Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

"Is Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity better or worse than its predecessor?"

On February '06, Sonic Riders was released on the Gamecube, and I must say that it was one of the worst racing games I have ever come across -- then again, I'm not much of a racing game fan, so my opinion is irrelevant here. It is now the start of 2008, and SEGA has released a sequel to this abomination. Now, the main question is: "Is Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity better or worse than its predecessor?" My answer to this, is yes. It definitely improves over the original Sonic Riders, but not by much. This review is here to help clarify this.

Story (4/10):
The story basically centers around a new gravity-manipulating bracelet, by the name of the "Ark of the Cosmos", that Sonic finds. Prior to this, the bracelet activates a large group of robots in a fashion reminiscent to that of I, Robot. These robots apparently want the bracelet(s) and go out to hunt down Sonic and friends. I must say that this story is bad even by Sonic (side game) standards. It seems to amalgamate as much random plot as they could find, to the point where it goes from an ancient bracelet falling from space, to robots, to gravity powers, to babylon legends, to babylonians being aliens from space (weren't they supposed to be descendants of genies in the original!?), etc etc. As for the length of the story, it is extremely short; you can clear the Story mode in less than a day without trying, so if you want this game mainly for story -- which would be pretty dumb to say the least since it IS a racing game -- you should look elsewhere.

Gameplay (7/10)
Just like Sonic Riders, this game is unique in that unlike other racing games out there, you don't ride a car of any sort, but instead ride hovering boards known as "Extreme Gears" -- though other types of vehicles can be bought later on using rings (the game's currency). It is sad to note that this game doesn't contain the variety of different vehicles the previous game had (roller blades, magic carpets, etc.), but I suppose this doesn't really effect the gameplay at the least. In terms of new features, this game contains a tutorial mode, a gravity system, new characters outside the story mode, and motion controls (wiimote).

The learning curve of the original Sonic Riders was horrendous. This is because the developers were smart enough to not include a tutorial mode or a difficulty system. Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity fails to add a difficulty system as well, but redeems itself by adding a tutorial mode. I advise everybody to visit this tutorial mode before starting to play the actual game because it will help you out in understanding the new gravity system. In the original, the lack of a tutorial mode really didn't help the fact that the game had a really bad "Air" system, but thankfully this game manages to add one. Even better, this game also completely replaces the old air system with the new gravity system.

In the original, the concept of air was a major theme. You had an air gauge which decreased when you used boosts, did turns, just raced in general, etc. To increase the gauge, you had to do tricks -- which were tedious to perform -- or go to air booths (which slowed you down considerably and allowed characters to easily pass you). Aside from this, there was also the turbulence system. It was impossible to get too ahead of your opponents because you would always leave a stream of air that made it easy even for the guy in 8th place to pass you. Thankfully, Zero Gravity got rid of all of this in order to introduce the new gravity system. So no, there are no air booths, no air gauge, no boosts, and best of all, no turbulence in this game. The air gauge is now replaced with a gravity gauge (or GP), but unlike the former, when this gauge decreases all the way, you are not thrown off your gear and forced to start running until you reach an air booth or perform a trick. The gravity system consists of two main aspects: gravity action and gravity dive.

First of all, using the breaks and turning activates gravity action, which blows away any objects nearby and dashes your character forward if you have any GP to waste (otherwise, no dash is performed). Aside from this, gravity action can also be used to dash into hidden areas in each course (though you have to aim at the area while activating the gravity action first obviously). The other gravity feature found in the game is called "gravity dive." Upon shaking the controller up and down (assuming that you're using the Wiimote), you will activate gravity dive, which accelerates your character through the air until your GP wastes. While using gravity dive, you can run into objects floating in the sky to perform meteor bursts, which quickly accelerate your character forward (tell me how this makes sense) and increases your GP while you're using gravity dive, to make it last longer. Gravity dive has two problems however. For one, there is only one main and wide area in each stage where you can perform gravity dive and use meteor bursts at the same time, so basically, you will find yourself only using this technique when you reach these areas. The other problem has to do with the fact that your opponents almost never use gravity dive, so the minute that you use it in the aforementioned areas, you will find yourself blazing past them, which makes this technique very cheap. You can basically say that gravity dive is the opposite of turbulence. While the latter made it extremely difficult to pass your opponents for long, the former makes it impossible for them to pass you....at all.

From what I've said so far, you are probably wondering why I rated the game somewhat low -- I mean, it seems like a nice pick-up-and-play racing game that you can't possibly suck in, and has also improved over the first one, so why did I rate it bad? The answer is simple, the controls ruin the entire gaming experience. In fact, I'm basing the gameplay almost entirely on the game's horrible controls. Let's start off by saying that the game has three control types: wiimote (horizontally), wiimote (vertically), and the gamecube controller. First of all, holding the wiimote vertically feels really weird while playing a racing game, so you should immediately ignore that option. The game was actually made to be played with the wiimote being held horizontally, but plays much better with the GCN controller. While you are playing with the wiimote being held as mentioned, you get the "best" experience out of the game considering the fact that gravity dives and air rides feel better and are more fun to perform using motion controls. The problem is that tilting the controller to move your character feels awkward and just doesn't work out (i.e. not very responsive). I personally use the D-pad. However, the genius who decided to create this control type also decided to make the D-pad coincide with the motion sensing, so basically, you CAN use the D-pad, but you MUST hold your controller steady at all times -- otherwise, your character will move a way you don't want him to due to the game detecting you tilting the controller. For example, if I use the D-pad to make Sonic move right, but accidentally tilt the controller left, he will go the aforementioned direction instead. If you use the GCN controller, things will be easier to control, but the lack of motion sensing kinda makes the game somewhat bland considering this IS the Wii version of the game. Even without any controller problems, controlling your characters can be annoying since it takes them forever to move the way you want them to (usually resulting in you bumping into a wall).

Aside from the things mentioned above, this game also has a new trick system and also manages to balance out each character individually. In the original, the trick system involved spinning your character around upon using a ramp and trying to have them land on their feet. Zero gravity simplifies this system by limiting everything to one button -- you hit a ramp, press the 2 button, and bam, you performed a trick. Another improvement revolves around the fact that characters are actually balanced out this time around. In Sonic Riders 1, there was a huge imbalance revolving around the power characters, who could blast through the course and not let any obstacles get in their way. In ZG, the attributes (power, speed, and flight) now apply to the gears entirely, not the characters, but you have to "buy" (in-game) the grinding, air ride, or bike moves to unleash the gears' special abilities. All in all, the trick system lost depth but is effective, and the gears serve a greater purpose this time around.

Sound/Music (7/10):
I don't see any problem in the sound or music. The mix between techno/orchestra isn't bad at all and fits each stage well. The only real problem in the sound has to be the voice acting revolving around the Babylon Rogues. You will probably get the urge of skipping any cutscene they're in, due to their horrible VAs.

Graphics (6/10):
The graphics are hardly that much of an improvement from its predecessor. I would normally have no problem with these graphics, but this IS a Wii game. Making a comparison with other Wii games I've played (especially Sonic and the Secret Rings), this game really isn't impressive graphic-wise.

Replay Value (7/10)
There are many things to keep you playing this game. First there's the story mode, which is too short for words. Then comes the other modes (World Grand Prix, Free Race, Survivor, etc.), which are boring to play by yourself, so make sure you have a friend around. Then there's the online -- oh wait, there isn't really any online in this game, but rather, a leaderboard and ghost system, but something's something I guess. Next comes the Mission mode, which is the core of this game's replay value; you do a number of missions, try to get the best rank, and move along with your life. Finally, you can waste your time trying to collect all the gears, which isn't very fun considering you need to collect a large number of rings while playing through stages. Where I'm getting at is that, if you have no friends to play with you, and manage to complete the mission mode, then things will get boring from then on.

Conclusion

Overall, the gameplay is highly improved in many aspects from the original, but falls short in its own aspects. For one, the controls ruin the gameplay. Secondly, this game manages to balance out the gameplay from the original, but sacrifices every ounce of depth in the process -- all you have to do in a race is use gravity dive + meteor burst, and you're sure to win even if you're in 8th place. The trick system is also too simplistic for its own good, but I rather like this. In terms of music and graphics, things are okay, but not all that impressive to say the least. If you enjoy the game, then you will find yourself playing it for a while until you grow bored (which usually comes after clearing all the missions). Overall, I give this game a 6.5, but since this is G-Faqs, a 6/10.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/24/08, Updated 02/08/08

Game Release: Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (US, 01/08/08)