Sonic R is a really cool release that I remember reading about in magazines just before its release. Since Mario Kart had become a big hit many companies were looking to their own mascots to throw into racing games. While Sega had previously done this with Sonic in several Game Gear releases (Sonic Drift in particular) these were never particularly popular and few remember these today. Along with this trend Sonic R was also born because Sega had failed to deliver a true 3D franchise experience to their fans, and although this was simply a racing game it did manage to fill some of the void. This title was helmed by third party developer Traveller’s Tales, and had somewhat mixed reviews upon release. I inherited the game from a friend who sold me all of his Sega Saturn stuff after the console was discontinued. It quickly became one of my favorite racing games, but for some rather unusual reasons. While other companies were happy simply copying the Mario Kart formula the developers went with a different approach to the genre.
The story here takes place while Sonic and Tails are on vacation. They notice a sign advertising a race called the World Grand Prix, and our fast hedgehog is never one to turn down a challenge especially one based on speed. The two join the race which is actually hosted by Dr. Robotnik in yet another scheme to obtain the chaos emeralds, and they’re joined by Knuckles and Amy who join in for the usual reasons. Pretty typical Sonic fare, but there’s virtually no in-game explanation of the story so it’s not really a bother here. The roster of characters is a little small for a game of this kind. You have Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Amy to choose from by default. By meeting specific criteria in this game you’ll unlock the secret characters, and this is where things get far more interesting. These include Dr. Robotnik himself, Metal Sonic from Sonic CD, the super creepy Tails Doll, Robo Eggman, the all new Metal Knuckles, and even Super Sonic. The fact that the developers added a few new characters to the franchise roster (even if they are based on familiar familiar faces) is pretty cool in my opinion, but the selection is still a bit on the limited side.
Sonic R is a racing game wherein you run through three dimensional tracks and compete with four other opponents to finish in first place at the end of the third lap. Whereas Mario Kart (and most other mascot based racing games for that matter) frequently emphasize using items to win races there’s none of that here. There are a few shield pickups, and the common golden rings found in nearly every Sonic title, but outside of that there’s little to get in the way of the basic racing engine. To make up for this each of the characters has their own special handling characteristics as well as at least one special ability. Most of the roster can jump by default, but it is their move that separates them from one another most. Sonic is the fastest default character and can perform a double jump to help him reach new heights or avoid obstacles. Tails is slower and more slippery, but his ability to fly returns here and can be used to bypass treacherous terrain. Knuckles is fairly average but can glide in the air as per usual, and this skill is really useful in most of the stages. Amy on the other hand is mostly useless. She drives in a small car that can hover over water, but she lacks the ability to jump entirely. Instead she can use nitro boosts, but she’s one of the slowest characters and is hard to win with. Dr. Robotnik is also a little on the slow side, but he can target and fire missiles at the other racers which is kind of cool. The secret characters aren’t all that different; their skills are based on those of their primary counterpart but most can at least hover over water without penalty.
What really sets Sonic R apart from the pack is the emphasis on exploration. Because your characters run around and can jump there’s actually some sections of the stages which feature light platforming elements. In addition, the only way to unlock the hidden characters (and the one secret stage) is by collecting golden Sonic tokens hidden in each course. There are multiple paths, and some of these are extremely hard to find. To hit the point home you won’t unlock anything unless you place in the race as well, and this can be quite challenging. Super Sonic is the most difficult of everything to unlock because you have to find all of the chaos emeralds (these are hidden even better than the tokens) before he can be used. The light platforming elements and focus on exploration lead me to believe that this was once intended to be a traditional 3D Sonic game but was later retooled into a racer. These aspects of the game make Sonic R a wildly different beast from Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, Crash Team Racing, and more. It’s all the more stronger because of how unique it is. Because of its uniqueness this game has aged surprisingly well.
For a Saturn title Sonic R is quite the showpiece. The console often had trouble keeping up with the Nintendo 64 and even PlayStation in regards to 3D graphics, but this easily looks like something the latter would turn out even later in the generation. The character models are a little blocky and in some cases are barely recognizable, but they’re serviceable at least. Where the engine excels is in the race tracks. The draw distance suffers a bit, but the terrain varies significantly and everything is surprisingly smooth. In addition the framerate holds surprisingly steady, and though there are dips they are never game breaking by any means. The soundtrack is a little bit of an oddball. This game was released back before Sega went with their faux punk rock themes with this franchise, and instead it’s heavily pop based. It really doesn’t harken back to classic Sonic, but it’s perfectly fitting. The strangest thing about the music is the fact that most of the tracks feature vocals. This doesn’t bug me, and in fact I really like the soundtrack, but I can easily see how someone might be turned off by the bubblegum approach. As embarrassing as it is to admit this is actually one of my favorite video game soundtracks and the music often gets stuck in my head.
Sonic R is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand the character roster is limited, there are only five courses to choose from, and the multiplayer is limited to just one-on-one races. On the other side this is a really unique racing game. It was as close to a full blown 3D Sonic platformer we got until the Dreamcast launched, and the exploration elements are actually very cool. This is a really well done mascot racer, and it’s unfortunate that so few people played it due to the demise of the console. That’s not to mention the soundtrack is one of the most memorable and dangerously catchy ones you’ll find anywhere. Get it.
