"Sonic is so fast, he makes the whole trip seem short!"

I've been a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog for a good long time. I've kept up with his series on the Genesis, and on the defunct Game Gear. I never did get to own a Sega Saturn, however, and besides NiGHTS into Dreams, Sonic R was a game that intrigued me. I only got to try the game once, and since then, I never got to play it again.

Thankfully Sega decided to release the game Sonic R to the PC, and I'm happy they did. I finally got to see what I was missing!

Personal opinions aside, Sonic R is a pretty fun game to play. It's all in 3D Saturn-based graphics, so don't expect anything impressive like Sonic Adventure (I do keep wondering if this did end up becoming Sonic Adventure...). You get an initial selection of four racing characters, with even more to unlock, and four tracks to choose from (with a special fifth track waiting in the wings...).

This isn't exactly any kind of kart-racing game; Sonic and his friends are foot-racing across assorted terrain reminiscent of a standard Sonic universe, with little to no means of attacking opponents. Each character has their own special abilities and traits that can help them in races if used properly. For example, Tails can fly at a fixed altitude for a brief period in time, Amy's car can hover over the water, and Sonic can double-jump.

You collect rings in the stages to access some of the alternate routes. It takes a few tries to know about these, however; you have to decide which alternate paths are worth unlocking before losing hard-earned rings. These rings also are used when you cross over a booster panel, which speeds you through a portion of track related to how many rings you have (a maximum of 50 takes you as far as it will let you). There is some thinking involved when running through the different tracks.

The Grand Prix Mode of the game is the main mode of play where you unlock the special characters and the fifth stage. While traveling through these stages you may have to pick up 5 special coins and place in the race to enter a one-on-one race with a secret character (beating the opponent unlocks him for future use). Also, seven Chaos Emeralds are scattered between the four tracks, and if you can find all of them while still getting in 1st place, you unlock a special racer!

The Time Attack mode has a few modes to test your skills. The "Normal" Time Attack has you racing through the stage as it is originally meant to be run, while the "Reverse" option has you running the course in the opposite direction. The "Get 5 Balloons" mode doesn't time your laps, but instead how long it takes for you to find and pop 5 randomly-placed balloons. The similar "Tag 4 Characters" has you chasing four characters, each of which you must make contact with to finish. Some of the Time Attack modes saves a ghost of your character that you can try to beat if you want to get a new record.

The Multiplayer option has a standard "Race" option and a simpler "Get 5 Balloons" option. You can't normally choose the same character in these, but there's some way around that. Anyway, it's all meant to present some competition. The Race option seems more satisfying that tagging 5 balloons...

I do find this to be a pretty fun game, but the game does have its drawbacks. The game features no online functions, although I'm certain such gameplay wasn't fully explored at the time. It also doesn't automatically save your progress, which can be a little frustrating...especially when you unlocked something big and forgot to save. And the graphics may turn some people off if they expect something of "Halo" quality.

But the biggest problem with the game is its length. Within about a day, you'll be able to beat the game and unlock all the characters for play, though you do have a good challenge finding everything to do so. It's just a little sad to have all this done so quickly. Perhaps what's to blame is the fact that there are only five stages total; the game would definitely go on longer if more courses were available. There are a lot of different routes to take in each of the initial courses, but whatever way you take, it isn't long before you finish the course. And you only get three laps.

Nonetheless, if you're a Sonic fan or want a quick little racing game, you probably will enjoy this. Otherwise, it's a matter of taste. Try it if you can, as it's not an average racer by any means. I personally enjoyed the time I had with it, even though that time was rather lacking. Now if only they brought NiGHTS into Dreams onto the PC...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/20/05