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I got this game at the same time I got my GameCube, which, to the best of my memory, must have been during either the end of 2003 or the beginning of 2004. My mother, after finally giving in to what must have been my frequent requests for a GameCube (which wasn't a cheap purchase), stipulated at that time that I could choose only one game to go along with the purchase of the GameCube, and so I ended up selecting Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, as I recognized the Sonic the Hedgehog character; it therefore has the distinction of being my first GameCube game.
Among all my GameCube games, this one is among my most-played, alongside Super Smash Bros. Melee, Kirby Air Ride, and the Naruto: Clash of Ninja/Naruto: Gekitō Ninja Taisen! series. I returned to playing it many times throughout the 2000s, and maybe even once during the early 2010s, but I cannot remember this for sure; during those years, I accumulated a total of well over 300 hours playing it, at least according to the in-game counter.
I certainly did not manage to beat the entire game in one session: I remember very clearly making quick progress on the Dark Story, only to reach the Security Hall stage and then get stuck on it for a long time, causing me to abandon the Dark Story; for the Hero Story, meanwhile, initially I got closer to completion than the Dark Story, but eventually I got stuck on the Crazy Gadget stage and hence could make no further progress. Consequently, during the mid-2000s I recall that, whenever I returned again to playing Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, I would pretty much ignore the story mode and instead focus on playing other sections of the game, particularly the Chao World, but also the additional missions (collect 100 rings, find the lost Chao, etc.) of stages I had already completed and, on occasion, the two-player mode.
It was only sometime during the late 2000s, when I had grown a bit older and more capable, that I finally managed to complete both Security Hall and Crazy Gadget, thus progressing the story mode forward. Somewhat surprisingly, I didn't get stuck on any of the remaining stages of either the Hero Story or the Dark Story, nor was I unable to complete Cannon's Core or the final boss battles. This is not to say, however, that Final Rush, Final Chase, and Cannon's Core were easy for me to finish—rather, what I mean is that I found none of those stages so frustratingly difficult that it caused me to give up on the story mode for a long length of time, which was the case with Security Hall and Crazy Gadget.
Despite having completed the main story, I have never felt anything approaching a sense of having completed the game: as of February 2020, I don't yet have even 100 emblems, have only a handful of A-Ranks, and still feel that I have very much to do in the Chao World. This is a game with much replay value and many things to do, and the fun and thrill of returning to it every now and then throughout the 2000s is definitely one of my pleasant memories of the decade.