Rad Racer II

Infobox VG| title = Rad Racer II


developer = Square Co., Ltd.
publisher = Square Soft, Inc.
designer =
engine =
released = ^NA 1990
genre = Arcade style racing
modes = Single player
ratings =
platforms = Nintendo Entertainment System
media = Cartridge
requirements =
input =

"Rad Racer II" is the sequel to Square's racing game, "Rad Racer". "Rad Racer II" is one of the few games developed by Square that saw an exclusive North American release. While very similar to its predecessor, "Rad Racer II" shows some differences: For example, one can use Turbo Boost to propel one's car to 255 mph from a complete stop; a cheat code can also be used to "race in the dark" and instead of flipping over, the player's car spins out after a crash.

Gameplay

The gameplay of "Rad Racer II" is virtually identical to that of its predecessor: the idea of the game is to race around a course, and make it to check points before the car's fuel (game timer) runs out. If the player hits another vehicle, road sign or tree at a high speed, the car crashes. Crashes take time and make it more difficult for the player to reach the check point. To help prepare for high-speed turns, the dashboard has a preview direction indicator, an arrow that indicates which direction the track will take in the next few moments, allowing the player to position the vehicle accordingly. Also, the new ability in this version of the "Turbo Boost" is performed by holding the down arrow when the race begins until the audio countdown stops. Of course, this requires some practice, but it is quite useful.

Cheats

"Rad Racer II" allowed the player to select any stage through the title screen. At the title screen, press the B button one time less than the number of the stage on which one wishes to race. Then press left, up, and start simultaneously. For example, if one wishes to race on stage five, at the title screen press the B button four times. Then, left-up-start simultaneously.

Courses

There are eight courses with increasing levels of difficulty.
* Key West.
* Big Apple (nighttime race in New York).
* Gettysburg.
* Monument Valley.
* Las Vegas Boulevard (the only other nighttime race in this game).
* Rocky Mountains.
* Twilight California.
* Bay Bridge.

Cars

Unlike the original "Rad Racer", the computer-controlled cars are various on each course — that is, they appear on all courses depicted in the game. These cars include a Volkswagen Beetle, Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Countach, Nissan 300ZX, Honda CRX, Mazda Miata, and Dodge Daytona.

Music selection

"Rad Racer II" had two soundtracks to select from while racing. A third option was available to race in silence (Sing Yourself):

* Gumball Crash
* Coast to Coast
* Sing Yourself

Another track is present in the game's program code, but cannot be selected. This track can be heard in the game's NSF file.

Production credits

* Program --- Ken Narita
* Graphic --- Masanori Hoshino, Hiromi Ito
* Music --- Nobuo Uematsu
* Music Program --- Hiroshi Nakamura
* Sound Effect --- Takashi Tokita
* Game Design --- Hiroyuki Ito, Toshiyuki Inoue, Yasushi Matsamura

creenshots

ee also

* Rad Racer