AllGame echoed the sentiment, referred to it as "being as good if not better than any of the included "Sonic" games." in "Sonic Mega Collection" and as "an overlooked gem" as part of "Sega Genesis Collection". "Entertainment Weekly" was less positive in their review, giving it a B- review score due to the perceived redundancy and recycling of ideas from the "Sonic" series. In a retrospective piece by Levi Buchanan of IGN, he praised the graphics and gameplay as being great for the aging Sega Genesis, but also asserted that the platform hurt the game's ability to succeed with sales and visibility, stating "Ristar never stood a chance. The game was released in early 1995, just as the videogame world was moving on to the next generation of hardware. Sega was concentrating on the impending release of the Saturn and Sonic was still a monster success. And so Ristar was put to pasture." In a 2006 interview, "Ristar" designer Akira Nishino said: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 through re-releases in several "Sonic" and Sega-themed compilations, including "Sonic Mega Collection", "Sega Genesis Collection", "Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection", and "Sega Forever". It has also been released for digital download released for the Virtual Console and Steam. Ristar, as a character, has only made a few minor cameo appearances outside of his two original games in 1995. In Sega's two "Shenmue" games for the Dreamcast, "Shenmue" and "Shenmue II", the player can choose to spend money to purchase a randomly selected collectible 'Gachapons' (capsule toys) from a machine; one of the possibilities in both games is a Ristar figurine. He also briefly appeared in the introductory video of the 2001 Japan-only Dreamcast game "Segagaga". 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.