Tails Adventure
| Tails Adventure | |
|---|---|
 European box art | |
| Developer(s) | Aspect |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Katsuhiro Hasegawa |
| Producer(s) | Katsuhiro Hasegawa |
| Artist(s) |
Nobuhiko Honda Shinichi Higashi |
| Composer(s) | Kojiro Mikusa |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platform(s) | Game Gear |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure, Metroidvania[1] |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Tails Adventure (テイルスアドベンチャー Teirusu Adobenchā) is an action-adventure video game developed by Aspect and published by Sega in 1995 for the Sega Game Gear. It is the first spin-off game of Sonic the Hedgehog series to mix platforming and role-playing game elements. Tails Adventure is also the third and most recent game in featuring Miles "Tails" Prower as the main character without Sonic himself, the first two being Tails and the Music Maker for the Sega Pico and Tails' Skypatrol also for the Game Gear.
In the game, Tails must save an island from destruction by the Battle Kukku Army, an army of birds, while at the same time obtaining objects such as various types of weapons and Chaos Emeralds that he finds during his passage. The gameplay is unlike that of many other games in the series, consisting of slower travel, and more time is spent searching for objects to use later on in the game, rather than simply running through levels.
Tails Adventure received generally positive reception. It was later re-released on Sonic Gems Collection, Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut, and the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.
Gameplay
Contrary to the classic speedy gameplay in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Tails Adventure is a puzzle-based platformer with a strong emphasis on item collecting and backtracking, like a side-scrolling action RPG.
Tails can walk, jump, duck, look up, fly, hang on ledges, solve puzzles and defend himself with a range of different items, such as a hammer, various types of bombs, and medallions bearing other characters, which allow him to perform additional actions, such as Spin-Dashing or punching enemies. His health is measured numerically by a Ring Item Box at the top left corner of the screen. HP is replenished by collecting Rings, which can be found by blowing up rocks or defeating enemies. He starts with 10 HP, but that number maxes out at 99 when all seven Chaos Emeralds have been collected. His air time is limited by the flight gauge, which starts at about 3 seconds and maxes out at about 15. If Tails falls off-screen, he goes back to the overworld map.
In total there are 12 stages to complete. There are 26 items to collect over the course of the game. Each one serves a different purpose, but Tails can bring only 4 items with him into any stage. Knowing which ones to bring along is a matter of tactic.
Remote Robot
Essential to complete many parts of the game is the Remote Robot, known in Japan as Mecha Tails (メカテイルス Meka Teiruzu). The Remote Robot is a tiny, all-terrain robot modeled on Tails that can squeeze into a lot of places Tails himself can't. When using Remote Robot, Tails stands in place while player control is switched to the vehicle. The Remote Robot can walk, jump, fly, and squeeze into tiny passageways, and is not damaged by most enemies or spikes, but if it is hit by a special type of blue laser or falls off-screen, it will automatically return to Tails. Many of the game's puzzles involve maneuvering the robot to open the path for Tails himself.
Under water, the Remote Robot changes into the Sea Fox, a small submarine (from Sonic Triple Trouble) that moves in much the same way that the Remote Robot does. Unlike most of the other Sonic games, oxygen is unlimited because when Tails is in the Sea Fox, he can breathe underwater thanks to the submarine's on-board oxygen supply. The Sea Fox also has several of its own equippable weapons, including a Machine Gun, homing Torpedoes, Surface-to-air missiles, Force Field Generators, and eventually, Rocket Boosters that allow it to fly as a makeshift aircraft with which to pursue the Battle Kukku Army as they take off into the air.
Plot
The Japanese version of the game has a different plot line than the Western version of the game. However, the plot is only presented in the manual, and both the Japanese cartridge and the Western cartridge are identical. The language the game is in is automatically set to whichever region the Game Gear unit is in. The names of various items in the game are identical regardless of language.[2]
Japanese version
In the southern seas, there exists a tiny island that cannot be found on any map: Cocoa Island, a beautiful little paradise that rests atop a coral reef. It is said that the legendary Chaos Emeralds rest here, and so did the hero of our story, once upon a time before he met his speedy blue idol. The following events take place prior to Tails' first encounter with Sonic:
During a sunny afternoon on Cocoa Island, Tails the Fox is taking a nap just outside his research lab. His slumber is interrupted by a huge explosion, and before Tails can say "stop, drop, and roll" the whole place is ablaze. A frantic Flicky reports the bad news to a confused Tails: the imperial Battle Kukku Army has invaded Cocoa Island. The dictator Great Battle Kukku 15th has discovered the Chaos Emeralds on the island, and intends to use them to conquer the entire world. Tails is the only one who can put a stop to the imperial army.[2]
Western version
Sonic and Tails are the best of friends, but after their previous adventure the two decide to go separate ways for a while. Tails comes across an island while going solo and decides to spend a holiday there for a while, dubbing the island "Tails Island".
He is resting peacefully when he is awoken by a large explosion. A Flicky reports to Tails that an army of birds has invaded the island.[3]
Characters
Tails
Tails (テイルス Teirusu), is a character in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, and animated series released by Sega. He is an 8 year-old,[4] anthropomorphic, and humanoid orange fox with two tails, hence the name. He is known to be Sonic the Hedgehog's sidekick and a mechanic. He is able to use his two tails to propel himself into the air like a helicopter for a limited time. His debut was on October 16, 1992, introduced in the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog 2; the 16-bit version was released that November.
Battle Kukku Army
The Battle Kukku Army is an army of birds that invade Cocoa Island who invade the island to snag the Chaos Emeralds hidden on the island. Tails battles the army and after he defeats their leader, the birds surrender. The Battle Kukku Army consists of uniformed birds, somewhat intelligent robot drones and advanced machinery. The Battle Kukku Army lives on a huge flying fortress that posed as an island throughout most of Tails Adventure.
Notable members of the Battle Kukku Army include:
- Grand Battle Kukku 15th: The dictator-like leader of the army. He is larger than most Kukkus, and is the final boss of the game battled in his flying fortress. He fights by throwing bombs all around him and throwing Tails himself if the fox gets too close.
- Battle Kukku 16th: Also known as "Speedy," the son of Grand Battle Kukku 15th and Tails' Rival. Speedy is a quick green Kukku who, despite his natural and fast aerial skills, sometimes wears armor equipped with an energy gun and a jet engine that lets him take even faster flight. He appears as a boss twice throughout the game, first on Pori Pori Mountain and then in the flying fortress just before the player faces his father.
- Dr. Fukurokov: The army's main scientist. He is the first boss of the flying fortress, but does not actually fight, as he instead lets his defensive machinery take care of Tails, which drops him into a trap chamber full of spikes, lasers, and one lone safe platform. His tendency to overlook little details is his greatest weakness.
Reception
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The game received generally positive reviews. NintendoLife gave the game 8 out of 10, stating it being "odd game out in the Game Gear's Sonic lineup, but it makes a sound case for its unique identity".[6] Electronic Gaming Monthly described it as "a solid adventure game", complimenting it for the colorful and sharp graphics, massive length, numerous secret areas, and similarity to the Super Mario series.[5] While they praised the detailed and colorful graphics, the controls, and the music, GamePro gave the game an overall negative assessment because of the lack of speed in comparison to most Sonic games, commenting that "Snails' adventures would be more like it."[10] The CGR Undertow gave it a positive review while stating the gameplay style is similar to Gargoyle's Quest games.[11] In a review of Sonic Gems Collection, Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer described the game as "intolerable" for all but a few moments, noting in particular that the health bar can be obscured by walls.[12]
Neal Ronaghan of Nintendo World Report gives eShop re-release 5 out of 10, stating the game being focused more on exploration and discovery but criticized the experience being woefully hampered by the system’s limitations and uninspired design.[7] Ryan Davis of GameSpot bashes the game being "generic and vaguely European 2D side-scroller that severely slows down Miles Prower's gait and arms him with bombs that he throws at enemies".[13]
Comic adaptation
In the Sonic Universe comic series from Archie Comics, the plot of Tails Adventure was adapted in issues 17-20, albeit incorporating elements of the existing comic continuity. This included the appearance of characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog animated series, an alliance between the Kukku Army-renamed the "Battle Bird Armada"-and Dr. Eggman, and a link between the Kukkus and the Babylon storyline featured in the Sonic Riders series of games.
References
- ↑ Sleeper, Morgan (June 27, 2013). "Review: Tails Adventure". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
"Tails Adventure casts the fearless fox into his own Metroid-inspired adventure platformer".
- 1 2 "Green Hill Zone - Tails Adventure". Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- ↑ "Sonic HQ - Tails Adventure". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ Sonic Team. "Tails's official character profile". Sega of Japan. Archived from the original on June 2, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
- 1 2 "Review Crew: Tails' [sic] Adventure". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Ziff Davis (78): 48. January 1996.
- 1 2 Sleeper, Morgan. "Tails Adventure". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- 1 2 Ronaghan, Neal. "Tails Adventure". Retrieved 6 June 2013.
- ↑ "Tails Adventure (Game Gear) - The Press Says". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ Sega Power review, Future Publishing, issue 73, December 1995
- ↑ "ProReview: Tails' Adventures [sic]". GamePro. IDG (89): 80. February 1996.
- ↑ "Classic Game Room - Tails Adventures - Sega Game Gear". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ "Eurogamer - Sonic Gems Collection". Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- ↑ Davis, Ryan. "Sonic Gems Collection Review". Retrieved 3 August 2013.