Why is Sonic Adventure considered the first 3D Sonic title?

RemixDeluxe

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Wouldn't that honor technically belong to Sonic 3D Blast which literally has 3D in its name?

The world of Sonic 3D Blast isn't as vast and explorable as Sonic Adventure but you were able to move around in all different directions and wasn't your standard start to finish left to right Sonic game. So what gives, why does it seem like this title gets disregarded when 3D Sonic titles are referred to?
 

Kurausukun

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Isometric =/= 3D. Just because they call it 3D doesn't mean it is 3D. It also wasn't a very good game, which could be the bigger reason people don't bring it up as much.
 
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Heran Bago

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Sonic 3D Blast is isometric 2D. It's true that you have 3 axis of movement. For that you could also count the terrible Sonic Labyrinth. Sonic Jam and Christmas Christmas NiGHTS are worth mentioning as early Sonic gameplay with a 3D engine.

Sonic adventure would be the first proper Sonic game in proper 3D.
 

sj33

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Well, Sonic 3D blast was one of those isometric platformers that are technically 2D. They've existed in some form ever since the Atari 2600. They still use a 2D plane, just allow for moving the character up and down the screen to 'simulate' a 3D effect.

The 3D world element of Sonic Jam is technicaly the first true 3D iteration of Sonic, and that was always a test for Sonic Adventure.
 

sj33

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If we're counting the isometric platformers, the Sonic Labyrinth and SegaSonic both pre-date Sonic 3D.

Sonic 3D was on the Genesis/MegaDrive too, by the way.
 

FAST6191

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Isometric =/= 3D. Just because they call it 3D doesn't mean it is 3D. It also wasn't a very good game, which could be the bigger reason people don't bring it up as much.
You do have useful control in three dimensions.

Anyway around the time, or actually this was later in the day, consoles and game devs had discovered 3d acceleration hardware. That led to every other game franchise trying to "go 3d"... it was not a great time for gaming. the sonic adventure series being another gaming great that fell during that time.
 

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Sonic R was the first polygonal Sonic game, but it was strictly racing and not an actual adventure. so Sonic Adventure is the correct answer here.
 

Kurausukun

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the sonic adventure series being another gaming great that fell during that time.

I'm going to hold my ground here and say this is not true. The transition was not as smooth as, say, Mario or Zelda, but Sonic Adventure definitely has redeeming qualities. Yes, the game is somewhat unpolished. Yes, the game has issues. Yes, there are parts of the game that suck and should never have been included. But when you're playing the fun parts of the game, it's a blast, and I even revisit those parts of the game today. Not to mention the absolutely fantastic soundtrack.
 

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I never really understood the correlation of "first 3-D game", like what, "first 3D-rendered game", "first game where you can walk in all three axes", yeah I know the general term is the rendered one, but this just always bothered me for whatever reason
 
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Wasn't it Sonic Xtreme that was originally going to become the first 3D Sonic title in 1996?

It's a shame that game got cancelled actually. I'm quite a fan of the fisheye effect they used in the levels. :(
 
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Erikku

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Wasn't it Sonic Xtreme that was originally going to become the first 3D Sonic title in 1996?

It's a shame that game got cancelled actually. I'm quite a fan of the fisheye effect they used in the levels. :(
what, that broken, clunky, wai past kewwwl, game that got canceled?

i have no idea what ur talkin about
 

sj33

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You may as well go with the MegaDrive/Genesis version, it's the most accessible.

The Saturn version is better in my opinion, but it had no save function which somewhat kills it. Avoid the PC version.
 

Kurausukun

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what is the best plataform\best way to play sonic 3d blast? i never finished that game
The best way is not to play it at all if you can help it. But if you absolutely must, the Sega Saturn/PC port is the better version gameplay-wise, at the cost of an inferior soundtrack (and horrible load times).
 
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broken, clunky
That's a little harsh. Bear in mind this is 1996, on a SEGA Saturn we're talking about.
And of course, not forgetting that the game was pretty much in beta back then, so there were still bound to be a lot of bugs to fix.

Nevertheless, I still liked their approach with the graphics and gameplay, but that's my opinion. Not a lot of people seemed to have liked that said approach anyway... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
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sj33

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The best way is not to play it at all if you can help it. But if you absolutely must, the Sega Saturn/PC port is the better version gameplay-wise, at the cost of an inferior soundtrack (and horrible load times).
The Saturn/PC version uses a soundtrack by the masterful Richard Jacques, who is still regarded as one of the best composers in the industry. It's brilliant.

Sonic 3D isn't a bad game as far as isometric platformers go, but it's a bad genre in general. Sonic 3D is one of the better ones, but it is a genre from when people didn't really know how to make 3D platformers.
 
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migles

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The best way is not to play it at all if you can help it. But if you absolutely must, the Sega Saturn/PC port is the better version gameplay-wise, at the cost of an inferior soundtrack (and horrible load times).
i played it before, and i kinda liked it, it was a fun time...
however how i hate to play a game where the map is in 45 deegres with a D pad...
 

Erikku

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That's a little harsh. Bear in mind this is 1996, on a SEGA Saturn we're talking about.
And of course, not forgetting that the game was pretty much in beta back then, so there were still bound to be a lot of bugs to fix.

Nevertheless, I still liked their approach with the graphics and gameplay, but that's my opinion. Not a lot of people seemed to have liked that said approach anyway... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
oh wait, I got it confused with Sonic EXtreme, something else. jfc sega. i agree with you tho, it looked promising tbh, and the story of its development is an interesting one to
 
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