Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.
The TurboGrafx-16, known as the PC Engine outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, however in actuality, the console has an 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) coupled with a 16-bit graphics processor, effectively making the claim somewhat false advertising. It was released in Japan in 1987 and in North America in 1989. In Europe the Japanese model was unofficially imported and distributed in the United Kingdom and France from 1988. In Japan, the system was launched as a competitor to the Famicom, but the delayed United States release meant that it ended up competing with the Sega Genesis and later the Super NES.
Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.
Final Lap is a 1987 racing simulation video game developed and published by Namco. Atari Games published the game in the United States in 1988. It was the first game to run on Namco's then-new System 2 hardware and is a direct successor to Namco's Pole Position (1982) and Pole Position II (1983). It was ported to the Famicom by Arc System Works, making it Arc System Works' debut game.
Rock n' Roll Racing is a vehicular combat-based racing video game developed by Silicon & Synapse and published by Interplay Productions for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993 and the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1994. The game prominently features a number of popular heavy metal and rock songs in its soundtrack, hence the game's title. After Silicon & Synapse rebranded into Blizzard Entertainment, a port to the Game Boy Advance was released in 2003. In celebration of the company's 30th anniversary, a new version titled Definitive Edition alongside emulated re-releases of the original game were re-released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as part of the Blizzard Arcade Collection in February 2021.
Super R.C. Pro-Am is a racing video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It was released in North America in June 1991 and in Europe on April 23, 1992; it was re-released in 1998 as part of Nintendo's Player's Choice series, which included all Game Boy titles which sold over one million copies. It is the follow-up to the Nintendo Entertainment System title R.C. Pro-Am, in which players race remote control cars from an out-of-vehicle perspective on a series of 24 tracks, avoiding obstacles and collecting items to improve performance in order to finish in the top three and qualify for the next track. The game can be played solo against three computer opponents, or two to four players can play simultaneously via the Game Link Cable or the Four Player Adapter.
R.C. Pro-Am is a racing video game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America in February 1988, and then in Europe on April 15. Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car around a series of tracks in vehicular combat. Each track qualifies its top three racers for the next track. Collectible power-up items improve performance, hazards include rain puddles and oil slicks, and missiles and bombs can temporarily disable opponents. Originally titled Pro Am Racing, it was ported to the Sega Genesis in 1992 as Championship Pro-Am, an enhanced remake with enhanced graphics and additional features. R.C. Pro-Am spawned two sequels: Super R.C. Pro-Am in 1991, and R.C. Pro-Am II in 1992.
Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond. It was published in 1989 by MicroProse, under their MicroStyle and MicroPlay labels in the United Kingdom and in the United States, respectively. The game pits two racers on an elevated track on which they race in a head-to-head competition, with ramps they must correctly drive off as the main obstacle.
Turbo OutRun (ターボアウトラン) is a 1989 arcade racing game released by Sega. A follow-up to 1986's Out Run, it was released as a dedicated game, as well as an upgrade kit for the original Out Run board.
The TurboDuo is a fourth-generation video game console developed by NEC Home Electronics and Hudson Soft for the North American market. It combines the capabilities of the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD-ROM drive add-on, the TurboGrafx-CD, into a single, redesigned unit. Initially test-marketed in Los Angeles in October 1992 before a nationwide rollout in May 1993, TurboDuo is the localized version of the Japanese PC Engine Duo, which was released in September 1991.
The Lotus series consists of three racing computer games based around the Lotus brand: Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, and Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge. Published between 1990 and 1992 by Gremlin Graphics, the games gained very favourable reviews upon release. Original Amiga versions of the games were created by Shaun Southern and Andrew Morris of Magnetic Fields, and then ported by other individuals to several other computers and game consoles.
Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. The game was designed and managed by John Morgan who was also lead programmer, and endorsed by professional off-road racer Ivan Stewart. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990. In 1991, a home console version for the Nintendo Entertainment System was later released by Leland's Tradewest subsidiary, followed by versions for most major home formats including the Master System, Genesis, Super NES, Amiga, and MS-DOS. A port for the Atari Jaguar was announced but never released. Some of the ports removed Ivan Stewart's name from the title due to licensing issues and are known simply as Super Off Road.
F1 is a 1993 racing video game published by Domark, based on Vroom, a game developed in 1991 for the Atari ST by French company Lankhor. It was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, and Amiga.
Stunt Racer 64 is a racing video game developed by Boss Studios and published by Midway. The game was released exclusively in North America on October 3, 2000, for the Nintendo 64.
Top Gear 2 is a racing game video game developed and published by Gremlin Interactive. A direct sequel to the 1992 game Top Gear, it was first released by Kemco for the SNES in North America on August 8, 1993, and then the Super Famicom in Japan on December 22. It was later ported to the Amiga and Amiga CD32 in September 1994 by Gremlin Interactive, and to the Sega Genesis in September by Vic Tokai. While more realistic than its predecessor, Top Gear 2 maintained the arcade-style gameplay the series is known for.
Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat is a 1991 racing game developed and published in arcades by Leland Corporation. It stars American IndyCar driver Danny Sullivan, and features the tracks of the CART series of the early 1990s. Home versions of the game were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64.
Off-World Interceptor is a 1994 third-person vehicular combat video game, developed and published by Crystal Dynamics and originally released on 3DO. An alternate version of the game was later released for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation consoles, named Off-World Interceptor Extreme. The two versions of the game have identical core gameplay elements, though the Extreme version is tweaked to feel more like the arcade mode in the original Off-World Interceptor.
Rough Racer is a top-down racing game released by Sega in 1990. It was only released in Japan on the Sega System 24 hardware.
Hanna Barbera's Turbo Toons is a 1994 racing video game developed and published by Empire Interactive in Europe for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. In the game, the players take control of one of six playable characters, each with differing capabilities. The playable Hanna-Barbera characters include Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, Snagglepuss, Hong Kong Phooey, and Yogi Bear. One or five players race in five cups consisting of multiple courses. During races, the players can obtain crystals that spawn in the tracks and use them to gain an advantage or hinder other opponents.
F-1 Spirit is a series of Formula One-based racing video games developed and published by Konami starting on the MSX in 1987.
