Game Review: Top Racer Collection

By Al

Players: 1-2 (Top Racer, Top Racer 2, Crossroads) 1-4 (Top Racer 3000) (Local & Online)
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Fans of arcade style racing games have cause to rejoice as QUByte Interactive is bringing us another awesome retro game collection in the form of Top Racer Collection! Top Racer Collection brings together four games, three of which released previously on the Super Nintendo/Sega Genesis and one that's new to this collection. They're all presented in their best forms, complete with quality-of-life additions like save states and online play. This collection is out now on all major platforms, and we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today. This review is going to be a little different than the usual ones, as we're going to cover each game briefly on its own, and then circle back around to look at the overall package itself. There's a lot to cover, so let's dive right in.

Right off the bat we have to discuss this game's name. While the Top Racer games are all indeed 16-bit classic games, they were not actually known by that name when they were originally released. The games in this collection were developed all developed by Gremlin Graphics from 1992-95 under the Top Gear branding. I can only assume that some sort of licensing issue has kept QUByte from retaining that name, but here we're using the lesser-known Japanese Top Racer branding. Personally, I think this has something to do with the Top Gear TV show, but I can't be sure of that. The changes don't stop at just the names though, as the menus in this collection are all completely new, even within the games themselves. It's hard to explain if you don't see it first hand, but it sort of like navigating a fancy-looking, fully featured emulator that takes you to each portion of each game separately. Even the Game Over and Win screens are custom made for this collection. This change permeates through everything, with even the game manuals using the same interface of the menus, and not being scans from the original releases. These changes give the collection a slightly "off" feeling where one almost doubts that these are original 16-bit games at all. You'll more than likely shake these feeling off after a while of playing, but I can't help but lament the fact that these aren't exactly the classic games they should be. It's a loss for game preservation, but I guess it can't be helped.

Now for a brief note about game modes. All four games in this collection feature Campaign, Quick Race, Time Trial, and Custom Cup modes. Campaign has you race on every track available in the game, one country at a time. You get points depending on how high you place and you must qualify for each further race within the Campaign. This usually means you have to hit at least 8th place if you want to advance. How well you do in Campaign is based on the points you get though, so you can quickly screw up an entire run if you repeatedly only hit the bare minimum to qualify. Time Trial and Quick Race are what you expect they are, but since the Campaigns can be very difficult, it's probably best to use these modes for practice. Custom Cup is where things get interesting as you're able to make a mini tournament of sorts from any four tracks. You can pick them from any country, and even add mirror versions of them. This is fun for multiplayer, but once again makes for good single player practice for the ever-important Campaign. Top Racer 3000 also adds a four player mode that's unique to it, but there's no surprises there gameplay-wise. All modes, including the Campaign, can be played in either single player or multiplayer, with there also being an online mode you can find in the main menu screen. Online basically sets up a Quick Race or Custom Cup for players online, but it's pretty much useful for setting up games between friends you know that also own the game. I tried in vain to host or join a race with other players online, but wasn't able to in time for this review. Besides those modes, you can also find some bonus content in the main menu, and even some in-game achievements.

Now that we have all the introductory bits out of the way, let's take a look at each game individually.

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Top Racer

The one that started them all! This game has one of the oddest features I've ever seen in a racing game: It's always set up like a 1v1 race. No matter if you're doing single or multiplayer race, the screen is always split in two. There are four cars for you to pick from (Cannibal, Sidewinder, Razor, and Weasel), with each having different handling and fuel consumption. Fuel consumption plagued me throughout my entire time with this series, but I guess it's best to get used to it early on. Gameplay is standard racing fare, with the Campaign Mode featuring a total of 32 tracks. The track selection isn't bad, but they all felt very same-y after a while. It's hard not to notice that the tracks themselves stay pretty much the same throughout, and it's just the backgrounds that change for the most part. This is also the only game that doesn't feature any in-Campaign upgrades or item pickups. The lack of these features mean that your status in the Campaign can be seen early on if you mess up too many races. You'll have good music to listen to however you end up performing though, as Top Racer features an amazing soundtrack that rivals anything I've heard in a racing game before. It's fairly limited in terms of tracks, but they're all great. I later learned that this is the weakest of the soundtracks on this collection, but that's more due to the fact that the other games feature even more amazing music rather than this one looking bad in comparison.

My biggest problem with Top Racer would have to be the fact that the split screen AI opponent is always the best player in the race. Barring some insane stuff happening right before the end of the race, they will always come in first or second. This means that you'll be given a perfect view of the jerk who's making your Campaign ranking an uphill battle. I wish there was a way to turn off the split screen when in single player, but it's just part of the game. I mentioned gas consumption earlier, and it's definitely the worst here as this game has the slowest pit stop out of all the games in this collection. And yes, this is one of THOSE racing series where you have to make time in longer races for pit stops. Running out of gas means instant disqualification, though you can replay any lost race. Also, while the frame rate can be rather all over the place on all games in this collection, vanilla Top Racer seems to be most egregious of all. There were several times when you'll only have a split second to react to something race-destroying, and it's even worse when you try to use your nitro boost. While I guess it should come as no surprise that the first game would be the weakest of the bunch, this still isn't a bad first showing.

Rating: B-

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Top Racer 2

This is where things really get interesting. Top Racer 2 takes the original game and dials it up to eleven. The first thing you'll probably notice is that there aren't any individual cars this time around. Everyone basically has the same stock car, with various customizations that alter its performance and appearance. Upgrades to cars are purchased with in-game money, and operate in a level system where each progressively more expensive item replaces the one that came before. You're given unlimited money to create any care you like in the Quick Race mode, but you have to earn money by placing in higher spots if you're playing the Campaign. This time around Campaign features 64 tracks, and there's even a weather system to make each track even unique. Besides meaning that you now have to worry about weather conditions affecting your tire's grip, you also have to worry about weather lowering your visibility while driving. Joining gas consumption, you also have to worry about how much damage your car is taking. This is probably the most annoying part of the game as repairing your car via a pit stop is near impossible on most tracks, and every racer seems hell bent on using their car as a way to keep you from passing them. As you might imagine, a destroyed car means an instant loss. Thankfully this game has power-ups that you can grab that replenish on each lap. These can add another nitro boost to your pool, give you an instant-use speed boost, or replenish other parts of your car. There are even ramps that send you into the air, and obstacles you can knock over with your car, but these are just thinly veiled ways to give your car even more damage.

The best thing about Top Racer 2 has to be that it's no longer split-screen by default. You can still get a split-screen if you're playing multiplayer, but you no longer have to watch a computer opponent steal your lunch. All in all Top Racer 2 is the most balanced game of the bunch. The music is better, the driving mechanics feel more on point, and the tracks all feel different from each other. I felt that the car damage mechanic was a bit too cheap at times, but this was the only game where I was able to consistently place high within the Campaign. While I do miss the lack of car variety, the customization options add an almost RPG-like mechanic that I'm totally here for. This is definitely the first game where the true magic of the series can be felt.

Rating: A

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Top Racer 3000

If Top Racer 2 was the most balanced, then Top Racer 3000 is the most off the wall. This is a futuristic racing game that seems to have borrowed quite a bit from F-Zero and Mario Kart. All the mechanics from Top Racer 2 return, but now you recharge instead of getting gas, and both recharging and fixing your car are done by driving over specific areas on the track. (Just like F-Zero) Top Racer 3000 is essentially just Top Racer 2 in every other way though, and only the space setting sets it apart. That said, while some of the tracks do have an otherworldly-ness them, many of them just feel like the Earth-based tracks from the first to Top Racer games. Other than that, the track variety is on point and you have 48 tracks to race your way through this time around. Also, since we're in space, the track groupings are separated by planet instead of country. This version of the game has more item pickups than Top Racer 2, with most of them being referred to as "weapons" for some reason. (I'm guesting something Mario Kart there.) Owing to the futuristic nature of the cars, you're able to reach insane top speeds that send you blazing across the tracks. There were many times where I'm pretty sure the game just chose to turn off collision detection because I was simply driving too fast for anything to stop me. This has an uncanny feeling to it though, almost like that game Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing where the speed has no cap to it and you can go as fast as you want until the game crashes. That's obviously not the case here, but it did make for some very unbalanced races. There were long streaks in the Campaign where I'd hit 1st place thanks to some crazy luck in the straightaways, only to barely qualify in the next couple races because I wasn't able to hit the ludicrous levels of speed I had earlier on.

All that said, I will admit that this is a very cool looking game, and probably the one that has aged the best visually. Though I feel this is the best-looking game, and features arguably the best soundtrack, the odd gameplay balance keeps it from being an instant classic like Top Racer 2. The space setting also means that it has a less grounded feel, and stands out in ways that aren't always positive. I'd probably appreciate the changes this game made more if it wasn't so obvious that it's running on the same engine as the previous game. While I think this game is fairly awesome for the most part, it does come off feeling more like a reskin than a fresh sequel.

Rating: B

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Top Racer Crossroads

Speaking of reskins... This is the "new" game of the collection, but you can probably see with your own eyes that it's actually just a reskin of the first Top Racer game. It took me a bit of digging to find out what this game actually is, and it's just Top Racer with four cars from Horizon Chase being added in place of the original game's cars. Horizon Chase apparently is a spiritual successor to the Top Racer/Top Gear games, and is also available on just about every modern platform. That said, there's literally nothing new here but the cars. Those cars being Alpha, Firma, Carmin, and Twilight by the way. I'll admit that I was instantly drawn to both Carmin and Twilight. Carmin looks like it's pulled straight of the Sega classic Outrun, and Twilight just looks like a cool car in general. I originally thought that this game wouldn't be worth touching at all, since it was my least favorite game of the collection, but I think that this Crossroads version vastly improves the original game. I can't say that anything was altered under the hood, but I can tell you that Twilight allowed me to play one of the best Campaigns of the lot. In my opinion this game essentially replaces Top Racer as a sort of "definitive" version. I actually fell in love with this game so much that I actually think it's better than Top Racer 3000. That may be taking it a bit too far, but it's my honest take.

Rating: A-

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The big takeaway regarding Top Racer Collection has to be that you get a lot of content for the low price of just $19.99. I actually went into this collection thinking that only the most recent game would be worth playing, and the rest will have aged so badly that their inclusion would've seemed pointless in terms of modern gaming. I'm pleased to report that I was very wrong, and that every game in this collection deserves your attention. I guess Crossroads kind of replaces the original Top Racer, but all the games here are great. If you're a fan of arcade style racing games that scratch that Outrun itch, then you're definitely going to want to pick this collection up. Fans of retro games might have a lot of fun here too. It may be a bit too unpolished for casual player's tastes, but I had a lot of fun and I'm a casual racing game player at best. Grab it on whatever console you can and get racing! Maybe hit me up for an online match someday too!

Check Out Top Racer Collection on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/top-racer-collection-switch/

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Overall Rating: B+

Pros:
+ A great collection of 4 16-bit racing classics that features a lot of bonus content.
+ The amount of tracks in each game shockingly rivals even Mario Kart 8 at times.
+ Fast-paced gameplay that is fun to play solo or in multiplayer.
+ The Custom Cup mode seems so simple, but it's something you don't see too often in racing games.
+ The soundtracks for all the games are amazing.
+ Lots of retro vibes that are sure to evoke thoughts of the Outrun series.

Cons:
- Top Racer and Top Racer Crossroads are essentially the same game, making this more of a 3.5 game collection.
- The original Top Racer has aged worse than the other games in this collection.
- The loss of the Top Gear branding is a blow for those looking to experience the games they did 30 years ago.
- Saving and loading save states is very clunky.
- I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I can't set my name on any Campaign except for Top Racer 3000.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Time to drive home!