It probably didn't help that I played Sonic Adventure 2 first (came out first on Gamecube, SA1 came later), so pretty much everything felt like a downgrade when I played SA1. Without a guide it just seemed impossible to figure out where you were supposed to go next.
I hated the explorable hub areas in Sonic Adventure 1, and those are usually my favorite parts of platformers (Mario 64 castle, Gruny's lair in Banjo).
