Sonic Advance is a side-scrolling action platformer with puzzle elements. In this game, you have four playable characters to choose from: Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Tails Prower, Knuckles the Echidna and Amy Rose. The goal is to reach the end of each Zone Act (level in the game) within ten minutes. Each playable character can use the same basic moveset as in earlier Sonic games. Each character also has their own exclusive moves that they can use to attack, increase speed, or move through Zones. As you progress, the game will automatically save the current content, while the Chaos Emeralds collected by the characters will be shared among all of them.