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4[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonicr.png]]
5[[caption-width-right:349:[[{{Tagline}} Race for the goal with Sonic and his pals!]]]]
6
7->''"Everybody's Super Sonic Racing, try to keep your feet right on the ground..."''
8--> '''TJ Davis''', "Super Sonic Racing", the game's main theme.
9
10''Sonic R'' is a RacingGame starring [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog the spiky blue speed demon and his friends]], developed by Creator/TravellersTales, who also made ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland Sonic 3D Blast]]'', and was released in 1997 for the Platform/SegaSaturn and later for the PC.[[note]]The PC version has a unique feature in the form of seasonal effects.[[/note]] In 2005, it was re-released for the Platform/NintendoGameCube and Platform/PlayStation2 as part of ''[[CompilationRerelease Sonic Gems Collection]]'', which is based on the PC version of the game. It was also made available for download on [=GameTap=] for a short time in 2007.
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12The game is known for its Eurodance soundtrack by Richard Jacques with songs performed by British singer Teresa Jane Davis. Like many CD-based games of the era,[[labelnote:†]] Including all '90s-era iterations of ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'' and the Saturn/PC port of ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland 3D Blast]]''.[[/labelnote]] both the Saturn and PC versions can be played in any standard CD player, in case you want to listen to the music without having to play the actual game.
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14This game is notable for being [[EndOfAnAge the final game of Sonic's "Classic" Era]], with ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' coming out about a year and a half later. It is also the only fully 3D console game wholly featuring the original character designs until ''VideoGame/SonicSuperstars'' 26 years later.[[note]]''VideoGame/SonicJam'' and the Saturn version of ''Sonic 3D Blast'' only have small sections in 3D, while ''VideoGame/SonicTheFighters'' did not receive a Saturn port (although it was also ported to ''Gems Collection'' years after the fact). While ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' and ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' would bring back the classic designs of some characters, this is the only game until ''Superstars'' to have the entire cast of them.[[/note]]
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16Compare with ''VideoGame/SonicDrift'', ''VideoGame/SonicRiders'', ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing]]'', and ''VideoGame/TeamSonicRacing''.
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18----
19!!''Sonic R'' contains trope examples of:
20* TheAllegedCar: Amy's car, which is much slower than every other racer going on foot -- or hovering, as is the case for all of the [[SecretCharacter unlockable characters]] -- and means she can't jump. Although she does get a Turbo Boost and the ability to drive on water unimpeded with it, those are rendered moot points[[note]]Unless you take advantage of certain glitches[[/note]] when all of the aforementioned secret characters can do the latter anyway... while still maintaining their own jumps and other such movement options (except for Eggman and Eggrobo) to boot.
21* AlphabeticalThemeNaming: Every race course in the game starts with the letter "R".
22* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Radiant Emerald is a literal example in that it constantly changes colours as you race round it.
23* AttractMode: If you wait a while at the TitleScreen (or in the PC version, hold the Confirm+Cancel buttons), the game will play a demo of Sonic racing through some of the tracks in the game.
24* AwardBaitSong: Nearly the ''entire soundtrack'' is made of techno-pop versions of this.
25* CallBack: Several to ''Sonic 3D Blast'':
26** Resort Island shares several elements in common with Green Grove Zone.
27** Reactive Factory features elements from Gene Gadget and Panic Puppet Zones (the large machines which decorate the area).
28** The pinball area in Radical City and some of the surrounding area look like they came straight from Spring Stadium Zone.
29* CanonForeigner: Tails Doll and Metal Knuckles have never reappeared in any other game.
30* CasinoPark: Radical City [[HailfirePeaks combines this]] with MetropolisLevel, with one corner of the track taken up by numerous giant slot machines and a pinball table.
31* CompetitiveMultiplayer: Depending on the version of the game you have, up to 2-4 players can race against each other in split-screen multiplayer in a race or collect balloons. The early 1998 PC release also featured LAN support for multiplayer but this was lost in the 2004 re-release.[[labelnote:*]]Despite this, players can work around this issue with the 2004 version with third-party programs such as Parsec for online multiplayer.[[/labelnote]]
32* DefeatMeansPlayable: To unlock the robot racers, you have to collect all of the Sonic tokens around the tracks, finish in third or better, and beat them in a one-on-one race.
33* DubNameChange: As was standard at the time, Dr. Eggman became Dr. Robotnik in the international releases; although since the game was developed in England, this is [[DownplayedTrope mitigated somewhat]].
34* EarlyBirdCameo: A near-finalized version of Sonic's design that was used in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' actually first appeared in a 1997 Japanese strategy guide for this game, almost an entire year before that game would release, as it contains a page that featured the game's official album, which, for some reason, used the modernized design.
35* EternalEngine: Reactive Factory consists of a stretch of highway that loops through and around a variety of a metallic machinery.
36* EvolvingCredits: The section of the credits where all the playable characters run around in a circle starts off with just the main five, and any hidden characters you've unlocked will be added to the circle until you end up with all ten characters in the scene.
37* ExcusePlot: It's referenced in the manual, but not in the game. The game is just a straightforward racer, [[NoPlotNoProblem with no story mode or attempt to make a plot]].
38* GameBreakingBug: There is a bug in the Saturn version where if you complete a course with the Chaos Emeralds, all the Sonic medallions, and finish first (which is normally what is required to hold onto the Chaos Emeralds after the race ends), you'll challenge the course boss. When that race is over, however, it negates the first place victory you won in the original race and you can't keep the Chaos Emerald(s) you collected. Thus you have to redo the course in order to get the Emeralds.
39* GameMod: The PC version has Sonic R Updater, which patches the game to run better on modern systems, can convert a copy of the 1998 vanilla release to the updated and obscure 2004 re-release, and adds various new tweaks and enhancements -- such as widescreen support, windowed and full-screen modes -- as well as modding support via the Sonic R Mod Loader.
40** The "Sonic R-edux" mod replaces several characters for a different cast: while Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy -- now reworked to run on foot like everyone else -- and Metal Sonic remain in place, {{retraux}} versions of [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogTripleTrouble Fang the Hunter]], [[VideoGame/SonicRush Blaze the Cat]] and [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 Silver the Hedgehog]] are added.
41* GoKartingWithBowser: With Robotnik, plus Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, and Eggrobo. Though the manual makes an admirable effort to pass it off as an evil plot.
42* JokeCharacter:
43** The Tails Doll. His profile on the Sonic Channel website states that no effort went into creating Tails Doll after Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles. It's just a doll that can float around. This is supported by the fact that he has the lowest speed of any of the robots and his special is just to float higher up. [[TheDreaded The fans think differently, though]].
44** Eggrobo is essentially a clone of the already slow and hard-to-maneuver Dr. Robotnik, but without the ability to perpetually hover above water. He hovers for a brief amount of time before gradually grinding to a halt and sinking, which is more of a hindrance than just sinking by default.
45* LethalJokeCharacter: Amy is this. She is one of the slowest characters in the game, and lacks the ability to jump since she drives a car instead of running on her feet. Her lethality is her ability to drive over water without losing speed, decent acceleration and good turning (in a game that's notable for its ''bad'' turning), and a rechargeable Nitro Boost ability that allows her to reach a top speed faster than Super Sonic for a few seconds, but takes away her superior steering ability when in use. Add onto this the fact that when a character goes into a loop or enters an extended falling state, their speed gets locked in unless they decelerate. As such, you can use Amy's boost on the path leading up to a loop with it petering out just as she launches into it or launch yourself off of a big drop at the last moment and effectively gain an extra 25-50% bonus of boost depending on the size of the loop or length of the drop while still allowing her to recharge since the boost technically ran out.
46* LongSongShortScene: Most stages have music that goes on for significantly longer than an average race on that stage will[[note]]the exception is Radiant Emerald, as it's just that long and there are so few shortcuts[[/note]], but Resort Island takes the cake. Depending on which character you're using and how many shortcuts you've mastered, a race there will only last between 60-90 seconds, yet "Can You Feel The Sunshine" goes on for a full five minutes. The only way you'll ever hear the whole thing in-game is if you go out of your way to be as slow as possible.
47* LoveIsADrug: Most of the soundtrack.
48* MasterOfAll: Super Sonic has perfect stats across the board and can glide over water. Metal Knuckles is a close second, having a lot of the same advantages -- albeit to a lesser extent -- and a long-reaching glide as well.
49* MetropolisLevel: Radical City is a racetrack in an empty city at night. It also has [[CasinoPark casino elements]]. The stage's music is "Livin' in the City", an upbeat pop song about, well, living in the city.
50* MultiSlotCharacter: The game makes Sonic and [[SuperMode Super Sonic]] into separate characters, the difference being that regular Sonic is simply fast and can DoubleJump, but has poor handling and sinks in water while Super Sonic is a MasterOfAll, having max stats and no weaknesses.
51* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: This game has two examples:
52** Invoked with Eggman's RobotMe {{Evil Knockoff}}s, which include the Eggrobo for himself, Metal Sonic for Sonic, Metal Knuckles for Knuckles... and the Tails Doll for Tails.
53** Exaggerated with Amy, who was completely overlooked by Eggman's duplicates (the tenth racer in the roster is instead [[GoldenSuperMode Super Sonic]]).
54* NoEnding: Besides AWinnerIsYou pics, nothing ever comes of the manual's plot.
55* PalmtreePanic: Resort Island. Also overlaps with GreenHillZone.
56* PowerFloats: Super Sonic and Tails Doll. Super Sonic in particular does it so effortlessly that [[MundaneUtility he'll simply kick back and lounge in mid-air if left idling]].
57* PowerUp: À la other ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games, which come in these flavors:
58** DeflectorShield: The Water and Electric Shield power-ups, however, they also provide an additional effect such as being able to {{walk on water}} once with the former and being able to gather near-by rings with the latter.
59** SuperSpeed: The Fleet Feet power-up grants a temporary boost in speed.
60* PromotedToPlayable: Dr. Robotnik, who you can unlock by beating the game once.
61* ThePsychoRangers: [[EvilKnockoff Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles and the Tails Doll]]… [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and]] [[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Eggrobo]].
62* PurposelyOverpowered: Super Sonic is completely overpowered, and intentionally so considering you have to find all the Chaos Emeralds (some of which are tricky to find without a guide): he's by far the fastest character in the game, turns on a dime and can float on water without sinking. He also doesn't suffer from the ring drain he has in other games, so he can still use ring-based shortcuts.
63* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The robot bosses, who are unlocked by finding the tokens hidden in the stages and then [[DefeatMeansPlayable beating them in a race]].
64* SceneryPorn: Gorgeous backgrounds coupled with impressive visual effects and arguably the most detailed and vibrant environments seen on the Saturn make for one of the most beautiful games of its generation.
65* SecretCharacter: There's Eggman, Metal Sonic, Tails Doll, Metal Knuckles, Eggrobo, and [[GoldenSuperMode Super Sonic]], the last of whom you unlock by collecting all the Chaos Emeralds.
66* ShiftingSandLand: Regal Ruins, which overlaps with RuinsForRuinsSake.
67* SmugSuper: Super Sonic. He's so bored by the competition that he'll simply fall asleep when left idle [[PowerFloats in mid-air]].
68* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Amy is the only girl in this game. At the time, of course, she was the only female character in the entire franchise.
69* SoundtrackDissonance: Most egregiously in the PC version and the ''Sonic Gems Collections'' re-release, "Can You Feel the Sunshine" will play no matter what the weather is like. The Saturn version, however, does not have any weather effects at all.
70* ThemeNaming: Every track name begins with the letter R.
71* TruckDriversGearChange: "Work It Out", the song for the Reactive Factory level, noticeably increases in pitch at the end, as does the full version of "Super Sonic Racing".
72* UpdatedRerelease: The PC version and its ''Sonic Gems Collections'' port lost some of the visual flair the Saturn version originally had, such as the colored lighting and the translucency effects of Radiant Emerald, but made up for this with tighter controls, a higher draw distance, a time of day system, new weather effects that can affect the tracks, and for the earlier 1998 PC release, online multiplayer through LAN play. The PC version also had another re-release in 2004, which improved compatibility for Windows XP or later, but also lost many of the 1998 version's graphics settings and online multiplayer.
73----
74->''Reach for a new dimension. Ready for new excitement. Road leads you to a new world. Rivals are here. Race it for the victory. "R" is it.''

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