It drew from from SEGA’s long and occasionally storied history, threw in a bunch of distinctive vehicles, and generally made for a pretty fun experience. After all, while that game also wasn’t quite on par with Mario Kart, it was still a pretty strong racer in its own right. No, what makes Team Sonic Racing disappointing is that it’s not as good as Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sonic’s previous kart racer outing. After all, Mario Kart has been the standard against which all other kart racers are judged for a couple of decades now, so failing to meet (let alone surpass) that franchise is no failing on the part of any game– not even one with as stored a rivalry with Mario and co. But for two-thirds of the game's items to be this on the nose, that's a little much.What’s disappointing about Team Sonic Racing isn’t just that it’s not Mario Kart. We would have been okay with TSR's wisps paying homage to Mario Kart, even copying them in a handful of cases. That's right, exactly like a Bullet Bill.
It'll fire you through the back, knocking other racers aside as you go. Drop to the back of the pack and you might be lucky enough to get this wisp. The Magenta Rhythm wisp that technique racers can use does the exact same thing as the Blooper does, obscuring your opponents' vision. Stars will turn you invincible and do damage to other racers, just like Mario Kart's star, and TSR's white boost has the exact same effect as a mushroom. The Ivory Lightning wisp is just, you guessed it, Mario Kart's lightning. Sound familiar? It's exactly what the Boo item does in Mario Kart. The most on-the-nose copy is TSR's Jade Ghost, a wisp that makes the racer invincible while also stealing another character's item. We are not done yet, so let's pick up the pace.