The Other Outrun

A Rad Racer Review

Genre: Racing
Number of Players: 1
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Nintendo
Release Date: August 7, 1987 (JP), October 1987 (US), January 15, 1988 (EU)
Platform: NES
Also Available On: N/A

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Most retro gaming veterans have likely heard of Rad Racer at some point in their lives. Released as Highway Star on August 7, 1987 on the Famicom, and two months later on the NES in the US, the game was well-received with 1.96 million copies sold, despite its more than passing resemblance to Sega’s OutRun.

But show of hands—how many knew that Rad Racer was developed by SquareSoft (now Square Enix)?

‘Everyone’, you say? Oh. Okay, well how many of you knew that when the game was initially released?

‘Everyone who read the asterisks reference on the back of the box art’, you say? Well, I never had a boxed copy of the game, so the joke’s on you. Ha!

I kid. But seriously, I had no idea that the word “Square” on the title screen meant they were the same developer behind the esteemed Final Fantasy series (released just a few short months after Rad Racer).

In my review of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, it ended with a mention that, as a result of my getting into an alarming number of fights at school (2nd grade, I think), my parents made Big Brother give up the game. Though he unhappily shuffled into the local flea market (or boot sale for our UK friends), the day ended in jubilation when he came home with Rad Racer as its replacement. For me, it was the touchtone I would use to compare other racing titles for the next several years.

The main objective of the game is to win a series of eight races spread across the world. You won't have to worry about ranking in first place, but you will be racing against a sometimes unforgiving clock. If you have a flawless race, you won’t have much to worry about. But if you crash just once, you'll quickly find yourself furiously trying to make it to the next checkpoint.

Some locations are entirely fictional, while others are based on real-world places. For instance, the first location is simply called "Sunset Coastline"; the next race's location is on the "San Francisco Highway". Regardless of which course you're on, they’re all fun to race.

You have a choice of driving one of two cars: the Ferrari 328 Twin Turbo or the F1 Machine. Neither vehicle differs in speed or handling, but I do recommend driving the Twin Turbo because you'll race against different kinds of cars on each course. If you choose the F1 Machine, you'll only be racing against other F1 Machines of various hues of the same color on each course.

Assuming that you've chosen the Twin Turbo, you'll be competing against cars like the Volkswagen Bug, Lamborghini, Corvette, Testarossa, and a few other real-world vehicles. As you progress through the courses, the cars drive more aggressively and try to get in your way. You’ll want to use caution when you engage the turbo boost while speeding down a traffic-littered straightaway.

Rad Racer does a decent job of giving you a convincing sense of speed and balanced maneuverability. I never found myself fighting with its handling mechanics. Also, I’ve always appreciated that the game doesn’t limit your use of the turbo boost. You are free to use it without worrying about depleting fuel or needing to replenish a special meter. However, an interesting nuance is quietly introduced as you progress further.

The first two courses serve as your testing ground where you can use the turbo to reckless abandon on straightaways. But once you reach the third course, that all changes. Bumping into another car at full speed causes you to crash.

Especially later in the game, you can come up on those cars faster than you may think, making quick reflexes all the more necessary. This mechanic functions as a guardrail, forcing the player to drive defensively instead of simply turbo-boosting through the entire course.

Unlike most racing games at the time, Rad Racer gives the player some grace should the timer reach zero. Instead of stopping dead in your tracks, the car will coast on the speed you had at that moment, allowing you to possibly make it to the next checkpoint. Though a minimal feature, it helped the game to distinguish itself from similar racing games at the time.

The controls are simple and easy to grasp. The A button accelerates, the B button applies the brakes, and holding the up direction engages the turbo. However, it is worth noting that some players may get a little frustrated initially, as it is relatively easy to veer off course and crash into a hazard if you don’t anticipate the steepness of the turn ahead of time. But that can be remedied by taking care to dial it back a notch on the hairpin turns, especially if you've got a lead foot with that turbo boost.

Don't let the box art fool you—the graphics are pretty good for the game's release period. Square did a great job creating a game that made you feel like you were almost right there on the scene. Although some locations are more sparse than others, most of the courses feature rich, detailed backgrounds.

The highlight of the visual presentation is the parallax scrolling. This technique is best showcased in night courses, like San Francisco Highway (my personal favorite). There's nothing more beautiful than racing on a dark roadway, with skyscrapers, bridges, and small city lights lining the background.

Also impressive is that roads dip and rise, further increasing the immersion of driving to the checkered flag. Additionally, certain courses feature changes in the time of day or weather between checkpoints—thumbs up to Square for their attention to detail.

The music for Rad Racer was composed by Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame. There are only three music tracks, but they fit the game very well. Best of all, you can change songs at any time during the race by pressing the down arrow on the controller, just as you would change the station on a car radio.

And if you don't like the music, you can always opt to race without it. The melodies are repetitive, but it slaps like a Uematsu song proper. Honestly, I love all three tunes for different reasons. My preferred ranking is the first (Sunset Coastline), third (Grand Canyon), and second song (San Francisco Highway) — in that order (one song per course). That way, I’m always playing the third song on the nighttime courses because it just fits the mood for me.

I appreciated the attention to detail with the sound of your car’s motor and that of the other vehicles on the road (best heard when no music is playing). Some may find the screeching sounds of the tires to be annoying when navigating steep turns, but I don't think it will bother most players. I’ve heard worse sound effects in other racing games.

Overall, Rad Racer is a fine game for anyone, from novice to expert. Sometimes it's fun just to pop in that gray cartridge and take a ride down memory lane. The enjoyment possible with this game is right up there with contemporaries like Pole Position and Outrun. Rad Racer is a ride worth taking every time.

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Question for the audience: What’s your preferred listening order to the music in Rad Racer?