Sonic Riders
Sonic Riders is a 2006 racing game developed by Now Production and published by Sega.
Sonic Riders is a 2006 racing game developed by Now Production and published by Sega.
Sonic Riders is a 2006 racing video game developed by Sonic Team and Now Production and published by Sega for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. In the game, the player controls characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog series on hoverboards and competes against opponents—either controlled by computers or other players—in races and battles. The game was released in February 2006 in Japan and North America, with a European release following the next month and a Windows version at the end of the year. A Game Boy Advance version developed by Backbone Entertainment was canceled.
The game was produced in commemoration of the Sonic series' 15th anniversary and was the first major Sonic racing game since Sonic R (1997) by Traveller's Tales. Sonic Team wanted to make their own game that was superior to any previous Sonic racing game. It was designed to appeal to fans of Sonic as well as extreme sports video games; the development team did not take inspiration from any prior games. Sonic Riders was also the last Sonic title produced with the involvement of franchise co-creator Yuji Naka, who acted as executive producer and left Sega shortly after its release.
Sonic Riders was released to mixed reviews from critics, but was a commercial success and was later re-released under the GameCube and PlayStation 2 bestseller lines. Reviewers mostly criticized the gameplay, controls, and overall design; while praise was directed at the game's visual style, soundtrack and sense of speed while racing; the Windows version also received criticism for its technical performance. Many deemed it a lackluster game—both within the Sonic franchise and the racing game medium—that did have its highlights but ultimately fell to its shortcomings. The game received two sequels, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008) and Sonic Free Riders (2010), which were developed and released to similar commercial success.
Sonic Riders features 16 playable characters, including guest characters from Nights into Dreams, Space Channel 5, and Super Monkey Ball.
Sonic Riders is abandonware and no longer sold or supported by its publishers. Files are archived here for these platforms:
How to play on Windows (preinstalled)
How to play on Windows (have to install)
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