Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure was developed by Dimps, and Sonic Team. Dimps is a co-developer for Sonic Pocket Adventure. The game is published by SNK. Sega co-publish the game with Sonic Pocket Adventure.

The game designer team consists of 3 persons. Yuji Naka is the supervisor and producer for the game. Hiroshi Matsumato holds the position of a producer in the game designing. Takeshi Nishiyama is an executive producer for the game production. Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure is built based on Neo Geo Pocket Color. It was released on the 3rd December 1999 in the United States and Canada. In Japan, it was released on the 11th January 2000. Sonic Pocket Adventure allows single and multiplayer game mode. Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates the game as suitable for all ages.

Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure is the second game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series that is build on a non SEGA console. Sonic is the only playable character in the game. The design of Sonic character has a number of similarities with the classic design. The graphic that is used in the game resembles the classic Sonic the Hedgehog game. Dr. Robotnik also shows a few classic designs which is taken from the Sonic Adventure game. Due to this fact, Sonic Pocket Adventure seems like it is using the classic design that is featured in older games.

This game has 10 levels. Neo South Island Zone is the first level that you will play in Sonic Pocket Adventure. Neo South Island is also known as South Island. On this level, you will find a lot of recreation areas including Emerald Hill Zone, and Green Hill Zone. There is a lot of badniks located in Emerald Hill. The boss appears in the form of a hammer and car part. You can find the bosses in the Aquatic Ruin Zone Boss and Emerald Hill Zone Boss. The background music used in level 1 is Sonic Jam.

Secret Plant Zone is the second level that you will encounter after you pass through the first level. The environment in Secret Plant Zone is almost the same as Chemical Plant Zone. There are two acts including Angel Island Zone and Hydrocity Zone.

There are several levels in the Sonic Pocket Adventures that is taken from other similar levels in the Sonic Hedgehog game series. For example, the Sky Chase Zone uses the design in the Sky Chase Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The badnicks in Sky Chase Zone are the same ones that appear in the Sonic 2's Sky Chase Zone. Aquatic Relix zone has a lot of pillars and underwater sections. The pillars can shoot arrows at you so you must be careful when going through the level. The game designers based the design of this level from the Aquatic Ruin Zone that is featured Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The final stage is the Special Stage. In the Special Stage, Sonic have to run through the pipes in the three segments. When you collect all the rings in the level, you will see a message that says Cool in the screen. If you did not collect enough rings, the message will say Not Enough Rings. Once you have collected all the rings, you will be rewarded with a Chaos Emerald.