If there’s one series that’s beloved by video game fans everywhere, it’s Sonic. Lucky for those who go as far back as the DreamCast, they can relive the joy of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (SA2) as a download to their PS3 and XBOX 360 systems.

The story of SA2 is twofold. You have the choice of playing either “Hero” or “Dark,” the former being Sonic, Tails and Knuckles, and the latter being Shadow, Rouge and Eggman. The stories are parallel, so you won’t have issues figuring out what is happening between story lines.

The game follows the same format as it did back in 2001. Run through stages as either Sonic or Shadow, the speedy character, find emerald pieces as Knuckles or Rouge, or man a robot with either Eggman or Tails.

The gameplay of the story retains 100% of its former glory, including the camera control which seems to have a habit of locking up or just never wanting to move when you need it to. The voice acting is also still the cheesiest thing ever seen in a video game, with Tails needing to give us a history lesson every time he has a level approaching. Also, the gamebreaking glitches in Sonic’s level aren’t far gone.

One of the things in the older renditions of the game that truly stuck out was the soundtrack. You’ll be glad to know that its as joyous and rock-heavy as ever.
There is still multiplayer, with the added bonus of achievements for that and the storyline. Beat the game, find all the Chaos Emerald shards, and then finish off the rest of the story emblems to platinum the title.

Not to push on nostalgia, but this is worth getting if just for that and the Chaos world.