Super Hang-On

Last updated
Super Hang-On
Super hang on arcade flyer.png
North American arcade flyer
Developer(s) Sega AM2
Publisher(s) Sega
Designer(s) Yu Suzuki
Composer(s) Katsuhiro Hayashi
Koichi Namiki
Platform(s) Arcade, Mega Drive/Genesis, Game Boy Advance, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, X68000, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 4
Release
April 4, 1987
  • Arcade
    April 4, 1987 [1]
    Mega Drive/Genesis
    • JP: October 6, 1989 [2]
    • NA: November 1989 [3]
    • EU: November 1990
    X68000
    • JP: December 1989
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s)Single-player

Super Hang-On [lower-alpha 1] is a motorcycle racing arcade video game released by Sega as the sequel to Hang-On . It uses a simulated motorcycle arcade cabinet, like the original game. An updated version was released in arcades 1991 as Limited Edition Hang-On.

Contents

Gameplay

Arcade screenshot Super Hang-On.png
Arcade screenshot

The arcade mode in Super Hang-On is similar to the original Hang-On, but there is a choice of four tracks to race on which are based on continents, each containing a different number of stages. Also, should the player reach the normal maximum speed of 280 km/h, a turbo button is enabled. Using this button allows the player to reach an even higher top speed of 324 km/h. Each stage is roughly half the length of a stage in the original Hang-On. Africa is the easiest and shortest out of the four courses (six stages). Asia is the second easiest and is similar in length to the course from the original Hang-On at ten stages long. The Americas is the second to toughest course, containing 14 stages and Europe is the hardest course, being 18 stages long. When the player starts a race, they have their choice of four songs that will play during the race, a feature borrowed from Out Run .

The Sega Mega Drive version of the game included the full arcade game, and an additional original mode, which allowed players to recruit sponsors and earn money to buy enhanced components for their bike. [4] The cover for this version has a bike and rider in the same colors as Shinichi Itoh, who competed in the All-Japan 500 cc Championship on a Rothmans Honda NSR500.

Ports

Versions of the game were released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and Commodore 64 in 1987 with further home conversions following for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, X68000, and MS-DOS in 1989 and 1990. [5] The game also appeared on several Mega Drive compilations, namely Mega Games I (bundled with the console as Mega Drive Magnum Set), and Sega 6-Pak.

It was included in Sega Arcade Gallery for Game Boy Advance.

The arcade version was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in Japan on September 14, 2010, and later in North America and Europe on May 3, 2012. Like Shinobi and its omission of any references to Marilyn Monroe, the Virtual Console version of Super Hang-On was slightly altered to avoid any copyright troubles. This includes the replacing of several in-game billboards which used to feature real brand names such as Cibie with similar billboards which mention other Sega games such as OutRun and After Burner. [6] This version would be released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2012 as part of Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.

Another version of the game was released for the Nintendo 3DS via the Nintendo eShop in Japan on March 27, 2013. The game feature stereoscopic 3D and tilt controls which emulate the arcade version. This version was released for North America and Europe on November 28. [7]

Super Hang-On is playable at the in-game arcades in Yakuza 0 , Yakuza 6 and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise . [8]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Super Hang-On on their June 1, 1987 issue as being the most-successful upright arcade unit of the month. [16] The ride-on cabinet went on to become Japan's second highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game of 1987, below Out Run . [17] It was later Japan's seventh highest-grossing arcade game of 1988. [18] [19]

Peter Shaw of Your Sinclair reviewed the arcade game, calling it "brilliant, fast and the most accurate simulation of riding a motorbike" he had played. [12] Mega Action reviewed the Mega Drive version. They called Super Hang-On one of the best driving games for the Mega Drive, and concluded with a review score of 89%. [20]

The ZX Spectrum version scored 10/10 in Sinclair User and received the "SU Classic" accolade. It was rated number 27 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time. [21]

See also

Notes

  1. Japanese: スーパーハング・オン, Hepburn: Sūpā Hangu On

Related Research Articles

<i>Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2</i> 1987 video game

Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2 (レインボーアイランド) is a 1987 arcade video game developed and published by Taito, with the arcade version licensed to Romstar for North American manufacturing and distribution. The game is the sequel to Bubble Bobble from the previous year, and it is the second of four arcade games in the series. The game was ported to home computers and home video game consoles.

<i>Ghouls n Ghosts</i> 1988 video game

Ghouls 'n Ghosts, known as Dai Makaimura in Japan, is a side-scrolling platform game developed by Capcom, released as an arcade video game in 1988 and ported to home platforms. It is the sequel to Ghosts 'n Goblins and the second game in the Ghosts 'n Goblins series.

<i>Columns</i> (video game) 1990 video game

Columns is a match-three puzzle video game released by Sega in 1990. Designed by Jay Geertsen, it was released by Sega for arcades and then ported to several Sega consoles. The game was subsequently ported to home computer platforms, including the Atari ST.

<i>Out Run</i> 1986 video game

Out Run is an arcade driving video game released by Sega in September 1986. It is known for its pioneering hardware and graphics, nonlinear gameplay, a selectable soundtrack with music composed by Hiroshi Kawaguchi, and the hydraulic motion simulator deluxe arcade cabinet. The goal is to avoid traffic and reach one of five destinations.

<i>After Burner</i> 1987 video game

After Burner is a rail shooter arcade video game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player controls an American F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by destroying incoming enemies. The plane is equipped with a machine gun and a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles. The game uses a third-person perspective, as in Sega's earlier Space Harrier (1985) and Out Run (1986). It runs on the Sega X Board arcade system which is capable of surface and sprite rotation. It is the fourth Sega game to use a hydraulic "taikan" motion simulator arcade cabinet, one that is more elaborate than their earlier "taikan" simulator games. The cabinet simulates an aircraft cockpit, with flight stick controls, a chair with seatbelt, and hydraulic motion technology that moves, tilts, rolls and rotates the cockpit in sync with the on-screen action.

<i>Space Harrier</i> 1985 video game

Space Harrier is a third-person arcade rail shooter game developed by Sega and released in 1985. It was originally conceived as a realistic military-themed game played in the third-person perspective and featuring a player-controlled fighter jet, but technical and memory restrictions resulted in Sega developer Yu Suzuki redesigning it around a jet-propelled human character in a fantasy setting. The arcade game is controlled by an analog flight stick while the deluxe arcade cabinet is a cockpit-style linear actuator motion simulator cabinet that pitches and rolls during play, for which it is referred as a taikan (体感) or "body sensation" arcade game in Japan.

<i>Chase H.Q.</i> 1987 video game

Chase H.Q. is a vehicular combat racing game, originally released as an arcade video game by Taito in 1988. It is sometimes seen as a spiritual successor to Taito's earlier Full Throttle. The player assumes the role of a police officer named Tony Gibson, member of the "Chase Special Investigation Department". Along with his partner, Raymond Broady, he must stop fleeing criminals in high-speed pursuits in a black Porsche 928.

<i>Strider</i> (1989 arcade game) 1989 platforming video game

Strider, released in Japan as Strider Hiryū, is a hack-and-slash platform game released in arcades in 1989 by Capcom. Set in a dystopian future where Earth is ruled by the tyrannical Grandmaster Meio, it follows the titular Strider named Hiryu as he attempts to end his tyrannical reign for good. The game resulted from cooperation between Capcom and manga publisher Moto Kikaku. It marked the video game debut of Strider Hiryu, after the character was introduced in the 1988 manga Strider Hiryu.

<i>Fantasy Zone</i> 1986 video game

Fantasy Zone is a 1986 arcade video game by Sega, and the first game in the Fantasy Zone series. It was later ported to a wide variety of consoles, including the Master System. The player controls a sentient spaceship named Opa-Opa who fights an enemy invasion in the titular group of planets. The game contains a number of features atypical of the traditional scrolling shooter. The main character, Opa-Opa, is sometimes referred to as Sega's first mascot character.

<i>Golden Axe</i> (video game) 1989 arcade game

Golden Axe is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game released by Sega for arcades in 1989, running on the Sega System 16B arcade hardware. Makoto Uchida was the lead designer of the game, and was also responsible for the creation of the previous year's Altered Beast. The game casts players as one of three warriors who must free the fantastical land of Yuria from the tyrannical rule of Death Adder, who wields the titular Golden Axe.

1988 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest III, Super Contra, Super Mario Bros. 2, Mega Man 2, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, and Super Mario Bros. 3, along with new titles such as Assault, Altered Beast, Capcom Bowling, Ninja Gaiden, RoboCop, Winning Run and Chase H.Q.

<i>Hang-On</i> 1985 arcade racing game

Hang-On is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1985 and later ported to the Master System. In the game, the player controls a motorcycle against time and other computer-controlled bikes. It was one of the first arcade games to use 16-bit graphics and uses the Super Scaler arcade system board, created with design input from Yu Suzuki, as technology to simulate 3D effects. The deluxe cabinet version also introduced a motion-controlled arcade cabinet, where the player's body movement on a large motorbike-shaped cabinet corresponds with the player character's movements on screen.

<i>Double Dragon</i> (video game) 1987 arcade game

Double Dragon is a 1987 beat 'em up video game developed by Technōs Japan and distributed by Taito for arcades across Asia, North America and Europe. It is the first title in the Double Dragon franchise. The game's development was led by Yoshihisa Kishimoto, and it is a spiritual and technological successor to Technos' earlier beat 'em up, Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun (1986), released outside of Japan by Taito as Renegade; Kishimoto originally envisioned it as a direct sequel and part of the Kunio-kun series, before making it a new game with a different cast and setting.

<i>Forgotten Worlds</i> 1988 video game

Forgotten Worlds, titled Lost Worlds in Japan, is a side-scrolling shooter video game by Capcom, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1988. It is notable for being the first title released by Capcom for their CP System arcade game hardware.

<i>Super Monaco GP</i> 1989 video game

Super Monaco GP is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP. The arcade game consists of one race, the Monaco Grand Prix, but later ports added more courses and game modes based on the 1989 Formula One World Championship.

<i>Power Drift</i> 1988 video game

Power Drift is a kart racing game released in arcades by Sega in 1988. More technologically advanced than Sega's earlier 2.5D racing games, like Hang-On (1985) and Out Run (1986), in Power Drift the entire world and track consist of sprites. The upgraded hardware of the Sega Y Board allows individual sprites and the background to be rotated–even while being scaled–making the visuals more dynamic.

<i>Enduro Racer</i> 1986 video game

Enduro Racer (エンデューロレーサー) is an arcade racing game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with two arcade cabinet versions, a stand-up cabinet with handlebars and a full-sized dirt bike cabinet. It is often seen as a dirt racing version of Hang-On, as it uses a similar engine and PCB. The game was later released for the Master System in 1987, the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 in 1988, and the Amstrad CPC and Atari ST in 1989.

<i>Galaxy Force</i> 1988 shoot em up arcade game

Galaxy Force is a rail shooter video game developed and released by Sega for arcades in 1988. The player assumes control of a starship named the TRY-Z, as it must prevent the Fourth Empire from taking over the entire galaxy. Gameplay involves shooting down enemies using either a laser shot or a limited supply of heat-seeking missiles, all while avoiding collision with projectiles or obstacles and making sure the ship's energy meter doesn't fully deplete. It ran on the Sega Y Board arcade system, and was released with a motion simulator cockpit arcade cabinet version like previous Sega Super Scaler games.

<i>Thunder Blade</i> 1987 video game

Thunder Blade is a third-person shoot 'em up video game released by Sega for arcades in 1987. Players control a helicopter to destroy enemy vehicles. The game was released as a standard stand-up arcade cabinet with force feedback, as the joystick vibrates. A helicopter shaped sit-down model was released, replacing the force feedback with a cockpit seat that moves in tandem with the joystick. It is a motion simulator cabinet, like the previous Sega Super Scaler games Space Harrier (1985) and After Burner (1987). The game's plot and setting was inspired by the film Blue Thunder (1983).

The 1980s was the second decade in the industry's history. It was a decade of highs and lows for video games. The decade began amidst a boom in the arcade business with giants like Atari still dominating the American market since the late-1970s. Another, the rising influence of the home computer, and a lack of quality in the games themselves led to an implosion of the video game market that nearly destroyed the industry in North America. It took home consoles years to recover from the crash, but Nintendo filled in the void with its Nintendo Entertainment System, reviving interest in consoles. Up until this point, most investors believed video games to be a fad that has since passed. In the remaining years of the decade, Sega ignites a console war with Nintendo, developers that had been affected by the crash experimented with the more advanced graphics of the PC, and Nintendo released the Game Boy, which would become the best-selling handheld gaming device for the next two-decades. Other consoles releases in the decade included the Intellivision, TurboGrafx-16 and Sega Genesis. Notable games of the 1980s included Super Mario Bros, Duck Hunt, Metroid, Elite, SimCity, Galaga,Pitfall!, Frogger, Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, Defender, Mega Man 2, The Legend of Zelda, Castlevania, Ghosts 'n Goblins, Super Mario Bros. 2, Bubble Bobble, Double Dragon,Final Fight, Ninja Gaiden,Tetris, Adventure, Joust, Robotron: 2084, Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Arkanoid,Populous, R-Type, Contra, Donkey Kong, Centipede, Super Mario Bros. 3, Prince of Persia, Gauntlet, Dragon's Lair, Golden Axe, Ms. Pac-Man, Out Run,Final Fantasy, Altered Beast, Shinobi, Lode Runner, Battlezone,Dragon Quest, and Marble Madness.

References

  1. "Super hang-on (Registration Number PA0000326736)". United States Copyright Office . Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  2. "Super Hang-On". Sega Retro. 9 January 2023.
  3. "ComputerEntertainer_US_Vol.8_09" (PDF). Retro CDN.
  4. Super Hang On game manual (PAL ed.). Sega. 1989. pp. 10, 16, 28–38.
  5. "Super Hang-On". SegaRetro. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  6. SilverStarRipper. "Hang-On". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. "Super Hang-On 3DS". Nintendo.com. Nintendo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  8. Brown, Peter (19 January 2017). "Yakuza 0 Review" . Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  9. "Updates: Super Hang-On". ACE . No. 18. March 1989. p. 86.
  10. Wilton, Andy (February 1988). "Screen Test: Super Hang-On". Advanced Computer Entertainment . No. 5. pp. 38–9.
  11. Rignall, Julian (September 1988). "Reviews: Super Hang-On". Computer + Video Games . No. 83. p. 24.
  12. 1 2 Shaw, Peter (August 1987). "Slots of Fun". Your Sinclair . No. 20. pp. 50–1.
  13. "Super Hang On". Archived from the original on 2012-09-16.
  14. Mega rating, issue 9, page 23, Future Publishing, June 1993
  15. MegaTech rating, EMAP, issue 6, page 80, June 1992
  16. "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. 309. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 June 1987. p. 21.
  17. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '87" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 324. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1988. p. 20.
  18. "Gamest 0029" 第2回ゲーメスト大賞 〜 年間ヒットゲームベスト100 [2nd Gamest Awards – Best 100 Hit Games of the Year]. Gamest (in Japanese). Vol. 29 (February 1989). December 27, 1988. pp. 25–41 (41). alternate url
  19. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25: '88 / "Game of the Year '88" By Game Machine" (PDF). Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 348. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 January 1989. pp. 10–1, 26.
  20. "Mega Library". Mega Action. Europress Interactive (1): 64. June 1993. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  21. "Readers' Top 100 Games of All Time". Your Sinclair . No. 93. Future Publishing. September 1993. p. 58.