I don’t think it’s a secret that we do love a QUByte collection here at Retro 101. As long time SNES collectors it’s great to see some of the more obscure titles out there being given a second life and we’ve been hoping Street Racer would get a release for quite some time. Indeed, back in the day there was a semi-sensible argument to be had that it might even be better than Mario Kart.
This collection may seem a bit strange as there was only one
game in the franchise, but it becomes more coherent when you realise Street
Racer was quite different depending on the system you played it on. Here we
have the SNES, Mega Drive, Gameboy and DOS versions of the game with their
various quirks and alterations.
We’ll start by saying that the Gameboy version is only here
from a curiosity point of view and you’ll likely spend a few minutes with it as
it’s not great. A bigger shame is that the package omits the PS1 and Saturn
versions of the game. They are most closely aligned to the DOS version but much
tighter in their controls so it seems an odd choice unless there were emulation
issues, but then there’s no shortage of either consoles games on the Switch
currently.
The most well-known version of Street Racer is the original,
SNES version from 1994. It was most notable for allowing four player split-screen
via the multiplayer adapter. Something that’s seems crazy now when you think
just how crushed the image would look and how small TVs were at the time.
Still, it’s a crazy cross between street fighter (there’s even a sumo wrestler
driver), and kart racing with a host of colourful characters in crazy, Wacky
Races style vehicles.
Each character has a front and rear attack that can be
deployed whenever you like and they can also punch to the left or right. Karts
have health bars which when depleted see you really slow down. The only on
track collectibles are stars, which can give bonus race points and turbo picks
ups. The structure is like Mario kart in that you engage in a series of races
across themed courses in different cups. You can get bonus points for punching,
lapping opponents or a few other things though which means even if you finish
down the pack you can stay competitive. One thing we will say though is the
controls feel a tad lose compared to the Evercade version, which is odd.
The one real issue is that the tracks are really short. This
is evened out by races having a higher lap count, but it can be almost impossible
to get yourself to the front of the pack if you have a bad start as a race can
fly by in under a minute. It will be a lot for new players to take as it’s very
fast and frantic, far more so than other kart games. The SNES version at least
gets to utilise its mode 7 to make tracks seem as dynamic as 16-bit consoles
will allow.
As well as the standard racing there are two fun bonus modes
included. There’s the rumble where all the cars are in an arena and you need to
knock them off the edges, and a soccer mode where you are trying to score
goals. Both games work surprisingly well and are good distractions.
The Mega Drive version by contrast doesn’t hold up as well.
The lack of the Mode 7 magic means you get quite generic tracks which all seem
to blend after a while as they snake away into the distance. It all feels a bit
dull and samey, a real shame as the game still moves at a frenetic pace. Much
like the Gameboy version it seems unlikely you’ll spend much time with this.
The DOS version at least brings something different to the collection.
The game looks and plays quite a bit different with tracks designed to look
more cartoon like and races taking a steadier pace. There are also a few collectibles
and picks ups you can use. It reminded us of a slower Wacky Races than the
chaotic SNES game, but it is something you’ll likely go back to a few times.
Overall, while we personally are happy to see one of our
favourite games from the past revitalised there are a few problems here. The
price of £17.99 is way over making it an impulse purchase and seems a strange price
point for an obscure title. Also, missing the PS1 and Saturn versions is a real
shame as if you are putting together a collection like this it now feels
incomplete for the hardcore fan. That said, the SNES and DOS versions are fun,
so if you can overcome the price and lack of completeness then there’s a lot to
play with here.
Overall 7/10
