Over Top | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | ADK |
Publisher(s) | SNK ADK (NGCD) |
Director(s) | Takashi Egashira |
Producer(s) | Kazuo Arai |
Programmer(s) | Yukinori Nishikata |
Composer(s) | Keiichiro Segawa Takao Oshima |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Neo Geo AES, Neo Geo CD |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Racing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Arcade system | Neo Geo MVS |
Over Top [a] is a racing arcade video game developed by ADK and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1996. [1] [2] It is the spiritual successor to Thrash Rally , which was released earlier in 1991 on Neo Geo platforms. [3]
Themed around rallying, Over Top pits the players with competing against AI-controlled opponents in races across various locations. Directed by Magician Lord designer Takashi Egashira, the game was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at ADK. Though it was initially launched for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade), the title was later released for both Neo Geo AES (home) and Neo Geo CD respectively, in addition of being re-released through download services for various consoles.
Over Top was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release.
Over Top is a top-down rally racing game where players observe from above and races across various locations by participating in a single race against AI-controlled opponents. [4] [5] [6] Each location has their own weather conditions that changes how the car is controlled through the track, as well as shortcuts to gain advantage against opponents. [7] [8] [9]
The title uses a checkpoint in which the player gains extra time by reaching a tunnel at the end of each location. [7] Failing to reaching the checkpoint results in a game over screen unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to continue playing. If a memory card is present, the player is allowed to save their progress and resume the last point the game saved at. [7]
Over Top was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at ADK, [10] with Magician Lord designer Takashi Egashira acting as its director alongside producer Kazuo Arai. [11] Yukinori Nishikata served as chief programmer, while the soundtrack was composed by Keiichiro Segawa and Takao Oshima. [11] Several other people also collaborated in its development. [11]
Over Top was first released by SNK for the Neo Geo MVS on April 26, 1996, and was then released for Neo Geo AES on May 24 of the same year. [1] [2] The Japanese AES release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, with copies of the port fetching over US$4500 on the secondary video game collecting market. [12] The game was later re-released in the same year for the Neo Geo CD by ADK on September 26. [1] [2] The title has received multiple re-releases in recent years on various digital distribution platforms such as the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. [13] [14]
Publication | Score |
---|---|
AllGame | (Neo Geo) [15] |
M! Games | (Neo Geo) 33% [16] |
Nintendo Life | (Switch) [3] |
Pure Nintendo Magazine | (Switch) 6 / 10 [17] |
Over Top received mixed reception from critics and reviewers since release. [18] [19] AllGame 's Kyle Knight commended its graphics, gameplay and replay value but criticized the introductory CGI sequence for being poorly done. [15] MAN!AC's Andreas Knauf compared the game negatively with Neo Drift Out: New Technology, criticizing the Sega Mega Drive-esque visuals and sound design, as well as the simple controls. [16]
Reviewing the Nintendo Switch re-release, Nintendo Life 's Damien McFerran criticized the CGI graphics and introduction but commended the music and simple controls, also saying that the game lacks longevity that will not occupy players for long. [3] Pure Nintendo Magazine 's Trevor Gould and Heath M. Shusterman-Zimmerman gave the Switch re-release a mixed outlook. [17]
The Neo Geo, stylized as NEO•GEO and also written as NEOGEO, is a ROM cartridge-based video gaming system released on April 26, 1990, by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. Designed as both an arcade system board and home video game console, the Neo Geo was marketed as the first 24-bit system; its CPU is actually a 16/32-bit 68000 with an 8-bit Z80 coprocessor, while its GPU chipset has a 24-bit graphics data bus. It was a very powerful system when released, more powerful than any video game console at the time, and many arcade systems such as rival Capcom's CPS, which did not surpass it until the CP System II in 1993. Neo Geo hardware production lasted seven years; it was succeeded by Hyper Neo Geo 64.
SNK Corporation is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as Shin Nihon Kikaku by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing coin-op games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company produced many in-house games and now-classic franchises during the 1990s, including Aggressors of Dark Kombat, Art of Fighting, Fatal Fury, King of the Monsters, Metal Slug, Samurai Shodown, The King of Fighters, The Last Blade, Twinkle Star Sprites, and World Heroes; they continue to develop and publish new titles in some of these franchises on contemporary arcade and home platforms. Since the 2000s, SNK have diversified from their traditional arcade focus into pachislot machines, mobile game development, and recently character licensing.
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World Heroes Perfect is a 1995 fighting arcade game developed and published by ADK with the assistance of SNK. It was originally released for the Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet on May 25, 1995. It is the fourth and final title of the World Heroes series.
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Neo Bomberman is an action-maze arcade video game developed by Produce! and published by Hudson Soft for the Neo Geo MVS on May 1, 1997. It is one of two games in the Bomberman franchise that was released for the Neo Geo platform, the first being Panic Bomber, and the only one to retain its traditional top-down gameplay. It was released for the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and has not received a home console release to date. It was the last original Bomberman title to be released for arcades until Konami's Bombergirl in 2018.
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