NES

Rad Racer

An immense round of applause for Square's Rad Racer, a solid first entry in every regard and yet another NES title that bears no excuse not to be purchased. As of now, Square has no intention of updating Rad on a current generation console anytime soon. Perhaps that's all for the best. Some classics are better left untouched.

Graphics throughout Rad Racer are actually quite inventive and well-produced for their day. The 3D effects of the road are actually very impressive, and best noticed when a crashed car is moving back into the centre of the road. The engine almost seems like an early version of the Super Nintendo’s Mode 7. Sound is a mixed bag. The car engine noises are extremely annoying, but one cool feature is being able to change the tune with the up and down buttons on the D-pad. Or you can turn the music off. Overall, I believe that this little game is worth more than it would usually be given credit for. Square did an impressive job in creating a 3D engine for the 8–bit system, and the result is a polished and fun game.

Escolha entre uma Ferrari protótipo 328 Twin Turbo ou uma máquina de Fórmula 1 para cumprir oito estradas diferentes, nas piores condições: tráfego pesado, noite, neblina e neve, entre outros obstáculos. Atenção: você tem tempo máximo para terminar o percurso.

Rad Racer hat mich mit seiner sensationellen perspektivischen 3D-Grafik wirklich überrascht. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, daß irgendein Programmier-Team eine so fließende und vor allem so schnell animierte Berg- und Talfahrt auf dem Nintendo-System hinbekommt. Es fehlt zwar die Farbenpracht, die zum Beispiel Out Run für das Sega Master System auszeichnet, dafür ist Rad Racer technisch wesentlich besser und es spielt sich hervorragend. Der Sound ist tadellos und sehr atmosphärisch. Logischerweise wird jedes Autorennen irgendwann langweilig; zumeist dann, wenn man es geschafft hat. Doch acht grafisch unterschiedliche Strecken, die wiederum in mehrere Etappen unterteilt sind, sollten Anreiz genug sein, sich längere Zeit mit diesem Spiel zu beschäftigen. Rad Racer ist ein Leckerbissen für Autorenn-Freaks. Ich rate allen Nintendo-Besitzern, sich dieses Spiel genau anzusehen. Bislang findet man auf keinem anderen Videospiel oder Computer eine so gelungene 3D-Raserei.

Rad Racer looks and plays like a second-generation Pole Position. There are eight tracks, each with a series of invisible "checkpoints" that provide additional time to finish the race. Your car routinely tops 200 MPH, and there's unlimited "turbo". Of course, there's no way you can take corners or weave through traffic at high speeds, so the brake is quite useful. The controls are tight, allowing you to skillfully execute power slides around curves. If you cut your teeth on flashy racers like Outrun, you may be disappointed by Rad Racer's sparse visuals. The background scenery in the Grand Canyon stage looks like crap - literally! The night stages look better thanks to their attractive city skylines, but Rad Racer is more about gameplay than graphics. The game requires plenty of skill and is quite addictive. There's even a "3D" mode in case you have some blue and red cardboard glasses lying around.

Übrigens lag dem Spiel damals interessanterweise eine 3D-Brille bei, weshalb ihr während des Spielgeschehens jeder Zeit per Select-Button in den separaten 3D-Modus wechseln könnt. Mit ein paar TV-Konfigurationen (Kontrast runterschrauben!) lässt sich so ein akzeptabler 3D-Effekt erzielen, der euch zwar nicht gerade vom Hocker hauen wird, aber dennoch ein nettes Feature ist.