Sonic Kart

[kool kitty89]

Why was there never a sonic Kart style racing game on the MD/Genesis, not to mention the CD with it's scaling capabilities.

They could easily have made a Mario Kart compeditor, and judging by the Game Gear's 2 sonic Drift titles, I don't know whay they didn'y do a full blown Genesis version.

Street Racer showed that the Genesis was perfectly capable of a quality game of this type. (in fact I like it more than the SNES version in several ways)

With the Sega CD it could have been awesome, with more powerful scaling abilities than the SNES, and again, there was even BC Racer to demonstrate the genre. (pluss the sound could be awsome on the CD, and not just CD audeio, but the added PCM sound hardware)


Was there an attempt at such a game and it was cancelled, or was the idea just not popular inside Sega? (no matter what it would have been, it would have been better than Sonic R... in any case)

[Rusty Venture]

I've always thought the "Mascot Cart racing game" was a really silly idea. "Mario Kart" is a fine game, but I think the actual greatness of that game is its simplicity, good control, and fun more than the fact it has Mario in it.

Which I think was lost in "Double Dash".

A Sonic Cart game on the Genesis would have been exceedingly "me too", and we are probably better off not having one.

[Aarzak]

Most of the appeal of the original "Mario Kart" was the Mode-7 tracks. If they would've been done in redrawn sprite-Pole Position style I guarantee that it wouldn't have sold as well or be as memorable as it was/is. It was what made it fun to play. The latter style (which dominated most 16-Bit racing games) gets repetitive quick. Some games made the most out of it though, such as Gremlin's "Lotus" and "Top Gear" series.

Shame that so few 16-Bit racing games had true scaling like in the coin-ops.

I'm glad Sega kept the experimental Sonic games on Game Gear. They wouldn't have had an excuse for being so crappy on the Genesis.

[Baloo]

There was always Sonic Drift on Game Gear, and that was meh.

Although I think Sonic R save for it being short was actually a very good game.

[kool kitty89]

Well, as I mentioned, the CD was perfectly capable of arcade quality scaling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ii1RuE5NY
and: 54ii1RuE5NY

Which clearly lacks the sprite pop-up of mode 7.

And IMO the genesis could do a bit more than the pole position/out run style.

mailnly the really nice looking road textures:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f9pkDFKVek
1f9pkDFKVek


With an obvious differenc still to the SNES version's mode 7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eymV2-Ckws
9eymV2-Ckws

The bonus modes (battle and soccer) are certainly better on the SNES, but I actually kind of like the Genesis tracks (maybe in part due to the technical limitations), and I prefer the music too.

Of course the PSX and Saturn versions were done in poligonal environments with character "sprites" and some parts of the environment as 2D scaled tiles/"sprites" too.


And, yes the Sonic Drift games were average at best, but those kinds of games are really limited on that simple 8-bit GG/SMS hardware.
I haven't ever heard kind talk of the controlls in Sonic R.

[Mr Smith]

In addition to what Baloo has said (as his post wins this thread):

Mario Kart was one of the finest games ever created. It makes me laugh when folk compare it to Street Racer, as Mario Kart is a vastly superior game.

[kool kitty89]

Yes, Mario Kart is awesome, but Street Racer is probably the closest thing released for the Genesis. (and it comes closer than others in terms of gameplay with some of the items/powerups and attack options, still far off but closer than BC Racers, Atari Karts and some others, not as close as Diddy Kong Racing though)

And of course there's the 32x which was poerful enough to do scaling in software, there was even a port of BC Racers to compare directly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75ZgHAkB2KA
75ZgHAkB2KA

[crazyteknohed]

Super Mario Kart is one of the finest games ever created and is the pinnacle of the battle racing genre.

Rather than trying to make a cheap imitation I'd have preferred a port of the SNES version of Street Racer to the Mega CD. While it's not quite SMK it's a decent game in its own right and it doesn't rely on licensed characters to sell.

[17daysolderthannes]

I've always thought the "Mascot Cart racing game" was a really silly idea. "Mario Kart" is a fine game, but I think the actual greatness of that game is its simplicity, good control, and fun more than the fact it has Mario in it.

Which I think was lost in "Double Dash".

A Sonic Cart game on the Genesis would have been exceedingly "me too", and we are probably better off not having one.

agreed 100%. Having Mario may have helped it sell, but it didn't make it any more fun. I would've personally prefered a more Combat Cars style assortment of characters and vehicles with missles instead of turtle shells.

[NeoVamp]

In my talks about what kinda games the Genesis should have had i often mention Mario Kart,
I just don't understand why Sega didn't jump on the bandwagon there,
These days its all milk milk milk when it comes to Sonic but in the early/mid 90's
all they could come up with was saying that Flicky birds are part of Sonic's world.

I personally would have loved a blatant Mario Kart clone, the Sonic universe
just had so many interesting characters back then. (before it became the furry/clone fest that it is now)

so a Kart game with characters like Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Robotnik,
Metal Sonic, Vector the Crocodile, Mighty the Armadillo en Amy Rose.
would have certainly gotten a well deserved place amongst my other Genesis games.
(maybe even have Ristar as a secret character)

Hell if the Genesis wasn't powerful enough they could made it a 32mbit 32X racer.

Personally i blame the Sega Saturn. just cause i can.

[kool kitty89]

Well they could have done a couple versions like with Street Racer, with a full BC Racers quality scaling version on the CD and an original version using the Genesis capabilities. (maybe a version similar to the CD on the 32x as well)

If it was done poorly, that would be one thing, but I think they could have made a really nice kart "clone" with good mechanics.

It would probably be good to mix things up a bit, not a blatent rip-off, but at the same time, not just changes made to say the game's different. Changes that would be fitting to the Sonic universe. Maybe different types of power ups and vehicles for each charater. Maybe with tails in the Tornado, or a tornadeo styled car, Robotnik in some kind of hover thing, maybe an attack craft. (the shooting missiles thing would certainly fit there) Not sure what you'd do with Sonic or Amy though. (maybe give Amy a car like in Sonic R, and sonic some kind of F1 Indy car kind of thing) Probably throw in a couple other characters like Metal Sonic. (maybe in some kind of jet/rocket car)

Maybe a health meter too like in BC or Street Racer, with rings as health power ups, also with some of the various shields, speed power-ups, and invulnerability found in the Sonic games.


Another note is that there was a kart stle racking mini game unlocable in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (the GC version), it wasn't anything special, but it was reasonably fun, though it felt more like F-Zero than Mario Kart. Once you've got each character's unique unlockable car it's a bit more fun. Not anything special mut an interesting addition.

[Black_Tiger]

Most of the appeal of the original "Mario Kart" was the Mode-7 tracks.

Super Mario Kart uses an extra chip. If extra hardware was added to a Genesis 'Sonic Kart' game, it could've done just as much 'Mode-7' wise. Just look at VR Racing.

A cart racer styled after Sonic game graphics, certainly would've looked much nicer.

[kool kitty89]

Well, I'm not sure about that. Mario Kart did use the DSP-1 for some coprocessing, though I'm not entirely sure what it needed it for, perhaps increased complexity to the maps. ("enhanced mode 7) F-Zero was an unchipped game, and so was Battle Cars. (I think Street Racer was unchipped as well)

Which reminds me Battle Cars is also a pretty good example of the shooting/misile mechaninc 17days suggested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGtI1Ax_EPg

The SVP chip would probably be powerful enough to do the scaling, probably not as smooth as the 32x though. But the Sega CD was already perfectly capable of this too. (and all 3 should be smoother than the SNES, which had the choppy Sprite pop-up as only the background mode 7 tile was scaled/rotated)
And again, I think Street Racer looked pretty darn good on the Genesis, no rotation just the standard scaling warping road/track (albeit with some nice texture to it), but perfectly attractive IMO, and had the powerups as sprites rather than part of the mode 7 tile.

[InternalPrimate]

Am I the only one who thinks F-Zero was better than the original Super Mario Kart? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game back in the day, and I love its sequels, it just hasn't aged as well as F-Zero.

[Baloo]

Am I the only one who thinks F-Zero was better than the original Super Mario Kart? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game back in the day, and I love its sequels, it just hasn't aged as well as F-Zero.

I've never played the original Super Mario Kart, but if it's aged anything like Mario Kart 64 has, then I would say F-Zero blows it out of it's league. I still like to play F-Zero every once in a while, although I really wish it had some kind of two player mode.

[jesus.arnold]

Micro Machines Military, it's a 8 player racing game with weapons, is there any reason why racers absolutely must scroll into the screen?

[kool kitty89]

Micro Machines Military, it's a 8 player racing game with weapons, is there any reason why racers absolutely must scroll into the screen?

I can understand that, but I personally find top-down racing games difficult to control and only moderately fun. I like scrolling/sacling racing games though, but that's my prefrence, I also like rail shooters/ forewars scrolling shooters (as well as full 3D combat sims) compared to top/side scrolling SHMUPS, but again, personal prefrence.

That said, Go Codemasters ;)


I've never played the original Super Mario Kart, but if it's aged anything like Mario Kart 64 has, then I would say F-Zero blows it out of it's league. I still like to play F-Zero every once in a while, although I really wish it had some kind of two player mode.

Yeah, for me a multiplayer mode is the only reason I don't play F-Zero very often, and a plus for F-Zero X.

Come to think of it, the added sense of speed in F-Zero compared to Mario Kart would definitely be more fitting for a Sonic title, that element would definitely be a good one to include. (actually I think the Genesis version of Street Racer seems to be faster paced than the SNES one, perhaps another reason for that configuration)

[h00n]

Micro machines military is great! The cart has 2 extra pad inputs on the top so even if no multi tap you can have 4 players on it. All the micro machines games are pretty cool. Maybe not in the same style as mario cart, but great fun multiplayer racers nonetheless.

[H0M3RC1D4L]

I still prefer Mario Kart 64 to any other "kart" styled racer, and it's not because of the 3D environments or the really nice sprites used in the game, but the simple fact that 4-player Mario Kart 64 is so competitive and so much fun that there simply isn't anything that can be compared to it. Nothing is funnier than pulling out a win after being in 8th place, half a lap down to start the final lap, getting the right powerups, your friends getting sweaty palms at just the right turns in the course that make them inefficient and using the powerups to your advantage to put you in the lead for the win by the hood ornament on your vehicle!

[gamegenie]

Sega didn't need a Mario Kart clone, that had Virtua Racing

[Black_Tiger]

Sega didn't need a Mario Kart clone, that had Virtua Racing

No one had fun attacking their buddy in 2 player VR Racing.

[Chilly Willy]

After DOOM, the next thing on my list of planned 32X homebrew is a Sonic game of some sort (never thought Chaotix lived up to the 32X). I like racing games (VR is my favorite 32X cart), so maybe a Sonic kart game would fill both needs at once.

[h00n]

Sonic cart with multiplayer deathmatch mode???
yeah!
yeah!
yeah!

I would buy that for a dollar!

[Da_Shocker]

After DOOM, the next thing on my list of planned 32X homebrew is a Sonic game of some sort (never thought Chaotix lived up to the 32X). I like racing games (VR is my favorite 32X cart), so maybe a Sonic kart game would fill both needs at once.

I've always wondered how a 32X Sonic would look using the SGI that Nintendo used with DKC.

[kool kitty89]

I've always wondered how a 32X Sonic would look using the SGI that Nintendo used with DKC.

They could have done (and did) the same thing on the Genesis, 3D Blast had pre-rendered sprites, and backgrounds (partially), even Sonic Blast on SMS/GG had that. The 32x could have added more colors and some added effects (like sprite scaling, and polygon rendering - Chaotix had rendered polygonal bonus stages)