Amy Rose (エミー・ローズ, Emī Rōzu^?), known earlier as Rosy the Rascal, is a video game character who appears in most of the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games developed by Sega's Sonic Team, debuting in Sonic CD (1993) as the tritagonist. Amy Rose was created by Kazuyuki Hoshino and based on one of Kenji Terada's characters. She was redesigned by Yuji Uekawa for Sonic Adventure. She is a pink, female, anthropomorphic hedgehog who is obsessed with series eponym and protagonist Sonic, even going so far as to declare herself his girlfriend. She has chased Sonic since her debut in 1993, and has been trying to win his heart in everything from the series' games to animated TV shows and comics. She is also one of the series most popular characters, coming in fifth place in an official popularity poll.^[2]

Like Sonic and other characters in the series, Amy is significantly shorter and lighter than humans her same age. She is 12 years old, 90 cm (2 ft 11in) tall^[1] She was originally described as being 8 years old in Sonic CD, but as of Sonic Adventure and onwards, she has grown older. Also, with the addition of Cream the Rabbit, Amy seems to have found herself a sidekick similar to Sonic's sidekick, Tails.

The character of Amy Rose was adapted by Kazuyuki Hoshino for Sonic CD in 1993^[3] from the Sonic the Hedgehog manga which was published on September 23, 1992.^{[citation needed]} Her character's use in Sonic CD was as Sonic's "main love interest," with the twist that Sonic was not interested in Amy's affection.^[4] Sonic Team's Yuji Naka said in an interview that the character's style is to always chase Sonic and did not foresee changing her role in the future. In response to questions asking whether Sonic and Amy would marry, Naka said that there would not be good chances of this occurring, and that Naka could not envision Sonic being married and having children.^[5]

Characteristics[link]

Sega's game manuals for various Sonic games describe Amy's character as the bright and overly cheerful self-appointed girlfriend of Sonic.^[6] She loves soft-serve ice cream and hates boredom,^[1] has a natural initiative,^[7] and a strong competitive streak,^[6] but gets into trouble often.^[8] With her strong sense of intuition and great passion^[9] Sonic has difficulty escaping her.^[7] Amy is quite formidable with her "Piko Piko Hammer",^[10] a weapon with which her skills are second to none.^[6]

History[link]

Games[link]

In her first game appearance, Sonic CD (1993), Amy was kidnapped by Metal Sonic. Doctor Robotnik then used the time stones to set time back on the Little Planet. She was named "Princess Sally"^[11] in the American manual of the Sega CD version in a tentative to tie in with the cartoon, though all the other versions of the game and later games called her mainly Amy Rose. Being a Mega Drive/Genesis-era game (though technically a Mega-CD game), Sonic CD's plot was minimal. Amy followed Sonic to Never Lake because she fell in love with him, and was then kidnapped by Metal Sonic and held hostage. Though Sonic CD was released after Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it was in production at the same time, meaning that Amy has approximately been around as long as Tails has.

Amy's first use of the Piko Piko Hammer was in Sonic the Fighters. This game used her "Rosy the Rascal" nickname as well, though it has not been used since, except in the Archie comics series, when used to describe her Moebius (aka Anti-Mobius) counterpart.

In 1998, Sonic Adventure put Amy in the spotlight. She is a playable character in the game and uses her weapon of choice, the Piko Piko Hammer, to defend herself during her quest to find the family of a bird [A blue Flicky] that escaped Eggman and crashed into her. Like the other major characters in the series, Amy was redesigned significantly for this game. Her quills were redesigned into shoulder-length hair, and she now wears a sleeveless red babydoll dress lined with a white petticoat and held on by a white-trimmed halter strap with matching trim on the skirt, and red go-go boots with a white stripe from the top to the tip to take advantage of her more mature 12-year-old form. She was given green eyes, the same eye color as Sonic had only in a lighter value.

She was an important supporting character in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) and was playable in 2-player mode. When Sonic was kept in an island prison, with Tails' help, she managed to free him. Later in the game, she ended up being held hostage at gun-point by Eggman, who threatened to kill her if Sonic did not quickly hand over a Chaos Emerald. She even talked Shadow into helping the team stop the destruction of the Earth, as her sweet nature and insight of humans reminded him of the deceased human Maria whom he befriended years ago (in Sonic X, it was Chris Thorndyke who reminded Shadow of Maria).

Her first playable appearance in a 2D game was in Sonic Advance (2002). Her gameplay was significantly different to the other characters as she did not immediately go into a spin attack when jumping. She later appeared as an unlockable character in Sonic Advance 2 (2003) (where she had the spin attack ability) and as a main character in Sonic Advance 3 (2004).

In Sonic Heroes (2003), Amy leads Team Rose. She represents the team's Speed formation. She is accompanied by Cream the Rabbit and Big the Cat on a mission to impress Sonic, while Big wants to find his friend Froggy and Cream and Cheese want to find Cheese's sibling, Chocola, all the while inspiring the whole team, cheering her friends on.

In Shadow the Hedgehog, Amy appears in Cryptic Castle urging Shadow to rescue Cream who wandered inside and didn't come out. And, no matter if the player has Shadow do the Dark Mission, Normal Mission, or Hero Mission, Amy will support Shadow in the battle aganist Egg Breaker. In the Final Story, Amy is frozen along with the rest of the cast, and cheers on Shadow after he defeats Devil Doom.

In 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy is chasing Sonic yet again. When she finds him, it is revealed she found Silver instead. When Silver tells her he's looking for someone, Amy helps him find Silver's target, unaware that Silver is trying to kill Sonic. After traversing Dusty Desert, Silver finds Sonic and attacks him, but Amy prevents him from killing Sonic. She yells at Silver for trying to kill Sonic, and doesn't believe him when he says that Sonic is the Iblis Trigger. She then runs away, much to Silver's despair. She traverses through White Acropolis to save Sonic in the Final Story. It is unknown what Amy did when Elise kissed Sonic during the Final Story.

Amy has had playable appearances in Sonic Riders (2006), Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) and most of the newer games. Her outfits have changed for certain games, such as the one she wears for Sonic Riders. She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008).

She appeared as a playable character in Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008) for the Nintendo DS, the first Sonic RPG. In this game, Amy indicates that she has a boyfriend, but if the player chooses the right things to say to her, Amy reveals in the end that she was lying to make Sonic jealous.

In Sonic Unleashed (2008), she fails to recognize Sonic in his were-hog form though after he saves her the whole incident is explained by Professor Pickle. She then proceeds to help the professor to help Sonic. Sonic has the option of agreeing to take her out on a date in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. She appears in a video at the end of the game Sonic and the Black Knight (2009), not believing Sonic's story about his Arthurian adventures and claiming that he made it up as an excuse for missing the date he was forced to do, she also features Nimue, the Lady of the Lake in which she explains Sonic about the sacred swords and tells him how to use the power. She then tricks Sonic by disguising herself as a little girl with her powers and requests that he slay a dragon, but she tricked him for his own good. In the end of the game she helps Sonic to beat Merlina along with the Knights of the Round Table and agrees upon Sonic's title for being King Arthur.

She is a playable character in the sport titles Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and the new addition to the Mario and Sonic series, Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. She's also an unlockable character in Sega Superstars Tennis.

She appears in Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. She rides a pink car similar to her vehicle in Sonic Drift and Sonic R, and uses her Piko Hammer as her All-Star move.

She also appears in Sonic Colors in the DS version, but she is only in a few cutscenes. Like all the other cameos, she gives Sonic a set of missions so that she is impressed by Sonic's moves. She even tries tricking Sonic from a picnic to a date but later fails as Sonic was busy fighting a robot.

Amy appears in Sonic Generations where she is seen attending Sonic's Birthday party. However, she was kidnapped by the Time Eater, but was later saved by the two Sonics. She is seen near Chemical Plant, and is also seen in certain missions.

[edit] Sonic the Hedgehog (comics)

In the Sonic the Hedgehog (comics), Amy was the same age as depicted in the original games. In Archie comics during the Sonic Adventure adaptation, Amy makes a wish on the Ring of Acorns, which caused her to grow physically older, reaching the age of 12, while maintaining her childish mindset and making her appear to be something of a ditz. After this, Amy once again requested to join the Freedom Fighters, but was denied again by Sonic, who told her having an older body is not enough, she still had the mentality of an 8-year old and no fighting experience. A year later, when Sonic returned to Mobius, Amy was finally allowed to join the Freedom Fighters after being awarded a medal by Sally as thanks for her service in helping the Freedom Fighters.

Amy undergoes combat training with the former Dark Legion soldier Julie-Su. When Julie explains that Amy should want this training to better herself rather than to impress Sonic, Amy replies that she does want to better herself so that no one else will be more worthy of Sonic's affection than her. While not the first to discover it, Amy was the first to oust Fiona Fox for cheating on Sonic with Scourge, enraged that anyone would play with Sonic's emotions so cruelly. She serves as the flower girl at Antoine and Bunnie's wedding, and, not long after, is one of the few to avoid capture during the destruction of Knothole. While initially distraught, she immediately takes part in the rescue mission; with her hammer, she and Knuckles destroy the Egg Grapes and free several captives. After the escape, she is shown supporting Rotor, whose back was injured during the initial attack. She would go on to help Sally save Sonic from Mammoth Mogul.

Later, she travels with Sonic to Moebius (the Anti-Universe version of Mobius) to find help to stop Scourge. However, Rosy the Rascal, a Moebius version of Amy, was all that was available. Unlike Amy, she hates Scourge and wants to destroy him. She used the Ring of Acorns to make herself older so she'll appear as more of a threat to Scourge. However, the transformation had a few side effects, which made Rosy insane. Her character design resembles her look from Sonic CD. Eventually, Sonic defeats Scourge and she goes back to Mobius, leaving the fate of Rosy unknown. She then goes on to help Sonic in the ultimate battle against Eggman, even attempting to comfort him after Sonic shows sign of guilt towards Eggman's mental breakdown.

[edit] Sonic the Comic

Amy makes frequent appearances in the British publication, Sonic the Comic. Whilst initially representative of her Sonic CD counterpart, i.e. head over heels in love with Sonic, she later became a more active member of the Freedom Fighters, and she has been generally less amorous towards Sonic. She wears a grey sweatshirt and carries around a crossbow used to attack badniks. She generally kept her hairstyle from Sonic CD, though as of the online continuation of the comic, her hair is based on her Sonic Adventure look, and she wears a variety of outfits from story to story. Her backstory is similar to that of Sonic's in British publications, being that she was once a brown coloured hedgehog. However, after being rescued from one of Robotnik's machines by Sonic, she became pink. She generally pairs up with Tekno the Canary to solve problems around the universe.

[edit] Sonic Adventures

Two French-made comic books published by Sirène were released in 1994. Amy appears in the first volume Sonic Adventures: Dans Les Griffes De Robotnik, where she is kidnapped by Robotnik as bait to get Sonic. This version of Amy had the same design as in Sonic CD.

Reception[link]

A Games Radar article called Amy Rose's introduction "the only bitter taste" in Sonic CD, but added that "she's just a pink hedgehog here and not a whiny, annoying brat like in Sonic Adventure."^[12] In an IGN article called "Smash It Up", Lucas M. Thomas stated that "one of the coolest things about [Amy Rose's character] is her enormous, walloping hammer" that is often used for comedy in the series.^[4]

In a retrospective of the series, IGN staff writer Levi Buchanan stated, "Who buys a Sonic game to ... swat bad guys with Amy Rose's hammer?", criticizing the introduction of too many characters, which supposedly began shortly after Amy's introduction.^[13]

References[link]

Notes and references[link]

In addition to information taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog games themselves, the instruction booklets of the US and Japanese versions of the games were also used as references for this article.

External links[link]

	Sonic portal
	Fictional characters portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Amy Rose

• Sonic Central official character profiles
• At Sonic's Channel
• Amy Rose at the Internet Movie Database

Sonic Adventure (ソニックアドベンチャー^?) is a 1998 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. The final updated edition, known as Sonic Adventure International, was released as a launch title on September 9, 1999, in North America and on October 14, 1999, in Europe. It has sold over 2.5 million copies, making it the best-selling Dreamcast game.

An enhanced port was released in 2003 as Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the Nintendo GameCube and in 2004 for Microsoft Windows. The game was ported to Xbox Live Arcade on September 15, 2010 and PlayStation Network on September 20, 2010. The game was featured on Dreamcast Collection, a four-game bundle released in 2011.

Gameplay[link]

This game is the first in Sonic series to feature free-roaming 3D gameplay. The game is divided into three types of stages: Action Stages, Adventure Fields and Subgames. The division of Action Stages and Adventure Fields was a serious departure from previous Sonic games. In addition, unlike the previous game in the series, Sonic Adventure has six different characters to choose from: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Big and E-102 Gamma; each with their own style of gameplay. Only Sonic is playable at first, but other characters are made available after encountering them in his story. When all stories have been completed, a final story is unlocked.

Sonic's stages involve high speed gameplay, whilst Tails' stages require him to reach the end of the level before Sonic (and in one case, Robotnik) does and Knuckles' stages see him searching the area for shards of the Master Emerald. All three of these returning characters retain a lot of their trademark moves from previous Sonic games. Amy's stages require her to escape from the E-100 Zero robot chasing after her, Gamma's stages involve shooting through levels to reach a target and Big's stages involve fishing for his friend, Froggy.

Action Stages are the main playable levels for each character, where the player must face various enemies in order to complete their respective goals. Adventure Fields split up the action, where players can explore the surroundings to advance the plot, discover new levels or search for items which enhance a character's ability (for example, the Light Speed Shoes allow Sonic to run across a path of rings). Subgames deviate from the main gameplay of the character, which include minigames such as kart racing and snowboarding. Players may also find hidden Chao Gardens, which allow them to raise Chao, a sort of virtual pet. Chao can be taken with the player by downloading the minigame Chao Adventure to their VMU, or in the GameCube version, a Game Boy Advance with Sonic Advance or various other Game Boy Advance Sonic games. The player can also raise their stats by giving them small animals that they found by defeating the robots, which improves their performance in Chao Races. There are also eggs hidden throughout the Adventure Fields which can produce special types of Chao.

By playing through Action Stages and Subgames, searching through the Adventure Fields or winning Chao Races, players can earn Emblems. In the case of Action Stages, each one has three Emblems, which can be earned by replaying the stages and fulfilling certain objectives, such as beating the level within a time limit. In Sonic Adventure DX, these can unlock hidden extras such as Game Gear games.

Synopsis[link]

Characters[link]

Much of Sonic Adventure centers on Sonic, a hedgehog who has the ability to run at supersonic speeds, and Miles "Tails" Prower, a two-tailed fox who often accompanies Sonic on his adventures; they are the main characters of the game who are in pursuit of Eggman. Supporting characters include Knuckles, an echidna who guards the Master Emerald on Angel Island, Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog who has a crush on Sonic, and newcomers Big the Cat and E-102 Gamma. Big is a purple, noticeably overweight cat who must rescue his best friend Froggy who became possessed by Chaos' tail, and swallows Big's "lucky charm", a Chaos Emerald, which causes him to mutate. Gamma is one among a series of robots designed by Eggman to take orders without question. After an encounter with Amy, he suffers a malfunction and gains a "conscience". He then turns his aim to destroying his robotic brothers and freeing the animals trapped inside them.

The main antagonist of the game is Eggman, who has formulated a new plan to conquer the planet, this time not relying on his robots alone, but employing a strange liquid creature known only as Chaos. Chaos also serves an antagonistic role in the game, and is the guardian of the Chao. He is apparently water or a plasma-like material and changes form after consuming a Chaos Emerald. After consuming all seven Chaos Emeralds, he turns into Perfect Chaos, which Eggman aims to use in order to conquer the planet. The main antagonist of Amy's story is E-100 Alpha (better known as Zero), the first E-100 series robot who is a large green robot and is considered the prototype.^[5] Zero is one of Dr. Eggman's Robots sent to find Amy's friend Birdie. He follows Amy wherever she goes hoping to capture her and the bird. At one point he succeeds but Amy is rescued by E-102 Gamma. Eventually Zero is defeated by Amy on the Egg Carrier.

Eggman's E-Series of robots play a large role in Gamma's story, as he is one of them, and is out to destroy or "save" the others. All of them have letters of the Greek alphabet as part of their name. E-101 Beta is a black robot with two gun arms. He is the first boss in E-102 Gamma's side of the story, and is later upgraded into E-101 Beta Mk II, who is Gamma's fifth and final boss. E-103 Delta is a blue robot who is Gamma's second boss, waiting at the end of Windy Valley. E-104 Epsilon is an orange robot who is the third boss of Gamma's side of the story and is fought at the end of Red Mountain. E-105 Zeta is a purple robot who is Gamma's fourth boss and is located at the end of Hot Shelter. While at first humanoid, Zeta is altered into a cylinder-like form with several turrets made up of a few Dreamcast machines.

Friendly characters who are non-playable include Tikal, a mysterious female echidna who appears whenever Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, E-102 Gamma and Big are sent back in time. She is trying to stop her father, Pachacamac, from stealing the Chaos Emeralds from the Master Emerald shrine. She appears mostly in the form of a pink ball of light called a Hint Orb. A major feature of the game are Chao, small creatures who can be raised in the Chao Gardens and play a supporting role in the story.

Plot[link]

3000 years in the past, the echidna empire, ruled by Pachacamac, desires the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald - mysterious emeralds with unlimited power. Pachacamac's daughter Tikal befriends the Chao in the emeralds' shrine and their guardian Chaos, a water-based creature. Tikal tries to explain to her father that attacking the shrine and killing the Chao to gain possession of the emeralds is not the way to peace, but Pachamac and his men do so anyway. He and his men, however, did not know about Chaos, the guardian of the shrine, and the enraged Chaos uses the power of the emeralds to transform into Perfect Chaos and destroy the echidna empire. Tikal survives and seals the angered Chaos and herself inside the Master Emerald for eternity.

In the present day, Knuckles the Echidna is guarding the Master Emerald on the floating Angel Island when Chaos is released from the emerald by Dr. Robotnik. The Master Emerald, now shattered, can no longer keep Angel Island afloat, and Angel Island plunges into the sea, scattering the shards of the Master Emerald and all the Chaos Emeralds. The Chaos monster later appears in Station Square, and is confronted by Sonic the Hedgehog, who defeats him in a fight. Knuckles sets off searching for the shards of the Master Emerald. The next day, Sonic rescues Miles "Tails" Prower after Tails crash-lands in the city while testing his Chaos Emerald-powered plane. They go to Tails's workshop in the Mystic Ruins, where Dr. Robotnik appears with Chaos. Dr. Eggman feeds Tails' emerald to Chaos, transforming Chaos into a stronger form; Dr. Robotnik explains that Chaos will grow stronger with each emerald he eats and will eventually become invincible and destroy Station Square for him. Upon the ruins of Station Square, Robotnik intends to build Robotnikland, where he will rule it all. Sonic and Tails set off searching for emeralds to prevent Robotnik from getting them first, but eventually lose the ones they find to Dr. Robotnik and Chaos. Dr. Robotnik escapes in his flying fortress, the Egg Carrier, which shoots down Sonic and Tails's pursuing plane.

Dr. Robotnik orders his E-Series robots, including E-102 Gamma, to search for Froggy, a frog who has eaten Chaos's tail as well as a Chaos Emerald. Gamma finds Froggy but is chased by Froggy's owner Big the Cat back to the Egg Carrier. Meanwhile, Tails finds another emerald and uses it to prepare the Tornado II plane to find Sonic. Sonic lands in Station Square, where he runs into Amy Rose, who insists on protecting a Flicky bird she found, named Birdy. One of Robotnik's robots, Zero, intends to get the bird back from Amy and continually chases her. Zero finally captures Amy and Birdy, and escapes to the Egg Carrier. Sonic and Tails board the Tornado II and manage to board the Egg Carrier. Knuckles also boards the aircraft after collecting pieces of the Master Emerald and seeing an image of the Egg Carrier in the emerald.

Onboard the Egg Carrier, Dr. Robotnik commands Gamma to go tend to Amy. Gamma wanders into the wrong room and witnesses his brother E-101 Beta being rebuilt, and leaves to go to the other room. Here, Amy convinces Gamma that Robotnik is a bad man and that Gamma shouldn't work for him. In a confusion of newly discovered emotions, Gamma allows Amy and Birdy to leave their prison; Amy goes on deck.

Here, she runs into Sonic and Tails, who confront Dr. Robotnik. Robotnik flees down the ship, Sonic and Tails fighting Gamma but sparing him at Amy's request. At this time, Gamma fully understands that Robotnik is a bad person and that he should follow the others instead. Tails, Amy, and Gamma evacuate the ship, and Sonic and Knuckles go chase Robotnik down. Here, they fight Chaos, who now has all but one of the seven Chaos Emeralds. The Egg Carrier begins to malfunction and lose altitude, and Sonic, Knuckles, Big, and Robotnik evacuate the ship as well.

Gamma decides tracks down his brother robots and destroy them to free the animals inside, and eventually confronts his elder brother E-101 Beta, in his rebuilt form, on the Egg Carrier. Gamma defeats Beta but is wounded in the process, both robots exploding, and each releasing a Flicky bird. Birdy reunites with its friends when Amy visits the ship. Sonic and Tails, meanwhile, defeat Robotnik in the Egg Viper and Egg Walker, respectively.

A day later, Knuckles restores all the shards of the Master Emerald, but Angel Island collapses into the sea again when Chaos attacks him and Dr. Robotnik. Chaos absorbs the 6 Chaos Emeralds and locates the seventh aboard the Tornado II, which crashed after Big used it to escape the Egg Carrier. With all the Chaos Emeralds, Chaos transforms into Perfect Chaos, depleting the Chaos Emeralds of their negative energy, and flooding and destroying Station Square. Tikal appears, having taken each main character into the past numerous times beforehand, demanding that Chaos must be sealed back in the Master Emerald. Sonic objects, saying that Chaos's heart would still be filled with anger and sadness if he were to be sealed inside the Master Emerald. Sonic's friends cheer him on, and Sonic uses the Chaos Emeralds' still-present positive energy to become Super Sonic. Sonic defeats Perfect Chaos, and Chaos survives in his basic form. He discovers that the Chao he once was guardian of now live in Station Square, so he leaves them on Earth to live there, while Chaos himself peacefully departs to the past with Tikal. Dr. Robotnik flees the scene, with Sonic is last seen pursuing him.

Development[link]

Development of Sonic Adventure began around April 1997 with a development team of 30 members. After several titles for the Mega Drive, Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka worked mainly on the game Nights into Dreams.... However, learning of the Dreamcast brought him a renewed interest in creating Sonic games. The development team focused on graphics and high resolution for this game, with Naka reflecting that "[w]e have pushed the Dreamcast as far as we can at present".^[6]

Naka aimed to create levels that would take the player at least five minutes to complete, yet retain similar gameplay to the Mega Drive titles. Following the creation of the basic level maps, Naka wondered "why don't we use this map for other characters?" This led to the introduction of Big and E-102. The development team conducted surveys of fans to ensure that the final product—especially the characters—would please them.^[6] Sega made it a top priority to keep the game hidden until shortly before its release. Despite these efforts, screenshots were leaked onto the Internet in mid-1998. Naka presented the game to Edge in mid-August, and official announcement fell on August 22 in Japan.^[6]

Sonic Adventure also introduced a drastic shift in the overall art style of the games that continued to be used over the next few years. The more detailed, modernized redesigns of Amy Rose and Dr. Eggman probably best reflect this. The characters resemble graffiti art in their official artwork, striking more dynamic and extreme poses. In the game, there were some unused items, such as the unused boss, Sky Dragon from the level Sky Chase.

Music[link]

Head composer Jun Senoue brought a new sound to the Sonic the Hedgehog series with this game, and as such it features many different styles of music such as jazz, rock, techno, pop and country. Each heroic player character (aside from Gamma) also has an instrumental motif that later translates into a vocal theme song that plays during the end credits of their story. The game contains vocal performances from Tony Harnell, Karen Brake, Marlon Saunders, Dread Fox, Ted Poley, Nikki Gregoroff and Johnny Gioeli, the latter of whom would later join Senoue to form the band Crush 40. The development team preferred the use of "hot, funky, and rock 'n' roll" music over the traditional techno-based music present in earlier Sonic games.^[6]

Alternate versions and releases[link]

Gamecube[link]

In 2003 an enhanced port was released for the GameCube and Windows titled Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (ソニックアドベンチャー デラシクス, Sonikku Adobenchā Derakkusu^?). Sonic Adventure DX includes a Mission Mode, which included 60 missions to complete throughout the Adventure Fields and Action Stages. It also contains an unlockable compilation, which comprises twelve Game Gear games featuring Sonic and friends: Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit), Sonic Drift, Sonic Chaos, Sonic the Hedgehog Spinball, Sonic Labyrinth, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit), Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Drift 2, Tails' Skypatrol, Sonic Blast, and Tails Adventure.

Also, if all Emblems are collected, then the player can play as Metal Sonic. Reviews were generally less positive than those of its Dreamcast predecessor.^[7]

Xbox Live and Playstation Network[link]

On June 10, 2010, Sega officially announced Sonic Adventure would be released on both the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network in Fall 2010. Sonic Adventure DX was released on Steam, as the first in a series of Dreamcast titles to be released as digital downloads. Additional features include enhanced graphics, surround sound, online leaderboards, achievement/trophy support and unlockable Avatar Awards, consisting of a Sonic Adventure T-Shirt and Sonic's "Speed Shoes".^[8]

Sonic Adventure was released on Xbox Live Arcade on September 15, 2010, while the PlayStation Network version was released on September 20, 2010.^[9] The initial release is based on the PC version of Sonic Adventure DX despite the game simply being called "Sonic Adventure".^[10] The DLC package, simply titled "Sonic Adventure DX Upgrade", has launched alongside the game on XBLA, and PSN, which upgrades the game to include all of the features from the GameCube and PC versions with the exception of the Game Gear games and Dreamcast DLC. This version also includes Metal Sonic as an unlockable character.

Reception and legacy[link]

The reception at the time of original Dreamcast version was very positive, with reviews from GameSpot and GameSpy being above 90%. The current GameRankings average ranking is 88%.^[11] It became one of the few Sega All Stars games. In Japan, it received an excellent 38 out of 40 from Famitsu.^[12] Although criticized for its camera system, framerate issues, and fishing stages with Big, the game was still highly praised for retaining the fast and enjoyable gameplay that Sonic was known for in 2D as well as the game's graphics, multiple character storylines, and soundtrack. Brandon Justice of IGN rated the game an 8.6/10, criticizing various glitches and voice acting while praising the game's visuals and gameplay.^[13] On the other hand, GamePro gave it a 5/5 saying, "Sonic is fun, fast, and a great reason to purchase a Dreamcast". The game has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Dreamcast game.^[14] This includes one million sold in the United States.^[15]

The GameCube version received less positive reviews. IGN gave the DX version a 5/10 criticizing the game's glitches, poor framerate, and clunky camera making it less fun to play in contrast to its original Dreamcast version but praised the overall presentation of the game.

The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 ports were panned by game reviewers. While some critics viewed it as a good piece of nostalgia, many others criticized the lack of improvements and the game's more noticeable age, with IGN giving it a score of 3.5 out of 10, calling it "so fundamentally flawed that it borders on unplayable", making it the lowest scored Sonic game on the site since Sonic and the Black Knight.^[16] 1UP.com gave it a D rank, criticizing its lack of improvements and touchy controls.^[10] Retro Gamer gave the Xbox 360 port 63%.

In 2009, GamePro listed the game as the seventh best platformer of all time, asserting that while it had not aged well in certain respects, its core gameplay "is still some of the best" in the entire series, and its visuals and scope were "hip and cutting-edge" for the time.^[17]

For Sonic's 20th Anniversary, Sega released Sonic Generations, a game that remade aspects of various past games from the franchise. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 version contained a remade "Speed Highway" level, and a remade battle with Perfect Chaos. The Nintendo 3DS version contained a remade version of the "Emerald Coast" level.

Promotion and tie-ins[link]

Sonic Adventure received a comic book adaptation courtesy of Archie Comics' Sonic the Hedgehog on-going series. The story arc took place in issues #79-84 and Sonic Super Special #13, originally published from November 1999 to May 2000. This adaptation is notable for its permanent integration of characters and story-lines from the video game into the pre-existing continuity of the comic series, providing explanations for the altered character design for Amy Rose and the history of Station Square hidden beneath Sonic's planet, Mobius. Selected portions of these issues (with the exception of issue #79) were reprinted in Archie's Sonic Super Special Magazine #2 (February 2012).

Franco-American's Sonic the Hedgehog pasta featured Sonic Adventure inspired labeling for a limited time and offered consumers a chance to obtain a free Archie Sonic comic book.

In 2000, Toy Island produced multiple lines of Sonic Adventure toys, featuring 5" action figures, 10" talking figures, and 3" bendy figures. Many of these figures were later reissued as part of their Sonic X lines in 2004.

The game loosely follows the storyline of Sonic X episodes 27-32.

References[link]

External links[link]

	Sega portal
	Video games portal
	Japan portal
	1990s portal

• Sonic Retro page on this game

Amy Dickinson
Dickinson in Chicago (2008)
Born	6 November 1959 Freeville, New York US
Occupation	Author journalist
Years active	1980-present
Children	Emily Mason

Amy Dickinson (born 6 November 1959 in Freeville, New York)^[1]) is an American newspaper columnist who writes the syndicated advice column, Ask Amy.

Dickinson has appeared as a social commentator on ABC's Good Morning America.

Biography[link]

Dickinson was born and raised on a small dairy farm in Freeville, New York. She graduated from Georgetown University. She married a CBS News correspondent, Anthony Mason, in 1986. They moved to London in 1987. A daughter, Emily, was born there in 1988. The couple divorced in 1990.

Dickinson married Bruno Schickel, a builder from Dryden, New York, on 16 August 2008.^[2]

Career[link]

Dickinson has worked as a producer for NBC News. Her articles have appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, Esquire, and O. She wrote a column on family issues for Time, and produced a weekly column for AOL's News channels, drawing on her experiences as a single parent and member of a large, extended family.

Dickinson succeeds the late Ann Landers (Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer) as the Chicago Tribune's signature advice columnist.^[3] Tribune Media Services syndicates Ask Amy to newspapers around the world.

Dickinson is a frequent panelist on the radio game show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! that is distributed by National Public Radio, and is a regular featured guest on Talk of the Nation.

On 9 February 2009, Dickinson's memoir, The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them, was released by Hyperion Books. It reached The New York Times bestseller list in two weeks, debuting at number 16.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amy Dickinson

• Amy Dickinson, Tribune Media Services
• Amy Dickinson, NPR
• "Giving Advice" Inner Compass TV interview with Amy Dickinson, January 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/style/ann-landers-may-write-again.html?ref=annlanders

v t e Tribune Company Corporate directors Sam Zell (Chairman and Chief Executive) · Betsy Holden · Randy Michaels · Ed Wilson Tribune Publishing Newspapers The Baltimore Sun · Chicago Tribune · Hartford Courant · Los Angeles Times · South Florida Sun-Sentinel · Orlando Sentinel · The Morning Call · Daily Press · The Virginia Gazette · RedEye · Hoy (Chicago and Los Angeles) · El Sentinel del Sur de la Florida Times community papers Daily Pilot · Huntington Beach Independent · Burbank Leader · Glendale News Press Other Chicago · Hartford · Advocate Weekly Newspapers · Metromix (50%) · ChicagoNow Investments Classified Ventures · CareerBuilder · Topix Tribune Broadcasting Television networks Broadcast network Antenna TV Cable networks CLTV · Food Network (30%) · WGN America ABC network affiliate WGNO CW network affiliates KDAF · KIAH · KPLR-TV · KRCW-TV · KTLA · KWGN-TV · WCCT-TV · WDCW · WGN-TV · WNOL-TV · WPIX · WSFL-TV · WTTV Fox network affiliates KCPQ · KSWB-TV · KTXL · WPMT · WTIC-TV · WXIN · WXMI MyNetworkTV affiliates KZJO · WPHL-TV Radio WGN · Chicago Cubs Radio Network Tribune Media Services Comic strips Animal Crackers · Bottom Liners · Bound and Gagged · Brenda Starr, Reporter · Brewster Rockit: Space Guy! · Broom-Hilda · Dick Tracy · Gasoline Alley · Gil Thorp · Jumble · Little Orphan Annie · Loose Parts · Love Is... · The Middletons · The Pink Panther · Pluggers Editorial cartoons Dan Wasserman · Dana Summers · Dick Locher · Don Wright · Drew Sheneman · Jack Ohman · Matt Davies · Paul Conrad · Scott Stantis · Walt Handelsman Humor columnists Andy Rooney · Dave Barry · Diane Farr · Jen Lancaster · Mark Russell · Michael Showalter · Today's Chuckle Political columnists Arianna Huffington · Bill Press · Cal Thomas · Carl Hiaasen · Clarence Page · Garrison Keillor · Henry Kissinger · Ian Bremmer · Jesse Jackson · Jonah Goldberg · Jules Witcover · Leonard Pitts Jr. · Paul Kennedy · Andrés Oppenheimer · Victor Davis Hanson · William Pfaff Other columnists Amy Dickinson · Billy Graham · Goren Bridge · Liz Smith · Mitch Albom · Omarr's Astrological Forecast · Rick Steves · Robert Pagliarini · Wolfgang Puck · Zap2it Annual revenue: $5.73 billion USD (2% FY 2005) · Employees: 21,500 · Website: tribune.com