5555555 4444 GGGG 55 44 44 GG GG eeee ssss 555555 44 44 GG ee ee aaaa rr rrr ss 555 44444444 GG GGGG eeeeee aa aa rr rr ssss 55 55 44 GG GG ee aa aa rr ss 55555 4444 GGGG eeee aaa aa rrrr ssss And how to use and abuse them all _______________________________ / SONIC RIDERS \ / ADVANCED GEAR GUIDE \ \ Written by WtR_Flash / \_______________________________/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For online Paper Mario 2 guides and more, visit Welcome to Rougeport Guides: --> http://rougeport.jonnys-place.com <-- ************ PLEASE NOTE: This guide desperately needs to be cleaned up a bit. See Update Log for more details. ************ Utilize your browser's search function (typically accessed with Ctrl+F) and the search keywords to jump sections quickly: __________ _________________ | Contents \_____________________| Search Keywords \________________________ |================================|========================================== |A. Update Log ---------------- | -CAPTAIN'S LOG- |B. Intro --------------------- | -WHASSUP- |C1. The Why's and How's ------- | -RIDING CLASSES- |C2. Buying/Unlocking Gear ----- | -WORK FOR IT- |D. Gear List ----------------- | -RACER'S CATALOG- | 1. Hoverboards ------------- | [-SONIC SURFER-] | 2. Bikes ------------------- | [-NO WHEEL TUESDAY-] | 3. Skates ------------------ | [-SK8RS-] |E. Special Thanks ------------ | -THNX YOU- |F. Contact Info/Legal Crap --- | -LINKS AND CRAP- |=========================================================================== _______________ _________________ _____________________________/ A. Update Log \__/ -CAPTAIN'S LOG- \_________ ============================================================================ Tuesday, October 17, 2006: You should already be aware of this if you go to my site and read my pseudo-blog, but i'm notoriously lazy. I've been meaning to tidy up the blemishes I left behind in this thing for quite a while. For starters, it's become apparent to me just how incredibly unbalanced this game is, and how little all the intricate details matter when no one seems to take it seriously enough for competitive play. (I know I don't.) That's sorta stifled my will to update, but nevertheless, I can't very well neglect this poor thing, can I? It would have been as simple as moving some stuff around and doing a few rewrites here and there. Really would have been, except in early September, I got an email from a fellow by the name of Coran Sloss. All those weeks of testing I commited and he may have noticed something that slipped by me all that time: ************ "Hi, I'd just like to point out that when you say that cream is far worse than any other flying character you're wrong! Don't get me wrong, I HATE cream but she does have her redeeming features: -more acceleration than rouge, not much, not even 1 points worth but some -light weight: you know how the light board is light? well so is cream, you only need to pull of a small trick and she can get to most shortcuts -the light weight also means she corners much more easily and has less trouble getting to those badly placed flying pads (E.g. 2nd one in red canyon) -light weight also means that the turbulence has far more effect on cream The down side to light weight: -characters with low weight lose momentum quicker and so can't sustain any good speed while on the subject of character weight rouge seems to be abnormally heavy making it hard for her to fly and also making her slow round corners, not to mention her immense difficulty getting to high up places" ************ There you have it. I could feel myself sink I as read that. "No! I tested this game to death! To DEATH! Please, no more!" It's like that guy from the CDW ad! We've been emailing back and forth since then and he's come up with some compelling examples of what effects the invisible weight atrribute have, like handling on ice, cornering, grinding speed (which i'm pretty sure he's wrong about here, but still), boost attributes...holy crap. As of this writing, I have no time to test any of this. I'll be halfway across the country starting on the 24th and for two weeks afterward. After that...i'm still not sure :p I've got a site to build and another site to work for. When obligations clash like that, my schedule is as predictable as the weekly Mega Millions drawing. But I will give it a try after the vacation's over, and sooner or later i'll get this big hunk of text as accurate as I can. (Of course, don't be expecting the "sooner" part to carry much weight...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sunday, May 28, 2006: Version 1. That should be it for this behemoth, barring any little details i'm still missing. I've given up trying to find Sega Carnival's 100-ring capsule and have concluded that there isn't one, so i'm calling off the hunt there. It took some extra time to complete this after I discovered something fairly critical I had missed, which forced me to do some tedious re-writing. Other than that and some confusion over how the Light Board works, i'm done and can put the bloody game behind me for a while. Hallelujah. Saturday, April 22, 2006: Don't come looking for new content yet. I've been too busy to finish this and have had little desire to play Riders for a little while now. You have to admit, it gets pretty forgettable after you've unlocked everything. Anyway, in the 23 days i've left this incomplete guide idle, all I have to show for it right now is a contact info update. I've since received some helpful e-mails that cleared up some errors on my part (and not-so-helpful fan mail), but I haven't bothered to correct anything yet. I'll see what I can do when my other nagging obligations clear up. Thursday, March 30 2006: Version .9. Due to allergies I have been stricken with out of the blue and lack of desire to get this entire thing 100% complete prior to the first release, i've decided do what's important and get it up early. Everything is in place sans a few of the data fields in the Gear list. Getting the entries for those fields requires some meticulous testing that I have not bothered to complete yet. The remaining 90% of the guide is set, though, so have at it. __________ ___________ _______________________________/ B. Intro \__/ -WHASSUP- \__________________ ============================================================================ I'm the kind of writer who flies by the seat of his pants. I start a guide based on whatever idea suddenly occurs to me, I work on a guide whenever i'm in the mood to continue working on it - ultimately, i'm indecisive and lazy. It's fun :) If circumstances were different you would be looking at a full walkthrough for Mega Man X (SNES), but at some point while writing it, I lost all desire to continue it. Something clicked in my head that said "Hey stupid, this isn't any fun." Magnum P.I.'s little voice in his head commanded him to follow up on hunches. If the switches in my head tell me to find another subject, well, let's just say those switches are mighty hard to un-flip. Bored and drowsy yet? Liar, I bet you didn't read that :p If you did, you have as much time on your hands as I do, at least. Anyway. Compiling a list of the Extreme Gear in Sonic Riders seemed like a nice way to kill time and get in that obligatory guide for something other than Paper Mario 2 that I needed to write. It seemed as simple as getting a detailed list together and explaining the bare-bones mechanics of the system at first, but to my suprise, there is quite a bit of hidden cake underneath this icing. Then the guide sort of grew to the point that it wasn't just an Extreme Gear list anymore. And it just gets better and better. Before this guide gets anywhere, I must make note that I hold no regard for spoiling any part of the game, and that the version of the game i've been playing was the GameCube version. Controls, obviously, vary from system to system, but i'll generalize it for the sake of clarity with terms such as "jump button" and the like. I also assume you have a grasp of the game's basics - if you don't, get busy playing and get over that steep, steep learning curve. Now, let's get this show going: _________________________ __________________ ________________________/ C1. The Why's and How's \__/ -RIDING CLASSES- \___ ============================================================================ Knuckles: Still, how can a plank like that just float? Tails: That's easy to explain! According to the Kutta-Joukowski Lift Theorem, the control surface flow is balanced by the inverse kinetics of the- *on and on* Knuckles: *mind a-splode* STOP! I get it, okay?! It just floats, and that's good enough for me! :p I'll have more to say about that at the very bottom of the guide. I won't get that nerdy on you with how to effectively use gear, but there's some basic terminology i'll be using throughout the guide that you should be aware of: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================= Extreme Gear Dictionary ======================= Air - Somehow, in Riders, they've managed to fudge with the english language so much that some words have several different definitions at once. Typically, Air refers to your fuel, and when you see the word capitalized, that's the context i'm putting it in. Speed - This can mean a couple of things: the character type Speed, and the numerical representation of how fast you're going. In regards to the latter, it's shown at the bottom of your Air gauge. It's more than likely not miles per hour, because i'd like to see you try to walk backwards at 20 MPH. The average is approximately 158.6...any gear that struggles to go much higher than 150 is pretty slow. Flight - The flying character type. Referred to ingame as "Fly" type. Power - This can either mean the character type Power, or the Power rating for a gear. Drifting - The game calls it "Air Sliding", in which you use the shoulder buttons while steering to cut a sharp turn. It's called Air Sliding because your gear shoots out a stream of air to improve your steering while doing it. Do this long enough, and when you release the button, you get a speed burst...so it sort of has a "slingshot" feel to it. I just call this maneuver "drifting", because that's basically what it is. Charging - Holding the jump button allows you to charge up for a more powerful jump. This has no bearing on your jump height - you always make spastic hops on your own - but the more you charge up before you leap off of a ramp, the farther you fly. (Another critical factor is when you launch off; let go at the tip of the ramp for as much air as that ramp will give you.) Note that if you charge up long enough, you start slowing down quite a bit, so get the timing right and practice tricky jumps. The Hovercraft board lets you maintain speed, the trade-off being that the wretched thing is nigh impossible to control. "Getting hit" - Refers to someone nailing you a boost attack. All your rings go flying, and you usually come to a halt, forcing you to get back up to speed again. Some gears are simply too prohibitively slow accelerating to wait for reaching max speed again, so you'd have to boost to fix it and blow a chunk of air in the process that could have been used better elsewhere. In short, getting hit stinks, try to avoid it. "Speed Burst" - A quick boost in speed that doesn't quite have the same effect as hitting the boost button. CAUTION! zone - When you no longer have enough Air to boost without running out of gas in doing so, your Air gauge turns orange, starts beeping, and says CAUTION!. Your boost ability is taken away and your gear starts having spasms (seriously) until you can get out of the, er, orange. This becomes the DANGER!! zone when the needle's dancing on the letter E, so to speak. I trust that you know what happens if you run out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- =================================== Before you mix and match at will... =================================== If you've seen the Nintendo Power/Play interviews, you know what Takashi Yuda has said about the characters: that they're only differentiated by type. This is not entirely true. The Gear system seems simple enough. Select your character, select the gear you're going to have them use, and go. It is that simple if you haven't unlocked or bought any gear yet. Once you start getting gear for everybody, and trying all manner of gear/character combos, the stats for both characters and gear come into play. First, you can see the star ratings assigned to each character and gear, but the game doesn't make any effort to clarify what they relate to. Aren't you glad you're reading this? DASH: Rates acceleration. The higher it is, the faster you get going - usually. For some reason, the game does a sloppy job effectively rating a gear's acceleration. LIMIT: Rates top speed. Anything lower than 3 stars means that gear is pretty slow, but most of the time, for a reason. POWER: Off-road performance. This rates how fast you can go when you ride over rough terrain (such as the grass in Metal City). Normally you won't be treading off of the main course surface, so this sounds like a pointless rating, but it it also rates how far you hit someone away when you bump into another racer/someone bumps into you. If you have a higher power rating than the guy you bump into, you shove them aside. It may also be a combo of power and how fast you're going. CORNERING: More stars here equals better steering. For most all gears, it doesn't get any higher than 2. A select few go up 3. It sort of makes sense considering what you're racing with. The star ratings aren't an accurate means of pinpointing how fast a gear can go or accelerate, they just give you a general idea. In other words, only the Cornering rating is absolute; the Dash and Limit ratings are ballpark guesses, as is Power (the half of it that judges your off-read speed). I'll run down the detailed stats in the gear list. You might be wondering why each character needs stats of their own. Let us introduce the twist: the character you choose has direct influence on the stats of the gear you pair them with; specifically, how fast a gear can go and how fast it accelerates. There's also slight changes to the Power and, in the case of Tails, Cornering stats. Most important is how much velocity the thing will carry you down the track at, so i'll delve into that first. Essentially, it's not much different than the character/kart system from Mario Kart DS (where certain characters increased or reduced the weight rating of whatever kart you gave them). The chart: _____________________________________________________________ | CHARACTER | TYPE | TOP SPEED LOSS | OTHER CHANGES | |===========|=======|================|========================| | Sonic | Speed | None | None | | Tails | Fly | -12 speed | Power -1, Cornering +1 | | Knuckles | Power | - 7 speed | Power +1 |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ | Amy | Speed | - 4 speed | None | | Jet | Speed | - 2 speed | None | | Storm | Power | - 4 speed | Power +1 | | Wave | Fly | -12 speed | None | | Eggman | Power | - 4 speed | Power +1 | | Cream | Fly | -14 speed (!) | Power -1 | | Rouge | Fly | -11 speed | None | | Shadow | Speed | None | None | | NiGHTS | Fly | -12 speed | None | | Aiai | Power | - 7 speed | None | | Ulala | Speed | None | None | | E-10000G | Power | None | None | | E-10000R | Speed | - 7 speed | None | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ And statistics because they're fun: -- Only Sonic, Shadow, Ulala, and E-10000G leave the top speed alone. If you're not using them, you take a hit in speed, period. -- None of the unlockable characters sans Eggman and Cream affect Power. -- Tails is the only character who affects a gear's Cornering. If a gear already has sky high top speed and Power stats but bad acceleration and Cornering, it's practically made for him. Most notably: Faster, Heavy Bike, and Cover-F. -- The "default" gears (character-exclusive ones that come with them) all have the same ratings. Naturally, their "real" stats are whatever the character's stats are. Eggman and Shadow don't have real default gear - most everybody can use the Darkness skates and the E-rider bike. (In both of the Battle modes, characters are only allowed to use their default gear, and all have the exact same stats.) -- Cream is unequivocally the worst character in the game, no contest. She severely weakens whatever you give her. What do you expect, she sucks to begin with :( -- Wave is also useless next to Rouge, unless you want cooler boost attacks. -- Speed characters don't have as much an impact on top speed as others, save the embarassment that is E-10000R. Power characters are next lowest in that regard with E-10000G coming out on top in speed, second only to Storm (who gets to use everything instead of just boards). All of the Flight characters are much slower than everyone else, and only Tails makes up for it. -- You read that right: E-10G is supposed to be the inferior robot model here, and his "older brother" E-10R is slower despite the type difference. I don't get it. Were they thinking Arby's when they designed how the characters handle? Characters also influence the star ratings. This is less important than how much they kill your top speed, considering that two of the ratings don't mean anything, but sometimes you've got to take into account the changes they make to Power and Cornering. How it works is, the game changes the ratings for a gear according to how their stats vary from what I like to call "the standard". For comparison, the standard ratings stacked against Eggman: ___________________________________ | "The Standard" | Eggman's stats | |-----------------|-----------------| | Dash: *** 3 | Dash: *** 3 | | Limit: **** 4 | Limit: *** 3 | | Power: *** 3 | Power: **** 4 | | Corner: ** 2 | Corner: ** 2 | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ If the standard looks familiar, it is; those are the ratings given to all the Speed characters. His Limit is 1 point lower, while Power is 1 point higher. That difference carries over to whatever gear you give him. Now let's see how the Cover-P bike performs in comparison: ___________________________________ | Cover-P w/ | Cover-P w/ | | "The Standard" | Eggman's stats | |-----------------|-----------------| | Dash: **** 4 | Dash: **** 4 | | Limit: ***** 5 | Limit: **** 4 | | Power: *** 3 | Power: **** 4 | | Corner: *** 3 | Corner: *** 3 | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Again, Limit down by 1, Power up by 1. So any character that has the standard ratings can use the board as-is, while anybody else will have their stat difference alter the board's performance accordingly. Finally, according to final_lap, some characters also differ in how long their boosts last. I don't know if there's any truth in that, and I don't care to do enough testing to find out, but from what little I know about boost lengths, I can say that I wouldn't count on it. ___________________________ _______________ _______________________/ C2. Buying/Unlocking Gear \__/ -WORK FOR IT- \_____ ============================================================================ The game starts you off with only the bare-bones equipment - one default board for each of the 7 default characters. It's a good start, but to progress with less hassle in modes like World GP, you need either the skill to use the default boards to their limits or better gear. Here we focus on getting it all unlocked (or what's worth unlocking). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================== The Gear Exchange - You want HOW much? ====================================== The Shop option on the main menu is where 31 of the best and worst gear in the game is stowed. And a seedy shop it is. It's actually the Chao Black Market from Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, housed within the same gritty, makeshift sports locker and now run by a sk8r Chao with goggles and bandana. I guess the old market was run out of business after patrons lost interest in their bland-tasting geometric fruit selection and ridiculous attempt at running a haberdashery (Hollowed-out watermelon hats, now 50% off! You look totally not like a clown wearing them! Really! Ok, 60%!). ...anyway, the selection at the shop increases as you progress. You start with a wide array of boards, which expands to include the remaining 5 pairs of skates when you unlock Shadow (read: clear the Heroes story), and then 7 of the 10 bikes when you unlock Eggman (read: clear Babylon story). Finally, clear all the missions in Mission Mode to add 4 special (and relatively expensive) Sega-themed gears. Obviously, currency comes in the form of the rings you collect from races - whatever rings you have on hand at the end of each race accumulate and can be spent here. All of the available gear is priced in increments of 100 rings, which is the most you can get from any race, except under special circumstances which i'll get to mentioning in a couple pharagraphs. First, here is the complete sales chart for the shop, each gear being listed in order of how much of a hole you'll burn in your bank account by buying it. Gears marked with *s are worth going out of your way to get (in my view, at least). Major thnx to SuperLocke44 for providing all the prices: _____________________________ _____________________________ | GEAR ---------------- RINGS | | GEAR ---------------- RINGS | |==>> Hoverboards >>==========| |==>> Skates >>===============| |Beginner --------------- 300| |Advantage-S ------------ 1000| |High Booster ----------- 300| |Advantage-F ------------ 1000| |Accelerator * ---------- 500| |Advantage-P ------------ 1000| |Power Gear ------------- 500| |Grinder * -------------- 2000| |Auto Slider ------------ 600| |Cannonball ------------- 3500| |Faster * --------------- 800| |==>> Sega >>=================| |Light Board * ---------- 1000| |The Crazy (board) ------ 2000| |Access ----------------- 1500| |Hang-On (bike) * ------- 2000| |Hovercraft ------------- 1500| |Opa Opa (board) * ------ 2500| |Speed Balancer --------- 1500| |Super Hang-On (bike) * - 2500| |Slide Booster ---------- 2000| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ |Air Broom -------------- 2500| |Berserker -------------- 2500| |Trap Gear -------------- 2500| |Gambler * -------------- 4000| |==>> Bikes >>================| |Cover-S * -------------- 500| |Cover-F * -------------- 500| |Cover-P ---------------- 500| |Heavy Bike * ----------- 800| |Air Tank --------------- 1000| |Destroyer * ------------ 3500| |Omnipotence ------------ 5000| ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Subtotal: If you buy the gear recommended with *s, excluding the Gambler board and Sega gear, it comes to 9,600 rings (96 races normally). Total: If you buy EVERYTHING on this list, the grand total is 51,300 rings (513 races normally!). "My god, the monotony!", right? Fortunately they weren't stupid enough to not include methods of expediting the process. First, World GP mode offers a very nice payload if you do well: if you win the cup with 48-50 points (close to the max, so you have to go for the win every race), you get a gold emblem and score a fat 500 ring bonus. Add that to the possible 500 total rings you can get from the 5 races themselves, and you'll be able to afford the mega-pricey Omnipotence bike in only 5 runs of either World GP. (Which would be a huge waste of time considering that Omnipotence is kind of a polished turd, but again, statistics are fun.) If you end up with less points and get a silver emblem, it's worth 400 rings...even less will net you a bronze worth 300. The other way to haul in the moolah would be to shell out 4,000 rings for the Gambler board. It doesn't look like you're getting your money's worth at first...it's a clunker in the stats department, eats more Air when you boost, and takes away your character's type attribute so that all shortcuts are off-limits. The "gamble", then, is trying to win with it. Place 1st somehow, and the rings you finish with will be doubled - for a max of 200 rings per race. Trying to run a full 3 lap affair with the Gambler is torturous. You'll barely be able to maintain a lead and it takes longer than it's worth. So do what everybody always does in situations like this in video games: abuse it to its' cheapest. Go into Free Race mode, set the number of laps to 1, and select a track where you can easily grab the course's 100-ring capsule and still make it back around to the finish first. (Thanks to Knux Chao for this tip.) Speaking of those capsules... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================== 100-ring capsules - The magic number index ========================================== Every course (sans Babylon Guardian and Sega Carnival) has two special power-up capsules hidden on the track in obscure, out-of-the-way places: Max Air and 100 rings. They both max out the properties their namesakes claim to, and while they both look identical from a distance - large and gold- rimmed - there's only one of each, and the 100-ring capsules are usually a bit less of a strain to find or access. If you're going for as many rings as possible with either of the two methods I laid out above, you'll want to know where these godly power-ups are hidden, so i've put together this handy reference with the help of several people: Setnaro X, Sketchie, Cervosi, bigblued89, and Master_Espeon provided locations and directions for getting them that I had missed. Your effort is mucho appreciated. Plugging aside, here it is: ------------ METAL CITY: Do front flips on the first jump to get to the upper route. Of course, you must charge up enough to fly that far. Just after the line of power-up capsules, it's up in the air on the left side of the road, but it's suspended too high up to get with a jump. Notice, however, the line of rings leading up to a suspicious arrow board just nearby. Line up with it, charge up a jump and leap into the board to be carried to the capsule. Should you miss it, just forget about it, as 100 rings are a total breeze to get on this track through other means. NIGHT CHASE: (Power character recommended) When the path splits into two short tunnels, take the right one. Shortly, you'll hit a wide-open area, but stay on the right side of the road. Watch for the second ramp on the side (immedeately after the intersection), then charge up a jump as you approach. Jump off the side of the ramp near the end of it with backflips. Nail it just right, and you'll hit the capsule. Why a power character? Johnny Law and his squadron get in the way otherwise, as does the traffic at the intersection. SPLASH CANYON: Easiest one to reach, by far. In the first wide turn, stay on the outside, near the rail shortcut. When you hit the wide-open area, stay on the right side, and note the three waterfalls. The capsule is just behind the second one, but the waterfall completely conceals it. (Rainbow effect?) Just stay to the right, near the rock wall and you'll see it. Or ride straight into the second waterfall and hope you hit it. The latter method takes practice and good aim. This is the track you want to use the Gambler board on. RED CANYON: Quite nearly as easy as Splash Canyon's, only this is close to the end. After you exit the cave by jumping through the waterfall, you'll ride down a slope. You should see the capsule sitting out in the open at the bottom-left of the slope. EGG FACTORY: Most conveniently, if you watch the course intro, it will show you exactly where this one is. But it doesn't help. Following the sharp hairpin turn after the bit with the lava draining from the ceiling, you go up a slope and find yourself in a wide turn with a fast-rotating mechanism on the inside of the turn. The capsule, annoyingly enough, is just within the radius of the mechanism. Worse yet, it's sitting RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE TRACK, and the mechanism's pods will likely whack you away in a direction you'd prefer not to go as you try to grab the capsule, unless your timing is spot on. Not worth the frustration. ICE FACTORY: Fortunately, this one's a snap. Not far after the fast ride along the conveyor hook, you make a sharp turn and see the same mechanism from Egg Factory, except this one is frozen and thus stopped. The capsule is inbetween the first and second pods and needs some precision turning to get, but at least you have no danger of careening off the track against your will. GREEN CAVE: (Flight character recommended) There are two ways to go about this, but without a flight character, you may have to get lucky. With one, just hit the first flight shortcut, then take note of the dash rings: there are 4 in this shortcut. Use the first one, fly under the second, and land on the cylindrical vine beneath the third. This vine eventually takes you to the capsule. (Mess it up, and you'll likely plummet off the track, but you SHOULD respawn right at the flight ramp.) For other characters, you must rely on someone else's turbulence. Ride the wave of anybody who's taken the right-side vine, then try to trick off of the side. Hopefully, you'll land on the vine above. WHITE CAVE: This one is impressively well-hidden, and kind of a bitch to describe, so pay attention. Following the first major jump, you'll be racing through the inside of a massive, hollowed-out tree. When you see the first set of two dash panels on the floor, go to the left of them, then stay to the left of every rock and set of dash panels that you see. It should sort of lead you upside down. Now, as you pass underneath (or perhaps overtop of) the dash ring for the flight shortcut, drift to the left, falling out of the tree. If you did it right, you should flip as you "fall" and land on a cylindrical vine that you couldn't otherwise reach. Steer to the top of the vine to find the capsule. SAND RUINS: (Flight character recommended) As you're approaching the second big jump, and at about the point where there is a line of power-ups beforehand, a column will fall on the left, making a convenient lesser jump for you. Charge up a jump as much as you can and backflip off of it to land on the upper path, with the capsule. You want to be on the rightmost side of the jump, else you'll miss the capsule. That's the hard way to do it, but if you're using a flight character, simply take the flight shortcut just after landing from the first big jump. Follow all the dash rings, and you should land at - or most likely on top of - the capsule easily. DARK DESERT: Requires turbulence riding. Hang back enough before you get to the tunnel after the series of lesser jumps early on. Land from the last of those jumps, and try to get into someone's turbulence before you enter the sharp turn ahead. Trick off of the left edge of the turbulence as you go into the turn to go through the ceiling (!?) and land in a secret alcove with the capsule. BABYLON GARDEN: When you get out of the lengthy curve following the fighter jet ride, you go down a slope and witness a jet blast a gaping hole in the track ahead of you. There's a small jump just in front of the hole, so charge up as you approach, and front-flip off the edge of the jump. You've got to charge up pretty substantially to get launched up high enough to reach it, and lining up with the capsule is equally as tricky at first. SKY ROAD: After the second big jump (and if you don't take the turbulence shortcut created by a fighter jet), you go around a quick, sharp corner, down a slight slope and hit a wide straightaway with no guardrails. You will see the 100-ring and Max Air capsules suspended way up above here, but they're impossible to reach on lap 1, so keep racing. The second time you come by here, a jet will blast a huge chunk of track away underneath the ring capsule, but also create a small ramp in front of the hole with which to reach it. So cut the inside of the corner with a drift, and when you release the shoulder button, start charging a jump - you will have little time to prepare for the ramp to appear. Aim for the center of the edge of the ramp, and front-flip. This may take several attempts. DIGITAL DIMENSION: (Flight character recommended) When you enter "heaven", head for the left side of the building ahead. Beside it, there's a short stairway with the capsule smack in the middle of it, but just ahead is the ramp for a flight shortcut. If you're not using a flight character, you must boost beforehand so that you shoot over the gap in the track to safety. BABYLON GUARDIAN: There isn't one, nor are there any rings at all unless you're using Chaos Emerald/The Crazy. SEGA CARNIVAL: Not here either; only the Max Air capsule is present. Why one capsule is there but the other isn't is beyond me. SEGA ILLUSION: Very tricky. When you reach the Chu Chu Rocket! board near the end, start charging up a jump. Just ahead, the path splits: three arrow panels straight ahead, and three to your immedeate left. You need to take that hard left turn and jump over all of the green and red panels, else you get carried towards the finish. Aim for the glowing gold panel and hit it, and you'll get the capsule as you go. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- =========================================== Story mode - Awful voice acting, cool rides =========================================== Gamespot calls Story mode "useless". Hey Alex Navarro, the same can be said about your reviews. If you don't suck, it can be beaten altogether in less than a day, and for doing so, four gears (and several more in the shop) are awarded to you: __________________________________________ | GEAR | TYPE | CLEAR THIS STORY | |==========================================| | Blue Star II | Board | Heroes | | Darkness | Skates | Heroes | | Magic Carpet | Board | Babylon | | E-rider | Bike | Babylon | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================ Mission mode - Collect junk to recieve scrap ============================================ Furthermore, wrapping up the story opens up the biggest time-waster in the game, Mission Mode. It's engineered for you to hone your skills and get your head around the unusual mechanics, which would have been nice if they called it Training Mode and made it available from the start instead of leaving us to struggle along in Story mode first, and instead of hiding an incredibly uninformative "tutorial" (for lack of a term that would better describe it, or at least one that's not overly profane) video in a place that not very many people would think to look. What? The unlockables? You don't want to know. Four out of the five boards you can get out of this mode are incredibly bad or nigh-worthless. But i'll tell you anyway, because that one board is great, and I know there are completionists reading this who want to get every drop of replay value out of the bottle that is within their skill, me being one of them: In any of the 3 mission menus, pressing the button assigned to View Treasure will switch to a view of the treasures you've earned from this mode. What the game deems "treasure" are the items you can collect from every fifth mission on each track in Storm's Missions if you're good. In these missions (which have you doing things like "catch up to and destroy (x target)" or "fly through (x) number of dash rings"), hidden somewhere amongst the objects you're supposed to use to clear the mission is one item that looks like the junk you collect from the junk collection missions. You usually have to keep doing what you're supposed to be doing for a while before you can get to it - like in Splash Canyon Mission 5, where the treasure is sitting on a rail over the raging river, and you must grind with a great deal of skill/timing to make it to it. Once you have the treasure, complete the mission and return to the treasure menu. Whatever it is will be revealed here under one of the four selectable treasure slots (A/B/C/D). Now, for each slot, there are two items: a wrecked board in dire need of repair, and the repair manual that shows what parts you need to be able to fix it. The boards and manuals are considered seperate treasures, so of course, if you get a manual, you won't get the board with it. If i've lost you thus far in these huge paragraphs, it boils down to the following: play the fifth missions for Storm, get the hidden treasures in them to collect wrecked boards and the repair manuals for them. That makes four boards for each treasure slot, but I didn't make a typo when I said five up there; the last one isn't unlocked by these means. Here's where each treasure is found (and keep in mind that I haven't tested any of this, so it all comes second hand from the GameFAQs codes page): _________________________________________________ | TREASURE ----------- | PLAY THE 5TH MISSION ON: | |=================================================| | Fastest board ------ | Metal City | | Turbo Star manual -- | Splash Canyon | | Powerful Gear board | Egg Factory | | Turbo Star board --- | Green Cave | | Legend manual ------ | Sand Ruins | | Legend board ------- | Babylon Garden | | Fastest manual ----- | Digital Dimension | | Powerful Gear manual | Sega Carnival | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Finding them is only half the work, repairing them is the real chore. As each repair manual shows, you need a certain number of five different objects to get the thing fixed. These objects are the junk you collect in any of the junk missions throughout Mission Mode. They're differentiated simply by color - leave the technical differences to the tinkering geeks who fix these things like Tails. They come in Green, Yellow, Red, Blue, and the exceptionally rare Purple. You can view the junk you've collected in the View Treasure menu under Junks. If you need more, junk missions can always be replayed to stock up. Depending on the track you're doing the junk mission on, there will be more of a certain color than the others, but there's always only two Red junks and one Purple junk to be found...except during Jet's junk missions. In those, all 12 of them are Purple, but the trade-off is that while you're going about collecting junk, you're also racing Jet, so you've got to keep pace or you blow the mission. Fortunately, if you're good enough at both of those tasks (as well you should be to make it that far into the game), it's not too much of a bother. As for Storm's and Wave's junk missions, here's a chart of how much of each color junk you'll find on each track, Red and Purple notwithstanding: _______________________________ | COURSE ---------- | G | Y | B | |===============================| | Metal City ------ | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Splash Canyon --- | 2 | 4 | 3 | | Egg Factory ----- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Green Cave ------ | 4 | 3 | 2 | | Sand Ruins ------ | 2 | 4 | 3 | | Babylon Garden -- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Digital Dimension | 4 | 3 | 2 | | Sega Carnival --- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Night Chase ----- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Red Canyon ------ | 2 | 4 | 3 | | Ice Factory ----- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | White Cave ------ | 4 | 3 | 2 | | Dark Desert ----- | 2 | 4 | 3 | | Sky Road -------- | 2 | 3 | 4 | | Babylon Guardian | 4 | 3 | 2 | | Sega Illusion --- | 2 | 3 | 4 | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Once you have enough as dictated by the board's manual, and also have the beaten-up board in question, select its' treasure slot and confirm that you want to fix it. (How incredibly redundant, why wouldn't you? Well, maybe because the developers know these things suck?) Once it's back in working order, the gear is added to your roster for use anytime. This is what is needed: _________________________________________________________________ | BOARD ------- | AMOUNT OF JUNK REQUIRED | |=================================================================| | Fastest ----- | 10 Green, 40 Yellow, 10 Red, 20 Blue, 5 Purple | | Legend ------ | 20 Green, 20 Yellow, 20 Red, 20 Blue, 40 Purple | | Powerful Gear | 10 Green, 20 Yellow, 10 Red, 40 Blue, 10 Purple | | Turbo Star -- | 40 Green, 20 Yellow, 10 Red, 10 Blue | ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ More fun with numbers: You always need a medium to large amount of Yellow junk for each of these, while Red junk is the least consistently necessary. Well, mathematically. Turbo Star doesn't even need Purple junk, which will save you some effort. And what about that fifth board? It's the Chaos Emerald, and you must put in a great deal of work to get it: earn gold emblems on every single mission and it's yours. Doesn't matter whether or not you repair the other four boards, but I think you may have to unlock the Sega tracks first. I can't be sure about that, though. Just to spoil the so-called suprise early, it's the board that lets you use Super Sonic, but it's still utter crap. I'll let you get to its' entry in the gear list before I continue complaining about that. ______________ ___________________ ______________________________/ D. Gear List \__/ -RACER'S CATALOG- \_______ ============================================================================ Finally, here's the centerpiece of the guide: the gear list. Through extensive testing, i've devised strategies for using (or not using) all 54 gears. Also listed are unofficial stats such as top speed to make it as complete as possible. Much free time was burnt up getting all this precious info, so in reading this, you hereby agree to surrender your soul to me to make up for the loss. Or at least appreciate my toil :p This is what you'll find for each listing: ##. [name] [in-game description] Dash: * # [in-game rating] Limit: * # [rating] Power: * # [rating] Corner: * # [rating] Top Speed: ### (0-### in # seconds, ### at level 3) [the fastest it can go, and how long it takes to get to that point. These values were gathered with the character that gives it its' best possible stats. Also listed is your top speed at level 3. Reminder: 158.6 is the average] Boost Speeds: (Lv1) ###, (Lv2) ###, (Lv3) ### [boost performance at all 3 levels] Off-road Speed: (Lv1) ##, (Lv2/3) ## [the fastest you can manage when you stray off-track, which raises as you level up] Special Attributes: [the gear's gimmicks, if applicable] Unlock: [what you need to do to get it, in case you missed section C2] Characters: [who gets to use it] Notes: [whatever you need to know when using it] ABOUT LEVELLING UP: As your level hikes up, your stats recieve slight boosts. Your Power increases one point at level 2, and Dash/Limit increases at level 3. Also, the duration of your boost goes up a by a second or two as you level up, but I won't be listing how long the boosts last - that takes more testing than i'm willing to endure. ABOUT ACCELERATION: You won't find yourself recovering from coming to a standstill often, but the stats should tell you how quickly it can get moving at a gear's best speed. I tested most of them on the straightaways at Babylon Guardian, although for some gears that have a really hard time accelerating on their own, even those aren't long enough. 20 seconds is as far as you can go before you hit the wall in a turn, so if I list it as 20+ seconds, you'll know how miserably slow it is to get going. Average acceleration time is approxmiately 8.8 seconds (based on what data I gathered with an undetermined margin of error). I've split the three gear types into their respective categories. They're listed in the order that the game presents them: 1-38 are boards, 39-48 are bikes, and 49-54 are skates. As a reminder, Eggman can only use bikes, Ulala can't use bikes, and both of the E-10000's can only use boards. Onward, to knowledge: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\________________________________________________________________/| ||>>>>>>>>>>>>| D1. Hoverboards || [-SONIC SURFER-] |<<<<<<<<<<<<<|| |/----------------------------------------------------------------\| 1. Blue Star By Robotnik Corp. Speed-type air board. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Stats: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Sonic only Notes: Works fine until you get Blue Star II/Cover-S, then it's not good for much. 2. Yellow Tail By Robotnik Corp. Flight-type air board. Dash: **** 4 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 150 (0-150 in 7 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Tails only (Because of this, his character stats determine the board's performance. Yellow Tail's base stats are the standard.) Notes: Good if you're new to the game, since it has better cornering than most other gear and slightly longer boosts. When better gear starts rolling in, ditch it. 3. Red Rock By Robotnik Corp. Power-type air board. Dash: *** 3 Limit: *** 3 Power: **** 4 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 155 (0-155 in 6 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100, (Lv2/3) 105 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Knuckles only (Because of this, his character stats determine the board's performance. Red Rock's base stats are the standard.) Notes: Same story as Blue Star - get used to the Power Type with it, buy better gear, ditch this. 4. Pink Rose By Robotnik Corp. Speed type for women. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 158 (0-158 in 7 seconds, 176 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 84, (Lv2/3) 94 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Amy only Notes: A slower Blue Star with a sissy tone, being ridden by a dippy stalker. Well, I like her new jumpsuit. 5. Type-J Babylon Standard. Speed type W (Wave). Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 160 (0-160 in 7 seconds, 178 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 84, (Lv2/3) 94 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Jet only Notes: He's 2 speed slower than Sonic at any level. Fuel to feed the fire of the fanboys who insist Sonic can't be outsped, I guess. 6. Type-S Babylon Standard. Power type W (Wave). Dash: *** 3 Limit: *** 3 Power: **** 4 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 158 (0-158 in 7 seconds, 168 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100, (Lv2/3) 106 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Storm only (Because of this, his character stats determine the board's performance. Type-S' base stats are the standard.) Notes: Ever-so-slightly faster than Red Rock, and it has some significance in the Hero story intro...that's about it. 7. Type-W Babylon Standard. Flight type W (Wave). Dash: **** 4 Limit: *** 3 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 150 (0-150 in 7 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: None Unlock: N/A Characters: Wave only (Because of this, her character stats determine the board's performance. Type-W's base stats are the standard.) Notes: Different handling than Yellow Tail. It's closer towards a standard Speed type board, but much slower. 8. Temptation By Robotnik Corp. For women R (Rouge). Dash: **** 4 Limit: *** 3 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 151 (0-151 in 7 seconds, 166 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with Rouge when she's unlocked Characters: Rouge only (Because of this, her character stats determine the board's performance. Temptation's base stats are the standard.) Notes: Anyone else find its' description funny in its' own weird way? Or i'm just nuts. Anyway, this is mostly identical to Type-W, except...well, with what this game deems "sex appeal"? 9. Smile By Robotnik Corp. Flight type for kids. Dash: **** 4 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 148 (0-148 in 7 seconds, 163 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 79, (Lv2/3) 89 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with Cream when she's unlocked Characters: Cream only (Because of this, her character stats determine the board's performance. Smile's base stats are the standard.) Notes: Cream sucks :( Use someone else. Like a character with RESPECTABLE qualities. 10. High Booster Astounding boost ability. Dash: ** 2 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 157 (0-157 in 12 seconds, 175 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 250, (Lv2) 300, (Lv3) 350 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Mega boost that uses up much more Air Unlock: Buy from Shop for 300 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: The super boost isn't worth the half of your air gauge you'll drain when you use it. Some parts of Mission Mode require that you use it (and those missions aren't fun to get Gold Emblems on). 11. Auto Slider Auto Air Slides when cornering! Dash: *** 3 Limit: *** 3 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 157 (0-157 in 8 seconds, 175 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Can drift simply by doing a sharp turn; drifting uses less Air Unlock: Buy from Shop for 600 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: I...guess this was intended to practice drifting with, but it's actually harder to drift, much less steer, this way. If you're inexperienced, play Metal City in Time Attack and practice on the two sharp hairpin turns. 12. Powerful Gear Heavy Gear. Works well even on poor roads. Dash: * 1 Limit: **** 4 Power: ****** 6 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 19 seconds) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 155, (Lv2/3) 160 Special Attributes: Doesn't lose speed uphill Unlock: Repair in Mission Mode - requires 10 Green junk, 20 Yellow, 10 Red, 40 Blue, and 10 Purple Characters: All except Eggman Notes: The only Mission Mode gear that's worth it. Uphill terrain has no effect when using this, so you can FLY up slopes when boosting. Use a default stat character for best results. Just don't get hit, because it takes its' sweet time recovering from a sharp speed decrease. (Thanks to final_lap for uncovering this board's trait.) 13. Fastest Gear with the highest top speed. Dash: 0 Limit: ******* 7 Power: *** 3 Corner: 0 Top Speed: 202 (0-202 in 20+ seconds, 219 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 230, (Lv2) 240, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Can only restore Air via Air power-ups, pit stops, or levelling up Unlock: Repair in Mission Mode - requires 10 Green junk, 40 Yellow, 10 Red, 20 Blue, and 5 Purple Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Enjoy that exhilirating speed, because with so few ways to refuel, it won't last. Another reason it won't last is because you'll have your hands full trying to get a handle on this thing's miserable steering. Its' boosts are weak, gaining only 10 speed each level and being no faster than 38 over your top speed at any given time (ironically making its' level 2 boosts the most effective). A clunker by any faster speed is still a clunker. 14. Turbo Star Accelerates quickly to achieve top speed! Dash: ****** 6 Limit: * 1 Power: 0 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 142 (0-142 in 2 seconds [!], 160 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 180, (Lv2) 200, (Lv3) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 70, (Lv2/3) 80 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Repair in Mission Mode - requires 40 Green junk, 20 Yellow, 10 Red, and 10 Blue Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Once it's done accelerating, it leaves you for dead with that top speed :( I guess your boosts are pretty effective here, with such a huge difference between top speed/boost speed, so use them dilligently. Accelerator's better at this kind of thing. 15. Speed Balancer Performs well on straight roads. Dash: ***** 5 Limit: ****** 6 Power: * 1 Corner: 0 Top Speed: 177 (0-177 in 5 seconds, 195 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 75, (Lv2/3) 85 Special Attributes: Severely handicapped steering Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: That description is dead serious. This thing has virtually no steering ability at all on its' own. It's like being strapped to an ATV and having the throttle hung wide open. In order to get through even the slightest of turns this game has to offer, you MUST drift, and that means rapid Air consumption. Should you dare to attempt this wreckless ride, use Tails so that you have some sembelance of handling ability. 16. Blue Star II By Robotnik Corp. Speed type for Sonic. Dash: **** 4 Limit: ***** 5 Power: ** 2 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 167 (0-167 in 5 seconds, 184 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 210, (Lv2) 235, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 75, (Lv2/3) 85 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Clear the Heroes Story Characters: Sonic only Notes: This thing outclasses the original nicely. It's engineered for raw speed, and there's nothing you can do about the Power and Cornering. Fortunately, it isn't quite as hard to handle as Speed Balancer. 17. Access This Gear allows any character that can utilize it to fly. Dash: *** 3 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 6 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 180, (Lv2) 210, (Lv3) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Enables user to use flight type shortcuts Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,500 Rings Characters: Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Shadow, Aiai, Ulala, E-10000G, E-10000R Notes: All it has on Magic Carpet is better acceleration and cornering. The trade-off doesn't mean much with that kind of top speed and power. On top of that, it has lacking boosts. Uh, why? 18. Beginner Consumes little air. Good for beginners. Dash: ** 2 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 157 (0-157 in 13 seconds, 175 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Uses less Air Unlock: Buy from Shop for 300 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Ehh, if you're new, then you're probably better off with Tails and Yellow Tail. 19. Accelerator By Robotnik Corp. Speed boost enhanced. Dash: ***** 5 Limit: ** 2 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 3 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Don't believe the description, its' boosting ability isn't enhanced any. It may seem that way because of the sharp contrast between top and boost speed. Still fairly slow, but faster and more practical than Turbo Star regardless. Side note: Shadow looks pretty slick paired with this one. 20. Trap Gear Can execute unlimited Tornadoes! Dash: **** 4 Limit: ** 2 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 147 (0-147 in 4 seconds, 164 at level 3) Boost Speeds: N/A Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Can't boost or attack, but dropping a tornado doesn't cost Air and gives you a quick burst of speed; not selectable for Babylon Guardian Unlock: Buy from Shop for 2,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: If its' top speed weren't in the dumps, this thing would be godly. Repeatedly crapping tornadoes will shake off any bugs riding your turbulence, and lets you shoot up steep slopes or quickly recover from getting hit. Boosting, however, is still the better way of maintaining effective speed, and getting back into the lead can be tough if you fall behind for any reason. In any event, it's a fun board. Experiment with it. 21. Light Board Gear with the lightest weight. Dash: **** 4 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 145 (0-145 in 5 seconds, 161 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 190, (Lv2) 220, (Lv3) 240 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 82, (Lv2/3) 91 Special Attributes: The effects of speed boosts linger until interrupted Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,000 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: This board's effect is very weird. I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly how it works, so drop me a line at section F if you know the details. What happens is, when you boost, the game locks your acceleration so that the speed increase is kept after the boost ends, until you hit a wall or begin charging a jump, or anything to interrupt it. When you get to level 3, it may also start doing this with drift boosts and the Speed Up power-up. The funny thing is, i've witnessed myself land from dropping off a ledge and continue to accelerate rapidly until I hit about 250 speed...or land from a flight shortcut and get screwed because it won't let me go faster than 120 (that can be fixed with a jump). It's bizzare. Help me out here. 22. Slide Booster Can execute consecutive slides. Dash: * 1 Limit: ** 2 Power: * 1 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in approx. 10+ seconds*, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: N/A Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 75, (Lv2/3) 85 Special Attributes: Can't boost or attack, but enhances drifting abilities significantly (see notes); not selectable for Babylon Guardian Unlock: Buy from Shop for 2,000 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Mario Kart DS and F-Zero GX players are familiar with "snaking", a technique that has you using repeated drift boosts back and forth down wide straightaways to rocket down the track. Some call it cheating, but in the case of this board, it's the only way to keep up. What it does is take away the time it takes to charge up a drift boost while drifting, so that you get the speed burst by only having to press and release the shoulder button. While turning, of course. Furthermore, drifting with this board uses almost no Air whatsoever. This is how you want to do it: 1) As you head down a straightaway, move to about the center of the track. 2) Move the Control Stick in either direction, then initiate a drift... 3) Quickly move the stick in the opposite direction and release the button, and we have liftoff. 4) Now start another drift, move the stick, release, drift, ect. Do this all in quick succession to repeatedly boost your way ahead. At level 3, you can maintain a speed of about 230 as long as you're doing this, so shoot for that level ASAP. You can also try variations of this to get back up to speed quickly after being hit or to bomb through gentle corners. The disadvantages? Your turning radius when drifting like you usually would is way too sharp, and snaking is all that keeps you ahead of people. * - Without being able to use this thing on Babylon Guardian, I can't figure out how long it takes to go from 0-152 on it because there are no other straightways in the game long enough. I would estimate about 10 or more seconds. 23. Legend Has high-level air ability. Dash: * 1 Limit: ** 2 Power: * 1 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 16 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 75, (Lv2/3) 85 Special Attributes: Can go soaring off of large ramps without having to charge up a jump, but can't restore Air by doing tricks Unlock: Repair in Mission Mode - requires 20 Green junk, 20 Yellow, 20 Red, 20 Blue, and 40 Purple (!) Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Yes, that happens to be the second worst rating total in the game, and it's slow as a rock speeding up, but there is some inner decency to this board. When using it, only choose a standard stat character so you don't lose precious top speed. As you approach any big ramp, don't reach for the jump button, just hold Up or Down on the stick (situation permitting) and the board will do the rest. Keep in mind this only works for large ramps; smaller ones still must be taken advantage of manually. Tricks are typically your biggest source of Air income, and Legend steals away that luxury, so be little more air-conservant. 24. Magic Carpet Legendary Extreme Gear. Dash: * 1 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 19 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Enables user to use flight type shortcuts Unlock: Clear the Babylon Story Characters: Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Jet, Storm, Shadow, Aiai, Ulala, E-10000G, E-10000R Notes: If anything, it wins in looks. It's one of the few gears that allow you to mix shortcuts without forcing particularly low stats on you (forget that cleaning instrument below). The acceleration seriously drags and handling is a bit stiff, but anybody with some skill can ignore those blemishes. A lot of my best lap times have been set with this impressive hovering cloth. 25. Air Broom This Gear allows any character to grind. Dash: *** 3 Limit: ** 2 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 6 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Enables user to use grinding shortcuts Unlock: Buy from Shop for 2,500 Rings Characters: Tails, Knuckles, Storm, Wave, Cream, Rouge, NiGHTS, Aiai, E- 10000G* Notes: Meh. Grinder's got better stats where it really matters (speed). Not worth the price. Don't ask me how a BROOMSTICK can give you mad grinding skillz. This is kind of amusing paired with Rouge, but then you're slow as molasses :( * - E10G is the only character you can use this with that doesn't steal speed away. 26. Hovercraft Gear said to be used on a grand adventure. Dash: **** 4 Limit: ****** 6 Power: **** 4 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 172 (0-172 in 6 seconds, 190 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 210, (Lv2) 240, (Lv3) 260 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 90, (Lv2/3) 100 Special Attributes: Slippery steering that is nigh impossible to control, but won't lose speed when charging up a jump Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: It's a CLOUD, so guess what that means? No grip whatsoever! This atmospherical turd steers like you're on ice no matter what. Doesn't matter that prepping for major air on a jump doesn't slow you down if you can't halfway control the thing. Should you finish either World GP with this thing in 1st place, with a perfect score, I will bow to your superiority (or at least poke fun at your achievement here). Yes, that is a challenge. 27. Chaos Emerald Emerald holds an ancient power. Dash: ***** 5 Limit: ****** 6 Power: ***** 5 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 182 (0-182 in 5 seconds) Boost Speed: (Lv1) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 95 Special Attributes: Enables use of Super Sonic (see notes) Unlock: Earn Gold Emblems for every mission in Mission Mode Characters: Sonic only Notes: The fun thing about having guides of your own is that you get all the room you need to rant about things that suck, like Super Sonic in this game. Let's rattle off the list of the advantages he provides, to get it out of the way: -- Unlimited air -- Acceleration, top speed, and off-road performance specs are superb -- He is endowed with all three character types, making all types of shortcuts open to you -- Is invincible (doesn't lose rings or speed if attacked) -- Your boost attack will power through your victim without interruption, leaving them dazed and confused at the yellow streak that just mowed them down -- He looks cool, more than can be said for his appearances since after Sonic Adventure 2 -- *gasp* Decent voice clips! (except for that one at the start of the race) Sound good thus far? That's all the good there is. His steering reeks for a supposed god character. He can't drop tornadoes or level up (not that he'd need to, though). And then, there is his reliance on rings. In case you haven't been following the series for long (and if not, stop reading and go buy Sonic Mega Collection for any platform that's convenient for you. That's an order), Super Sonic has always used rings as fuel for his power. Use of his abilites drains rings, and when he runs out, superhog is back to being just 'hog. In Riders, they've taken his ring addiction to unhealthy levels beyond anything previously seen in the series. It charts out like thus: -- You start the race with 30 rings (wtf, he's supposed to start with 50) -- You lose 1 ring per second when racing normally -- Rings are siphoned rapidly while drifting (uh, why?) -- A whopping 20 rings are required to boost -- And an additional 10 rings are gone for every character you attack in the boost (what?!) -- No rings lost when using speed/flying shortcuts, riding turbulence, doing a trick, or when in automated areas Here's the crippler. Run out of rings, and you're back to normal blue Sonic. They could have left it at that and forced you to collect 30/50 rings again to get back your shiny self, but no, instead, when you run out, you have to run the track. Picking up 1 ring will restore you to normal, but you need a lot more than that to get back into a competetive position, because that's running on fumes. You might luck out and a power-up will save you...emphasis on MIGHT. In short, don't run out, or...well, take up an interest in jogging. Although, if you do run out, you have one sure-fire means of getting back into the game lickety-split: falling off the track. You heard me, jump off the track. You will respawn with 30 rings. Only exploit this hole when your ring count runs dry. On tracks like Egg/Ice Factory, that may be a frequent occurance. Due to this mechanic, you must constantly worry about keeping a flow of rings coming in while warding off opponents. This utterly ruins what is supposed to be the best character in the game, because you can't afford to boost without a large sum of rings on hand. (At least wait until you have over 50 or so to do it.) Sure, a top speed of 180+ is nice, unless somebody rides your turbulence and blows you off. Then you have to waste all that effort and rings to get the lead back. You might be able to compensate by taking every shortcut you can and seeking out the 100-ring capsules, but the point is, you can't easily open a nice wide gap between you and 2nd place as Super Sonic, unless you exert more effort than is safe. Whether you agree or not, those are the facts, and that is that. Now back to that other subject you prolly came to this file for: 28. Faster By Robotnik Corp. Top speed enhanced. Dash: * 1 Limit: ****** 6 Power: *** 3 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 182 (0-182 in 20+ seconds, 200 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 800 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: The similarties to Fastest end at the attributes, for which this board has none. That makes it a lot more practical to use. Its' boosts are moderately effective, at least moreso than its' so-called superior model. Getting hit can be disasterous in a worst-case scenario, so watch out. 29. Gambler Gear used by a legendary gambler. Dash: ** 2 Limit: *** 3 Power: ** 2 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 157 (0-157 in 12 seconds, 175 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 195, (Lv2) 220, (Lv3) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Can't use any typed shortcuts and boosts use more air, but if you finish first, you get double rings Unlock: Buy from Shop for 4,000 Rings (!) Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Use it to get rings quickly for the shop. When you've bought everything (or at least everything you care to buy), retire it. If you missed it before in section C2: The strategy for using it is to go into Free Race mode, set the number of laps to 1, and select Splash Canyon. Grab the 100-ring capsule, then win by whatever means necessary without running out of air. That's 200 rings a go, which is dandy, but if you're really daring, try it on World GP mode. If only to see how long it takes for you to give up in frustration :p 30. Power Gear By Robotnik Corp. Endurance enhanced. Dash: ** 2 Limit: **** 4 Power: ***** 5 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 16 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 135, (Lv2/3) 145 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: It's Powerful Gear Lite. If you don't want to slog through Mission Mode, this is the next best thing (at a low price too). 31. Opa Opa Gear holds a knight's soul for an attack. Dash: * 1 Limit: **** 4 Power: ***** 5 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: All boost attacks replaced with one, super powerful boost attack Unlock: Complete all missions, then buy it from the Shop for 2,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Dunno what they were smoking when they gave it a Dash rating of 1, because it and Power Gear have the same max speed, and this gets you there a substantial 9 seconds faster. Anyway, your one attack involves you dropping a 10 ton weight on your unlucky victim, smashing them into a furry piece of paper in the finest Looney Tunes style and leaving them incapacitated for several seconds. Fun stuff! (Bit of nostalgia: Opa Opa, a weird sentient flying ship that first appeared in the Fantasy Zone series of side-scrolling shooters, has become Sega's most obscure character ever. He's like an unofficial mascot, and has popped up out of nowhere for a number of cameos over the years. His "drop a weight on somebody" attack is kind of his trademark. For Riders, they've compacted him into a board, and a number of these guys will get in your way at the start of the Sega Illusion course.) 32. The Crazy This Gear uses Rings instead of air. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds) Boost Speed: (Lv1) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100 Special Attributes: Unlimited Air, but rings are consumed steadily (see notes) and you can't level up Unlock: Complete all missions, then buy it from Shop for 2,000 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Via the gear shaped like Axl's cab from Crazy Taxi, everybody can experience how crappy it feels to be like Super Sonic! ...well, since the stats are lower than Chaos Emerald, you would assume that the taxation on your ring count would be lessened, right? To an extent, yes, but it's still a (censor) to use. -- Start race with 50 rings (20 more than Super Sonic, strangely) -- Lose 1 ring every 2 seconds when racing normally -- Rings are siphoned rapidly while drifting -- 17 rings to boost or drop a tornado -- When you attack an opponent, you get 10 rings back (!) -- No rings lost when using speed/flying shortcuts, riding turbulence, doing a trick, or when in automated areas -- Run out of rings, and you're hoofing it until you scoop up a few more 33. Night Sky From Twin Seeds. Only for a Nightmaren. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 150 (0-150 in 7 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with NiGHTS when you unlock him Characters: NiGHTS only Notes: NiGHTS is almost refreshing to play as, because he/it has no voice actor. Definitely worth the effort; unfortunately, he knocks off so much speed that he's worthless next to similarly handicapped characters like Tails. Use Night Sky maybe once for oohs and ahhs, and never again. 34. BANANA Banana Gear found on Jungle Island. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 155 (0-155 in 6 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100, (Lv2/3) 105 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with Aiai when you unlock him Characters: Aiai only Notes: :p A flying banana. And "Jungle Island"? A little creativity in names goes a long way, Sega. This thing has an even more dissapointing speed increase at level 3 (only up by 10). Pardon for the rant, but appreciate whatever dignity Aiai has left now; in a few months he'll be starring in the worst use of his franchise yet (Super Monkey Ball Adventure). I guess it's no suprise, since it's a product of Traveller's Tales...you know, the brits who put out the turdbomb we call Sonic R; a game so bad and so loved by its' cult of fans that it defies comprehension. If you liked that game, something is desperately wrong with you. Then again, people say lots of good things about Lego Star Wars, and TT made that... 35. E-gearG Enhanced E-10000G. Production model. Dash: *** 3 Limit: *** 3 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with E-10000G when you unlock him Characters: E-10000G only (Because of this, his character stats determine the board's performance. E-gearG's base stats are the standard.) Notes: I'm still trying to wrap my head around why E10G is so fast. I mean, he's supposed to be field filler and all. Sloppy design? 36. E-gearR Enhanced E-10000R. High-end gear. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 155 (0-155 in 6 seconds, 165 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100, (Lv2/3) 105 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with E-10000R when you unlock him Characters: E-10000R only Notes: For the 50 hours of hard work you put in to unlock this guy, you get an ugly, fat red robo with the looks of a sheer poser (plus the stats of one) and a voice that is so sickly and quiet that it's almost impossible to make out. And in the most absurd oxymoron, he's an intolerably slow Speed character. Thanks, guys :( 37. Channel5 Channel 5 exclusive. Only for reporters. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Comes with Ulala when you unlock her Characters: Ulala only Notes: Well, you're not getting any advice out of me on this one, so... Ulala's got the fugliest model in the game. Since nearly everybody else has enormous clay hands and the textures are horribly pixelated up close, this is no shocker. 38. Berserker Said to be used by a legendary knight. Dash: ** 2 Limit: ** 2 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 12 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 190, (Lv2) 210, (Lv3) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: You are always in an attacking stance and can attack opponents by running into them, but can only restore Air via power- ups/levelling up, and you can't pit Unlock: Buy from Shop for 2,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman Notes: Why it's all the way down here on the list is beyond me; I didn't number these things. Anyway, there's nothing this board loves better than a good fight. That's apparent in its' star trait, but should you start to stretch out a lead, it will pine for the glory of Sonic spindashing overtop of Knuckles or Eggman passing gas on Cream (which is technically impossible on this board, but shut up, this is MY little chunk of fiction), and drag you down with its' weak stats and extreme tendancy to run out of Air. For those of you who have a problem reading between the lines, in summarization: this board sucks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\________________________________________________________________/| ||>>>>>>>>>>>>>| D2. Bikes || [-NO WHEEL TUESDAY-] |<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|| |/----------------------------------------------------------------\| 39. E-rider High-performance, but burns too much Air. Dash: **** 4 Limit: ***** 5 Power: **** 4 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 167 (0-167 in 5 seconds, 184 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 90, (Lv2/3) 100 Special Attributes: Uses a LOT more air Unlock: Comes with Eggman when he's unlocked Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: The stats just aren't "high performance" enough to be worth the gas guzzler it is. Good thing the primary fuel partner of the EX World Grand Prix isn't UNOCAL 76. If used, boost sparingly, and don't drift for too long. At level 3, you'll be in the CAUTION! zone after no more than 2 boosts. 40. Air Tank Has basic attributes, but holds much air. Dash: ** 2 Limit: ** 2 Power: ** 2 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 12 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 190, (Lv2) 210, (Lv3) 230 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Holds more Air and uses less, but can't recover it as quickly Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,000 Rings Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: Its' terrible sub-average stats and inability to fill your huge air gauge quickly enough pretty much squelches any potential this thing had. Let's see, something positive...it gets some time in the spotlight in Mission Mode. Does that count? 41. Heavy Bike Heaviest Gear in existance. Dash: ** 2 Limit: ****** 6 Power: ***** 5 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 183 (0-183 in 10 seconds, 203 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 210, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 92, (Lv2/3) 103 Special Attributes: Can't ride turbulence due to weight Unlock: Buy from Shop for 3,500 Rings Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: Wow. Faster can suck it; this thing is awesome (and mega unbalanced). Turbulence has the potential to screw you pretty bad if a wave of it ends abruptly and throws you into a wall/off a cliff. This eliminates that issue, so you can focus on simply racing. Just don't use it on Babylon Guardian. Tails would be best for this one, since the top speed and Power stats are already sky high, but most people just use it on Eggman for comedic value :p 42. Destroyer This Gear grants characters "Power"! Dash: ** 2 Limit: ** 2 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 11 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Enables user to smash through course obstacles Unlock: Buy from Shop for 3,500 Rings Characters: Sonic, Tails, Amy, Jet, Wave, Cream, Rouge, Shadow, NiGHTS Notes: This gear grants characters "pitiable speed"! Then again, it sort of works on tracks where Power characters have the run of the course (Night Chase). 43. Omnipotence Super Gear. All skills granted to character. Dash: ** 2 Limit: ** 2 Power: ** 2 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 152 (0-152 in 12 seconds, 170 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: User can take advantage of all shortcuts, but those shortcuts do not refill your Air gauge Unlock: Buy from Shop for 5,000 Rings (!) Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: Your first assumption would be that it's an ultra mega we're-talking- a-yacht-here expensive Destroyer for all occasions, and it is, yet it is useable. You may be able to overcome the sucktacular top speed if you're really good at chaining shortcuts together. It's easier on some courses (Ice Factory) and not practical enough on others (Digital Dimension). In any event, due to the ludicrous price tag and lacking performance power, it's reserved for experts only. (If you have any doubts about my skill, know that i've beaten both World GPs with this thing, with perfect scores. As Tails and Eggman.) As a side note, Omnipotence bears a very close resemblance to the Sea Fox from Sonic Triple Trouble and Tails' Adventures. So does Destroyer. A little past design influence, maybe? Hmm... 44. Cover-S Speed type enhanced. Accelerate+ Endurance+ Dash: **** 4 Limit: **** 4 Power: **** 4 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 5 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 87, (Lv2/3) 97 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 500 Rings Characters: Sonic*, Amy, Jet, Shadow* Notes: Good all-around. The only major flaw is that it relies on your skill at using grinding shortcuts, and those aren't usually the best. * - Sonic and Shadow don't slow this bike down, but Amy and Jet do. 45. Cover-F Flight type enhanced. Accelerate+ Endurance+ Dash: *** 3 Limit: ****** 6 Power: **** 4 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 161 (0-161 in 7 seconds, 176 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 500 Rings Characters: Tails, Wave, Cream, Rouge*, NiGHTS Notes: You'd be looking at a badass little scooter that could go 172 at level 1 if not for the double-digit speed loss every Flight character strickens you with. Alas, Cover-S outperforms it, yet not by very much. Heavy Bike is still better, though. * - Rouge is the one character you can use with this that takes away the least speed (-11). 46. Cover-P Power type enhanced. Accelerate+ Endurance+ Dash: **** 4 Limit: ***** 5 Power: *** 3 Corner: *** 3 Top Speed: 163 (0-163 in 5 seconds, 173 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 100, (Lv2/3) 106 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 500 Rings Characters: Knuckles, Storm*, Eggman*, Aiai Notes: It has great cornering, but nothing terribly special otherwise. The lacking speed increase at level 3 hurts it a good deal. * - Storm and Eggman slow down this gear less than the other two (-4). 47. Hang-On Collector's Gear. It has great value. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv 2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Replaces stage BGM with the theme from Hang-On (Arcade/Sega Master System) Unlock: Complete all missions, then buy it from the Shop for 2,000 Rings Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: It's even shaped like the arcade coin-op of the same name. Slick ride. That old music can get a little grating, though...it seems to have been shortened from its' original version. In World GP mode, it will play this theme every race, which can be certified aural torture if you come to hate the song. (Bit of nostalgia: Hang-On, released in '85, was Yu Suzuki's first big arcade success. It was certainly unique, since you controlled it by riding a mock-up motorcycle attached to the unit and steered by leaning the bike. He has a talent for creating immersive arcade games like that. It was a huge hit and also saw a faithful port to the Master System. Following Hang-On, Suzuki created yet more extravagant/popular arcade cabinets like Space Harrier, Afterburner, and Outrun. Hang-On had a sequel two years later...) 48. Super Hang-On Collector's Gear. It has great value. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: *** 3 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 85, (Lv2/3) 95 Special Attributes: Replaces stage BGM with the "Outride a Crisis" theme from Super Hang-On (Arcade/Sega Genesis) Unlock: Complete all missions, then buy it from the Shop for 2,500 Rings Characters: All except Ulala and the E-10000's Notes: Although it looks like it in the menus, the game's wide monitor isn't attached to the front when you ride this. Too bad, it would make it look like less of a tricked out mishmash of cardboard boxes. The BGM is much better than Hang-On's to listen to for extended periods, but oddly quiet... (Bit of nostalgia: Super Hang-On was released in '87. I know next to nothing about the original arcade cabinet, but I presume Mr. Suzuki designed it as well. It was a significant step up from the original, and was ported to the Genesis two years afterward sporting a deep new career mode. The immersion factor that the series introduced has since been run through a Xerox by competitors frequently for their own arcade motobike franchises/snowmobile racing games/ect. Now then, on with your regularly scheduled Gear list...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\________________________________________________________________/| ||>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>| D3. Skates || [-SK8RS-] |<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<|| |/----------------------------------------------------------------\| 49. Darkness By Robotnik Corp. Air skate burns less air. Dash: *** 3 Limit: **** 4 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 162 (0-162 in 7 seconds, 180 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 80, (Lv2/3) 90 Special Attributes: Uses slightly less Air Unlock: Comes with Shadow when you unlock him Characters: All except Eggman and the E-10000's Notes: Slick. Not as much as Grinder, but if you can use your one shortcut type really well, you'll likely never run low on air. Power types work best, but there are only 3 that can use skates (Knuckles, Storm, Aiai), and Storm is the fastest of that 3, so only use him. 50. Grinder This Gear allows any character to grind. Dash: ** 2 Limit: **** 4 Power: ** 2 Corner: ** 2 Top Speed: 158 (0-158 in 12 seconds, 168 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 95, (Lv2/3) 96 (...) Special Attributes: Enables user to use grinding shortcuts Unlock: Buy from Shop for 2,000 Rings Characters: Tails, Knuckles, Storm*, Wave, Cream, Rouge, NiGHTS, Aiai Notes: The general concensus is that these skates are among the best gears to use for World GP mode. As with Darkness, you want a Power character for max effect, since the combo of Speed and Power shortcuts is generally more effective than Speed/Flight. * - Storm is the one character you can use with this that takes away the least speed (-4). 51. Advantage-S Speed type custom. Accelerate+ Top Speed+ Dash: * 1 Limit: ******* 7 Power: * 1 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 182 (0-182 in 20+ seconds, 200 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 75, (Lv2/3) 85 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,000 Rings Characters: Sonic*, Amy, Jet, Shadow*, Ulala* Notes: It's like they fused Faster and Fastest into a pair of skates refined for crazy speed and absolutely nothing else. The "Accelerate+" bit is a lie. Using these is as risky a gamble as Faster, only worse because you're more prone to getting knocked around with a Power rating of only 1. Why bother? * - Sonic, Shadow, and Ulala don't slow these skates down, but Amy and Jet do. 52. Advantage-F Flight type custom. Accelerate+ Dash: ****** 6 Limit: ** 2 Power: * 1 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 141 (0-141 in 2 seconds [!], 156 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 70, (Lv2/3) 80 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,000 Rings Characters: Tails, Wave, Cream, Rouge*, NiGHTS Notes: Again, these skates clone something (poorly), namely Turbo Star. They look cool on Wave, I guess. * - Rouge is the one character you can use with this that takes away the least speed (-11). 53. Advantage-P Power type custom. Endurance+ Power+ Dash: ** 2 Limit: *** 3 Power: ****** 6 Corner: * 1 Top Speed: 158 (0-158 in 12 seconds, 168 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 200, (Lv2) 230, (Lv3) 250 Off-road Speed: (Lv1/2) 120, (Lv3) 125 Special Attributes: None Unlock: Buy from Shop for 1,000 Rings Characters: Knuckles, Storm*, Aiai Notes: Suprisingly decent. The way your off-road speed increases is odd (pumping up only at level 3), and may indicate that some other gears do it that way too, but I haven't the will to find out. Anyway, these skates aren't bad, but there are better choices for your Megabucks™. *cough heavybike cough* * - Storm is the one character you can use with this that takes away the least speed (-4). 54. Cannonball Can execute constant boosts! Dash: 0 Limit: 0 Power: 0 Corner: 0 (no joke) Top Speed: 132 (0-132 in 10 seconds, 150 at level 3) Boost Speeds: (Lv1) 170, (Lv2) 180, (Lv3) 200 Off-road Speed: (Lv1) 70 (Lv2/3) 80 Special Attributes: Boosts use up no Air, but they're infintesimally weak boosts, you can't attack anybody, and can only restore air via power- ups/pitting/levelling up; not selectable for Babylon Guardian Unlock: Buy from Shop for 3,500 Rings Characters: All except Eggman and the E-10000's Notes: ...holy god. Their idea of "constant boosts" is terribly skewed. You can only do one boost every 2 seconds, and you have to get to level 3 before these pitiful speed bursts so much as hit the 200 speed mark. You don't need me to tell you that they saved the worst for last. (I know they're supposed to resemble ice skates, but - especially when using them as Ulala - you look like you're skating with irons attached to your feet. So that's why they're so horrifically slow!) ___________________ ____________ ___________________________/ E. Special Thanks \__/ -THNX YOU- \____________ ============================================================================ GameFAQs Sonic Riders community - My laziness and their hard work researching what I didn't was my boon :p Seriously, the following people were a major help in getting this thing put together: knuckles_sonic8 - Was working on a gear guide already but let me get mine in...too bad Platinum Sonic 10 derailed a few things *angry glare* 1234567890Chris - Confirmed what the gear stats relate to Setnaro X ------- 100-ring capsule locations Sketchie -------- 100-ring capsule locations Knux Chao ------- Tip on how to use the Gambler board to rake in the rings Cervosi --------- 100-ring capsule locations SuperLocke44 ---- Providing an accurate list of what sells for what price in the shop before anyone else :p bigblued89 ------ 100-ring capsule locations Master_Espeon --- 100-ring capsules...can you tell that I put little effort into looking for these? :p final_lap ------- Assorted info, such as Powerful Gear's ability E-mail contributors: AngelSonic925 --- Was kind enough to send me top speed stats for each gear; most of them were spot on metalsonicsword - Tip about the ever-unuseable Hovercraft board ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please do not ask to be added to this. Special Thanks is reserved for people/things that greatly aid the production of the guide, and those who submit info/tips/ect. to the guide. ____________________________ __________________ ______________________/ F. Contact Info/Legal Crap \__/ -LINKS AND CRAP- \__ ============================================================================ REACH OUT AND TOUCH ME...WITHOUT THE TOUCHING PART. EWW, CREEPY ============================================================================ The only easy way to contact me is on message boards, or e-mail. Because e- mail is the most accessible, here it is first: flash(at)jonnys-place(dot)com Now, a few things: -- Don't send any attachments. If you have to provide something additional, upload it somewhere else and link to it. -- Put something like "SONIC RIDERS" in the title so I'll know it's not a virus/spyware waiting to pounce. (Whoever the hell Richard K. Lee is, I don't want your Viagra offers.) -- Make an effort to not send me anything stupid. There will not be a frequently asked questions section of this guide, so do look it over before you ask me something dumb or anything already pointed out, because you won't get an answer. -- I don't usually respond to fan mail...but, uh, thnx for the comments. (Unless all you have to say is "IT. ROCKS!!". If so, don't blow 5 seconds of my life, and yours, sending it.) -- By the same token, I only really respond to mail that I feel like responding to. Bear that in mind, along with the fact that i'm embarassingly slow in checking my mail, so if I decide to respond, it may be days late :p ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just in case you happen to go to these boards, i'm here too: Sonic Classic - http://forums.sclassic.net Sonic CulT - http://forums.sonic-cult.org Jonny's Place - http://www.jonnys-place.com/forums The GHZ - http://www.theghz.com/forums I can also (occasionally) be found on GameFAQs under the alias WtR_Flash. ============================================================================ LEGAL DRIVEL, NEXT EXIT. BRIDGE ICES OVER IN WINTER ============================================================================ All characters, objects, ect. and related content of Sonic Riders is copyright Sega. The contents of this document are my sole property and are not free to be hosted just anywhere without my approval. At present, only the following sites are authorized to host this document: Welcome to Rougeport Strategy Guides: http://rougeport.jonnys-place.com/ (you can always find the latest version here) Jonny's Place: http://www.jonnys-place.com/ GameFAQs: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ If you do steal, and I find out, you will comply with my subsequent request to get rid of the offending content, otherwise I will make your shameful act public on my site. (If you catch someone stealing my guides, my e-mail is 5 pharagraphs up.) - WtR_Flash/FlashTHD ____________________________________________________________________________ END OF GUIDE. KNUCKLES WANTS TO KNOW HOW PLANKS LIKE THAT CAN JUST FLOAT. WELL, RED, I'LL MAKE IT SIMPLE FOR YOU: IT'S LIKE ASKING WHY AIR IS INVISIBLE BUT STILL THERE. THE ANSWER TO SUCH A QUESTION IS BEYOND THE COMPREHENSION OF YOUR DEFECTIVE BRAIN. IN OTHER WORDS, LEAVE THE SCIENCE TO THE EDUCATED PEOPLE AND RACE, DAMMIT.