Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

[Sudy]

Must have picked this up on sale years ago and installed it multiple times, but never tried it. Never played the original, either.

At first I thought it was another mediocre mascot racer and felt shades of Diddy Kong Racing (which I personally never liked). But it's really grown on me! Some of the tracks are stunningly beautiful (e.g. Seasonal Shrines). They also have this amazing "Disney World" feel that Mario Kart never inspires in me... I was literally awed the first time I saw the whirlpool on Samba Studios.

I do wish it didn't have that silly Sega sheen of the 2000s though, with the happy dance-beat music and professional announcer. I also think I'd get more out of it had I been a Sega kid as opposed to a Nintendo one, as I don't know some of the mascots well. My first Sega system was the Dreamcast. (Well, technically the Game Gear, but I didn't play many mascot games on it.) Though as such, I smiled to see a Skies of Arcadia course.

[Sudy]

I don't care for the flying portions at all. The aquatic stuff isn't so bad. I'm also a little annoyed I have to unlock the championship races (i.e. think Mario Kart) via the world tour mode first. This mode isn't actually bad, but usually I just want to race and see the new tracks. Not participate in the more contrived time-trial-style missions. Unlocked Vyse from Skies of Arcadia though, so that's cool.