game to change items. If the player finds that they cannot advance because they require another item, they must find a stage exit, swap items, and re-enter the stage from the beginning. Development and release Tails Adventure was developed for the Game Gear by Aspect and published by Sega. Along with Tails Skypatrol, it is one of two Sonic the Hedgehog games on the Game Gear to star Tails. The soundtrack was composed by Koijro Mikusa, who also wrote music for Sonic Blast. Tails Adventure was released for the Game Gear on September 22, 1995, in Japan. It was released in Europe in October, and in North America in November. The game was first re-released through Sonic Adventure DX in 2003 as an unlockable bonus game, and later in the Sonic Gems Collection compilation in 2005. It was also re-released on the Nintendo 3DS via the eShop worldwide in 2013 along with several other Sonic games for the Game Gear. Reception Critics felt Tails Adventure was too similar to other platform games, and its slow pace made it weaker than other Sonic offerings. Famitsu felt it lacked any surprising elements and was disappointed it was much more standard than other Sonic games. Mean Machines Sega agreed, calling it "decidedly unoriginal", but believed secret areas and a steep learning curve made it interesting enough to continue playing. Electronic Gaming Monthly compared the game to Super Mario platforming titles and also enjoyed finding hidden areas. Critics generally liked the graphics and controls, however the graphics did receive some criticism. Mean Machines Sega felt some of the background textures repeated too much, Famitsu criticized the screen's narrow field of vision, and Electronic Gaming Monthly noted some screen blur issues. In retrospective reviews, both Nintendo World Report and Nintendo Life felt the game was a significant contrast to the other Sonic Game Gear games. They believed the game exchanged the speed of previous series installments for exploratory gameplay more akin to the Metroid series and Gargoyle's Quest (1990). USgamer recommended the game, calling it a departure from the Sonic series, and the closest a Sonic game ever felt to a Nintendo franchise. Nintendo Life enjoyed the variety of gadgets and level designs, but criticized the dark environments and repeating background textures. Along with Nintendo World Report, they criticized the game's poor handling of inventory. The journalists would often explore large portions of a level