Since the early 90s, following the original release ofSonic the Hedgehog, Sega’s mascot has been featured in a variety of spin-off titles outside of the usual action-platformer genre that Sega fans know best. One of the earlier examples of theSonicseries branching out to other genres was 1994’sSonic Drift, a Japan-exclusive Game Gear title that American fans would play officially in 2003’s Gamecube port SonicAdventure DX.
Sonic the Hedgehoghad almost as many Japan-exclusive titles as there were titles that its western fanbase would enjoy, especially during the 2000s during the peak ofSonic’s 3D era.Sonicdominated the mobile device marketwith the highly acclaimedSonic Advanceserieson the Game Boy Advance as well as actual mobile phones through the Japanese-only serviceSonic Cafe. Of theseSonic Cafetitles, one racing game featured via its service resurfaced recently as fans uncovered lost footage of the mobile game in action.
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A Japanese YouTuber originally by the name of “Ruwaga,” submitted gameplay footage of the 2005 mobile racing gameSonic Kart 3D Xon December 2020.Sonic Kart 3D Xis the sequel to 2003’sSonic Racing Kart, which differs from the original top-down 2D perspective in thatSonic Kart 3D Xfeatures a 3D render of Sonic and his kart. The player has two camera perspectives, allowing players a choice between a birds-eye camera or a bumper camera. While the view of the bumper camera is obtrusive, the camera shows off Sonic Team’s attempt at creating 3D graphics on a mobile platform complete with nostalgic smoke effects.
Perhaps what’s most impressive about theSonic Kart 3DXrecording is that the footage was captured on actual hardware, using a Docomo SC-010. The SC-010 hasHDMI capabilities thanks to its micro-HDMI slot, allowing game capture through the use of a converter box. The video initially flew under the radar of most Sonic fans, however, those who noticed the upload were soon able to post music from the game based on the gameplay footage, made easy due to the lack of in-game sounds.
Several other recordings of older Sega mobile game titles on his YouTube channel include aSuper Monkey Balltitle and aShinobigame based on the PS2-eraShinobifranchise among other early mobile game titles from other Japanese developers. With many mobile games currently in development based on existing console IPs,including potentially aPersonatitle, it’s interesting to see mobile gaming in its earliest and purest form as the concept of playing console games on a fan’s phone was still fresh at the time.
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