HOLiDAY_AETERNUS

User Score
9.7

Presentation - 9.4
Gameplay - 10
Value - 9.0

Sonic is a hog about speed. And with such an emphasis, it’s a franchise that truly calls out for racing games. Because it just goes so well. Games like SONIC DRIFT 1 & 2 for the SEGA GAMEGEAR (1994) and SONIC R for the SEGA SATURN (1997/1998) made that happen. And years later, another is scheduled. And so Sonic Riders is created. A game that should truly be seen as a racing game. And it aces. Especially as a racing game, Sonic Riders is brilliant.

With an awesome impressions to be found with satisfying boxarts, storage devices, and manuals, the game is appealing to play. Load it up and get a great animated intro by Production I.G. as well as cool menus to check out. There are satisfying option and modes to see, like story modes, multiplayer, progress, and more.

Onward to the story, you can select Team Sonic’s story or the Babylon Story, adding to the variety. When speaking of the Babylon story, new characters appear in the game, such as The Babylon Rogues (Jet The Hawk, Wave The Swallow, Storm The Albatross). These are a trio of hoverboarding birds that use vehicles known as the EXTREME GEARS. This new feature goes well. The story mode is very nicely done here. Both have unique differences, and the main story is a contest held by Doctor Robotnik using EXTREME GEAR for a special reward.

The graphics here are similar to Sonic Heroes and Shadow The Hedgehog. These character models are made taller (bringing a new design to the Sonic franchise, which I call the “Neo” design) and thanks to that, the Character Models look much better than in Sonic Heroes and Shadow The Hedgehog, which had graphics that really could have better. Sure, these graphics could be better as well, but they are very passable and pretty good. The environments look nice and detailed as well, such as the awesome waters.

The gameplay is, in a single word, PERFECT. Yes, it’s really perfect. Especially for a racing game. This is where the game absolutely dominates. The controls are easy to configure when mastered and this is extremely highspeed. There is a lot of style brought with characters performing slick tricks via their EXTREME GEAR. Characters are divided into 3 categories, Speed, Flight, and Power. Each have their own set of abilities and are extremely fun to use when mastered.

There is also a new “Turbulence”, where your characters depend on the air stored in the EXTREME GEAR, which makes the special techniques, such as the boosting, work. When it drops, characters will have to run.

This is a very underappreciated feature. Some complain about losing their air when they want to go fast. But, uh, then why can’t they MANAGE their boosting. Because it’s not difficult to do so at all. And running is one of my favorite parts of my game. I’m so skilled that I can stay in high speed throughout the entire game. The track designs are nicely put as well.

So, the game pretty much perfect in gameplay. As it is in sound. There are a lot of awesome tunes to be heard in the game; such as the awesome electronica. The voice acting here is lacking though. All the grunts and shouts during gameplay is all great, but the actual dialogue could have been better. WAY better. Still, it’s passable.

While this game does seem to lack in some polish, there is a lot of replay value, such as unlocking new characters, tracks, modes, and playing the various missions. The game’s thrills always last and there are a lot of stuff to see in the SEGA PC versions of this game. There is simply so much to play.

Sonic Team and United Game Artists have made a brilliant game. Sonic Riders should be best seen as a racing game, and it’s completely brilliant for one. This game is very underappreciated and it must be played. I personally enjoyed this more than any Mario Kart game. This game is simply fantastic.

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