SONIC RIDERS
Instructions and FAQ/Guide for the videogame Sonic Riders, by final_lap
version 1.5
Last revised: July 1, 2006
Disclaimer: This document and any portion of it may not be redistributed,
copied, or sold in any way without explicit permission from me.
/end Disclaimer
As of this update the following sites are allowed to post this guide:
Sonic Center - www.soniccenter.org
GameFAQs - www.gamefaqs.com
neoseeker - www.neoseeker.com
GamesRadar / CheatPlanet - www.gamesradar.com
1UP.com - www.1up.com
Email relevant comments and questions to:
its.the.final.lap@gmail.com
This guide was made with the Gamecube version of Sonic Riders. It can be
presumed that most of the information in this document is compatible with the
Xbox and Playstation 2 versions of the game, but that is not guaranteed.
Past updates to this guide:
- Rewritten for clarity and accuracy.
- Added Storm's Missions
- Added Wave's Missions
- Added 'Gear Listings' section
What this guide is missing:
- Course maps of Digital Dimension, Babylon Guardian, Sega Carnival, and Sega
Illusion
- Jet's Missions for 'Mission Guide'
- general placement of robots in Egg Factory map
========
CONTENTS OF THIS GUIDE
========
[ 0 ] GENERAL INFO
Less technical info will be here, such as what Sonic Riders is, obligatory
rundown of the game modes, and a list of characters.
____ 0.0 - Just what in the dickens is Sonic Riders?
____ 0.1 - Save Data
____ 0.2 - Game Modes: Free Race
____ 0.3 - Game Modes: Time Attack
____ 0.4 - Game Modes: World Grand Prix
____ 0.5 - Game Modes: Story Mode
____ 0.6 - Game Modes: Mission Mode
____ 0.7 - Game Modes: Tag Mode
____ 0.8 - Game Modes: Survival Mode
____ 0.9 - Shop
____ 0.10 - Extra and Options
____ 0.11 - Characters
[ 1 ] CONTROLLING YOUR GUY
How to play, and comprehensive explanations of game mechanics and many gimmicks
including character types, turbulence, ramps, tricks, and air. This section
covers many basic aspects of the game that for some reason are not explained in
the game or instruction booklet.
** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ **
____ 1.0 - Learn to Play NOW
____ 1.1 - Pre-Race Countdown
____ 1.2 - Movement and Turning
____ 1.3 - Air Meter
____ 1.4 - Boosting
____ 1.5 - Braking
____ 1.6 - Sliding
____ 1.7 - Slide-Boosting
____ 1.8 - Advanced Sliding
____ 1.9 - Jumping
____ 1.10 - Long Jump and High Jump
____ 1.11 - Ramps
____ 1.12 - Tricks (Stunts)
____ 1.13 - Automatic Trails
____ 1.14 - Tornado Trap
____ 1.15 - Item Capsules
____ 1.16 - Yellow Item Capsules (100 Ring Item)
____ 1.17 - Rings and Leveling Up
____ 1.18 - Attacking
____ 1.19 - Turbulence System
____ 1.20 - Riding Turbulence
____ 1.21 - Grind Rails (SPEED-Type)
____ 1.22 - Flight Ramps and Air Rings (FLIGHT-Type)
____ 1.23 - Breakable Obstacles (POWER-Type)
____ 1.24 - Out of Air and On Foot
____ 1.25 - Choosing your Character and Gear
____ 1.26 - Dash Plates
____ 1.27 - Air Pits
____ 1.28 - The Clock
[ 2 ] COURSE MAPS
Piece by piece ASCII representations of each of the game's courses, with brisk
walkthrough, and advice for Speed, Flight, and Power types.
____ 2.0 - Explanation and Map Legend
____ 2.1 - METAL CITY
____ 2.2 - SPLASH CANYON
____ 2.3 - EGG FACTORY
____ 2.4 - GREEN CAVE
____ 2.5 - SAND RUINS
____ 2.6 - NIGHT CHASE
____ 2.7 - RED CANYON
____ 2.8 - ICE FACTORY
____ 2.9 - WHITE CAVE
____ 2.10 - DARK DESERT
____ 2.11 - BABYLON GARDEN
____ 2.12 - SKY ROAD
____ 2.13 - BABYLON GUARDIAN
[ 3 ] MISSION GUIDE
Explanations of the different types of missions, and tips for getting those
pesky Gold Medals.
____ 3.0 - Explanation and Types of Missions
____ 3.1 - STORM'S MISSIONS, Gold Guide
____ 3.2 - WAVE'S MISSIONS, Gold Guide
[ 4 ] GEAR LISTINGS
A listing of all the different Extreme Gears and a synopsis.
____ 4.0 - Gear: Basic Info
____ 4.1 - All 54 Extreme Gear
========================================
[ 0 ] BASIC INFO
========================================
____ 0.0 - Just what in the dickens is Sonic Riders?
Sonic Riders was released by Sega and Sonic Team in February 2006 for Gamecube,
Xbox, and Playstation 2. It is a mascot-based racing videogame featuring Sonic
the Hedgehog and other characters, with an emphasis on abusing shortcuts and
riding the turbulence left behind by other racers. Characters race using
'Extreme Gear' which primarily take the form of high speed hover boards.
Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Riders are property of Sega.
____ 0.1 - Save Data
For the Gamecube version of the game, saving your Game Data takes only one
block of space on the memory card. You can save multiple Game Data on one
memory card, allowing other players who use the console to complete the game's
challenges for themselves. Each Game Data is updated automatically as you
complete races and unlock stuff.
You can jump from one Game Data to another by accessing the Options menu from
the title screen.
Ghost data is saved seperately. On a single memory card, you can record and
save one ghost for each course in Time Attack mode. Each ghost uses 14 blocks
on a Gamecube memory card.
There are 16 courses in the game, so saving a Ghost for each course and saving
Game Data would take a total of 225 blocks on a Gamecube memory card.
____ 0.2 - Game Modes: Free Race
Selected under 'Normal Race', Free Race pits you against computer controlled
racers in single race on any of the courses you have available. Up to three
other players can join you via split-screen. If three or four players are
playing, there won't be any computer opponents.
____ 0.3 - Game Modes: Time Attack
Selected under 'Normal Race', Time Attack puts your character alone on any of
the game's race course for the standard three laps. Upon completing a Time
Attack, the game prompts you to save your Ghost.
Your best time record is saved automatically saved as part of the Game Data as
normal.
The only difference between courses in Time Attack and the other modes is that
in Time Attack, all the Item Capsules that give a random item are fixed to give
+30 Air each time. If you are using The Crazy or Chaos Emerald, they give a
certain amount of Rings instead.
NOTE: Ghosts are saved seperately from Game Data. Each ghost takes 14 blocks on
a Gamecube memory card. You can only save one Ghost for each course. There are
16 courses in the game, so saving a Ghost for each course and saving Game Data
would take 225 blocks total on a Gamecube memory card.
____ 0.4 - Game Modes: World Grand Prix
Selected under 'Normal Race', World Grand Prix consists of five races on
different courses. You can choose the Heroes Cup, or the Babylon Cup as it
becomes available. You get points from each race depending on your placing.
(first gets 10 points, second gets 8, and so on) The winner of the Grand Prix
is the one who has the most points at the end. Two people can play World Grand
Prix with split-screen.
You may also get a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal depending on how many points
you have by the end. For each of the two Cups, a Gold medal may require a
player to get a full 50 points. See the 'COURSE MAPS' section for help on
winning all the races in each cup.
These gold medals need to be attained to unlock all the missions, characters,
and gear hidden in the game.
The Heroes cup contains the courses Metal City, Splash Canyon, Egg Factory,
Green Cave, and Sand Ruins. The Babylon cup contains Night Chase, Red Canyon,
Ice Factory, White Cave, and Dark Desert.
You can also alter the Rule Settings for World Grand Prix as you can in some
other modes. However, none of the settings seem like they would benefit you, so
I would recommend leaving them.
(TIP: If you are having trouble getting the gold medals, I recommend reading
over the information I gathered in the 'CONTROLLING YOUR GUY' section of this
guide to make sure you know how to take advantage of all the game's gimmicks.
After that, check out the course maps and walkthroughs to utilize the best
shortcuts in each course.)
____ 0.5 - Game Modes: Story Mode
Story Mode runs you through the story of Sonic Riders told by cutscenes, broken
apart by races. The races tend to have little to do with what's actually
happening in the story, but even I don't mind. At first, the Heroes story is
available, and completing it will unlock the Babylon story. Each race in this
mode challenges you to finish within a certain place, usually 1st place.
Completing both Story Modes is the basis for the chain of unlockable modes,
stages, characters, and Gear available in Sonic Riders.
Heroes story stages:
1. Metal City (Sonic)
2. Splash Canyon (Tails)
3. Egg Factory (Knuckles)
4. Green Cave (Tails)
5. Sand Ruins (Sonic)
6. Babylon Garden (Sonic)
Babylon story stages:
1. Night Chase (Jet)
2. Red Canyon (Wave)
3. Ice Factory (Storm)
4. White Cave (Jet)
5. Dark Desert (Jet)
6. Sky Road (Wave)
7. Babylon Guardian (Sonic)
____ 0.6 - Game Modes: Mission Mode
As it becomes available, you can try the challenges in Mission Mode.
Apparently, Sonic and friends get hax0red a mission notebook from the Babylon
Rogues and are so bored that they decide that they will beat them to each of
their errands. When you unlock Mission Mode, Storm's missions are available,
with Wave's missions earned later down the line. Complete them all to play
Jet's missions.
Each mission generally asks you to perform a certain task within one lap in a
specific course, using a given character and board. You would have to do the
task, and then complete the lap. You are rated with a Bronze, Silver, or Gold
medal upon completing each mission.
The types of missions include:
- Collect X pieces of junk. (rated by no. of junk collected)
- Grind X many times. (rated by no. of grinds)
- Go through X many Air Rings. (rated by no. of Air Rings)
- Knock down seven obstacles in succession. (rated by time it takes you to do
that)
- Tag a robot before it reaches the end of the course. (rated by time it takes
you to hit the robot)
- Complete one lap without using too much Air. (rated by amount in Air tank)
- Complete one lap under a certain time. (rated by time)
- Win a race. (rated by placing)
- Collect X many rings. (rated by no. of rings)
- Get X points from doing tricks. (rated by no. of points)
But no matter what the mission criteria is, you are also required to complete
the lap within a time limit.
Getting a Gold medal requires a good rating in whatever it is that type of
mission rates you by. For example, in the ring collecting mission, it doesn't
matter how fast you do it, just how many rings you collect. You can take as
long as you want, just as long as you reach the finish line under the time
limit.
Jet's missions are unique because most of them have Jet racing you, even when
he isn't part of the mission. In those cases, you automatically fail if Jet
crosses the finish line before you do. If that wasn't bad enough, Jet can even
interfere in the junk collecting missions by taking junk for himself! Yea, no
doubt about it, Jet's missions are CRAZY.
In some of the missions, an unusual item is hidden in them. It is a glowing
purple box. Grabbing these items and completing the mission allows you to be
able to unlock unique Extreme Gear through a menu in Mission Mode, the Treasure
Menu.
____ 0.7 - Game Modes: Tag Mode
Tag Mode is a split-screen race in which two teams of two players each race
across three laps. The players on the top two screens compete against the
bottom two. For each person less than four playing, a computer controller racer
takes the spot. Both racers on a team share the same Air meter.
Both racers on each team have a radio trailing them. The reception of the
radios between each other is displayed over that team's Air meter with a
colored symbol. Air refills slowly, and it refills faster depending on how
close the two teammates are to each other.
If the teammates distance themselves too much, the lead teammate is zapped and
stays zapped for a considerable amount of time.
As a weightless multiplayer extra, Tag Mode features "dumb-downed" versions of
the game's race courses, in which /all/ shortcuts are sealed off, and character
type abilities are disabled. Players are allowed only to choose the basic Gear.
____ 0.8 - Game Modes: Survival Mode
Choosing Survival Mode actually reveals two completely different contests. The
Race Stage version is a competition for up to four players. The goal is to grab
the Chaos Emerald and earn a point by carrying it through a gate. When a player
runs through enough gates with the Emerald, that player wins.
In each course, gates are placed at certain points. A Chaos Emerald appears in
one of them. The racer who grabs the Emerald is 'it'. This racer moves more
slowly and his air is quickly depleted. Once the player runs out of air, that
player is zapped and loses the Emerald, at which point the Emerald respawns at
the next gate.
The other racers can attack the racer with the Emerald, stealing it from them.
As a weightless multiplayer extra, the Race Stage variant features "dumb-
downed" version of the game's race courses, in which all shortcuts are sealed
off, and character type abilities are disabled.
The other variant of Survival Mode is Battle Stage, which is a free-for-all
fight for up to four players. Rather than playing on the race courses, Battle
Stage has three arena type courses to compete on.
The variety among the list of exclusive item pick-ups available in the stages
are surprising. This is also the only mode in the game with its own unique
stages. These facts make it not so easy for me to simply write this off as a
forced, weightless multiplayer extra. But in any case, I am not covering this
mode further. However, be sure to check out the Battle Mode stages by yourself
in full screen glory. They are kind of cool.
____ 0.9 - Shop
In the Shop, you can buy more Extreme Gear using the Rings you were awarded
from playing and completing races and challenges. Also, rings you have when you
finish a race are added to your total count for the Shop. (NOTE: I don't think
all game modes add to your Ring count. At the moment, I just know that 1-player
Free Race and Grand Prix modes definitely do.)
At first, only boards are available in the Shop. Skates become available as you
unlock Shadow the Hedgehog and the Darkness skates. To unlock skates, complete
Heroes Story in Story Mode. Bikes become available as you unlock Dr. Eggman and
the E-Rider bike. To unlock bikes, complete the Babylon Story in Story Mode.
Even more Extreme Gear will be available later as you complete more of the
game.
Most of the attainable Gear in Sonic Riders is bought from the Shop. However,
not all of the Gear in the game is accessed here. Some of it has to be unlocked
my completing races or missions, or by 'repairing' Gear through the Treasure
Menu in Mission Mode.
____ 0.10 - Extra and Options
Accessed from the title screen, Extra allows you to listen to the game's music
and CG cutscenes you have seen already. You can also see your time records, and
see all the Extreme Gear you've attained, cataloged by number.
When you view your records, press L/R to scroll through your records in each
mode. (World GP, Free Race, and Time Attack modes) Only your best lap time and
best overall time is displayed for each course. Using the control stick, you
can select one your record to see what character and Gear was used.
From the options menu (also accessed from the title screen) on the Gamecube
version of Sonic Riders, you can:
-Switch on or off the controller rumbling.
-Choose audio setting out of Stereo, Monaural, or Dolby Pro Logic II.
-Choose a language for the subtitles.
-Jump to another Game Data, or delete one.
____ 0.11 - Characters
These are the playable characters in the game. Every character is either a
Speed, Flight, or Power type. Speed Type characters can grind on specific
rails. Flight Type characters can use fly at designated Flight Ramps and Air
Rings. Power Type characters can knock down small obstacles and certain walls.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Sonic is an adventurer who loves competition, always looks out for his friends
and never gives up. When his status as the fastest in the world is contended by
the arrogant Babylon Rogues, he must once again show us that dreams can come
true and that hedgehogs can fly.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Gear: Blue Star
Extra Unique Gear: Blue Star II, and Chaos Emerald
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.2-3 Attack Mode: Spin Dash
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
Other Technical Info: Sonic's spin dash attack seems to take less time than
other attacks. Also, when Sonic is leveled up, he seems to equal Shadow in his
boost length.
TAILS THE FOX (full name Miles "Tails" Prower)
Sonic's young friend can spin his two tails to fly like a helicopter, and
happens to have a talent when it comes to machinery and computers. Tails is
determined to help Sonic and Knuckles beat the Babylon Rogues by tweaking out
their Extreme Gear.
- Type: FLIGHT
- Starting Gear: Yellow Tail
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: Holds an electrical cord
Lv.2 Attack Mode: Swings an electrical cord around him
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Holds an electrical cord
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 4/3/2/3
Other Technical Info: Tails boosts over longer periods of time than normal.
For this reason, he is apparently the best Flight-Type character in the game.
KNUCKLES THE ECHIDNA
Sonic tamed this loose fuse a long time ago and they've been allies ever
since. Knuckles used to have a mystical duty to protect the Master Emerald on a
floating island, but now nobody blinks when he tags along for each of Sonic's
new adventures.
- Type: POWER
- Starting Gear: Red Rock
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.2-3 Attack Mode: Fists become bigger
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/3/4/2
AMY ROSE
This outgoing lass is always keeping up with the latest fashion, just as she's
always trying to keep up with Sonic! (I guess there's a little Amy in us all.)
Wherever Sonic appears, she isn't that far behind and always manages to sneak
herself in each Sonic release one way or another in her quest for her crush.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Gear: Pink Rose
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.2-3 Attack Mode: Holds her famous "Piko" mallot
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
JET THE HAWK
This easily agitated, arrogant 'thief by day, speed demon by night' has a way
with handling Extreme Gear. He is the leader of the Babylon Rogues (himself,
Wave, and Storm) and pilots a spiffy flying ship to go with his job, which he
rightfully earns for his boarding skills and succulent love-making.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Gear: Type-J
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.2 Attack Mode: Jet spreads one of his 'wings'
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Jet spreads both his 'wings'
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
WAVE THE SWALLOW
Wave is the clever mechanic who designed the Extreme Gear used by the Babylon
Rogues, and isn't afraid to use trickery and sabotage to win. She may seem
annoying, however she is in fact a sensible and responsible ally, and may
advise Jet on their missions, should he decide to listen.
- Type: FLIGHT
- Starting Gear: Type-W
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.2 Attack Mode: Wave holds a wrench
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Wave holds a bomb
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 4/3/3/2
STORM THE ALBATROSS
Storm gets excited easily, jumps to conclusions, has a short attention span,
is clumsy, and isn't too smart. However, he is skilled and very strong. Jet's
the one who can keep him under control. Storm is loyal to Jet, and often refers
to him as "boss".
- Type: POWER
- Starting Gear: Type-S
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Available from the start
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/3/4/2
CREAM THE RABBIT
Cream the Rabbit is a very young and innocent princess who is accompanied by a
Chao named Cheese almost everywhere she goes. Well, he isn't around now, but
appears in some of Cream's attacks. Anyway, I'm still wondering just WHEN is
her bedtime??
- Type: FLIGHT
- Starting Gear: Smile
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Complete Hero Story to unlock Cream.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 4/3/2/2
ROUGE THE BAT
Rouge is a sassy treasure hunter who used to work for the goverment as a spy,
and has once conned Dr. Eggman and Shadow by pretending to be their ally. She's
obsessed with jewels, and at one point she dueled with Knuckles over the Master
Emerald.
- Type: FLIGHT
- Starting Gear: Temptation
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Complete Hero Story to unlock Rouge.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 4/3/3/2
SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG
Shadow was created by a scientist to be the Ultimate Life Form, but the
government forcefully shut down the research and sealed him in a capsule for
fifty years. When Dr. Eggman recently awakened him, a deluded Shadow wasted no
time being cool and blowing things up.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Gear: Darkness (not exclusive to Shadow)
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: Stands upright holding a glowing orb
Lv.2 Attack Mode: Forms a could of light in his hands
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Stands upright holding a larger orb, with ELECTRONS
- Complete Hero Story to unlock Shadow.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
Other Technical Info: Shadow boosts over longer periods of time than normal.
For this reason, he is apparently the best Speed-Type character in the game.
(with Sonic being a close second)
DR. EGGMAN (formerly Dr. Robotnik)
Dr. Eggman might have taken over the world a long time ago if weren't for
Sonic the Hedgehog. The crazier his schemes get, the more thrilling the
adventure for Sonic and his friends.
- Type: POWER
- Starting Board: E-Rider (not exclusive to Eggman)
- Lv.1 Attack Mode: Holds a megaphone
Lv.2 Attack Mode: Holds a cartoon punching glove weapon
Lv.3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Complete Babylon Rogues Story to unlock Dr. Eggman.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/3/4/2
Other Technical Info: Dr. Eggman can't use boards or skates, only bike-type
Extreme Gear.
E-10000 G
(I call him E-Green.) For one of many identical robots with little backstory,
E-Green doesn't seem like a terribly exciting character. Anyway, it should be
noted that his head looks like as if he was wearing a baseball cap backwards,
indicating that he is STREET.
- Type: POWER
- Starting Board: E-gearG
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Rack up 20 hours of play time to unlock Green Robo.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/3/3/2
Other Technical Info: E-Green can't ride bikes or skates, only board-type
Extreme Gear.
E-10000 R
50 Hours?? Just for some dumb robot? For his sake, let's hope Sonic Riders is
that good. I'm still unsure what's so special about this guy. Well, he /can/
take his own head off during a race. I guess that's kind of cool. Hehehe.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Board: E-gearR
- Lv.1-2 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Holds his head over his shoulders.
- Rack up 50 hours of play time to unlock Red Robo.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
Other Technical Info: E-Red can't ride bikes or skates, only board-type
Extreme Gear.
NIGHTS
Nights (also spelled 'NiGHTS' by many fans), a creature of the dream world,
starred in a Sega Saturn game by the same name. Revered by fans as well as the
game's creator, Nights is clearly not too good to serve the shameless role of a
bonus playable character in a Sonic racing game.
- Type: FLIGHT
- Starting Board: Night Sky
- Lv.1-2 Attack Mode: no difference
Lv.3 Attack Mode: Gear disappears and Nights flies
- Do all of Jet's, Wave's, and Storm's missions to unlock Nights.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
AIAI
Aiai is a monkey who stars in the Super Monkey Ball series for Gamecube,
arcade, and other systems, which are all about his two favorite things:
Bananas, and being trapped in a ball. Aiai competes in Sonic Riders looking for
more sharks to jump.
- Type: POWER
- Starting Board: BANANA
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: Gear disappears and Aiai runs inside his ball
- Do all of Jet's, Wave's, and Storm's missions to unlock Aiai.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
Other Technical Info: Aiai boosts over longer periods of time than normal. For
this reason, he is apparently the best Power-Type character in the game.
Ulala
Ulala starred in the Space Channel 5 games for Dreamcast and Playstation 2.
With the story taking place in futuristic spacey world, she is a TV news
reporter who dances and shoots aliens during broadcasts. What she's doing in
Sonic Riders is anybody's guess.
- Type: SPEED
- Starting Board: Channel5
- Lv.1-3 Attack Mode: no difference
- Do all of Jet's, Wave's, and Storm's missions to unlock Ulala.
- Dash/Limit/Power/Cornering: 3/4/3/2
Other Technical Info: Ulala can't ride bike-type Extreme Gear, only skates and
boards.
========================================
[ 1 ] CONTROLLING YOUR GUY
========================================
____ 1.0 - Learn to Play NOW
These are the basic control to get you started playing Sonic Riders. (This
refers to the Gamecube controller. To find out what buttons do what on your PS2
or Xbox controller, use a little guesswork.)
Once off the starting line, characters in Sonic Riders roll along ALL BY
THEMSELVES. You don't need to press forward on the Control Stick or hold any
button or nothin'.
(Riding on your board consumes Air. Watch your Air meter on the bottom left of
the screen. If you run out of Air, you'll have to continue on foot.)
Turn using the Control Stick.
By pressing L or R shoulder button (doesnt matter which) while turning, you
will Slide, which allows you to turn more sharply. Sliding consumes a little
Air.
Hitting Y or B gives you a Boost of speed. This takes a bite out of your Air
meter.
Press and release the A button on a ramp to jump from it.
Use the Control Stick while in the air to perform tricks. Performing tricks and
landing correctly gives you Air.
Speed-type characters can grind on certain rails. Press A to jump, and after
jumping, press A to land on a grind. Sonic and Jet are Speed-type characters.
Flight-type characters can fly off certain ramps and go through Air Rings.
Simply ride over these ramps to begin flying. Use the Control Stick to go
through Air Rings to keep flying longer. Tails and Wave are Flight-type
characters.
Power-type characters can smash through most obstacles just by riding through
them. Doing this refills air. Knuckles and Storm are Power-type characters.
____ 1.1 - Pre-Race Countdown
Each game begins with all racers on foot behind the starting line. At this time
you control your character with the Control Stick. (up/down to move, left/right
to turn) A clock counts down from about five seconds, and when it hits zero,
the race begins and everyone is allowed to pass the starting line. As each
character crosses it, they will start riding their Extreme Gear.
Until the clock finishes counting down, racers aren't allowed to cross the
starting line. If you do, you get zapped as a penalty, and everyone will pass
you. While the clock counts down, a glowing green line spread across the width
of the road moves from behind everyone to the front, reaching the starting line
just as the clock hits zero. This is intended as a guide.
To get the most speed off the starting line, your aim is to cross it with a
full running start right after the countdown finishes. The green line is
extremely helpful, so use it. There are also markers placed on the ground
indicating the distance between that and the starting line.
Your speed off the starting line isn't too important for a normal race but is
probably something a Time Trial junkie might want to get the hang of.
Your character quickly accelerates into speeds much faster than the green line
moves, so make sure you're a good distance away from it before charging the
starting line. It's a good idea to back up as soon as the countdown begins, to
give yourself more room to adjust your momentum in the case that you begin
running too early.
Your entry across the starting line is rated based on how long it took you to
cross it, and how fast you were moving. The top three ratings in order are
"Good", "Excellent", and "Unbelievable".
____ 1.2 - Movement and Turning
After crossing the starting line, each character is propelled forward by their
Extreme Gear, whether it's a board, skates, bike, or whatever. You don't have
to press forward or any button, characters in this game just roll along ALL BY
THEMSELVES!
You can turn left or right by using the control stick.
NOTE: Normal turning in this game is very tight. It's basically used to adjust
your position for the most part. Navigating actual turns on the course should
be done with help from Sliding.
As you move forward, your character gradually accelerates to their maximum
speed. Turning gradually reduces your speed at a slow rate.
Your turning ability depends on your speed. The slower you go, the better your
cornering is.
____ 1.3 - Air Meter
Notice that at the bottom right of the screen there is a meter. This indicates
your fuel, which is called 'Air'. Just riding along consumes Air at a slow
rate. There are many ways to refill Air, but there are also some abilities that
you need to take advantage of that consume a lot of Air.
You start the race with a full tank, but when you run out of Air, your Gear
stops working. You are forced to continue on foot until you get more Air,
directing your character with the control stick. Your character moves slowly in
this state and you can't get more Air as easily.
When you are running low on Air, your meter becomes orange instead of blue, and
will begin beeping. In this state, you don't have enough Air to boost. If you
lose more Air, it will eventually turn red, and in this state, you begin to
lose some speed. Run out, and you will have to continue on foot until you
refill some Air.
In Sonic Riders, it is important to keep an eye on your Air meter and try to
exploit as much of it as possible, at the same time aiming not to run out.
Besides riding, Sliding and Boosting consume Air. These are very important
abilities. Sliding is necessary to navigate the course, and you need to Boost
to win races.
These are actions that refill amounts of Air:
-Landing from a jump. (even more Air for each trick you did whil jumping)
-Rotating the Control Stick during Automatic Trails
-Grinding (SPEED-Type characters)
-Flying (FLIGHT-Type characters)
-Busting through obstacles (POWER-Type characters)
-Getting Air from Item Capsules
____ 1.4 - Boosting
Hitting either B or Y will execute a Boost. Each Boost takes a chunk out of
your Air meter.
Boosting jumps your speed up for a short time, before gradually crawling back
down to what it was before.
Boosting is also how you initiate an attack in races. After boosting there is a
period of time before you can Boost again. In this time, approaching an
opponent will cause you to attack them. (I call this state 'Attack Mode')
The speed of your boost depends on the level of your character as well as your
Gear. On an average Gear, Level 1 characters boost at about 200, and Level 3
characters can boost as fast as 250. Also, leveled up characters hold their
boost speed longer.
Boosting will be the primary way you will exploit your Air. If you have more
than half of your Air meter full, you should probably boost. If you are
approaching an area where you will refill a significant portion of your Air
meter, it's probably a good idea to boost right away.
NOTE: If you were in a boost, falling/landing from a drop in the road kills
your boost. You return to normal speed and can boost again.
NOTE: Do not boost while Sliding! If you do, your boost is locked into whatever
your speed was at the time. Very bad!
____ 1.5 - Braking
Press the L or R shoulder button (It does not matter which.) to brake. You
can't be turning when you brake, or else you will Slide instead.
Braking is not often practical and can be ignored for the most part. Generally,
it may be used to control your speed to help navigate into specific areas,
after being knocked off course by an opponent or turbulence. (The best place in
the game for braking that I know of is in Egg Factory, to help maintain a low
enough speed to keep the rotating machines from hitting you off the course.)
NOTE: Holding down A (which is the Jump Button) slows you down so it /sort of/
can be used as a brake! The difference is it doesn't bring you to a complete
stop, and releasing it causes you to Jump.
____ 1.6 - Sliding
While turning, press L or R shoulder button. (It does not matter which.) This
will execute a Slide. While sliding you begin to turn very sharply. To release
the Slide, simply let go of the L/R trigger.
(BEWARE: You have to be turning when you press L/R, or else you will brake
instead. It's easy to forget and accidentally press L/R right before you begin
to turn, which will mess you up. Be careful!)
While Sliding, your Air is consumed more rapidly than normal.
Sliding is the most important maneuver in Sonic Riders. You will need it to
navigate not some, but PRETTY MUCH ALL of the turns in ALL the courses in this
game if you don't want to hit walls or fall off. This is because normal turning
is very tight.
The normal way to use Sliding is to simply Slide into a corner, and release the
Slide when you are ready to exit that turn. But Sliding doesn't have to be used
just to handle corners -- it can also be used to complement your normal
turning. Try gently tapping L/R trigger or just pressing it for short amounts
of time. Using Sliding this way allows you to adjust your direction and
position faster than you could by turning normally.
____ 1.7 - Slide-Boosting
Holding a Slide for about one and a half seconds gives you a boost of speed
when you release the Slide. This does not make you go as fast as a normal Boost
would, but it doesn't consume any extra Air. Players who want to push their
game to the max might try to Slide-Boost whenever it's practical to do so.
The best way to hold a Slide long enough to Slide-Boost is to use the control
stick to adjust how sharply you turn while Sliding.
(EXPERT ADVICE: Good players may try practicing Slide-Boosting on a straight
road! This is useful when you want a small burst of speed without using as much
Air as a normal Boost would.)
____ 1.8 - Advanced Sliding
Try using the control stick to change your angle during a slide.
As you can probably tell, continuing to press the control stick in the
direction you were turning when you started the Slide causes you to turn very
sharply.
However, centering the control stick during a Slide widens your turn.
And then, holding the control stick in the opposite direction causes you to
practically stop turning altogether.
In other words, you can pretty much freely adjust the width of your turn during
a Slide with the control stick. This makes it easy to hold a single Slide
during longer or wider turns, instead of having to doing multiple short Slides
to avoid hitting the inside walls. This is very practical for Sliding more
efficiently and easier in general. And, since you are holding Slides for longer
periods of time, you can Slide-Boost more often. The only disadvantage is that
by Sliding more constantly on turns, you consume more Air.
However, on some corners, you may be able to save a little time and Air by
splitting up your Slides. I'll explain: After about half a second of Sliding in
one direction, your character stops turning as much. Therefore, starting a new
Slide completely will continue turning your character even faster. You gotta be
quick with the shoulder button to take advantage of this. (Playstation users
probably have it easier here, since their button is smaller.) Try experimenting
with it once you get the hang of basic Sliding.
____ 1.9 - Jumping
Jumping is primarily used to jump from ramps. If you jump when not on a ramp,
your character does a pathetic little hop and slows down.
Press and hold down the A button, then release it on a ramp to jump. Jumping
this way can get you to distant or overhead items or platforms.
When you land, you refill some of your Air. During a jump, you can performs
tricks which increase even more Air if you land correctly. The longer you held
down the jump button, the faster you can perform tricks in the air, allowing
you to perform more tricks. To perform a trick, simply move the control stick
in any direction while in a jump. Your character will spin in that direction
and perform a trick. If you are upside down or in the middle of a trick when
you hit the ground, that is landing incorrectly. (ouch) Landing incorrectly
slows you down and only gives you a very small amount of Air. But if you land
normally, you get more Air and are sent off at a speed depending on how many
tricks you performed.
When you hold down the A button, you begin to slow down gradually, and the
thrust of your Extreme Gear begins to fizz. When the thrust turns red, that
indicates that you have charged the maximum amount. At that point you move very
slowly. Charging your jump to the maximum is normally necessary to reach
certain platforms and items. Careful timing is needed to charge your jump at
the right time, so as to spend as little time in this state as possible.
NOTE: If you're not on a ramp, jumping just makes you do a little hop, like I
said above. This move is sometimes practical. The most obvious use for it is to
jump onto grind rails if you're playing with a Speed-Type character like Sonic
or Jet.
____ 1.10 - Long Jump and High Jump
To reach the shortcuts from certain ramps, you will have to know how to
properly perform long jumps and high jumps.
To do a long jump, you have to hold the jump button down, and charge your jump
all the way. Then release the button at the edge of the ramp while holding
forward.
To do a high jump, do the same thing, except hold backward instead of forward.
You will have to specifically perform either a high jump or a long jump to
reach certain shortcuts.
NOTE: On some ramps, you may not have to charge your jump all the way, or not
have to release the jump at the edge of the ramp, or not have to move the
control stick, and STILL be able to reach the shortcut. This mainly concerns
Time Trial junkies who want to find ways of cutting a second or two from their
run.
____ 1.11 - Ramps
Ramps are the enablers for jumps, and may give you access to higher platforms
and items. Many times, you have to use one to proceed on the course.
There are three kinds of Ramps. Mandatory ramps, optional ramps, and halfpipe
sections.
1) Mandatory ramps are the most obvious. They are usually brightly colored and
cover the entire width of the track. You can't go through without taking them.
When you reach the edge of a mandatory ramp and haven't jumped, it will make
you jump automatically. They are usually a main part of the course and take you
across something to the next trail.
2) Optional ramps are ramps that only work if you jump from them yourself. You
will ride over them as if they weren't there unless you press the jump button.
They are usually used to reach items or higher platforms. Optional ramps may be
small, not easily noticeable, and may not even look like ramps. (For that
reason, it may be difficult to tell exactly where these ramps begin and end,
making it easy to press the jump button at the wrong time and missing them.
Trail-and-error and memorization may be needed to master certain optional
ramps.)
3) Halfpipe sections are only placed against the walls. Instead of pushing you
forward when you jump from them, they bounce you off. If you don't jump from
them yourself and ride off the edge, you jump automatically, kind of like a
mandatory ramp. You may be able reach grind rails, Air Rings, and items from
halfpipe sections. (Note: Grind rails are very easy to reach from halfpipe
sections and can always be reached without jumping.)
Performing high jumps or long jumps off ramps may help or may be required to
reach certain items and platforms.
(In the 'COURSE MAPS' section of this guide, I marked all ramps in the maps
with R's.)
____ 1.12 - Tricks (Stunts)
Once you're in the air from a ramp, you can perform tricks. Every time you
press the control stick in a direction in the air, your character rotates in
that direction and performs a trick at the same time.
The name of the trick scrolls across the top of the screen for each trick you
perform. The amount of degrees you spin in the air is displayed on the bottom
right.
The speed which you perform these tricks depends on how much you charged your
jump. Not charging your jump at all will usually not allow you to perform more
than one trick in the air, because it will be time to land before you can do
another.
When you land, you get an amount of Air depending on the number and quality for
your tricks when you land. You also are graded with a stylized letter, with 'X'
and 'SS' being among the best grades. In certain missions in Mission Mode, you
also get a point rating, which can be anywhere from 1-10 points.
The speed which you are sent off when you land is affected by how many tricks
you performed. If you perform too few, you will to have to accelerate a little
back to your normal speed. Doing enough tricks will put you at your normal
speed, or maybe even a little faster, before going back down to your normal
speed.
However, if you land incorrectly, you get no points and less Air than if you
would have performed no tricks at all. You also have to accelerate from a very
low speed. Landing incorrectly is when you are upside down or in the middle of
a trick when you reach the ground.
Performing a lot of tricks is pretty simple. You're actually able to do quite
well at tricks just by rotating the stick. As long as you charged your jump,
and keep moving in the air, and land correctly -- you're good to go.
Just keep in mind that you can start a vertical trick while doing a horizontal
trick, and vice-versa. Merging tricks this way is as almost as good as doing
two seperate tricks, but it takes less time. (I say almost, because doing them
seperately is worth even more Air. If you have time while in a jump, seperate
your tricks!) So, in other words, try to alternate between vertical and
horizontal directions on the control stick.
Diagonals: A diagonal trick takes about as long as a vertical/horizontal trick
combo, but usually doesn't refill as much Air. Not only that, you can't bail in
the middle of it if you think you're too close to the ground. I don't do
diagonal tricks on purpose anymore. I recommend avoiding them altogether.
The only part of the game where you really need to get the tricks down is in
Mission Mode. No sweat, since even getting the /maximum amount/ of points on a
single jump is actually pretty easy.
____ 1.13 - Automatic Trails
At one place in each course in the game, your character is pulled along a
certain trail or gimmick automatically. I'll just call them Automatic Trails.
During an Automatic Trail, an indicator will appear on screen that tells you to
rotate your control stick. While that is on-screen, continually rotating your
control stick in circles will refill your Air and slightly increase your speed
on the trail.
Some Automatic Trails allow higher speeds than others. For example, rotating
the stick in Babylon Garden allows you to increase your speed to high levels.
On the other hand, rotating the stick in Green Cave barely seems to affect your
speed at all. However, Air is refilled the same quickly on both of them and
only depends on how fast you are rotating your stick.
Don't be fooled -- They look different, but all Automatic Trails work the same
say. All you have to do is rotate the stick. Other than that, you're just
watching.
Listed here are what the Automatic Trails are in some of the courses:
Metal City: rail lift
Night Chase: rail lift
Splash Canyon: river rapids
Red Canyon: river rapids
Egg Factory: rail lift
Ice Factory: rail lift
Green Cave: giant insect
White Cave: giant insect
Sand Ruins: crossbow charge
Dark Desert: the crazy room!!!!!111
____ 1.14 - Tornado Trap
Pressing both L and R shoulder buttons at the same time causes your character
to spin around and leave behind a small tornado. Opponents who come in contact
with the tornado lose all their momentum and come to an almost complete stop.
This is a risky move, because using this attack slows you down and takes a bite
out of your Air. However, it can be quite devastating. From 2-player races, I
have observed that this attack interrupts your own turbulence trail and can
affect opponents who were riding it. So, the ideal time to use it is when the
racers behind you are riding your turbulence.
____ 1.15 - Item Capsules
Throughout the courses you may find Sonic Adventure style item capsules. If you
aren't familiar with them, they basically look like capped bubbles. Normally,
they are spread in a row across the width of the road. Item capsules have a
card floating inside them indicating what they have. Capsules with a question
mark "?" in them give you an item at random.
(NOTE: In Time Attack, all Item Capsules with question marks are replaced with
ones that are fixed to give you +30 Air. If you are using The Crazy or Chaos
Emerald, they are fixed to give a certain amount of Rings instead.)
Running over an item capsule gives you an item, and a card appears on screen to
let you know which item you got. Destroyed item capsules respawn in the same
place soon afterwards.
Here's a list of all the items you can get from Item Capsules:
- AIR: A card with a small tornado graphic indicates an Air refill. A number
on the card indicates how much Air you got.
- RINGS: A card with a ring indicates a Ring pack. A number on the card
indicates how many Rings you got.
- INVINCIBILITY: A card with with a glowing, rainbow-colored ball thing
represents the Invincibility item. When you get them, you become SUPER for a
short perioid of time in which your character glows and the music is
interrupted for a new beat. During this time, you can't be attacked and can
bust through obstacles without slowing down.
- MAGNET SHIELD: This is represented by an electrical looking circle. For a
period of time after you get this, an electrical energy covers your character,
attracting nearby Rings like a magnet.
- SPEED SHOE: A card with a Shoe represents the Speed Shoe item. This locks
your speed at about 200 for a short perioud of time. The problem is, if you
were going /faster/ than 200, the Speed Shoe SLOWS YOU DOWN! To make things
worse is the fact that 200 is fast only if you don't know how to play.
- BOMB: When you get this, a large black cartoon bomb rolls down the course.
The bomb hits racers ahead, knocking them off balance. (The bomb can hurt the
person who threw it, so watch out.)
- SLOWDOWN: A card with a Shoe shackled to an Iron Ball represents this item.
When you get this, your speed is considerably reduced for a short time. (If you
don't count the Speed Shoe, this is the only negative item.)
Invincibility, Magnet Shield, Shoe, Bomb, and Slowdown items are only attained
through random item capules. (Capsules with a question mark in them) Normal
item capsules always give either Rings or Air in a fixed amount.
Besides normal item capsules, most of the courses have at least one Item
Capsule that's larger than the others, and it's yellow. I'll call these Yellow
Item Capsules. A Yellow capsule always contains either 100 Rings (yay!) or full
Air tank refill (meh!) ... Yellow item capsules don't respawn.
(NOTE: After running over an item capsule, you can't get another one for about
2 seconds. This applies even to Yellow capsules. If you touch one in this time,
it will just disappear and nothing else will happen.)
(In the 'COURSE MAPS' section of this guide, I marked Item Capsules with o's)
____ 1.16 - Yellow Item Capsules (100 Ring Item)
Each course has at least one Yellow Item Capsule. They are larger than normal
Item Capsules, and are colored yellow. Unlike normal items, Yellow Item
Capsules do not respawn once a racer gets it.
Yellow Item Capsules always either contain 100 Rings, or Air Max which
instantly refills all of your air. Getting the 100 Ring Item is one of the best