Top Gear 2

aka: Top Racer 2
Moby ID: 15505
SNES Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/16 11:14 AM )

Description official description

This third-person racing game resembles Gremlin's earlier Lotus series, in terms of its general look and feel, right down to the text font used in the game. Your task is to race through 16 countries, each of which features four races, with many real-world circuits recreated in incongruous locations (such as the Monza layout in Ayers Rock, and the old Hockenheim in Vancouver).

These four-race blocks each represent their own mini-championship, in which you race against 19 cars, needing to finish in the top 10 to continue, and with the top 6 scoring points 10-6-4-3-2-1, and the respective amount of money in thousands. This can be spent on various upgrades, ranging from engine to tires (wet and dry) and from shocks (front, side and rear) to gearboxes. The ideal approach is to buy the more expensive versions ASAP, as you get no saving when upgrading. If you win the four-race championship, you get the next password.

You get a set amount of nitro boost to use during each race, although bonus nitros, money and instant speed-up token appear on many tracks. Hazards such as puddles, barriers and ramps are also frequent.

Spellings

  • トップレーサー2 - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (SNES version)

16 People

Programming Team
Main Artist
Horizons
Other Artwork
Music / SFX Programming
Music / SFX
Support Programming
Track Design
Quality Assurance
Producer

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 73% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 34 ratings with 1 reviews)

A thrilling little racer, nothing unique but the best of its kind on the SNES

The Good
The graphics create a real sensation of speed, with the corners whooshing past impressively and the cars handling really well. The circuits are well-designed, with a nice variety both in appearance and design, and the difficulty curve is reasonably balanced. The turbo feature can be used in different ways, adding an element of tactics to the challenge. Because the CPU cars overtake each other and drive at a consistent speed (rather than spookily managing to stay right behind you after being overtaken, even if you had been 2 seconds a lap faster, as happened in all too many racers of the era), you really get the feeling of being in a proper race.

Sound is especially strong, really conveying the car's power, with a great turbo sound and superb impact effects, which go really well with the car's lurid power-sliding and high-impact flips.

The structure to the upgrade system is astute, with a variety of improvements available, and the option of buying a few small items first, or saving for one big item.

The Bad
The links to the Lotus series are hard to miss. The screen display and general graphical style is similar, the racing system much the same, and the track hazards are almost identical to the original Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge. It's no wonder the conversions were worse-received than the SNES original.

Because the ability of the CPU cars appears to be random in each race, so no one puts together a consistent run of points finishes, it becomes possible to top each mini-championship with just four third places, which makes things less challenging than they could be.

The Bottom Line
Although the SNES had F-Zero, the Micro Machines games and Mario Kart, it lacked a more realistic-setting racing game of any calibre. Titles such as Jaguar XJ220, Crazy Cars 3 and the Lotus games were never released for the system, perhaps as its slower processor was a disadvantage for this type of game. That made this title a big release at the time. Viewed alongside Genesis or Amiga contemporaries it stands up very nicely indeed, with plenty of reason to check it out today if you like this style of game. it'll take a while to get through and is impeccably designed.

SNES · by Martin Smith (81669) · 2004

Discussion

Subject By Date
Developed / Ported by GTramp (81965) Mar 12, 2020

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Top Gear
Released 1992 on SNES, 2021 on Browser, Antstream
Top Gear Pocket 2
Released 1999 on Game Boy Color
Top Gear Pocket
Released 1999 on Game Boy Color
Top Gear: Rally
Released 2003 on Game Boy Advance
Top Gear: Extreme Parking
Released 2014 on iPhone, iPad, Android
Top Gear Rally 2
Released 1999 on Nintendo 64
Top Gear Hyper-Bike
Released 2000 on Nintendo 64
Top Gear: Stunt School Revolution
Released 2012 on iPad, iPhone, Android...
Top Speed 2: Racing Legends
Released 2019 on Android, iPad, iPhone...

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 15505
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Martin Smith.

Amiga CD32 added by Kabushi. Antstream added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: Evil Ryu, Rik Hideto.

Game added November 9, 2004. Last modified September 17, 2023.