Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced is a crossover racing game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released on November 15, 2022 for Nintendo HDS, Nintendo Matrix, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It is a sequel to Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. 
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced features characters from across Sega properties such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball. It received generally favourable reviews from critics who praised the intense, competitive racing gameplay and its large roster of characters.
== Gameplay ==
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced features kart-racing gameplay, similar to its prequels with a transforming mechanic where vehicles can transform between a car for land sections, a boat for water sections, a plane for air sections, and a submarine for underwater sections. There are some sections with multiple pathways where a player can choose which vehicle they transform into.
All-Star moves return and they are mostly like the first game, with animations and special moves for each character. They are given to the characters when they are in last place in a race.
Team races from Team Sonic Racing return. In those, players can even switch which vehicle they control.
== Characters ==
As You Can See, You Start Of With Fourteen Characters (Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Dr. Eggman, AiAi, Amigo, Beat, Ulala, NiGHTs, Billy Hatcher, B.D. Joe And Alis Landale).
Image	Character 	Franchise 	Vehicle 	All-Star Move 	All-Star Theme 	Notes 	Availability
 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Speed Star 	Super Sonic 	His World (Sonic the Hedgehog [2006]) 	 	Starter
 	Miles “Tails” Prower 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Hurricane 	Mega Hurricane 	Believe in Myself (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Starter
 	Knuckles the Echidna 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Land Breaker 	Hyper Knuckles 	Unknown from M.E. (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Starter
 	Amy Rose 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Breeze Mk II 	Giant Hammer 	Amy’s theme (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Unlockable
 	Shadow the Hedgehog 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Shadow Cycle 	Super Shadow 	I Am…All of Me (Shadow the Hedgehog) 	 	Starter
 	Silver the Hedgehog 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Lightron 	Psychic Blast 	Silver’s theme (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Starter
 	Blaze the Cat 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Pyro Cycle 	Burning Blaze 	Blaze’s theme (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Unlockable
 	Sally Acorn 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Freedom ATV 	Weapon Blast 	Sally’s theme (Sonic Adventure 3) 	 	Unlockable
 	Metal Sonic 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Metal Booster Mk II	Neo Metal Sonic	Neo Metal Sonic Theme (Sonic Heroes) 	 	Unlockable
 	Dr. Eggman 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	Egg Mobile 	 	Eggman’s theme (Sonic the Hedgehog [2006])	 	Starter
 	AiAi 	Super Monkey Ball 	Banana Car 	Monkey Storm 	Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania Theme 	 	Starter
 	MeeMee 	Super Monkey Ball 	Banana Plane 	Monkey Storm 	Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz HD Theme 	 	Unlockable
 	GonGon 	Super Monkey Ball 	Banana Boat 	Monkey Storm 	Super Monkey Ball Theme 	 	Unlockable
 	Kazuma Kiryu 	Yakuza 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Billy Hatcher 	Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg	 	 	 	 	Starter
 	Beat 	Jet Set Radio 	 	 	 	 	Starter
 	Ulala 	Space Channel 5 	 	 	 	 	Starter
 	B.D. Joe 	Crazy Taxi 	Taxi 	 	 	 	Starter
 	Alis Landale 	Phantasy Star 	 	 	 	 	Starter
 	Amigo 	Samba De Amigo 	Amigo Train 	 	 	 	Starter
 	NiGHTS 	NiGHTS Into Dreams 	 	 	 	 	Starter
 	Reala 	NiGHTS Into Dreams 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Alex Kidd 	Alex Kidd in Miracle World 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Vyse 	Skies of Arcadia 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Joe Musashi 	Shinobi 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Gilius Thunderhead 	Golden Axe 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Jacky Bryant & Akira Yuki	Virtua Fighter 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Ryo Hazuki 	Shemmune 	Ryo’s Motorcyle 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Zobio and Zobiko 	Curien Mansion 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Opa-Opa 	Fantasy Zone 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Bonanza Bros. 	Bonanza Bros. 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	ChuChus 	ChuChu Rocket 	 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Finn & Jake 	Adventure Time 	Jake Mobile 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Mordecai & Rigby 	Regular Show 	Golf Cart 	 	 	 	Unlockable
 	Mario 	Super Mario 	Mario Kart 	 	 	Nintendo Matrix exclusive 	Starter
 	Mii 	Mii Channel 	 	 	 	Nintendo Matrix exclusive 	Starter
 	Minecraft Avatar 	Minecraft 	 	 	 	PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5 exclusive	Starter
 	Avatar 	XBOX 360 	 	 	 	Xbox One & Xbox Series X/S exclusive 	Starter
=== DLC Characters ===
Image	Character 	Series 	Vehicle 	All-Star Move 	All-Star Theme 	Notes
 	Classic Sonic 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Super Sonic 	Sonic Mania Theme 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman.
* Included in the Classic characters DLC.
 	Classic Tails 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Mega Hurricane 	Sonic Mania Theme 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman.
* Included in the Classic characters DLC.
 	Classic Knuckles 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Hyper Knuckles 	Sonic Mania Theme 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman.
* Included in the Classic characters DLC.
 	Classic Amy 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Mega Hammer 	Sonic Mania Theme 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman.
* Included in the Classic characters DLC.
 	Classic Eggman 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	 	Sonic Mania Theme 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Eggman.
* Included in the Classic characters DLC.
 	Movie Sonic 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Super Sonic 	 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.
* Included in the Sonic Movie DLC.
 	Movie Tails 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Mega Hurricane 	 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.
* Included in the Sonic Movie DLC.
 	Movie Knuckles 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	Hyper Knuckles 	 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.
* Included in the Sonic Movie DLC.
 	Movie Eggman 	Sonic the Hedgehog	 	 	 	
* Reskins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Eggman.
* Included in the Sonic Movie DLC.
 	Team Chaotix (Vector, Espio, and Charmy)	Sonic the Hedgehog	Team Chaotix (Sonic Heroes)	 	Chaotix Cycle 	Included in the Team Chaotix DLC.
 	Nicole the Holo-Lynx 	 	 	Cyber Illusions	Cyber Plane 	Included in the Freedom Fighters DLC.
 	Rotor the Walrus 	 	 	 	Rotor’s Plane 	Included in the Freedom Fighters DLC.
 	Katie the Hedgehog 	 	 	Super Katie 	 	Included in the Sonic Battalion DLC
 	Shard the Metal Sonic 	 	 	Neo Shard 	Metal Booster Mk III	
* Reskin on Metal Sonic.
* Included in the Sonic Battalion DLC.
== Tracks ==
Image	Track 	Series 	Notes
 	Green Hill 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Chemical Plant 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Death Egg 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Angel Island 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Emerald Coast 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Speed Highway 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Egg Carrier 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	City Escape 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Space Colony ARK 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Seaside Hill 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Casino Park 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Final Fortress 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Starlight Carnival	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Lost Hex 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Explosion City 	Sonic the Hedgehog 	
 	Treetops 	Super Monkey Ball 	
 	Temple Trouble 	Super Monkey Ball 	
 	Detritus Desert 	Super Monkey Ball 	
 	Monkey Target 	Super Monkey Ball 	
 	Volcanic Magma 	Super Monkey Ball 	
 	Frozen Valley 	Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg	
 	Graffiti City 	Jet Set Radio 	
 	Shibuya Downtown 	Jet Set Radio 	
 	Rokaku Hill 	Jet Set Radio 	
 	Highway Zero 	Jet Set Radio 	
 	Samba Studios 	Samba De Amigo 	
 	Dream World 	NiGHTS into Dreams 	
 	Dragon Canyon 	Skies of Arcadia 	
 	Adder’s Lair 	Goldenaxe 	
 	Currien Mansion 	Currien Mansion 	
 	Mushroom Kingdom 	Super Mario 	Nintendo Matrix Exclusive
== Development ==
After the release and mediocre sales & reviews of Team Sonic Racing, Sega wanted to make a racing game that would sell well and would bring the genre even further to the next level than Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed in order to compete with Nintendo’s upcoming Mario Kart game. They decided for it to be a third Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing game with more advancements and characters than the previous games. Before they did this, they decided to remaster the previous two games on modern hardware.
=== Announcement ===
The game was announced at the Game Awards 2021 and received more trailers throughout 2022. It was later announced to be a third-party launch title on the Nintendo Matrix, Nintendo’s ninth-gen console. It was announced that it would be a crossover between Sega franchises and a few others, including Super Mario, with its titular character as a Nintendo Matrix-exclusive character and Finn the Human & Jake the Dog from Adventure Time, as well as Mordecai & Rigby from Regular Show, to celebrate Sega’s link to Cartoon Network for the TV show Sonic World.
== Reception ==
=== Critics ===
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced received critical acclaim from critics who praised its advancements to the kart racing genre and its large roster of characters. Metacritic gave it an 86 out of 100 and GameSpot gave it a 9 out of 10. While some reviewers thought it wasn’t quite as good as Mario Kart IX, which released on the same day, some thought that it was actually better, due to its advancements to the kart racing genre.
=== Sales ===
While it was outsold by Mario Kart IX, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Advanced sold very well and made it into the top 15 highest selling launch titles on the Nintendo Matrix. It was also in the top 20 highest selling Xbox and PlayStation games of 2022.
== Trivia ==
* Unlike its predecessors, the game has new voice lines for each character.
* This is the first Sonic the Hedgehog game to have DLC 2 years after its release.