes Amy into the background as a SecretCharacter and introduces Cream the Rabbit as the fourth main character in her stead. Cream is not a true Gimmick character but a MasterOfAll, with maneuvering ability second only to Tails and better attacking options than the other characters thanks to Cheese.

On December 21st, 2001, [[CueTheFlyingPigs pigs flew]] in the video game industry when Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog finally made his debut on a Creator/{{Nintendo}} system with the release of the first ever original Sonic/Creator/{{Sega}} game to appear on a Nintendo system after Sega's switch to software manufacturing. The game was also released the same day in Japan along with the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube port of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', known as ''Sonic Adventure 2: Battle'', with the Western version being released a few months later.

* NotTheFallThatKillsYou: [[spoiler:If the ''Sonic 2''-like rescue scene in ''Advance 1''[='=]s ending wasn't enough, ''Advance 2''[='=]s first ending shows the player character falling from space to the Earth without any injuries.]]
* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Gemerl is the TrueFinalBoss of the third game, though granted he changes form for nearly every boss anyway.]]
* OxygenMeter: As is typical of 2D Sonic games.
* PinballZone: Casino Paradise in the first game.

->''Sega's celebrity hedgehog makes his Creator/{{Nintendo}} debut in a hyperkinetic epic that looks like classic Sonic but has made the quantum leap to brand-new cool''.