""Sonic! He can Really Move!""

Sonic R

"Sonic! He can Really Move!"

Good evening! Man... it has been quite some time since I last ever reviewed a video game, but this is a good time as any to start again. And what better game to review than this?

Gotta Keep your Feet Right on the Ground!
The controls are simple: turn right, turn left, move forward, move back, and jump. But that's all you really need for a racing game, now isn't it?

And, like most racing games I have seen, there is the main race and then there are races against time. In this case, the time-races are normal and reverse-track (which are not uncommon), 'tag' (I don't think I have seen this often in racing games... Basically, you run along the track in either direction, attempting to touch the other racers.), and balloons (in which five balloons are scattered across the track, and you have to get them as fast as you can. ) I really liked the 'tag' races, but that's just me.

With this game, rings are used to gain access to alternate routes (and in some of them, the Chaos Emeralds) and using the speed-boost pads. The alternate route can be quicker than the normal ones or, in one case, a dead end.

It didn't take me long to blast through the normal races, I mean... this is a racing game. However, when it came to collecting the Seven Chaos Emeralds and gaining (and beating) all the secret characters... It took me at least a week. I didn't play all day every day, but it still took me a while to get everything.

Replayability? Well, it is pretty fun... I mean, its not like I'd play it all hours of the day, but I would play it every now and then, if only to hear the music.


Just you and me and everybody!
The racers... At the start, you can play as Sonic, Tails, Knuckle or Amy. You can later unlock Robotnik and his bots and (should you collect all seven chaos emeralds, which are placed across the first four racetracks) Super Sonic. They each have their pros and cons.

I favored Tails at the start, due to his easy controls, while Knuckles was fun to glide as. Metal Sonic was good and sinks slowly. For beginners, I recommend Tails.

Super Sonic is the fastest character, and the next runner up is Sonic himself. These guys are too fast for my taste, but the award of Worst Racers Ever goes to Amy and Robotnik. Blame their cheap use of vehicles, which only is good by the fact that they don't sink over water and Robotnik has missles. Cheaters. Don't pick any of these guys, unless you pick Super Sonic to want to hear his song in Radical Rainbow.

A fun thing to note is that if you select one of the secret characters (Robotnik not included), your opponents will be the other secret characters you have unlocked.


So take me back in time... To another world...
Plot? What plot? The only plot there is to this is that you are racing against your friends and foes (or just foes, if you're Super Sonic) for three laps in five different areas. They range from a beach, a modern city (with a pinball area), ancient ruins, an industrial park, and a... very weird rainbow emerald road.

This is, however, only if you disregard the manual.

The manual's plot is that Robotnik has set up a phony race (this is probably where they got the premise of Sonic Riders). He started this because he wanted to get the Chaos Emeralds and beat Sonic in the same go. The lazy bum... Somehow, Amy overheard his external monologue and joined the race in her car. Now I wanna know HOW she overheard him! He was in his secret base, looking at his missile-launching hover-car and his bots. Gah...


I notice, I notice, many many things that look alike!
Okay, the graphics... They were decent for such an old game but (as we have seen with NiGHTS into Dreams... ), age is never a decent way to judge any facet of a game. The places call to mind the various areas we have encountered before.

Resort Island is like South Island in Sonic the Fighters. Radical City is like the various Casino-themed areas. Regal Ruins reminds me of Sandopolis Zone. Reactive Factory... well, Chemical Plant Zone, for one. And every time I look at Radiant Emerald, I think of those wacky Special Stages.


Clamor, sirens wailing
Well, I loved the music! So did my brother, who seemed to really like the Reactive Factory's theme, 'Work it Out'. The sounds were normal Sonic sounds, ie: when you jumped, you heard the 'booooing!' sound. But the background music... oooo!

I didn't care much for the ending theme... It just didn't seem right, to me. However, I liked Super Sonic Racing (Super Sonic's theme) and Back in Time (Regal Ruins). They really catchy.


Inside Outside Go! Sonic!! Issaigassai Yes! SONIC!!
Play this game, at least for one track. It is fun to play and a very good racing game. Unlike its descendant, Sonic Riders...

Considering its age, I think that you'd be better off getting it as part of Sonic Gems. I mean, that way, you'd get many more games to your buck. Such as Sonic the Fighters, which is another really good game (in this case, fighting. )

However, I wouldn't go out of my way searching for this. Aside from the fact that its in a collection, I doubt that you'd be able to find the actual Sega Saturn game in many stores.

I give it an 8 out of 10. It's really good, but I wouldn't say that it was the best racing game out there. Also, Amy and Robotnik just plain stink! Lazy bums. Everyone else is on foot any you two are using vehicles to race! Cheaters, the both of you!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/08

Game Release: Sonic R (US, 10/31/97)