Days of Thunder
System: NES
Release Date: October 1990
Developer: Beam Software
Publisher: Mindscape
Genre: Racing
Hop in a stock car and try to finish first in front of all your rivals in Days of Thunder! I realized I had never seen the movie, so popped it on while I played the game. It was alright. You are in the shoes of Cole Trickle, no relation to Dick Trickle who was NASCAR Rookie of the Year a year prior at the young babyface age 48. You’re a hot shot young driver who knows nothing about cars, but can drive with the best of them. There are 8 races in the season, do you have what it takes to win the Series Cup?
At its core, a racing game is about driving and beating the clock or your opponents. Days of Thunder is no different in that regards. However, it is different in how you control your vehicle. The A Button is your accelerator, but you don’t hold it down to go, instead pressing it until it gets to the speed you want. Of course, full speed around a corner is going to land you a spot in the wall, so you need to press the B Button to brake. Being precise with your speed and positioning are of the utmost importance.
As you make your turns, your tires begin to wear down. The more worn, the slower you have to come into those corners at to avoid the wall. If you hit the wall, you may wear your tires out more quickly, damage your engine and its top speed, or crack your fuel tank. Your gas also depletes as you drive around, more quickly with a cracked tank. To remedy this, you need to make pit stops.
The pits are near the starting line and require you to slow way down and turn into them. If you’re going to fast, you’ll speed right through pit road and lose some position. If you are slow enough, you take control of your pit crew. Pressing the B Button cycles through the five different crew members. On top is your engine repairman, who can fix engine damage when the right side of the car is jacked up. On the bottom is your fuelman, who can top off the tank when the car is flat on the ground. The middle three guys will jack up the car and change the tires. I appreciate that the developers wanted to make the pits be an active part of gameplay, but only controlling one person at a time takes away from the reality that pit crews need to move with speed and synchronicity. I instead found myself dropping places like it was my job. (1;16;40)
Catching up and passing the racers in front of you is very difficult. The scale of the courses are off, being much shorter and faster than reality. Straightaways are not long at all, quickly dumping you into the corners. This would be fine if you could actually out speed your opponents. Don’t get me started on your rivals Rowdy and Russ. They are constantly at the front and will actively try to cut you off. Winning a race is difficult, let alone scoring the most points over all eight. If you do particularly badly in the races, you’ll be forced to run a time trial to keep your spot. Miss your goal and it’s game over.
Graphics: 1.5
Cars are plain. Tracks are plain. Backgrounds are plain. Pit road is slightly more detailed, but not special.
Sound: 1.0
Engine noises aren’t pleasant and the menu music isn’t anything special.
Gameplay: 1.5
There’s very little nuance to the racing. Get your speed right and don’t hit anything. The pits are a missed swing.
Difficulty: 1.0
The races aren’t fair at all. There’s not enough room to pass opponents and they can get perfectly in your way to keep you from slingshotting around them.
Fun Factor: 1.5
It’s nice when you get into a groove, but one tiny discrepancy in the timing of your button presses will screw it all up.
Overall Rating: 1.3
Days of Thunder earns a D+. The base for a decent NASCAR experience is there, but it’s not fleshed out in any way. I can’t recommend it for anything other than a curiosity.