Grind Skill


 * For the technique of riding on Grind Rails, see Grinding.

"Enables the use of the Grind skill."

- Description, Sonic Free Riders

Grind Skill, also known as Grind, is a Gear Part that appears in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders. It is an Extreme Gear component that grants the Extreme Gear riders the ability to grind.

Description
Grind Skill is a component that is installed into an Extreme Gear, which appears as an icon on the head-up display in the top-left corner of the game screen. In gameplay, the player can activate Grind Skill under special circumstances, which allows the player to grind on the Grind Rails/Grind Areas on the racing courses while receiving Air/Gravity Points for it.

Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
The Gear Part first appeared in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity under the name Grind. In this game, its icon is a light blue-colored circle with a thick curved black line, which has a small spark at the start, inscribed in it. Here, Grind is a Gear Part permanently installed into only certain Extreme Gears.

To activate Grind in gameplay, the player must press / after collecting a certain amount of Rings. When activating Grind, the Extreme Gear is surrounded by an orange void, indicate the Gear Part coming into effect. After that, the player can access Grind Areas by pressing one of the following buttons when approaching them:

Sonic Free Riders
The Gear Part reappeared in Sonic Free Riders where it is named Grind Skill. In this game, its icon is almost the same as it was in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, except its background is a darker blue, the curved line is colored a lighter blue, and there is no spark. Here, Grind Skill is a customizable Gear Part that can be attached to different Extreme Gears. It is one of the Gear Parts that can be used from the beginning of the game.

If Grind Skill is installed into the front slot, it becomes active in gameplay once the race begins. If installed into the rear slot, however, the player can activate and as well deactivate Grind Skill by switching stance by turning his/her body around due to the Kinect controls of the game. While Grind Skill is in effect, the player can access Grind Rails by either crossing over them, jumping on, or by successfully performing a mid-air Trick Action. Also, when Grind Skill is active, two small and thin blue engines appear on both side of the Extreme Gear.