So I played MotoRoader for the 1st time

[grolt]

I like the idea of the game in theory, but I tried this with a couple friends and we just could not wrap our heads around the control.  It was fun for a time just how comically bad we were, with every little warp suddenly sending us in a completely different direction, but the novelty wore off quickly.  It strikes me as a game that you can probably master and find enjoyment, but the learning curve to me seems steep.  Nice to find out in this thread that there are different control options and upgrades that could increase the enjoyment.  I'll have to revisit this in the near future.  The TurboGrafx version, not the Genesis one.

[Keith Courage]

I absolutely love this game and used to play it much with friends back in the day. Just get yourself the best handling and buy a gas tank for when you warp too much from hitting the back of the screen. From there on out you just need to figure out what the best items are to buy in which order. This will ensure you being able to stay fast enough to compete with the computer players.

maybe I like this game because I was a huge fan of Off Road.

[EvilEvoIX]

Sorry meant this game. 

[Warbucks]

Does that cart allow that game to be played with 4 players?

[_joshuaTurbo]

I thought I'd love it just like I enjoy the Micro Machines games, but Moto Roader seems like a much slower version of those games.  well, at least at first glance... Honestly I never spent a lot of time with it and should really get in more playtime before damning it to hell!!

TO HELL!!

[johnnykonami]

I absolutely love this game and used to play it much with friends back in the day. Just get yourself the best handling and buy a gas tank for when you warp too much from hitting the back of the screen. From there on out you just need to figure out what the best items are to buy in which order. This will ensure you being able to stay fast enough to compete with the computer players.

maybe I like this game because I was a huge fan of Off Road.

I LOVED Off Road in the arcades.  I wasn't the kind of kid who liked cars/nascar stuff naturally, either - but that game was super fun and we had one at a campground I stayed at often.  Dumped a lot of quarters into it.  I think it would be totally worth having a dedicated cabinet for.

I wanna love Moto Roader too, and I'm not gonna give up on it yet (still don't own my own copy really).  I really like the upgrade system, just didn't have it figured out yet.  I wanna get MR2 and MR: MC (which looks more like Super Sprint or Off Road even in that you seen the whole course in one screen) as well. 

Also, I dunno what it is about low-rez race girls either, but I love em!  Check out those hips man, must be what, like 12 pixels wide?  Ooh mama.

[Keith Courage]

Does that cart allow that game to be played with 4 players?

motor rotor can be a 5 player game

also, the game speed gets very fast once you get some upgrades like a turbo, body, or engine.

[SignOfZeta]

Off Road is infinitely more fun because the camera doesn't move. That's a total game changer.

I played the hell out of that game as a kid. Recently I spent about an hour with it at Galloping Ghost (free play). After a while your truck gets so totally great that you'll lose on purpose just to have the challenge of starting over. That didn't happen to me back when an hour was $15.

[Black Tiger]

Anyone who likes Off Road or Super Sprint should play Motoroader MC. Not only is every track unique, there are unique gameplay elements, like terrain or cows to slow you down, portals, a couple open spots next to train tracks and you can both shoot or drop mines to screw over your opponents. Nothing is more satisfying as fighting for first place and using a weapon at just the right time to send your rival onto the tracks just before the train hits them.

[SignOfZeta]

I do like MC a lot more.

[johnnykonami]

MC is definitely on my mental short list.  I'll probably get it before the other two.

[dallaspattern]

It didn't age very well. Loved it as a kid, threw it in the trash last week.

[esteban]

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

MotoRoader is a totally fun solo experience, but when you are a total newb, without any idea of what you are doing, I am sure it would be potentially frustrating.

(0) left - right steering controls is the only way I can play. It allows precision and faster response times.

(1) YOU HAVE TO STRATEGIZE. Duh! A better body (higher top speed) might be the secret to winning the first track, assuming you are good at staying near the front of the pack. If you suck, then faster acceleration (recovery time, after messing up) might be your ticket. Obviously, on some tracks you will be able to forgo massive spending (to skip to a higher upgrade level on the following track). On some tracks, I know I can use cheap tactics to overcome my slow car. If you don't understand all the attributes of your car, and how each attribute relates to others, then you cannot develop a sophisticated strategy. For example, I had a friend who was really good at driving high speed with crappy tires (this resulted in sloppy, drunk controls)...I could never pull this off—I needed to upgrade tires to handle higher speeds. My friend was able to save money.

(2) If your reflexes suck, you should stay just behind the lead car. I never memorized any courses...sure, I remember some parts, but I really rely on twitch reflexes for 90% of most tracks. I love being in the lead, knowing that one slight mistake can ruin everything. But, I know that easing up on gas is an important strategy when a turn/obstacle is (likely) approaching.

(3) HOPPER is fun as hell.

(4) I am not saying MR was a stellar game upon release. It wasn't. I'm not saying MR was easy to get into back then, or now. But if you don't take the time to explore the rules/relationships in the MR universe, then you are not really going to enjoy how strategic the game is.

(5) I know I am in the minority, but I really enjoyed my time spent with this game. It took some time to beat, back in the day.

(6) Multi-player can go a few ways:
(A) the better players totally crush the less-skilled. In this scenario, the less-skilled should embrace guerrilla tactics to *hopefully* scam into a decent finish. This means equipping your car appropriately.

(B) everyone sucks...it can be fun because it is totally absurd. This is when "Battle Royale" applies to everyone.

(C) everyone has decent skills, so most racers  will try to win "cleanly", but the threat of guerrilla tactics is ever-present (even if only occasionally employed).