Sonic Drift (ソニックドリフト, Sonikku Dorifuto) is a 1994 racing game based on Sonic the Hedgehog developed and published by Sega for the Game Gear. Players control one of four characters as they race to the finish line, with 18 tracks themed after levels in 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog.
Although it was designed with inspiration from Nintendo's 1992 game Super Mario Kart, Sonic Drift shares gameplay similarities to "Super Scaler" games previously released by Sega. Sonic Drift was released exclusively in Japan; a western release was planned but later canceled due to concerns about its quality. Sonic Drift was later released worldwide as part of Sonic Adventure DX in 2003 and the compilation game Sonic Mega Collection Plus in 2004. It was released again in 2023 as part of Sonic Origins Plus.
Reception to Sonic Drift was negative, with criticism for its gameplay and lack of difficulty. A sequel, Sonic Drift 2, was released in 1995.
Gameplay and release
In-game screenshot, showing Sonic racing on a course themed after Green Hill Zone.
There are three game modes: Chaos GP, a grand prix mode; Free Run, a practice mode; and Versus Mode, where players can compete with one another.[2] Chaos GP contains three separate cups of six tracks each and a points system where the goal is to earn more points than the competition.[1] Each cup is identified with a color: green, yellow, or red.[5]
The gameplay of Sonic Drift shares similarities with Sega's "Super Scaler"-type arcade games such as Out Run and Super Monaco GP, although with inspiration from Nintendo's Super Mario Kart. Each character has strengths and weaknesses; for instance, Sonic has fast acceleration but poor control, while Robotnik has poor acceleration but moves at high speed. The top half of the player's screen shows the course map, while the bottom displays the player's car racing around the track. The game's driving mechanics focus on drifting to steer around corners at speed. Driving into television monitors scattered around the track awards the player a power-up, such as invincibility. Tracks also contain gold rings that can be collected to use a special move, which is unique for each character;[1] for example, Sonic gets a speed boost, while Tails gets a jump.[6]
Sonic Drift received mixed reviews. Electronic Gaming Monthly was positive towards it in a preview, saying that the game was fast-paced and enjoyable but the flashing, choppy scrolling hampered the gameplay somewhat.[2] Three reviewers for Sega Pro gave a negative review of the game, criticizing the track designs as too similar, poor cornering controls, and low difficulty. Reviewer Mark Hill concluded his part of the review with "only a complete idiot would purchase a copy." The three reviewers were more positive about the game's graphics and sound.[16] According to Ulf Schneider of German magazine Mega Fun [de], Sonic Drift does not have the same quality of gameplay as Super Mario Kart and he criticized the lack of vision of a corner until being just before one, but he also said the game was fun and easy to master even on Hard difficulty. He also commented that the controls could be figured out within a few laps of gameplay.[17]
Retrospective feedback has been negative. The game's inclusion in Sonic Mega Collection was negatively received; Chris Baker of GameSpy labeled it as "almost unplayable",[18] while Tom Bramwell of Eurogamer called it "a terrible, terrible racing game whose flickering madness actually made me physically sick."[19] A reviewer for Jeuxvideo.com in 2012 compared Sonic Drift to Super Mario Kart, disliking Drift for being too simplistic and very easy to finish, alongside the general lack of content and poor presentation. The reviewer stated, "Too simple and too fast to finish, Sonic Drift is unfortunately not a title that will fascinate the crowds."[15] The staff of USgamer identified Sonic Drift's use of half the Game Gear's screen for the course map as an issue, and called the game "a poor man's Out Run".[20] Apollo Chungus of Hardcore Gaming 101 said that the gameplay itself was decent and solid, but felt that it was greatly lacking in content and variety. He criticized the track design in particular for being generally boring, lacking in presentation, and for the stage themes being purely cosmetic instead of affecting the track designs themselves. Chungus concluded his review by stating "the small amount of content mean that it's a racer only a small number of people will dedicate themselves to."[1]GamesTM described the title as a "lazy and cynical cash-in", saying that it did not understand what made Super Mario Kart so successful.[21]
