Led by director Takashi Iizuka and producer Yuji Naka, the team strove to reinvent Sonic for the 3D era of video games.

Adventure features a stronger emphasis on storytelling and role-playing elements in contrast to previous Sonic games, while Yuji Uekawa redesigned the series's characters for their transition to 3D.

Sonic Team attempted to demonstrate the technical prowess of the Dreamcast with realistic graphics and drew inspiration from locations in Peru and Guatemala.

Following its reveal at the Tokyo International Forum in August 1998, Sonic Adventure was highly anticipated and was released in Japan in December 1998, North America in September 1999, and Europe in October 1999.

Though critics noted glitches and camera problems, and reactions to the audio were mixed, they considered Sonic Adventure an exceptional game; some speculated that it could help re-establish Sega as the dominant console manufacturer after the unsuccessful Saturn.

Sonic the Hedgehog performs a spin dash, homing attack, and light-speed dash; Miles "Tails" Prower flies, swims, and attacks robots using his tails; Knuckles the Echidna glides, climbs walls, and punches; Amy Rose can defeat enemies using her hammer; Big the Cat is slow and carries a fishing rod he can cast; and E-102 Gamma can shoot laser beams.

Through exploration, the player discovers entrances to levels called Action Stages, some of which must be opened using keys hidden in the Adventure Field.

[11] During this time, series co-creator Yuji Naka worked with Sega Technical Institute (STI) in the United States to develop Sonic games.

[5]: 67  When the team learned the Dreamcast was nearing completion, they moved development to take advantage of its greater quantity of RAM, stronger CPU, and the VMU.

[24] According to former Sega of America producer Mark Subotnick, Naka canceled Geist Force, an on-rails shooter that was planned as a Dreamcast launch game, so he could use its proprietary software for Sonic Adventure.

[29] Looking to the animation of Walt Disney and Looney Tunes for inspiration, he made Sonic more mature, taller and slimmer, and gave him longer quills.

The English-language voice cast consists of Ryan Drummond as Sonic,[34] Corey Bringas as Tails, Michael McGaharn as Knuckles, Jennifer Douillard as Amy, Jon St. John as Big and E-102 Gamma, and Deem Bristow as Robotnik.

To achieve a more realistic feel for the environments, the core members of Sonic Team visited temples, jungles, and ancient ruins in Mesoamerican landscapes, including Cancún, Guatemala, and Peru.

[27] Sonic Adventure's score was primarily composed by Jun Senoue, with additional music by Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi, and Masaru Setsumaru.

[39][40] Adventure was Senoue's first project as sound director and its scope meant he had many more responsibilities, including schedule management, compared to his previous games.

[41] In contrast to previous Sonic games, which featured electropop soundtracks, the Adventure sound team preferred "hot, funky, and rock 'n' roll" music.

[5]: 143  Sonic Adventure marked Senoue's first collaboration with Gioeli; the two later formed the band Crush 40 (originally known as Sons of Angels), and continue to make music together.

Iizuka also felt that the songs helped define Knuckles and Amy's personalities, as they had not received much character development in Sonic games until Adventure.

[51][52] The Japanese version shipped with many glitches; according to Iizuka, this was because the game was produced on a tight schedule, so Sonic Team did not have time to fix them.

[7][75] Arcade described it as a "quantum leap forward" in aesthetics and visual detail in video games,[75] and Hyper estimated it exceeded graphics of high-end personal computers.

[76] IGN called it the most graphically impressive platform game released up to that date, praising its cinematic sequences and describing it as "engrossing, demanding, and utterly awe-inspiring".

[37][78] GameSpot admired the straightforward, linear approach to the 3D platform genre and particularly praised it for keeping the basic gameplay of the original Genesis games.

[6] Retrospectively, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die called its environments vast and twisted, stating it "brilliantly" captured traditional Sonic elements.

[69] Authors from GamesRadar retrospectively wrote that Sonic Adventure was "horrendously buggy", singling out falling through floors and getting stuck, but also said the sheer amount of content made up for this.

[85] GameSpot was disappointed the rerelease did not address the problems of the original version, iterating the graphics were only marginally different, and dissatisfied with its collision detection.

"[87] Destructoid was less harsh, writing that fans of the franchise would be able to enjoy the game but warning casual players that "all you'll find is a relic that was once considered greatness.

[80] Joystiq wrote that both Adventure and the original Sonic the Hedgehog had innovated—in 3D and 2D games, respectively—through effective linear level design and by feeling "good to play".

[78] Several journalists ranked the game among the series's best,[99][100] but Kotaku argued the addition of voice acting and greater focus on plot changed Sonic into "a flat, lifeless husk of a character, who spits out slogans and generally has only one personality mode, the radical attitude dude, the sad recycled image of vague '90s cultural concept".

Game Informer considered his gameplay painful and boring,[111] while Destructoid decried his portrayal as a "mentally handicapped imbecile" and his voice actor's incoherent performance.

The comic offered an explanation for the altered character designs and established that Station Square was hidden beneath Sonic's planet, Mobius.