Damn it all, despite the jerky graphics, scratchy samples, iffy handling and unfair collision, Power Drift gets points in my book for several reasons.
1. The music to Power Drift is excellent. The tunes are classic Sega. The PC Engine version might not have the best sound, but it shouts the tunes out at you as you play and manages to meld all the themes together into one glorious long melody. Combined with the admittedly ropey speech and effects, it does provide the kind of wall of sound that enhances the game.
2. It makes my fingers hurt. After playing you KNOW you have played. I really concentrate while playing, pushing hard on the buttons and getting into the Power Drift zone to get past that one last car. To be sure, you will not fall asleep while playing Power Drift, unlike some other games I could mention.
3. It CAN be fun. Look past all the crap. It doesn't take long to get a feel for it. It is different to every other racer out there and when you are really into it, it is fun.
4. Sega didn't have the balls to convert it. No Power Drift on the Mega Drive, oh no. Credit where it is due, Asmik had a pair of big brass ones to think they could convert such an advanced arcade game to the PC Engine. They nearly succeeded. Just imagine if Hudson had tried it.
It's easy to dump on Power Drift, and it deserves some of it, but certainly not all.