Defending Sonic R

Sonic R is my earliest memory of playing any game on my long gone SEGA Saturn. This was the first time I was introduced to Sonic, and even though I'm more a Nintendo fan, Sonic games will always remind me of my earliest gaming memory. As a child I really enjoyed this game but from what I understand a large amount of the gaming community disagree which is why, today, I'm going to defend this relic from the past!

First of all for those who don't know "R" stands for racing, similiar to Mario Kart or games like that. First of all let's tackle the elephant in the room: controls! As a child I had no real problem with controls, at high speeds it is very hard to keep your character on the main race track and even in a straight line! It makes the race somewhat more difficult. Being able to control your character (they can be in vehicles or just running on foot) is surely one of the most important aspects of a racing game. How can I defend not being able to have complete control over your character? Think back to the time, the SEGA Saturn, along with the 32X attachment for the SEGA Mega Drive, was one of the first steps into 32-bit gaming. There were very few racing games in the 32-bit era due to both Atari skipping it entirely and Nintendo wishing they had rather than release the Virtual Boy. This era of consoles and games were dominated by Sony's maiden console the PlayStation and SEGA's Saturn. This was also a time of terrible controls, but why? Put this all into historical context, this was gaming's main leap into 3D and of course there will be a few hiccups at first, it wasn't too much better in the 64-bit era! Therefore, the controls are, really, symbolic of the time.

On the flip side the game's track design was highly praised! The "Radiant Emerald" track was praised as being better than Mario Kart 64's "Rainbow Road"! Rainbow Road had double the bits to work with too! Another praised part of the levels is the augmentation of the surroundings in relation to your speed. The faster you go the more it feels like your going fast, and isn't that what Sonic games are all about? The SEGA Genesis (the American Mega Drive) prided itself with it's "blast processing" and the original Sonic the Hedgehog game was made to highlight this. Sonic games are all about speed, hence why you're the "fastest thing alive" and the level design fits perfectly to this!

This is not your typical racing game either. Take Mario Kart (seeing as we keep drawing these comparisons), the series has no explaination as to why Bowser and half the Koopa army are racing Mario and the seemingly endless amounts of baby characters. The series has no story, not like any mario game has much of a story besides the earlier games on the NES. Sonic R is story driven (pun not intended) much like a very well received racing game: Diddy Kong Racing on the N64. Why does one game be well received for this and another game become notorius for being a product of the time? I agree that that Sonic's later racing games of the Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing but everything has to have it's origins. SEGA refined the formula over time! It's unfair to compare this game to more modern racers as this game was one of the first steps into 3D racing. This game should only be judged based on other 32-bit racers made at a similar time to Sonic R. Yes Sonic may have pulled the short straw in terms of games since this one but, to me, this game represents a time in video game history where the industry was moving into unknown territory and learning how to adapt to this new dimension they've been given. Judge it as you will but i still rate this as what a Sonic game should be, fast and colourful and the game delivers on both fronts!

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