Rad Racer

[Manga4life]

Who here absolutely loves Rad Racer? Back when it was popular I never owned it but a friend of mine did and we would play it sometimes and I would rent it from a local video rental store that had some games and I would spend hours playing it. Oddly enough, I've only gotten out of the second stage (San Fransisco) one time, every other time I've ever played I couldn't make it past....lol.

Still, this has to be my absolute favorite racing/car game of all-time, it's got a mystique to it that has stuck with me since the early 90's when I first played the game and I'll always have a soft spot for it in my heart.

Discuss!

[treismac]

Rad Racer rocks. My first thread in DP was actually about the 3D effect not working in Rad Racer (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?155807-3-D-effect-on-the-NES). Like you, I never had it as a kid, but had a neighborhood friend who had it. When I got back into retro gaming (the NES in particular), Rad Racer was one of the first games I hunted down. The game is simply fun and affordable with plenty of replay value. I know Rad Racer is basically a NES Out Run clone, but it has a charm to it that lifted it above simply being a cross system ripoff that hastily added the ability to choose the never selected F1 race car in addition to the red sports car just to throw people off. The race courses are distinct and worth glancing at as you tear across the course. The music, off kilter as it is, is memorable and pressing down to cycle through the radio station was a nifty idea. The sensation of speed is really quite amazing for its time, and the controls are as tight as you could ever want from a d-pad. The sequel never did it for me, unfortunately. The play control is off and the feel of the game loses the original's intensity. In retrospect, it would ahve been better for Square to have kept the same engine and just added new courses.

With Super Mario Kart (SNES), Star Wars Racer (N64), Enduro (Atari 2600), and Crazy Taxi (arcade, Dreamcast, and PS2), Rad Racer is one of my all-time favorite racing games.

[Aussie2B]

I aimed to beat Rad Racer a few years back, but I think I only got as far as the sixth stage before I had my fill of it. It gets REALLY cheap towards the end, but, yeah, overall it's a fun game. Probably one of my favorite 2D racers, actually, as I mostly stick to 3D racers.

[sloan]

Rad Racer is really excellent in 3D mode with glasses. Always loved playing it that way.

[InsaneDavid]

One of my favorite games. Also a title synonymous with the NES in my mind as everyone seemed to either have a copy or know someone who had a copy. Top it off with Nobuo Uematsu's greatest work (yeah, I know I'm crazy). I have a review here (http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi/reviewsNESradracer.html)... wow, from like seven years ago.

[treismac]

One of my favorite games. Also a title synonymous with the NES in my mind as everyone seemed to either have a copy or know someone who had a copy. Top it off with Nobuo Uematsu's greatest work (yeah, I know I'm crazy). I have a review here (http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi/reviewsNESradracer.html)... wow, from like seven years ago.

Never knew there wasn't a Highway Star 2. Probably for the best, sadly.

Good review, David. You did an excellent job of breaking down the technical aspects of the game that make it such a great game that makes you feel like you're actually driving.

[treismac]

One more thing:

It is worth mentioning that Rad Racer's legacy in NES lore was forever etched into stone by its inclusion in the Nintendo World Championships.

[XYXZYZ]

Love Rad Racer, but I've never finished it. I made it to the last stage once, though. I've also played it with the Power Glove, and that sucked.

[InsaneDavid]

Love Rad Racer, but I've never finished it. I made it to the last stage once, though. I've also played it with the Power Glove, and that sucked.

You could always cheat by pressing B 64 times then holding up + right and pressing start.

[XYXZYZ]

You could always cheat by pressing B 64 times then holding up + right and pressing start.

What did that do? A continue code?

[SparTonberry]

According to GameFAQs, it shows the ending.

[skaar]

I swear there's a course select code in this game too.

I loved Rad Racer. I agree with David's review, the game is one of the essentials for the NES.

[Tanooki]

I like others never had it when it was new, some years later but still before the SNES a neighbor had it and I'd mess with it a bit but never got anywhere in it really. Some years later I've off and on had a few copies of the game but it tends to get left alone by me and gets rotated in and out. It's funny seeing this as 2 days ago I went to a local shop after days earlier(area was closed off for construction) I saw a CIB copy of the game with some/all the cello on it and had to go back for it, which I did. It was open with like 80% of the cello still there, and I was hoping it wasn't just CIB but complete, and it was! I've never had the box for the game let alone the black 3D glasses boxed in with it, and it was an original release with the old 5 screw casing too.

I did find it funny seeing what the 3D glasses would do on my LCD tv as it was this weird color washed in places mixup not that it hurt the game. I then took it over to my sharp tv and it was a pretty good effect as much as those glasses would do it for old movies and flip books you could buy in the 80s. I still am no good at it as I got as far as the 2nd course and got smoked right around the first checkpoint. I think I was just having a bad run of randomly placed cars as they twice showed up in set of 3 roadhogs side by side so I couldn't pass anywhere so time would expire.

[InsaneDavid]

What did that do? A continue code?

No, but there is one of those too, more of that in a bit...


According to GameFAQs, it shows the ending.

Yes, after selecting your car an attract screen begins. This is where all the codes are entered. Here, pressing B 64 times followed by holding up + right and pressing start will show you the ending.


I swear there's a course select code in this game too.

I loved Rad Racer. I agree with David's review, the game is one of the essentials for the NES.

Course select is accomplished in much the same way as every other code. Once you select your car, at the attract screen, pressing B will advance your tachometer. It starts with one two-bar section illuminated, think of this as "Course 1." Each time you press B it will illuminate another section, each pair = 1 course. For instance pressing B four times = five sections = "Course 5, Los Angeles Night Way." After illuminating the tachometer to where you want it, hold up + right and press start.

Continuing is even easier. After running out of time you will be taken to the map screen and then back to the attract screen. While at the attract screen, hold the A button and then press start. You will begin at the stage you last failed to complete.

The whole thing is essentially a hidden debug mode. :)