Dr. Eggman challenges Sonic and friends to a speed race. The prize? A valuable Chaos Emerald.

In Sonic Riders, Dr. Eggman challenges Sonic and his friends to a Worldwide Grand Prix, and the prize for coming out on top is an ultra-rare Chaos Emerald! Gliding on air boards - which are performance-oriented for each playable character - gamers will experience a heightened sense of sports-style racing tension as Sonic and his pals perform tricks and stunts over treacherous wide-open terrain. Sonic and friends speed through tracks on air boards, using individual special moves to strike down opponents. Air is a big element of Sonic Riders. Your board's "fuel" source is air. You can fill up your air at various points on the course, but to race well you'll have to use another means of replenishment: performing tricks with your board. You'll also want to make use of turbulence from racers who are in front of you.

This is the first game in which Dr. Eggman/Robotnik's plans succeeded. However, he came to believe it was all a waste of time.

When you select Dr. Eggman on the character screen, his old voice actor, Deem Bristow's voice can be heard instead of his current voice being played by Mike Pollock. This was unintentional and a mistake by the developers.