“Not just a race… but a special race, to see who’s the fastest” is a line even Mike Pollock criticised, but admitted when V/As spot stuff like that, it’s not their place to point it out
I say that the Sonic Riders series is--or rather, WAS--the definitive answer to the Mario Kart series. And the fact we'll never get another one thanks to the sin that is Free Riders hurts me thinking about it.
Tbh, for me the definitive answer will always be Crash Team Racing and the remake Nitro Fuled. In fact, I say is the definitive kart game. SR is for me at least, a different beast being its own sub genre on the racing umbrella.
I'd disagree. All those 2 have in common is racing. Sonic's real attempt would end up being Sega All-Stars Racing. Racing games like Need for Speed were peaking in popularity in the mid 2000's. Sonic Riders feels more like it tried to stick its landing in the Racing games genre (in a time where a lot of high speed racing games were starting to pop up), instead of going for a Kart racer.
The original game was just plain awesome. And one of the very few times Dr. Eggman actually won. Zero Gravity, while a lot more bare bones, was still enjoyable for the most part. And Free Riders was possibly the worst use of the Kinect ever. Still, I wish they could somehow bring the series back. Hoverboard racing is inherently cool, and the Babylonian Rogues were great characters.
Yeah like even just port the first game or second to the modern platform sound like a nice move maybe with how sega doing with sonic we have a new chance to shave the past's oofs but who knows
@theenderkirby939 Considering that fans have been expanding the game with mods and adding online play, I think it's doing fine. Yes, it would be nice to have a new official release, but it's nice to see the creativity it inspired in fans.
I wish we could get another chance with the riders series. It never lost its charm and brilliance and edge with its art style and pure style in general
Same. I feel like that maybe in addition to traditional races, they could have levels or sections like in Tony Hawk Pro-Skater/Skate where you could pull off tricks in a Skate park.
I consider Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders Zero Gravity to be the best and coolest racing/sports games of all time imo. The style, gameplay, soundtrack and story in those first two games is just so unique and still to this day there is nothing quite like it.
@@josbirdMario Kart only started doing it so Nintendo could tell F-Zero fans "shut up, Mario Kart does the F-Zero thing!". GIVE US MORE F-ZERO, NINTENDO!
The Sonic Rider series had a lot of potential to be the next big thing for real & it should not be left out in the dust & shall never be forgotten.......... Who needs kart racing wheels when you got air?! But Free Riders for the kinect on 360, all that twisting, turning, crouching & stretching out for those golden rings can really tire you out but that doesn't matter & still have fun playing it. Really wish that SEGA would listen to all fans of the world's fastest hedgehog of bringing this hoverboard/staking/bike extreme gear racing trilogy back & that's a big "What If", All we need is the boost, drifting & trick mechanic from the 1st title by using only the controller. Sonic Riders - (2006) 9.0 - Out of ten - (Nintendo Gamecube) S.R. Zero Gravity - (2008) 7.0 - Out of ten - (Wii) Free Riders - (2010) 5.5 - Out of ten - (Xbox 360) I currently have all 3 of them. Sonic free riders for the 360 killed the experience which is why this series have been discontinued. It deserves redemption to make a huge comeback for the new platforms of video games at the here & now.
@@ADragonNerd it was the new writers/voice cast that took over on Free Riders. While the first mainline game to feature them was Colors the first actual game were they came in was Free Riders and you could tell instantly something was different. The writing just felt like they were trying to appeal to a younger audience and it was downhill from there as far as Sonic’s vibe, style, and attitude.
@@ADragonNerd "I'm too cool for school. But you on the other hand, not going to school is no good. Education is important for you. But for me I don't want it. I wanna run."
I know it may sound weird but the Riders series had my favorite art style of the casts. They were expressive and had a good mix of cartoonish and anime anesthetic.
One thing I want to add with Riders is giving each character a unique look and design which also gives Riders series it’s own identity too. I think Riders Cream is the cutest ever!
The main reason why I stick with the first game instead of ZG (and even more now with the DX hack, which makes the first game even better), is because the first one is snappy. As you said, the trick system made the racing flow better, the drift system made the racing flow better, the boost system made the racing flow better, I am yet to play a racing game that feels so free-form, snappy, and tight like Riders 1, I feel like I'm in control of everything and the speed is so addicting. ZG is like "oh, you wanna boost? here's a two-second slowdown before that, and I'll fling you around the stage. You want to drift now? here's another two second slowdown and I'll turn for you. You jumped the ramp? Watch this wack animation while you do nothing, plus you'll lose speed even if you did an SS trick." It feels like the game doesn't want you to feel good. Plus the gear design, both visually and mechanically, is terrible IMO. On Riders 1, it felt like futuristic but rad surf boards. They were angular, thin, sleek, stylish. ZG gears feel like toys. They're all round and thick, they look like something that would come with a Max Steel figure instead of something you would wanna ride yourself. And the mechanics are not fun either, the "collect rings to unlock versions" straight up doesn't work if you want to make the race feel snappy. They tried to streamline what made the first game's skill floor and ceiling high, but they ended just making it boring.
I remember little me asking my mom to let me rent the first sonic riders because it looked so cool. I put the game in and the opening cutscene got me SUPER hyped. When I started playing I was SOOO confused and upset I didnt know how anything went. Once I started learning and got good, could never put the game down. All time fav racing game.
Imagine if we got a new Riders instead of some meh racing game but it’s a team racing game, The Sega All Stars Racing series is objectively better because it was the closest to a Sega Smash Bros but with Racing as the Genre.
I remember enjoying Riders and always found the futuristic racing aesthetic really cool but I also remember being terrible at it and inevitably rage quitting after not getting first for the 10th time.
Personally, while easier than the first riders. I honestly really enjoyed Zero Gravity(even more than OG riders) it was easier to control, the music was awesome/the stages were cooler and better than the first to me.
Totally agree. I played zero gravity first and couldn't really play the first riders game after that. Felt a lot more difficult and wasn't really a fan of the depleting air mechanic.
Honestly, I think ZG did Super Sonic better than the first Riders. In Riders, Super Sonic ran on rings instead of Air, anything that consumed Air just bled up rings, but you couldn't replenish rings the same as you could with Air, and he (like everyone else) had a hard cap of 100 rings, so there was really just little reason to ever use him. In ZG, he still ran on Rings and using Gravity Control or Gravity Dive still hemorrhage them, but the Magnetic Barrier you could activate for a full race made maintaining your rings much easier, and he had two Ring Cap increases, putting it as high as 150, which is a nice little safety net to have, especially once you hit 80 rings and go into attack mode.
@@jruler93 Hard disagree on that one. Riders SS was all about ring management, learning the tracks and taking full advantage of the shortcuts. He performs pretty nicely. ZG SS, while the 180 speed boost is nice he however flat out suffers from nasty ring drain and stupidly expensive gravity actions that makes getting 1st place on some maps near impossible. Gigan Rocks is a perfect example of that. You cannot attempt to Gravity Dive AND his boost is nowhere near as fast as someone's Gravity Dive.
SEGA pleease bring this series back! Never had a chance to play the others, but I played the one on Wii and let me say..the music, level design and just overall racing experience is so much fun! There’s not really anything like these games, so I don’t get why we don’t have more. They’re such a breathe of fresh air, compared to a lot of the repetitive stuff we get today.
one of my favorite tips for the first sonic riders game is if you run out of energy and are stuck running for a pitstop, it's often faster to just wait for a person to pass you and hop into their slipstream because you can still trick off of it with 0 boost which will start the combo train to refill your boost gauge pretty quickly. The same goes with power characters smashing obstacles or speed types grinding rails... refill pitstops should be a last resort.
10:30 In Riders, you tilt thumbstick before releasing the charge at the edge of the certain ramps: forward for flat 0~45 degree incline, and back for the curved quarter pipe ones -- for the best results.
This upload was a pleasant surprise! Thanks for remastering your review on Zero Gravity and all the little adjustments! Your Free Riders review never stops being entertaining 😆 (It's seriously impressive that you had the strength to beat the entire game too)
I felt the same way with Zero Gravity, but good thing Regravitified exists which is a mod that makes the game feel more like the original Riders and greatly refines its mechanics.
I know I am on the minority here, but ZG for me was more enjoyable than the og SR. I have not played the mod, so I dont know if the changes made to the game are made in a balanced way or change it to the point of adding what I didnt like from the OG.
5:43 In SomeoneCallMeJohnny's video on Sonic Riders, he asks Mike Pollock in video about that line. Mike replied in the comments pretty much stating "Not to question it, just roll with it."
If Sega ever does bring this hoverboard/bike extreme gear racing series back, All we need is the Boost plus Drifting mechanic from the 1st Riders game by using only the Controller.
One thing i absolutely love Sonic Riders is the music it just screams early 2000’s I still love playing the game now and the visuals inspired me as a young kid.
Ah it's always funny when a youtuber you never see you tend to create a mental image of how they look vs how they actually look like. That's not a criticism or anything obviously, i just found it funny i'm a long time fan but i never saw this video, I did listen to it tho, yeah i know that's weird but your voice and the reviews are often my coping mechanism for when i go outside. It helps me to listen and divert my attention to something else that's not crippling anxiety i sometimes have so thanks dude, not that you prolly ever will see this but it feels good giving the thanks anyway.
I’m glad I started with Zero Gravity as a kid because my young, innocent self that didn’t know any better absolutely fell in love with that game and I still hold it dear to my heart. But that just made me fall THAT MUCH HARDER in love with the first Sonic Riders when I discovered it, which quickly elevated itself to my favorite racing game of all time. Sonic Riders is the series I want a new game in more than any other series. I so hope Sega decides to give it another chance one day and decides to take the series back to its roots.
Regarding 21:20 where you talk about the SR:ZG trick system, it's even worse and less transparent. I only figured this out when trying to 100% the missions lately. You have a timing window for jumps that grant you the SS rank. This SS rank BECOMES the infamous X-rank, if you hold the directional control into one direction. In following tricks, you HAVE TO hold a DIFFERENT direction to make it work, so usually you'd get one X-rank without effort by tilting or holding the natural "forward" direction, but fail on getting one again for quite a time, as you cannot get another X with the same direction in a row. This is also explains, why there were certain ramps granting X-ranks almost always, while you just couldn't get them on others. I slowed Dolphin to 10% speed to get perfect timing and it still remained SS, instead of X. What makes this worse is the fact that it is 1. nowhere really mentioned (not sure if you can even do that well on Wii's horizontal controls) and 2. doesn't fit in, as there is no point in holding directions for the trick, as in SR1 (there is just feels natural and if you spin a lot in varying directions, you just get X, simple as that).
There’s a long play video for sonic riders zero gravity somewhere on UA-cam. the pinned comment on that video was the owner talking about how zero gravity did everything better than the original sonic riders. I replied to that comment confused, because they described aspects of gameplay that I thought was that games strong point, and instead talked about it in a negative light. We had a short argument, ending in the owner guessing that racing games may not be his forte. I thought this comment was interesting, since for me I feel like zero gravity is less like a racing game compared to the first one. So would make sense that someone who doesn’t like racing games would like the game that’s less like a racing game compared to the original.
Dude, you are seriously amazing. Thank you for digging into the nuts and bolts of everything. I so appreciate how thoughtful and detail oriented you are in the reviews and how you think about what these games could be. Keep crushing it dude! Subscribed for life !
Man imagine a world in which Sonic Team just gave the mod team behind tournament Edition the go-ahead to make a new Sonic Riders game. Thats all i want at this point
This is my first comment before I edit aftert watching the video to completion: Free Riders screwed us over, no, XBOX screwed it over because Free Riders as a concept was a good Riders game, but the motion controls gimmick messed it up.
You could even argue Sega screwed themselves over too for chasing that trend, did they not see how successful the Wii was and a blatant cheap copy the Xbox Kinect was? One thing I think could’ve saved Free Riders was the option to use a Controller, I mean the game is called FREE Riders, they should’ve given more Freedom with gameplay and controller support.
Is exatcly what J told about sega had the issue to blame the gimmicks rather to improve on them like the series continue on motion controls I don't think it will outright ruin it but they let this oof to act like they should stop this spin offs for good which was a bad move all around
I loved Sonic riders and zero gravity so much, but I wouldn't mind a real sequel to those games that has a better story and better controls than free riders. I never played free riders and never will.
God, i need these back in my life. The first two were damn great. They have fresh money waiting to be printed with remasters of these games or even a brand new entry with grander maps and more awesome tricks
I JUST bought sonic riders for my birthday. And I’m happy to find this video so I can see how the newer ones are. Your content is VERY good, a lot of people just give very shallow opinions for 30 minutes
32:34 I’ll never forget the way my jaw dropped and all the characters voices were different… I was like “this is not the sonic I know and love and grew up with… they’re all Walmart version imitations of the 4Kids cast”. I was 11 years old, and to this day, I still feel the same way. Sometimes, when you’re right you’re right.
Also here to say the tier list ranking you told on the free riders ep gave me the inspiration to do ranks with games that I know granted I do split it with low, mid high and more in between but yeah I think I should mention this
Sonic Free Riders might killed the series, but SEGA always does this. "Oops that didn't work. Let's not analyze why and just never do anything like that ever again." That's classic.
That is why the Adventure formula was replaced by the boost formula as 06 being an unfinished mess led to them evoking a policy where they won’t have anything slightly similar
SEGA should make a Sonic Riders game for the current generation of consoles, and if they can’t get Sonic Team to develop then give the development to Sumo Digital, the developers of the Sonic and SEGA Racing games.
Something has to be said about the ABSOLUTELY MESMERIZING CGI used for some of the story mode scenes of OG Sonic Riders. Back in 06 I always imagined games would eventually look just like that but sadly we're not there yet...
When it comes to genres that are dominated by a game I normally stick to the most popular/well known one. Why play this other cart racer when I can play Mario Kart, or why should I play any other platform fighter over smash. Sonic Riders set itself apart and I truly feel that if it was given enough time and care it could have at least been a worthy alternative to Mario Kart.
The Represented EVERYTHING great about Sonic and understood what made the franchise great. Expressive characters, alternative pathways that are faster than others but take some skill to get on, the use of rings etc. And it took genuine skill to beat the game. It makes me sad that they completely dropped the ball with zero gravity and onwards. It was awesome
Pre vid comment but all I remember from the game is how fun racing was and how cool Babylon sounded. It’s literally how I learned Babylon was even a thing long before school taught me
I'm not defending Free Riders.....at all, but getting a clamp you attach to the top of your TV to hold your Kinect actually made the game completely playable
I honestly think gravity dive is *better* than drifting, for corners; it has a new risk to it for balance. You could reaaonably expect to drift without losing much speed, if any, but a gravity dive essentially locks your trajectory and slows your momentum while you aim it, meaning you gotta know when to start it, where to aim it, and how long to hold it, or it'll backfire and lose you the lead.
The 1st game was honestly phenomenal in terms of an offshoot random racing game. Tons of un-lockables and characters and the music and visuals were rad (RIP Adventure Team Voice acting). A solid 7/10 Edit: DIGITAL DIMENSION IS A BANGER 2nd game was rough around the edges and simplified when it didn't need to be. But still a blast to play. Music was awesome and the story was fun. A light to decent 6/10 I have nothing to say about Free Riders
idk if its the way you dive into these games, or if its just you and your voice but i like your videos, and im always looking forward to have you talk about anything... im happy listening to you
The thing with the ramps. Each one has a specific direction u need to jump in to get the X. Otherwise best u can do is SS. Some ramps require u to hold up, down, left, or right with a small amount of holding to charge a jump before hand.
I feel like I should shout out 2 things about Zero Gravity real quick: 1. I can absolutely relate to not understanding how to hold the Wii Remote for both it and Secret Rings (just pretend I own Black Knight), and 2. I feel like Meteor Tech is a pretty reasonable explanation of how Eggman is able to fund his infinite mechs and Badnik lines, the various Egg Fleets, Feath Eggs, and Metropolises (among other bases), a Chemical Plant, an oil rig (both of which have been expanded as of Forces), and 3 amusement parks over the course of the series. Might as well call it "Solid Snake Tech" next time, huh?
I remember hearing somewhere that people were making a mod or something for Free Riders to allow you to play with a Controller instead I can't remember where and even then it still wouldn't fix the story. 😅
Thank you for this video. I hope SEGA sees this. Sonic Riders (along with Sonic Heroes) were great & I really wish they’d re-master these games for new-gen consoles
Hey I know most people don't notice but actually it is a tutorial on the starting screen of the first Sonic Riders game but you have to wait a little while to see the tutorial but yet again the tutorial don't teach you everything
Even though there are a few problems I have with this video, overall it does do a good job on covering your thoughts with these three games. While most of the stuff in the Zero Gravity segment do feel a bit harsher than deserved, the rest of the video in my opinion is very serviceable. I do wish you luck with your future videos.
I grew up with Zero Gravity Wii, and initially I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the gameplay. Despite that, I still loved it. Eventually it just sorta clicked with me, and I started blitzing through the story mode. Years later, I actually 100% completed the missions for the Chaos Emerald “Gear”, but I can’t really be bothered grinding Rings for all the store gears lol.
I grew up having both on the PS2 and loved them both, but lost the original for a long time. Zero Gravity always felt like a great sequel in my mind to it
“Not just a race… but a special race, to see who’s the fastest” is a line even Mike Pollock criticised, but admitted when V/As spot stuff like that, it’s not their place to point it out
I have no problem with it, it's a line as stupid as it is funny.
@@percher4824 Let face it, Eggman is NOT as smart as he claims 2 B!!! 45:00!!!
I suppose you could brush it off as just extra fluff to really tease Sonic into joining
@@ZeldaSam1 He is intelligent as he has 200 IQ. However, his EQ (common sense)… yeah 😅
@@flashbaxx Never thought about that. Actually a pretty good way to look at it
Sonic Riders does a much better job at making racing feel quick and dynamic than Mario Kart. You’d think we would have more Sonic Riders games
I even think Sonic and All Stars racing (both of them) also do a good job about that
Eh, The All-Star games are still car racing
I'd like to see jet the hawk on his hover board in sonic transformed if they ever remade it.
Mario Kart isn't about speed as much as it is being a party game. If you want speed, go for F-Zero. No higher sense of it than in GX.
If only Mario can have a hoverboard series
We need a new sonic riders
Edit: play the no kinetic patch for free riders
Better idea: a free riders remake WITHOUT kinect controls.
On god
@SmashBrosInitiative That's more likely. But seeing as how the last game was almost 11 years ago, I still don't think it's likely.
We need some Supersonic Supersonic Supersonic SPEED
Hey nice icon 😁
What I loved about Sonic Riders, is that in a world of Kart Racers, it wasn’t a kart racer. I wish Extreme Gear boards were real!
This and Air Treks when i watched Air Gear back in the day.
I say that the Sonic Riders series is--or rather, WAS--the definitive answer to the Mario Kart series. And the fact we'll never get another one thanks to the sin that is Free Riders hurts me thinking about it.
Years later, this exact thing happened to Star Fox.
Tbh, for me the definitive answer will always be Crash Team Racing and the remake Nitro Fuled.
In fact, I say is the definitive kart game.
SR is for me at least, a different beast being its own sub genre on the racing umbrella.
I'd disagree. All those 2 have in common is racing. Sonic's real attempt would end up being Sega All-Stars Racing.
Racing games like Need for Speed were peaking in popularity in the mid 2000's. Sonic Riders feels more like it tried to stick its landing in the Racing games genre (in a time where a lot of high speed racing games were starting to pop up), instead of going for a Kart racer.
@@FA-nd9uk I think they meant it is the definitive answer to Mario Kart FOR Sonic specifically.
The original game was just plain awesome. And one of the very few times Dr. Eggman actually won. Zero Gravity, while a lot more bare bones, was still enjoyable for the most part. And Free Riders was possibly the worst use of the Kinect ever. Still, I wish they could somehow bring the series back. Hoverboard racing is inherently cool, and the Babylonian Rogues were great characters.
Very much agreed
Yeah like even just port the first game or second to the modern platform sound like a nice move maybe with how sega doing with sonic we have a new chance to shave the past's oofs but who knows
I would agree.
The engine is the Sonic A2 engine., with models too. Look close.
@theenderkirby939 Considering that fans have been expanding the game with mods and adding online play, I think it's doing fine. Yes, it would be nice to have a new official release, but it's nice to see the creativity it inspired in fans.
I wish we could get another chance with the riders series. It never lost its charm and brilliance and edge with its art style and pure style in general
Same. I feel like that maybe in addition to traditional races, they could have levels or sections like in Tony Hawk Pro-Skater/Skate where you could pull off tricks in a Skate park.
I consider Sonic Riders and Sonic Riders Zero Gravity to be the best and coolest racing/sports games of all time imo. The style, gameplay, soundtrack and story in those first two games is just so unique and still to this day there is nothing quite like it.
100%
Zero gravity was doing the gravity defying race track thing years before mario kart did it, and in a more interactive way too
@@josbirdMario Kart only started doing it so Nintendo could tell F-Zero fans "shut up, Mario Kart does the F-Zero thing!".
GIVE US MORE F-ZERO, NINTENDO!
The Sonic Rider series had a lot of potential to be the next big thing for real & it should not be left out in the dust & shall never be forgotten..........
Who needs kart racing wheels when you got air?!
But Free Riders for the kinect on 360, all that twisting, turning, crouching & stretching out for those golden rings can really tire you out but that doesn't matter & still have fun playing it.
Really wish that SEGA would listen to all fans of the world's fastest hedgehog of bringing this hoverboard/staking/bike extreme gear racing trilogy back & that's a big "What If", All we need is the boost, drifting & trick mechanic from the 1st title by using only the controller.
Sonic Riders - (2006) 9.0 - Out of ten - (Nintendo Gamecube)
S.R. Zero Gravity - (2008) 7.0 - Out of ten - (Wii)
Free Riders - (2010) 5.5 - Out of ten - (Xbox 360)
I currently have all 3 of them.
Sonic free riders for the 360 killed the experience which is why this series have been discontinued.
It deserves redemption to make a huge comeback for the new platforms of video games at the here & now.
YEAH!
Right?
See what I did there?
Sonic's lost his style for so long now. I miss Sonic being associated with air/ "too cool for school" attitude
@@ADragonNerd it was the new writers/voice cast that took over on Free Riders. While the first mainline game to feature them was Colors the first actual game were they came in was Free Riders and you could tell instantly something was different. The writing just felt like they were trying to appeal to a younger audience and it was downhill from there as far as Sonic’s vibe, style, and attitude.
@@ADragonNerd "I'm too cool for school. But you on the other hand, not going to school is no good. Education is important for you. But for me I don't want it. I wanna run."
I'll always like zero gravity, but i really wish they'd kept the drifting and boosting
Same I never noticed the difference in speed lol
Sonic riders 1 is such a unique experience as a kid. I would die for a remake
I know it may sound weird but the Riders series had my favorite art style of the casts. They were expressive and had a good mix of cartoonish and anime anesthetic.
Not a hot take at all
One thing I want to add with Riders is giving each character a unique look and design which also gives Riders series it’s own identity too. I think Riders Cream is the cutest ever!
@chaosemeralds-
It would’ve been even more cool to see Tikal, Chaos, Emerl and more in the Riders Style!
@chaosemeralds- yeah like if she took a bit of this look in the mainline games I don't think it be a bad idea if you ask me
Agree.
Bro I would do ANYTHING for a Sonic Riders remastered, especially if they kept it the way they had it on the Gamecube. It would be perfect
Glad to see you challenging yourself and getting out of your comfort zone, and making yourself more visible in your videos.
Great content as always.
The main reason why I stick with the first game instead of ZG (and even more now with the DX hack, which makes the first game even better), is because the first one is snappy. As you said, the trick system made the racing flow better, the drift system made the racing flow better, the boost system made the racing flow better, I am yet to play a racing game that feels so free-form, snappy, and tight like Riders 1, I feel like I'm in control of everything and the speed is so addicting.
ZG is like "oh, you wanna boost? here's a two-second slowdown before that, and I'll fling you around the stage. You want to drift now? here's another two second slowdown and I'll turn for you. You jumped the ramp? Watch this wack animation while you do nothing, plus you'll lose speed even if you did an SS trick." It feels like the game doesn't want you to feel good. Plus the gear design, both visually and mechanically, is terrible IMO. On Riders 1, it felt like futuristic but rad surf boards. They were angular, thin, sleek, stylish. ZG gears feel like toys. They're all round and thick, they look like something that would come with a Max Steel figure instead of something you would wanna ride yourself. And the mechanics are not fun either, the "collect rings to unlock versions" straight up doesn't work if you want to make the race feel snappy.
They tried to streamline what made the first game's skill floor and ceiling high, but they ended just making it boring.
I remember little me asking my mom to let me rent the first sonic riders because it looked so cool. I put the game in and the opening cutscene got me SUPER hyped. When I started playing I was SOOO confused and upset I didnt know how anything went. Once I started learning and got good, could never put the game down. All time fav racing game.
Such a shame the perfect spin off was destroyed because of one cheap marketing gimmick as the latest entry
Indeed and I will always despise free riders for that.
Imagine if we got a new Riders instead of some meh racing game but it’s a team racing game, The Sega All Stars Racing series is objectively better because it was the closest to a Sega Smash Bros but with Racing as the Genre.
That pause and hover over quit when you hit the gate is too relatable
Someone's actually working on a no-kinect patch for Free Riders, and it looks pretty great so far.
Sonic riders was life as a kid. It was fun to play by myself and with friends. It would be awesome to see a revamp of the series
I remember enjoying Riders and always found the futuristic racing aesthetic really cool but I also remember being terrible at it and inevitably rage quitting after not getting first for the 10th time.
Personally, while easier than the first riders. I honestly really enjoyed Zero Gravity(even more than OG riders) it was easier to control, the music was awesome/the stages were cooler and better than the first to me.
Zero Gravity was very Zen compared to the chaos of the original. Really enjoyed it.
Totally agree. I played zero gravity first and couldn't really play the first riders game after that. Felt a lot more difficult and wasn't really a fan of the depleting air mechanic.
Honestly, I think ZG did Super Sonic better than the first Riders.
In Riders, Super Sonic ran on rings instead of Air, anything that consumed Air just bled up rings, but you couldn't replenish rings the same as you could with Air, and he (like everyone else) had a hard cap of 100 rings, so there was really just little reason to ever use him.
In ZG, he still ran on Rings and using Gravity Control or Gravity Dive still hemorrhage them, but the Magnetic Barrier you could activate for a full race made maintaining your rings much easier, and he had two Ring Cap increases, putting it as high as 150, which is a nice little safety net to have, especially once you hit 80 rings and go into attack mode.
😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@jruler93 Hard disagree on that one.
Riders SS was all about ring management, learning the tracks and taking full advantage of the shortcuts. He performs pretty nicely.
ZG SS, while the 180 speed boost is nice he however flat out suffers from nasty ring drain and stupidly expensive gravity actions that makes getting 1st place on some maps near impossible. Gigan Rocks is a perfect example of that. You cannot attempt to Gravity Dive AND his boost is nowhere near as fast as someone's Gravity Dive.
Ummm how dare you? The "I can still fly." line is nothing short of the greatest Sonic moment of ALL TIME.
SEGA pleease bring this series back! Never had a chance to play the others, but I played the one on Wii and let me say..the music, level design and just overall racing experience is so much fun!
There’s not really anything like these games, so I don’t get why we don’t have more. They’re such a breathe of fresh air, compared to a lot of the repetitive stuff we get today.
I still hope this series gets picked back up because the first two were awesome. I still play them and they are still fun to play with others.
The way this gsme communicated the speed is still virtually unmatched tbh you feel fast af playing this game
one of my favorite tips for the first sonic riders game is if you run out of energy and are stuck running for a pitstop, it's often faster to just wait for a person to pass you and hop into their slipstream because you can still trick off of it with 0 boost which will start the combo train to refill your boost gauge pretty quickly. The same goes with power characters smashing obstacles or speed types grinding rails... refill pitstops should be a last resort.
"That was an illegal left, by the way"
"Revali's Gale is now ready"
10:30 In Riders, you tilt thumbstick before releasing the charge at the edge of the certain ramps: forward for flat 0~45 degree incline, and back for the curved quarter pipe ones -- for the best results.
This upload was a pleasant surprise! Thanks for remastering your review on Zero Gravity and all the little adjustments! Your Free Riders review never stops being entertaining 😆
(It's seriously impressive that you had the strength to beat the entire game too)
Please keep making these compilations i will continue to rewatch video essays ive already seen
I felt the same way with Zero Gravity, but good thing Regravitified exists which is a mod that makes the game feel more like the original Riders and greatly refines its mechanics.
I know I am on the minority here, but ZG for me was more enjoyable than the og SR.
I have not played the mod, so I dont know if the changes made to the game are made in a balanced way or change it to the point of adding what I didnt like from the OG.
I really want to come back to this series.
Thankfully Zero Gravity has a Wii version and I got a Wii U.
Dolphin is also an option too
5:43 In SomeoneCallMeJohnny's video on Sonic Riders, he asks Mike Pollock in video about that line. Mike replied in the comments pretty much stating "Not to question it, just roll with it."
The first 2 games were legit really good. I would love to see another thats a return to form like the original
Riders has amazing Gameplay, Zero Gravity has amazing aesthetics and music, while Free Riders... I wish it didn't existed
Also THAT INTRO To un-gravitify from Riders 2 before the Lyrics is Beyond Epic mixing Synth and Elec Guitar in such harmony its really rarely matched
I had no idea Sonic Riders had two sequels until I started watching your videos. I always thought it was some one off spin off on the gamecube lmao
If Sega ever does bring this hoverboard/bike extreme gear racing series back, All we need is the Boost plus Drifting mechanic from the 1st Riders game by using only the Controller.
One thing i absolutely love Sonic Riders is the music it just screams early 2000’s I still love playing the game now and the visuals inspired me as a young kid.
Ah it's always funny when a youtuber you never see you tend to create a mental image of how they look vs how they actually look like. That's not a criticism or anything obviously, i just found it funny
i'm a long time fan but i never saw this video, I did listen to it tho, yeah i know that's weird but your voice and the reviews are often my coping mechanism for when i go outside.
It helps me to listen and divert my attention to something else that's not crippling anxiety i sometimes have so thanks dude, not that you prolly ever will see this but it feels good giving the thanks anyway.
I’m glad I started with Zero Gravity as a kid because my young, innocent self that didn’t know any better absolutely fell in love with that game and I still hold it dear to my heart. But that just made me fall THAT MUCH HARDER in love with the first Sonic Riders when I discovered it, which quickly elevated itself to my favorite racing game of all time.
Sonic Riders is the series I want a new game in more than any other series. I so hope Sega decides to give it another chance one day and decides to take the series back to its roots.
Regarding 21:20 where you talk about the SR:ZG trick system, it's even worse and less transparent. I only figured this out when trying to 100% the missions lately. You have a timing window for jumps that grant you the SS rank. This SS rank BECOMES the infamous X-rank, if you hold the directional control into one direction. In following tricks, you HAVE TO hold a DIFFERENT direction to make it work, so usually you'd get one X-rank without effort by tilting or holding the natural "forward" direction, but fail on getting one again for quite a time, as you cannot get another X with the same direction in a row.
This is also explains, why there were certain ramps granting X-ranks almost always, while you just couldn't get them on others. I slowed Dolphin to 10% speed to get perfect timing and it still remained SS, instead of X.
What makes this worse is the fact that it is 1. nowhere really mentioned (not sure if you can even do that well on Wii's horizontal controls) and 2. doesn't fit in, as there is no point in holding directions for the trick, as in SR1 (there is just feels natural and if you spin a lot in varying directions, you just get X, simple as that).
The competitive Sonic riders community is simply amazing, still play the original riders with the TE and DX mods.
There’s a long play video for sonic riders zero gravity somewhere on UA-cam. the pinned comment on that video was the owner talking about how zero gravity did everything better than the original sonic riders. I replied to that comment confused, because they described aspects of gameplay that I thought was that games strong point, and instead talked about it in a negative light. We had a short argument, ending in the owner guessing that racing games may not be his forte.
I thought this comment was interesting, since for me I feel like zero gravity is less like a racing game compared to the first one. So would make sense that someone who doesn’t like racing games would like the game that’s less like a racing game compared to the original.
Thanks so much for this video! I am the biggest sonic riders fan lol
We need a remaster/remake of the series or a number 4 title 😅
Dude, you are seriously amazing. Thank you for digging into the nuts and bolts of everything. I so appreciate how thoughtful and detail oriented you are in the reviews and how you think about what these games could be. Keep crushing it dude! Subscribed for life !
The Sonic Riders series was so good but Sega F up as usual killing the series with Free Riders.
Man imagine a world in which Sonic Team just gave the mod team behind tournament Edition the go-ahead to make a new Sonic Riders game. Thats all i want at this point
We gotta have sonic riders return
I agree with you
This is my first comment before I edit aftert watching the video to completion:
Free Riders screwed us over, no, XBOX screwed it over because Free Riders as a concept was a good Riders game, but the motion controls gimmick messed it up.
You could even argue Sega screwed themselves over too for chasing that trend, did they not see how successful the Wii was and a blatant cheap copy the Xbox Kinect was? One thing I think could’ve saved Free Riders was the option to use a Controller, I mean the game is called FREE Riders, they should’ve given more Freedom with gameplay and controller support.
Is exatcly what J told about sega had the issue to blame the gimmicks rather to improve on them like the series continue on motion controls I don't think it will outright ruin it but they let this oof to act like they should stop this spin offs for good which was a bad move all around
I loved Sonic riders and zero gravity so much, but I wouldn't mind a real sequel to those games that has a better story and better controls than free riders. I never played free riders and never will.
God, i need these back in my life. The first two were damn great. They have fresh money waiting to be printed with remasters of these games or even a brand new entry with grander maps and more awesome tricks
Zero Gravity was my absolute favorite out of the 3. It's surprising you didn't like it as much but that's cool.
"And there are BIRDS! Why are there BIRDS!?" I quote a certain someone Ignoring the existence of Flicky...
Sonic Riders needs a remaster or remake asap. It's my favorite racing game besides Mario Kart.
sonic riders was one of my favorite games when it came out, didn't even know a 3rd one got made.
Free riders is now playable with a controller. You should give it a try
What the fuck? I did not expect a video this long rn. Excited to watch!
i absolutely love the original sonic riders. definitely in my top 5 sonic games.
I JUST bought sonic riders for my birthday. And I’m happy to find this video so I can see how the newer ones are. Your content is VERY good, a lot of people just give very shallow opinions for 30 minutes
I also use to randomly marvel at how realistic the gloves in the boxart/CGI scenes of the first two games looked. Glad someone else appreciated them.
32:34
I’ll never forget the way my jaw dropped and all the characters voices were different… I was like “this is not the sonic I know and love and grew up with… they’re all Walmart version imitations of the 4Kids cast”.
I was 11 years old, and to this day, I still feel the same way. Sometimes, when you’re right you’re right.
Zero Gravity's Catch Me If You Can is one of my favourite Sonic songs.
Also here to say the tier list ranking you told on the free riders ep gave me the inspiration to do ranks with games that I know granted I do split it with low, mid high and more in between but yeah I think I should mention this
Not going to lie Sonic saying I wish you would shoot down your own plans more often made me laugh. 😅
first one was a great experience imo. awesome intro animation, fun gameplay, cool ideas and a decent execution. it was fun
I think that who ever came up with the sonic riders series was inspired by air gear because wave the swallow reminds of a character from that manga.
Sonic Free Riders might killed the series, but SEGA always does this. "Oops that didn't work. Let's not analyze why and just never do anything like that ever again." That's classic.
That is why the Adventure formula was replaced by the boost formula as 06 being an unfinished mess led to them evoking a policy where they won’t have anything slightly similar
SEGA should make a Sonic Riders game for the current generation of consoles, and if they can’t get Sonic Team to develop then give the development to Sumo Digital, the developers of the Sonic and SEGA Racing games.
Sonic Riders was the first game I truly felt like I got really good at. Favorite childhood game
Something has to be said about the ABSOLUTELY MESMERIZING CGI used for some of the story mode scenes of OG Sonic Riders. Back in 06 I always imagined games would eventually look just like that but sadly we're not there yet...
Sonic Riders and Zero Gravity are Amazing
When it comes to genres that are dominated by a game I normally stick to the most popular/well known one. Why play this other cart racer when I can play Mario Kart, or why should I play any other platform fighter over smash. Sonic Riders set itself apart and I truly feel that if it was given enough time and care it could have at least been a worthy alternative to Mario Kart.
In this day and age, I wonder if Sega would consider letting Sonic Team go back to Sonic Riders?
I liked the characters in the Riders games for sure. The music was great for all them that's definitely what stood out to me.
The Represented EVERYTHING great about Sonic and understood what made the franchise great. Expressive characters, alternative pathways that are faster than others but take some skill to get on, the use of rings etc. And it took genuine skill to beat the game. It makes me sad that they completely dropped the ball with zero gravity and onwards. It was awesome
Playing the entirety of Free Riders?
Damn gotta admire the commitment
I truly believe Riders could have been the perfect match for Mario Kart if they had continued to improve on it.
Pre vid comment but all I remember from the game is how fun racing was and how cool Babylon sounded. It’s literally how I learned Babylon was even a thing long before school taught me
Sonic Riders 1 is legitimately my favorite racing game of all time, and that’s a fairly high bar
I'm not defending Free Riders.....at all, but getting a clamp you attach to the top of your TV to hold your Kinect actually made the game completely playable
I’m guessing that was because the camera could actually register your movements from it being at a higher height?
I honestly think gravity dive is *better* than drifting, for corners; it has a new risk to it for balance.
You could reaaonably expect to drift without losing much speed, if any, but a gravity dive essentially locks your trajectory and slows your momentum while you aim it, meaning you gotta know when to start it, where to aim it, and how long to hold it, or it'll backfire and lose you the lead.
The 1st game was honestly phenomenal in terms of an offshoot random racing game. Tons of un-lockables and characters and the music and visuals were rad (RIP Adventure Team Voice acting). A solid 7/10
Edit: DIGITAL DIMENSION IS A BANGER
2nd game was rough around the edges and simplified when it didn't need to be. But still a blast to play. Music was awesome and the story was fun. A light to decent 6/10
I have nothing to say about Free Riders
We need a new Riders game or a rerelease of the originals on modern hardware
idk if its the way you dive into these games, or if its just you and your voice but i like your videos, and im always looking forward to have you talk about anything... im happy listening to you
The thing with the ramps. Each one has a specific direction u need to jump in to get the X. Otherwise best u can do is SS. Some ramps require u to hold up, down, left, or right with a small amount of holding to charge a jump before hand.
I feel like I should shout out 2 things about Zero Gravity real quick:
1. I can absolutely relate to not understanding how to hold the Wii Remote for both it and Secret Rings (just pretend I own Black Knight),
and
2. I feel like Meteor Tech is a pretty reasonable explanation of how Eggman is able to fund his infinite mechs and Badnik lines, the various Egg Fleets, Feath Eggs, and Metropolises (among other bases), a Chemical Plant, an oil rig (both of which have been expanded as of Forces), and 3 amusement parks over the course of the series. Might as well call it "Solid Snake Tech" next time, huh?
I was hoping this series would have gotten the Nitro Fueled treatment that CTR received, but it never happened.
Man, I wish this video was released ages ago when I first got into it. Good stuff man, well done!
I remember hearing somewhere that people were making a mod or something for Free Riders to allow you to play with a Controller instead I can't remember where and even then it still wouldn't fix the story. 😅
Aaahhh time for a new video lemme get my drinks ready
🎶I'm gunna show you Sonic *Speeeeeeeeeeeed*🎶 😎
Thank you for this video. I hope SEGA sees this.
Sonic Riders (along with Sonic Heroes) were great & I really wish they’d re-master these games for new-gen consoles
I'll bring it back. I have a plan, stay tuned.
Hey I know most people don't notice but actually it is a tutorial on the starting screen of the first Sonic Riders game but you have to wait a little while to see the tutorial but yet again the tutorial don't teach you everything
Sadly, we will all die before we see another riders game
Even though there are a few problems I have with this video, overall it does do a good job on covering your thoughts with these three games. While most of the stuff in the Zero Gravity segment do feel a bit harsher than deserved, the rest of the video in my opinion is very serviceable. I do wish you luck with your future videos.
I grew up with Zero Gravity Wii, and initially I couldn’t for the life of me figure out the gameplay. Despite that, I still loved it. Eventually it just sorta clicked with me, and I started blitzing through the story mode.
Years later, I actually 100% completed the missions for the Chaos Emerald “Gear”, but I can’t really be bothered grinding Rings for all the store gears lol.
I grew up having both on the PS2 and loved them both, but lost the original for a long time. Zero Gravity always felt like a great sequel in my mind to it
I really wish Team sonic Racing used this style instead of Cars
It would've been so cool!