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Sonic Drift 2

From Sonic Retro

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Sonic Drift 2 title.png
Sonic Drift 2
System(s): Sega Game Gear, Virtual Console
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Peripherals supported: Gear-to-Gear Cable
Genre: Racing[1], Driving[2]
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code Rating
Sega Game Gear
JP
1995-03-17[1] ¥3,800 G-3366
Sega Rating: All Ages
Sega Game Gear
US
1995-11 $? 2562
ESRB: Kids to Adults
Sega Game Gear
EU
1995-04[3][4] €? 2563-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK
Sega Game Gear
UK
1995-04[3][4] £24.99[3] 2563-50
ELSPA: 3+ OK


Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
JP
2012-11-14[5] ¥286 (300)[5] ?
CERO: A
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
US
2013-07-04[6] $3.99[6] ?
ESRB: Everyone
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
EU
2013-07-04[7] €3.99[8] ?
PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
UK
2013-07-04[9] £3.59[8] ?
PEGI: 3+
Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console
DE
2013-07-04[10] €3.99[8] ?
USK: 0

Sonic Drift 2 (ソニックドリフト2), known as Sonic Drift Racing in Europe, is a kart racing game for the Game Gear and the sequel to Sonic Drift. It features Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails, Amy Rose, and Dr. Eggman from the original Sonic Drift. Newly added characters are Knuckles, Fang, and Metal Sonic. As in the last game, players race around a track collecting Rings and power-ups.

An unofficial port to the Master System was made by Shibunoa on June 1st, 2009. The conversion is currently in an early state, but is fully playable.

Gameplay

Drift2 eh1.png
Gameplay screenshot.

The objective of the game is the same as its predecessor, to win the three different Chaos GPs (purple, white and blue Chaos Emerald). Each Chaos GP has six different tracks, some based on Zones from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in visual design, but mostly are new, resulting in a larger variety from the previous game. Chaos Emeralds are awarded for winning races. If Sonic, Tails, Knuckles or Amy collect all six in the Blue GP, they will face Dr. Eggman in a final race around the Death Egg. If Eggman, Metal Sonic or Fang collect all six in the Blue GP, they will face Sonic in the final race.

Gameplay is nearly the same as the original Sonic Drift as the directional pad steers, Up uses Rings for a Special Ability, and the two buttons are used for acceleration and braking. Rings are lost during collisions. The AI of the game is also much smarter and it takes effort to keep the top position. The Item Boxes also are not used automatically upon being touched as in the previous game. Instead, an icon appears on the top of the screen and Up on the directional pad must be pressed to use the item. Only one item can be held at a time. However, the Flash and Reverse are triggered upon impact and cannot be saved. The game features the same game difficulty setting as before, however there's a new option - the choice of having obstacles or not.

The extra modes are the same as the previous game: Free Run is a practice mode in which the player can race alone on any course as well as view the best times for each course. The player can end a Free Run at any time during gameplay by pausing the game and pressing 1+2 simultaneously. Versus is a standard 2-player mode using the Gear-to-Gear Cable in which both players race each other, with a win/loss record kept only for one session. However, whereas the previous game had every course available, Sonic Drift 2 only has six courses available for Versus: Emerald Hill 1, Dark Valley 2, Death Egg, Mystic Cave, Hill Top 1 and Casino Night.

Characters

Character Vehicle Special Ability Gameplay
Acceleration Speed Handling
Drift 2 Sonic.png Sonic Cyclone Speed dash (same as red monitor power-up) High High Low
Drift 2 Tails.png Tails MTP-02 Whirlwind S7 Jump over (same as spring power-up) Medium Medium Medium
Drift 2 Amy.png Amy Breeze Toss heart (reduces other's speed) High Low Medium
Drift 2 Eggman.png Eggman Egg Typhoon Drop mine (same as collision) Low Decent Very high
Drift 2 Knuckles.png Knuckles Tempest Punch if within range (same as collision), otherwise jump over (same as spring power-up). Medium Medium Medium
Drift 2 Fang.png Fang Marvelous Queen Sling oil balls (same as collision) High High Low
Drift 2 MetalSonic.png Metal Sonic Blue Devil Super speed dash (more than red monitor power-up, uses three rings) Very high Very high Very low

Knuckles and Metal Sonic had their names either misspelled or shortened due to space limitations: Knucles and M.Sonic.

Items

Power-ups are scattered throughout each track, with a variety of abilities. Like it was mentioned before, the power-ups cannot be accumulated and they do not respawn in each lap either.

Drift 2 Ring.png
RingMedia:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[11] (リングMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[12])
Collecting two Rings (or three in the case of Metal Sonic) allows the player to use their special ability.
Drift 2 Spring.png
SpringMedia:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[13]/Jump Bane (ジャンプバネMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[12])
These all launch the player up into the air upon collision.
Drift 2 Star.png
FlashMedia:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[13]/Flash Star (フラッシュスターMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
The screen flashes white for everyone. Its effect is activated immediately.
Drift 2 Ball.png
ReverseMedia:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[13]/Reverse Ball (リバースボールMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Steering is reversed for a short while. Its effect is activated immediately.
Drift 2 RedMonitor.png
Dash (Red)Media:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[11]/Dash Box (ダッシュBOXMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Makes the player dash down the track with a momentary burst of speed, activated by pressing Up.
Drift 2 BlueMonitor.png
Invincible (Blue)Media:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[11]/Muteki Box (無敵BOXMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Makes the player invincible for a short period of time, activated by pressing Up. The BGM during invincibility is based on Sonic the Hedgehog 3's invincibility theme.
Drift 2 YellowMonitor.png
Jump (Yellow)Media:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[11]/Jump Box (ジャンプBOXMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Launches the player up into the air in the same fashion as a Spring, activated by pressing Up.
Drift 2 BlackMonitor.png
Mine (Gray)Media:SonicDrift2 GG US manual.pdf[11]/Kirai Box (機雷BOXMedia:SonicDrift2 GG JP manual.pdf[14])
Slings a mine to the track and has the same effect as a collision. It is activated by pressing Up.

Courses

Purple Chaos GP
Drift2 eh1.png

Emerald Hill 1
Drift2 Hill Top.png

Hill Top 1
Drift2 Dark Valley.png

Dark Valley 1
Drift2 Casino Night.png

Casino Night
Drift2 Desert Road.png

Desert Road 1
Drift2 Iron Ruin.png

Iron Ruin
White Chaos GP
Drift2 dr2.png

Desert Road 2
Drift2 Rainy Savannah.png

Rainy Savanna
Drift2 Ice Cap.png

Ice Cap
Drift2 ht2.png

Hill Top 2
Drift2 Mystic Cave.png

Mystic Cave
Sd2eh1.png

Emerald Hill 2
Blue Chaos GP
Drift2 dv2.png

Dark Valley 2
Drift 2 Quake Cave.png

Quake Cave
Drift2 Balloon Panic.png

Balloon Panic
Drift2 Emerald Ocean.png

Emerald Ocean
Drift2 Milky Way.png

Milky Way
Drift2 Death Egg.png

Death Egg

Versions

Also released on

Production credits

Programming
  • Programmer: A.Morino
Art
  • Artists: K.Tamura, H.Takano, A.Tezuka
Sound
Planning
Source: In-game credits[15]

Manuals

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: Sonic Drift 2/Manuals

Magazine articles

Sonic Retro emblem.svg Main article: sega:Sonic Drift 2/Magazine articles

Promotional material

<div style="width:Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px; padding-left:2px; padding-top:9px; padding-right:2px;">Print advert in ()
also published in:
</div>

Artwork

  • Additional artwork of the vehicles and characters can be found in the Japanese manual.

Physical scans

Segaretro-round.svg Reception »
Game Gear, JP
Drift2 gg jp back cover.jpgDrift2 JP Boxart.jpg
Cover
Game Gear, US
Drift2 US Boxart.jpg
Cover
Game Gear, EU
Drift2 EU Boxart back.jpgDrift2 EU Boxart.jpg
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Game Gear
CRC32 d6e8a305
MD5 b39d1e9a40dfd3508ee4003cd28da452
SHA-1 fe597c5cfbbc31e54f2484eb5b33c21c66cf0290
512kB Cartridge

External links

References


Sonic Drift 2
Sonic Drift 2 title.png

Main page


Manuals
Magazine articles
Reception


Hidden content

Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems
Sega Master System
Sega Game Gear
 1991  Sonic the Hedgehog     1992  Sonic the Hedgehog 2     1993  Sonic Chaos | Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine     1994  Sonic Drift | Sonic Spinball | Sonic the Hedgehog Triple Trouble     1995  Sonic Drift 2 | Tails' Skypatrol | Tails Adventures | Sonic Labyrinth | Sonic 2 in 1     1996  Sonic Blast    
 Unreleased  Sonic's Edusoft