... I wonder if Sonic or one of the other speedsters ever just jump out of the car out of frustration if they keep losing

maybe not sonic he's pretty chill but I could see like, Shadow even though he has way more Driving Car experince

literally every time people have complained about Sonic using cars in the racing games for the past like 30 years

I've always said "if he didn't, he just wins."

yeah i think that's generally been sonic's deal with the racing games

if he runs he wins

he wants to have a fair competition

also it's like the concept of driving for fun just went over their heads completely, lmao

Back in Sonic R the only ones who used cars were Amy and Robotnik

like who has ever driven go-karts because they're the peak of speed you can experience?

but as time has gone on, yes they just do cars and they don't have an in world explanation besides "game mechanics for kart racer power ups"

it's just fun driving a little vehicle around a track

catgrumps: Sonic Drift would like to remind you it existed before Sonic R

I think the first instance of "Why are you in a car" might be the Tails levels in SA2

yeah but like...that's a handheld game so of course everyone had karts in that due to technical limitations

you just swap the sprite heads

point is Sonic in a car is older than people think

...yeah little bit

Though I will say it's funny that the only game that's ever had an in world reason made is the Sonic Riders games cause X-Treme Gear is just TOO POWERFUL AS FLYERS WOAH.

Sonic R also broke people's brains because it doesn't involve vehicles but still controls like a racing game, so it just kinda feels like the jankiest 3D Sonic you'll ever play

honestly I bet Sonic gets bored with no real competion all the time for most things so a chance to handicap himself is a positive

(doesn't involve vehicles besides Amy's car and Eggman, ofc)

yeah Sonic R drifts like CRAZY

Sonic can just choose to not run as fast, he's got that kinda control, it's convincing Knuckles and Shadow to not go crazy that gets me story wise.

maybe that's why he's in the car so other people of comparable ability like...also chill out.

I loved it growing up but boy is it not an intuitive experience, lmao

but also Shadow just LIKES VEHICLES if Sonic 06 and Shadow 05 is anything to go by

Archie Sonic had a little prologue/tie-in for Riders and the explanation for Tails having built a gear for Sonic was just yeah, he thought it'd be fun for him too

well Archie and game Sonic are two different entities

it also has Knuckles razzing Sonic for losing a race against Jet, that was pretty fun

Archie Sonic is like...unironically just the furry version of Wally West, but game sonic is like "idk man I can't fly"

Shadow 05 and Sonic 06 did their best to justify the vehicles as having specific purposes, for the most part. crossing water or dangerous terrain, having on board weapons, etc. I think in general though Shadow's fine with whatever the terms of competition are.

iirc Sonic Riders' whole thing was Jet being all "sure you're the fastest at RUNNING but WE'RE the best at Extreme Gear"

and
> Sonic took that personally

You never need the vehicles that are just sitting around in Shadow 05, and in Sonic 06 outside of scripted vehicle use Shadow can just...do anything the jeep can do in the snow level. And he could DEFINITELY have caught that Train without a Harley lore wise, I think he just likes vehicles.

I think a lot of people forget that Sonic cares about having a good time more than anything else

The only thing Sonic hates is Oppression

that's in his bio

I did love those games mechanically, though. the entire concept of harnessing air as fuel... it's still really unique as a racing game to this day

yeah...if Zero gravity wasn't motion control gimmicked then Riders would have probably become a staple side racing series for Sonic alongside everyone else doing Kart racers

catgrumps: you do, in fact, need several of the vehicles in Shadow '05, just not all of them. the jeep to drive over damaging terrain and the weird little hover disc in Prison Island for a similar reason are two examples. but I'm not arguing the point that Shadow probably just likes using them... how else could they ever justify the iconic motorcycle?

(which I never willingly used in Shadow 05 because it controlled terribly and was pointless, lol)

There's a FEW where you need them, I'll admit that much but the ones randomly out in the open that aren't required and just a fun thing to try out? yeah bad. Not needed. controls terribly and falls into holes.

yeah, they threw a bunch in there Just Because

scrolling through and I didn't see it brought up -- I think in-universe, one of the explanations as to Why Does The Fast Boy Drive A Car

is that Dodon Pa said so

this guy who I think you can see in the stuff coming out for crossworlds if you look for him

he is the king of a planet and also owns a big auto corp

so no, of course he doesn't want his cars to lose in a footrace against sonic, driving only

dodonpa, he's a tanuki!

we all thought he'd be eggman in disguise

my only real knowledge of him comes from the one-shot comic, where we get to see that he's pretty eccentric

I mean there were a ton of car racing games before they came up with Dodon Pa, but also Dodon Pa is a great justification in-universe if you need one

true, true -- actually, it's not in an interview or anything as far as I know, but I feel like a big reason they ever came up with him was because they got sick of people asking why cars

fair, honestly. I'm just a fan and I've been sick of hearing that for years.

yeah. all these questions about why he drives a car, none about why he owns an airplane

(which yeah, the tornado is his, he's had it since before he met tails)

people forget the plane is his!

a bunch of the newer vehicles have been specifically things Tails made, but the original biplane belonged to Sonic first

There's a reason it has "Sonic" painted on the side

it's because sonic is a child and still thinks he has to write his name on everything he owns

Tails is the co-pilot, but he's also the pilot that stepped up

It was Sonic's plane but he didn't build it. It's actually kinda a mystery where he got it since you know Uncle Chuck isn't canon.

The only reason sonic needs to do anything is because it's cool. Fast cars are cool

end thread

it's true, nobody knows where Sonic got a biplane in the first place

yup. and since tails is his only mechanic, how did it stay in such good condition before he met him? ... luck, probably???

Sonic drives a car instead of running in the racing games for the same reason that people use clubs in golf instead of carrying the ball over to the hole

Andy putting it like it is

At least one of the Sonic Racing games, and I think also in Riders 1, Sonic's Super was "He hoofs it for a bit."

It had a fighting game/Mario Tennis style super move. Where the character did something iconically them, and Sonic's was 'just run fast.'