Sonic Team designed the race tracks, while Traveller's Tales handled implementation and programming using a custom game engine.

Sega released the game for the Saturn in late 1997, for Windows the following year, and for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 as part of Sonic Gems Collection in 2005.

It was praised for its visuals and level design, but criticised for its poor controls, high difficulty and short length.

The player selects a character and participates in a footrace on one of five race tracks, competing for the fastest time ahead of the other racers.

[9] "Item Panels" give a random temporary advantage, such as a speed increase or shields that grant abilities such as being able to run across water or attract nearby rings.

[11] Collection of other special items, such as "Sonic Tokens" and the Chaos Emeralds, may lead to the unlocking of secret characters.

Instead of the jumping ability, Amy's car is equipped with a turbo that reloads after a certain amount of time,[17] and both the Eggmobile and Eggrobo can fire homing missiles capable of stunning opponents.

[8] Traveller's Tales, who coincidentally had been working on a 3D graphics engine without a purpose at the time, found this to be a logical progression.

[22] Development started in February 1997 as a joint project between Sega's Sonic Team and Traveller's Tales.

[25] Sonic Team designed the race tracks and the game's general flow, and Traveller's Tales were responsible for the implementation and programming.

[8] Each track was inspired by levels from previous Sonic games such as Green Hill and Casino Night, and it was due to the tight schedule that there were only five.

[25] Sega of Europe producer Kats Sato handled communication with Sonic Team, as he was the only person who could speak both English and Japanese.

[25] Hirokazu Yasuhara of Sonic Team went to England and fine-tuned the game due to lack of time for communication.

[33] Work on the soundtrack began in March 1997 when Jacques travelled to Japan to meet with Sonic creator Yuji Naka to discuss the musical approach to take for the game.

[33] Jacques wrote all the lyrics for the songs with the intention that they would complement the on-screen action but still be appealing to someone who had never played the game.

[34][35] The Saturn version of Sonic R received mixed reviews from critics at the time of its release, although retrospective commentary has been more negative.

AllGame called the textures vibrant and noted they had "no pop-up or glitching",[9] and Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) felt the environmental details were lush.

[37][41] Next Generation hailed the game as "the most visually outstanding Saturn title" for its use of transparency effects and reflective surfaces,[40] a sentiment echoed by EGM.

[37] Sega Saturn Magazine cited the "Radiant Emerald" level, which is made from transparent polygons, as far superior when compared to Mario Kart 64's "Rainbow Road".

[12][37][45] However, Sega Saturn Magazine praised the two-player mode for maintaining the same speed and graphical detail as its single-player counterpart.

[41] Game Informer asserted that "the way they hid the background pop through translucent melting is innovative", but they panned the poor quality of the character animation.

[37] GamePro agreed that the controls were responsive, but to a fault: "At high speeds, it's nearly impossible to run in a straight line.

Sega Saturn Magazine described the "storm of controversy [that] surrounds the accompanying music", which "has come in for a bit of a slagging on the Internet recently for the addition of vocals."

Although he was not a fan of dance music, Nutter stated that the tracks were "better than most chart stuff", while the included instrumental versions were sufficient "to appease everyone".

Eurogamer called the game "too awkward to play for any length of time",[46] and 1UP.com wrote the visuals were grainy—"mak[ing] it hard to tell where you're going"—and the controls were frustrating and imprecise.

[57] On 28 September 2024, Jacques and Davis reunited for a live performance at the Hammersmith Apollo in London as part of the Sonic Symphony World Tour.