Support the show on Patreon: / implantgames IMPLANTgames.com implantgames implant In today’s video I dive in and take a look to see if Sonic R for the Sega Saturn really is as underwhelming as it’s reputation suggests. Enjoy!
Sonic R is a really messy and problematic game, but I still love it. Don't know if is the music (that I really enjoy, despite the lack of coherence with the game), graphic style or simply nostalgia. It's a total guilty pleasure.
Same here but those vocals suck hard. Heard they just got some random employee to sing hence why it’s sOooOooo bad.(retro gamer article) Anyone who thinks there good needs a fucking hearing aid
I see the game as untapped potential. Given a bit of care and attention, a Sonic R2 could have been the Sonic 2 where racing spinoffs are concerned. Sonic 1 is not a very good Sonic game, but it was the foundation that greatness was built upon.
Well said & completely agreed, in its original form Sonic 1 isn't that good. Sonic R2 could have been great if given the chance & really if Sonic R wasn't made using the mentality of releasing an Arcade Game it could have had more content. I think part of the reason R2 never happened is the same reason why Sonic the Fighters never got a 2nd game in that The Dreamcast Era was to be a new start for the series.
This game is my guiltiest pleasures. I would hate it if it were longer, but because it's so short, I have to deal with the major clunky control issues less, making it feel less of a bad game albeit artificially. Even if the controls were good, the game would still be too short. It's a dumb game, but I like it because it's dumb. I probably play it for the amazing soundtrack alone (huge fan of "Livin in the City"). Great review, Kris!
Sonic R is one of those games I just pick up for an hour every couple months. There's not a whole lot of content but it's just pleasing to look at and listen to.
It's difficult to find someone that actually KNOWS how to play this game (e.g. using the button to accelerate instead of "up", using L & R to turn, changing the camera angle to the better one with Z button). I think it's a really fun game while it lasts, unfortunately, you can get all emeralds and coins in a weekend. Technically speaking, it's definitely a top 3 Saturn game. I never got to play in 2 player mode with someone that plays well and knows the shortcuts, but i think it would be REALLY fun and add a lot of replay value. Great video, I can see you really put a lot of time on this game, unlike many other reviewers.
what are you talking about. you can get all the unlockables in one clean run in like 30 min or an hour not even. that's the only way I play it haha. I beat it everytime I turn it on I don't even bother saving.
For some reason I thought you posted a comment on the Virtua Racing video, which had jingles worthy of a commercial haha. But yeah, the soundtrack in Sonic R is timeless. Can You Feel the Sunshine has to be one of the catchiest damn songs ever!
Great video! This game requires some serious determination to get through in its entirety.. good to know there are good things to be found, but I'll take your word for it ;-) Awesome production man; really nice gameplay, great IQ and your voice is as soothing as ever. Can't wait for the next one!
Agreed, people tend to act like sheep and follow the crowd. It's either hate or love most of the time. This is why i dislike critics as they've had their fair share of times bashing stuff that can sometimes be decent.
I got this game for the PC with the Sonic R/3D Blast Combo pack, and later for GameCube I had a hard time playing with keyboard back then, but still had fun I just wish the map was bigger, more stages, and the turning camera to turn faster. Those are the ones I care the most, Everything can stay the same.
Great video, as always! I love this game, definitely one of my favorites on the Saturn. I agree with you that some more courses would have been a great addition -- I think that feeling is a result of having played other mascot racing games like Mario Kart 64 and Crash Team Racing, which have three or four times as many tracks. However, I think that the quality of the racetracks in this game really make up for the quantity (Hirokazu Yasuhara, the level designer and director for Sonic 1-3, had a hand in the layouts, which might explain this). The other Saturn racing masterpieces, Daytona USA and Sega Rally, have three and four courses, respectively, but they are incredibly memorable and have a timeless quality to their design. I really enjoy the mechanics of this game as well, I feel that the platforming mechanics and overall design really set it apart from the mascot racing games that it unfortunately always gets compared to. This game is a blast in multiplayer, too, especially between players who share a similar skill level. Either way, looking forward to more videos!
This is an absolute gem! My cousin and I used to play hide and seek inside the game, ignoring the race. The exploration aspect and glitches made this possible. Thanks for reviewing the game; it deserves more attention
This was a very good analysis of the game. You tackled a lot of issues with the game fairly and well, and most of the time you really hit the nail on the head, especially when addressing the game's high points. Fantastic review.
Sonic R is far better at what it does. Sonic R is just supposed to be a fun little racing game and it achieves that very well. Sonic 06 was a 60 dollar game that was incredibly dysfunctional. Sonic R had flaws, but they were tolerable and the game was never meant to be mind-blowing.
I just like that dreamy Disco Pop soundtrack, got that cheerful vibe around it. In the song Diamond In The Sky I can not help but sing along the chorus and Can You Feel The Sunshine Samba's bridge in the extended version, delightful, just delightful.
Great stuff, as always my man! I admit it, I adore this game,but I know it isn't exactly a "good" game xD I found the game's controls to be much better on GameCube's Sonic Gems Collection, and I recommend that version to anyone who wants to try this title (it helps that Gems Collection also comes with the legitimately excellent Sonic CD)
The pc version also controls alot nicer and makes the game alot more enjoyable and the fact that the game scales fantasticly at higher resolutions when patched makes it even better. The draw distance is also greatly improved.
I bought this game back when it was released and it was kind of underwhelming at first but this is what we got instead of a real Sonic game. I loved the graphics it had very smooth textures comparable to N64 and special effects normally associated with the N64 which made me motivated me to play it further because a lot of Sega games start off playing underwhelming until you give them a chance because Sega games focused on the gameplay rather than a lot of content because you had to be good by mastering the gameplay mechanics of the said game to get the most out of it. I compared it to Diddy Kong racing's adventure mode at the time and Diddy Kong Racing is the much better game but I still love Sonic R and it showcases a lot of graphical effects that the Saturn normally doesn't do. It has to be said there's no other game like it which is both a good thing and a bad thing the main thing I thought at the time was it's kinda short even after beating it 100%. Also games on the Sega Saturn back when this was released was kind of sparse because many promised top games ended up being import only. Back then once you bought a game you didn't buy another until you beat the last one you get to get the most out of your game good or bad because games were so expensive considering lack of disposable income as a kid
good dynamic lighting, interesting water effects, true half-transparencies, great texture work, less visible pop-in (a common issue on 32 and 64-bits system like 3DO/JAG/PSX/SAT/N64), fast 3d rendering (unlike badly ported games like Die Hard Trilogy, which is basically the PS1 version without optimization at all, despite the fact that Saturn is more powerful than PlayStation, but almost ALWAYS developers used only 1 CPU of the hardware instead of using both properly, and games like Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, both WipEout and DH Trilogy are weak port for a more powerful console). Sonic R, for example, used all processors and both CPU's (like another graphical masterpiece for the Saturn: Radiant Silvergun, two games technially impossible on the PS1 without massive sacrifies and some cutbacks, like Powerslave (console version), which was created with the Saturn hardware in mind, ported to PSX with way less polygon counts, unstable framerates most of the time (from 60 drops to 12-14 in heavy explosions for example), less effects and shorter levels.
One of my favorite Saturn games and just one I remember fondly in general. From the upbeat music to the challenge of trying to place first against all the special characters, Sonic R was always a fun time for me. True, the controls _are_ a bit wonky, but once you get the hang of them, it works pretty well. Another thing I enjoy about the game is that it is a racing game where Sonic actually _runs_ around the course. Running being his thing, it always bugged me seeing him in racing games using a car. (I chalk up his lack of super speed on foot to in-game fairness, since otherwise he'd lap the others five times over in lap one.) The platforming and side paths, at least to me, work very well for the game. Not only do they give that extra bit of path finding challenge to the players, but they are exactly the kinds of things you'd expect to see in something related to classic Sonic. Has the game aged well? Probably not. Could they get away with a new age Sonic R? Honestly? Probably not. I feel this game was only meant to be created when it was and wouldn't work at any other point. It has that special charm to it that would just feel out of place if remade or done with the new characters. At best, it'd be Sonic Wacky Races today.
I need to get Sonic gems collection someday. I still have my Sonic mega collection for GameCube that I had back as a teenager back in the 2000s. I would love to complete the 90s classic collection of games with Sonic gems collection. And I have several game gear games available on Sonic Adventure DX, but you have to collect set numbers of emblems to unlock them
Man, I used to play this game on PC a lot as a kid. I'm pretty sure I used to know where all the emblems and chaos emeralds were. I definitely remember how challenging it was to collect them, and I always really enjoyed it.
I completely agree with many of your sentiments made in this review. Sonic R is by no means a great game, and, quite frankly seeing footage of this goddamn game reminds me of all the frustration I had trying to unlock everything, especially Super Sonic back in the day. Ugh. Despite that, I did always find the game to be something of a guilty pleasure of mine, despite the awful slippery control and all, Super Sonic is oddly fun and rewarding to play as, with his speed and I always loved the soundtrack.
implantgames Awww man, if my copy still worked I would totally send it to you!! I recommend watching a playthrough if you wanna see what its like, its a short game (about the same length as NiGHTS) but a technical and visual marvel!! The GPS system is also incredible and something more games today could seriously benefit from (basically the game manages to direct the player without the use of visual feedback, just audible, with the game pinpointing your location and telling you precisely where you need to go next)
Burning Rangers its more complex than Sonic R, and also uses more effects and more reworked transparencies. Also, it pushes harder the consoles than Sonic R (and Sonic R was technically impossible on the PSX because the system can't handle the games coded to both Saturn CPU's). Though Sonic R looks very nice too, but Burning Rangers its more impressive.
The only problem I had with this game is that it's too short They could have expanded more on the tracks or put in more themes along with the existing 5. The songs are classic
implantgames correct ! Well I'm 22 now But I got my hands on this game when I was 6-7 back in 2001-2002 I (my friends and cousins) enjoyed this game the way it was at that time and got so obsessed with sonic (he was literally my imaginary best friend that I would talk to and my parents thought i had split personality coz I used to talk in my voice then tried to imitate sonics voice when I responded to myself) 🤣🤣🤣 I would even get up at 6 in be morning (as usually my dad would have carry a lazy me out of bed to the bathroom) to watch a cassette of 'the adventures of sonic the hedgehog series' before school. The old days 😭 Great review. Subscribed ! 😊 Regards from India 🇮🇳
I loved Sonic R ever since I played it for the first time on PC during the early 2000's. The way this game was resigned makes it stand out like a sore thumb, a mastapeece.
I did played this on PC version (in 1999), the game has a lot of fun, but a lot of problems too, i really like it, especially the catchy/corny OST, always put me a grin in the face, I ripped to mp3 for my personal pleasure on the street ;) Great review!
I like it because I like the ways the levels are mapped, the way the characters look, and the music. I never had too much trouble with controls, but I do wish it had more levels and/or things to do.
with your review i will try the game again. I only unlocked robotnik and then quit the game. I always had problems with the controls. That is the main reason that I didn't finish the game yet.
Great review. Sorry for the typos last vid but yeah although it does have obvious gimmicky controls and it wasnt THEE most impressive thing even at that time understandably LIKE you expounded on all the little things in between make the somewhat shoddy game a RELAXING slightly competitive game you can unwind too while having fun or get a little deeper into the game play by collecting every thing extra it has to offer. Like u said it wasnt meant to be a. BIG time mainstream game but if u approach it with the needed mindset anyone can see why its mad enjoyable. And its ALSO a classic. The time frame it came out.. The fact that there wiLL NEVER be another game as awkwardly but fun done as this one was And its sonic. An o g in. The game world that everyone knows. And of course the deep and high spirited music. AMAZING. Props on this review. The game was and still really close to my childhood. And the music was helpful plenty in my slower paced times in my Life. ProPs
Sorry the delayed reply to your two lengthy comments! I agree with your first sentiment, Sonic R is not a guilty pleasure, just a fun game that doesn't receive the credit it deserves :) The music is pretty rad as well, each song tells a story which doesn't really exist in popular music. Mix the story telling with an amazing voice and some extremely catchy compositions, and again there is nothing Guilty Pleasure about it, it's just good!
I remember on the old Egypt map I would never be able to actually go around. Eventually I started somewhat speed running this game for fun on my PS2 but I remember it being so unclear at first and annoying. But I have so many good memories of this game anyway. I’ve probably over 30 hours playing this game. I was so young the first time I played it I tried to swim out of the map, and that was on the PS2 gem collection when I was 6/7 years old
Sonic R seems to be sort of increasing in player numbers for a while I think thanks to free downloads of the pc port and mods with the help of Sonic R updater Which makes the game more bearable for modern machines and depending on, a more apreciation for those who can get past of the flaws and tries to enjoy it as it is. In fact a few weeks ago as of writing there is mod that is totaly unexpedted things and one of the more better things to come out of Sonic R modding. A mod that is sort of a conversion to Sonic Mania that replaced graphics stages and characthers to feel more mania like. It actually also tricked me good at first with me thinking it was a Mania mod that in my mind "would start the game at special staged with added ai racers to make it feel as you are actually playing Sonic R in Sonic Mania" That is part of the reason why I have now suddenly gained intrest in R and so far it's going fine. Yes controls are defently quite slippery and weird. Sonic is quite hard to get a hang of since his handling isn't as great as Knuckles, but as time's passes 1st place victories might be more common than you think, though that will always be a dependency of the user.
This game was one of my favorites as a kid, I didn’t see it as bad at all, granted I didn’t own many games back then, but this game will always mean a lot to me! Also I still jam to the soundtrack, I’ve been wanting to cover “Number One” for a while now.
I'm wasn't familiar with the Tails Doll curse until I get a dozen comments in this video. To answer the question, the curse is something made up by the fans.
The best part of sonic R is that sonic & friends (besides amy and IF you count robotnik) aren't in a f---ing vechile when they are already decently fast.
Visually, there's one thing that's hard to get past for me: the fact that their feet don't move quick enough to fit the speed. They slide on each foot.
I did not take to this game when I bought it back in 97. your points about the level design and look are truly the only positives I found at that time, so I never gave it much of a chance. when Sonic Gems released and I had kids I could show it off to, I discovered how the racing on the track was not the intended method. I still think Saturn could have had a better racer, especially compared to Crash Team Racing or Diddy Kong Racing, but Travellers Tales made something wreck less and wild that was more like a trackball game than a kart racer.
It is weird how Traveller's Tales made something so non-traditional. The graphics engines is outstanding, they could have made something easily on par with other mascat racers of the time.
It's kind of ironic. The intital D anime that premiered a couple of months later also had a eurobeat soundtrack, and eventually Sega would end up making Initial D games.
Back in the day which I hope I'm not remembering wongly, my mate got Sonic R for PC somewhere back between 2001/3 and after he did and bragged about it to me... which eventually lent it self to him lending it to me, my grandad ripped me a copy and I also managed to copy the manual at one of the print/copy places I couldn't wait to play it. And it was one the most memorable moments since i only played SA1&2 on DC for countles hours. This game wasn't easy to 100% and before the Internet being common you couldn't find walkthroughs or anything but fortunately this game was clear and easy? To understand.i have put tons of hours in trying to unlock it 100% and man, finishing 1st when collect tokens and emeralds wasn't easy but the replay value it provided when I was young was perfect even after 100% it, and only having very few games to myself I kept playing it and discovered Amy could ride on water and knuckles could fly and all of the uniqueness or each character made each play so much different, i always hoped SEGA would make another Sonic R (maybe one day) but Transformers was the closes for me!
Never played Sonic R, but the level design sounds a lot more like the racing levels of Rayman Arena with being more platforming focused with characters running on foot, though that game has controls that sound much better than the ones described here...
actually, there were many PC ports. Each one more updated to work with the newer hardware until like 2005 i think? It was the updated PC ports that were used in the Sonic Gems Collection (& also at one point the lighting engine broke & they never bothered to fix it).
I feel like if another sonic r game was made today it could be a very cool refreshing take on a race between the characters. Maybe a hell of alot better than their all stars game.
Sonic R is one of my favorite 3d sonic games, and i'm not ashamed to admit that. its challenging to 100% but not TOO much of a hassle. the controls are great and i dont care what anyone says, they just suck at the game and never thought to use the shoulder buttons to make tighter turns, and they also never bothered to use another character who has better handling (yes they all handle differently). while the levels are few, each of them has lots of split pathways and shortcuts, which is level design we all look for in a sonic game, be it 2d or 3d. playing as eggman's robots and even eggman himself was such a great treat, as well as a fun reward for playing well. the character models are spot-on. i much prefer R sonic to classic generations sonic. THIS is what classic sonic should look like in 3d. and the music is JUST SO GOOOOOOOOOD. the game is criminally underrated.
Sonic R is one of my favorite Sonic games. I don't why. I hope they remake it or make a second one. I've played the game for about 6 years, but it just never gets old, even with the lack of tracks. My biggest wish would be the option to choose my opponents.
How the hell did I finish this game as a kid!? It sounds so difficult now. I wanna replay it one day. As much as people hate the game, it was like, my favorite racing game, ever, as a kid. I still love it.
It’s a shame the controls are so broken, Jon Burton is an amazing programmer so I would’ve expected better. I wonder how rushed this game was. Hopefully he can make a Director’s Cut version like he did with Sonic 3D Blast that fixes them.
I think the mix of platforming and racing honestly makes for a very original game and I like that. I barely see racing games show any originality. Most always try to be as close to Mario Kart as they possibly can and it causes the genre to feel samey most of the time. If the controls weren't so clunky and the characters slippery, Sonic R would be a much better game. I'm definitely considering trying it out, because it looks really cool.
The formula of Sonic R reminds me a little the race formula of Rayman M. This mode is also a platformer racer, but the is no keeping any momentum because characters move at a constant speed (expect acceleration pods). Sonic R could have been a better game if only they somehow made controls more intuitive.
Multiplayer = Mario Kart 64 or Crash Team Racing. Single Player = Sonic R or Diddy Kong Racing. Multiplayer with people that don't suck = F-Zero X. Also the brakes are done the same way they were done in both NiGHTS and Wipeout. It definitely wasn't super common, but I wouldn't call it unintuitive, it's like braking on a bike with dual handbrakes if I were to draw a parallel to something real life. Honestly the controls of the game are fine... for cars, but people don't expect cartoon characters running to control like that and it throws them off. They're used to Mario Kart where you can just hammer the accelerator down all day and not get punished for it, and they think since the characters are running they should be able to turn super sharp. Sonic R is a much more technical racing game than your average mascot racer, it's much closer to something like Sega Rally in terms of the mindset you need when you approach it.
The multiplayer isn't really unfair on the version on the sonic gems collection there is a trick so both players can play as the same character (sorry if my english was bad)
I have never played this game, and have only heard bad things about it, so it's really great that you made a video explaining some of the elements of this misunderstood game.
I loved it. I played it so much, the only thing I don't like is when someone picks super sonic. If the game had a few more tracks and balancing it would have been perfect, But I still love it for what it is and found so many glitches on it back in the day.
i have this on the gamecube and the radiant emerald track looks soooo different! you can actually see where youre going on the saturn version! when my sister and i play we say, "are you ready to trip balls?" it looks so dark and disorienting on the gamecube. yes the controls are bad, yes you could beat it in a day, but i still have fun playing it;)
I remember my brother and I getting this game, and popping it in the Saturn. 5 minutes in and it’s like it sucked all happiness out of the room, and a cloud of depression enveloped us. Imagine you only get game every few months, or more and you get sonic r.
implantgames you’re right. We stuck to fighting after that. Eventually getting a PlayStation. It was hard to know what games were good for the Saturn. Not hating on the Saturn, but the system was hard to buy for when we didn’t know much about games at the time.
Sorry for the lack of context haha. Your story reminded me of my childhood, getting Milon's Secret Castle for the NES. Same thing, I was stuck with the game for 3 months before we could get something else. I doubt I made it more than 10% through the game, as it was so damn cryptic and confusing, despite dozens of hours of playtime.
8:45 and the controls are an obstacle as well. Honestly, most of those tokens require you to do tight maneuvering with bad controls. Not sure why that issue of controls was dropped for a good chunk of time during the discussion of the basic unlock system. Most of the characters you unlock are simply faster than the basic ones with just as bad controls. Also, how is trial and error a good thing? I'm a fan of this game, but the positives you argue, in terms of core game mechanics, don't feel strong.
The visual effects might be nice and all but I'd argue some of the earlier Saturn games that used pre-rendered graphics like Clockwork Knight and Bug! had an overall more visually appealing aesthetic to them.
