Sonic Adventure 2: Battle

I'd always been a Sonic fan, but Sonic Adventure 2 hit different in a lot of ways. I had only very briefly played the first game on a demo Dreamcast at blockbuster so fully experiencing a 3D Sonic game for the first time felt so cool (not counting 3D Blast here, though I enjoy that one too!). The music captivated me instantly, and seeing some of my favourite characters coming to life with full voice acting was a treat for young me.
The game had a lot going for it, multiple playable characters for both the hero and dark sides, a cool story that all culminates in an epic final chapter, and then of course the Chao Garden. I spent almost an equal amount of time in that garden as I did playing and replaying all the levels.

Anyone who knows me knows that I seriously dig this OST (along with the first Sonic Adventure, they're both filled with bangers). One thing my brother and I used to do was load up the Sound Test menu and use various songs as the backgroun music while we played with LEGO. It really amped up our little scenarios and stories that we would come up with - definitely one of my fonder memories from my youth.

The soundtrack overall remains one of my favourites to this day - and one of my biggest influences. There's a lot of variety and I really dig all the vibes - each character gets their own style of tunes that really match their action well. When I was younger I was really into the rock/punk vibes of a lot of Sonic's stages, though in recent years some of my favourites are Rouge's stage themes. That smooth jazz is filled to the brim with personality, from the funky flutes to the scat vocals. The Knuckles tracks seem to be a big "love it or hate it" for a lot of people, but I dig them a lot. Kick the Rock from Wild Canyon was my morning alarm for a good stretch of time. There's something to love about each characters stages and themes for sure, and I definitely strive to bring this kind of versatility and energy to the music I write.

Gameplay-wise, it's no secret that there is a fair bit of jank in this game. Sonic didn't make the most graceful transition to 3D compared to some other games. I'll admit a lot of my love for the game is due to playing it when I was younger and influencing me a lot, so it can be tough to recommend the game in the modern age even with there being and easily accesible PC port. Still, any time I go back to play whether it be a couple stages or a full playthrough, I enjoy my time and it fills me with joy. There's a lot of personality underneath its rough edges, and I don't see my fondness for the game waning any time soon.