Sonic Adventure 2 is a cartoon third-person platform game developed by Sonic Team, published by Sega, and released for PC on November 9, 2012. It is a part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and the sequel to Sonic Adventure.
The original game was first released for the Dreamcast in North America on June 18, 2001, and the rest of the world on June 23.
The game was later ported to the GameCube in 2002 as Sonic Adventure 2: Battle as an updated version of the game, featuring an expanded multiplayer mode and readjusted gameplay elements. This PC port is based off the GameCube version, with the expanded multiplayer and Chao Karate content being locked behind a separate DLC purchase.[1]
Initially, it wasn't made available in Japan, but Sega later announced that the game will be available in Japan on January 23, 2024 alongside Sonic Adventure DX.[2]
The game's physics and speed are tied around 60 FPS, meaning slowdowns on lower end machines and speedups with high refresh-rate displays. Various mods are available to restore original features from the Dreamcast version and address issues with the PC version; see Modifications for recommendations and how to setup MainMemory's SA2 Mod Loader to ease the installation of mods.
General information
- Sonic Retro - A huge fan site for everything Sonic the Hedgehog. Mods for all the games can be found here
- Steam Community Discussions
Availability
- All versions require Steam DRM.
DLC and expansion packs
Essential improvements
Bypass launcher
Use the -q command line argument[3]
|
- If configuration files are missing, it will load the launcher regardless of the command line argument.
|
Skip company logos and intro cutscene
Enable Skip Intro in SA2 Mod Loader[4]
|
- See instructions for installing SA2 Mod Loader here.
- Go to the Options tab, and check Skip Intro from the Misc. section.
- Click the Save button to apply the changes. The game should now boot directly into the title screen upon launch.
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
Save game data location
- Chao Garden is saved to the file
SONIC2B__ALF
.
- Game progression is saved to numbered
SONIC2B__S##
files; one file per slot.
Video
In game general settings. Options clockwise starting from the bottom: Vibration, Save/Load, Erase save, main menu theme, speech language and Stereo/Mono.
Launcher general settings.
Input
Launcher control settings.
Audio
Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
Separate volume controls |
|
|
Surround sound |
|
Based on system configuration; otherwise not configurable. Tested with 7.1 surround sound. No centre and LFE channels, just a 4.0 quadraphonic mix.[citation needed] |
Subtitles |
|
On by default. Subtitles during pre-rendered cutscenes are not available. |
Closed captions |
|
Idle Chatter mod is not captioned, however, Retranslated Story Complete features captions for idle chatter. |
Mute on focus lost |
|
|
Localizations
- Text language is selected from launcher, dialogue language is selected from in game settings.
Network
Multiplayer types
VR support
Issues unresolved
- On AMD cards, menus won't render if the resolution exceeds 4579 x 3965, on either axis.[citation needed]
FXAA breaks the game
- Forcing FXAA through the graphics card control panel will cause the game to stop responding.[citation needed]
Game freezes and hardlocks when trying to load a stage
- This issues is related to the SA2 Mod Loader. Rebooting the computer with the mod loader uninstalled seems to help temporarily.[6] An issue ticket can be found on the Mod Loader's GitHub repo. Another potential solution is to to launch SA2 Mod Loader, click "Uninstall loader" to disable the mod loader, launching the game normally via
Launcher.exe
and exiting the game, and then re-launching the Mod Loader and clicking "Install Loader" to re-enable it.
Issues fixed
Game crashes after the Sonic Team logo
Use DXVK[citation needed]
|
- Go to DXVK's project page.
- Download the latest release.
- Open it using a ZIP program, and go to the X32 folder.
- Copy
d3d9.dll and paste it into <path-to-game>
|
Use ForceD3D9On12[citation needed]
|
- Download the latest release
- Open it using a ZIP program, and go to the x86 folder.
- Copy
d3d9.dll and paste it into <path-to-game>
|
Fixing crashes[citation needed]
|
If the game is crashing only in fullscreen mode, an easy workaround is to use a borderless fullscreen tool to make windowed mode fill the entire screen. The SA2 Mod Loader offers an option to do that.[7]
If the game is crashing in both fullscreen and windowed mode:
- Disable any framerate limiters; Sonic Adventure 2's loading screens rely on uncapped FPS in order to load properly.[citation needed]
- Disable any overlays (e.g. Steam Overlay, GeForce Experience).
- For Nvidia cards, open Nvidia Control Panel, click
Manage 3D Settings , Program Settings , and add sonic2app.exe .
- Set V-Sync to
On and set Preferred refresh rate to Application-controlled , then click Apply.
|
Game freezing for few seconds randomly
Fixing crashes[citation needed]
|
- For Nvidia cards, open Nvidia Control Panel, click
Manage 3D Settings , Program Settings , and add sonic2app.exe .
- Set Power management mode to
Prefer maximum performance , click Apply.
|
Missing or broken graphical effects
- Some effects such as rain, fire, smoke, footprints, and dirt from digging as Knuckles or Rouge are missing on integrated graphics with application optimization mode enabled.
Disable Application Optimal Mode from the integrated GPU control panel[8]
|
Run the game at screen refresh rate
- Fullscreen mode is limited to 60 Hz, even if the screen refresh rate is set higher than that.
Set screen refresh rate and 60 FPS cap[citation needed]
|
- Download Special K.
- Copy
SpecialK32.dll to the installation folder.
- Rename
SpecialK32.dll to d3d9.dll .
- Start the game and then exit.
- Open
d3d9.ini in the installation folder.
- Change
TargetFPS to 60.0 .
- Change
RefreshRate to 0 .
|
Launcher crashes when trying to start the game, No resolution options available
Manually create config files[9]
|
- Go to the configuration file(s) location.
- If no files are present, create files named
Keyboard.cfg and UserConfig.cfg .
- Copy and paste following to files.
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<Setup Layout="0" />
<Players>
<Player InputWay="1" Vibrate="0">
<key index="83" />
<key index="65" />
<key index="73" />
<key index="79" />
<key index="5" />
<key index="52" />
<key index="56" />
<key index="54" />
<key index="25" />
<key index="16" />
<key index="37" />
<key index="23" />
<key index="4" />
<key index="37" />
<key index="27" />
<key index="67" />
</Player>
<Player InputWay="0" Vibrate="0">
<key index="22" />
<key index="18" />
<key index="0" />
<key index="3" />
<key index="102" />
<key index="98" />
<key index="101" />
<key index="99" />
<key index="66" />
<key index="104" />
<key index="37" />
<key index="76" />
<key index="105" />
<key index="37" />
<key index="28" />
<key index="111" />
</Player>
</Players>
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<Configs FullScreen="1" Display="0" Res="22" Width="640" Height="480" RefreshRate="60" Language="0" Analytics="0" />
- Start the game from
<path-to-game>\sonic2app.exe .
- If everything works, then change the values in
UserConfig.cfg to desired ones. Bypassing the launcher is also recommended afterwards.
|
Planted Trees in the Chao Garden appear as saplings despite being fully grown
- This fix requires SA2 Mod Loader.
Instructions
|
- Download and install SA2 Mod Loader.
- Download the Enhanced Chao World mod.
- In the mod manager, tick and enable the mod, then click
Configure and toggle any preferred features of the mod. The tree scaling fix is not listed as it is a part of the mod.
|
Other information
API
Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
Direct3D |
9.0c |
|
Shader Model support |
3.0 |
|
Executable |
32-bit |
64-bit |
Notes |
Windows |
|
|
|
Modifications
Modding essentials
How to install SA2 Mod Manager[10]
|
- Download SA2 Mod Manager from here.
- Extract the contents of
SA2ModLoader.7z to <path-to-game> .
- Run
SA2ModManager.exe , click the Install loader , then go to the Options tab and adjust settings as desired.
Notes
- Eases installation and configuration of mods without replacing installation files.
- Adds optional tweaks such as skipping intro videos and splash screens, locking the framerate for higher refresh rate displays, and disabling loading screen animations which also speed up loading times.
|
Featured websites
Featured mods
Bugfixes/improvements:
- Action Remap - Remaps the "Light Speed Dash" to the Y button, preventing unintentional use the "Somersault" and "Bounce Bracelet" when using the "Light Speed Dash".
- Subtitles Fix - Fixes various typos and grammar issues in the subtitles, and improves the French translation.
- Level Oddity Patch - Fixes misplaced level objects, making "Perfect" ring collection possible.
- Black Market Sound Fix - Replaces the duller sounding menu sounds from the Chao Garden's Black Market with ones that sound closer to the GameCube version.
- Improved Waypoints (Chao Gardens) - Permits chao to wander around more of the Hero and Dark gardens.
- Menu Overhaul - Overhauls and revises the menu system of the game while removing unnecessary clutter and discrepancies. This mod however causes some of the main menu descriptions to not properly reflect the rearranged menu options, but an unofficial fix is available. Only English and Japanese localizations are currently supported.
- HD GUI: SA2 - Updates many GUI and HUD elements with higher resolution ones, along with optional tweaks. Recommended with Menu Overhaul.
- Better Buttons - Replaces the stock Xbox 360 prompts with ones from Sonic Generations. A DualShock 3 variant is also available.
- SA2 Error Message Fixes - Removes the prompts to restart the game when a controller is disconnected or the internet connection is lost.
- SA2 Render Fix - A collection of fixes for addressing rendering errors introduced in the GameCube version while restoring missing smaller details from the Dreamcast version, replaces stock textures with their highest quality equivalents from different versions of the game, and unstretches the ARK portion of the Stage Select screen.
- Tails Cyclone Fix - Fixes Tails' model at the end of Route 280 to appear more accurate to his in-game model.
- Tikal Stance Fix - Fixes Tikal's default pose to appear more accurate and less buggy.
Audio/visual enhancements:
- No LoD Models - Disables level of detail models for Sonic and Shadow in singleplayer and multiplayer.
- Volume Controls - Adds configurable volume settings for background music, sound effects, and voice overs, while fixing the poor sound mixing of the PC version by restoring the original Dreamcast volume levels, fixing sound effect errors, and implementing 3D positional audio.
- Dreamcast Characters - Dreamcast character models converted for the PC version. This results in consistent model quality between cutscenes and gameplay when used in conjunction with Cutscene Revamp, as most cutscenes use these models by default in the vanilla game.
- Dreamcast Characters and Effects - Similar to the above but also restores visual effects from the Dreamcast version used by each character.
- Dreamcast Shield Hunters - Restores the original Dreamcast version of the G.U.N. Hunters and Shield Hunter enemies.
- DC+ Models - Versions of the higher-quality GameCube models edited to give the characters pointy ears, like Yuji Uekawa's original artwork.
- Rouge's Eye Animation Fix - Fixes a bug with Rouge's eye texture when climbing along walls sideways.
- Cutscene Revamp - Overhauls the game's Story Mode cutscenes by fixing various issues, importing assets, and workarounds so they appear closer to the original game. This also features tweaks such as 16:9 widescreen cutscenes and restoring the Dreamcast intro.
- Cutscene Revamp Music Fixes - Fixes some music issues with Cutscene Revamp.
- Transforming Scene Volume FIX - Corrects the volume levels for the transformation scene's music in the Final Story when using Cutscene Revamp.
- HQ Chao Sounds - Replaces Chao sound effects with higher quality recordings from Team Sonic Racing and adds some other music improvements.
- Crispy Green Hill - Integer upscales Green Hill's textures (with some cleanup), to give a point-sampled aesthetic akin to that on the SEGA Saturn.
- Dreamcast Credits Images - Restores the original credits screenshot images from the Dreamcast version while using the higher poly GameCube models.
Miscellaneous:
- Disable Upgrade Models - Disable or show upgrade items on characters.
- Retranslated Story Complete - A complete retranslation of the game's Japanese script that also includes subtitles for SFD videos, Last Story cutscenes, idle chatter, victory quotes, and menu themes. Subtitle timings have been adjusted with unused timestamps restored for some story scenes.
- President Scene in Dark Story - Adds a cutscene involving Dr. Eggman negotiating with the President from the Hero Story into the Dark Story.
- E0022 After Knuckles VS. Rouge - Rearranges the cutscene involving Sonic in the Ark's control room to play after defeating Rouge to improve the flow of the Hero Story.
- Restore SOAP ads - Restores the various references to SOAP in City Escape, Radical Highway, Downtown Race, and the kart racing stages, without adding incidental GameCube button prompts.
- No Battle - Removes the "Battle" branding from the game if the Sonic Adventure 2: Battle DLC is installed and reverts the menus and intro cutscene to the original Dreamcast version.
- Higher Draw Distance - Increases the rendering draw distance for most objects. Not recommended for gameplay.
- Idle Chatter SA2 Edition - A port of the similarly named Sonic Adventure DX mod for Sonic Adventure 2 that adds the ability to hear what the player's character has to say about the current stage. The function is mapped to Right on the D-pad due to the Input Mod not being available for Sonic Adventure 2.
- Chao World Extended - Adds new contents to the Chao Garden, while bringing back unused contents and adding a variety of ways to get a new kind of chao. HD GUI for Chao World Extended can also improve the resolution of its GUI elements.
- Enhanced Chao World - Another mod that includes its own fixes, quality-of-life improvements, restorations, and configurable features for the Chao World. Can be used in tandem with Chao World Extended.
- SA2 Animation & Physics Oddities Fix - Changes animations and physics in game to fix bugs and be more "predictable".
- Discord Rich Presence - Adds Discord's Rich Presence features into Sonic Adventure 2 when playing the game.
Co-op Story Mode
- By using Cheat Engine after launching the game, two players can play the Story Mode co-operatively.
- Address 0043D6EB must be set as 3D898989898989, Address 00439703 as 9090 and Address 01934BE4 as 1 for having Shadow as P2 (or : 0 - Sonic / 1 - Shadow / 2 - Mechless Tails/ 3 - Mechless Eggman/ 4 - Knuckles/ 5 - Rouge/ 6 - Mech Tails / 7 - Mech Eggman)
SA2 Save Utility
- A utility designed to modify save files for the game. Can be downloaded here.
SA2 Save Converter
- A utility that can convert main game and Chao Garden save files from the GameCube, Xbox 360/PlayStation 3, and PC versions to another platform. Can be downloaded here.
System requirements
Windows |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
Operating system (OS) |
XP |
Vista, 7 |
Processor (CPU) |
Intel Pentium 4 3.2 GHz AMD Athlon 64 3000+ |
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ |
System memory (RAM) |
1 GB |
2 GB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) |
3 GB |
6 GB |
Video card (GPU) |
Nvidia GeForce 8600 ATI Radeon HD 3650 256 MB of VRAM DirectX 9.0c compatible Shader model 3.0 support |
Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB of VRAM DirectX 11 compatible |
Sound (audio device) |
DirectX compatible | |
Notes
References