For how memed-on this particular game has been for the last 20 years in the long list of Sonic games that the Internet has decided is deserving of such treatment, I was anticipating something much worse when I first jumped in. What I especially wasn't expecting was falling in love with this game.

There's somewhat of an unexplained learning curve regarding some of the control oddities (which in all fairness may have been alleviated with the inclusion of a manual as was originally intended), but once it clicks, Sonic R handles significantly better than Mario Kart 64 in my honest opinion. The incorporation of other classic Sonic elements like rings and jumping are a welcome addition to the kart racer formula, and they feel right at home in these lovingly-crafted spaces.

In spite of the short track list, this game is remarkably replayable. Revisiting areas with different characters and using their abilities to access new locations and try to work out where all the collectables are, all while trying to figure out how to do so in enough time to still win the races makes for some of the most manic fun I've ever felt in a racing game. I've never seen anything like it.

This one's always fun to bust out for an hour or two every few years and smoke a couple of laps to some of the catchiest gaming tunes of 1997. To this day, Sonic R still feels like a really fresh take on kart-racing, significantly more so than what the series offers nowadays in Sonic & Sega All-Stars/Team Sonic Racing.

This would be a five-star rating but I'm docking half a star because I consumed way too much Tails Doll creepypasta in my youth and it gave me untold nightmares.