Sonic Racing a superb return for the troubled franchise

Sonic has had somewhat of a troubled past but retro-nostalgia has kept the beloved, red-shoed blue hedgehog alive in our hearts. And Sonic Racing is a worthy addition to the franchise, amid so many unfortunate failures, writes Stephanie Bendixsen.

There are some gamers out there who are really into their racing games.

Car nuts who love to trick-out their set-up with a simulation chair, multiple monitors and the full i-racing experience.

Racing is one of the few genres of video game with actual transferable skills. Professional racers use i-racing sims to get some practice in, and there have even been cases of i-racers making it into the real-world racing scene.

But if you ask me, if it doesn’t have a “boost button” or a track that goes upside down, I don’t want to know about it.

Give me a colourful cartoon stretch of road, missiles and kart-fuelled chaos — and I’m head-over-heels in love.

Sonic Racing video game screen shot for Screen tech pages.

Let me tell you, I am in love with Sonic Racing.

Sonic has had somewhat of a troubled past. The direct competitor of Mario, everything Nintendo did: Sega copied, in their own way, and with their own flair.

Instead of precision, Sonic was all speed. Rather than coins, you collected rings. Truth be told, in the ‘90s, you were either a Sonic Kid, or a Mario Kid with no room for fence-sitting.

And while Nintendo maintained the top spot with the charming plumber never failing to capture the hearts of his adoring fans, there was something about Sonic that seemed cool and modern by comparison.

First and foremost — Sonic was fast. Rather than carefully bouncing your way across platforms and into drainpipes, Sonic practically flew through each level with the focus being on keeping momentum.

Sonic Racing video game screen shot for Screen tech pages.

This meant reaction times were significantly shorter when coming across a wall of dastardly spikes that would cause you to lose all of your precious rings — but this only encouraged you to play again and again until you knew each level and all of its traps by heart.

Sonic seemed edgier and slicker.

In the ‘90s Sega ruled comfortably alongside Nintendo with Sonic as its mascot, his “rad” attitude setting the brand apart.

I even remember going to Sega World as a kid when it opened in Sydney’s Darling Harbour — it was thrilling and full of high-action fun.

So, what went wrong? Well, one, very specific thing: Sonic games hinged themselves on being side-scrolling speed platformers.

This caused some obvious complications for the franchise when 3D ushered-in a new era of gaming.

The perspective shift proved a little awkward for Sonic, and after a slew of failed attempts at adopting the new polygon design and reinventing the Sonic franchise, things went south pretty fast.

Sonic was Sega’s flagship, and when the flagship goes down, you’re in trouble.

I returned to Sega World a few years later to find it run-down, mostly empty and struggling to survive.

Sonic Racing video game screen shot for Screen tech pages.

By the end of the ‘90s it had closed down — I think it’s a Commonwealth Bank now.

But Sonic is resilient. Retro-nostalgia has kept the beloved, red-shoed blue hedgehog alive in our hearts, with some successful remasters and releases of classic Sonic games, before the fall. He’s even teamed-up with Mario for a series of semi-successful Olympics-themed games. Now, there is a movie on the horizon, though its release has been delayed due to a rather embarrassing public outcry when Sonic’s furry, CGI-rendering was dubbed “weird” and “creepy” online.

Sonic Racing, thankfully, is superb.

It follows in the footsteps of the kart-racers we know and love with wild colours, wacky tracks complete with moving obstacles, loops and anti-gravity sections, huge jumps, boots and loads of items to use against your foes.

It’s worth playing through and unlocking the expert difficulty as the “normal” mode is kept accessible for younger players, but it doesn’t detract from the sheer joy of hurtling around the track firing-off missiles at the racers ahead of you.

There was a public outcry over the animation of Sonic in the upcoming movies, so much so he’s rumoured to be getting a redesign.

There’s local and online play, as well as a fun little story about a mysterious character (who is suspiciously reminiscent of the evil Dr. Eggman) to carry you through each Grand Prix.

Time and elimination challenges are also peppered throughout to keep your skills up, and various cosmetic upgrades and characters can be unlocked as you progress.

While all of these elements may seem run-of-the mill for a game like this, there is certainly an element of “if-it-ain’t-broke” to be considered — particularly in this genre.

Some notable originalities however include the “slingshot” manoeuvre.

In Sonic racing, you’ll usually be racing in a team, be that AI or online. When teammates are ahead of you, you can drive in the slipstream of their vehicle, which charges a kind of boost which allows you to ‘slingshot’ yourself ahead.

READ MORE FROM HEX:

RAGE 2 CAN’T COMPETE WITH BORDERLANDS

BLADES IS MUDDIED BY MONEY

APE OUT AS ADDICTIVE AS ANY DRUG

Coupled with this is a “team boost” option, best used on the final lap to claim a last-minute victory — which make for some glorious photo-finishes.

Sonic Racing is everything a kart racer should be, and a worthy addition to the Sonic franchise, amid so many unfortunate failures.

Let’s just hope they’re able to fix the movie before his strange, furry face further haunts our dreams.