Sonic Rivals facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sonic Rivals |
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| Developer(s) | Backbone Entertainment Sega Studio USA |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Takashi Iizuka |
| Producer(s) | Taylor Miller |
| Artist(s) | Ryan Slemko |
| Writer(s) | Takashi Iizuka |
| Composer(s) | Chris Rezanson |
| Series | Sonic the Hedgehog |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation Portable |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action, racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Sonic Rivals is an exciting action and racing video game. It was made by Backbone Entertainment and Sega Studio USA. Sega released it for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2006. This game is part of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog series.
In Sonic Rivals, you join Sonic and his friends. Their mission is to stop the evil Doctor Eggman Nega. He plans to turn everyone and the whole world into cards! To win, you race against other characters. You must reach the finish line first or defeat a boss before your opponent does.
The idea for Sonic Rivals started as a regular platform game. But then, Takashi Iizuka, a producer for the Sonic series, changed it. He decided it should be a racing game. The PSP was chosen because it was more powerful than the Nintendo DS. The game's creators also got ideas from older Sonic games, like those on the Sega Genesis. They wanted to bring back the fun 2D gameplay style.
Sonic Rivals came out in North America in November 2006. It was released in other places in December of the same year. This game was a big success in sales. However, critics had mixed feelings about it. They liked the graphics and sound. But some found the controls and level design a bit tricky. A sequel, Sonic Rivals 2, was released in 2007 for the PSP.
Contents
How to Play Sonic Rivals
Sonic Rivals is a side-scrolling video game. It feels a lot like the first Sonic the Hedgehog games. But it uses a cool 2.5D view. This means it looks 3D, but you still move mostly left and right.
In the game, characters race to the finish line. You need to avoid obstacles along the way. There are six different areas, called zones. Each zone has three parts, or acts. The third act is always a boss battle. So, there are 17 stages in total. In boss battles, you must defeat the boss before your rival does.
You can play as five different characters:
Even though there are different characters, they all play the same way. As you race, you can pick up special power-ups. These help you attack your rival or defend yourself.
Game Modes
Sonic Rivals has several ways to play:
- Story Mode: Each of the four main characters has their own story. You race against rivals to stop Doctor Eggman's plans.
- Challenge Mode: Here, you get specific goals to complete. For example, you might need to hit your opponent a certain number of times.
- Wireless Play Mode: This is for playing with friends. You can race each other or even bet your collectible cards. It uses ad hoc multiplayer, meaning you connect directly to another PSP.
- Cup Circuit Mode: In this mode, you race against a rival to win a special cup.
Collectible Cards
The game has a fun system with 150 collectible cards. You earn these cards by doing different things in the game. This includes finishing a level or collecting many rings. You can also get them by hitting your rival or finishing a level quickly.
The cards show pictures of characters and box art from other Sonic games. You can use these cards to unlock secret costumes and items. These items change how your characters look. They are just for fun and do not change how the game plays.
Story of Sonic Rivals
The adventure begins when a mysterious place called Onyx Island appears. Sonic and Tails fly there to check it out. They find Doctor Eggman, who shows off his new camera. This camera can turn people and things into cards! He has already turned Amy into a card. Then, he turns Tails into a card too.
Knuckles arrives, angry because Eggman used his camera on the Master Emerald. Eggman announces his plan to turn the whole world into cards. He challenges Sonic and Knuckles to stop him as he escapes. Both heroes set off on their own to stop Eggman.
Meanwhile, Shadow gets a distress signal from Eggman. But when he finds Eggman, the doctor says he didn't send it. Later, Rouge warns Shadow about a dangerous secret about Eggman. But she gets turned into a card before she can finish. Suddenly, Silver appears from the future. He tells Shadow that he needs to get to Eggman first.
After many battles, the heroes learn a big secret. The real Dr. Eggman was turned into a card before all this started! The Eggman they've been fighting is actually Eggman Nega in disguise. Nega came from the future. He wants to use the camera to erase Eggman's past failures. Onyx Island is actually a future version of Angel Island that Nega brought back.
Once his plan is revealed, Nega escapes into space. He plans to turn the entire planet into a card. The heroes rescue Tails and the real Eggman. They help the heroes reach Nega's space station. After a final battle, Nega is defeated and trapped in a card. Everyone who was turned into a card is restored. Silver takes Onyx Island and Nega's card back to the future.
Making and Releasing the Game
Sonic Rivals was made by Sega and Backbone Entertainment. They worked together to create it for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The first idea for the game was a traditional platformer. But then, Takashi Iizuka joined the project. He changed it into a racing game.
Most of the work was done by Backbone. Sega Studio USA helped them. Sega also handled some parts, like the story. The creators chose the PSP because it had more power than the Nintendo DS. This meant better graphics for the game.
According to producer Taylor Miller, the goal was to bring back the feeling of the old Sonic games. They wanted to add new things, like the racing competition. Sega gave Backbone maps from all the 2D Sonic games. This helped them design the levels. They also looked at games like Sonic Rush for ideas. Making different paths in the levels was a challenge. They wanted to make sure rivals could interact a lot.
When choosing characters, they picked ones with big rivalries. Sonic and Shadow were obvious choices. Silver, a new character at the time, was added to make things interesting. It was also tricky to get the art style right. They wanted it to look like Sonic but also unique. Kazuyuki Hoshino and Hiroshi Nishiyama helped with the art.
The game was first mentioned on GameStop's website in May 2005. Sega initially said it wasn't being made. But Sonic Rivals was officially announced on May 6, 2006. It was shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) that same month. It was also shown at the Games Convention in August 2006. The game was released in North America on November 17, 2006. It came out in Europe on December 1, 2006.
See also
In Spanish: Sonic Rivals para niños
