The best launch titles ever: Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The best launch titles ever: Sonic Adventure for Dreamcast Rings around the competition. Feature by Thomas Marchant Contributor Published on 25 Nov 2020 141 comments This week it seemed appropriate to look back at some of our favourite launch titles ever. And today we have a classic. "Sonic doesn't work in 3D". There's a phrase that would see a rise in popularity throughout the 21st century. As the years turned into decades, our collective memory has been warped. We've lived through Sonic 2006. We've been made cynical. But in 1999, Sega were primed to usher in a new generation, and a more modern take on their beloved mascot. Sonic Adventure was the first mainline Sonic title since 1994's one-two punch of Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic and Sega were back, and more bombastic than ever. This was 128-bit, baby! Ask anyone what the coolest moment on the Dreamcast was, they would confidently respond with Sonic being chased by a killer whale in Emerald Coast, Adventure's opening level. However, Sonic Adventure was more than just a technical showpiece. It was a look into the world of Sonic. It turns out that giant anthropomorphic animals are actually something of a minority here. There are humans here that have lives, you can talk to them, and hear about their problems. I would spend hours running around the city and the forest, just being Sonic, and it's fun. When people say Sonic doesn't work in 3D, what they mean is that a 21-year-old game has some camera and collision detection issues. They mean there's a rotund cat who's lost his frog. What they certainly don't mean is that Sonic controls badly, because he doesn't. The momentum and physics that the 2D games are known for is all there, they just forgot. Rushed development and bad management meant that Sega would struggle to capture this magic again, but in 1999, Sonic Adventure was the stuff of dreams. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 22 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Feature From abandoned board game to birthing a genre: Football Manager at 40 Kick off. 21 Feature How I became an Elden Ring detective It started with a save game... 26 Latest Articles Jelly Deals Save over £500 off the retail price on this beefy ASUS TUF Dash gaming laptop from Amazon Under £1080 for an RTX 3070 laptop. Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 5 Nintendo Switch firmware update lets you take screenshots in the Switch Online app The app on your console, not your phone. 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store