Developed by Dimps under supervision by Sonic Team, Sonic Advance is a completely original product that expands upon an existing design. It takes themes and ideas established in the original Sonic the Hedgehog series on the Sega Genesis, all the while adding new elements brought up in his newer adventures on the Dreamcast. Sonic Advance is a strict side-scrolling platformer that moves through more than twelve different levels in six separate environments. The first couple of levels are pretty much laid-out so that Sonic can stretch his furry legs to see what he's made of, since there are tons of straight-aways, corkscrews, jumps, springs to push our hero into his hyper speed. The task is a simple matter of getting to the end of the round unscathed. Take a hit, and any rings that Sonic's collected along the way explodes out of his grip...as long as he holds onto one ring, he'll survive any hit from an enemy.