decided to come back to this thread and give some more insight on Ring Racers for other ppl on the forum, I've been playing almost non-stop since my last reply to this thread; and I'll admit, in my initial reply I didn't have the intention to play this game very much since I'm not someone who plays very many racing games, I enjoy Sonic Riders (evident by the Time Attack thread) and Mario Kart Double Dash but I'm terrible at other MK games and Daytona USA, for further context I've also not played SRB2 or SRB2Kart so my point of reference for this game is entirely from an outsider perspective.
I also played the v2.1 release so I wasn't someone subjected to the mandatory tutorial, I played up until the Springs section I believe which is where after completing that section they ask if you're ready to race or not, I went back and finished the tutorial after completing a few cups bcuz I read that doing tricks was
mandatory for later cups and I was genuinely worried abt not being able to finish this game at all w/ the way some ppl were talking abt it's difficulty. Thankfully that wasn't the case, I was able to finish a majority if not all of the cups with bare minimum knowledge of how the system worked, and I'm still not sure I understand how a lot of things work, I'll drift too early or not even properly as some characters or miss-time my tricks but the handful of sour experiences I've had don't outweigh the fun I've had with this game.
another update has come out for this game so now the current version is v2.2 with even more balance changes and even an auto-ring system has been added so if ppl are struggling to know when to use their rings that will help you in some cases, just like how the auto-roulette helps take pressure off all the things you have to keep track of (ex. rings, item roulette, drifting, sneaker panels, etc) and in-depth list can be read on
their website and if you think these changes are worth trying out the game again I definitely recommend it!
... they also said rubber banding has been decreased towards the end of the race but I don't believe that for one bit
I've thankfully played this game at my own pace, I didn't realize I was playing on "relaxed" at the beginning instead of the regular difficulty but I'm glad I did, the rest of my time being spent in Time Attack for my favourite stages and only recently have I bothered trying for the Special Stages, and they really do test your skill and being able to manage items, rings, and your character which has skilled checked me multiple times but I still think it's a learning curve worth striving to get passed, I'll end this tangent with my current PB of Robotnik Coaster, the first track of the game and my favourite track, I have multiple mistakes in this video but despite that I was able to beat the Gold Medal time, and there's ppl out there who have 10+ seconds better than my time, so I think it's worth for more ppl to give this game another chance, despite it's learning curve