Full Throttle (1987 video game)

Last updated
Full Throttle / Top Speed
Full Throttle flyer.png
Developer Taito
Publishers
Director Hiroyuki Sakou
Designer Hiroyuki Sakou
Programmers Kyouji Shimamoto
Takeshi Murata
Takeshi Ishizashi
Artist Hiroyasu Nagai
Composer Masahiko Takaki
Platforms Arcade, X68000
Release
Genre Racing
Mode Single-player
Arcade system Taito Top Speed [5]

Full Throttle, also known as Top Speed, is a one-player racing arcade game developed by Taito in 1987. It is similar in style to the Out Run games in that it features a fast, red car hurtling through the US countryside. The key difference in gameplay is the addition of a nitro boost button. [6] The game was released under the title Full Throttle in Japan, Top Speed in North America, [3] and both Full Throttle and Top Speed in Europe. [1] [2]

Contents

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Full Throttle on their November 15, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful upright arcade unit of the month. [7]

Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games gave Top Speed a positive review, comparing it favorably to Out Run and complimented its graphics and smooth handling. [1] Commodore User , on the other hand, rated Full Throttle five out of ten, calling it a clone of Out Run and comparing it unfavorably to Sega's game. [2]

Legacy

This game was the forerunner of the Taito Z system on which Taito's driving games were based from 1988–91.

Director Hiroyuki Sako went on to create Taito's Operation Thunderbolt a year later, as well as the Side by Side and Battle Gear series.

In 2009, Taito reused the Top Speed name for a game intended to be the successor to the Battle Gear series and featuring online multiplayer where players could race against players across arcades. [8] The game was quietly canceled after the location testing concluded.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Edgeley, Clare (November 15, 1987). "Arcade Action". Computer and Video Games . No. 74 (December 1987).
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Arcades: Full Throttle (Taito)". Commodore User . No. 51 (December 1987). November 1987. p. 148.
  3. 1 2 "Full Throttle (Registration Number PA0000340904)". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 136–7. ISBN   978-4990251215.
  5. ↑ "System 16 - Taito Top Speed Hardware (Taito)".
  6. ↑ "Full Throttle, Arcade Video game by Taito (1987)".
  7. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 320. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 1987. p. 25.
  8. ↑ "Taito reveals Top Speed, racing game with internet play". Arcade Heroes. June 4, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
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