Why Ristar Should’ve Been The Genesis’s Mascot, Not Sonic

Ristar is celebrating its 30-year anniversary in the present day, February 16, 2025. Under, we make the case that regardless of Sonic’s breakout movie star, Ristar actually deserved to be the face of Sega.

It is truthful to say that Mario will possible at all times sit on the throne as probably the most iconic online game mascot of all time, however Sonic the Hedgehog definitely gave him a run for his a refund within the ’90s. The lovable ‘tude and blistering velocity of the Blue Blur made him a cultural determine par excellence within the days of the Tremendous Nintendo and Sega Genesis, and you’ll even argue that his signature velocity outlined the concept of that Sega console within the common gamer’s thoughts. That mentioned, Genesis fanatics are properly conscious that Sonic is not even one of the best platform star on his personal console. That honor belongs to Ristar, who Sonic kneecapped like a coward 30 years in the past so he might keep on the treadmill of manufacturing endlessly mediocre spin-offs with no substance or new concepts.

Okay, that could be a bit harsh to Sonic–it’s not his fault that Sega has dropped the ball along with his video games since roughly the flip of the century, with just a few notable exceptions. However whereas Sonic’s signature velocity and delightful pastel aesthetics by no means fairly made the transition to 3D, mechanics-focused indie platformers much like Ristar have continued to search out an viewers, from the gravity flip of VVVVVV to the no-jump gimmick of Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom. On this manner, Ristar was a swinging star-man forward of his time, and it is unlucky that Sega did not notice that.

For many who aren’t acquainted, Ristar is a brief however candy platforming traditional launched by Sega within the waning days of the Genesis in 1995. You utilize the lovable mascot’s stretchy arms to seize enemies, climb ladders, swing from bar to bar, and propel your self by way of its many colourful worlds. The sport options a wide range of inventive boss fights that culminate with a decisive battle with the cloaked Kaiser Grasping, who has kidnapped Ristar’s father and brought him prisoner.

You’d determine {that a} first-party Sega recreation of this high quality would no less than get a sequel, and that statement will get on the coronary heart of Ristar’s largest downside: timing. When Sega requested its workers to create a Mario-slaying mascot, Sonic gained the day, however there have been loads of concepts left on the drafting desk. One in all them was “Feel the Rabbit,” a proto-Sonic archetype that was spun out right into a goofy-looking cartoon character that ultimately turned Ristar. By the point the sport truly got here out, essential and industrial eyes have been on the cutting-edge Sega Saturn, which left our dextrous star buddy within the lurch.

After I examine traditional video games like the unique Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy and Ristar, I feel it is instructive to take a look at the gameplay “verbs” which might be out there to the participant. Primarily, what do you truly do within the recreation? It is easy to benefit from the type and circulation of the unique Sonic trilogy, however when it comes to verb rely, they’re fairly underwhelming: each button is soar, and your roll is sweet, however not notably helpful. This can be a large a part of why Sonic struggled with the transition to the third dimension: moreover working and leaping, you do not do an entire lot in his video games.

Against this, Ristar closely depends on its one distinctive mechanic within the type of the seize, however the recreation maximizes it. You may ship these stretchy arms out in eight instructions, which makes for participating fight and larger enemy selection. One in all your character’s fundamental strikes is the power to climb any wall vertically with the best timing, which is tough to grasp however oh-so-satisfying while you lastly pull it off. It options one other memorable mechanic within the type of glowing poles that you just swing round to achieve momentum, then shoot off within the course of your alternative. Ristar is invincible through the preliminary surge of velocity, however turns into susceptible when he slows down, so you must intention him properly to keep away from taking pointless hits.

Each Sonic and Ristar function suave degree design, however I might give our star buddy the sting in that class. Ristar’s levels merely brim with creativity; from the pulsing underwater sections of Undertow to the metronome puzzles of the musical planet Sonata, each one of many recreation’s ranges options new twists and mechanics so that you can wrap your stretchy mitts round. Ristar has a core factor that the Blue Blur solely actually found out in Sonic 3: secrets and techniques with significant rewards. Every degree has a hidden treasure that you just entry by way of a teleport pole hidden someplace within the surroundings; on condition that Ristar’s levels are usually multipathed and require vertical pondering, it is unlikely you will discover all of them in your first playthrough.

Ristar’s unlucky timing may need value it industrial success, nevertheless it did give it one key benefit: It bought probably the most mileage doable out of its console. It is probably the most full audiovisual expertise on the Genesis, that includes a formidable orchestral soundtrack that rivals something on SNES, lovely spritework, and boss designs that really feel ripped straight out of an amazing Saturday morning cartoon. It is a feast for the senses you will not neglect, particularly the extremely memorable degree transition sequences, the place Ristar blasts from planet to planet in a mesmerizing gentle present whereas one in every of my all-time favourite online game tracks performs.

The last word argument in favor of Ristar over Sonic is maybe the obvious: When’s the final time you actually loved a Sonic recreation? Certain, Sonic was an amazing piece of selling, nevertheless it took lower than a decade for the cracks in his facade to indicate. When speculating as to what a 3D Ristar recreation may need seemed like, let’s think about the standard grappling hook, maybe probably the most ubiquitous gameplay mechanic of the previous 10 years. It is easy to think about an exploration-focused Ristar with loads of climbing and grappling, much like what we see in Jusant, and even Sonic Frontiers. After all, in in the present day’s indie market, there’s loads of room for Sega to jump-start a Ristar reinvention within the 2D airplane, however this appears comparatively unlikely at this juncture. Nonetheless, remasters are fairly trendy lately, and it is undoubtedly a chief candidate for nostalgic Genesis followers.

Sonic could also be an indelible piece of ’90s popular culture, however I am unable to assist however marvel what would’ve occurred if Sega had put just a little extra juice behind a sure cute star somewhat than narrowly specializing in its golden goose. We’ll by no means know if Ristar had the identical potential to cross over into popular culture, however so far as I am involved, there isn’t any doubt as to what the higher recreation is, and that is actually what issues.