While Mario is known for dabbling in every genre imaginable and delivering an engaging and memorable experience, Sonic the Hedgehog’s experiences with spin-offs have been a mixed bag - especially when the series is trying to emulate one of Mario’s past successes. While Mario Kart is arguably as recognizable as the mainline Mario games, the most popular Sonic-related racing game is a Sega crossover. There is an actual Sonic kart racer, Team Sonic Racing, but that game divided fans with many feeling underwhelmed. In an era where Mario Kart 9 might be a reality and Crash Team Racing got a remake, Sega should attempt to make a second Team Sonic Racing and aspire to be like Crash.
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Where Crash Succeeded and Sonic Failed
Even with the original game in 1999, Crash Team Racing took advantage of both the Mario Kart craze and the world Naughty Dog has been developing. Almost every major character in the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy is either playable, or in the case of Aku Aku and Uka Uka, an important tutorial character. Only Tawna, Brio, Koala Kong, Komodo Moe, and Baby T were excluded from the game. When Crash Team Racing was remade, the initial cast was the same with Oxide now being playable.
However, the developers took advantage of modern gaming culture and introduced regular Crash Team Racing events to make the cast larger without DLC. Not only were the aforementioned neglected Naughty Dog characters finally playable, but pretty much every major character in the series before the infamous Titans duology; from the Crash Nitro Kart bosses to well-known post-Naughty Dog characters like Nina Cortex, Crunch Bandicoot, and Dr. N. Trance; were added.
These roster choices combined with guest characters like Spyro, a variety of tracks that fit the Crash universe, and in-depth kart customization mechanics. As a result, Crash Team Racing: Nitro Fueled became a serious contender for the strongest kart racer on the market, even including Mario Kart, when it comes to being a series tribute. Team Sonic Racing did the bare minimum when it came to representing a series with an extensive history. Despite using a team mechanic inspired by Sonic Heroes, it does not do much to develop the concept, and uses its story to unfaithfully depict the teams. For example, Team Chaotix is not a thing in Team Sonic Racing due to Espio and Charmy doing investigative work, forcing Vector to team up with Blaze and Silver.
The game also relied on barebones choices for representation, with the most outlandish option being Zavok. The team mechanic, while iconic within a Sonic context, is problematic due to restricting the roster’s potential. Even then, one of modern Sonic’s most notable racing teams, the Babylon Rogues from Sonic Riders, does not make an appearance.
If Sega were to try another Sonic kart racer, it should avoid a gimmick that restricts itself. That does not mean discarding the team gimmick entirely, but reworking it around a more expansive game. More characters, like the aforementioned Rogues, Chaos, Tikal, and even Gamma or Emerl, would be the ideal way to start. The current kart customization is a good start, but the vehicles and parts should stand out more. Sonic the Hedgehog is a big franchise, and pumping such a spin-off full of fanservice and polished features would easily make it a competitor for Crash and Mario.
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