RPM Racing
System: SNES
Release Date: November 1991
Developer: Silicon & Synapse
Publisher: Interplay Entertainment
Genre: Racing
Take control of the most Radical Psycho Machine around in RPM Racing! You’re a novice racer with $10 in your pocket and a will to win. You want to retire as the greatest driver ever to get behind the wheel and to do that, you need to amass $30 million. Can you run the gauntlet of races and retire at the top?
There are 24 sets of races for you to blaze through. Each level has between 2 and 8 tracks for you to test your mettle in. Outside of the first race, you have to pay your way into the field of four. Button B is your accelerator and there is no brake. I kind of missed being able to brake, especially when the pavement gives way to the slipperier sand or even more slippery ice. The rest of the face buttons are mapped to items that you have to purchase in order to use. Button X is everyone’s favorite powerup, nitrous oxide. Use this for a boost to get by a stubborn opponent. Buttons Y and A drop mines and oil slicks respectively. I used the mines frequently, but didn’t get use out of the oil. The other racers sure did, though…
There are a lot of turns that you need to maneuver around. I got into the habit of using the L and R Buttons to turn, as they would allow me to make the sharp hairpins that show up in many races. There can still be some issues knowing the direction you’re facing, but less so than in similar looking games. When there are a series of very small switchbacks, you can get into the middle of the track and avoid turning, though the AI will move slowly because of it. The other racers are very dangerous, though. They like to slam into you, which drains your health and causes you to explode. This doesn’t end the race, but it does cost you some time as you respawn. Some tracks even have multiple paths for you to take advantage of.
Speaking of your opponents, they rank up every few levels and get much stronger. Your own upgrades only come every several levels, so it’s best to spend your money to get better as soon as you can. The amount you earn from each race depends on the track. The first couple levels only give you a handful of dollars for winning, but by the time you reach level 24, you can win $20 million from the last race. This makes reaching retirement easy, as long as you’re good.
After I finished, I took a look at the track editor. This seems pretty neat, allowing you to make all sorts of diabolical tracks. I cobbled a track that had multiple paths together. Unfortunately, after I finally finished it, the track wouldn’t render even after several minutes on fast forward.
Graphics: 2.5
The cars look pretty good, but everything else is very pixelated.
Sound: 1.0
There are a lot of engine noises during races and a simple song on the menu screen. It could be better.
Gameplay: 2.5
The lack of a brake is actually quite a struggle. I’m usually an accelerate only kind of guy, but these races could use a brake.
Difficulty: 3.0
I raced every single one of the 128 tracks and won all but a handful of them.
Fun Factor: 3.0
I think it says a lot that I raced every track until I could retire.
Overall Rating: 2.4
RPM Racing earns a C+. This is a pretty solid title that sets us up for my favorite SNES racing game in a few years.