Developer: Vivid Image Publisher: Ubi Soft Release: 94 Genre: Racing
Super Mario Kart was the bestselling racing game of its generation. At just under 9 million copies sold it was also one of the bestselling SNES games of all time. With that popularity in mind it is surprising there were so few games “inspired” by it in the West. Japan was inundated with kart racers on the Super Famicom but the US and Europe only got a small drip. Street Racer is one of the better efforts, a game that looks similar but also does a few unique things that help it stand out.
For a game that has been forgotten Ubi Soft did their damnedest to make Street Racer popular. It would release on the PC, Saturn, and PlayStation alongside the 16-bit versions. There were few games that spanned console generations back then such as NBA Jam Tournament Edition and Mortal Kombat 3 and it makes for interesting comparisons. The 32-bit editions would play to those systems strengths but Ubi Soft would have to make heavy compromises and create a similar but different game for the Genesis that is not as good. The SNES original however remains great to this day.
The cast of racers is an odd bunch. You have a sumo wrestler, a hillbilly, a voodoo doctor, a lothario, and even Frankenstein’s monster. Each is rated in five categories and the differences are notable. Attack and Defend are new for the genre as attacking plays a role in the game. Rather than item boxes that gift random weapons each character has unique power-ups like a grappling hook, turbo, or even a magic carpet. You can also melee attack from both sides at any time. There is a damage bar but I will be completely honest it did not seem to matter. At no point was I ever in danger of filling the meter and wrench power-ups to repair your car are common. Maybe it becomes a factor on higher difficulties but I doubt it.
The course design is similar to Mario Kart with a few differences. There are boundaries on every track so that you cannot fall off. At most you will enter uneven terrain that will drastically slow you down. The maps are small with laps taking twenty seconds or less. In general the track design is hit or miss. There is a lot of visual clutter on some tracks that make it hard to discern items from hazards like explosives. The shorter tracks end up simple with not much going on. The longer ones are more interesting with hairpin turns and the occasional shortcut. It never quite reaches the level of Super Mario Kart’s more elaborate (and frustrating) tracks but is still good overall.
What makes Street Racer so enjoyable most of all is its balanced difficulty. There is no rubber banding so if you build a lead you can keep it. The AI will fight amongst themselves and jockey for position. It will also adjust itself depending on your performance somewhat. The courses are short allowing for quick runs which is great as the higher difficulties have as many as fourteen races. You can also adjust other options such as weapons, damage, and number of laps although it means if you fall behind there is less time to recover. Most importantly if you are a bad driver the bonus point system awards points for collecting the most stars, fastest lap, and a no damage race. With this even second or third place can still beat number one. The myriad options make the game accessible for players of all skill levels.
Street Racer has a lot of content with a big multiplayer focus. There are twenty four tracks with a few more hidden. This is one of the few racing games to support the multi-tap for multiplayer up to four players. It runs pretty good too but it is sad that few probably ever got to experience it. The two additional multiplayer modes I do not like. Rumble is a free for all as you try to knock players out of the arena. It is funny to watch the computer battle it out but certain characters and their abilities are too powerful and make it too simple. Soccer is basically that; soccer with cars as everyone tries to score the most points in one goal. It is….interesting but not much fun long term.
Ubi Soft and Vivid Image work black magic on the technical side to make Street Racer impress on numerous levels. The SNES version was the original and looks better than its Sega counterpart as it makes use of Mode 7. The graphics look great, full of vivid color, imaginative settings, and creative design. The characters themselves are a bit generic but whatever, I could care less. Street Racer has four player split screen multiplayer with no enhancement chips and does so by splitting the screen horizontally. There is no hit to performance as they reduce the number of participants to just four but four player coop was so rare the hit is worth it.
In Closing
Street Racer is a bit obscure but worth seeking out as it is a fun experience. It is full of content, controls well, and looks great. I remember reviews at the time giving high praise and after trying it for myself now I can see why. Street Racer is a pleasant surprise and one of the stronger racing games on the SNES.
