Rad Racer
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|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Square Co., Ltd. {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | October 1, 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Racing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | NES {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Rad Racer, known as Highway Star in Japan on the Famicom, was a racing game made for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was programmed by Nasir Gebelli, designed and supervised by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and featured music by Nobuo Uematsu, all of whom later contributed to Final Fantasy in similar roles. It was licensed by Squaresoft in 1987. Since the release of the NES in 1985 to 1987 few racing games existed for the NES. Rad Racer had a simulated 3D landscape and excellent graphics, inspired in part by Sega's Out Run. The game has a special 3D mode, where 3D glasses (packed in with game) could be worn to give the illusion of 3D. In 1990, Rad Racer II was released. It differed little from the first version, and players considered the gameplay inferior so it was not as successful as the first version.
The game appeared in an infamous scene in The Wizard, where Lucas Barton (Jimmy's rival) uses a Power Glove to play through the first stage of the game, a feat in itself considering the much noted unreliability of the device.
Rad Racer is Uematsu's 15th work of video game music composition. This is Uematsu's last work before the inception of the Final Fantasy video game franchise.
Contents |
Gameplay
The idea of Rad Racer is to race around a course, and make it to check points before the fuel (gas) runs out. If you hit another vehicle, road sign or tree at a high speed, the car crashes. Crashes take time and make it more difficult for the player to reach the check point. There are eight different levels of requiring increasing skill.
- Stage 1 - Sunset Coastline (probably California or Hawaii)
- Stage 2 - San Francisco Highway
- Stage 3 - Grand Canyon
- Stage 4 - Ruins of Athens
- Stage 5 - Los Angeles Night Way
- Stage 6 - Snow White Line (a course through the Rocky Mountains)
- Stage 7 - Seaway in Typhoon (presumably in Japan)
- Stage 8 - Last Seaside Running (perhaps Florida)
The cars
At the car selection screen, you can pick one of two cars: a Ferrari 328 or an F1 racing machine. If the player selects the F1 racing machine, the computer-controlled cars will also drive one in all stages. The default computer-controlled cars are as follows:
- Stage 1 - Volkswagen Beetle
- Stage 2 - Chevrolet Corvette
- Stage 3 - Citroën
- Stage 4 - Mercedes-Benz
- Stage 5 - Lamborghini Countach
- Stage 6 - Lotus Esprit
- Stage 7 - Porsche 911
- Stage 8 - Ferrari Testarossa
There is no performance gain by choosing the F1 racing machine over the Ferrari 328. You cannot clear the course faster. The maximum speed is still 255 km/h.
Screenshots and cartridge
 The NES Cartridge. |
 Rad Racer title screen. |
 Driving down the road. |