Sonic R fans?

[M4R14NO94]

Classic Jacques and Davis right there! This one is awesome too:



I'm never gonna forgive Activision for shutting down Bizarre

[The Jackal]

Long time bump:

BTW, do you guys turn the lyrics off? That singer is terrible!

After spending a few years playing the game on the GameCube and then on PC, I actually started to like the game's music. It's a complete 180 for me now - I always have the singer on, and leave the instrumentals off.

[Lync]

I had always figured Sonic R as just some filler title along side 3D Blast that Sega had commissioned in stalling for time during and after Xtreme died a miserable death.

But man, I never knew what a fan following Sonic R has. I am completely surprised.

The first time I played Sonic R was in 1997 on a Saturn kiosk at the local Toys R' Us. As a Sonic-fan, I really liked it. Granted I could only remember playing the first level.

Today, however... I don't know man. To me, it suffers from the same problem as Knuckles' Chaotix: Looks good, sounds great, plays like hell.

And that's if you enjoy the music - Which I do, but if you don't that is one serious strike against this game! Seems like some people love Sonic R solely because of the music! (Back in Time is my favorite song!)

The presentation, use of colors/textures, graphical engineering are some of the best and most clever I've seen for its era (And I mean era, not "for a Saturn game" - that is a B.S. compliment, Sonic R is really a technical achievement).

My issue is entirely the "stages" themselves. In concept = platform levels turned raceways; in practice = unwieldy mess.
The first and last stage perform appropriately enough, but the in-between is a chaotic free-for-all. And when this in-between is only three other stages, that's trouble.

Everything else that seems to be done so well is undone with these stage designs. Characters having unique abilities, the way rings are implemented in unlocking alternate paths, the on-rail speed boosts, all great ideas marred by labyrinths and God-forsaken collectathon tasks.

Developing race "stages" rather than "tracks" is the single flaw. And that's kind of a big flaw for a racing game. I appreciate the attempt at something as ambitious, but with spaces so sprawling I think for a first title it would have been forgiving to have Sonic R emphasize a more streamlined track experience. Exploration as a racing element not only undermines the idea of a "track", at best becomes a chore and at worse it fragments the participation of play. Introduce it in finding Chaos emeralds all you like, that's cool, but when each stage is Yoshi's Valley without paths, that sucks. Think more Sonic 1 or 2, not 3 or CD.

Anyways, that's my impression. Perhaps the real problem is not my theory of "stages" vs "tracks" but actually that they just ran out of names for courses to begin with the letter 'R'...

[Team Andromeda]

Sonic R is awesome. I've never got the hate at all and the music is incredible

[Ecco]

I love the PC version of Sonic R.

I turn off the music.

And I turn on the thunderstorm weather.

Then I play as Knuckles so I can glide all over the place, amid the rain drops, and just hearing thunder and sound effects.

I think the Saturn version lacks weather effects though (right?).

The stages / tracks are cool that they have multiple branching paths, with different lengths of time, and shortcuts, etc. Secrets to find in the stages, and doorways to unlock with rings, etc.

Plus there are no bottomless pits, so you can run and jump (& glide) everywhere, without fear of falling into the wrong spot (like in the later "real" Sonic games on Dreamcast, and on, they're all plagued with bottomless pits and instant deaths!). The main series would have been much more fun & playable if they also avoided bottomless pits, like in Sonic R... it's more playable and fun, because there are no pits.

[Mega Drive Bowlsey]

To this day I've never played Sonic R, partly because I've always heard very mixed reviews about it. I'm thinking of adding it to my Saturn collection in the not too distant future and finally finding out for myself what it's actually like to play.

[Lync]

To this day I've never played Sonic R, partly because I've always heard very mixed reviews about it. I'm thinking of adding it to my Saturn collection in the not too distant future and finally finding out for myself what it's actually like to play.

I think what I said in my criticism of Sonic R detracts from how much I really enjoy it.

It may not be an essential title if you're just looking for the bare-bones of what the Saturn offers, but it is a fun oddity and seemingly obvious entry for a Sonic title.

All-in-all, if you are tight on space or wallet, do yourself a favor and import Sonic R.

[gamevet]

I kind of regret that I'd traded in my copy of Sonic R, to help pay for my Dreamcast at launch. It was just an okay game for me, but it's one of those titles that belongs in every Saturn owners collection.