Sonic Advance 3 (ソニックアドバンス3, Sonikku Adobansu Surī) is a platform video game for the Game Boy Advance developed by Sonic Team and Dimps and published by Sega in Japan and THQ in North America and Europe. It was released on June 7, 2004 in North America, June 15 in Europe, and June 17 in Japan. It is part of the Sonic the Hedgehog series and the sequel to Sonic Advance 2. The game stars the characters Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Cream as they seek to keep Doctor Eggman and his robot assistant Gemerl (ジーメル, Jīmeru) from building empires on each of seven chunks Eggman has divided the Earth into. The game is a fast-paced 2D platformer that takes place across seven zones, each divided into three acts and a boss fight. It allows one or two players to control any two of the five characters; each one has different abilities that allow players varying access to parts of levels. While the graphics are mainly 2D, the game uses Mode 7 for some rotation aspects. 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.