"A brief precursor to the Sonic Adventure series"

Do you remember Sonic R? After the production of dozens of kart racing games starring other mascots, it must've been high time for Sega to try and jump in on the trend at the end of the Saturn's lifespan. Sonic has tried the formula before in Sonic Drift 1 and 2 for the Game Gear, and the somewhat more successful Sonic R ditches the karts and lets the furry Sonic crew take to the racing on foot.

Finishing in first is the main incentive here, but the path to the top just doesn't feel as exciting as it did in Mario Kart. The main flaw here is that only one character can use weapons. There are plenty of rings to collect, plenty of speed boosts to hit, and plenty of emeralds to grab, but positively zero aggressive driving. As a result, as opposed to the races feeling like they are actually against the other drivers, they feel more like a race against the clock.

Of course for those who absolutely loved the actual racing of Mario Kart but absolutely hated the combat elements, Sonic R is the perfect game of this type. There is also a considerably heightened sense of speed here. The way that Sonic zooms around the well-designed tracks is a definite precursor to the blisteringly fast racing stages of the Sonic Adventure series.

The graphics, music and sound are adequate, considering the game's time of release. The charaters look a bit goofier than they should, but they all animate well, and the polygonal tracks look good enough as to not take the focus away from the racing itself. As for the sound, Sega opted to use original songs for the game. The number one hit ''Everybody's Super Sonic Racing'' really would have better been replaced with a barbershop quartet singing Farmer in the Dell. Meanwhile, the sound effects are adequate.

The most serious problem that Sonic R has is its longevity, or lack thereof. I don't recall the exact number of tracks there are off the top of my head, but I do remember that I found myself finishing in first place with all of the secret characters unlocked in one or two sittings. On the plus side, the secret characters are generally pretty cool. Metal Sonic, a Sonic Doll, Super Sonic, Mecha-Tails and an Egg-Robo are all unlockable drivers, but although they're cool there is really nothing drastically different between the hidden drivers and the ones available from the start, making them mere aesthetic diversions. No manner of hidden character can change the fact that this game's lifespan seems to end just as soon as it begins.

The basic mascot-racing mechanics are all present in Sonic R, sans the famous combat of Mario Kart, but when you have a game where you've seen pretty much everything there is to see in such a short amount of time, I can't help but think that Sonic R's various pros just don't matter.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/10/02, Updated 10/10/02