Sonic R

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Sonic R is a racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team for the Sega Saturn and PC, the latter version being ported to the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in Sonic Gems Collection. It features characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The game is characterized by the same sense of environmental openness in the Sonic platformers. It contains colorful 3D graphics combined with a strong soundtrack by Richard Jacques (including songs performed by British singer T. J. Davis). The Saturn version has a severe case of graphical pop-up while the PC version is generally much cleaner yet lacks the transparancy effects of the Saturn version used. Older versions of the PC game will not run in XP but more recent budget release versions of this game will run on XP.

Gameplay

There are several collectible rings across each of the five racetracks. Each ring regenerates after a short period of time. These rings can serve one of three purposes.

• Stepping on a speed boost will consume all of a player's rings, to a maximum of 50, and boost the player ahead along a preset path. The boost is at a speed approximately three times the normal maximum speed of a character and lasts for a duration proportional to the number of rings deducted. If a character has more than 50 rings, only 50 will be used.
• Special doors on the tracks can open if a player reaches them with twenty or fifty rings (depending on the door). Twenty-ring doors frequently hide tokens, shortcuts, or both. Fifty-ring doors frequently hide Chaos Emeralds, shortcuts, or both. After being opened, the doors remain open for all players for the duration of the game.
• Some characters can perform an attack for 10 rings (see below).

There are also inexhaustible emblem bonuses. Touching an emblem gives the racer one of multiple possible rewards, including a random number of rings and the bubble and lightning shields that appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The bubble shield allows the racer to walk on water once, after which it disappears. The lightning shield attracts rings to itself, but is eliminated upon touching water (or after having it for a long enough time).

There are five racers in each race. The four racers selected depend on what character the player chooses. If the player chooses a secret character, he'll face the other secret characters that have been unlocked. If the player chooses a starting character, he races against the other starting characters. For the purposes of selecting the racers, Dr. Robotnik is treated as a starting character.

Racers can run on water for a limited period of time, and can "swim" in it indefinetely, at greatly reduced speed. In addition, each of the ten playable characters has a different speed and a unique set of abilities. Unlike most racing games, these abilities are designed such that certain characters, even among characters that are initially playable, have a clear edge over others.

Other modes

Aside from the main game, there are three special gameplay modes accessible from Time Attack mode: reverse, in which racing occurs facing the opposite direction, break five balloons, and tag four players.

Courses

Sonic R has five racetracks, based on staple Sonic level themes. They are very complex, with many alternate routes to take through the race. The first four are playable from the start, and the final, Radiant Emerald, is unlocked by completing the initial tracks in first place with any character.

• Resort Island: The traditional tropical opening Sonic level, based around a beach environment with mountains, a waterfall and a small village. Flickies from Sonic 3D Blast watch the race. The course song is Can You Feel the Sunshine?.
• Radical City: A night-time city that includes casino elements, among which is a giant pinball table. The course song is Livin' in the City.
• Regal Ruin: An Egyptian-themed course at sunset, with pyramids, hieroglyphics and obelisks, as well as Sphinxes topped with echidna heads, suggesting that this level is set on Angel Island. The course song is Back in Time.
• Reactive Factory: This zone is a future-set, metallic, industrial factory setting and the hardest of the courses. The course song is Work it Out.
• Radiant Emerald: A surreal course seemingly set inside a giant Chaos Emerald in space. It may be inspired by the Rainbow Road track in Mario Kart 64, which was released the year before Sonic R. In the Saturn version, the course is completely transparent, but this transparency is gone in the PC version. To make up for the lost effect, the PC version includes more robust lighting effects, giving the course a psychedelic feel. The course song is Diamond in the Sky, but when the course is played as Super Sonic then the full version of the main theme Super Sonic Racing plays.

Characters

Default characters

The following are the characters that are initially playable:

• Sonic: Sonic is the fastest of the characters that are initially playable. He can double jump. He has high acceleration and high top speed.
• Tails: Can fly at a fixed level for a limited period of time. He can take shortcuts that the others (except for Knuckles) couldn't while doing so.
• Knuckles: Can glide for an unlimited period of time, gradually losing height. He can take shortcuts that the others (except for Tails) couldn't while doing so. However, he cannot latch onto or climb walls as in all other games in which he has appeared.
• Amy Rose: Amy Rose drives a car and can hover over water. She also has the ability to use a speed boost, although she can't turn very well while doing so. She has good acceleration and low top speed and is extremely slow. However, she can squish down racers that run when they crash behind her, on the side of her, or when they start after losing speed.

Secret characters

• Dr. Eggman (Known as Dr. Robotnik in the English version), is unlocked by completing Radiant Emerald in first place with any character. He races in his personal hi-tech aircraft, can do a short-range heat-seeking attack at a cost of 10 rings. The attack will eliminate the target's shield if it has one and slow it down if it does not. He is not particularly fast, but can hover over water.

With the exception of Dr. Eggman and Super Sonic, all other secret characters can be unlocked by collecting all five tokens on a racetrack and finishing first, second, or third. Upon doing so, the player will be challenged by one of the following characters, depending on the racetrack:

• Metal Sonic: An improved version of its counterpart. He has a very high single jump and doesn't fall into water if he constantly jumps. He is unlocked in Resort Island.
• Tails Doll: A strange stuffed puppet modelled after Tails, can hover on water. Additionally, it can hover indefinetely a certain distance above the ground or water. It is also seen in Sonic Adventure (see Minor Characters). It is unlocked in Radical City. This character has since gotten a cult following from fans due to its somewhat creepy look.
• Egg Robo: A humanoid robot whose head and body are shaped like an egg, first seen in Sonic & Knuckles. Its abilities are similar to those of Robotnik, but it is slow compared to the other secret characters. It is unlocked in Regal Ruin.
• Metal Knuckles: An improved version of its counterpart. He has a much better glide than Knuckles. He is notably fast. Also, he is one of the more difficult secret characters to obtain. He is unlocked in Reactive Factory.

Defeating the secret character in this first race makes it playable. Otherwise, the process has to be done all over again.

Super Sonic

Super Sonic is the fastest racer, and also the hardest to unlock. He can double jump and can run on the surface of water, provided that he does not slow down. His only flaw is that he can be hard to control at times. To unlock him, the player must collect all seven Chaos Emeralds scoured throughout the five racetracks. When a player collects one, he/she must finish in first place to keep it.

If Super Sonic is used in the last track, Radiant Emerald, a different theme song will play, changing from A Diamond in the Sky to the full version of the theme song Super Sonic Racing

Reaction

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Fan reviews were overall positive, praising its wide variety of unlockables and well-done music. However, critic reviews were far less positive, and the game was ripped to shreds by the critics, criticizing the poor graphics and horrible gameplay.

Versions

For the PC version the graphics were somewhat modified. For example races occur in random weather conditions, either normal, rainy, or snowy, unless the default settings are altered. Snowy weather freezes the water so that racers can run across it without sinking. The PC version also allows one to select between software rendering and 3D acceleration. When using 3D acceleration, track lighting is far less dramatic, almost unnoticable and occasionally too dark, when compared to the software rendered or original Saturn versions.

The version of the game in Sonic Gems Collection is similar to the PC version. Minor differences include that there is no Network option on the main menu and that the Options menu is slightly different. It uses the lighting style from the 3D accelerated mode.

Trivia

• Every stage title begins with an R.

• Sonic R is Metal Knuckles's only appearance.

• On the Press Start screen, it is possible to rotate the R.

External links

• [Sonic R] at MobyGames
• [Sonic R] page at [The GHZ] - features info, screenshots and a walkthrough
• [Sonic R (PC version) skin editing guide (Internet Archive)] - A guide on how to edit the character skins in the PC version of Sonic R
• [Wiki Guide]

 

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