Sonic Advance 2: Save States and My Analogue Pocket

I have finally completed Sonic Advance 2! Took me long enough.

I first got my copy back in late 2004. Maybe Christmas? I'd had a Game Boy Advance SP for a year, but I'd just used it for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which was the only reason why I'd bought it in the first place.

When I moved to Japan in late-2005, those were the only video games I brought with me. It should've been an ideal opportunity to lavish some attention on my GBA, being that I had no other handhelds or consoles to distract me, but that didn't happen. I used my first pay cheque to buy a white PSP, as well as a Saturn for the house, and my SP was immediately shelved. I barely used my GBA again, and I certainly never finished Sonic. It was far too tough. And besides, I had a full season running on NBA Live 2006 on my PSP, which demanded my attention.

Seven seconds or less to get my Suns a championship.

Fast forward the best part of two decades, and I have finally triumphed over Sonic Advance 2. I am good at games now, as long as I can make and load save states every thirty seconds, that is. And that's exactly what I've been doing on my new favourite time-waster, the Analogue Pocket. After nine months of utter silence, my Pocket was finally dispatched and keenly received. Despite my distaste for Analogue's customer service, or complete lack of it, I can't fault their products. I love my new handheld, and I'm taking full advantage of the mini Pockets of time that it has opened up, during which I can game. Ten minutes before working out, twenty minutes during my lunch break; fifteen minutes when I'm supposed to be doing something else. Grabbing a handheld seems less invasive, less of a commitment, and less guilt inducing, than turning on a console and getting comfy on the sofa. So I'm getting to more games, with minimal time commitment.

I made a point of playing Sonic Advance 2 first. It reminds me so much of good-Sonic, and this experience is partially to blame for the copy of Sonic Superstars that is sat next to me as I write this, newly delivered. Though the decent TGS demo was also responsible for this purchase - 10% of the blame - as was the free t-shirt I got for pre-ordering it - at least 70%. Anyway, I really enjoyed racing through its huge and vibrantly coloured levels, without having to worry about running headlong into spikes or robo-pricks, which are almost impossible to avoid without pre-knowledge of the level. These are the kinds of obstacles that would have sapped my enthusiasm in the recent past, and prevented me from completing it. However, with the ability to create a save file at any time, they are little more than minor annoyances. Nothing a quick reload can't fix.

Newly empowered, I decided to turn my attention to an old 8-bit nemesis, The Ninja on the Master System. I originally bought it in the early-1990s with my pocket money: ten quid from the old Woolworths on the Northampton high street. I never got past the first boss, because it was unreasonably difficult and I had the patience of a ten year old, being that I was ten. To be honest, I still lack patience and The Ninja is still ludicrously hard, but I can overcome both of these obstacles with save states. I've committed to finishing it on my Pocket, in ten-minute bursts, and with the aid of a hundred reloads. 

And why stop there? Finally I can conquer all those 8-bit bastards that terrorized my childhood gaming. Yes I'll be making liberal use of FPGA cores and ROMs, but I also discovered that I can play genuine MS carts on my Pocket, by using the Game Gear Adapter with the Master System add-on for the original Game Gear. It looks utterly ridiculous, and it's not the most comfortable of set-ups, but it blows my mind that it works. Modern technology breathing new life into the old.

Save-state abuse aside, I've been having a good time with several other GBA titles, most prominently Mr Driller 2, which I struggle to put down, and Kuru Kuru Kuruin. I'm currently eyeing up Atom Boy: Omega Factor and Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, while resisting the urge to put a few minutes into each of the thousands of games I suddenly have access to. I'll take it slow and enjoy myself.

I was in need of a handheld distraction. Recent returns to the Vita and 3DS confirmed what I already suspected: within reason, I'm kinda done with both of them. I've long-since played what I want on those platforms, and the retro-nostalgia bump is another ten years away, a bump that the PSP is now starting to enjoy. The Pocket came along at just the right time, though I would've preferred to have had it nine months ago when I paid all that money for it! Anyway, I guess good things come to those who wait.