GameSpy: During development of Riders, did you go back to Sonic R at all to see what aspects of it you liked or disliked? If so, what were your impressions of the game after all these years?
Takashi Yuda: I played Sonic R, but since Sonic Riders is a totally new game, we decided not to take any influences from that game. The only thing we did take from Sonic R is to continue make sure that Sonic and his friends appear in a quality game.
GameSpy: We've seen a few new characters in Sonic Riders, and they're all birds. Why all the feathered friends in the Sonic universe all of a sudden?
Takashi Yuda: We thought of having "Air Pirates" for Sonic's rivals, so that's why we created the bird characters.
GameSpy: What prompted the use of hover boards in Riders instead of having the characters ride in vehicles or run?


Takashi Yuda: Air is a huge part of Sonic Riders, and we had to think of a vehicle that would make riding air make sense and fun at the same time, so the hover board worked great! This allowed us to create crazy levels that didn't bind us to oceans (surfing) or mountains (snow boarding) and you can go anywhere on a hover board, places race cars can't take you.
GameSpy: The concept of the hover boards reminds us of the first stage of Sonic Adventure 2 (City Escape). Did that particular level inspire the game at all?
Takashi Yuda: Although that was part of Sonic Adventure 2 we didn't really refer to it when creating Sonic Riders. We aimed at creating a new experience for Sonic this time around and when you play it, you'll see that Sonic Riders is truly something different and new to the Sonic universe.
GameSpy: What are some of the unique features that set Sonic Riders apart from other racing games?
Takashi Yuda: One of the main differences is the use of Turbulence and Air system in the game. No where else can you ride in someone else's air wake and use their speed against them to catch up. The "Air" system also allows you to pull of some amazing tricks and make huge jumps. Your board also runs on Air, so you have to keep your Air meter filled up by performing awesome tricks in the air, the crazier the tricks you pull off, the more Air gets charged. Our thought when creating Sonic Riders was "Who needs wheels when you've got Air" so it's all about the Air in Sonic Riders.