Sonic Drift was released exclusively in Japan for the Sega Game Gear in 1994 but was later ported to collections such as Sonic Mega Collection. It didn't occur to me until recently, but Sonic has been involved with a fair few racing games. There's Sonic Drift, Sonic R, Sonic Riders, and Sonic & Sega All Star Racing.
Sonic's venture into racing got off to a bad start with Sonic Drift. There are only four characters in the game; Sonic, Tails, Amy and Dr. Robotnik. On the plus side, they do have distinctive vehicles that feel different and each character has a special ability. Sonic has a speed boost, Tails can jump, Amy slows down the opposition and Robotnik drops bombs. The characters don't feel balanced, so if you want a tougher challenge, then Robotnik is probably the option.
In the Chaos GP, you can choose three tournaments; Green, Yellow, Red. The tracks take their themes from the six zones in the original Sonic game, and there is a version of each theme in all of the tournaments.
The screen is split. The top half displays a map, and the main view is on the bottom. Some corners have sign posts indicating direction of the turn, but others seem to surprise you. This is where you need to keep glancing at the map to understand the track's layout.
The Game Gear couldn't handle much complexity, so the racing is pretty simplistic with a series of straights and simple corners here and there. Even though some of the corners are pretty sharp, you don't have to turn too tight since the course seems to turn under you which was quite commonplace in games at this time.
You can accelerate, brake, and drift. Drifting allows you to turn the corners at speed, but drifting too much can cause you to spin out. Once you get used to the drifting mechanic, it can feel far too easy.
Colliding with opponents always punishes you regardless of whether you were hit from behind or from the front. This can mean overtaking is very difficult because a collision will throw you behind with the chance of being hit by the driver behind you; adding to the frustration. I found the higher acceleration drivers like Amy and Tails compensate for this, and therefore the game is far easier with them.
The opponents will tend to finish in the same order, which means if you finish 4th in one race, it could be an impossible task to actually win the championship At the end of the race, points are awarded. 3 points are for 1st place, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd and 0 for last. There are some items to collect on the track. Rings allow you to use your character's special move, springs launch you into the air, invincibility prevents you from taking collisions, and there's a speed boost power-up too.
You can blitz through the game very quickly with each track only taking between 1-1.5 minutes. Since it doesn't feel too entertaining, you will be bored with barely 30 minutes game time so it is just too bland to recommend.