Sonic Rivals
Encyclopedia
Sonic Rivals is a game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series in late 2006. It is the first Sonic game developed by a Canadian company, Backbone Entertainment
exclusively for the PlayStation Portable
. The game was also supervised by members of Sega Studio USA including Takashi Iizuka
.
A year later, a sequel
was developed by the same company for the same platform.
plane, playing much like the game from the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive era of games. Characters race to the finish line while avoiding the levels obstacles. The game contains six zones, each with three respective acts, the third being a boss battle, totaling in 17 stages. (One level,Sky Park, does not feature a boss stage.) Boss battles at the end of levels require the player to defeat the boss before the competing character does. Five different characters are playable; Sonic the Hedgehog
, Knuckles the Echidna
, Shadow the Hedgehog
, Silver the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic
, but gameplay is identical for all characters. The game features power-ups to collect that offer additional offensive and defensive abilities.
Sonic Rivals consists of several different modes. In Story Mode, each of the four playable characters have separate story lines, and must race each other to the finish line in each stage in order to thwart Doctor Eggman
's various schemes. In Challenge Mode, the player is given a goal to complete, such as hitting your opponent a certain number of times during a race or battle. Wireless Play Mode features multiplayer games and races whereby players can wager cards, or just race for fun. It is played Adhoc
, and players can customize their racers using collectible cards won in Single player, trade cards with friends, and wager cards on races.
Sonic Rivals features an extensive collectible card system that spans a total of 150 cards. Performing specific objectives throughout the game will give you collectible cards. Such tasks include finishing a level, getting a certain number of rings, hitting your rival a certain number of times and getting to the goal within a certain amount of time.
The cards themselves feature pictures of characters and boxart from a variety of past games in the onic the Hedgehog (series)|Sonic the Hedghog series. The cards themselves are used to unlock secret costumes and items that alter the appearance of the characters. While they add a customizeable aspect to the game, they are merely aesthetic; they do not affect gameplay.
praised the graphics, sense of speed, and multiplayer mode, but criticized the game's controls and some level designs. Similarly, Gamespot
called it "fast and fun", but did not like the "trial and error" based gameplay needed due to the level designs.
Backbone Entertainment
Backbone Entertainment is an independent video game development company located in Emeryville, California.Backbone Entertainment is the result of a 2003 merger between Digital Eclipse Software and ImaginEngine...
exclusively for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
. The game was also supervised by members of Sega Studio USA including Takashi Iizuka
Takashi Iizuka (game designer)
is a Japanese game producer, game director, game designer, level designer, scenario writer and currently the head of Sonic Team.-Early career:His first collaboration with Sega involved working with STI on Sonic 3 and Knuckles as a designer. Later, he helped supervise Traveller's Tales with the...
.
A year later, a sequel
Sonic Rivals 2
Sonic Rivals 2 is the sequel to Sonic Rivals. The game was developed by Backbone Entertainment and supervised by Sega Studio USA, exclusively for the PlayStation Portable handheld videogame console. Sonic Rivals 2 was released on November 13, 2007 in North America...
was developed by the same company for the same platform.
Gameplay
While Sonic Rivals possesses the graphical style of the Sega Dreamcast era of games, the gameplay is actually on a 2D2D
2D or II-D may refer to:* 2-d, two-dimensional space* 2D geometric model* Bi-dimensional space* 2D computer graphics* 2D , a member of the virtual band Gorillaz* Oflag II-D* Stalag II-D* Transcription factor II D...
plane, playing much like the game from the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive era of games. Characters race to the finish line while avoiding the levels obstacles. The game contains six zones, each with three respective acts, the third being a boss battle, totaling in 17 stages. (One level,Sky Park, does not feature a boss stage.) Boss battles at the end of levels require the player to defeat the boss before the competing character does. Five different characters are playable; Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (character)
, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's...
, Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna
Knuckles the Echidna is a video game character of the Sonic the Hedgehog game series, including spin-off games and comics. His first appearance was in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, released in 1994 to introduce a new rival for Sonic. He was presented as an antagonist who was tricked by Dr. Eggman into...
, Shadow the Hedgehog
Shadow the Hedgehog
is a character from the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Shadow is an artificially-created life form. His trademark hover shoes propel him at extreme speeds that rival those of Sonic, and with a Chaos Emerald he has the ability to distort time and space using "Chaos Control." Often referred to as being...
, Silver the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic
Metal Sonic
is a fictional character and a recurring antagonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. In the series, Metal Sonic is an evil identical robotic duplicate of Sonic the Hedgehog, created by the series antagonist Dr. Robotnik, and is able to match Sonic's every move and even surpass his...
, but gameplay is identical for all characters. The game features power-ups to collect that offer additional offensive and defensive abilities.
Sonic Rivals consists of several different modes. In Story Mode, each of the four playable characters have separate story lines, and must race each other to the finish line in each stage in order to thwart Doctor Eggman
Doctor Eggman
, also known by his alias , is a fictional video game character, the main antagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series created by Sega. Dr. Eggman is a rotund, mad scientist with an IQ of 300 who plans to conquer the world in order to build his Eggman Empire and is the archenemy of Sonic the Hedgehog...
's various schemes. In Challenge Mode, the player is given a goal to complete, such as hitting your opponent a certain number of times during a race or battle. Wireless Play Mode features multiplayer games and races whereby players can wager cards, or just race for fun. It is played Adhoc
ADHOC
This article is about the Human Rights Organization, for the Apple Computer Software Convention, see MacHack. ADHOC is a Cambodian human rights organization, founded in 1991...
, and players can customize their racers using collectible cards won in Single player, trade cards with friends, and wager cards on races.
Cards
Sonic Rivals features an extensive collectible card system that spans a total of 150 cards. Performing specific objectives throughout the game will give you collectible cards. Such tasks include finishing a level, getting a certain number of rings, hitting your rival a certain number of times and getting to the goal within a certain amount of time.
The cards themselves feature pictures of characters and boxart from a variety of past games in the onic the Hedgehog (series)|Sonic the Hedghog series. The cards themselves are used to unlock secret costumes and items that alter the appearance of the characters. While they add a customizeable aspect to the game, they are merely aesthetic; they do not affect gameplay.
Plot
The game begins Eggman turning Tails, Amy Rose, Rouge, and the Master Emerald into cards with his new device. Sonic and Knuckles arrive on the scene, and find out what has happened. Knuckles, bent on saving the Master Emerald, tells Sonic that teamwork is out of the question and that he needs to get to Eggman first. Sonic snickers and says that he likes a good challenge. Meanwhile, Shadow receives a distress signal from Eggman. Suddenly, a mysterious hedgehog named Silver appears from the future, and tells Shadow he needs to get to Eggman first. After numerous conflicts, it is revealed that Dr. Eggman is in fact, Eggman Nega. After one final battle with Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, and Metal Sonic, Nega is defeated, everyone is reverted to their original forms, and Silver returns to the future with Eggman Nega.Reception
Sonic Rivals received mixed reviews. The game currently holds 64/100 average on Metacritic and a 63.5% average on Game Rankings. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the graphics, sense of speed, and multiplayer mode, but criticized the game's controls and some level designs. Similarly, Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called it "fast and fun", but did not like the "trial and error" based gameplay needed due to the level designs.
| Website | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN | 7.4/10 |
| GameSpot | 6.9/10 |
| GamePro | 6.5/10 |
| EGM | 4/10 |
| Game Trailers | 7.1/10 |
| GameSpy | 3.5/5 |
| Yahoo! Games | 3.5/5 |