The night time levels are the best the neon lights against the dark backdrops are still pretty striking today. Track side detail is spartan but the trade-off in speed and performance is worth it. The worldwide trip will take you from the streets of Los Angeles to Athens, Greece with location specific details. Aside from the sense of speed the variety in track locations was second to none. Don’t be surprised if you reach most checkpoint by drifting in the last seconds before coming to a complete stop.įor its time Rad Racer was visually stunning. In the late game a single crash is enough to basically lead to a game over. It’s hilarious just how over the top it is. The harmless collisions that would toss you sideways now send you flying twenty feet in the air. By course four, Athens, you won’t have any leeway to make mistakes. The distance between checkpoints becomes greater very fast and you’ll receive less time to boot. The early courses ease you into the mechanics and are generous with checkpoints and time. The difficulty curve in Rad Racer is pretty steep and rises fast. Especially as time is a precious commodity. Knowing when to manage speed and break into corners are critical to success. Hitting rival cars at that speed will also send you flying.
RACERENDER REVIEW FULL
At full speed you’ll either slowly drift into corners or be thrown off track completely. While it is fun to blitz at that speed it isn’t fruitful. Once you hit the max speed of 255 mph it becomes scary just how fast you blow through the track. More than any other console racing game before it Rad Racer absolutely nails the sensation of speed. Instead of one massive map that lets you plot your own course Rad Racer has eight distinct tracks. One curious omission is a map you get an indicator for how long to the finish line but that is it. The UI is a bit sparse but conveys everything it needs to such as speed and time. Even though the choice is cosmetic it is still pretty cool. They both have the same handling and max speed trust me I’ve tried to spot a difference. It sounds cool but in practice they are both identical. In addition to a stock Ferrari (they couldn’t be more blatant if they tried) you can choose a F1 racing machine. Each course is broken down into multiple checkpoints that grant extra time and while the overall goal sounds simple Rad Racer is more intense than many current racing titles that feature thirty rival opponents.Įven though it is derivative of Sega’s classic Rad Racer at least tries to be different.
Although there are rival cars on the road you aren’t fighting for position but to simply reach the finish line in time. They each have a radio with a choice of three incredibly catchy tunes. Rad Racer is a great game and still entertaining today in short bursts.Īs much as I like Rad Racer admittedly it owes a lot of its quality to Outrun. And all this from Squaresoft! Who knows, if they keep this up they might be going places.
Rad Racer captured my attention with its slick presentation, awesome music, and tight gameplay. I had played a few racing games before its release such as Pole Position and Hang On but viewed them as mostly novelties. Rad Racer is the first racing game I can say I legitimately enjoyed. Despite its early release Rad Racer remains one of the NES’ best racing games. It may seem quaint by today’s standards but back then Rad Racer delivered an experience at home that previously only in the arcade.
But it was Rad Racer that kept us occupied for hours. Kid Nikki was entertaining for the brief amount of time we spent with it that day. Christmas of 1987 stands out in my mind as that year I received not one but two games, which was unheard of. Developer: Square Publisher: Square Released: 1987 Genre: RacingĮvery kid looks forward to Christmas as they usually receive video games as gifts.
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