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Sonic has a pretty long history with Nintendo. The franchise first went third party on Nintendo platforms, and has stuck close to the company's hardware ever since. This held true even during the Wii U era (easily Nintendo’s most difficult time in recent memory), giving the dual-screen console and the 3DS a variety of Sonic exclusives, ports and retro titles. Now, just a little over a decade since it launched, the Wii U and 3DS digital storefronts are closing down, taking all the digital Sonic content with it. Thankfully, most of what’s being lost is either available on other platforms, can be found physically, or can be played on easily-emulated retro consoles. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some things hardcore Sonic fans might want to grab ahead of the store’s closure. So we're going to go over how accessible various games and DLC are elsewhere, to help you decide whether or not anything’s worth picking up on the eShop before it closes. Then we’ll go the process of purchasing games digitally. To address the elephant in the room: yes, everything we’ll be talking about will continue to be available through not-so-legitimate means. But we're not talking about that here - for those fans who want to support the Sonic series and SEGA before the whole digital storefront shuts down, this feature is for you. Digital Exclusive Games & DLC In terms of digital-exclusive software, the pickings are fortunately quite slim here, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some things worth downloading. On the Wii U, there’s Sonic Lost World’s free DLC. The game received two expansion packs: Yoshi’s Island Zone and The Legend of Zelda Zone. Both are solid stages, but the latter is a real treat to play, and probably one of my favorite levels in the game. Both are definitely worth dusting off a Wii U to download if you haven’t already. Thankfully, these levels won’t be entirely lost when the eShop goes down. Though not officially available, fans brought both levels to the PC version of the game via mods last year. On the 3DS, the biggest game loss will easily be 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Released in 2015 as part of SEGA’s 3D Classics line, it adds stereoscopic 3D that, in my opinion, looks quite impressive, letting you experience the game with 3D depth in the background. Unlike the first game, which got released as part of the SEGA 3D Classics Collection, this game never received a physical release in the West. So once the eShop goes, so does this. Perhaps a more underrated loss, however, will be the large number of Sonic 3DS themes. Midway through its life, the 3DS received a “theme” shop, that let users download a variety of themes that added animated backgrounds, music, unique icons for things like folders, and special sound effects. The 3DS received a large number of Sonic themes, including character-centric themes based around Sonic, Shadow, Amy, Silver and Chao, as well as other special themes like a 25th anniversary theme, a Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal theme, Sonic, Classic and Boom “Style” themes, and even as adorable “cute” style theme. If you want to be able to add these themes to your 3DS, you’d best get them soon. So, on the whole, Sonic fans aren’t exactly facing a catastrophic loss here. What’s going to be a somewhat bigger deal is easily accessible digital releases becoming significantly less accessible going forward. Such as… Digital Exclusive Retro Releases One of the coolest aspects of Nintendo’s pre-Switch digital shops was their extensive Virtual Console library, which digitally re-released the ROMs for numerous consoles both legendary and obscure. As such, the shutdown of these storefronts is also leading to a mass-delisting of games from numerous retro consoles. On the 3DS, that includes the Game Gear. The system has a nice selection of Game Gear titles, including a wide variety of the system’s Sonic games. Unfortunately, SEGA has been really bad at keeping even the most notable Game Gear titles available, and once the 3DS eShop goes belly up, so goes the last remaining place to buy and play these games that isn’t a Japanese-exclusive novelty micro-console. Some really solid, and in some cases rare, games are being lost too. Tails Adventure, a Metroidvania spin-off title, is a well worth playing and easily one of the best Game Gear games you can get, though regularly sells for upwards of $90. Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Sonic Drift 2 are all solid Sonic experiences worth picking up. Then we have Sonic 2, Sonic Blast, and Sonic Labyrinth, which… I’m not about to tell you these are games you should play, as they aren’t very good, but the loss of any Sonic game from an accessible storefront is still unfortunate. Finally, there’s the 8-bit version of Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, which also isn’t available anywhere, but has a superior 16-bit version that is. If you’ve ever wanted to see what the lesser known 8-bit Sonic titles were like, this may be your last chance to easily check them out legitimately for awhile. Digital Retail Releases The great thing about physical retail releases is that they can’t be taken out by a shop closure. Once a game is printed, it can be used until it’s destroyed or otherwise decays. But the bad thing about physical games is that there’s only a finite number of them, and unfortunately not all of Sonic’s retail games are as easily or cheaply bought as you might think. At the moment, all of Sonic’s retail eShop games are easily bought for $19.99. For many of these games, physical copies are currently running for significantly more, and in the case of a few games, are only even available on eBay. Thankfully, most of Sonic’s 3DS library can be easily found for a decent price at retail. Sonic Generations 3DS, Lost World 3DS, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 3DS, and Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal are all easy to find at places like Gamestop for $20 or less. Unfortunately, the Wii U library and Sonic’s final 3DS title haven’t been quite as lucky. On the Wii U, the easiest Sonic game to find physically by far is Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. Sonic Lost World, on the other hand, is only available through resellers, where it regularly goes for $35-$50. Thankfully, it also has a superb Steam port. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric’s physical release is just as difficult to get, also $30-$50 through resellers. Given the game’s reputation, I assumed they’d be giving these copies away, but apparently it has managed to retain some value. If you really want to own this game, that $20 digital version is a solid bargain right now. A significantly better game, Sonic Boom Fire & Ice on 3DS, appears to have shared Rise of Lyric’s fate, albeit not quite to the same degree currently - at $30 through Amazon resellers. The physical cart is more expensive than its eShop release but this is still cheaper than its price at launch. For all three of these games, the eShop is currently the cheapest and most accessible way to get them on Nintendo platforms. How to Buy the Games While it is no longer possible to add funds directly to the Wii U and 3DS eShops, users can get around this by simply adding funds via their Nintendo Switch eShop account, or (in some countries) through the Nintendo Account website. In order for the funds to actually reach the other eShops, you will need to have your Nintendo Network ID linked to your Nintendo account. If you haven’t done that already, check out this guide and head down to “How to Use Leftover Funds.” It’ll explain how to merge your funds between the eShops. The End of an Era The closure of the eShop marks, in many ways, the end of an era for Sonic. An era that had its bright spots, but could also be quite troubled. While this stuff isn’t disappearing forever, the easiest means of experiencing it all is. So if you’ve ever wanted to check out the Boom era, or skipped most of Sonic’s Nintendo-exclusive offerings, now is your last, best chance to get all this stuff legitimately. View full story

Since 2020, I've played (to my knowledge) every Sonic crossover collaboration in a mobile game. I beat up Mad Max rejects as Super Sonic in Fist of the North Star, I summoned Sonic as a demon in Shin Megami Tensei, and had an epic battle with my wallet in Cookie Run: Kingdom. However, of all the mobile games I dipped my foot into, only two ever took hold for more than a month: Ulala Idle Adventure, and KartRider Rush+. KartRider's Sonic content has been broader and more involved than any of the other games I just mentioned, but if you want to get started with it, knowing where to find all the Sonic content is tricky (and potentially expensive) business. UPDATE [May 5]: As of May 5, Tails and Chao are now available via the Monthly Pass, and the Dr. Eggman event has started. At this time, there are no future Sonic collaboration content updates we are aware of. However, if any do happen, we will update this article. What is KartRider Rush+? KartRider Rush+ is a mobile version of a very popular Korean kart racing game by Nexon (who you might know as the publisher of MapleStory). It features a cartoony style, a variety of game modes, a lengthy story mode with English-dubbed voice acting, and is free to play without timer restrictions. However, as it is a free to play game, many cosmetics, including many of the Sonic cosmetics, are only available if you pay for them. The game has gacha systems for certain cosmetics, but not for any of the Sonic content. This is not an exhaustive tutorial of the game, but this guide will cover how to access the Sonic content, and how much it will cost. What Can I Get For Free? Until May 10, you can redeem this code for Tails Headgear (a Tails face that hovers over your head, a Tails license plate, and a Chao license plate. To enter it, go to Settings (gear icon) > Account > Voucher Code. Passwords are region-specific. EXPIRED: Until May 3, you can redeem this code for a free Sonic backback and "headgear" (a Sonic face that hovers over your head). To access code entry, go to Settings (gear icon) > Account > Voucher Code. Passwords are region-specific. Until May 31, you can complete missions to collect "Sonic Letter Shards." These shards can be exchanged for a Sonic aura, a Sonic Skateboard, a Ring Headgear, a Sonic Driftmoji (special effects that appear when you drift), Sonic Balloons (which are consumable when you equip them in item races, so be aware), and Ring decorations for your character's home. The missions are daily, so you will need to play multiple days and complete them multiple times to collect every item. The missions can be accessed from Events > Sonic Collection. The rewards can be accessed from Banquet > Sonic Collection. Until June 16, you can unlock Sonic himself as a Kart (and a Sonic face mask) by completing special missions that will reward you with "Nitro Shards." The mission screen then lets you convert a small number of Nitro Shards into a larger number of Ring Shards (yeah, I know, it's bizarrely indirect). And as you collect more Ring Shards, more rewards unlock. Some missions repeat daily, and some repeat weekly. At this point, I want to bring up that many collectibles in this game are time-limited. I was annoyed by this at the beginning, but the game will throw a lot of time limited karts and clothes at you, so don't take the limitation too seriously. By the time one free kart expires, you'll have a different cool free kart to play with. Items list the number of days they're available, or "Perm" if they permanently stay in your inventory. Three tiers of unlocking Sonic are 30 days, 90 days, and permanent. If all you want is to dip into the game for free, try it out, play as Sonic, and then drop it, then 30 days might be good enough. Only you yourself know if it's worth coming back every day to creep towards unlocking Sonic permanently. This Sonic event can be accessed from the Sonic the Hedgehog icon on the main menu. Until May 31, you can earn Dr. Eggman (Racer) as part of the "[Dr. Eggman] Secret Base" event. By completing missions, you'll be able to flip over up to two of the cards on the grid and get rewards, including a Knuckles License Plate, Shadow/Tails/Sonic/Chao decals, Sonic balloons, and a 30-day unlock of Dr. Eggman himself. If you flip over all 20 cards, you'll permanently unlock Dr. Eggman. You can access the event via Banquet > [Dr. Eggman] Secret Base from the main menu. Until May 31, you can earn Chao (Pet) as part of the free monthly Activity Pass. By completing weekly quests, you'll earn Pass Points that increase your Pass Level (100 points per level), and unlock new rewards at each tier (up to Lv. 80). You can earn a 7 day unlock for Chao at Lvs. 2, 40, and 60. At Lv. 80, Chao unlocks permanently. At Lvs. 5, 25, 45, 65, and 77, you'll earn Tails Balloons. You can also earn a time-limited version of Tails (kart) at Lvs. 10, 30, 50, and 70, each adding 7 days and letting you play as Tails for free up to 28 days. You will need to purchase the Honor Pass in order to unlock him permanently (more below). To access the Pass and Quests, go to the Pass icon on the main menu. What Do I Have To Pay For? As of May 1, unlocking all available Sonic content costs a flat sum of $39, and requires actively completing missions and quests throughout the month. If you want to unlock Tails (kart) permanently, he is available via the monthly Glory pass for $2.99. Once you pay, you immediately get a 7-day Tails unlock. As mentioned above, you need to complete weekly quests to gain Pass Points, gaining one level for every 100 points. Once you get your pass to Lv. 80, Tails will unlock permanently. To access the Pass and Quests, go to the Pass icon on the main menu. Things get a bit more involved from here on out: Until May 31, you can unlock Knuckles and several other cosmetics via Red Star Ring Packs, which have a set price. The packs can be accessed from Banquet > Red Star Ring Pack. Pack A is $8.99 and contains a different Sonic aura, Shadow balloons, some items, and a single Red Star Ring. Pack B is $8.99 and contains a Dr. Eggman mask, a Shadow license plate and decals, some items, and another Red Star Ring. Pack C is $17.99 and contains Knuckles (who is a driver, not a kart), Knuckles balloons and decals, and one last Red Star Ring. To unlock Shadow (Kart), you'll need the Red Star Rings from all three packs above. This puts Shadow's price at about $36, though you'll also get Knuckles and all the other Red Star Ring accessories and items. Until May 31, you can unlock Dr. Eggman's Egg Booster (Kart) by collecting ALL the other characters (which adds it to that $36 price tag to get Shadow and Knuckles, the temporary versions of Sonic, Tails, Chao, and Dr. Eggman are enough to unlock their part of the list). You can also earn 1up balloons, a Sonic avatar frame, a Knuckles glove on a wand, and a Sonic Team title on the path to completion. The Egg Booster event can be accessed from the Final Battle vs. Dr. Eggman icon on the main menu. Summary I've personally spent more time in this game than I spend with many other full priced games I've purchased, and in that sense, I've felt justified in buying the Sonic cosmetics. However, I know not everyone is willing or able to simply spend $36+ on a mobile game. Hopefully this guide has helped anyone interested in the collaboration understand the costs involved, what you can get for free, and if the economics of this game are worth it to you at all. For those who are interested in looking at the content but not buying or playing it, Sonic Stadium will have coverage of all these collaboration items on our YouTube channel as the event progresses. We've already started with Knuckles, Shadow, and the driver cosmetics: View full story