All 16-Bit

Review #12053 Jaguar XJ220 The one with a track editor Sega CD 1993 JVC Racing Racing › Arcade E 66 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay This is one of the better arcade racers out there. It's a lot like Top Gear but with turns that are a little more finicky. My only gripe is that slowing down doesn't always get you around every turn. Still, the controls are quite good for this genre. 4 / 5 Level Design Four modes: Grand Prix, World Tour, Practice, and Track Editor (yes, a track editor!) There are a ton of tracks and each one has a different feel.and fun elements like tunnels and bridges and whatnot. There's a lot of game to explore here. One thing I like is that qualifying places you in positi...

Review #12008 Batman Returns Driving only. Trust me. Sega CD 1992 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade F 58 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay First things first, this is two games rolled into one. The first is a platformer that gives Batman Forever a run for its money as the worst Batman licensed product of ever made. The less said about it, the better. Second is a combat driving game that must be seen to be believed. Thankfully, the options menu let's you choose between All Stages, Only Platform, or Only Driving. So let's talk about the driving game, shall we? Controls are what you'd expect, except for one glaring problem - your batarang machine gun is a semi-automatic so you can't simply hold down on A. B is gas and C is missiles ...

Review #12001 Adventures of Batman & Robin Not the Civilians! Sega CD 1995 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade F 53 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Plays exactly like Batman Returns, but with the platforming stages smartly removed. What's left is the fun-for-a-few-minutes driving stages with decent controls but terrible combat mechanics. The batarang machine gun is gone and replaced by another missile with even less ammo. All the warts of the first game, with worse combat. 2 / 5 Level Design I knocked the Gameplay down a notch but will up the Level Design slightly compared to Batman Returns. There's more to do here. Barely. The first few stages have you weaving around civilian cars during rush hour. Th...

Review #11097 Road Spirits Let's take a leisure Sunday drive PCE CD 1991 Pack-In-Video Racing Racing › Arcade F 55 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Extremely forgiving controls. You rarely need to lay off the gas to make any turn. It's more like a pleasure cruise across the world than a serious race. Gameplay is fast but very easy. 2 / 5 Level Design Levels have no features whatsoever. Just turn right, then left, then right, then...you get the idea. Each "road" is 4 minutes long although I finished each in about 3:15 with no problem. The only praise I can give it is that each road is in a distinct locale, like the Florida Keys, the Nile, etc. 3 / 5 Theme ...

Review #8098 OutRun Genre defining, but creaky PCE 1990 NEC Racing Racing › Arcade G 49 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay As someone who holds no nostalgia for this game, I came away unimpressed. It's repetitive and has very limited gameplay. It plays faster than the Genesis version and other cars have almost no collision, so you'll crash and slow down far less than in other versions. Still a subpar racing experience. 3 / 5 Level Design Has hills and tons of backgrounds to give you something to look at. Branching paths 4 / 5 Theme The passengers in your Ferrari give this game its identity. Their reactions are fun. Most racing games feel like a chore but this one feels like a fun...

Review #6082 Turbo Out Run OutRun 2 MD 1992 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade H 39 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Middle ground between OutRun and OutRun 2019. Plays like OutRun (that's bad) but you have full control over your turbo boost (that's good). As with all the OutRun games, I hate the restrictive time limit. I can't finish a race, even on easy. 2 / 5 Level Design No branching paths. Feels like a big step backward. Also, it's one big long race instead of being broken up into short segments like OutRun 2019. 3 / 5 Theme Not as iconic as the prequel, or as weird as the sequel. 2 / 5 Art Style Choppy graphics, perhaps even wor...

Review #3908 Dirt Racer Super FX for the fail SNES PAL 1995 Elite Systems Racing Racing › Arcade H 25 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Atrocious controls. They're so bad that it's legitimately fascinating to try to make sense of them. The tiniest of movements causes your vehicle to spin out of control. Also the opponent AI is weird because it seems to match your skill or movement such that you always stay just ahead of it. It's like reverse MK rubberbanding. Play Stunt Race FX instead. 1 / 5 Level Design Stages have ill-defined objectives and bizarre layouts. Some are a traditional oval, with numerous 90 degree turns, but others have strange open layouts with a set of spots you need to drive over to ...

Review #2418 Uchuu Race: Astro Go! Go! F-Zero on the back of a dolphin SFC 1994 Meldac Racing Racing › Arcade E 68 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Mode 7 racer similar to F-Zero. At first I thought it was a Mario Kart clone but no, it's F-Zero. The name of game is to avoid hitting the walls at all costs, as losing your momentum will absolutely end your race. As such the difficulty is very high, despite having decent controls. It plays more like RC Pro-Am than F-Zero, where the camera is fixed behind you. Here the camera is fixed so turns and even loops are achieved while the camera remains in a fixed position. This means it's critical to memorize the tracks and watch carefully for the arrows that are thankfully on the ground. Overa...

Review #2176 Jaleco Rally: Big Run: The Supreme 4WD Challenge Cruis'n Africa SFC 1991 Jaleco Racing Racing › Arcade G 44 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay It's an Outrun clone and you're on a 4WD long distance really race like the Super Off-Road sequel. It's fun. Between segments you have to fix or upgrade your car. It's a fun, unique experience. Reminds me of an off-road Cruis'n USA 1 / 5 Level Design There's only one mode. This severely limits replayability. There isn't even a save or password system. Lame. 3 / 5 Theme Unique premise. Gets you into the mood for a long distance race. 2 / 5 Art Style Choppy framerat...

Review #7088 Victory Run OutRun minus charm TG-16 1989 NEC Racing Racing › Arcade G 44 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay I've never really liked the OutRun formula. Actually, it's the Pole Position formula but OutRun defines the arcade racer genre because it's got an X factor which so many similar games lack. In any case, this game is as run of the mill as you can get. Your car looks cool but everything else is just blah. Making turns is tough, avoiding traffic is even worse, and that darn checkpoint mechanic is here in full force. Worse still, taking even a single crash effectively ends your run. It's fun for a minute, but you won't spend much time with this game. Oh and before I forget you have to shift gears. There's no option ...

Review #7035 Final Lap Twin RPG sports before Mario Golf TG-16 1990 NEC Racing Racing › Arcade E 64 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay It's rare to find an old RPG sports title. Naturally, it's got very light RPG elements but the fact that it's here at all is mindboggling. The RPG side of things is mildly interesting but gives this game depth and replayability. Random battles occur on the overworld. These are in the form of a single-lap 1v1 race. Losing sends you back to you dad's house and he gives you money, so there's really no downside. The racing is standard fare for F1 games. There's really nothing to say other than that the controls are fair. It's all passable but the game's charm far outweighs i...

Review #4651 Virtua Racing Glorified tech demo Genesis 1994 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade H 37 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay Several camera options are the only source of variety in the gameplay. I love how the track has sloped corners like a real track would. Makes turns more tolerable although there's still a lot of tap tap tapping required. Controls overall feel alright but there's not much to do here. After 10 min you've seen everything. 1 / 5 Level Design Three tracks. Total. They're decent but sheesh, that's the entire score of this game? That's Race Drivin' level of content. 2 / 5 Theme Not much to report. It's a simple arcade setup wit...

Review #4620 Top Gear 2 Easily the best racing game on the Genesis Genesis 1994 Vic Tokai Racing Racing › Arcade E 65 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Turning is very forgiving. Not as forgiving as the SNES original but you only have to feather the gas to make it around very sharp turns. Clever use of arrows along the side of the track which give you ample time to see upcoming turns. More racing games should do this. Easy difficulty is very welcome. Difficult to pass but not impossible as the road is 3-4x wide. However opponents tend to drive directly in front of you so it's annoying to pass them. 4 / 5 Level Design Fun tracks with mostly gradual turns. There are even tracks where you get some air. ...

Review #4414 OutRunners Genesis 1994 Data East Racing Racing › Arcade H 29 / 100 Horrible Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 1 / 5 Gameplay Always plays in half screen so you can see the other racers view. Would've liked to have the option to use the whole screen. Same general gameplay as its predecessors. Hitting other cars seemingly has no consequence. The physics seem off completely. No way to keep pace with some opponents. No idea how to compete. 2 / 5 Level Design No branching paths. Each race is a competition against another racer. Would've liked some other modes or something more chill. 3 / 5 Theme Has an edgy 90s vibe. Silly animations play at the end of each race 2 / 5 Art...

Review #4413 OutRun 2019 Sega's answer to F-Zero Genesis 1993 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade E 61 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Same basic gameplay as Outrun. Checkpoints, branching paths, avoid opponents and off-road. Gimmick is a speed boost which powers up while going full speed. Not quite sure what triggers it but it kicks in randomly and often at unwelcome times, like in the middle of a turn. I much prefer deliberate boost management like in F-Zero or Burnout 2. Control is responsive. Not something I'd play for a long time but it's fun while it lasts. 3 / 5 Level Design Broken up into races with 5 or so segments each. I like that it's not just one long race like the original. ...

Review #4412 OutRun Genre defining, but creaky Genesis 1991 Sega Racing Racing › Arcade G 49 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 2 / 5 Gameplay As someone who holds no nostalgia for this game, I came away unimpressed. It's repetitive and has very limited gameplay. Making turns is easy enough and the squealing tires is fun, but basically the game amounts to avoiding other cars and going off-road. Just like every other racing game. The branching paths allow some variety but have no impact on gameplay. I like that the road is very wide in most spots - 3x to 5x your car's width. I hate the restrictive time limit. I can't get far even on easy. 3 / 5 Level Design Has hills and tons of backgrounds to give you something to look at. ...

Review #4321 Lotus Turbo Challenge Pixelated Top Gear Genesis 1992 Electronic Arts Racing Racing › Arcade G 43 / 100 Bad Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Outrun clone, but with no personality. Road hazards like logs and puddles. 1 / 5 Level Design Gotta get to the next checkpoint to continue, and good luck making it. Dunno, can't finish the first track. The track seems pretty interesting so I wish the difficulty wasn't so high. No modes. Just race. No difficult level or customization of any sort. 2 / 5 Theme Not much personality 2 / 5 Art Style Backgrounds and stuff on the side of the road are a pixelated mess. Track and cars look good. Nice framer...

Review #4320 Lotus II: R.E.C.S. Top Gear 2 clone Genesis 1993 Electronic Arts Racing Racing › Arcade F 52 / 100 Not Bad, but Flawed Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Good sense of speed. Pretty mich same game as the original, but with way more options. The key difference is the inclusion of a circuit style game instead of only time attack. Lots of gimmicks which are sometimes annoying, like a track which has high winds that blow you to one side. The devs must've played F-Zero and wanted to include that feature but it feels weird here. The only major problem is the fuel gauge and having to stop at the pits. Thematically this makes no sense and gameplay wise it's an obnoxious thing to have to worry about. Oh and fail one time and it's game over. ...

Review #643 Top Gear 3000 Coming up, Pongo's review of Top Gear three…thousand. SNES 1994 Kemco Racing Racing › Arcade D 77 / 100 Good Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 4 / 5 Gameplay Incredibly fast gameplay. Same forgiving controls as the other Top Gear games. Options for both full and half screen view. Has some F-Zero features like areas which recharge your gas or repair your car. Seems tacked on since you can't really miss these zones so what's the point? G9XS 3FR2 2023 B6R7 357 4 / 5 Level Design Same good level design 3 / 5 Theme Weird tacked on F-Zero style galaxy-wide racing competition. I say tacked on because nothing about the graphics or gameplay suggests a futuristic setting. Just the c...

Review #642 Top Gear 2 Better turning, higher difficult, worse music SNES 1993 Kemco Racing Racing › Arcade E 67 / 100 Your mileage may vary Screenshot used for review/reference purposes. 3 / 5 Gameplay Turning is less forgiving than original. A bit more strategy must be employed to turn early and you also have to feather the gas to make it around sharp turns. Clever use of arrows along the side of the track which give you ample time to see upcoming turns. More racing games should do this. Ultimately I got bored. There just isn't much to do. There's a lot less bumping and jockeying for position with other racers. Impossible to get 1st place. The guy in front finished the race 10-15 seconds faster than anyone else. Also, you always start in 20th place so it's hard to catch up. ...