Ristar - Legacy

Legacy

In a 2006 interview with Ristar designer Akira Nishino, he said of Ristar:

Will Ristar come back? Probably not. Of course, as a game developer, I would love to see it happen. At the time of the original, I was thinking of a sequel. It got as far as a character design for that sequel, but it didn't happen for various reasons. But since fans have a say in such matters, your input is greatly appreciated.

While Ristar has never received any sequels, it has received further attention in later years. The Sega Genesis version has seen re-releases in several compilations, including Sonic Mega Collection, Sega Genesis Collection, and Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. It has also been released for digital download released for the Wii's Virtual Console service and Steam. The Game Gear version was released as one of twenty games on the "Sonic's PlayPal Plug and Play", a controller that hooks up straight to the television rather than a video game system.

Ristar, as a character, has only made a few minor cameo appearances outside of his two original games in 1995. He was featured as one of the collectible 'Gachapons' (capsule toys) in the 2000 Dreamcast release Shenmue. The next year he briefly appears in the 2001 Japan-only Dreamcast game Segagaga. The game parodied Sega itself during the timeframe, and Ristar was shown in the game's opening sequence. Ristar did not make any more appearances until 2010, where he makes a cameo appearance in a downloadable track for Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing due to the high demand for him to be in the game. He also made an appearance as a flagman in the 2012 sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.