Sonic Rivals 1 + 2

[HelenBaby]

Topic about the Sonic Rivals series, since I rarely see any on Sonic boards

I reckon these are among the most under-rated Sonic games out there. Heck ; they're pretty much what Sonic fans have been crying out for for ages ; decent resolution 2D Sonic platformers! They're also fairly challenging (without having to resort to 'bottomless pit syndrome, apart from in the last level) and are full of Sonic's signature bad attitude (imo). I'm a big fan <3 Good music and graphics, too ^^

Edited March 9, 2009 by HelenBaby

[JezMM]

They're pretty awesome, but if they ramped up the difficulty so it was a -little- easier to die, and made it a non-racing experience they'd have been more fun.

Rivals 2 is also really lame. The fight stages are boring and the bosses even more annoying than the first game with a CPU player constantly bothering you while you try to beat it. The worst offenders are Frontier Canyon and Sunset Forest. Also not helping is the way items are entirely useless in races unless you're in first, because in second they move towards the other character slower than you actually run, so they don't help at all with catching up (and when the CPU gets too far ahead, even near the start, that's pretty much race lost).

Rivals 1 however I thought was absoloutely awesome. It was a little more unvaried in terms of story mode missions (entirely racing until the finale), but overall a lot more balanced, not to mention fun.

Oh, and I will agree the soundtracks were awesome. I feel bad for the music guy, because the tunes in the first game were blatantly made to match up so the melody kicked in at "GO!" with each race, but because the music starts on the loading screen it doesn't sync up, lol.

[SuperLink]

They're lame. I don't get how they could be so flawed. Sonic Rivals 2 had Free Mode, which is great, and made the stages actually explorable since the main game has annoyingly handicapped Rivals who always either do well or shit.

I like it, but it's easily the worst 2D Sonic ever (better than some of the 3D offerings though for sure). I mean how slow can a Sonic game be? There's almost no sense of motivation, the floors are either completely level, or sloped at a single gradiant. So yeah, slow, and dull tracks.

If there was a Sonic Rivals 3 (which I hope there is), Blaze should be in in, Jet would probably be in it, and it really should be faster. Seriously.

EDIT: As for music, I found it really unmemorable, minus the 2nd stage from Rivals 2, that music was awesome.

Edited March 9, 2009 by SuperLink

[Hedgehog]

Topic about the Sonic Rivals series, since I rarely see any on Sonic boards

I reckon these are among the most under-rated Sonic games out there. Heck ; they're pretty much what Sonic fans have been crying out for for ages ; decent resolution 2D Sonic platformers! They're also fairly challenging (without having to resort to 'bottomless pit syndrome, apart from in the last level) and are full of Sonic's signature bad attitude (imo). I'm a big fan <3 Good music and graphics, too ^^

I only have Rivals 2, but i really did enjoy it.

I agree when you say really underrated. They are 2D patformers, challenging etc

I think the only problem is that it is allllllways a race, never just take your time and run around style levels (in the main game at least)

[JezMM]

In all fairness they would have to rejig the levels for solo play. I played the solo free run mode on Rivals 2 and it proves how much the stages are designed for racing. There really isn't much challenge to them at all when you're not under pressure from an opponent or time limit.

[goku262002]

Anybody know a good storymode walkthrough on youtube i can watch? ive always been curious about the SR series but never saw any good videos.

[Erazor]

I strongly prefer 2. I wouldn't say Sonic has much of a bad attitude. It's more like every one around him can't tolerate his presence for more than a few seconds which I like even more.

I really do hope they make a 3rd installment. They're the only games with Silver fully playable besides Sonic '06 and they're the only games with Metal fully playable since never (oh wait. SA:DX). Plus, those cards are just a big heaping pile of fan service (though I would appreciate info on the card's image).

Edited March 9, 2009 by Erazor

[Ryan Brown]

I like the series, but it could definitely use some work. If there is a third game, it's going to need a major upgrade in nearly every department.

[123654]

They're both awesome games. They don't get enough recognition, in my opinion.

I think they have great level designs and a fair amount of challenge.

[Shiny Gems]

They're both awesome games. They don't get enough recognition, in my opinion.

I think they have great level designs and a fair amount of challenge.

Heh! I feel the same way.

[Mollfie]

I really enjoy playing them both, but I hate the bosses in SR2.

[Stephen]

I agree sonic rivals is totaly under rated I think this is because it came out about the same time as the great sonic rush and it was forgotten

[SuperLink]

What do people see in it? I honestly can't think of any good gameplay points other than the Sonic-y locations and the number of playable characters.

[123654]

I agree sonic rivals is totaly under rated I think this is because it came out about the same time as the great sonic rush and it was forgotten

Rush came out with Shadow's game. Rivals came out around the same time as 2K6.

[HelenBaby]

Heh! I feel the same way.

and me!

Also, for the record, I prefer 2 =) (which I won at Summer of Sonic, and helped convince me to get a PSP ^^)

[DMNBT]

Personally I prefer the first rivals game. I don't know why, but I feel as if everyone was slower in the second. Also, I absolutely love Sky Park

[Scorch]

I have both Rivals games, and I love them both. I think they had just about anything to like about a Sonic game. The 2D side-scrolling gameplay, which is similar to the Genesis titles (to a certain extent), the graphics (even though I don't play games based soley on that), the sound/music, and the storyline. I especially liked the Circus Park stage (or whatever it was called- I don't remember the exact name) in the first one. The race against Metal Sonic in Act 2 reminded me of Metal Sonic race that took place in Sonic CD, when Stardust Speedway had a Bad Future. The only gripes I have with both games, is the fact that Blaze made no appearance whatsoever like I had hoped, and some of the voice acting. Nega Robotnik's voice in particular made my ears bleed. His voice was just as bad as Sigma's was in Mega Man X4.

Edited March 9, 2009 by Scorch

[Badnik Mechanic]

The only time I've ever played a Sonic Rivals game was... interesting at Summer of Sonic 08, someone in the pub had a PSP and the game and it found it's way into my eager fingers.

Theres something about it that is just... well... failing to find a better word... fun...

I can't put my finger on it, maybe it's the fast pace of it, the multiple paths the Sonic Battle esq fights, or maybe it's just that it's genually trying to be a good Sonic game without trying to be too clever or trying to pull a gimick out of it's top hat.

It's like a toff saying "How do you do" and then buying you the first drink instead of saying "How do you do, would you care to gaze in awe at my new shoes?" before putting his cigar out in your face.

I can't remember the music very well, but I think I liked it. It was a bit hard to get into at first, but it was a really fast paced game, the whole racing themed working for what it was and the limitations of the PSP compared to what a console could do.

It's a shame this series is so under-rated and so under-loved... meh... maybe if Sony slapped the word "Nintendo" on the box then they'd sell and people would go ape as it's rare to dislike many nintendo sega titles... no matter how anoying they are!

[JaidynReiman]

I think one of the reasons why Sonic Rivals is underrated is because its on PSP. Even if it was on PS2 or PS3 it would've probably been a lot better, but the problem is that PSP isn't something you'd expect a Sonic game to be on, and the PSP itself isn't nearly as popular in Japan as the DS. (Though, that doesn't mean much... but overall, DS is still more widely used than PSP).

I don't think its the fact that the game is on a Sony console. I think its the fact that Sonic Rivals (1 and 2) were on specifically PSP. Any other console and they would've done much better. And yeah, I'd really like to see a third, but at this point I kinda doubt its coming.

[SuperLink]

Maybe I am the only person that doesn't like it. For me, it's definitely not underrecognition, it's just too slow... Even Sonic Advance 1 is way faster. I mean when you do a spin dash, you basically grind to a halt, it's almost completely pointless! That's not right at all.

[Mollfie]

It's like a toff saying "How do you do" and then buying you the first drink instead of saying "How do you do, would you care to gaze in awe at my new shoes?" before putting his cigar out in your face.

lol ilu

I do agree that maybe it's because it's on the PSP, most people I know who own a PSP wouldn't want to play a Sonic game.

[7Force]

I liked the first one but the second one I dont think is the better game. I hated the fight stages and at times it felt that the CPU was cheating. IMO its fun but flawed in places I much prefer the Rush series on DS.

[edge.]

I played it on my friend's PSP. I thought it was pretty good. The music however, was NOT.

[famicommander]

The games are a bit easy and the AI could use the work. The bosses are hit-and-miss, and the game on the whole is a bit repetitive. But I enjoyed the games very much. It's a good concept, the multiplayer is fun, and for the most part I like the level design. Good music and good visuals.

Overall, very solid series. Easily 7.5/10. I'd like to see a third one, because I think Backbone is pretty close to putting it all together.

[SuperLink]

Oh, one thing I really hated about the story was that often Shadow and Silver were the only ones who found out anything. Sonic was way too easy going with Eggman, and too willing to give up rather than getting to the bottom of it. It's a pretty lame way of making sure Sonic never sees Eggman Nega isn't it? Who's series is this anyway? Sonic's, not Shadow's, and especially not Silver's...

Edited March 10, 2009 by SuperLink