Sonic R is a 1997 racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It is the third racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the first to feature 3D computer graphics. The player races one of ten Sonic characters in various Sonic-themed race tracks as they attempt to stop Doctor Robotnik from stealing the Chaos Emeralds and enslaving the world. Sonic R features single-player and multiplayer game modes, and while similar to kart racing games such as Mario Kart, it places an emphasis on jumping and exploration. By collecting items and completing objectives, players can unlock secret characters.

Development began after the completion of Sonic 3D Blast in 1996 and took nine months. It was the second collaboration between Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team, and was designed to take advantage of the Saturn hardware. Sonic Team designed the race tracks, while Traveller's Tales handled implementation and programming using a custom game engine. The soundtrack was composed by Richard Jacques; Sonic R tracks, most notably "Super Sonic Racing" and “Can you feel the Sunshine”, have been reused in subsequent Sonic games. Sega released the game for the Saturn in late 1997, for Windows the following year, and for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 as part of Sonic Gems Collection in 2005.

Sonic R was the only original Sonic game released for the Saturn; Sonic 3D Blast is a port of the Mega Drive game, and Sonic Jam is a compilation of the first four mainline Sonic games. Initial reviews for the game were mixed, with retrospective reception being more negative. It was praised for its visuals and level design, but criticised for its poor controls, high difficulty and short length. Meanwhile, Jacques's soundtrack polarized audiences, who either found it catchy and well-produced or out of place in a racing game. Fan interest in Sonic R inspired Sega to revisit the racing genre with games such as Sonic Riders (2006).

Gameplay

left|thumb|[[Sonic the Hedgehog (character)|Sonic racing on the "Resort Island" race track]]

Sonic R is a racing video game with single-player and multiplayer modes. The player selects a character and participates in a footrace on one of five race tracks, competing for the fastest time ahead of the other racers. Four characters are initially available, while the other six are secret characters that become available when the player completes certain in-game objectives. Although the gameplay is considered similar to kart racing games such as the Mario Kart series, Sonic R places an emphasis on jumping and exploration, as each track has multiple paths and hidden areas.

During each race, the player can collect items scattered across the track, bestowing advantages. Rings, a staple Sonic series item, are abundant; the player can exchange rings to gain a temporary speed boost or open doors leading to shortcuts or special items. "Item Panels" give a random temporary advantage, such as a speed increase or shields that grant abilities such as being able to run across water or attract nearby rings. Collecting five hidden Sonic tokens on a track and placing in the race will allow the player to challenge one of the secret characters; defeating them unlocks the character for play. There is also a "Time Attack" mode, where the player races solo to get the fastest time, and a two-player competitive mode, increased to four-players in the Windows port.

Characters

Sonic R features ten playable racers, each with unique attributes and abilities falling in line with their usual abilities. Sonic the Hedgehog is the fastest and can "double jump" (being able to perform a second jump in mid-air). Tails is able to fly through the air for a short time, Amy Rose, the last initially available character, drives a car, allowing her to hover over bodies of water. and Super Sonic, a faster version of Sonic powered by the Chaos Emeralds.

Story

Sonic and Tails are about to take a holiday when Tails notices an advertisement for a "World Grand Prix". While not initially interested, Sonic notices that Dr. Robotnik is also participating, which persuades him to change his mind and enter the race. Traveller's Tales, who had been working on a 3D graphics engine without a clear purpose at the time, found this to be a logical progression. Development started in February 1997 as a joint project between Sega's Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales. It was first publicly announced as "Phase Two of Project Sonic" (with "Phase One" being Sonic Jam). The schedule was tight, and Traveller's Tales requested more freedom than they had with Sonic 3D Blast.

Sonic Team designed the race tracks and the game's general flow, and Traveller's Tales were responsible for the implementation and programming. Implementing the two-player split-screen mode proved difficult; programmer Jon Burton stated that this was mainly because it was difficult to ensure cheating was not too easy, so shortcuts were made challenging, with a penalty incurred if players got them wrong. Burton claimed that Sonic R could not have been replicated on other consoles during the timeframe, such as the PlayStation console, due to the technique developed specifically for the Sega Saturn hardware.

An early build was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1997, The builds would be largely the same as the final game, with the exception of minor tweaks, such as the "Resort Island" level being in sunset, rather than bright sunshine, Traveller's Tales had used programming techniques inspired by those used on the Nintendo 64, such as a type of fog known as "Pixie Dust". Like many other previous Sonic games during this time period, a largely unrelated Sonic R game was released as a Tiger Electronics LCD handheld game around the same time in 1998.

Music

The soundtrack for Sonic R was composed by British composer Richard Jacques of Sega Europe, who had also previously worked on the soundtrack of the Sega Saturn and PC versions of Sonic 3D Blast. Work on the soundtrack began in March 1997 when Jacques travelled to Japan to meet with Sonic creator Yuji Naka to discuss the musical approach to take for the game. On December 31, 2025, Dataminers discovered files of music from Sonic R in Sonic Racing: Crossworlds (2025), implying they were initially planned to be in the game. However, these were removed in update 1.2.2.

Reception

The Saturn version of Sonic R received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, although retrospective commentary has been more negative. It received an aggregate score of 69 percent from GameRankings, based on six reviews,

Sonic R<nowiki>'</nowiki>s soundtrack was particularly divisive. Sega Saturn Magazine described the "storm of controversy [that] surrounds the accompanying music", which "has come in for a bit of a slagging on the Internet recently for the addition of vocals." Although he was not a fan of dance music, Nutter stated that the tracks were "better than most chart stuff", while the included instrumental versions were sufficient "to appease everyone". and 1UP.com wrote the visuals were grainy—"mak[ing] it hard to tell where you're going"—and the controls were frustrating and imprecise. GameSpot described "its laughably bad soundtrack" as "[its] only redeeming quality", and GameSpy called Sonic R "a concept that works better in theory than in practice"—despite its "fantastic (if not bizarre) soundtrack". Conversely, Jeuxvideo.com, in a negative review of Sonic Gems Collection, praised the game, arguing that it was the only decent game in the compilation alongside Sonic CD. In a 2003 retrospective, Game Informer described the game as "decent, but unmemorable", while GamesRadar included Sonic R in a 2014 list of the top 50 Sega Saturn games, calling it "a technical tour de force". In 2013, GameTrailers ranked it as the second worst Sonic game, behind 2006's Sonic the Hedgehog. Game designer Hirokazu Yasuhara, who helped Traveller's Tales rework the game in response to concerns over the quality of a preview version, has maintained that "the final version of Sonic R is actually quite good&nbsp;... However, I do admit that the base concept of Sonic R, in which a player 'drives' running characters, is not great".

Legacy

Despite Sega releasing two Sonic racing games prior to Sonic R, Sonic Drift and Sonic Drift 2, for the Game Gear, developer Takashi Yuda cited fans requesting more racing games in the vein of Sonic R would be Sega's actual inspiration for revisiting the genre in future years. This led to the development and release of the hoverboarding game Sonic Riders, although there are no connections between the two games other than both being racing games. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Sonic Generations, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.

The 2019 release Team Sonic Racing features several references to Sonic R, including remixes of songs from the soundtrack (including "Super Sonic Racing" and "Can You Feel the Sunshine?") and the use of the distinctive red "R" in the game's logo and on the in-game currency.

On 28 September 2024, Jacques and Davis reunited for a live performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in London as part of the Sonic Symphony World Tour. They performed a medley of Sonic R songs featuring "Can You Feel the Sunshine?", "Living in the City" and "Super Sonic Racing".

Notes

References

Sources

  • Official Sega Minisite (Sega Saturn)
  • Official Sega Minisite (PC)