Rock ‘n Roll Racing (SNES, 1993)
Graphics-7 Sound-8 Control-8.5 Challenge-7.5/8**
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5/8.5** Fun-9/8* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*1-player
**1-player on Hard/full
+
2-player vs (split-screen) - 4 in RC Pro-AM II
Hilarious voice commentary
Buy cars and upgrade them between races (7 different parts including boosting or jumping and two different weapons, 5 cars in total). For the weapons and boosts/jumps you buy ammo rather than upgrades and instead buy better cars for better weapons
7 different drivers including the hidden Olaf from Lost Vikings (requires a cheat code to unlock). These get 2-3 stat bonuses (top speed, acceleration, cornering, jumping (same function as shock absorbers for smoother landings after jumping); Olaf is the only one who's good at three things making him the best). Only 4 are really good though - Snake, Jake, Tarquinn and Olaf
Jumps via ramps (RC Pro-Am 2?) as well as an ability for two of the cars
Can shoot and lay down mines
Course maps (RC Pro-Am 2), much better sound and slightly better graphics than on MD
Difficulty options (easy/rookie-hard/warrior)
Good length (72 races in total spread across 6 planets (if you choose to race on all of them, see below) - first one has 8, the second 10, the third 12 and the rest 14)
Shortcuts on a few tracks (bogmire - tracks 2 and 8, new mojave - tracks 1 and 8, inferno - track 4)
Get a 5k lapping bonus by passing the driver in last pace while in first place
Boost pads (RC Pro-AM) - takes quite a while before they start appearing though
Don't have to come first every time to progress
Homing weapon (havac only)
Shows some replay highlights after beating it on normal or above in SP
+/-
Partially non-linear structure in that you can skip to the next division and then the next planet before finishing all races on one (you start at B and go to A - after that you're forced to the next planet, need a certain amount of points and you'll have enough after about half the available races on a planet if you keep getting first place)
Can repeat all races once on any planet/level (can't go back after raising the level/moving to the next planet, levels yield different amounts of money). When moving to the A division on a planet your points are reset so you'll have to raise them again to go to the next planet - at this point the game could've perhaps let you randomize the order of the tracks for the A division since if you keep skipping ahead about as soon as you have the points you'll never see the later tracks on a planet, and it's just better for variety if you play a whole planet in one sitting. But it's also easier for the player to replay the same tracks in the same order, meaning you don't have to be on your toes throughout the whole thing which could be exhausting
Need to get to planet 3/bogmire to buy the battle trak car and planet 5/NHO (ice planet) to buy the havac
Password save
No speedometer
Can't equip both jump jet and nitro/boost consumables - jumps could've ben useful for dodging later on
No shopping for upgrades and cars in 2-player mode
No speed boost for timing hitting the gas at the start of races (it's generally best to wait slightly so that you can shoot the other cars since it also nets you a money bonus)
Could've had a bit more weapon/power up/hazard variety (RC Pro-AM II had bomb plane enemies, temporary invincibility, a money stealing weapon and a freezing (slowing) weapon, Super Mario Kart had invisibility and stompers)
Slipsauce (oil slicks) are sometimes worse than mines since they don't go away
Cheesy characters
Can't play as the opponent characters
Somewhat unforgiving hit detection on power ups (OTOH it's easy to hit opponents with your shots)
-
Easy mode and even Normal mode aren't the full game - just the first three planets on Easy and the first five on Normal (could've had a warning in-game for Easy, Normal mode should've been the full game)
Can't see how the cars differ in-game (dirt devil handles better than the marauder but is slower, air blade is better than them in both areas and comes with nitro (boost) instead of jump jets, battle trak has better mines than the air blade and comes with the best handling, havac ignores terrain (besides piles of snow and green slime) and traction (good for ice levels) since it hovers, )
Repetitive
Sometimes uneven difficulty in single player on Normal (spikes: when respawning right on or before an upward slope; dips: the AI could've been given more of a boost in the A division on some planets as it's pretty easy to become overpowered by that point, tracks 2 and 9 on the ice planet). Sometimes one or more AI cars just happen to drive better or worse on a particular track
Not enough music variety (five tracks, six on MD although the instrument quality is rather poor there and it doesn't use all sound channels)
Kinda generic characters (they don't talk or have any backstory or development in-game)
Minor slowdown when all cars are on screen and attacking each other
Need to input a code (same as for getting Olaf) to unlock Inferno in 2-player mode - why?
Knocking opponents off track by running into them could've been more of a thing (some non-jumping parts without railings)
Notes:
-The MD version has received a hack (v16 hack) with various new features: up to 6-player vs (or in teams, also supports network play), CD audio, better visuals (roughly on par with the SNES version), Master/very hard mode, oil slicks disappear sooner, can buy an acid dispenser weapon (replaces oil weapon), cheaper parts, one ammo power up in most tracks, play as the rivals+3 new drivers, you can pick 4 or 5 cars before beginning if you want, 4 new cars (pantera, scorpion, ravager, volker), additional control and AI aggression options, full screen/split-screen toggle, higher horizontal res if playing in Mednafen, chaos powerplate (empowers ramming damage and car's weight (tosses other cars further)), double jump if you upgrade your car enough, better sundog beam when it's not in homing mode, can increase resistance to your car being turned when hit with weapons
Level Design-8 Frustration-7.5/8.5** Fun-9/8* Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
*1-player
**1-player on Hard/full
+
2-player vs (split-screen) - 4 in RC Pro-AM II
Hilarious voice commentary
Buy cars and upgrade them between races (7 different parts including boosting or jumping and two different weapons, 5 cars in total). For the weapons and boosts/jumps you buy ammo rather than upgrades and instead buy better cars for better weapons
7 different drivers including the hidden Olaf from Lost Vikings (requires a cheat code to unlock). These get 2-3 stat bonuses (top speed, acceleration, cornering, jumping (same function as shock absorbers for smoother landings after jumping); Olaf is the only one who's good at three things making him the best). Only 4 are really good though - Snake, Jake, Tarquinn and Olaf
Jumps via ramps (RC Pro-Am 2?) as well as an ability for two of the cars
Can shoot and lay down mines
Course maps (RC Pro-Am 2), much better sound and slightly better graphics than on MD
Difficulty options (easy/rookie-hard/warrior)
Good length (72 races in total spread across 6 planets (if you choose to race on all of them, see below) - first one has 8, the second 10, the third 12 and the rest 14)
Shortcuts on a few tracks (bogmire - tracks 2 and 8, new mojave - tracks 1 and 8, inferno - track 4)
Get a 5k lapping bonus by passing the driver in last pace while in first place
Boost pads (RC Pro-AM) - takes quite a while before they start appearing though
Don't have to come first every time to progress
Homing weapon (havac only)
Shows some replay highlights after beating it on normal or above in SP
+/-
Partially non-linear structure in that you can skip to the next division and then the next planet before finishing all races on one (you start at B and go to A - after that you're forced to the next planet, need a certain amount of points and you'll have enough after about half the available races on a planet if you keep getting first place)
Can repeat all races once on any planet/level (can't go back after raising the level/moving to the next planet, levels yield different amounts of money). When moving to the A division on a planet your points are reset so you'll have to raise them again to go to the next planet - at this point the game could've perhaps let you randomize the order of the tracks for the A division since if you keep skipping ahead about as soon as you have the points you'll never see the later tracks on a planet, and it's just better for variety if you play a whole planet in one sitting. But it's also easier for the player to replay the same tracks in the same order, meaning you don't have to be on your toes throughout the whole thing which could be exhausting
Need to get to planet 3/bogmire to buy the battle trak car and planet 5/NHO (ice planet) to buy the havac
Password save
No speedometer
Can't equip both jump jet and nitro/boost consumables - jumps could've ben useful for dodging later on
No shopping for upgrades and cars in 2-player mode
No speed boost for timing hitting the gas at the start of races (it's generally best to wait slightly so that you can shoot the other cars since it also nets you a money bonus)
Could've had a bit more weapon/power up/hazard variety (RC Pro-AM II had bomb plane enemies, temporary invincibility, a money stealing weapon and a freezing (slowing) weapon, Super Mario Kart had invisibility and stompers)
Slipsauce (oil slicks) are sometimes worse than mines since they don't go away
Cheesy characters
Can't play as the opponent characters
Somewhat unforgiving hit detection on power ups (OTOH it's easy to hit opponents with your shots)
-
Easy mode and even Normal mode aren't the full game - just the first three planets on Easy and the first five on Normal (could've had a warning in-game for Easy, Normal mode should've been the full game)
Can't see how the cars differ in-game (dirt devil handles better than the marauder but is slower, air blade is better than them in both areas and comes with nitro (boost) instead of jump jets, battle trak has better mines than the air blade and comes with the best handling, havac ignores terrain (besides piles of snow and green slime) and traction (good for ice levels) since it hovers, )
Repetitive
Sometimes uneven difficulty in single player on Normal (spikes: when respawning right on or before an upward slope; dips: the AI could've been given more of a boost in the A division on some planets as it's pretty easy to become overpowered by that point, tracks 2 and 9 on the ice planet). Sometimes one or more AI cars just happen to drive better or worse on a particular track
Not enough music variety (five tracks, six on MD although the instrument quality is rather poor there and it doesn't use all sound channels)
Kinda generic characters (they don't talk or have any backstory or development in-game)
Minor slowdown when all cars are on screen and attacking each other
Need to input a code (same as for getting Olaf) to unlock Inferno in 2-player mode - why?
Knocking opponents off track by running into them could've been more of a thing (some non-jumping parts without railings)
Notes:
-The MD version has received a hack (v16 hack) with various new features: up to 6-player vs (or in teams, also supports network play), CD audio, better visuals (roughly on par with the SNES version), Master/very hard mode, oil slicks disappear sooner, can buy an acid dispenser weapon (replaces oil weapon), cheaper parts, one ammo power up in most tracks, play as the rivals+3 new drivers, you can pick 4 or 5 cars before beginning if you want, 4 new cars (pantera, scorpion, ravager, volker), additional control and AI aggression options, full screen/split-screen toggle, higher horizontal res if playing in Mednafen, chaos powerplate (empowers ramming damage and car's weight (tosses other cars further)), double jump if you upgrade your car enough, better sundog beam when it's not in homing mode, can increase resistance to your car being turned when hit with weapons