You may have noticed that when you start off, you can't play as Eggman, and there about four other characters spots missing. That's where you have to start your work, and the game is more than just winning the gold. The special characters as they are known can be accessed via these gold coins (except for Eggman). In each of the four initial stages there are five hidden golden rings. Find all of them, then be sure to make a place. First place isn't necessary, but try and get to the end at least. Then, when you have all five golden coins at your possession...

You get a challenge from a mysterious character, Metallix for example in the screenshot above. You must race the special character around the same track you have just played three more times, and come in first position. Coins and Chaos emeralds will not appear, so don't even bother. To ensure some of the golden coins become yours, be aware of big metal doors with numbers on top. You need the required amount of rings to enter and pass the door. Some gold coins are situated there, others are in sneaky narrow routes around the track. Keep your eyes peeled...

As well as special characters to unlock using golden coins, there also happens to be the classic Chaos emeralds still haunting around each level. There are usually one or two gems on each level. To find them, they are usually locked behind large metal doors that require rings to enter. If you are saving rings, keep in mind that speed boosts will lose some or all of your rings in order to make the boost. Once you have one or even two Chaos Emeralds, to keep them you MUST finish in First position. Collect all the Chaos Emeralds, and you get a special character, and even YOU should know who THAT will be. If you don't have a clue, you really haven't learned a thing about Sonic the Hedgehog.

Your main goal, as with any other racing game on the planet, is to finish the course in First place. Sometimes, you need to come first in order to keep any Chaos Emeralds you have collected in the track, and sometimes you don't have to come in first if you are collecting the five golden coins, but you should at least make a place. If all the racers finish and you do not, then the race ends automatically and you'll be placed as 5th.

Of course, there are more modes than just the Grand Prix. You can face it off with your pal in a VS mode, with which you can just play a straight race, or race to collect the five blue balloons in the fastest time. On your own, there is the time attack, the blue balloon game aswell as a 'tag' game in which you play a course with four racers to touch, or 'tag' if you will. You can go any direction in the track too.

To get ALL ten characters you must do the following things, to get Metallix collect all the five gold coins in the first level. Puppet tails: do the same thing only for level two. For Metal Knuckles, get the five coins on level three and for the Metal Eggman, catch five coins from the fourth level. Eggman can be accessed once you complete the whole game in first position, and for Super Sonic to be played you need all the Chaos emeralds in the courses. Easy huh?

Not the new Sonic platformer I was hoping for (or many other fans either), but this game, I must say, absolutely ROCKS! This may be the shortest game in the history of the Sega Saturn, but this is also the best game in the history of the Sega Saturn (yes, even after NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon). This really is a dream to play, and yet, this is another hit by Travellers Tales. They should make more unofficial Sonic games more often, instead of other companies that shat them up. It's not straight racing - there's many power ups to collect, alternative routes like no tommorrow, and loadsa hidden characters, even if they are easy to unlock. The multi-player mode will keep you coming back more than anything else though, and is truly genius, as is the entire short but sweet racing game. Now, sing it with me! Everybody's Super Sonic Racing...

Sonic Score: 8 out of 10!

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