Sonic Riders

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This page details one or more prototype versions of Sonic Riders.

To do: Split the information of this page into separate sub-pages for each documented build. A prototype for the Xbox version was released by Hidden Palace, dated December 2nd, 2005. Make a sub-page here for it.

PS2 0.931 Prototype#

Present as padding within the 2005 San Diego Comic Con trial disc is half of a PS2 debug build from October 7, 2005; the padding was missing any actual stage data (as well as other miscellaneous files), however Sewer56 successfully managed to get the build bootable by hacking the game code, reverse engineering some files and then importing and editing files from the retail release.

Known Issues#

The following are known issues with the restoration:

• Mission Mode is completely broken, often crashing due to changes in the spline/path format.
• All breakable objects crash the game when attempted to be imported due to changes in the format between builds; as a result, they have been removed from all maps.
• Turbulence in Babylon Garden crashes the game; big turbulence in Sky Road also causes a crash, although this can be mitigated by disabling turbulence in the debug menu.

The original build also had no way to switch between debug menus; as a result, Sewer56 hacked in a custom switching function whenever L1/R1 + Triangle is pressed.

Graphical Differences#

Prototype 0.931	Final

• Both of the Sega and Sonic Team logos are separated into two screens in this version, whereas the final version instead has them in one screen instead.
• All of the videos shown on the main menu are different, showing an even earlier version of the game.

• Characters emit a sparking effect while boosting; this can also be seen in early footage of the game.
• The 2-player/4-player HUD is missing the lap counter.

Official PlayStation Magazine Demo Disc 102#

To do: Rip the files for this version and see if there are more differences.

On the issue #102 of the Official US PlayStation Magazine, Sonic Riders was featured as one of the available demos with an early version that has a bunch of differences. According to the date of the game files, this version was compiled on November 11th, 2005. However, some of the files have different dates, such as the tutorial video which is dated October 31th, 2005. Watch on YouTube

Tutorial Video#

As soon as the demo starts, the first thing to show up is the tutorial video, which has many differences compared to the final version.

• The tutorial video uses footage of an even earlier version of the game, with even more differences.
• The editing is more complex and has more effects than the final version.

Title Screen#

PS2 Magazine	Final

Aside from the addition of the "Trial Version" subtitle on the title screen, there are some differences compared to the final:

• The title screen is just a static image in this version.
• The game's logo is slightly larger than it is in the final.
• Sonic's silhouette on the game's logo uses a different artwork than what's seen in the final.
• The copyright text is in a different spot.

Character Select Screen#

PS2 Magazine	Final

• Characters icons and portraits are 3D renders rather than 2D artwork.
• The menu background has less detail than the final.
• The string "Press X Button" was changed to "Press X" in the final build.
• Some objects were resized on the final build.

Gameplay Differences#

• Wave's initial animation is broken.
• Metal City's minimap is slightly different.
• No sound effect when speeding up right after drifting.
• Some of Wave's animations are different.
• HUD fonts are different.
• The timer's HUD doesn't have a drop shadow like the final.

Oddities#

On the game's root folder, there's a .dat file (which contains most of the game data) named "SR_TGS", which means that this version was originated from the Tokyo Game Show of 2005.

External Links#

• Proto PS2 Sonic Riders 0.931 (07 Oct 2005) Restoration - Sonic Retro forum thread