Sonic R was developed in Europe by Traveler's Tales. It was released for the Saturn on Halloween in 1997. The concept was simple enough, take beloved mascot characters and plop them down in another genre than what they're known for. This time being a racing game. Sonic R on the Saturn was one of the few games that made use of SEGA's 3D analog controller designed for Nights into Dreams. Your enjoyment of Sonic R was heavily dependent on if you were playing with the 3D controller or not. It made a huge difference in how the game played. It was near unplayable with digital control. It played just fine with analog control. Strangely enough, it feels like you're playing with the digital controller once again, even though the Gamecube controller has analog by default. You can barely turn in this game. You just move forward, barely turning, careening off the course walls. I don't understand what happened here. Something is amiss. The game wasn't exactly pretty in the 32-bit era. Primitive texture mapped polygons ruled the day. Looking at it now on the cusp of the post 128-bit generation, it looks absolutely hideous. So if the game controls bad, and looks like crap, it sounds good, doesn't it? Well, that all depends on your taste. The composer went with pop vocals for every track. The composer is one of SEGA of Europe's best, Richard Jacques, of Jet Set Radio fame. I personally find the music to be acceptable, those of you with less tolerance for airy European pop vocals might not be able to stand it. So there's depth to it you're asking? Not really. It offers the standard time trial and grand prix modes. Reversed tracks. Character tag, and what amounts to an in race scavenger hunt for medals hidden on the course. You have the standard hidden characters to unlock. Dr. Eggman and Metal Sonic and the like. You need to complete the grand prix mode in Sonic R to unlock some artwork in the Sonic Gems Collection museum. So I have, and it took all of a half hour. This title hasn't aged well, but I don't think that's all there is to it. I don't understand what's happened with the control issues. That has something to do with how poorly this title comes off.
Next time will cover what some consider the best Sonic title ever made, Sonic CD.
No comments:
Post a Comment