Sonic Riders

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Script (Heroes)

Script (Babylon)

Credits

Beta elements

Gallery

This article is about the 2006 video game. For the spin-off series, see Sonic Riders series.

Sonic Riders
Development staff
Developer(s)	Sonic Team (United Game Artists) Sonic Team USA (International)
Publisher(s)	Sega
Director(s)	Kenjiro Morimoto
Producer(s)	Takashi Yuda
Executive Producer(s)	Yuji Naka
Designer(s)	Kenjiro Morimoto
Programmer(s)	Kenichi Koshida
Artist(s)	Hideaki Moriya Yuji Uekawa
Writer(s)	Hiroshi Miyamoto
Composer(s)	Tomonori Sawada Kenichi Tokoi Fumie Kumatani
Video game overview
Series	Sonic Riders
Latest version	patch demo
Release date(s)	GameCube: JP 23 February 2006 NA 21 February 2006 EU 17 March 2006 PlayStation 2: JP 23 February 2006 NA 21 February 2006 EU 17 March 2006 AU 22 March 2006 KR 30 March 2006 Xbox: JP 23 February 2006 NA 3 March 2006 EU 17 March 2006 AU 30 March 2006 PC: NA 16 November 2006 EU 16 November 2006 AU 29 March 2007 KR 27 January 2008
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E CERO: A PEGI: 3 USK: 6
Platform(s)	Nintendo GameCube PC (Microsoft Windows) PlayStation 2 (Sony) PlayStation 3 (Sony) (backwards compatibility) Wii (backwards compatibility) Xbox (Microsoft) Xbox 360 (Microsoft) (backwards compatibility)
Media	CD-ROM (3x) DVD-ROM (PS2, Xbox, PC) GameCube Optical Disc
System requirements	GameCube: 1 block of memory 14 blocks for Ghost Data
Input	Game controller Keyboard
Game order
Preceded by	Sonic Heroes
Followed by	Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity

Try to keep up!

— Tagline

Sonic Riders (ソニックライダーズ, Sonikku Raidāzu^?) is a racing video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and the first entry in the Sonic Riders series. The game was developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega in 2006 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and PC to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Sonic franchise. The PC version wasn't released in Japan. The storyline follows Sonic and his friends competing in an Extreme Gear racing tournament hosted by Dr. Eggman. Along the way, they also cross paths with a trio group called the Babylon Rogues.

Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot, ending details or any kind of information follow.

Please read, watch, or play the Sonic media in question before reading this page/section. Otherwise, feel free to continue!

Storylines

In Sonic Riders, the storylines is told from two perspectives, similar to Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes. However, in this case, there are no inconsistencies between the stories - only Hero's story is available first, after completing which players can play through the Babylon story, which runs parallel to Hero's story, ending with an epilogue for the entire game.

Heroes

Sonic facing Jet the Hawk for the first time.

One night in Metal City, Team Sonic is looking for a Chaos Emerald. However, Tails' Emerald Detector alerts them that something is jamming the Emerald's signal. Suddenly, three figures crash out of a nearby window, riding on Extreme Gear, with the police on their tails. Tails discovers that these figures have the Chaos Emerald, and thus the trio gives chase to them. While one of the the green figure is able to cut past Sonic with no problem, Knuckles punches the grey one off his Extreme Gear. A purple figure picks up her companion and rushes off, as Tails notices that the Extreme Gear they dropped features a symbol of a bird on it. Sonic then uses this Gear to chase them down, and he is able to reach the green figure, who admits that Sonic is not bad at using Extreme Gear. However, the figure takes Sonic by surprise and jumps above him, knocking him out. As the figure mocks Sonic and leaves with his teammates, Sonic is reunited with Tails and Knuckles, excited that he now has a new rival to compete against.

The next day, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles notice a local screen being broadcasted by Dr. Eggman, who announces that he has organized an Extreme Gear tournament known as the "EX World Grand Prix", with the participants needing to pay an entry fee in the form of a Chaos Emerald, and that the winner will receive all seven Chaos Emeralds. Though Sonic seems unsurprised at first, Eggman presents the three current contestants: Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross; the same three figures Sonic encountered. This gets the hedgehog's attention, making him, Tails and Knuckles join the tournament.

After a few races in Metal City and Splash Canyon, the trio runs into Amy, who reveals that she has signed up for the tournament as well to be with Sonic. Tails then says that he believes that Jet, Wave, and Storm are a part of a legendary group of thieves known as the "Babylon Rogues", who, according to rumors, live on a floating island known as Babylon Garden. He also explains that, according to legends, the Babylonians' actions enraged the Gods, who cast Babylon Garden into the depths of the earth. However, the same legends claim that there is a treasure on the island. After this, the heroes meet Wave, who mocks the Extreme Gear Tails is holding, the Blue Star, by calling it a "piece of junk". While the heroes are infuriated by her actions, they do not notice that she has tampered with the Blue Star by placing a bomb on it.

Later, at Egg Factory, Knuckles has a short fight with Storm, accidentally damaging an E-10000R in the process. In the end, they decide to settle things with a race, which Knuckles wins. Afterward, the heroes find themselves at Green Cave watching Sonic practice on his Extreme Gear. There, they find Jet, who says that while Sonic is very fast on his feet, he is not very impressive on Extreme Gear. Jet then leaves, and Tails remembers Wave's comments about his Extreme Gear. Refusing to let Wave get the better of him, Tails promises Sonic that he will unlock the secrets of the Extreme Gear for them. Afterward, Tails has a race against Wave, which he manages to win.

Next, at Sand Ruins, Omochao is hosting the final race of the EX World Grand Prix. Amy cheers Sonic, who is about to compete against Jet. The hawk mocks Sonic once again, saying that he obviously was able to win his previous races because of luck rather than skill, though Sonic is confident that he will win. At the end of the race, Sonic is about to beat Jet. However, Wave then detonates the bomb on Sonic's Extreme Gear, destroying Sonic's Blue Star and allowing Jet to win and obtain the Chaos Emeralds. Jet proceeds to use the Emeralds and the Key to Babylon Garden to summon Babylon Garden, which raises out of the nearby desert and into the sky. Suddenly though, Eggman snatches the Key to Babylon Garden from Jet's hands and flies off to Babylon Garden in his Egg Mobile.

Using the Tornado 2, the heroes reach Babylon Garden. Next to the Babylon Rogues' ship, the trio notices Eggman passing by on his E-Rider. Sonic prepares to chase him, but not before Tails gives him the Blue Star II. However, he is met by Jet, who challenges him to a final race. In the end, Sonic is able to win. While Jet throws a tantrum in frustration, Sonic sees Eggman in front of a giant door on the Babylon Garden. Sonic is about to attack the doctor, but not before Eggman reveals that he is holding Amy hostage. Sonic then uses two Tornadoes to attack Eggman and get the Key to Babylon Garden. Having no need for the treasure of Babylon, Sonic gives the key to Jet, who complains that he has lost and does not want his pity. Insisting that "treasure is treasure", Wave takes the key anyway, and Jet begrudgingly accepts it. Just before the heroes leave, Amy shows up, enraged because Sonic attacked Eggman knowing that she was there. Sonic attempts to come up with an excuse to calm her down, though with little success. Amy then chases Sonic around with her Piko Piko Hammer, while Tails and Knuckles watch in amusement.

Babylon

While in his office onboard his ship, Jet looks at the Key to Babylon Garden in his hand, carefully examining it. Suddenly, Storm comes in, making Jet comically fall off his seat. Wave walks in as well, scolding Storm for his impoliteness. Storm then notices the Key to Babylon Garden, with Jet explaining that he had inherited it from his father. Wave and Storm proceed to argue with each other, before Jet breaks it up and asks them why they entered his office. The two then tell him that Dr. Eggman wants to visit him. The doctor then steps into the room, noticing the Key to Babylon Garden in Storm's hands. Eggman tells Jet that he needs to collect the Chaos Emeralds, and while Jet believes that his mission is going to be easy, Eggman warns him of Sonic. Nevertheless, Jet shows no concern, and is convinced that he will easily beat Sonic in an Extreme Gear competition (as he comments that while Sonic may be the fastest on the ground, but in the air, he's nothing but a joke).

After Jet proves himself to Sonic in Night Chase, Wave meets Amy and Team Sonic in Red Canyon. She sees the Blue Star, an Extreme Gear Tails modeled and customized himself, and Wave says to herself that it does not look bad for an "amateur". She then mocks Tails by calling his Gear a "piece of junk" and secretly plants a bomb on it and proceeds to win a race against an enraged Amy.

Back on the Babylon Rogues' ship, Jet is once again in his office examining the Key to Babylon Garden, before Storm abruptly bursts in once again. Storm says that he lost a race against Knuckles in the Egg Factory, and Wave criticizes him, which starts another argument between the two. Jet, suspicious of Eggman's intentions, tasks Storm with going to the Ice Factory, one of Eggman's bases, to find clues of what the doctor is really up to.

While Storm is exploring Ice Factory, Jet and Wave are waiting for him in White Cave, complaining that Storm is taking too long. Nevertheless, Jet does not really care, causing him to be scolded by Wave for a while because of his lack of responsibility as a leader. Jet then notices Sonic doing some tricks as Tails and Knuckles watch and quietly sneaks away without Wave noticing. When Wave sees that Jet is gone, she complains about him before leaving as well.

Later, at Dark Desert, Jet and Wave reunite with Storm, who gives them a small microchip he found. Wave takes it, revealing a holographic monitor with Eggman's diary. This reveals that he intends to find the Babylonians' ancient technology and claim it for himself to conquer the world. After learning of this, Jet decides to leave, thinking that all of this was just a waste of effort, and having no interest of world domination or advanced technology. However, Wave stops him, convincing him that this advanced technology that Eggman seeks must be worth much more than silver or gold. After imagining himself resting in riches, Jet decides to participate in the finals of the EX World Grand Prix.

After the final race, Omochao broadcasts the news of Babylon Garden having mysteriously appeared near Dark Desert, and that Team Sonic have gone to investigate. There, Wave and Storm meet Tails and Knuckles, accidentally starting an argument with them. The heroes offer Jet the Key to Babylon Garden, as they have no use for it, but Jet refuses, seeing it as an act of pity. Regardless, Wave takes it on behalf of the Babylon Rogues, noting that "treasure is treasure". The Rogues then use it to open a large door, accidentally summoning the Babylon Guardian in the process. Teaming up with Sonic and his friends, the Babylon Rogues defeat the Guardian, revealing the Babylon treasure. However, it turns out that this treasure is just a Magic Carpet, surprising everyone. Having arrived to claim the treasure himself, Eggman deems his plot with the EX World Grand Prix a waste of time, and proceeds to faint from the subsequent shock. Jet sees the carpet as a sign that the Babylon Rogues are descendants of genies. Afterwards, the Babylon Rogues part ways with Sonic and his team, with Jet vowing to return and face Sonic again.

Characters

Image	Character	Biography
	Sonic the Hedgehog	Sonic hates evil as much as he loves freedom. Sonic can be short tempered at times but will always show a gentle side to those in trouble. He's normally carefree and easy going, even when the going gets rough; but when it comes to a showdown he's aggressive and focused like a hedgehog possessed! Sonic has always been known as the world's fastest, but inexperienced with Extreme Gear, he will have to fight to hold onto this reputation.
	Jet the Hawk	Known as the "Legendary Wind Master," Jet leads the Babylon Rogues, a talented group of thieves. Jet's Extreme Gear skills are revered far and wide, earning him an impressive reputation. He carries a mysterious "control box" said to have been passed down from the ancient Babylonians.
	Miles "Tails" Prower	His real name is "Miles Prower," but his friends just call him "Tails." He's a little kid fox with two tails and a heart of gold. He loves tinkering with machinery and has made various devices to help Sonic. This time he's pitching in as the team mechanic, fixing up the Extreme Gear.
	Wave the Swallow	A superb mechanic, Wave takes care of all of the Babylon Rogues' Extreme Gear. While she's capable of fixing many things, Extreme Gear is her specialty, and her knowledge and experience surpass both Tails and Eggman in this area.
	Knuckles the Echidna	Born on Angel Island, Knuckles spends his days guarding a precious stone called the Master Emerald; for reasons he himself doesn't understand. His hard headed demeanor makes him gullible, and he has been tricked by Eggman on more than one occasion. Bringing his inherent aggression to the race, he plans to show Eggman that this time he really means business!
	Storm the Albatross	Storm is the muscle behind the Babylon Rogues' nefarious schemes and Jet's right-hand man. What he lacks in smarts, he makes up for in raw power. He has a quick temper, but is slow in movement. He tends to stutter when excited or flustered.

Gameplay

Knuckles in Metal City.

Sonic Riders is a 3D, third-person racing video game. Here, players race against seven other competitors on a total of sixteen tracks, nine of which must be unlocked through progress in the story mode, and two that are unlocked by winning Gold in each World Grand Prix (5 tracks per Grand Prix). The game features two main teams with three characters each: Team Heroes, with Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles; and the Babylon Rogues, with Jet, Wave, and Storm, (just like she did with Team Dark formerly known as the Dark Side in Sonic Adventure 2/Sonic Heroes, and both games feature Shadow and Rouge); although additional characters can be unlocked, while all of the characters play the exact same, they each possess different stats and character types that determine at what they excel at:

• Speed Type: These characters have the highest top speed stats, but only average acceleration and durability. They can grind on rails placed around some parts of tracks by pressing ///[X] twice (once to jump over the rail, second to grind on it).
• Flight Type: These characters have the highest acceleration stats and good top speed stats. Their durability and cornering differs between character to character however, making them somewhat ambiguous in terms of these stats. They can air ride through Accelerators, often accessing shortcuts and different objects.
• Power Type: These characters have the best off-road durability and can break through Barricades and other objects on tracks, though their speed and acceleration stats are only average.

The races in Sonic Riders start with the playable character and their opponents on foot in a small area with a countdown and an electric barrier. Once the countdown has reached zero, the barrier will be deactivated and the racers will be able to pass, starting the race. However, if a player touches the barrier before the race begins, they will be shocked until a second after the race has begun.

Sonic Riders makes use of Extreme Gear as vehicles, which are basically hovering vehicles that take the form of hoverboards, motorbikes, or rocket skates. Each Extreme Gear differs in performance and stats, and might even give a character abilities they would not normally have. Extreme Gear are powered by Air, which is limited and stored in an Air Tank. While the Extreme Gear has a large supply of Air, the player will be able to perform jumps, steer, and brake. However, if the player is running out of Air, steering and braking will be much more complicated, if not impossible. Once the Extreme Gear has completely run out of Air, the playable character will be left running around on foot. Air can be obtained by performing Air Tricks while airborne, picking up Air Item Boxes, or by utilizing Air Pits, amongst others. After preforming Air Tricks, the player will be given a specific rank based on their performance; the higher the rank, the more Air will they obtain:

Rank	Points earned
	10
	8
	6
	4
	2
	1
	0

Sonic Riders also features Rings, which can be sparingly found on the races. Rings can be used to instantly upgrade the player's Extreme Gear to make it faster. Thirty Rings allow the player to move faster and attack opponents on the character's range. They also fill up the Air Tank, which will be able to store more Air. Sixty Rings improve these features to make the playable character faster. However, the player will lose all their Rings if they get attacked by an opponent or fall off of the track. Doing so will cause all of the upgrades the player obtained to get reversed.

Controls

Button formation					Movement
GameCube	PC		PlayStation 2	Xbox
	P1	P2
left/right	[←]/[→]	[8]/[6] on numpad	left/right		Steer
	[X]	[END]			Jump
/	[A]/[S]	[DELETE]/[PAGE DOWN]	/	/	Brake
Steer + /	Steer + [A]/[S]	Steer + [DELETE]/[PAGE DOWN]	Steer + /	Steer + /	Air Slide
/	[Z]	[HOME]	/	/	Air Boost
+	[A] + [S]	[DELETE] + [PAGE DOWN]	+	+	Tornado
near a Grind Rail	[X] near a Grind Rail	[END] near a Grind Rail	near a Grind Rail	near a Grind Rail	Grinding (Speed Types)
while midair	[↑]/[↓]/[←]/[→] while midair	[2]/[4]/[6]/[8] while midair	while midair		Air Tricks
up/down after touching an Accelerator	[↑]/[↓] after touching an Accelerator	[2]/[4] after touching an Accelerator	up/down after touching an Accelerator		Float up/down (Flight Type)
while on foot	[←]/[→] while on foot	[8]/[6] while on foot	while on foot		Move
START	[F]	[.]	START		Pause

Objects

Items

• Air
• Item Box
  • Air
  • Explosion
  • High Speed
  • Invincible Barrier
  • Magnetic Barrier
  • Rings
  • Speed Down
  • Question Item
• Ring

Gimmicks and obstacles

• Accelerator
• Air Pit
• Automatic Trail
• Barricade
• Bomb
• Catapult
• Dash Panel
• Grind Rail
• Trick Zone
• Turbulence

Characters

Playable

Character	Type	Stats
		Dash	Limit	Power	Cornering
	Speed	★★★☆	★★★★	★★★☆	★★☆☆
	Flight	★★★★	★★★☆	★★☆☆	★★★☆
	Power	★ ★ ★ ☆		★★★★	★★☆☆
	Speed	★★★☆	★★★★	★★★☆
(first appearance)
(first appearance)	Flight	★★★★	★ ★ ★ ☆
(first appearance)	Power	★ ★ ★ ☆		★★★★
	Flight	★★★★	★★★☆	★★☆☆
				★★★☆
	Speed	★★★☆	★★★★
(first appearance)	Power	★ ★ ★ ☆
(only appearance)	Speed	★★★☆	★★★★	★★★☆
	Power
	Flight
	Speed
Super Sonic	All 3	N/A

Non-playable

• Babylon Guardian (only appearance)
• Chao
• Jet's father (mentioned)
• Wave's father (mentioned)
• Omochao
• Stolen (mentioned)

Extreme Gear

Sonic Riders is the first game to introduce Extreme Gear, high-tech hoverboard vehicles powered by air that the characters ride on, and which are the central component in the gameplay. Every playable character has their own unique default Extreme Gear, which only they can use, but additional Extreme Gear can be obtained in the game by either buying them in the shop for Rings, or fulfilling certain requirements, such as completing one or more missions with a given Rank. They all come in different sizes, appearances and colors.

The Extreme Gear in Sonic Riders come in three different types, each with their own attributes and basic appearances:

• Board: Resemble regular boards. The Board types are a more balanced class of Extreme Gear, having average statistics and an average rate of fuel-consumption.
• Bike: Resemble motorbikes. The Bike types are a more powerful class of Extreme Gear, but less maneuverable and less fuel-efficient. They can first be unlocked by completing the Babylon Story mode before they can be bought, much less used.
• Skate: Resemble roller skates. The Skate types are a less powerful class of Extreme Gear, but are more agile and more fuel-efficient. They can first be unlocked by completing the Heroes Story mode before they can be bought, much less used.

List of Extreme Gear

There are a total of 54 different Extreme Gear that can acquired in Sonic Riders. The following Extreme Gears are listed as they appear in the Gear Gallery. Extreme Gear no. 1-38 are Board types, no. 39-48 are Bike types, and no. 49-54 are Skate types.

No.	Gear	Type	User(s)
1		Speed	Sonic
2		Flight	Tails
3		Power	Knuckles
4		Speed	Amy
5			Jet
6		Power	Storm
7		Flight	Wave
8			Rouge
9			Cream
10		Any	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
11
12
13
14
15
16		Speed	Sonic
17		Speed or Power	Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Shadow, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
18		Any	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
19
20
21
22
23
24		Flight	Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Shadow, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
25			Tails, Knuckles, Wave, Storm, Cream, Nights, Rouge, AiAi, E-10000G
26			Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
27		All 3	Sonic/Super Sonic
28		Any	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
29
30
31
32
33		Flight	Nights
34		Power	AiAi
35			E-10000G
36		Speed	E-10000R
37			Ulala
38		Power	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi, E-10000G, E-10000R
39			Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, AiAi, Eggman
40
41
42			Sonic, Tails, Amy, Jet, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights
43			Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, AiAi, Eggman
44		Speed, Power	Sonic, Amy, Jet, Shadow
45		Flight, Power	Tails, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Nights
46		Power	Knuckles, Storm, Eggman, AiAi
47			Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, AiAi, Eggman
48
49		Speed	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, AiAi, Ulala
50			Tails, Knuckles, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Nights, AiAi
51			Sonic, Amy, Jet, Shadow, Ulala
52		Speed, Flight	Tails, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Nights
53		Speed, Power	Knuckles, Storm, AiAi
54		Speed	Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, Nights, Ulala, AiAi

Courses

There are a total of nineteen courses in Sonic Riders, thirteen of which appear in the game's Story Modes, one additional course, two nostalgia stages, and one stages in the Survival Battle Mode.

No.	Heroes	Babylon
1	Metal City	Night Chase
2	Splash Canyon	Red Canyon
3	Egg Factory	Ice Factory
4	Green Cave	White Cave
5	Sand Ruins	Dark Desert
6	Babylon Garden	Sky Road
7	Digital Dimension	Babylon Guardian
8	Sega Carnival	Sega Illusion

Survival tracks

• Dual Towers
• Snow Valley
• Space Theater

Story Mode

Heroes	Character		Babylon
Metal City	Sonic	Jet	Night Chase
Splash Canyon	Tails	Wave	Red Canyon
Egg Factory	Knuckles	Storm	Ice Factory
Green Cave	Tails	Jet	White Cave
Sand Ruins	Sonic		Dark Desert
Babylon Garden		Wave	Sky Road
		Sonic	Babylon Guardian

Cast and Voice Direction

Julie Rath was the voice director for the English dub and Keiichiro Miyoshi was the voice director for the Japanese dub.

Role	Voice Actor(s)
	English	Japanese
Sonic the Hedgehog	Jason Griffith	Jun'ichi Kanemaru
Miles "Tails" Prower	Amy Palant	Ryō Hirohashi
Knuckles the Echidna	Dan Green	Nobutoshi Canna
Jet the Hawk	Jason Griffith	Daisuke Kishio
Wave the Swallow	Bella Hudson	Chie Nakamura
Storm the Albatross	Dan Green	Kenji Nomura
Amy Rose	Lisa Ortiz	Taeko Kawata
Dr. Eggman	Deem Bristow	Chikao Otsuka
	Mike Pollock
Shadow the Hedgehog	Jason Griffith	Koji Yusa
Rouge the Bat	Kathleen Delaney	Rumi Ochiai
Cream the Rabbit	Rebecca Honig	Sayaka Aoki
E-10000G	Maddie Blaustein	Daisuke Kishio
E-10000R
Babylon Guardian	Maddie Blaustein	Kenji Nomura
Omochao	Liza Jacqueline	Etsuko Kozakura
Babylon Computer	Bella Hudson	Chie Nakamura
AiAi	Kaoru Morota
Ulala	Apollo Smile

Some clips of Wave are actually clips of Blaze from Sonic Rush, as Bella Hudson voiced both characters. In addition, most of Dr. Eggman's gameplay dialogue is recycled from Deem Bristow's recordings for Sonic Adventure 2.

Soundtrack

The original soundtrack of the game is Speedbeats Grand Prix: Sonic Riders Original Soundtrack and was composed by Tomonori Sawada, Kenichi Tokoi, and Fumie Kumatani. Sawada directed the sound and recorded the sound effects, while Tokoi and Kumatani did the music for the game. Most of the game's music involves techno and synthesizers, as such it has an electronic, futuristic-type of feel.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	63.46% (GCN) 59.70% (PS2) 58.84% (Xbox) 43.33% (PC)
Metacritic	59% (GCN) 55% (PS2) 56% (Xbox)
Review scores
Publication	Score
Electronic Gaming Monthly	5.5/10
Eurogamer	5/10
GamePro	3.125/5 (Xbox)
GameSpot	6.6/10
Hyper	65%
IGN	6.2/10
Nintendo Power	8.0/10 (GCN)
Official PlayStation Magazine (UK)	5/10 (PS2)
Official Xbox Magazine (UK)	4.9/10 (Xbox)

Sonic Riders received mixed reactions from reviewers, with Metacritic sitting at 59% for the GameCube version, 55% for PlayStation 2, and 56% for the Xbox version. The later released PC port of the game received the lowest scores overall compared to the other three versions, with a 43.33% on GameRankings.

With many criticizing its confusing gameplay, Alex Navarro of GameSpot praises the turbulence mechanic along with the game's multiplayer modes. Matt Casamassina of IGN said that at least "this is a much better game than Shadow the Hedgehog, exclaiming that the game does a good job at "mixing up the levels". Frank Dry of Hyper criticizes the fact that "the blue wonder is forced to hop on a naff hoverboard to race", as the game strays from the Sonic series' trademark gimmick: running. The replay value given by the three character types was praised, but the little incentive to do so overshadows it.

Adaptations

Cover of Sonic the Hedgehog #163.

Archie Comics made a two-part arc covered in Sonic the Hedgehog #163-#164, which served as a loose adaptation of Sonic Riders, with the art for the story mimicking the game's 2D art style. It was also stated that the events of the game happened in the Post-Super Genesis Wave timeline, though no adaptation was ever made.

Trivia

• Unlike other contemporary multi-platform games in the Sonic series, the console differences in all four versions of Sonic Riders are largely negligible:
• The PlayStation 2 version contains freely selectable text languages, though there is no voice setting unlike previous PS2 Sonic games.
• The Xbox version contains dual languages dependent on system settings. This release also has the highest resolution. However, the FMV cutscenes have frame rate issues and lagging.
• The GameCube version also lacks voice language settings, however unlike previous GameCube ports, the controls here are almost as good as the other versions thanks to it being a racing game.
• The PC version is an up-scaled port of the Xbox version, therefore it features selectable voiced languages. The audio in this version has been down-sampled and the game only supports two players. There is also no exit game option.

Animation difference for Storm between the PlayStation 2 version (left) and PC version (right).

• The PC version also features an error where the characters' mouths and animations are misplaced.
• There was a demo available for the PC version of the game, which featured running-only gameplay in Metal City.
• During development, Nintendo Power announced AiAi as a playable character in the game. Nintendo Power also claimed that Mario would be a GameCube exclusive character, which was later proven false.
• All Xbox and PlayStation 2 copies of the game bought at Target came with a free Sonic X DVD.
• This is the first Sonic game since Sonic the Hedgehog CD to have an anime-style opening cutscene.
• Sonic Riders is the first Sonic game to support widescreen display.
• Shadow and Eggman are the only characters that do not have Extreme Gear exclusive to themselves, as Darkness and E-Rider, can be ridden by any character in the game.
• In one of the Babylon story cutscenes, when Jet opens a door with his control box, the control box disappears but is then in is his hands again in the next frame.
• In the last cutscene, Amy's gloves are different.
• In one of the Babylon story cutscenes, Wave is shown detaching the red jewel from her necklace, which is a small computer, to look at Eggman's diary entry bought by Storm. However, if one looks carefully in one of the scenes while Jet is reading what Eggman says, the red jewel is reattached to her necklace again as she is still showing the digital file.
• Normally, the tip of Knuckles' tail would be pointing downwards, but it points upwards in this game during gameplay and the non-CG cutscenes. Strangely, his tail is also not crooked at all and is rather straight in the CG cutscenes, this would be the case in the CG cutscenes of Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity as well.
• This is the only Sonic Riders game where the Air Tricks are named.
• This was the last Sonic game Yuji Naka produced before leaving Sega.
• Sonic Riders was the last Sonic game released for both the Xbox and the GameCube, along with being the last for the PlayStation 2 in Japan, but not on PC.
• Ulala has 3D artwork in this game, but Nights and AiAi do not. However, her artwork is recycled from Sega Superstars.
• In Rouge's official art her eyelids are blue, but in gameplay, her icon on the tailing map at the bottom of the screen has pink eyelids.
• This is the second Sonic game where Amy chases Sonic with her Piko Piko Hammer at the end of the game, with the first being Sonic Rush.
• Whenever a male character performs a complex trick, Omochao exclaims: "And she sticks the landing!" and vice versa for female characters.
• This is the only game in the Sonic Riders trilogy that doesn't have a robot as the final boss.
• In the opening cutscene of the Heroes story, just before the Babylon Rogues show up, the SEGA Carnival music is played in the background.
• In the opening cinematic of the game, while the members of Team Sonic and the Babylon Rogues are passing through a wall of graffiti paintings, just like she did it with Dark Side also called Team Dark in Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, if one looks very closely, it features the painting taken from the cover art of Limp Bizkit's second studio album, Significant Other.
• The PC version's instruction manual features an advert for Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) that states that it would be released on Xbox 360 and PC, instead of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
• A Game Boy Advance version of Sonic Riders was in development by Backbone Entertainment, but it was cancelled due to a tight schedule. Despite this, Sega liked the company and worked with them again for the Sonic Rivals series.
  • The Game Boy Advance version was initially pitched to Sega as Sonic Extreme, similar to the cancelled Sonic the Hedgehog Extreme, which was skateboarding game.

Videos

• Trailer
• Japanese commercial
• European commercial
• German commercial
• TGS 2005 trailer

External links

• Official Japanese website
• Official North American website
• Sonic Riders at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sonic Riders

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Main article · Scripts (Heroes, Babylon) · Staff · Beta elements · Gallery

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Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games

Sega Master System	Sonic Spinball (1994) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1994)
Sega Mega Drive	Sonic Eraser (1991) · Sonic Spinball (1993) · Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (1993) · Wacky Worlds Creativity Studio (1994) · Knuckles' Chaotix (1995, 32X) · Sonic 3D Blast (1996)
Sega Saturn	Sonic 3D Blast (1996) · Sonic R (1997)
Sega All-Stars	Sega Superstars (2004, PS2) · Sega Superstars Tennis (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (2010, multi-platform) · Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (2012, multi-platform)
Sonic Riders	Sonic Riders (2006, multi-platform) · Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008, multi-platform) · Sonic Free Riders (2010, Xbox 360)
Sonic Storybook Series	Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007, Wii) · Sonic and the Black Knight (2009, Wii)
Mario & Sonic	Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2011, Wii) · Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (2012, 3DS) · Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games (2013, Wii U) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (2016, multi-platform) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (2019, Switch)
Super Smash Bros.	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008, Wii) · Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (2014, 3DS) · Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (2014, Wii U) · Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018, Switch)
Sonic Boom	Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric (2014, Wii U) · Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal (2014, 3DS) · Sonic Dash 2: Sonic Boom (2015, mobile) · Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice (2016, 3DS)
Arcade and redemption machines	Waku Waku Sonic Patrol Car (1991) · UFO SegaSonic (1992) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · SegaSonic Popcorn Shop (1993) · SegaSonic Cosmo Fighter (1993) · SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1993) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1993) · Air Circus (1994) · Curling Holiday (1994) · Sonic's Space Tours (1994/1999) · Sonic the Fighters (1996) · Sonic the Hedgehog (1997) · Sonic & Tails Spinner (2002) · CR Sonic (2003) · Sonic Spinner (2007) · Sonic Live! (2008) · Sonic Sports Basketball (2010) · Sonic Sports Air Hockey (2010) · Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Arcade (2011) · Sonic Athletics (2013) · Sonic Ghost Shooting (2013) · Sonic Brain Ranking (2013) · Sonic Dash Extreme (2015) · Sonic Blast Ball (2015) · Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Arcade Edition (2016) · Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 - Arcade Edition (2020)
Other	Puzzle Construction (1991, TeraDrive) · Sonic the Hedgehog's Gameworld (1994, Pico) · Tails and the Music Maker (1994, Pico) · Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996, PC) · Sonic Shuffle (2000, Dreamcast) · Shadow the Hedgehog (2005, multi-platform) · Sega Splash! Golf (2008, PC) · Sonic the Hedgehog (2008, Didj) · Team Sonic Racing (2019, multi-platform) · Sega Streaming Theater Sonic Edition (2021, PC) · Sonic Speed Simulator (2022, multi-platform) · The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2023, PC)
V·T·E | {{Mainline}}, {{compilation}}, {{handheld}}, {{mobile}}, {{browser games}}

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