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==Circuits== |
==Circuits== |
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| − | + | Each race circuit in ''Sonic Drift'' is based on a [[Zone]] from [[Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)|''Sonic the Hedgehog'' (1991)]], and comes in three variants, one for each of the [[Chaos GP]] circuits. Each race circuit also features obstacles and other items related to their theme. |
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Revision as of 18:35, 4 December 2015
- For the move, see Sonic Drift (move).
Sonic Drift (ソニックドリフト Sonikku Dorifuto?) is a kart racing game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Game Gear, developed and released by Sega. The game was released on 8 March 1994 and remained an exclusive game to Japan until its inclusion years later on several compilation titles. The racing game features Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose and Dr. Eggman in racing vehicles as rally contestants with basic gameplay derives from the standard 1990's racing games. The game got later a sequel, Sonic Drift 2, which received an international release, unlike its prequel.
Gameplay
The title screen of Sonic Drift.
Sonic Drift is a racing game whose gameplay style and controls are heavily based on Sega's arcade game Out Run. Here, the players race around a track against the other three characters for a top position in the race. The game's single player mode is Chaos GP, where the player's goal is to win three different circuits (green, yellow and red). Each circuit is made of six different tracks that the player is taken through in succession.
Sonic racing in Spring Yard in the green Chaos GP.
Each track is composed of a circuit which needs to be completed thrice. The playable characters have rather simple controls, their basic actions being accelerating to move forward, breaking, and moving left or right on the tracks. In tight corners, the player can break while turning in a specific direction, allowing them to drift through the corners. If the player overuses this method though, the playable character starts spinning out of control. Should the player move outside the race track, the racer's acceleration will decreases noticeably on the rough terrain. The race track's sidelines also have obstacles that will stop the player altogether if the playable characters crash into them. The player can as well collect Rings along the race tracks to perform a special moves unique to each character.
At the beginning of a Chaos GP circuit, the player starts out from the fourth place (the lowest position). Upon completing a track though, each racer is awarded with points based on their finishing positions, allowing the participants to improve their place:
- 1st Place: 3 points
- 2nd Place: 2 points
- 3rd Place: 1 points
- 4th Place: 0 points
At the end of a Chaos GP circuit, the racer with the most points wins. If there is a tie for total points, the racer with the most 1st-place finishes wins. When winning a Chaos GP, the player is awarded with a Chaos Emerald. If the player does not receive first place on one of Chaos GP circuits however, they have to start over. Completing the red Chaos GP in first place awards the player with a small ending cutscene related to one of the four playable characters, which is then followed by the game credits.
Controls
| Button formation | Action |
|---|---|
 left and right
|
Moving the vechile |
|
Accelerating the vechile |
|
Braking the vechile |
| up
|
Perform the Special Power |
| START button | Pauses the game |
| START, +
|
Pauses the game, exits the Free Run mode |
Items
In Sonic Drift, different items and power-ups lie scattered across the racing tracks which the player can collect to help improve their performance during a race. These items respawn after each lap on a track.
| Item | Name | Despriction |
|---|---|---|
|
Ring | The traditional golden Ring which can be collected over the course of a race. Giving up two of them activates the character's special power. When the player gets hit by obstacles or an opponent's special power, they lose all their Rings. |
|
Jump Spring | Yellow Springs that will bounce the player into the mid-air. |
|
High Speed | A red monitor that grants small burst of speed. |
|
Muteki | A blue monitor which makes the player invulnerable to obstacles and opponents' special powers for a couple of seconds. The melody heard while using the power-up is an faster, 8-bit variation of "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" from Sonic the Hedgehog CD. |
Characters
Sonic Drift features four playable characters. Each character plays similar to others, but have their own strengths and weaknesses. Each character also has a special power that can be utilized during the race to improve their performances or hinter the opponents. After choosing a character, the remainder become the opponents for the Chaos GP.
| Icon | Character | Vechile | Special Power | Despriction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sonic | Cyclone | Dash | Good acceleration and speed, but poor cornering. |
|
Tails | MTP-01 Wheelwind | Jump | A solid racer with good cornering but low max speed. |
|
Dr. Eggman | Egg Typhoon-gou | Mine | Poor acceleration, but high speed. |
|
Amy Rose | Breeze | Heart Attack | Good acceleration but low max speed. |
Circuits
Each race circuit in Sonic Drift is based on a Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), and comes in three variants, one for each of the Chaos GP circuits. Each race circuit also features obstacles and other items related to their theme.
| Chaos GP | Green Hill | Marble | Spring Yard | Labyrinth | Star Light | Scrap Brain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Yellow | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Red | 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other modes
Free Run
Main menu of the game.
Free Run is the basic Time Attack mode of Sonic Drift, that allows you to race against the clock to obtain the fastest time in any Chaos GP's Zone. On the menu screen, the player can choose the circuit by going to the "Courses", the playable character by entering the "Drivers" and then starts the mode by choosing the "Run" option. By choosing the separated "Results" option shows the three best circuit times and the single best lap time, which are recorded to the game. During the game, if the player wants to exit from the mode, he/she has to pause the game by pressing the START and then press and simultaneously.
Versus
Versus mode is the multiplayer mode of Sonic Drift for two players. The game requires to have Gear-to-Gear Cable (called VS Cable in Japan), a spare Game Gear handheld units and an two copies of the game. The Versus mode consists similar gamplay like the Chaos GP mode with the same items and all Zones available.
Option
Option menu consists Sound Test to listen music tracks from the game or change the difficulty setting to Normal or Hard (Hard mode increases opponent racers' acceleration).
Reception
| This section requires an expansion. |  |
The game received poor reception. Many fans despise the controls and courses, while others complain about the small cast available.
Re-releases
In Japan, Sonic Drift was sold along with with the Game Gear on the same package. For many years, the game remained Japanese exclusive until it has been featured as unlockable game in Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut for the Gamecube and PC, making the first international release for the game. For obtaining the game, the player must have collected 40 emblems or completed 40 missions. It was later ported for few compilations such as Sonic Mega Collection Plus for the Gamecube, PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC. Sonic Drift was also one of Sonic the Hedgehog games to be available in the online video game service "GameTap" up to 2009, as the service has been discontinued since.[1]
Staff
- Main programmer: Wa-Da
- Programmer: Shinchan
- Designer: Takako Kawaguchi ("Choko"), Gen Adachi ("Gen"), East
- Sound creator: Masayuki Nagao ("N.Gee")
- Planner: K'
- Director: Katsuhiro Hasegawa ("Hase")
- Producer: Hiroshi Aso ("Asohy")
- Special thanks to..: Wahaha, T.D.H
- Presented by: Sega
Trivia
- Sonic Drift is the first 8-bit Sonic game to be released exclusively for Sega Game Gear without separate port for the Sega Master System. It is also the first Sonic the Hedgehog console/handheld game release to remain originally as exclusive in Japan, although the very first Sonic-themed software product to remain Japanese exclusive is the arcade children ride Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car from 1991.
- It is the first game title to feature Dr. Eggman and Amy as playable characters.
- Since it was never released outside Japan, the digital instruction manual in Sonic Mega Collection Plus was in Japanese in all versions of the compilation release.
- In Amy's official artwork, the words "Sonic Drift" is written on her umbrella.
- All of the racing vehicle names in Sonic Drift are related to wind.
Videos
Gallery
Template:Gallery box
Notes
- ↑ Although the game's boxart features tagline "Sonic Team Presents", a line presented in many Japanese boxarts of early Sonic the Hedgehog games, the game is known to be devolped by Sega of Japan and no sign about Sonic Team's involvement has never surfaced.
References
- ↑ Sonic Drift. GameTap. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved on 4 December 2015.
External links
- Sonic Drift at MobyGames
- Sonic Drift at GameFAQs
- Sonic Drift at The GHZ
| Playable characters | Sonic · Tails · Amy · Eggman | |
| Courses | Green Hill · Marble · Spring Yard · Labyrinth · Star Light · Scrap Brain | |
| Vehicles | Breeze · Cyclone · Egg Typhoon · MTP-01 Whirlwind | |
| Gimmicks and obstacles | Heart Attack · Mine · Spring | |
| Items | Item Box (High Speed, Invincible) · Ring | |
| Other | Chaos Emerald · Chaos GP · Egg Mobile · "Sonic - You Can Do Anything" · Sound Test | |