Racing

[lbblue]

Are there any Hucard racing games that anyone thinks are any good?
Or just worth playing?
Thanks!

[nat]

Here's some of my personal favorites, which means they must be worth playing:

Outrun is awesome. It's a great port of the SEGA classic.

Victory Run is a crappy Outrun ripoff with worse graphics, music and none of the charm. Personally, I'd avoid it.

Final Lap Twin is a cool 2-player split-screen racing game by Namco. Graphics range from fair to good, but the gameplay is smooth and solid. It also has an "RPG"/quest mode that can be fun. Definitely worth picking up.

Then there are the Motoroader games which are overhead-view racers. My favorite is Motoroader II, so that's what I'm going to recommend. Motoroader II has a futuristic theme to it which clearly makes it the superior choice. Good graphics and gameplay = 

There are also a bunch of F1 racing games but I don't know much about them. I've heard they aren't that good.

[lbblue]

Yeah I got an F1 game (don't know which one) and here was the experience:
About 3 minutes of navigating thru menus I didn't understand, and then here go we #CRASH# "Retired" Back to the title screen. Zero fun, and that's why this query. Thanks for your recommendations, nat ! I'll have to look into those.

[Black Tiger]

I loved the arcade mode in Final Lap Twin.

Motoroader is fun with a few people, but its not so much a racer as a battle royale type game.

[ccovell]

You probably have one of the Nichibutsu or Human F-1 racing "simulations".  Yeah, besides OutRun (and my guilty pleasure, Road Spirits) what are some other great racing games on the system?  (I don't really like those top-down racers.)

[esteban]

Victory Run is a crappy Outrun ripoff with worse graphics, music and none of the charm. Personally, I'd avoid it.

Victory Run is like Rad Racer / Outrun, but with parts management (brakes, suspension, tires) added. Your parts can break (severely limiting your top speed... and thus your ability to complete a track), and they have to be purchased between rounds. This parts management adds a nice bit of strategy to the game.

I won't lie to you: Victory Run doesn't have the infectious charm of Rad Racer / Outrun... but when you're looking for a bit more depth / challenge, give Victory Run a chance. There are some neat things that you have to work out for some of the stages (i.e. on the Savannah, I think third gear is best... the dirt / desert track is killer, I can't remember the max speed you can do before tires are spinning in sand, etc.), but most stages are typical, straightforward pedal-to-the-medal fare.

IIRC, the sound effects were pretty lame in Victory Run. And it really lacks a convincing sensation of "speed" (even Rad Racer did a better job).

That said, I felt a sense of accomplishment when I beat Victory Run... it was a good challenge for me (granted, this was eons ago).

[Tatsujin]

Victory run is probably the best racer on the system shortly after outrun. amazing little thing for '87! with great and actionful up/down-hill courses and wide range view. definitely worth.

[Odonadon]

I think Victory Run is a lot better than Rad Racer IMO.  Doesn't quite compare to Outrun though.

For my money, I'd go for the Chase HQ and SCI games.

OD

[Turbo D]

Victory run is a good game, but it takes more skill to play that outrun. Thats probably why those other guys dislike it,  I really enjoyed outrun on the pc engine, its definitely a good port. I'd recomend zero champ, but it has too much of a language barrier to really be enjoyable. Chase hq is of course a classic, I love hitting the turbo 

[vestcoat]

Yeah, Victory Run is the thinking man's Outrun, while Outrun is easier to pick up and play with better play control.

I'm a fan of Chase HQ and SCI.  Their graphics are about equal; neither has great music and I think the tunes on SCI is a bit lamer, if anything.  They're both pretty challenging but Chase HQ moves at a faster pace, with turns flying at you with little warning.
Both games give you three nitro boosts every round.  Chase HQ allows you to shift between the two gears while this feature is removed in SCI.  Instead, SCI allows you to shoot a gun and pick up special weapons.  I don't think SCI has forks in the road like Chase HQ.

Power Drift is a nice change of pace from all other PCE racing games but it's choppy as hell.

[nat]

Victory run is a good game, but it takes more skill to play that outrun. Thats probably why those other guys dislike it

No.

I dislike Victory Run because it blows.

[shubibiman]

The F1 Circus series are definitely the best and most impressive racing games for the pc engine : it's fast and very technical. It takes a lot of training before you can win races but youy have to believe me : once you master the controls, these games kick ass. You HAVE to give it another try.

[lbblue]

Not sure if F1 Circus is what I have. There is only 1/2 dozen or so F1 games ...but i'll certainly give it another try in any case...

[Digi.k]

out of all those games Final Lap twin is the only one I go back to again and again..

If you don't mind motorcycle racing games you could try Bari Bari Densetsu or Irems Racing Spirit.. which although might end up boring you because of the amount of racing laps.. at least they run pretty smooth.

[sunteam_paul]

Out Run is the best HuCard racer for me. Motoroader is great if you are playing with friends.

Don't discount Power Drift. It might have jerky graphics, ropey sound and iffy control but it can be very intense which is fun.