Even Without Wings, I Can Still Fly!
Right?

No Sonic you fucking idiot. You can’t just fly like that you dumb motherfucker.

sonic riders and i have a nostalgic relationship. back in 2018 i had found a crusty and literal dogshit ridden ps2 console across the street from my house for garbage pickup. i decided i’d take it home and it’s been my primary ps2 ever since. that was the first home console i ever owned. being a huge sonic fan at the time (the classic games were basically daily replays for me) i went on the hunt for all the sonic ps2 games. i picked up sonic riders not really knowing what i was getting myself into. i played it and frustratingly put it down before i could even finish the heroes story. i was even worse at finishing games back then goddamn. needless to say i thought the game wasn’t very good lol. fast forward to 2020 and i pick up the game again but this time for my newly purchased nintendo gamecube. frustrated with the game’s mechanics yet again, i scoured to the internet to see if maybe i was doing something wrong. turns out i was, i just sucked ass at the game. i watched this excellent video by pspman3000 multiple times over and found myself rapidly improving at the game. i was officially hooked.

I GET IT OKAY? IT JUST FLOATS AND THATS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME

Sonic Riders has THE VIBES (TM). it’s the most 2006 6th gen game i’ve ever played. sleek mid 2000s UI with…the wackiest ass story in a sonic game. ironically though i fucking love it. the animation is the most expressive in a sonic game yet; it has SOUL…. shit presents itself in a very in-your-face way that you barely have any time to process what the fuck is happening, and this applies even during gameplay. whoever decided not to explain how the game works in the main story is a fucking idiot. who the fuck tucks away the tutorial into some bonus menus and then does a half-assed job making said tutorial. regardless, the actual gameplay and mechanics are SO fun once you master them (which could roughly take 20 hours 😁). shits jumpin bumpin and hoppin. i get such immense pleasure from popping off sick tricks and slapping the fuck outta jet the hawk’s shit eating face during a boost. i fuckin, yelled out, “IM CRAZY WITH THE SAUCE” while playing this shit. i hate what sonic has done to me but i love playing his games (pre 2012 🙂). ‘style over substance’ is what you could say about sonic riders and you’d be right on the money. there’s like, BARELY any content here. years ago i did all the missions and it was fun as hell yeah, but do i ever wanna do that shit again? no. when i come back to this one its mainly for the kickass tunes, wacky-ass slapstick story, and the addicting gameplay which is all wrapped up nicely in the story mode. there’s no reason to play any other mode unless you’re me during quarantine in 2020 playing this game for hours at a time for days on end. this shit drugged me up back then. in terms of quality sonic riders could be a 6 or 7/10 because of its insane lack of content, but i don’t give a shit. i enjoy every second i play of this and the mechanics are insanely engrossing for me. one of the reviews on this site says “The higher you rate this game, the better you were at it.” THIS IS VERY TRUE. it’s also why this isn’t a 10/10 because i’m not a master yet despite having probably over 50 hours to my name. there’s some wild shit you can do that i can’t even fathom exists. i don’t blame anyone who doesn’t find this game their cup of tea tho lol. sonic riders very crappily explains its mechanics and the skill ceiling is insanely high. before i forget, THE TUNES (TM). hard ass electronic beats that got me bopping. everything in this game compliments each other extremely well. it’s another rushed 2000s era sonic game but it’s MY rushed 2000s era sonic game. i hate being a sonic fan.