Sonic Rivals is a platforming/racing game that is the first in the series to be released for the PSP. It contains standard Sonic gameplay, but with a twist: players race across 2.5D stages against a CPU figure, progressing only if they reach the end first.
Sonic, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, and Metal Sonic are the five characters available. In the story mode, six zones are divided into two acts, with a boss at the end of the second act. Defeating bosses is not enough; players must do so before the opponent does. There is also a challenge mode and a cup mode in addition to the story mode. Players can challenge other PSP users in wireless play mode. Players can gather power-ups with special attacks while racing. During the race, opponents can also be pushed about.
Players can also collect cards by accomplishing specific objectives, which can be swapped in the wireless play mode.
