Sonic Rivals

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Sonic Rivals
North American box artwork of Sonic Rivals.
Development staff
Developer(s)	Backbone Entertainment Sega Studio USA (supervision)
Publisher(s)	Sega
Designer(s)	Tyler Sigman (lead design) Eric Emery (lead level design)
Video game overview
Release date(s)	NA 24 November 2006 EU 1 December 2006 AUS 1 December 2006
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: E PEGI: 7+ OFLC: G USK: 6+
Platform(s)	PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita
Media	Universal Media Disc (PSP Only), Digital download
Game order
Preceded by	Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)
Followed by	Sonic and the Secret Rings

Rivalry at its fastest!

— Tagline

Sonic Rivals is a 2006 racing, platformer video game developed by Backbone Entertainment under supervision of Sega Studio USA exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. The game was released in November 2006 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the franchise. A sequel titled Sonic Rivals 2 was released in the following year.

Plot

For the scripts of each individual storyline, see Category:Sonic Rivals scripts.

Prologue

Sonic the Hedgehog and his best buddy Miles "Tails" Prower investigate a mysterious land mass named "Onyx Island" which has suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. The heroic duo spot Dr. Eggman who is already waiting for them and confronts him, suspecting that Eggman is plotting an evil scheme. Eggman reveals a card containing Amy Rose he took with a special camera which shocked Sonic and Tails. Sonic did not believe in this but Tails examined that it was scientifically possible for Amy to end up in her current state.

While Tails is conserving to Sonic about this, there is a sudden flash of light and Tails is gone, appearing as a card in Eggman's hand. Sonic panicked in disbelief upon this sight and at that moment, Knuckles the Echidna appeared and yelled at Eggman for causing the Master Emerald to disappear. Eggman responded by showing him a card of the Master Emerald and announces to achieve world domination by snapping everything with his camera to obtain the "ultimate card collection" and issues Sonic and Knuckles a challenge to stop him and reclaim their desired cards before making his escape.

Sonic's Story

After accepting Eggman's challenge, Sonic raced against Knuckles throughout Forest Falls Zone to reach Eggman first. After reaching Eggman, Sonic demanded Tails and Amy's cards. His enemy responded that if Sonic could defeat his Egg Turtle, he may allow the hedgehog a card of his choosing. Knuckles angrily stated that was not part of Eggman's deal, but Sonic was confident and accepted the challenge.

After defeating the Egg Turtle, a vindictive Eggman turned to leave afterwards. Sonic tried to chase him down before a silver hedgehog cuts him off, having business to take care of. Sonic was not too fond of the latter's haughty attitude and asked who he was. The hedgehog stated he was Silver and stated he needed to get to Eggman first. Not one to pass up a challenge, Sonic challenged his new rival. After a race against Silver through Colosseum Highway Zone, Sonic reached Eggman and once again demanded the cards from the angered scientist. Silver's attitude started to get on Sonic's nerves and they both confronted Eggman's Egg Falcon and each other.

As the fight concluded, Silver deemed it too dangerous to get close and teleported Sonic to Sky Park Zone. Confused at his new surroundings, Sonic encountered Shadow and realized he was looking for Eggman as well, leading to a race between the arch-rivals. Sonic came out on top, feeling proud of himself for doing so. Eggman then appeared and complimented his victory and issued Metal Sonic to race against him to see whether Sonic is really the fastest thing in the world. Sonic outraced his robotic counterpart but Eggman's talk of something about the fastest and strongest dawned on him. He then met Silver again and claimed to have figured out the doctor's motives, causing the shocked Silver to race against him once again.

After racing through Crystal Mountain Zone, Sonic caught up to Eggman, proving to him that he is the fastest and the strongest, and demanded Tails' card. Eggman, muttering to himself that he had enough data for an unknown purpose, intended to defeat Sonic so no one could interfere with him in the past or the future (something that cauesed a reaction in Silver) with the Egg Lynx. When that failed, Sonic finally retrieved Tails' card from the vengeful Eggman, restoring his friend to normal. Knuckles arrived and was shocked to see Tails restored. Sonic mocked that Knuckles will have to be quicker to stay on Eggman's heels, with the latter angrily retaliating by challenging Sonic to a race once again.

Racing through Death Yard Zone, Sonic beat Knuckles and caught up with Eggman, stating no matter where the doctor went he would always be found by the hedgehog. Unfettered, the doctor sent an upgraded Metal Sonic to race against Sonic but the copy lost to its original once again. Growing frustrated, Dr. Eggman decided to team up with Metal Sonic against Sonic using the Egg Kong, but his adversary still defeated him. Eggman finally lost it and departed for outer space to use his special camera to turn the entire planet into a card. Knuckles arrived, noting he was too late. Tails arrived with a new Tornado plane so the trio could catch up to Eggman.

Riding to Eggman's Meteor Base Zone in outer-space, Sonic set his differences with his rivals aside as they aided him to navigate through the base to find Eggman. Soon, with Knuckles and Shadow's help, Sonic and Tails spotted Eggman trying to escape into a giant rocket with the special camera attached. Dr. Eggman claimed that he would have enough energy to take a picture of the planet once he placed one final card into his energy transfer device. Sonic remembered it to be Amy's card which he had forgotten about. Not intending to let Eggman succeed, Sonic confronted his archenemy on his rocket and defeated him before saving and restoring Amy. Amy was happy of Sonic's heroic efforts to save her and suggested they could live happily together but Sonic quickly came up with an excuse to rescue other victims trapped in Eggman's cards.

Knuckles' Story

Knuckles arrives on Onyx Island looking for the Master Emerald while experiencing familiarity with the island. He sees Dr. Eggman and suspects him responsible for disappearance of the Master Emerald. The evil scientist admits this by showing the Master Emerald in a card and issues a challenge to the echidna if he wished to reclaim it. Knuckles had to race against Sonic, who also needed to catch Eggman to save Tails and Amy, through Forest Falls Zone. After reaching Eggman, Knuckles orders Eggman to maintain his promise to give him the Master Emerald's card. The sly doctor would only consider giving it if Knuckles beats the Egg Turtle, much to the latter's annoyance, who resolves to take it back using force.

After defeating the Egg Turtle, Eggman escaped into the light. Shadow then appeared to mock Knuckles for allowing the doctor to escape. Not taking kindly to Shadow's insult, Knuckles angrily threatens to retaliate until Shadow mentions having business with Eggman as well. Tempted, Knuckles races him throughout Colosseum Highway Zone. The two encounter Eggman, where Knuckles pushed Shadow's attempts for Eggman's secrets aside before demanding the Master Emerald. Annoyed, Eggman attacks them with his Egg Falcon.

After it is destroyed, Eggman seemingly wanted to give the Master Emerald card to Knuckles only to trick him and make his escape again in the same light. Knuckles is then transported to Sky Park Zone where he meets Silver who asks about what Eggman had. Knuckles explained that the scientist's camera could turn things into cards before asking for Silver's identity. Silver rudely responded that he had no time to waste with Knuckles before taking his leave with the red brawler chasing after him. Knuckles finds Eggman and wanted to know how he managed to make the Master Emerald disappear from Angel Island in the first place before the doctor gave a response that the land mass he is at currently is actually Angel Island, leaving Knuckles confused. Eggman then issued Metal Sonic to race against Knuckles.

Noting how similar Onyx and Angel Islands' landmass are, Knuckles questions the possible dual identities before noticing Shadow. Confronting the black hedgehog on Eggman's whereabouts, Knuckles is mocked for letting the scientist escape him. Knuckles retaliates he was close and that Shadow had yet to catch him. Taunting Knuckles for being clueless, Shadow went off to track down Eggman with Knuckles chasing after him through Crystal Mountain Zone. The bitter rivals confronted Eggman, intending to settle their respective disputes with him. Knuckles demands an explanation for what Eggman said earlier. The increasingly annoyed scientist states Onyx Island could be Angel Island from the future, causing overwhelming Knuckles once more before he pits him and Shadow against the Egg Lynx.

With the Egg Lynx out of commission and Eggman having made another escape, Knuckles is now more confused with what Eggman has said. He then resolves to find him again and get a full answer before noticing Sonic with a restored Tails. Sonic asks if Knuckles had given up on finding the Master Emerald, who angrily challenges another race to Eggman through Death Yard Zone. Reaching Eggman, Knuckles demands full answers. Eggman reveals he turned the Master Emerald into a card from the future Angel Island. Since the emerald is an object that exists throughout the space-time continuum, when it vanished from the one time frame it ceased to exist in all others; which explains how it disappeared right in front of Knuckles, and used the Master Emerald's power to bring Onyx Island from the future to the present. Having said this, Eggman sics a newly upgraded Metal Sonic on Knuckles. After winning another race with the robot, Knuckles is then victorious against both Metal Sonic and a vexed Eggman in the Egg Kong. Deeming this the last straw, Eggman goes into outer space to turn the world into a card. Sonic and Tails arrive with a new Tornado plane and pursue Eggman.

At Meteor Base Zone, Knuckles and Sonic work together to reach Eggman. Along the way, Silver realizes they must work together as well and aids Knuckles too. Reaching Eggman, Knuckles sees that Eggman is almost ready to turn the world into a card. Taunting that the island will be part of his collection, Eggman reveals he just needs to place the Master Emerald's card to power up his camera, but not if Knuckles can help it. Knuckles stops Eggman and restores the Master Emerald, planning to place it back on Onyx Island and restore it to the future while finding all the other treasures Eggman turned into cards as well.

Shadow's Story

Shadow receives a message from Dr. Eggman, asking for his aid as there's someone after him. He instructs his acquaintance to follow the transmission's signal. On Onyx Island, Shadow notes the doctor disappeared six hours following the message and wonders what happened to him. He then sees Eggman being chased by a silver hedgehog and intervenes in the former's defense. The silver hedgehog is revealed to be Silver. In the hostile introduction, Eggman escapes into Forest Falls Zone as Shadow and Silver follow after him. Catching up to him, Shadow suspects Silver was who Eggman told him about in his transmission, only for the doctor to not recall such a transmission. Silver attempts to step in and explain, but Eggman, irritated at the confusing situation, sends the Egg Turtle.

Seeing Eggman's strange behavior, Shadow believes this has nothing to him and begins to take his leave before getting a call from his colleague, Rouge the Bat, stating to have some interesting information on Eggman. She instructs him to keep tailing Eggman while she gathers more intel. Knuckles comes along asking if Shadow saw Eggman. Shadow bluntly downgrades Knuckles for letting Eggman get away, calling him useless, getting an angry response and threat. Shadow brushes this off and begins his objective: settling his business with Eggman. So he and Knuckles race around Coliseum Highway Zone. Finding Eggman, Shadow demands answers on the secret Rouge had, perplexing the doctor again. Knuckles butts in, not caring what Eggman's hiding and demands the Master Emerald. Irritated and confused even more, Eggman utilizes his Egg Falcon.

In the aftermath, Rouge calls in. She tries to reveal what she found out about Eggman until she's cut off. Shadow tries to get her back but to no avail. He is then transported to Sky Park Zone by a mysterious light. Soon he meets his arch-rival Sonic, who explains their predicament. Seeing they're both after Eggman, Sonic declares a race to apprehend him. Outrunning Sonic, Shadow confronts Eggman and demands explanations and the status of Rouge, and the doctor responds by showing a card. Shadow believes Eggman is playing card games until Eggman reveals Rouge, who he deems has found out too much, is in the card. Shadow demands the card, but Eggman unleashes Metal Sonic, wanting to see how unlike Sonic Shadow is. Confident he's superior to his rival's android fake, Shadow accepts.

After the race, Shadow concludes Rouge found out Eggman's secret but was transformed into a card by him before she could reveal it. He then decides to find Eggman and figure out what it is. Knuckles appears again, asking about Eggman, but Shadow still hypocritically mocks him for letting the doctor escape. They race again, and confront Eggman in Crystal Mountain Zone. Shadow demands the secret Eggman is hiding, only to be shocked to see a card... of Eggman himself! Knuckles cuts in and demands answers as well, but the agitated scientist arms his Egg Lynx.

After the skirmish, Shadow ponders how Eggman could have a card of himself before seeing Silver again. Recalling how everything started with his appearance, Shadow confronts him and receives a cryptic warning that Eggman might not be the real one, causing Shadow to realize the real Eggman has been turned into a card, shocking Silver. Suddenly, "Eggman" appears to taunt them. Shadow, more determined than ever, resolves to finally get his answers, but Silver still has his business with this fiend as well. In Death Yard Zone, Shadow finally confronts the villain and demands his identity. Seeing Shadow has seen through him, "Dr. Eggman" reveals himself as Dr. Eggman Nega, a descendant of Eggman himself. With Shadow knowing the truth, Eggman Nega attempts to dispose of him with Metal Sonic, who has been enhanced since last time. Shadow proves himself as the Ultimate Lifeform and bests Metal Sonic again. Shadow corners Nega, who is attempting to change the future, and fights him in the Egg Kong along with Metal Sonic. Bested, the vexed doctor reaches his limit and decides to turn the whole world into a card, departing as soon as Silver arrives. Silver compliments Shadow for now seeing who the real foe is. Fortunately, the true Dr. Eggman, restored thanks to Shadow's efforts, appears to help and takes them to outer space for the final showdown.

At Meteor Base Zone, Silver offers his help which Shadow mildly accepts. The anti-hero later runs into Sonic who gives his arch-rival a hand too; as long as Sonic doesn't interfere. Shadow arrives at the base's center and notices the escape rocket that will used to turn the earth into a card. Shadow meets Nega and demands why he wants to change the future. Eggman Nega explains that he comes from a line of brilliant, scientific geniuses, but the lineage was disrupted by Eggman's many failures, causing the world of Nega's time to shun him. By getting Eggman and his failures, Nega will change their family history forever. With that said, he states that he just has to insert Rouge's card to complete his plan, but not if Shadow has anything to say about it. Nega is stopped and Rouge is saved, though she criticizes him for cutting it close. Shadow passes up helping in finding the other cards, much to Rouge's dismay.

Silver's Story

On Onyx Island, Silver confronts Dr. Eggman, until a black hedgehog intervenes on the doctor's defense. Eggman takes this opportunity to run, as the hedgehogs chase him into Forest Falls Zone. Catching up with Eggman, Shadow believes Silver was the person Eggman said about in his transmission until Silver replies he was merely asking about a character named "Eggman Nega". Eggman fiercely denies any connection to such a person before deploying the Egg Turtle.

After the battle, Silver believes Eggman knows something. Eggman offers to tell Silver, but only if he can beat a blue hedgehog. That hedgehog turns out to be Sonic, who is also after Eggman. After a tense introduction, Silver and Sonic race through Coliseum Highway Zone. Silver and Sonic still continue to clash even as they battle Eggman in his the Egg Falcon.

After these altercations, Silver encounters and asks a random individual about the strange object Eggman was carrying. The red figure says the scientist had a camera that could turn things into cards, before realizing his unfamiliarity with Silver. Silver just mumbles how Eggman got a hold of the device and just replies he has no time to explain it to someone like him before leaving. The character, named Knuckles, is offended by Silver's rudeness before chasing after him in Sky Park Zone. Losing Knuckles, Silver confronts Eggman again and asks how he gained possession of the camera, as its technology is too advanced in this time period. The doctor would gladly explain if Silver won a race with Metal Sonic, to which confidently accepted.

After this, Silver wonders how Eggman got the camera until Sonic shows up again, claiming to know Eggman's next move and reveal if Silver could keep up. In Crystal Mountain Zone, Silver starts putting the pieces together; as Eggman Nega (who he's searching for) wouldn't let it out of his supervision, deeming Eggman could be him. Eggman confidently asks if Silver has any proof for his theory, which Silver seems to have gained based on Eggman's interaction with Sonic.

After defeating the Egg Lynx, Silver finally comes to conclusions. Based on Eggman's speech and mannerism, he has to Eggman Nega and wonders where the real Dr. Eggman is. Shadow comes along, asking for Silver's reason for chasing Eggman. Silver merely warns that Eggman might not be who is, causing Shadow to exclaim that Eggman must have really been turned into a card, much to Silver's shock. With his suspicions confirmed, Silver and Shadow are confronted by "Eggman". Wanting the truth for themselves, the silver and black hedgehogs try outpace each other through Death Yard Zone, with the silver one coming on top. He then confronts "Eggman", who reveals himself as Dr. Eggman Nega, who Silver has come to return him to the future and can't allow to misuse the camera's power. But Nega isn't coming quietly and uses the new and improved Metal Sonic to buy himself time to escape. Silver beats the mechanical hedgehog and demands Eggman Nega to return with him to the future, but the fiend won't let Silver interfere in his goal and battles with the Egg Kong and Metal Sonic. Silver still wins and Nega is pushed over the edge. Fed up with Silver's interference, he decides to turn the whole world into a card and escapes into space. Shadow arrives, realizing Silver was right as the latter commends him for figuring out the real villain. The one and true Dr. Eggman arrives, returned to normal thanks to the hedgehogs. Seeing they have a common enemy, he offers his assistance in getting them to outer space.

At Meteor Base Zone, Shadow offers to help Silver stop Eggman Nega. Progressing further, Silver is approached by Knuckles again, who advises him not to carry the weight of everything on his shoulders and offers help too. Silver then meets his archenemy for a final confrontation, but the latter is almost ready to go through with his plot. All he must do is transfer the cards' energy into the camera and he can turn the entire planet into a card. Silver is horrified as the future will be destroyed, with Nega commenting if he can't change it, he'll simply destroy it, but Silver refuses for this to happen. Stopping Nega, Silver sees Nega lost control the machine and got turned into a card himself, apprehending him and placing him into his custody. Silver decides to clean up Nega's mess and find the other cards before heading back to the future, assured the present's welfare will be safe as long as a brave pair of blue and black hedgehogs, who he now has great deal of respect for, are around. 

Characters

Playable characters

Character	Description
	Sonic the Hedgehog - This hedgehog is the fastest living being in the universe. He's defeated Dr. Eggman to save the world numerous times, but this time he's discovered that his best friends Tails and Amy have been mysteriously turned into cards. Now it's a race to take down the nefarious Dr. Eggman once and for all and free his friends!
	Metal Sonic - Metal is Dr. Eggman's most powerful Sonic robot to date. In this game however, Metal Sonic is presumably reprogrammed by Eggman Nega to ensure obedience to him instead of Dr. Eggman, and tries to stop Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow and Silver from foiling Eggman's plans. He is available for play after collecting the Metal Madness, Metal Overlord and Neo Metal Sonic cards. Metal Sonic's special ability is the ability to copy the attacks of others, similar to that of Emerl from Sonic Battle and also reminiscent of his play style in Sonic the Fighters, wherein he could use all the other characters' special attacks.
	Knuckles the Echidna - The guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles is as tough as they come. Unfortunately, the Master Emerald has been stolen right out from under his nose and turned into a card by Dr. Eggman. Now this renowned echidna must race to find the Master Emerald and take down the evil mastermind behind this insidious plot.
	Shadow the Hedgehog - Shadow was created as the ultimate life form by Professor Gerald Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius of his time. Possessing the power to use the Chaos Emeralds to perform "Chaos Control" he has the ability to manipulate time and space. Summoned by his creator's grandson, Dr. Eggman, via cryptic transmission asking for his aid, Shadow encounters something strange and now it's a race to find Eggman and uncover the truth!
	Silver the Hedgehog - A mysterious silver hedgehog, Silver is equipped with psychic powers that allow him to propel items through the air with the power of his mind! The only thing on Silver's mind is that he is searching for someone...but for whom, and more importantly, why? Shrouded in mystery, Silver begins to chase after Dr. Eggman to find clues that will unlock his quest.

Supporting characters

• Miles "Tails" Prower: Upon journeying to Onyx Island with Sonic, Tails is turned into a card by Dr. Eggman's camera as proof to Sonic that he indeed has the power to do so. It's now up to Sonic to save both him and Amy, who has also been turned into a card. He is later rescued by Sonic.
• Amy Rose: The first to be turned into a card by Dr. Eggman's camera; Sonic and Tails journey to Onyx Island to discover this shocking truth. After Tails himself gets turned into a card, Sonic sets out to save them both. She is later rescued by Sonic.
• Rouge the Bat: After discovering the truth about "Dr. Eggman", Rouge suddenly disappears and it is later revealed that she was turned into a card. Shadow sets out to save Rouge whilst trying to figure out what she had discovered.
• Dr. Eggman: Eggman, in fact, isn't the troublemaker in this story. He is actually the victim. Eggman NEGA turns him into a card before the main storyline actually occurs. Shadow retrieves a distress signal from Eggman when the game first starts, but Shadow then states it was sent 6 hours earlier. After Eggman is saved by Silver and Shadow, he helps them get into outer space to stop his descendant's evil plans.

Villains

• Doctor Eggman Nega: As it turns out, Eggman Nega is the main antagonist of the game who hails from the future. Masquerading as Dr. Eggman in the past, he uses a special camera to turn everyone into cards on Onyx Island, an island he brought along with him from the future. His master plan is to change his destiny by turning the whole planet into a card that he can control. It is revealed that he was never an alter ego, but a descendant of Eggman.

English cast

Voice Actor	Role
Jason Griffith	Sonic the Hedgehog/Shadow the Hedgehog
Pete Capella	Silver the Hedgehog
Dan Green	Knuckles the Echidna
Amy Palant	Miles "Tails" Prower
Lisa Ortiz	Amy Rose
Kathleen Delaney	Rouge the Bat
Mike Pollock	Dr. Eggman/Dr. Eggman Nega

Features

This game features:

• Five playable characters, including: Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Shadow the Hedgehog, Silver the Hedgehog, and Metal Sonic.
• Sonic Rivals' gameplay is similar to classic Sonic games, but now, keeping with the Rivalry Theme, players can jostle, trip and shove opponents around.
• There are eight types of Power-Up: Fire, Ice, Mine, Illusion, Wind, Ring Magnet, Lightning and Star. The effects of each one are different for each character, though generally have similar outcomes. For example : the Fire Power-Up gives the character a fire attack, the Ice Power-Up gives the character a freeze attack and the Star Power-Up gives the character a special attack specific to that character (called the "Signature Move").
• Single player consists of a Story Mode, in which each of the five playable characters have separate story lines, and must race each other to the finish line in each stage in order to thwart Dr. Eggman's various schemes.
• Multiplayer mode 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.
• Boss battles at the end of levels require you to, not only defeat the boss, but also prevent your opponents from defeating it before you.
• Badniks are featured as enemies, but many are similar to those of Sonic Heroes.
• Customizable costumes for the characters to wear like in Sonic Adventure 2.

Gameplay

Sonic Rivals consists of many different modes: Single Player Mode consists of Story Mode, Challenge Mode, and Cup Circuit. Wireless Play Mode will have you participating in Multiplayer games and races whereby players can wager cards or just race for fun. The game's loading screens will give you tips on using each character to your advantage when racing. Although it was assumed that a Boss Attack mode will be featured in the game, these challenges have been implemented into Challenge Mode.

Performing objectives throughout the game will give you collectible cards. Such tasks include 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.

Zones

The game contains six Zones (five of which are in Onyx Island) each with three respective acts, the third being a boss battle (except for Sky Park, which only has two acts), totaling 17 acts per character. The Zone names are as follows:

• Forest Falls Zone: A strange forest with terrain resembling Green Hill Zone. This forest contains many waterfalls, and rivers that flow through it. This is the first level. The boss is the Egg Turtle, a large robot turtle.
• Colosseum Highway Zone: A desert ruin based on Ancient Roman architecture. The boss is the Egg Falcon, a large robotic bird that resembles the Egg Hawk.
• Sky Park Zone: A carnival level. Carnival-like attractions appear throughout the stage to help you reach the goal. As mentioned earlier, this Zone only has two Acts and no Boss.
• Crystal Mountain Zone: An icy mountain level with many traps. The boss is the Egg Lynx, a large robotic lynx.
• Death Yard Zone: A level filled with machinery, fans and other forms of metallic scraps. As in Sky Park, you have to win a race against Metal Sonic in the second Act. The boss is the Egg Kong, a King Kong-like robot.
• Meteor Base Zone: Eggman Nega's base hidden within an asteroid belt. In this final level of the story modes, the player will be assisted through both levels by two characters. Sonic is assisted by Knuckles and Shadow; Knuckles by Sonic and Silver; Shadow by Sonic and Silver; and Silver by Knuckles and Shadow. The Boss is Egg Destroyer, a spaceship flied by Eggman Nega.

Bosses

• Egg Turtle - The boss of Forest Falls Zone. Seen in screenshots of the boss battle, featuring both Sonic and Shadow. It attacks with its head and tail.
• Egg Falcon - The boss of Colosseum Highway Zone. Set in a circular arena, this boss flies overhead and drops fire and ice bombs. It bears a heavy resemblance to the "Egg Hawk" boss from Sonic Heroes.
• Egg Lynx - The boss of Crystal Mountain Zone. This boss fires crystal missiles at the players.
• Egg Kong - The boss of Death Yard Zone. It appears to be based on a gorilla's head, and fights by firing missiles then releasing its Brain Capsule. Metal Sonic helps attack your character in this confrontation.
• Egg Destroyer - The boss of Meteor Base Zone. The final battle of the game takes place on board a large rocket, which you will have to fight your way through Metal Sonic and various other obstacles to get to Eggman Nega's capsule.

Enemies

• Venoom - Spider-like creatures that appear in Forest Falls. Official concept art of the game confirms the name.
• Vultur - Vulture-like bird robots that attack you throughout Colosseum Highway.
• Mono Clown - Jester robot that rolls on one large wheel and punches players in Sky Park.
• Yetee - Giant mechanized ice bots that can be seen hunched over in Crystal Mountain. In-game loading screens confirms name.
• Metal Hound - Dog robots that attack you throughout Death Yard.
• Drill Worm - Worm robots that can use their mouths to drill holes in the ground. Found in Meteor Base. Official concept art of the game confirms the name.
• Egg Pawn - Another one of Eggman's robots, first seen in Sonic Heroes, often appears throughout the various stages.
• Flapper - The cannon shooting robot as seen in Sonic Heroes is seen throughout the stages once again, now equipped with homing missiles.

Unlockable Costumes

Collecting all of a character's cards will unlock outfits related to that character. For example, collecting all of Amy's cards unlocks a pink track suit that can be equipped into one of the rivals (although this appears to be missing in the final version of the game for some reason).

Each character has a total of 3 unlockable costumes:

• Sonic: Leather, Ice, Black Tie
• Knuckles: Leather, Armor, Eggman
• Shadow: Leather, Flame, 80's
• Silver: Leather, Lightning, Christmas
• Metal Sonic: Leather, Circuits, Jester

Music

Chris Renzanson is the main composer of Sonic Rivals. A track entitled "Quick Trip To Paradise" was composed by Lee Brotherton and used as the music for the Forest Falls Zone and the title screen of the game.

Cards

Sonic Rivals features an extensive collectible card system that spans a total of 150 cards, featuring cameo appearances of robots, major characters, minor characters, boxarts, and items from past Sonic games such as Sonic Heroes, Sonic Adventure, Shadow the Hedgehog, and even dating back to Sonic the Hedgehog. The cards themselves are used to unlock secret costumes for the characters among other things.

Reception

The game received mixed to positive reviews upon release. IGN rated the game a 7.4 out of 10, highlighting its replay value, its graphics, as well as its entertaining stages. GameSpot, which rated the game 6.9/10 said there was a good sense of speed and colorful graphics but that the level design was frustrating and tedious to get through. On average, this game has received a 69.3% through 12 reviews, according to Game Rankings' official score.

Re-releases

Image	Platform	Description
	PlayStation Portable	Released in a compilation with Sonic Rivals 2 as Double Rivals Attack Pack!. It was released in 2011 only in the United States.

Trivia

• This is Silver's first handheld appearance and (canonically) the first time Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles meet him (due the events of Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) being erased).
• This is the first Sonic game for the PlayStation Portable.
• There are three types of clothing for each character, the first is leather, which comes in different colors. The second is misc, which is a different style of clothing for each character, Sonic's is called Black Tie, Knuckles' is called Eggman, Shadow's is called 80's and Silver's is called Christmas. And the last is elemental, which represents different elements for each character, Sonic's is Ice, Knuckles' is Metal, Shadow's is Fire, and Silver's is Lightning.
• If one were to count Metal Sonic as a hedgehog, then that would make Knuckles the only playable character who isn't a hedgehog.
  • Inversely, this makes Amy the only hedgehog not playable in the game.
• Metal Sonic is the only playable character who is not on the boxart.
• In the unlockable card for Coconuts, it is misspelled as "Coconut".
• Shadow's artwork in this game is similar to his running artwork in Sonic Adventure 2.
  • Also, if you look closely, Shadow on the boxart has his eyes towards Knuckles. In the game, it's the same artwork, but his eyes are back to facing the front.
• There is a hidden test room labeled "Test Room 2" in the coding. It can be loaded using a codebreaker, but it is just an empty room and you can't move.
• The game will be available for download for the PS Vita along with Sonic Rivals 2.
• Silver's outfit for the Secret Freedom Fighters in the Archie Comics is the same as his race outfit.
  • The Secret Freedom Fighters cover is also based off of the Sonic Rivals cover.
• Some voice clips of Sonic were ripped from Sonic Rush.

Videos

External links

• Official Site Archived
• SEGA GAMES Sonic Rivals Archived

Sonic Rivals

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Main article | Scripts (Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver) | Staff | Gallery

Sonic the Hedgehog handheld games

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