Rad Racer - A Look Back at The Iconic 80s Racing Game (SquareSoft)

Taking a closer look at the iconic 80s racing game Rad Racer!
The game was developed by SquareSoft and first released for the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1987. It was also prevalent in arcades with Nintendo's PlayChoice-10 cabinets.
One of the great features of this classic racer was the cars turbo boost abilities, which greatly increased speed, but at the cost of a greater likelihood of impact with others vehicles, and the risk of wiping out on one of the game's many treacherously wide turns.
The game featured 2 different vehicles to race with, a Ferrari 328, and an F1 Formula race car. Despite the vehicles differences in appearance, there honestly doesn't feel to be much of a difference in the way both vehicles handled on the road.
Rad Racer was a very challenging game given the game's sharp turns, and the aggressive opposing vehicles who often try to ram you off the road. Driving up over hills seems to be the most challenging part of the game, as you often can't see incoming opponents until you actually reach them.
Although, the game often gave players some notice when it came to those sharp turns, with the use of red markers on the side of the road to signal an incoming hard turn.
One thing to note about Rad Racer was its incredible similarities to Sega's OutRun. Just as with OutRun, wiping out takes time off your clock, and pushes you further from the finish line. Although, one major difference between the two games was how the timers worked. When the time runs out in Rad Racer, you can still continue to coast until your vehicle loses momentum completely. This is in stark contrast to Sega's OutRun, where when the clock runs out, the game ends; but of course you could always continue.
Another notable similarity between the two games was the use of changing stage background scenery's with each passing checkpoint.
The NES version of the game had a 3D mode, which made use of stereoscopic imaging to create the 3D visuals, and came with a pair of 3D glasses. Sitting hitting the select button on the NES controller would put the game in 3D mode.
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[@aaroncostello8812]

Christmas, 1987: 13-year-old me got a Walkman, a Whitesnake cassette, and this game.
Awesome...😂😂

[@henrygnoobgamer6610]

It looks amazing and very good today and forever.

[@GamersBay]

Yep, this game aged very well, and still a blast to play after all these years. Its sequel wasn't so great though.

[@henrygnoobgamer6610]

@@GamersBay Retro Games are good.

[@Bearcade]

One of my favorite NES games. Sequel is great too.

[@GamersBay]

I plan to put together a video of the sequel in the near future as well. Many thanks for watching friend!

[@Bearcade]

@@GamersBay Anytime! Always great stuff. Oh, US version uses anaglyph red/blue and JP uses stereoscopic.

[@GamesFreezerUK]

Did one of the Rad Racer games have Sonic hanging from the rear view mirror? (might have only been on the Arcade Cabinet version?)

[@GamersBay]

Oh you must be thinking of Sega's Rad Mobile. They definitely had a Sonic The Hedgehog gimmick hanging from the rear view mirror in that game.

[@GamesFreezerUK]

@@GamersBayThat’s the one!! I always get those mixed up 😂