It’s a different skillset than just racing around and maybe using a power-up to absorb damage or deal it out. Having to maintain a lead on a stage that spends a lot of time in the air is tricky because you have to rely largely on pure flight skill and navigation. It’s cool to see how things change and how much tougher the game becomes - especially during higher-stakes grand prix events. It’s remarkable to see how much attention to detail there is in the stages. One lap can have one event from a game playing out only to move to another as the race wears on. The massive history of Sega itself is used in these stages, with themes like Jet Set Radio and even Skies of Arcadia leading to epic-looking scenes that shift as the race goes on. One thing that allows this game to go the extra mile in that regard, however, is that the entire stage changes alongside it - resulting in an experience where lap one might be on the ground, lap two could have sky skyward sections and then the third lap could combine all three. Taking cues from the 3DS’ Mario Kart 7 and Diddy Kong Racing, Transformed enables players to race on water and in the air thanks to transformable vehicles. Just two years later, they crafted one of the finest kart racers of all-time and made something that arguably topped every Mario Kart game at least to that point - and some would call it better than even Mario Kart 8. It was aided by having unique roster members across all versions and was a lot of fun, but needed more polish. The first felt like a rough draft in that it was a polished pure kart racing experience, but felt behind the times with standard level design blended with solid gameplay. It’s amazing just how much Sumo Digital did to transform a good game in 2010’s Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing into an all-time classic. Thankfully, the title is the worst part of the game as every other part of the package is top-shelf. Nothing has topped the ridiculously-named Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, though. Sometimes, they did wind up actually surpassing bigger-budget efforts too, though, as Sonic Drift 2 was a better Sonic racer than Sonic R could ever hope to be.

Sonic and his crew were no strangers to racing games thanks to the Sonic Drift series, but that 8-bit kart racing experience did little more than test the waters for future games. He’s had the highs of Sonic Mania and the lows of Sonic 4, but his best entries in terms of overall quality have been racing titles. The last twenty years have been hit or miss for Sega’s beloved mascot. You’ll see both good and bad souls unearthed every month as we search through the more… forgotten…parts of history. Inside, we’ll be digging up games that have long been without a pulse. Watch your step, for you’ve just entered the Graveyard.

Sonic and sega all stars racing sonic