13 hours and 10 minutes after I had started I finally saw the credits roll on the final episode of Sonic Battle.
It is my opinion that this game was given just as much loving care -- at least in the storyline department -- than Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 was. While it all starts out as kind of an excuse to fight each other, it slowly begins to progress and build up in a way to an ending that, dare I say, beats the endings given to SA1 and SA2, or is at the very least, on par with them. It may not have fancy FMVs or cinema sequences using the powerful in-game rendering engine, but it is a well-told story that paces itself well enough.
Any fighting game that can keep me glued to it for 3 days straight and a total of 13 hours entirely has done it's job as being true quality entertainment. Time after time I told myself 'I don't think I can get any further than this, I'll never see the end of the game' and time after time somehow I managed to survive (there were times when I had to be a savestate whore, though).
It's truely a worthy addition to any Sonic fan's game collection and outshines Sonic Advance 1 and 2 combined. While there are a few unsightly flaws, (ruthlessly cheap enemy AI, so-so music selection) this game is pure ownage, especially if you're a Sonic fan. The addition of Emerl only seeks to extend the shelf-life of this fighter, as customizing him in both fighting style and colors and then taking him into multiplayer to battle against your friends gives the game a certain Pokemon-esque longevity for collecting and honing your skills to the finest point possible in order to show your friends who truely is the 'King of the Ring'.
Defenitely a big thumgs up.
'IT'S SHOU TAIM!'