Sonic R

Characters

There are 10 characters to choose from, only 4 of them are available at first:

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic is the fastest of them all.

Moves

Jumping: Press A, C, or Y to jump. In mid-air, press again for a double jump.
Sonic Spin: Press B while running for a Spin Dash Roll, then hold up to continue rolling.
Spin Dash: Press the D-Pad down while standing still to crouch, then press the B-button.

Miles "Tails" Prower

Tails has an advantage as he can fly.

Moves

Flying: Jump in the air by pressing A, C, or Y then again to fly for a short distance.
Spin: Press B while running for a Spin Dash Roll, then hold up to continue rolling.
Spin Dash: Press the D-Pad down while standing still to crouch, then press the B-button.

Knuckles the Echidna

Gliding helps Knuckles, he is also second to speed of Sonic.

Moves

Gliding: Press A, C, or Y and then again to glide.
Spin: Press B while running for a Spin Dash Roll, then hold up to continue rolling.
Spin Dash: Press the D-Pad down while standing still to crouch, then press the B-button.

Amy Rose

Amy is very... very slow. She can also hover over water.

Moves

Turbo Boost: Press A, C, or Y when a tyre appears at the top of the screen. A boost usually costs 10 rings.

Dr. Robotnik

He has great cornering and can hover over water, but he's very slow.

Moves

Homing Missile: Press A, C, or Y when a green target appears on the screen. A Missile costs 10 rings.

Items & Gimmicks

• Rings: Collect enough to open Gateways or speed off on Accelerators.
• Item Panel: Item Panel's are where you find items like Fleet Feet, rings, and Lightning Shields, find a red, yellow, or blue version.
• Fleet Feet: Get extra speed for a short time.
• Lightning Shield: A yellow Sphere appears around you, it brings rings toward you.
• Water Shield: A Blue Sphere that makes you walk on water once.
• Sonic Tokens: Collect all of them to play one on one with a secret character to access them.
• Chaos Emeralds: Collect them all to access Super Sonic, when you get all of them press up or down when choosing Sonic.
• Loops: Pass through the arrows to try and collect rings up and around.
• Accelerators: Get enough rings and run on these to blast off for a fast short distance.
• Springs: Bounce your way up at high places.

Game Modes

Grand Prix mode is the main game, the goal is to place 1st, second, or third. 1st will unlock a few things. There's a main path to each track and secret shortcuts. Items and other things to find in the tracks are rings, Accelerators, shields, Sonic Tokens, Gateways, and Chaos Emeralds.

Time Attack mode is where you have 4 different ways to play. Normal is where you must beat the clock and finish 3 laps. Reverse is backwards and to beat the clock in 3 laps. Balloon is where you must find 5 scattered balloons as fast as you can, and Tag Battle where you try and tag 4 opponents who try their best to get away.

1P VS 2P is where you play a friend in a split screen race to get balloons, race against him/her, or a reverse race. On the PC version you can play against up to 4 people online!

Stages

Resort Island

It's a wonderful day for a race in this tropical island paradise. A nice blue sky, lots of greenery, a pretty waterfall... It's all here. Get too enchanted though, and you might slip into the water or bump into a coconut tree. Take the time to hop around the smaller islands. Going for a little rock climbing is well worth the effort.

Radical City

This course is plenty wide. Gaps in the railings aren't just accidental breaks! Waterways look like slow going at first, but they can save you some time if you know what turns to take. And speaking of turns, there are a couple of tight ones to add to your fun. Ever wonder what it is like to be a pinball?

Regal Ruin

These ancient Egyptian remains are an archaeologist's dream. The main path is pretty easy to follow, but there are many little roads and nooks which could be hiding treasure, so search well! Springs might help you out of tight spots in this course.

Reactive Factory

Here you are transported into the future! Enter the factory of tomorrow, a completely automated wonder. There is lots of room to run, but there are also many hidden surprises and traps. What appears to be a simple course is really the hardest of the four. Well, kind of.

Radiant Emerald

Detail coming soon.

Prototype Information

You'll notice Resort Island at Sunset. Maybe, like in the PC version, the Sega Saturn version of Sonic R was to have alternating weather and time conditions to affect gameplay. In the first screenshot, notice that the Character Icons on the left hand side of the screen are very different to those in the Final Version.

Above is another screenshot of the same Resort Island Sunset variant.

A GamePro Magazine Article for a preview of Sonic R on Sega Saturn. Check it out - GamePro slapped an Enemy Zero screenshot in there by mistake! The preview says that there were only three levels... seeings as it was a preview, that's understandable. But, doesn't Eggman look a tad too big in the 2-Player screenshots within the article?

Check out this magazine advertisement for Sonic R, in the same GamePro magazine. This also has the beta screens (such as the weird character icons etc). The screens look a tad weird to be honest... and there's note of a Tag Team and Relay modes - obviously additions that never made it to the Final Cut. A shame really, because Sonic R could have been that much more fun otherwise.