About
Sonic Advance is a sidescrolling platformer game with four playable characters to choose from: Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Amy Rose. The goal is to reach the end of each Act of a Zone (a level in the game) in ten minutes. Each playable character can utilize the same basic moveset as in earlier Sonic titles, such as the Spin Jump, Spin Attack and Spin Dash (except from Amy whose moveset revolves around the usage of her Piko Piko Hammer), with the addition of more melee-orientated moves, many of which are based on the moves in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2. Each character also wields their own exclusive moves which they can use to attack, gain extra speed or travel through Zones. As the player progresses, the game will automatically save the current contents, while the Chaos Emeralds they characters have collected will be "shared" between all of them.
Many traditional items from other Sonic titles appear in the game. Rings are found all around the Zones and have the basic attributes; they give an extra life after collecting 100 of them, grant points and protect the player from taking damage. If a character is damaged, they will drop all their Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Taking damage without any Rings will cost the player a try. A character will also lose a try if they spend too long underwater without replenishing their air supply (air underwater lasts for 18 seconds), falls into a bottomless pit, or runs out of time. Losing a try makes the player start from the last Checkpoint they passed, or from the beginning of the Act if they have not passed any Checkpoints. If a character loses a try when the number of tries remaining is zero, the game will end. Besides Rings, Sonic Advance also includes Item Boxes with a number of the most basic power-ups in the Sonic series.
The level designs are very similar to previous main 2D Sonic titles, each with different types of gimmicks and layouts that may vary between Zones; in Egg Rocket Zone, the player must progresses upwards rather than straight forward. Across the Zones, Act 1 is cleared by passing the Clear Panels, and Act 2 is cleared by destroying the boss at the end and opening a Capsule dropped by Dr. Eggman and releasing the Animals trapped inside it. Beside the game's main goal, the player can also collect the Chaos Emeralds by using the Special Springs in the Zones to enter a Special Stage, where they can get a Chaos Emerald. Collecting all seven Emeralds and completing the X-Zone with all four characters will unlock the final Zone for Sonic and the game's good cinematic ending.
http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Advance
Many traditional items from other Sonic titles appear in the game. Rings are found all around the Zones and have the basic attributes; they give an extra life after collecting 100 of them, grant points and protect the player from taking damage. If a character is damaged, they will drop all their Rings, though some can be recollected before they disappear. Taking damage without any Rings will cost the player a try. A character will also lose a try if they spend too long underwater without replenishing their air supply (air underwater lasts for 18 seconds), falls into a bottomless pit, or runs out of time. Losing a try makes the player start from the last Checkpoint they passed, or from the beginning of the Act if they have not passed any Checkpoints. If a character loses a try when the number of tries remaining is zero, the game will end. Besides Rings, Sonic Advance also includes Item Boxes with a number of the most basic power-ups in the Sonic series.
The level designs are very similar to previous main 2D Sonic titles, each with different types of gimmicks and layouts that may vary between Zones; in Egg Rocket Zone, the player must progresses upwards rather than straight forward. Across the Zones, Act 1 is cleared by passing the Clear Panels, and Act 2 is cleared by destroying the boss at the end and opening a Capsule dropped by Dr. Eggman and releasing the Animals trapped inside it. Beside the game's main goal, the player can also collect the Chaos Emeralds by using the Special Springs in the Zones to enter a Special Stage, where they can get a Chaos Emerald. Collecting all seven Emeralds and completing the X-Zone with all four characters will unlock the final Zone for Sonic and the game's good cinematic ending.
http://sonic.wikia.com/wiki/Sonic_Advance