Super Hang-On
System: Genesis
Release Date: December 1989
Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Racing
We’re hopping back on the bike after a few years in Super Hang-On. The gameplay is pretty much the same, except this time there is no shifting gears. Taking corners between 180 and 200 km/h seemed to be the safest. There are two modes of play, the Arcade Mode and the Original Mode.
The Arcade Mode is a race on one of four continents with varying numbers of checkpoints. Africa is the easiest of the bunch with only 6 checkpoints, while Europe has 18 checkpoints that you must race through to finish. You have only a certain amount of time to hit each checkpoint before you are disqualified and must start again. You can take the default crappy bike into arcade mode, or load a better bike from a password.
You earn upgrades to your bike and passwords in the Original Mode. This mode pits you in a first to five series against a rival rider. You need to beat their time and if you do, your sponsor pays you some cash that goes right back into bike maintenance. You have to keep the frame of your bike healthy, because if it gets destroyed, you can’t race and earn more cash! The engine, brakes, muffler, oil, and tires also wear down through use and need to be replaced and upgraded regularly. The highest level of items are exorbitantly expensive. As you beat your rival, better sponsors take you on and pay you higher wages. You can also hire a mechanic to keep your bike repaired between races without having to buy new gear.
This is totally a long haul game. The races themselves may only take 3 to 4 minutes each, but they feel so much longer because of a lack of speed. The choppiness that we see on all these arcade ports that Sega has brought to the home consoles is here and it’s a lot more apparent that something is wrong as we are ready to move into the 90s. Not only are the visuals bad, but the responsiveness of your racer to your inputs is terrible. There is a significant and noticeable lag between pressing left or right and your rider actually leaning in those directions.
I looked up a password to see what a maxed out bike felt like. It accelerates quicker, doesn’t slide as much across the track, and brakes more responsively. It still doesn’t play well, though. I didn’t get very far in Europe and didn’t really feel the urge to try much harder.
Graphics: 0.5
The only thing that looks decent is the rider sprite. Everything else looks like a bad Master System title.
Sound: 2.0
Probably the best part of the game, they don’t quite sound like the Genesis sound hardware is being used.
Gameplay: 1.0
The Original Mode is a great idea, but poorly implemented. The actual racing is terrible and not befitting a 16-bit release.
Difficulty: 1.0
You’ll learn the courses because you race them over and over again. The sluggish response to your inputs make this game unfair.
Fun Factor: 0.5
Not only is it unfair, but it’s unfun! There’s so little variance between courses that you’ll be bored quickly.
Overall Grade: 1.0
Super Hang-On earns a D. Stay away from this one and while you’re at it, don’t forget to pick up some Morobare cigarettes.