- Release Date: 1990 06
- Genre: Racing
- Style: Sports Car Racing
- Similar Games: Rad Racer (Nintendo Entertainment System), Out Run (Sega Master System), Out Run (TurboGrafx-16), Top Gear (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)
Game Description
In a turbo-charged mean machine called the Rad Racer II, you're given the challenge of tearing through these eight tracks with a dizzying array of twists, curves and hairpin turns through locations such as the mountainous regions of California, to the exotic neon-filled streets of Las Vegas Boulevard, all from a behind-the-car perspective. The Big Apple with its nighttime track, overcast Gettysburg, sunny Key West, desolate Monument Valley, appropriately named Rocky Mountains and San Francisco Bay Bridge also await.At speeds of up to 255 miles per hour, it's quite easy to skid off the road into your stereotypical rural pie stand or local convenience store, so an included Preview Direction Indicator warns you of upcoming turns and helps compensate for your breakneck speeds. In addition, you'll have to weave your way through plenty of other cars, such as Volkswagen Beetles or Mustangs, most driven by perturbed drivers attempting to slam into you and otherwise make your day unpleasant.
Hopefully the included, selectable tunes "Gumball Crash," "Coast to Coast" and "Sing Yourself" will keep you in a chipper mood, the last being silent and allowing you to hum the tune from Super Mario Bros., belt out a couple songs off the latest chart-topping album, or just sit there quietly.
Next to where your CD player would be is the control panel, displaying your Lap Time Counter which shows your time from checkpoint to checkpoint, Tachometer showing your RPMs, the aforementioned Preview Direction Indicator, Speedometer, Trip Gauge listing your current progress on the course and most importantly, your Turbo Boost Gauge. Charging up your Turbo Boost Gauge allows you to speed off at 250 MPH from a dead stop, most likely spilling your orange juice while the g-force pastes you against your seat.
So if you feel your radness is sufficient to take on this challenge, or you would just like to increase it, tighten up those gloves, get a firm grip on your OJ and slide yourself into the Rad Racer II.
~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
Rad Racer II is the sequel to the NES original Rad Racer. Games it may have been influenced by could be Night Driver and Enduro on the Atari 2600, to Out Run on the~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Square Soft seemingly manages to squeeze every drop of audio-visual power from the platforms it publishes on, creating titles that are leaders in their genre. This radical follow-up to the 1987 NES original is no different; race tracks feature lusciously colored, detailed backgrounds, the control of your vehicle is silky-smooth, cars are detailed and the high-speed action is backed by a fun, upbeat score. Rad Racer II leaves most every other racer in the dust, taking NES racing to its height of quality.A total of eight tracks are included, and each background scrolls in relation to the track's movement near perfectly, making you to want to reach that wonderful backdrop in the distance. Tracks such as Twilight California, with its mountainous regions surrounded by the purple-orange haze of dusk, and the neon light-filled cityscape of Las Vegas Blvd. don't fail to impress. Each track you race on has a fluid quality that not only suspends the belief of racing at up to 255 miles per hour, but also when coupled with the responsive control, creates 8-bit racing bliss. Almost.
While the control has been tweaked to near perfection, thus allowing you to weave through competitors and gracefully turn curves with the greatest of ease, the difficulty level is just a bit high. Competitors drive like professionals and will try to slam into you during passes; while not too different from single life and its hits during passes, you'll learn to bear with it, but wish it were a tad gentler. This difficulty level adds a great amount of challenge, lengthening the life of this racer and ensuring you'll still be racing weeks from first playing it...surrounded by the mangled remnants of control pads.
We're all aware Square Soft is a master at composing music, and Rad Racer II is representative of its talents, including three tunes for your listening enjoyment; the futuristic yet somber Gumball Crash, the upbeat, poppy Coast to Coast followed by Sing Yourself. I found the first two to be well written and stylistically matching most any track I raced on, but my favorite had to be the silent Sing Yourself.
Yes, Sing Yourself is void of any tunes whatsoever, allowing you to sing whatever you darn well please, from Garbage's Driving Lesson, to Ministry's Jesus Built My Hotrod, it's sure to annoy anyone in the vicinity and place a smug smile on your face. Sound effects during play are equally well done; the shredding of roadside dirt is a gritty, harsh noise, the charging of your turbo engine sounds futuristic, while slamming into an opponent is accompanied by a satisfying thumping sound.
One thing I didn't understand about Rad Racer II was the inability to select your starting track from a menu; a code listed in the back of the instruction manual allows you to do this from the title screen. All I can assume is this deficiency didn't occur to Square Soft until very late in the development process and they included this code to compensate for it. This coupled with the lack of more than one available vehicle (two were in the original, why the decrease?) to race with places a small crack in what could have been a flawless gem of a racer. However, as it is, Rad Racer II stands out as one of the best on the NES.
~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
If you're a racing buff, you'd be a fool to pass this up; with twelve tracks to race on and challenging opponents, this'll have a steady home in your NES deck.~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
Some of the best racing graphics seen on the NES, Rad Racer II's background are mouth-wateringly colored, while your car is highly detailed with some nice animation.~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Perfect tunes for racing, although a few more than two would have been nice, these suffice and never get repetitive. Sound effects are as realistic as you'll get with 8-bits of power.~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
Attempting to beat your best times and solid gameplay will have you coming back for more.~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
A colorful manual that's fun to read, thorough and features plenty of painted artwork and screenshots is a pleasant read.~ Geoffrey Douglas Smith, All Game Guide
