Sonic Riders is a decent racing game, but it's held back by a few too many performance issues.
(-) a steep learning curve makes it rough for beginners; the air and pit-stop system is awful; controls feel a little loose and sometimes even unwieldy; battle mode is close to worthless
Sonic is the fastest hedgehog in the world, he can run through loopy tracks and unleash homing attacks with momentum and precision, and the blindingly fast action just seems so familiar with his character. So you would think that if you heard the news that a new Sonic racer was being released, this would be a no-brainer done deal. It must be great, because speed is what Sonic's all about.
I'm sad to say that Sonic Riders falls pretty short of the lovable fast-paced rodent's pedigree, but perhaps not to a degree that Sonic Riders isn't worth playing. Just maybe not as good as it should be, since Sega has been for so long trying to deliver a truly worthwhile Sonic racer title for the fans to enjoy.
Not that Sonic Riders needs a story, but it has one anyway, which is a hit or miss. And most of it could be pulled from pretty much any previous Sonic title out there, with a few hairs of it changed. Sonic still wants to acquire the chaos emeralds, and Eggman wants to host some hover-board tournament. The story is told through viewable cut-scenes, but still the entire thing doesn't seem to make sense, and it even feels un-necessary.
The gameplay is a pretty unique hybrid between SSX snowboarding and F-Zero. You choose a character, and depending on which character you choose you can ride a hover-board, motorbike, skates, scooter, and other choices which each have their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. It's nice to have all these options under your hood, because you can find which option suits your own personal play style. Most of these items, along with additional characters, can be unlocked through an in-game shop which you use accumulated points to buy, which does shake a lot of the hassle off of unveiling everything the game has to offer.
And once you choose a character, you are placed with seven other racers behind a finish line. You can move around close or far from it, but if you touch the finish line before the game's countdown, you'll be penalized with an electric shock. Then the race begins. The core racing is pretty standard, completing several laps to make it to the finish line. But Sega chose to add some specific details, which hold the game back from its own intention of delivering a thrilling sense of speed. To go your fastest, you perform boosts, but every time you perform a boost, you lose air from your air meter. And if you lose all your air, your character will be taken off their hover board and all your speed will be lost. Then you must run on foot to the nearest pit-stop, from there you get a quick recharge of air. This system is awful, because it keeps the game from going at a consecutively fast pace, as well as feeling just a little out of place. Something else that doesn't seem to make sense, is you can perform mid-air tricks during jumps which can also increase your air meter. For the sake of gameplay, they are easier to perform when you consider SSX, Tony Hawk, and other trick orientated games, but if you think about it, it still doesn't make a lot of sense. But to make up for that shortcoming, you can find a wind of turbulence behind other racers, which can easily be considered drifting, and ride the wind to both gain air and a speed boost. This does add some intensity to the action as well as giving your frustration a breather.
The game however was produced fairly well, thanks to some pretty unique and exciting track design. You have your fair share of steep curves and turns, but there are many interactive elements in the track that really react to the racers. Because characters are assigned different classes, for example, Sonic is a speed type, Tails is a fly type, and Knuckles is a power type. Sonic can grind on some of the many rails that are implanted through the track. And meanwhile, Tails can jump at a ramp and fly through several mid-air hoops planted in a path through the level, while Knuckles is punching his way through incoming traffic. But not all the interchangeable functions are restricted to just one race type. In one level you'll ride a gigantic caterpillar, then be launched at high speed through a web, and to decide how fast this occurs you twirl the analog stick. So not only are these tracks pleasant to look at, they allow plenty of input from the player's actions, which make for an innovative race.
But be assured before you beryl your way to superiority through the Egyptian themed track or jungle, you'll most likely be fumbling with the controls more than you should have to. Turning doesn't feel quite as intuitive as it should, especially considering the frequency of sharp turns that the game demands, and that makes it further aggravating for new comers than veteran players. This is because new comers need time already to adjust to completing their stale fish, ollies, or any other trick, as well as studying the grind mechanic because for some reason Sonic keeps jumping left and right on the rail. Frustrations like these happen a little too often, and it makes for a very steep learning curve.
But if someone introduced to the game gets to aggravated and wants to sit and watch for a while, they'll be in luck because Sonic Riders is at least easy on the eyes. Set aside the Sonic crew looking a little close to anorexic, they are all bright and colorful. The tracks look even more impressive, with plenty of little details and even some particle effects. But most of all, when your air level is adequate, the sense of speed is truly exciting to watch, which is the one Sonic-related goal that should survive even if all the rest fail. And the frame rate stays strong, so there's no slowdown. However, Sonic Riders doesn't look quite as impressive in split screen, because most of the tracks special little details are subtracted to their core components, which is given for this console generation. The sound doesn't fare quite as well. You're greeted with some efficient industrial elevator music in the in-game menus, but the characters themselves recycle some voice clips from other games, and the female robotic commentator repeats herself far too often and can be intrusive to your nerves as well. Most of the music in the tracks are decent, but not nearly as memorable as some of the Genesis classics provided to us on the first three Sonic games.
Sonic Riders supports multiplayer for up to four players. You can race, of course, but you also have some other options like a novelty basket ball game, and a battle mode. The battle mode sounds at first impression like it would be a good idea, sense most other alternative kart racers provided this, but Sonic Riders' performance was very shabby. Your placed in a fairly small arena of simple design with three other players, with offensive weapons as well as shields available to pick up throughout the level. But the problem other than the less than ideal turning controls, you are constantly on the move, and there is no target system. Even worse, the pit-stop system still applies in battle mode, which means if you are caught out of your board, then you'll endure punishment. Battle mode is a novelty at best and completely worthless at worst, because so many simple changes wouldn't have interfered with the core game and make it ultimately more enjoyable, and playable for that matter.
Sonic Riders is a decent racing game, but it's held back by a few too many performance issues. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that this is a Sonic game, most people may not bother to play it, due to the performance issues with the control and trouble keeping up the pace. Some people may still learn to appreciate it, but they may need to play it intensively for hours without end to reach a skill level where they can work around all the curves in the game's design. So even know Sonic Riders isn't a bad game, in the end if you want a racer with Sega's mascot and have a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining experience, you're better off with Sonic & Sega Allstar Racing if possible.