I Played Every Sonic Riders Game

[@datalphalion]

“Not just a race. But a special race! To see who’s the fastest!” ~ Actual line from Eggman in the script of the first Riders game

[@Handepsilon]

That line was so weird I dunno how Mike Pollock could say that with a straight face. Just localization issue I guess

[@nightlydata2181]

english script. idk Y they added that but it's not in the OG jp script

[@officialFredDurstfanclub]

@@Handepsilonhe wrote a comment on SCMJ’s video on the Riders games about that line and basically just said “yeah I read it as it is because that’s what the script said and they know the character better than I do”

[@feliciaroseantonia]

@@nightlydata2181 ...Huh. I wonder what the original Japanese script had Eggman saying at that part?

[@nightlydata2181]

@@feliciaroseantonia there's vids that translate if u look it up using CC. This isn't the only game that makes these changes. None of the games from 1991 to 2005 have accurate localizations unfortunately. ESPECIALLY Shadow the hedgehog

[@shadowmwape]

Sonic Riders was so fun to play with friends, Zero Gravity looked cool, and glad Free Riders got a mod to make it playable

[@GLXY23]

same, i gave that free riders mod a try and it was great

[@kenterminateddq5311]

​@@GLXY23 you can mod Sonic Free Riders and make it enjoyable?

[@corbinpyles]

Yes, someone fixed the game where you can play it with a controller now. Unfortunately, I don't have the no kinect patch version😒

[@keshang_laow8325]

​@kenterminateddq5311 how do you mod it? Is it like a free update, or do you have to do something on PC to get it to work

[@protocat21]

​@kenterminateddq5311 yea and I heard it made the game fun to actually play

[@williamrojas3505]

That last corner in Babylon Garden was also a personal nightmare as a kid 💀

[@keshang_laow8325]

I absolutely loved Babylon Garden as a kid. When Sonic riders came out, I was 5 years old. I didn't start playing the game until I was 6. Basically, I went to my cousins house, and he beat the living shit out of me. So I went to gamestop and basically got a shit ton of games for like 20 dollars. They were practically giving gamecube games away, and I still have a whole stash of games in my room. Crazy thing is this was my first sonic game ever. I got Sonic Heroes next and then Sonic Rush on the DS followed by Sonic & Mario Olympic games

[@Obsidian8R]

10:00 there are some ways around the turbulence, if you press both the triggers of whatever controller you are using, you will pop right of out of it. OR you can just pick the heavy bike and the game will ignore them comepletely

[@deadpoule4402]

26:48 Not only that, but there's a guitar sample in the Rocky Ridge music that's also used in Riki's theme from the first Xenoblade. If I had a nickel for every time Sonic Free Riders shared a music sample with the Xenoblade series, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

[@robkilbride9242]

Xenoblade X came out 5 years after this so it was X that sampled this, not the other way around. It was probably a bit of a thank you for using the first sample.

[@deadpoule4402]

@@robkilbride9242 No, those samples come from sample libraries, so neither game sampled the other

[@CrowTRobot]

Jon's right, the vibes ARE so on point! Like he said, many called it a complicated "mechanic overload" but it has such an awesome high speed, super stylized "Sega-Arcade" feel with kickass tunes that totally scratched my itch for more F-Zero GX vibes.

[@optimus02468]

The first riders game is probably one of my favorite racing games of all time.

[@Itsric_0]

So underrated one of my fave ps2 games in general

[@nanaaddae4790]

It really should have a proper competitive scene to bring it back to life.

[@angel_of_rust]

same. it ties with mkdd and nfsu2 for me

[@davidcarmona7596]

I didn’t even know they had it on PS2 or Xbox wtf 😂😮I only had it on GameCube

[@kenonerboy]

It does

[@Itsric_0]

Whenever I see the first Sonic riders it takes me back to the early 2000s to simpler times. The style the game has is just way past cool lol

[@lol-ih1tl]

I don't think that the war on terror was a simpler time.

[@SuperFromND]

it's honestly ridiculous how much free riders benefits from that no-kinect patch, its basically a new game

[@kaxcommentssomethingREAL]

SEGA continuing to not capitalize on making Free Riders playable for new consoles: c'mon SEGA WE _DO_ WANT A NEW RIDERS GAME!! oh who am i kidding, it's probably gonna take like 8 years until they revisit these games, or never!

[@tjlnintendo]

@@kaxcommentssomethingREAL They would probably butcher a new game too.

[@battman505]

This series NEEDS to come back

[@NanaKyoto]

I still vividly remember getting the original Sonic Riders for my 10th birthday (this, and a big ol' trampoline!), and I remember hating the game so much because of how the game handled, but as time went on, I started to love the game, and STILL love the game! (I still have my original PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits copy of the game since that birthday), shame that Zero Gravity leaves me underwhelmed when compared to the original.

[@AbruptAvalanche]

It's painful to see just how easily standard controls could've been implemented into Free Riders. They could have even kept the Kinect controls in a separate mode if they really wanted to have a "Kinect game" for the launch.

[@coneg2714]

once you're over the learning curve of the original game it's so fun, haven't played in years but it was a pretty frequent disc in the gamecube. never got zero gravity but when i tried it at a cousin's i felt let down. but at least that had my guy billy hatcher!

[@staticshock4239]

Yeah the problem with Zero Gravity is they took the criticism of the mechanics being too much to heart and really simplified the game.

[@bxnnx.]

game is still dope and fun tho

[@Jake76667]

i feel like free riders was initially designed with just a standard xbox 360 controller in mind but when microsoft told sega that the kinect was coming out soon and they wanted them to create a launch title to showcase the kinect’s abilities, sega quickly shoehorned in the kinect into free riders and forced people to use that instead of a standard xbox 360 controller

[@laancedance]

I really miss the Sonic Riders series! I need a modern entry ASAP! My nostalgia can not take it anymore!

[@inktendo]

As a kid I could NEVER get into the first Riders game, so when the sequel released and simplified things I could finally play and actually win some races and it was AWESOME. Zero Gravity definitely has a place in my heart

[@UltimateInkling]

Same!

[@darkhorse744]

Absolutely same dude.

[@CrasherLIX]

"With a little bit of work, it can be the best game sega has ever done" is the perfect description for most sonic games tbh. Great video

[@lol-ih1tl]

The PS2 PAL versions were some of the only PS2 games to support PAL60, although you had to hold Triangle while booting up the game to activate it.

[@Wow-it7ke]

Explain

[@MakoTenseii]

I think you dont have a lot of ps2 games then... a massive chunk of them did support it

[@BBK113]

I literally never knew that until now, cleared up how blurry it looked

[@lol-ih1tl]

@@Wow-it7ke The PS2 had very limited 60Hz support in PAL with almost every PS2 game running at 50Hz, including games which supported 60Hz on Dreamcast, GameCube, Xbox (original) and Wii. For the case of the Sonic Riders games and Unleashed, the PAL versions did support 60Hz, but you had to hold triangle while booting up the game to activate it.

[@crestofhonor2349]

@@BBK113 These games were designed with CRTs in mind

[@Loafidaisy]

I remember seeing Sonic Rider's animated opening when it came out and immediately became obsessed. Man it was a vibe, even if I sucked at the game itself.

[@shupasopni]

I *love* ZG. One of my fav Sonic games. The first Riders is also great but I think the skill ceiling (floor?) was a lil much. Not even just the difficulty, but things like the grinding show to me they just decided to add unnecessarily complicated or extra imputs that weren't needed. Free Riders being a good game now is great! Really wanna try it some time. It's cool how it and 06 are both getting a new lease on life recently.

[@CatWarior22]

Rail grinding having u to press the jump button again is actually better imo. It gives u the chance to confirm if u want to go on the rail or not. There are some sections in the game where u jump of a ramp and as ur falling there will be a rail. If the game didn't have that mechanic it would just automatically put u on the rail without giving the choice on if u wanted to go on it or not. Sometimes it'll be faster to skip the rail and use ur boost on the final lap or something.

[@PhirePhlame]

Yeah, the skill floor. That's the minimum amount of skill you need to become viable at a game (somewhat synonymous with "learning curve"). A skill _ceiling_ is the opposite - while there's technically always at least a little room for improvement, you know you've hit the skill ceiling when you truly realize that there's practically nothing left to master.

[@briansilva3765]

I don't think I ever saw real footage of Free Riders, it really looks and feels like an Arcade game, reminded me of a modern Cruisin Game.

[@Profalcon1078]

I feel so happy that Jon is mentioning rivals. I like rivals 2 especially and think it has a cool concept. Played alot of rivals 2 on my PSP even nowadays.

[@natoriousthehopeful2786]

My brother and I love the first rivals game back in middle school; I would love those got remade or port to modern consoles

[@Profalcon1078]

​@@natoriousthehopeful2786yeah same. Unleashed on old phones and rivals 2 were my first sonic games and I believe are underrated. I wish it the concept came back, it's kinda a successor to sonic R mainly because of the on foot racing but still. Underrated duo on the PSP

[@jonathansullivan4735]

If only they would make more sonic riders games

[@ExalinExcels]

"with a tiny bit of work could be the best ever" Meanwhile the Sonic riders tournament edition fan project is right there having already done it

[@harro5541]

I always love the Riders games I wish they brought it back , it cool to have a racing game trying to be it own thing and not just be about cars, , hope for a new full game or a collection of all the game for Modern console specially give them all online to make it really fun.

[@quizlaire]

Riders 1 was confusing to me when I first got it, but once it clicks it just feels amazing to play in every way.

[@andrewwood8056]

It is nice to get your optimistic perspective on a series I haven’t heard a ton of good about. Great video Jon!

[@-Jimini-]

I want more Cream and Vector Collabs in the future

[@faaldovahkiin3891]

I wish there was an easier way to play them nowadays, like a collection of them would be nice

[@MattDustyParker]

A Jon video is always a delight. I played the original Riders as a kid. I quite enjoyed it. Its very engaging but i do feel the entry hurdle has kept casual friends from enjoying it. Ive never played the other entries. Love the Babylon Rogues though.

[@fristilicious]

this is by far my FAVOURITE childhood game!! everytime i bring it up no one ever knows what i'm talking about, it's a true hidden gem!!

[@robkilbride9242]

Xenoblade X came out 5 years later. This was probably a shout back after another theme from Free Riders sampled Xenoblade Chronicles,Theme of Rocky Ridge.

[@kiwiboy234]

I would kill for a new sonic riders game

[@sonicclub1]

I spent countless hours on riders 1&2 back in the day. I spent 30 minutes on free riders.

[@CorynSilver]

I loved Riders on GameCube and Zero Gravity on Wii (tho I needed to use a GameCube controller) and hell even Free Riders for the Kinect was a fun challenge with a bizarre but ok story. Also ZG added Silver so that’s a plus for me

[@kevinfp]

There is no better proof that Riders had a lot of potential than the modding comunity. Each one completely rebalances the game's overall mechanics, characters and gears (even changing the mechanics of certain ones), but also adding new ones, like Emerl, Tikal, Reala, a G.U.N. gear and Chaos depending on the mod. For OG Riders there is SR Tournament Edition and SR DX, and for ZG there is Regravitified that I know of, and I think all of them have tournaments online being held by the comunity on Dolphin. I recomend every fan of this series to check them out.

[@clarfonthey]

The first game feels truly like an OG Sonic game. What are the boards powered with? Air! Just air.

[@RebelCityEejit]

I'd love a new one. They've done a few of the kart racers now so I hope they go back to this

[@tornadix99]

honestly it kills me that the first riders game wasn't properly explained, and people to this day say "its hard" when it actuality it really isn't. I agree however, that the true crime of this game is its tutorial. I was very young back then, but i was lucky to let that game on the screen running and get the tutorial from there, then i explored the galery and saw how it worked. So once i learned how that game worked, I was addicted to it. Then i also got Zero G, and while it was ok and eventually grew to like it, the first is UNDENIABLY better. Just get good. Like dark souls. if you can play that game and get "enjoyment" out of it, then you -MUST- can enjoy the first game!! -yep i wanna people to realize its good. please-

[@chknrsandTBBTROX73]

Now this is Good Vibes, Sonic Riders captivated my 6 year old self, tracing the characters back when games used to come with manuals. It was awesome.

[@darkhorse744]

Going to Riders after playing ZG made it even harder to understand, an in-depth Tutorial VS a barely there tutorial. You absolutely need a lot of tutorials to be able to properly understand Riders. I played it a good but when I was younger, got Super Sonic and all. ButI was completely lost when I tried to replay it again years later. Edit: Also, Riders' tracks were dark, there were times when I couldn't actually see anything because of how dark they were. Also also, as someone who logged well over 100 hours in ZG, there's a lot more to set the best apart from the not best than you think, especially in the later tracks. Crimson Crater has a ton of skips. Also, there are nuances to when to use the gravity dive too.

[@PhirePhlame]

In the first game, you can also press L+R to drop a tornado to mess with an opponent behind you, at the cost of some air and speed. This command can also be used to exit turbulence tubes.

[@milesrodger3724]

Love sonic riders for GameCube. First game I ever 100% as a wee lad

[@xdoo675]

I loved the first sonic riders, the small amount of mechanical depth during racing was refreshing coming from the basics of atv offroad fury and gran turismo. The sequels never got me the same way.

[@DominicanStud101]

Sonic Riders on the GC was sooooooooo good.

[@BlamedAxis]

Sonic Riders 1 is one of my all-time favorite Sonic games. I hope Sega hears the fans' cries for more and revives the series.

[@LinkoVideo]

I love this series! Glad you covered it 🎉

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

Aww, the corner cutoff's gone

[@drbowser166]

Earlier this year I picked up a character that resonated with me for a new Sonic OC since my old ones are still very...umm...early 2000s and I'm not in the mood to rewrite them to be less...bad. So I decided to start fresh on some writing and such with a new character for the fandom. A Penguin that's got a surfer look about him. Then I thought "Where would he live in the sonic world?" And I realized "If I'm giving him aquamancy let's go full on surfer guy and have him live in one of my favorite Sonic Rider's locations." and chose Aquatic Capital. Making him a bit of a celebration and being very open that Sonic Riders is my favorite series in the franchise.

[@cjgamer4]

Did anyone else think that their screen became static at 1:34? Jon's background at that point is kinda trippy until the game cases came into frame. haha.

[@natoriousthehopeful2786]

If there was ever a Sonic spin-off that deserved an HD remake, it's Sonic Rush: the first Riders is definitely a close second though 😎

[@Space_Paranoids]

Finally a video for me! Riders is easily a top 10 sonic game for me

[@UltimateInkling]

Unpopular Opinion: i actually enjoy free riders, sure it can be wonky and unresponsive sometimes but when you get it working its really fun imo. ive unlocked all the characters and bought every gear in the shop. I wont deny that it shouldve gotten a controller option it couldve saved the sonic riders series if it did.

[@xamp_exclammark]

You can actually play it with a controller now thanks to fans

[@AccelerateHedge]

16:58 Correction here, the AI is not in fact cheating. The leveling system of the default gears does not apply to all gears. Some gears have the type upgrade first, or just have access to them by default (for example, skates can always grind, air rides can always fly, etc.) NiGHTS is using Angel/Devil, which is an air ride gear, so it can fly by default. SCR-GP is a wheel-type gear, so the robots can automatically crash through obstacles (and it's not like Super Mario Kart either, if you're playing as the robots then you can too). To combat this, if you yourself are riding a default gear, you can hold off on getting the first upgrade and wait until you have 50 rings (40 in the case of gears that transform into air rides) to access shortcuts early on, often within the first 20 seconds. Alternatively you could purchase skates, air rides, bikes, wheels, and/or yachts to have access to shortcuts by default, or a board that has the grind upgrade first like Faster or Fastest (if you just want to spam Y lol).

[@PhirePhlame]

Uhh? Zero Gravity also ties the type abilites to the gear instead of the character. If I remember right, it generally goes like this: Boards by default are typeless, Air Rides and Yachts can fly, Bikes and Wheels allow you to punch obstacles, and Skates allow you to grind rails. This, if you have one of those non-Board gears equipped then you'll have its type-based ability without having to buy it via a Gear Change.

[@thomased22legoyodagaming]

Free Riders ported to the newer Xbox One Kinect would be fire.

[@Moonstrider]

Cool that youre mentioning this series

[@jmx999]

If I remember right, the co op racing in free riders requires both players to hold hands and that justifies it existing

[@ryeroyal]

I've been waiting for this one😉. Great work Jon.

[@DragonGamer-ml4mq]

I have been play the original sonic rides way before Jon was making this video. Also i don’t like sonic gravity that much ether since I also feel all the fun stuff that made fun was gone, glad to hear soinc free rides with the fan made patch the game is much more fun

[@goddamnpavuk1099]

10:09 you can press L and R at the same time to get off the turbulence

[@jraymark7739]

Sonic Riders on the PS2 was my very first Sonic game and since then..... I've been a huge fan of the blue hedgehog, this is my favourite racing game of all time

[@Obsidian8R]

11:40 you can just leave the game on overnight repeatedly to get him, that's what I did

[@lewa3910]

The Riders game definitely have my favourite new characters and aesthetic overall. Sonic Jet Set Radio Hoverboarding? No other Sonic game has my 2 favourite things combined

[@Caolan114]

I own the second game but never played It much I have barely any experience with this series but I know It has It's fans and I appreciate what It Is

[@Kaimusic0]

I love how ambitious and outlandish they were with the story

[@staticshock4239]

Honestly i wish Jon mentioned the the Sonic Riders mod that combines both Sonic Riders and Zero Gravity's gameplay.

[@lancelovecraft5913]

Yep. I never played it but watching the b roll it looks similar to f zero. I recently learned that for the gamecube f zero, sega was involved in making that game for nintendo so it checks out. I am on a real F-zero kick right now

[@BBWahoo]

I love Jons perpetually stoned face 😊

[@JoeL_-db5vx]

We need a remaster or a reboot, I love these games so much

[@phorchybug3286]

I remember playing the first one and Zero Gravity on my PS2 as a kid. I might consider coming back if I ever find Zero Gravity for Wii. I only have Nintendo systems now. (Wii U/3DS/Switch/DSi/DSlite)

[@DanOWar55]

I love Riders 1. I played it a lot as a kid but never got all the sega characters. Didn't help that I started a new game whenever I wanted to play the story. And playing the story is really all I did. One day I'll go back and get it all. I don't think I ever did more than like 2 missions.... This video is also the first time I'm ever learning you can play as Super Sonic in Riders 1.

[@BuffPomsky]

All I ever wanted was a remastered sonic riders with online multiplayer...such a unique and awesome racing game with a banger of an ost. I still listen to sand ruins haha

[@esmooth919]

2:30 that learning curve you're talking about, is what made me put the game down. Never have I ever played a racing game this hard to control, and I freaking played Gran Turismo!

[@Thisisadream17]

Zero Grav is alot of fun with the Regravitified mod on pc i’m actually suprised how obessesed I am with time trials rn (not usually into it in any game)

[@BenjiBearPup]

Sonic Riders is tricky to learn at first but not impossible. When you master it it feels amazing. I sunk a crazy amount of hours into the original and love it to this day. I own Zero Gravity but didn't put much time into it at all and didn't pick up Free Riders. Jon I can't belive you think the Werehog and Jet sound the same? Jet is way more high pitched and Jason Griffith tried to make his voice bird like if that makes sense. Werehog is much deeper. Great video!

[@xamp_exclammark]

Jet sounds like darkspine to me

[@staroutofspace4986]

I do feel in the original Riders there's an attempt to balance out the character bias on tracks by allowing you to buy gear that gives access to other type abilities. You have to play and grind rings for a long time to get that gear, so it's not a perfect fix.

[@Ki_Lyme]

I still am waiting for an hd remake of these games in a bundle or something. Can you imagine zero gravity with hd textures, non-noticable polygons?

[@PaperADRiAN]

Great video, your videos are always well made and charming^^ And as a big Sonic Fan I especially enjoy the Sonic videos. And even if I don't always agree, I can totally understand your takes, because you describe your thoughts so well. Sonic Riders Zero Gravity plays a lot better with the Regravitified mod, but I'm pretty sure a lot of people will comment that, because it's true :D I actually got really into the Sonic Riders series this year and Sonic Riders DX and Sonic Riders Regravitified are now two of my favourite games! I didn't get the No-kinect patch to work in Free Riders, maybe I'll try that again some time. Btw: The gravity dive sections are kinda the automated sections, so they are also kinda in Zero Gravity. Theres also Xenoblade 1 in Free Riders, Riki The Legendary Heropon and Rocky Ridge use the same sample. Also, why does Riki The Legendary Heropon sounds at some parts like Super Mario Sunshine and at others like Yoshis Woolly World? :P

[@_Gemkas_]

Riders is godlike

[@shadowclone452]

Hard agree on this one. I've always loved the first one. The mechanics and the high skill floor/ceiling made it really enjoyable for me. 1 completed it basically 100% just because I wanted more time with the game. The second one I gave one playthrough. The third one I played for an hour.

[@RikiZ8]

The first time I played Riders I started a race and felt confused so I checked all menus and found the tutorial video. A bit later I pretty much mastered all mechanics and the game never felt too challenging or difficult to control. Reviewers were so dumb back then.

[@BagofSchmidt]

Great video. The first Riders is in my top 3 sonic games. Never gets the love it deserves.

[@nithpro1385]

your xenia emulator is running a bit too fast, try setting the v sync interval to 16 in the config file to run at 60fps

[@PikaLink91]

So what I gather from this, is that the Riders games are actually pretty fun once you get the hang on them, and that all the negativity surrounding the games is therefore once again due to memes and the internet mocking what it doesn't understand. "Oh my, this game's controls are hard to get used to? Better make fun of it and say it is the game's fault instead of me lacking skill".

[@staticshock4239]

Yep. Even as a kid I never understood why this game got so much hate.

[@DrViperVideos]

Jon and sonic, this is the content i signed up for

[@jeffreywilliams8499]

Sonic Riders and Zero Gravity were my favorite games when I was a teenager

[@Jamsch101]

And I played no riders games Thanks for the insight Jon

[@bladearmorginga6582]

Honestly id love a mix of Sonic Riders and SSX Tricky, rediculous vibes and rediculous tricks sign me up.

[@deslardesslok]

Just got the CD soundtrack for Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity in the mail today at 1:14p.m. and it's the Sonic Riders Shooting Star Story Original Soundtrack ”Zero Gravity Tracks” CD and I'm listening to it while watching this! 6:52p.m. 3/12/2024

[@nicu227]

Tbh a bad thing about the first riders game (and zero gravity to some ectent) is the lack of tracks or the tracks are too short. Imagine a riders game with tracks like racing transformed. And I think transformed somehow manages to have a similar skill expression

[@Spacething7474]

why have the ps2 version of zero gravity in the thumbnail if youre playing the wii version (based on the button prompts in the footage)? is it because the ps2 version (presumably) has no 16:9?

[@mattburkey8393]

Great overview, I don't believe I've ever played a Sonic Riders game. I'm still jonesing for a Sonic Advance collection.

[@TazTheYellow]

Hiroyuki Sawano playing Sonic Free Riders: "wow, what a banging soundtrack!"

[@raulmojarro9427]

I love the first game so much, it was one of the first video games I ever played. My cousins and I still play it regularly. There's also an excellent set of mods for these games as well. Riders 1 has Riders: Tournament Edition and DX (sadly, this particular branch is no longer being worked on): both of these adds a bunch of quality of life changes (good-bye rotating stick sections!), music, rebalancing of boards and shortcuts, and even some new characters! Since it's used with Dolphin, there's even online multiplayer with netplay. I cannot recommend these set of mods enough. Zero Gravity does have a mod called Regravified, which did start fixing several of the issues with the base game, though unfortunately, this was being worked on by the DX team and has also been abandoned.

[@zacharyburt5537]

The first Riders is my favorite Sonic spin off, and I so badly want them to make another one.

[@sophisticated]

That's why I'm not a fan of reviews. I disagree with probably at least 40% of them. This spin-off series looks cool and fun. I want to try it now. Bad reviews for clout can sink a game studio.

[@Noisymedal]

I have seen the tutorial video from SR1, and it's not great. I was struggling with the fly power, I was under the impression that i had to shake the stick up & down to get more vertical height, when this was absolutely not the case. The tutorial video did not help correct this mistake, it only solidified the misconception further. I would eventually learn better but it took a *hot* minute

[@crestofhonor2349]

I love the sonic riders games and I wish it would return. More interesting as a racing series because it's very unique and like nothing else out there. Haven't played Zero Gravity or Free Riders but I love the original game on GameCube

[@Solidier1]

Sonic Riders was a great continue off with the Sonic Adventure series with each game of the series have different names. I never played the 3rd one and I heard it sucked. But however I did played the first 2 and I got addicted to it. I played the hell out of the first one when I got a used copy at a game store next state over. I know it's not for everyone but it is what it is. I ended up gotten the 2nd one when it first came out ( I was a teenager reaching my 20s at the time) It's just the first game but with upgrades. Like I said I had loads of fun and since I played the hell out of Adventure series with sonic heroes takes place after 2, then shadow the hedgehog, I stop playing the series when it went to the next gen (ps3/xbox360) excluding generations. Like I said before I never played the 3rd on and I seen the hate of it. But to me I fully recommend the first 2 on the ps2,