Favorite Genesis Racing Games

[Wraith Storm]

Recently I have really got into the lineup of Genesis racing games.

I have always loved the Genesis port of Outrun and Virtua Racing (Although I prefer the 32x version). A year or two ago I also picked up Top Gear 2. TG 2 is a lot of fun but the port is fairly lackluster allowing only music OR sfx, but not both at the same time.

Recently I have been playing a ton of Chase H.Q. II and Outrun 2019. I can't believe I had never played them before. They are both a ton of fun and Outrun 2019 has a fairly impressive engine. I was really surprised to see how smooth the scaling was when you start off in the tunnel as the support beams start whizzing by. I was also really surprised to see that it uses some clever coding effects to generate overpasses that come into view and you pass under. It reminded me of some of the effects that Panorama Cotton used.

However nothing could prepare me for F1 World Championship and Kawasaki Superbike Challenge. I'm not sure if I actually think they are good games, but I have been playing them off and on to awe at the polygon engine they use. I never realized the Genesis could push so many polygons (especially in Kawasaki SC) and as smooth as it did without the SVP chip. Like I said, I'm not sure if I really enjoy either of these games but I can't help but play them and be impressed while analyzing them.

So what are some of your favorite racing games on the Sega Genesis? Any that you simply can't get enough of or any that impress you with their fancy coding?

[gcl1984]

it never got better than Super Monaco GP for me on the genny

[todesengel]

Super Hang On is still my favorite Genesis racing game.

[SpaceHarrier]

Road Rash II - Never get tired of this..

Outrun 2019 was a game I sadly dismissed back in its day, as the screenshots used in magazines made it look terribly dull. Not until a year or so ago did I finally get a chance to try it, and now it's on my to-purchase list. Very fun game and looks great (in motion).

[retroman]

For some reason i remember being very fond of Test Drive 2 The Duel when i was a kid..

[Leo_A]

Top Gear 2 was far better done on the SuperNes (although the original SuperNes game was a far superior game and my favorite racer from the 16 bit generation).

My favorites would be both Super Monaco GP releases (Seems a lot of people forget that there was an excellent sequel on the platform), F1 World Championship, Mario Andretti Racing, Super Hang-On (The missing engine sounds in particular make it hard for me to enjoy the Genesis Outrun port that's been mentioned already), Outrun 2019, and Lotus 1 & 2 (Played with engine sounds on and the music being played on my PC next to me for the best effect, since only one of the two can be played at one time on the Genesis).

An honorable mention goes to Nigel Mansell's World Championship. Only reason it's not on my list is because it was better done on the SuperNes, but the Genesis release is still excellent.

[MachineGex]

My top 3:
1. Micro Machines(Micro Machine 96 and Micro Machines 2 for mega drive are cheap to import)
2. Championship ProAm
3. Rock N Roll Racing

[hashiriya1]

Aryton Senna Super Monaco GP!

[Superman]

I love racing games on any console.

My favorite would have to be Outrun. You're a cool guy, with a cool car, and a beautiful woman as your passenger. What more can I say?

I also like Hard Drivin'. I loved playing Stunts on the PC and Hard Drivin was Stunts, but on a console.

I must say that I also like playing Outrun and Hard Drivin' at the arcade. So when they came out for the consoles, it was like heaven. I could play all I wanted and do whatever I wanted (run into things, go exploring, etc.), without spending any more money for these games at the arcade (or so I thought).

SpaceHarrier made a good mention as well. I've also had a fondness for the Road Rash series as well.

[Leo_A]

My favorite would have to be Outrun. You're a cool guy, with a cool car, and a beautiful woman as your passenger. What more can I say?

It's just too bad you can't hear the roar of your Ferrari's engine.

Still, it's a nice effort that holds up well today. I like it too.

[Haoie]

Hey you liked Outrun 2019 too? Apparently it began life as something totally unrelated to Outrun.

Got to love the music in it though.

[Wraith Storm]

Outrun 2019 was a game I sadly dismissed back in its day, as the screenshots used in magazines made it look terribly dull. Not until a year or so ago did I finally get a chance to try it, and now it's on my to-purchase list. Very fun game and looks great (in motion).

Yeah... I did the same. I saw it at the video store several times and glanced at the back of the case and it just didn't seem like it would be that cool. But after giving it a go... man, I am really digging the game.

Hey you liked Outrun 2019 too? Apparently it began life as something totally unrelated to Outrun.

Got to love the music in it though.

Interesting. I never knew it started out as a different game. Any info on what it was originally supposed to be?

Yes!!! The music is really good. I don't think any of it has that classic, timeless feel to it like "Magical Sound Shower", but there are some very good tunes in there, and I know I haven't heard them all yet.

[c2000]

Outrun 2019 was called 'Junker's High' before. (crappy name imo).

[Leo_A]

Interesting. I never knew it started out as a different game. Any info on what it was originally supposed to be?

As far as I know, its connection with Outrun doesn't really extend beyond the name and some vague similarities. So I think what you see is what it was originally supposed to be, just branded as a Outrun game.

[sheath]

Super Monaco GP all the way for me. Then I'd probably give a tie to Road Rash II and Virtua Racing.

[fahlim003]

Virtua Racing is my extent of Genesis racers - and I think it's pretty good in that regard. I also think Super Monaco GP is good despite not being that close to the original. Road Blasters is also quite good and runs at a great pace.

F1 World Championship surely looks more interesting than Kawasaki Superbike Challenge although KSC is a very impressive looking game.

As for OutRun, yeah it's ok on Genesis but it really cannot compare to Saturn or arcade. Same for OutRunners.

[sheath]

I was a little disappointed with the lack of trackside sprites in Super Monaco GP, but everything else about it might as well be as "Arcade perfect" as possible. I was so excited when the Arcade game got MAME support, but after playing it a bit with my Saturn pad I went right back to the Genesis port.

I bought Super Monaco GP II back when it came out, and then returned it. They tweaked something and I still don't like it as much as the first. Also, what did they do to the sound?

[Koa Zo]

I was a little disappointed with the lack of trackside sprites in Super Monaco GP, but everything else about it might as well be as "Arcade perfect" as possible. I was so excited when the Arcade game got MAME support, but after playing it a bit with my Saturn pad I went right back to the Genesis port.

I bought Super Monaco GP II back when it came out, and then returned it. They tweaked something and I still don't like it as much as the first. Also, what did they do to the sound?

Same here, I love Super Monaco GP, and was so psyched for SMGPII, but returned it to the store shorty after buying it, something just isn't right about the 2nd one.

As for my current favorite Sega Genesis racing game, that would be Championship ProAm, just such a great game in every way!

[Alianger]

Micro Machines '96, definitely.

[sheath]

Same here, I love Super Monaco GP, and was so psyched for SMGPII, but returned it to the store shorty after buying it, something just isn't right about the 2nd one.

As for my current favorite Sega Genesis racing game, that would be Championship ProAm, just such a great game in every way!

I can't put my finger on SMGPII either. I have played other technical pseudo 3D racers and liked them a bit more. Still, nothing back then has Super Monaco GP's gameplay that makes me feel like my car has weight, speed and control.

About Championship ProAM, I bought R.C. Grand Prix for SMS last year totally convinced it was a port of NES R.C. ProAM. It unfortunately did not live up to expectations, though it does have its merits. Is Championship ProAM a sequel?