Formula One: Built to Win
System: NES
Release Date: November 1990
Developer: Winkysoft
Publisher: SETA
Genre: Racing
The class of kings on highest level, I am Formula One: Built to Win! Build up your fleet, outfit them with better equipment, and win as many races as you can to become champion. You’ll start by becoming the best racer in America before qualifying for the F1 circuit where you need to be the points leader after 16 races. There are some definite precursor to Gran Turismo vibes in this one.
You start out with a Mini Cooper to drive and $2000 in your pocket. There are 10 cities you’ll need to travel to in order to earn higher class licenses and money to upgrade your parts. Some cities have Parts Shops where you can buy nitro refills, tires, engines, turbo, brakes, suspension, bumpers, and body upgrades. These all have an effect on the stats of your car and you’ll want to choose wisely or get used to running low level races over and over for money. You’ll have to do this at some point, anyway… Unless you’re lucky, then you can stop by the SETA Casino in Las Vegas and try your luck at the slots.
Each race has an entrance fee except for a couple exceptions so you can’t put yourself into a dead man driving situation. Low level races are just one lap around the track and you have to be quick to put yourself into a position to win. After you get a better license, each race becomes two laps. Acceleration happens by holding the A Button and brakes are activated with the B Button. Gears shift on their own, and when you’re at top speed, you can hold the Up Button to use your nitro. How you take corners relies heavily on the tires you have equipped. These wear out after every race, so I found myself in a pattern of refilling my nitro and buying new tires after I finished. On the track, there are green cars and blue cars. The blue cars are your opponents that you need to pass in order to gain position. The green cars are just there to get in your way, usually by switching lanes right in front of you. And boy, will they…
While it looks like you can race around the country off the bat, in fact, you really can’t take races out of order. The license requirements keep you to the east coast to begin with, moving west as you level up. Each city has three races that you have to enter and win. There are four degrees of licenses that unlock new parts as you get them. When you can’t win with the best parts available to you, it’s time to upgrade your Mini Cooper into a Vector W2 for a nice speed boost. Once you outgrow that, you trade it in for a Ferrari F40. This will hold you over until you qualify for a Formula 1 race car.
When you reach the F1 circuit, you have to start from scratch on your upgrades. Here, you only have to worry about upgrading your engine, acceleration, and tire grip. There are five levels of each at $100,000 per upgrade. You need to be upgraded right away if you want to come close to a chance at winning the points race over the next 16 races. F1 tracks have you qualify for starting position (good luck getting above 4th) and then send you on 2 laps around the track to score points. The green cars are back and I can’t come up with a good reason why everyone in this official F1 race wouldn’t count toward positioning. And don’t forget to refill your nitro after each track. I ended up in second place by 46 points, then sent back to the first F1 race and called it a loss.
Graphics: 2.0
Nothing we haven’t seen several times in other racing games. Flickering can make your life a pain of too many cars are on screen with you.
Sound: 2.0
You can choose one of three songs before each race. I like two of them and they kindly remove the terrible engine noises of the no music option.
Gameplay: 2.0
The races all feel the same. Green cars will annoy you by getting in your way and spinning you out. Blue cars at the highest level are faster than you.
Difficulty: 3.0
As I reflect, the game is totally deterministic. If you don’t have the best parts you can, there are races you can not win. It doesn’t matter if you’re the best racer possible on the track.
Fun Factor: 2.5
I liked the license races, but got really bored and frustrated with the F1 races, especially near the end when I couldn’t sniff the top racer even when running a perfect qualifying lap and two race laps.
Overall Rating: 2.3
Formula One: Built to Win earns a C+. I think this is a pretty good racing game, but there is a lot of improvement and quality of life that could make it a very good racing game. Maybe the two F1 games they made on SNES will be better.