Sonic Hacking Contest Days 4 and 5 Sonic Riders Needs to Return
So I tried out the two Sonic Riders entries of SHC. To be specific, one was for Sonic Riders and the other was for Sonic Riders Zero Gravity and man did these remind me of just how much fun these games were.
Sonic Riders DX Version 1.0.1 and Sonic Riders Regravitified v1.0 By: Extreme Gear Labs
It’s been years since I last played any of the Sonic Riders titles. My Wii is all busted up and can’t run games anymore and I just never really thought of pulling any up on an emulator. Until now that is. I’ve heard things about these mods before SHC and I always thought they looked really cool, so I was very excited to try them out and they really didn’t disappoint.
Features between the two mods include updated textures, UI elements, new/reworked mechanics and OST changes. I really wasn’t expecting to be hit by Bayonetta’s “Fly me to the Moon” rendition upon entering the Zero Gravity mod, but it was a welcome surprise. Various stage modifications and randomized music do well to liven up the overall experience.
As for the gameplay changes, within both mods I found they were very comfortable to adjust to and built around the natural feel of each game. Especially in the Zero Gravity mod where the trick system was adjusted to having to hold the button and let go at the right time. You can spend meter to boost and there’s a drift now too. All the comeback mechanics have been adjusted to function better and actually help players that are trailing behind.
There were also many quality of life changes added to both games, though admittedly I wasn’t able to notice as again, it’s been ages since I last played these games so I can’t entirely recall the differences. The list of changes are available to read on the SHC pages for these mods, so do check that out if interested with the links found at the end of this article.
I don’t really have anything to say in critique of the games here. They’re both incredible mods with clearly a lot of passion behind them and playing them was some of the most fun I’ve had in a while. I remember playing these so much years ago and sitting there hoping a new Sonic Riders entry would come out or a re-release of Free Riders with non-kinect controls. Though as we all know, that never did happen, at least up to this point of which this article is being written. I truly believe Sonic Riders is probably the best version of spinoff games Sonic could have, the whole aesthetic fits him better than cars ever has. Hoverboards, attitude and style, cool points all around and very unique for a racing game. This series needs to be revisited officially one day, but until then I think these fan-games and mods will do just fine.
Check them out here:
Sonic Riders DX
Sonic Riders Regravitified
