Review: Street Racer Collection
I remember owning Street Racer when it first came out on the Super Nintendo. I imagine it was developed to capitalise on the success of Super Mario Kart.
However, being a product of the 90s, Street Racer tried to make itself edgier by featuring weird and wacky (and completely stereotypical) characters.
The game features eight racers whose abilities and vehicle stats vary depending on their appearance. It’s a bit like Mario Kart, where Bowser is heavier and slower to accelerate but, thanks to his size, is much harder to knock around.
In Street Racer you have:
- Hodja, a Turkish magician
- Frank, the grandson of Frankenstein
- Suzulu, an African warrior (complete with gold tooth and oversized earrings)
- Biff, a bald brute armed with a baseball bat
- Raphael, an Italian stud
- Surf, an Australian surfer babe
- Helmut Von Pointenegger (yes, that’s really his name), a German pilot complete with monocle, giant moustache and flying gear. Think the Red Baron.
- Sumo-San, a Japanese sumo champion who is basically Street Fighter II’s E. Honda
Whereas Street Fighter II had memorable characters, the Street Racer roster feels like it’s been lifted from a crap fighting game.
Street Racer also mixes racing with fighting, as each character has front, rear, left and right attacks.
This collection includes the SNES, Mega Drive, Game Boy and DOS versions of the game.
One thing I loved about the SNES was its use of Mode 7 graphics. When used well, Mode 7 seemed to bring games to life and added an extra layer of depth. Playing Street Racer now, however, was a real challenge to my eyes, and not in a good way. The visuals felt so blurred that I struggled to see the power-ups I was driving over. It was like the screen had been smeared with Vaseline. The Mode 7 effect made me feel a bit nauseous as well. Switching to a 4:3 screen ratio improved things slightly, but not by much.
I’d never played the Mega Drive, Game Boy or DOS versions before, so I was curious to see how they compared. Despite having inferior graphics and sound, the Mega Drive version was actually pretty decent. The lack of Mode 7 helped because it didn’t distract from what was happening on screen. More importantly, I could actually see the bloody power-ups.
I hate to shit on the Game Boy, but this version is borderline unplayable. You can’t see anything, and the cars control like arse.
The DOS version looks and sounds the best of the bunch, but it’s still not particularly fun to play. It adds a Micro Mode, which presents the game from an overhead perspective. While it’s an interesting addition, it doesn’t play especially well, and I switched it off fairly quickly.
I wasn’t a massive fan of Street Racer back in the day, and I don’t think time has been kind to it. Put it this way: there’s a reason Mario Kart has endured while Street Racer has largely been forgotten. Unless you’re a massive fan of the series, I’d steer clear of this one.
Review by Chris.
