A Dreamcast Fan's Guide to SASAR

A discreet Dreamcast logo reference?

Sega and Sumo Digital's Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (SASAR) is less than a week away! While some Sega fans bemoan the game for a number of reasons, one cannot deny that the game has become so much more than what it began as when revealed at E3 2009. What could have been a lame third party attempt at a spiritual successor to Sonic Riders (which in itself was lame) has become what looks to be a worthy contender for Mario Kart's throne.

But you, the Dreamcast fan, don't care about all of the above, right? You just want to know what Dreamcast All-Stars will be making an appearance. Let's get down to business.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Eggman and Big

Sonic can't be tied to one console, such as the Dreamcast, but it's worth noting that all the playable (and so far all in-game characters, NPC included) will be limited to the Sonic Adventure series. So no fear of Cream, Blaze, Silver or those odd Sonic '06 Eggman robots spoiling the fun. I'll take Big over any post Sonic Adventure character any day.

While the three Sonic racing environments are based on Sonic Heroes levels, Sumo Digital has wisely placed nods to other Sonic levels within the tracks. The track Whale Lagoon, for example, features the orca who made Sonic's first 3D stage Emerald Coast an early example of the Dreamcast's graphical power.

Ollie the Orca makes his return!

Samba de Amigo - Amigo

The maraca shaking monkey trades his tennis racquet for a racer, and what an odd racer it is. Half dune buggy, half giant maraca. Early reviews seem very enthusiastic over Amigo's tracks. Remember the trippy world you were sent to when shaking to a perfect beat? Well the acid trip ain't over yet!

I'm freakin' out, man!

Crazy Taxi - B.D.Joe

While the inclusion of Crazy Taxi was a no-brainer, some fans feared that Sega would disappoint in not including the most obvious choice for a racer. Thankfully, a trailer released in early January assured us that Sega still makes good decisions.

CT in SASAR?! High five!!!

Space Channel 5 - Ulala

Sega just can't seem to make a Superstar game without Ulala, though I don't blame them. This time out, Ulala has changed into her silver attire as seen in her sequel Space Channel 5 Part 2. Ulala's All-Star move calls upon a morolian to take the wheel as Ulala breaks out some dance moves.

Up, down, left, right turning signal.

Chu Chu Rocket - Chu Chu Pilots

While Chu Chu Rocket itself isn't that odd choice for a racing game, the characters chosen to pilot the rocket have a rather odd history. Remember Chuih, ChuPea, ChuBei, and ChuBach? You know, the pilots of the red, blue, green and yellow rockets seen in Chu Chu Rocket! See if you can see them below:


Oh wait, you can't see them because they only appeared in the manual:

And you thought the Bonanza Brothers were obscure!

Despite the odd choice in racer, it's nice to see the unseen stars of Chu Chu Rocket finally get their chance to shine. Take a look at them below:


Shenmue - Ryo Hazuki

Ryo is in the game, you all know this. Now why haven't you pre-ordered it?



14 comments:

Animated AF said...

Not only is Ryo in the game, there is a figure of him in his forklift being released! Limited edition by the sounds of it, and Sega has a contest up to win one though it's for US residents only, dammit! http://www.sega.com/sonicracingsweeps/

Barry the Nomad said...

Oi! Seems you chaps on the other side of the pond may have a chance yet!

http://blogs.sega.com/sonic/2010/02/16/all-stars-racing-merchandise-2-ryo-hazuki-figurine/

Davecaster said...

Any idea what the deal is with Ryo's forklift? Is it download only or an exclusive of some sort? I seem to recall reading somewhere that in the uk it is only available if you buy the game from a particular shop (but that sounds mad).

Andrew said...

Awesome.

Barry the Nomad said...

The forklift is a pre-order DLC code that allows for Ryo to race in the forklift as his main vehicle.

Here are the places that offer the code:
UK – Gameplay.co.uk / GAME
Spain – GAME
Benalux – bol.com

My fingers and toes are crossed for it to make it stateside as DLC.

Segata Sanshiro said...

Hey guys... remember that i was veeery skeptical and expressed some hatred towards milking our great icons... well, i played the demo on 360 and must say that i was happy to be so wrong... I'll be getting the game as soon as i can!!!
Besides the announcer that i think is not cool (i imagined something more Crazy Taxi), the rest is great kudos to Sumo!

Tom Charnock said...

Isaw the review of SASAR in GamesTM the other day. I think they gave it 5 out of 10 if my memory serves me. Anyone actually played it yet?

thiskid said...

Must say, loving your blog. I have book marked.

Josh
ThiskidPLaysGames.com

Barry the Nomad said...

Yeah, I read the GamesTM. They're pretty off the mark. The HD version is definitely a 8/10 to 8.5/10.

A Moomintroll said...

I want to race as seaman.

fatherkrishna said...

Just got SASAR today, and the normally excellent Games TM, (which is usually VERY Dreamcast friendly, BTW...) got it SO wrong.(This is the same mag that gave Rush Rally Racing a two page spread and described it as "one of the best multi-player racers ever" or something like that...)

The game on the 360 is sublime! (I might even jot down a few of my thoughts on it here at the 'Yard.)

Official Nintendo Magazine gave the Wii and DS versions a much more realistic score of 7.5/10.


Great work as usual Barry!

Barry the Nomad said...

Thanks FK! Yeah, I bought it for the 360 and am loving it! The casino levels are lovely. I'm surprised it is the only good game of the genre on the 360. PS3 has that other kart game coming, but it looks "meh" compared to this.

Animated AF said...

Random fact I read on Sonic Retro by SOL: The star attack move in the game was originally going to be a Dreamcast swirl.

xBenji65 blogger said...

kinda sounds like you dont want ulala around >_<