Sonic R
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Sonic R | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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System(s): Sega Saturn, Windows PC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Publisher: Sega | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Developer: Sonic Team, Traveller's Tales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Save file size: 2.16 KB (PC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre: Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sonic R (ソニックR) is a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed 3D racing game. It was developed by Traveller's Tales under guidance from Sonic Team, and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn and later Windows PCs.
Contents
Gameplay
Sonic R is a racing game played from a third-person perspective, where players take control of one of ten Sonic characters racing around one of courses against up to four other players. While never released in arcades, it is structured similarly to Sega arcade racers such as Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship, however also includes (limited) platforming segments, power-ups and hazards.
There are five racers in each race. The opponents selected depend on what character the player chooses. If the player chooses a secret character, the other secret characters that have been unlocked will be used. If the player chooses a starting character, he races against the other starting characters. For the purposes of selecting the racers, Dr. Robotnik is treated as a starting character.
There are several collectible rings across each of the five racetracks. Each ring regenerates after a short period of time. These rings can serve two purposes.
- Stepping on a speed boost will consume all of a player's rings, to a maximum of 50, and boost the player ahead along a preset path. The boost is at a speed approximately three times the normal maximum speed of a character and lasts for a duration proportional to the number of rings deducted.
- Each level contains special doors which open when the player uses twenty of fifty rings on it. Twenty-ring doors frequently hide tokens, shortcuts, or both. Fifty-ring doors frequently hide Chaos Emeralds, shortcuts, or both. After being opened, the doors remain open for all players for the duration of the game. The number of rings required to open the door is displayed in the frame above it.
There are also inexhaustible emblem bonuses. Touching an emblem gives the racer one of multiple possible rewards, including a random number of rings and the water and lightning shields that first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The bubble shield allows the racer to walk on water once, after which it disappears. The lightning shield attracts rings to itself, but is eliminated over time or immediately upon touching water.
Aside from the main game, there are three special gameplay modes: reverse, in which racing occurs facing the opposite direction, break five balloons, and tag four players.
Characters
There are five racers in each race. The four "best" racers that have been activated are automatically selected as computer opponents if a secret character is chosen. If one of the default characters is chosen, then the opponents with be the other default racers.
Some racers can run on water for a while, and all characters can "swim" in it indefinitely, but the speed of movement will be greatly reduced. In addition, each of the ten playable characters has a different speed and a unique set of abilities. These abilities can give certain characters, even those which are initially playable, a clear edge over others. The four characters that are initially playable are Amy Rose, Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic. Below are the characters and their abilities, listed roughly from worst to best.
- Amy Rose drives her car, which is similar to her cart in Sonic Drift, and can hover over water. She is slow but at the cost of 10 rings, she has the ability to boost, giving her a high top speed.
- Eggman, who races in an Eggmobile, can do a short-range heat-seeking attack at a cost of 10 rings. The attack will eliminate the target's shield if it has one and slow it down if it does not. He is also particularly slow but can hover over water.
- Tails can fly at a fixed level for a limited period of time thus he can take shortcuts that others can not. He has good acceleration, but is difficult to turn with at high speeds.
- Eggrobo is robot whose head and body are shaped like an egg, first seen in Sonic & Knuckles. Its abilities are similar to those of Robotnik, but it is slow compared to the other secret characters.
- Knuckles can glide for an unlimited period of time, gradually losing height. He cannot latch onto or climb walls as in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He is an all-round character, not having any major features and Speed and Control is even.
- Sonic is the fastest of the characters that are initially playable. He can double jump. He has quick acceleration and high top speed, but has poor handling.
- Tails Doll can hover on water. Additionally, he can hover indefinitely a certain distance above the ground or water.
- Metal Knuckles is a robot version of Knuckles that is faster on the ground and while gliding.
- Metal Sonic has a very high single jump and does not immediately fall into water, instead floating above it while losing speed, and then falling in after he has stopped completely.
- Super Sonic is the fastest racer, and also the hardest to unlock. He can double-jump and can run on water indefinitely, although at a reduced speed. By repeatedly jumping, it is possible to move across water at full speed. His only flaw is that he can be hard to control at times.
The soundtrack by Sonic R was presented by Richard Jacques, with songs performed by British singer TJ Davis. The vocals can be switched off in the options menu.
Differences between versions
Fade-In
The Saturn version of Sonic R handles the game's signature fade-in differently. If the game is undergoing slowdown the fade-in will disappear, shortening the draw distance, in an attempt to keep the frame rate up. Polygons that are transparent do not have lighting applied.
On the software rendered PC version, fade-in is fixed and can be changed in the options menu or in-game with the F1 and F2 keys. On the hardware rendered version, fade-in is displayed differently, calculated per pixel instead of per polygon. Also on the hardware rendered PC version, the lowest flat floor fades-in with the polygons.
The Gems version has no fade-in.
Track Lighting
The Saturn and software rendered versions use addition to calculate lighting. This allows for much more dramatic lighting and changing to color of a texture. (Blue light on red shows blue.)The hardware rendered PC version and Gems version uses multiplication for calculating lighting. (Blue light on red shows black.) Since the game's lighting was designed for additive lighting, the track appears subdued on the hardware rendered and Gems versions.
In the Saturn version, the Radiant Emerald track is transparent and has a transparent overlay to simulate multi-texturing. The fade-in found throughout the game is disabled, so the end of the track pops into view.
In the PC and Gems versions, fade-in works normally, but the track is no longer transparent and there is no overlay. Instead, the coloring of the track pulsates with bright colors.
On the hardware rendered PC version and Gems versions, the track is dark and unlit in places, but coloring does change.
Backgrounds and Textures
The Saturn version has a smaller background (mostly made from a tilemap) and is mirrored four times to wrap the screen (causing suns/moons to appear twice).
The PC and Gems versions use a 1664*128 bitmap for the entire background.
The water for the Saturn version appears different, with light shading on the wave reflection of the background (a palette effect) and a faintly visible water surface.
The software rendered PC version has ripples done that same way as the Saturn version, but is missing the visible water surface and wave shading. The Gems Collection version animates water in a similar way.
The hardware rendered PC version is missing the features that the software version misses, as well as the background reflecting by a slightly darkened, wobbling texture.
The Saturn version uses 4-bit textures whereas the PC and Gems versions have 24-bit textures. Despite some tweaks, texture resolution is roughly the same. Some polygon models have changed, too. The changes on Knuckles are particularly noticeable between the Saturn and PC/Gems versions. Also, the software rendered PC version is the only version with texture alpha blending. (Per texel transparency, all other versions only do per polygon transparency.)
Other Differences
In some places collision detection has changed. For example, in the PC/Gems version, you can stand on the ropes in Reactive Factory; in the Saturn version you cannot.
The Saturn version's controls were unresponsive at times, (but using a 3D Analog Pad slightly fixes this).
In the Saturn version, there is a slight delay between when a button is pushed and when a character responds.
The PC/Gems version has time records for each character, mode, and track combination, and the Saturns' has records for each track, mode, and combination.
The Saturn and Gems versions have ambient sound effects for torches, waterfalls, and seasides; the Gems version has volume issues (too loud) and is missing some of the sounds that the Saturn version has.
Credits are different in the Saturn version in that there are no 3D characters.
The balloons in the balloon mode are blue in the Saturn version, while other versions have randomly colored balloons.
Items have different probabilities of being received in the Saturn version; shields and speed shoes are far more common for racers in top positions.
In the PC and Gems versions, races occur in random weather conditions, either normal, rainy, or snowy, unless the default settings are altered.
The Saturn version supports two players in split screen, while other versions support four players.
In the Saturn version, the instrumental tunes are longer, they're mysteriously truncated in the PC version.
Saving Data
The Sega Saturn version of the game makes use of the Saturn's internal battery back-up as well as the Sega Saturn Back-Up Ram Cart to save progress and unlockable content.
Name | Comment | File Size |
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SONICR___## | SAVE_DATA | 6 |
Miscellaneous trivia
- By loading the Saturn or PC CD of Sonic R in a standalone audio CD player or a media player on a computer, one may listen to the soundtrack of the game, which is also fully tagged if the players supports CD-Text.
- (However…) Some copies of the PC version released by Expert Software (ActiVision Value) are missing the CD audio tracks, most likely due to a (very) sloppy mastering job. Hence, the game will not play music.
- As there were many versions of Sonic R produced for the PC, there have been many accounts of bugs which can spoil the experience for the player. One such bug brings up an error message when the user makes an attempt to play the game. The game is still playable by forcing the computer to execute the program over and over again. Moreover, the bug can be fixed permanently with a single text edit(?).
Manuals
Main article: Sonic R manuals |
PC, US (Sonic Gems Collection digital manual)
PC, JP (Sonic Gems Collection digital manual)
Also Released On
- Sonic R for Tiger LCD (1998)
- Arcade Collection for PC (2000)
- Sonic Action Pack for PC (2000)
- Sonic Action 4 Pack for PC (2001)
- Twin Pack: Sonic 3D Blast & Sonic R (2002)
- Sega PC Mega Pack for the PC (2003)
- Sonic Gems Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 (2005)
History
Development
Main article: Game Development:Sonic R |
Release
Legacy
Production credits
Saturn version
- Program Design & Implementation: Jon Burton (Travellers Tales)
- Head Artist: James Cunliffe (Travellers Tales)
- Lead Artist: Dave Burton (Travellers Tales)
- Game Design Director: Takashi Iizuka (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Map Design Director: Hirokazu Yasuhara (Sega of America Inc.)
- Additional Artwork: Kazuyuki Hoshino (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Additional Artwork & Visual Advisor: Shigeru Okada (Sega Europe Limited)
- Character Designer: Yuji Uekawa (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Music & Sound Producer: Richard Jacques (Sega Europe Limited)
- General Producer: Yuji Naka (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Programmed by: Jon Burton
- Polygon Model Design and Implementation: Neil Allen, Dave Burton, James Cunliffe
- Texture Map Design and Application: Neil Allen, James Cunliffe
- Character Animations: Dave Burton
- Model and Animation Data Conversion: Andy Holdroyd
- Terrain System Programming: John Hodskinson
- Special Effects Programming: Jon Burton
- Artificial Intelligence: Stephen Harding, Gary Vine
- Texture Application Software: Andy Holdroyd
- Additional Programming: Stephen Harding, Gary Vine, John Hodskinson, Andy Holdroyd
- Development Director: Jon Burton
- Special Thanks: Helen Burton and Helen Gavin
- General Producer: Yuji Naka
- Project Manager: Youji Ishii
- Producer: Yuji Naka
- Game Design Director: Takashi Iizuka
- Game Designers: Shiro Mukaide, Syun Nakamura
- Game Advisors: Takao Miyoshi, Katsuhiro Hasegawa
- Additional Artwork: Kazuyuki Hoshino
- Character Designer: Yuji Uekawa
- Graphic Advisors: Naoto Oshima, Hiroshi Nishiyama
- Sound Advisor: Naofumi Hataya
- Executive Manager: Shoichiro Irimajiri
- Executive Coordinators: Makoto Oshitani, Jin Shimazaki
- Overseas Coordinator: Ryoichi Hasegawa
- Public Relations: Hiroto Kikuchi, Takumi Miyake
- Manual: Hiroyuki Mitsui, Osamu Nakazato, Takashi Nishimura
- Special Thanks: Takahiro Hamano, Yukifumi Makino, Takuya Matsumoto, Yoshitake Miura, Yuichiro Suzuki
- Sound Producer: Richard Jacques
- Additional Artwork & Visual Advisor: Shigeru Okada
- Music & Sound FX: Richard Jacques
- Sound Programming: Thomas Szirtes
- Vocals: T.J. Davis (courtesy of Freedom Management)
- Engineered & Mixed by: Matt Howe
- Digital Editing by: Neil Tucker
- Recorded and Mixed: Metropolis Studios & Sega Digital Studio
- Technical Support: Colin Carter, Ed Hollingshead, Tamer Tahsin, Thomas Szirtes, Elton Bird
- Senior Product Manager: Kazutoshi Miyake
- Operations Manager: Naoya Tsurumi
- Product Manager & Public Relations: Mark Maslowicz
- Lead Tester: Jason Cumberbatch
- Assistant Lead Testers: Dave Thompson, Roberto Parraga
- Special Thanks: Jo Bladen, Mark Hartley, Phiippe Deleplace, Frederique Ayer, Stephanie Petit, Jose Angel Sanchez, Begona Sanz, David Garcia, Hitoshi Okuno, Andreas von Gliszczynski, Thorsten Moe, Tina Sakowsky, Richard Leadbetter, Paul Davies, Tom Guise, Ed Lomas, Daniel Jevons, Jose Aller
- Map Design Director: Hirokazu Yasuhara
- Project Coordinators: Jason Kuo, Dave Locke
- Product Managers: Kristin McCloskey, Terese Russell
- Lead Tester: Fernando Valderrama
- Assistant Lead Tester: Jeff Junio
- Special Thanks: Scott Allen, Sandy Castagnola, Curtis Clarkson, Geraldine Dessimoz, Marci Ditter, Sheri Hockaday, Michael Jablonn, Judy Nybo, Paul Sears, Seedy Lounge, Eric Smith, Dan Stevens, Bernie Stolar, Mark Subotnick, Shuji Utsumi, Mike Wallis
- Game Developed by: Travellers Tales
PC version
- Program design and implementation: Jon Burton
- Head artist: James Cunliffe
- Lead artist: Dave Burton
- Game design director: Takashi Iizuka (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Map design director: Hirokazu Yasuhara (Sega of America Inc.)
- Additional artwork: Kazuyuki Hoshino (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Additional artwork and visual advisor: Shigeru Okada (Sega Europe Ltd.)
- Character designer: Yuji Uekawa (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Music and sound producer: Richard Jacques (Sega Europe Ltd.)
- Project director: Kats Sato (Sega Europe Ltd.)
- General producer: Yuji Naka (Sega Enterprises Ltd.)
- Polygon model design and implementation: Neil Allen, Dave Burton, James Cunliffe
- Texture map design and application: Neil Allen, James Cunliffe
- Character animations: Dave Burton
- Artwork: Bev Bush, Carleen Smith
- Additional artwork: Leon Warren, Sean Maden, Jon Rashid, Will Thompson
- Model and animation data conversion: Andy Holdroyd
- Terrain system programming: John Hodskinson
- Artificial intelligence: Stephen Harding, Gary Vine
- Texture application software: Andy Holdroyd
- 3D Engine and Porting: Steve Monks
- Additional programming: Andy Holdroyd, John Hodskinson, Stephen Harding, Gary Vine, Neil Harding
- Producer: Yuji Naka
- Game design director: Takashi Iizuka
- Map design director: Hirokazu Yasuhara
- Game designer: Syun Nakamura
- Game advisors: Takao Miyoshi, Katsuhiro Hasegawa
- Additional artwork: Kazuyuki Hoshino
- Additional artwork and visual advisor: Shigeru Okada
- Character designers: Yuji Uekawa, Yoshitaki Miura
- Graphic advisors: Naoto Oshima, Hiroshi Nishiyama
- Sound advisor: Naofumi Hataya
- Music and sound effects: Richard Jacques
- Vocals: T.J. Davis courtesy of Freedom Management
- Engineered and mixed by: Matt Howe
- Digital editing by: Neil Tucker
- Recorded and mixed at: Metropolis Studios and Sega Digital Studio
- Product manager: Toshinori Asai
- Producer: Tetsuo Shinyu
- Director: Masamitsu Shiino
- Sega Europe Ltd. director: Richard Lloyd
- European marketing manager: Hitendra Naik
- Assistant European product manager: Steve Wombwell
- Localization: Roberto Parraga, Dave Thompson, Michael Wiessmuller
- Packaging and software manual:
- Japan: Kaoru Ichigozaki, Osamu Nakazato, Hayato Takebayashi
- Europe: Paul Jerem
- America: France Tantiado
- Supervisor: Yuji Naka
- Special Thanks to: Takashi Iizuka, Jin Shimazaki, Kazutoshi Miyake, Katsuhisa Sato, Scott Hawkins, and Sonic Team
- developed by: Traveller's Tales
Physical Scans
Saturn version
87 | Sonic Retro Average | ||||||||||||||||
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Based on 4 reviews | |||||||||||||||||
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Saturn, US |
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Saturn, JP |
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PC Version
PC, US |
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PC, EU |
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320x120px Cover
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PC, JP (Ultra 2000) |
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PC, UK (Xplosiv) |
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PC, UK (Xplosiv) (newer) |
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PC, ES (Xplosiv) |
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Promotional Material
External links
References
Sonic R | |
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Manuals |
show;hide
Books:
Music: Songs: "Super Sonic Racing" | "Can You Feel the Sunshine" | "Living in the City" | "Back in Time" | "Work it Out" | "Diamond in the Sky" | "Number One" |
Sonic the Hedgehog games for the following systems | |
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1996 Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island 1997 Sonic Jam | Sonic R Demos Sonic R: Trial Version
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