Sonic R is an incredibly fun joyride for the couple of hours it takes to complete its single player content despite what an unbalanced mess it mostly is. There’s not much content here, the control is janky at best and there’s only 5 tracks. But somehow, it manages to pull things together just enough to work.
But it’s undeniable, Sonic R’s roster of races is extremely unbalneced. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles available from the start all great means of movement, Sonic can double jump, Tails can hover and Knuckles can Glide.. whereas Amy can’t even jump in a racer with plenty of ledges. Some characters just have no perks atall, and if you unlock Metal Sonic or Mecha Knuckles, you’re gonna win. Unless you’re Super Sonic, then all will fall to you.
But with now this game is designed it’s actually pretty fun to use these characters, the races take a lot of inspiration from classic Sonic design, rewarding you with shortcuts by keeping to higher paths and maintaining a high ring count. Despite the number of stages being lacking, I think the thought that went into these levels makes them pretty top tier.
Unlocking more characters is also a fun process that encourages you to explore different routes in levels. Every stage has 5 gold medals to collect and if you can do it all in one go and win the race, you can race a challenge character and unlock them for play if you win. Each level also has Chaos Emeralds to find and if you collect them all while winning the races, you’ll unlock Super Sonic. Take him to the final track Radiant Emerald after unlocking everything and you get to play the most challenging race in the game with the main theme “Super Sonic Racing” blasting the whole time.
Yes the soundtrack is incredibly cheesy… but I love it anyway. It gives R this unique vibe that sets it apart from the rest. The graphics are also very charming, and technically impressive for the Sega Saturn.
So yes dspeite the small amount of content, unbalanced roster and controls that take a while to adjust too, Sonic R still managed to be quite a bit of fun. How has this not been attempted again, such a great idea just left to be average for life.
But it’s undeniable, Sonic R’s roster of races is extremely unbalneced. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles available from the start all great means of movement, Sonic can double jump, Tails can hover and Knuckles can Glide.. whereas Amy can’t even jump in a racer with plenty of ledges. Some characters just have no perks atall, and if you unlock Metal Sonic or Mecha Knuckles, you’re gonna win. Unless you’re Super Sonic, then all will fall to you.
But with now this game is designed it’s actually pretty fun to use these characters, the races take a lot of inspiration from classic Sonic design, rewarding you with shortcuts by keeping to higher paths and maintaining a high ring count. Despite the number of stages being lacking, I think the thought that went into these levels makes them pretty top tier.
Unlocking more characters is also a fun process that encourages you to explore different routes in levels. Every stage has 5 gold medals to collect and if you can do it all in one go and win the race, you can race a challenge character and unlock them for play if you win. Each level also has Chaos Emeralds to find and if you collect them all while winning the races, you’ll unlock Super Sonic. Take him to the final track Radiant Emerald after unlocking everything and you get to play the most challenging race in the game with the main theme “Super Sonic Racing” blasting the whole time.
Yes the soundtrack is incredibly cheesy… but I love it anyway. It gives R this unique vibe that sets it apart from the rest. The graphics are also very charming, and technically impressive for the Sega Saturn.
So yes dspeite the small amount of content, unbalanced roster and controls that take a while to adjust too, Sonic R still managed to be quite a bit of fun. How has this not been attempted again, such a great idea just left to be average for life.