The game is a fast-paced 2D platformer that takes place across seven zones, each divided into three acts and a boss fight.

It sold quickly upon release and received positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay and aesthetics, though they were more divided on the team-up dynamic.

Collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds, which can be done after completion of the main campaign, allows the player to fight an extra final boss for the game's true ending.

[6] The player can select any two-member permutation of its five playable characters: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, and Cream the Rabbit, provided the two desired characters have been unlocked; only Sonic and Tails are available at the beginning, while the other three must be rescued from Eggman over the course of the game.

[3] Each character has a unique ability: Sonic can perform a spinning attack in mid-air,[7] Tails can fly using his two tails as a propeller,[8] Amy can smash enemies with her hammer,[9] Knuckles can glide long distances and climb walls,[10] and Cream can fly using her ears as wings and attack enemies with her Chao friend, Cheese.

[3] Outside the main game, there are two battle modes for two to four players, in which any of the characters can be selected: racing and Chao collecting.

Sonic and Tails travel through the game's seven levels to retrieve the Emeralds and undo Eggman's actions.

Sonic Advance 3 was published by Sega in Japan and co-published by THQ in North America and Europe.

[30] It later won Handheld Game of the Year at the 2004 Golden Joystick Awards[31] and sold over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone.

[23] Maragos, GameSpot's Frank Provo, IGN's Craig Harris, and Game Informer's Lisa Mason appreciated the increase in replayability Sonic's friends brought.

[5][25] Darryl Vassar of GameSpy took a different point of criticism: he acknowledged the presence of genuinely different character abilities, but perceived that their only purpose was to find Chao, whom he called "pointless".

[23] Harris argued that such varying team abilities contributed to occasional "cheapness" in the level design, because "most of the characters have absolutely no defense when hopping off items like springboards".

Provo stated that "in terms of graphics and sound, Sonic Advance 3 is on par with the best that companies like Nintendo and Konami have had to offer this year".