I’ll let you on a little secret…I’m a huge Sonic The Hedgehog fan. During the “console wars”, when everyone was happy with the SNES, I was having fun with the Sega Genesis and Sonic. I remember the thrill of finding all Chaos Emeralds and getting the good ending in Sonic 1, then using those same Emeralds to go all Super Saiyan with them on Sonic 2.
Anyway, the ‘Gotta Go Fast’ hedgehog has a special place in my heart, and the spinoff games are always fun to dive into. Today we have the third entry in the spinoff Sonic Kart Racing Series, Team Sonic Racing, and I must say that I like the evolution the series has managed. This particular title feels like a canon entry as opposed to the other games in which it was simply a festival of Sega characters racing to the finish line.
Now like I said before, Team Sonic Racing is not like previous entries. Those games tried to emulate the tried and true formula seen on games like Mario Kart with modes like Grand Prix and Time Trials. This is noticeably different. For starters you have a full-on Story Mode. This is a brilliant idea; Sonic and friends are just hanging out and then a mysterious character appears. Dodon Pa the Tanuki (much like Tien Shinhan’s Dodon Ray…Dodon Pa is the translation I heard in the Spanish version of DragonBall Z) inviting Sonic and company to participate in a series of “friendly” races on his planet. Yeah, not suspicious at all.
Anyway, Sonic and his friends accept and the game begins. You are taken into a map in which you have different stages to beat, each one with a set of objectives that grant you stars needed to unlock levels. Some of these levels even include specific tasks like doing three flips in the air or to drift for a certain amount of time. Completing these tasks gives you keys that can be used to unlock parts of the map which then open up challenge races. Challenges are composed of events such as drifting challenges (I suck at those) or time attacks to get the highest score possible in the allotted time. These extras keep the action fresh and fun, and serve as a nice distraction from the team-based racing.
Speaking of which, Team Sonic Racing is based on teamwork and teamwork only. The game includes a series of mechanics that are centered on your team and active cooperation, such as the ability to pass item boxes to another member of your team. This is a strategic tool, especially if you are in first place passing along items you are not going to use due to the advantage of your current position. These items will help your teammates to get into a better position themselves, allowing you to keep the team’s placement on the scoreboard. Score placement is especially important since in Team Sonic Racing, just because you end in the first place doesn’t guarantee that your team will win. The total points earned include your teammates, so if they finish dead last and the other team has a better overall standing, victory might slip through your fingers.
Other cool mechanics include team actions, such as Skim Boost. By “trading paint” with another teammate who is falling behind, he or she gets a boost to help them get to a better position. Next we have the Slingshot, which is basically drafting behind another car, but with a twist. As long as you follow the yellow trail your teammate leaves, you will earn more speed, and, like the name implies, you are propelled forward.
Lastly is the Team Ultimate. This technique affects the entire team and it is the equivalent of All-Star Mode in previous games. Here, all team members are invincible for a short period of time and get a major speed boost as well as filling the ultimate gauge when performing team actions like the ones mentioned above. Once the gauge is full you can race all out.
Graphically, Team Sonic Racing looks good and is quite colorful. It feels polished and the different areas you encounter and the shortcuts and acrobatic jumps you can do complement the action well. Control-wise, I have no complaints either. The vehicles all handle well, which is a must in a racing game such as this one. Little touches like the characters saying ‘See ya!’ and ‘Oh yeah!’ add personality to the game, but Knuckles’ voice is particularly annoying in my opinion.
I also like the customization element incorporated into Team Sonic Racing. It certainly increases the replay value since you need credits (obtained by winning races) to purchase upgrade boxes which randomly unlock a customization piece for each character. You can choose to go gold with legendary parts or customize the car in a way that suits your style. The possibilities are endless.
The only area where Team Sonic Racing doesn’t shine is in online play, and it saddens me because there was so much potential. However, during my time with it, I only managed to connect to two online races and a shout out to those valiant racers who kept me company. I understand that Mario Kart has a monopoly over kart racing, but it always does things safe, whereas Sumo Digital and Sega were bold and managed to provide a really fun team-based experience with Team Sonic Racing.
Bottom Line: Team Sonic Racing is a focused team-based racing game that is lots of fun. The story mode can give you hours of gameplay and has many bonuses to unlock. If you are tired of the Mario Kart formula, Team Sonic Racing is what you need. Go check it out!
A Review code was provided for this review.