released in Europe as ''Sonic Drift Racing'', is a kart racing video game by Sega for the

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

. The sequel to ''

Sonic Drift is a 1994 racing video game developed and published by Sega for the Game Gear in Japan; the gameplay involves players controlling one of four characters as they race to the finish line, with levels themed after the original '' Sonic the Hedgehog ...

'', it was released in Japan and Europe in March 1995 and in North America in November 1995. It added three characters: Knuckles,

Fang the Sniper The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...

, and

Metal Sonic The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...

, and marked the first time the last two were playable characters.

Gameplay

The gameplay is similar to ''

'', but with minor changes. In the Chaos GP mode, players are awarded with Chaos Emeralds should they come in 1st within a GP. Alongside Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Eggman, there are three additional playable characters: Metal Sonic, Fang, and Knuckles.

drives the Blue Devil, a convertible sports car with high speed and bad handling. His special ability is the High-Speed Dash, but unlike Sonic's High-Speed Dash, it requires 3 rings to use and is much more powerful. Fang drives the Marvelous Queen, a modified airbike with good speed and acceleration, but has poor handling. He also tosses Oil Balls that make opponents spin out after a while. Knuckles drives the Tempest, a car based on the

Hummer H1 The Hummer H1 is a four-wheel-drive utility vehicle based on the M998 Humvee, which was developed by AM General when it was a subsidiary of American Motors Corporation (AMC). Originally designed strictly for military use, the off-road vehicle was ...

that has balanced stats. Unlike most characters, Knuckles has two abilities in the game. He can punch nearby racers to make them spin out and drop a ring, but if there are none nearby, he will jump.

Reception

Like its predecessor, Sonic Drift 2 was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics. On release, ''

Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...

'' scored the game a 19 out of 40. '' GamePro''s Sir Garnabus commented that, "Hairpin turns, bombs in the road, and competitors who never give up make ''Sonic Drift 2'' Game Gear racing at its best." He also praised the detailed graphics, controls, and the use of a different musical piece for each track. Its inclusion in '' Sonic Gems Collection'' was negatively reviewed. In a review of the '' Sonic Gems Collection'' compilation,

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

described the game as "basically unplayable because of poor handling and a really short horizon".

Notes

References

External links

Official Nintendo website

{{Authority control 1995 video games Sega video games Game Gear games Game Gear-only games Kart racing video games Racing video games Video games scored by Saori Kobayashi Virtual Console games Single-player video games Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off games Video games developed in Japan Arc System Works games