Super Monaco GP

"VROOM!! Super Monaco GP brings it all home, and more"

Every person owns a racing game. No matter how much you think you hate them, they are a completely unavoidable genre. There are some absolute gems in the racing genre, it just depends on the format they are presented in. People will love Mario Kart for its prelevalent fun factor, yet they can absolutely hate a game like Gran Turismo, or Daytona, simply for the fact that they are more serious. I guess I fall in the middle. I'll play the odd bit of Mario Kart now and then, but I also like the more serious racers, such as Gran Turismo.

Super Monaco doesn't fall into that category of being a serious racer. This particular conversion extends the roots laid out by its arcade predecessor, by attempting to add various modes to extend the longevity, yet, these changes cannot extend the mould already laid out for the game. Primarily, the game is an arcade racer. While it can appear to be serious, its more the presentation factor of the game which steals that seriousness away. Its the old school of racing. A question always used to pop into my mind while playing these Pre-Virtua Racing era racers (VR was one of the first to stray from this method of design) was 'Am I really controlling the car? Or am I just controlling the road it is travelling on?'. Monaco is a hybrid. A freak, if you will. It will look like you are controlling the car, from the fact that it is always centre screen, but it seems to always follow the road, no matter what. That, my friends, is freaky.

I can still picture it in my mind. Christmas 1991. I had only minutes earlier experienced my first taste of what was the Sega Megadrive. To a child of 8 years old, joy of that amount was the equivalent of an orgasm. I already had Altered Beast, and Alien Storm, and not being a fussy gamer in these times, I was quite content. Then in came more games...

'stonedwal....meet Super Monaco GP' </stolen from the Episode 1 scene where Anakin meets Obi Wan>

My father had purchased an additional game. More for himself than anyone else however, but in those days, an extra game was an extra game. While it never really was a favourite of mine, it was one of the more solid racing games on the machine, at least until its sequel, Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP 2, which was then superceeded by Domark's F1 series.

Super Monaco was released in 1990. 1990 was a year of great graphical change. The gap between 8-bit and 16-bit was beginning to widen. Super Monaco is a fairly good example of the change. Take a look at the 8-bit version if you ever have the opportunity. The graphics are of such a low standard, its as if the game is completely different to its 16-bit counterpart. Monaco's graphics are pretty good too. Although there is some pixelisation here and there, the cars do not appear to be hampered by the transition from System 16 to Megadrive. Same deal is apparent with the sponsor advertising around the track, big, but pixelised. The backgrounds are a factor I have a problem with though. Remember the left to right problems in earlier games? Where if you happen to run out of the left side of the screen, you would appear on the right, and vice versa? Well, instead of it being the game's sprites, it's the background. It's entirely possible to be seeing two of the one feature on the background thanks to this stupid thing. While the background isn't really a major feature in a racing game, as you should be paying attention to the track, it detracts a lot from the entire atmosphere.

Music is almost a non existant commodity in Super Monaco GP. There's the annoying title screen music, the tension building position screen music.....and that's it. During races, you usually just have the accompanyment of your car's engine. That's not entirely a bad thing. Perhaps you would get some steady enjoyment out of the engine, if you are a beer swilling, rubber burning petrolhead, who likes to get his jollies from the sound his engine makes when he revs it, but to the rest of us, it is fine. Sounds are a little bit fuzzy, but generally okay. The vocal effects are a nice touch, adding a little atmosphere, and suprisingly, are quite clear.

Generally, grand prix games are all the same. Just like all sport games. They all revolve around the one concept. What separates the games apart all lies in the execution of each title. Super Monaco has 3 game modes, The Super Monaco GP, World Championship, and Practice. We all know what practice modes involve, so let's focus on the other two. The Super Monaco GP is a 2 race competition. You qualify, and then race the first race. Place in the top 5 (I think, I never finished lower than 3rd) and you will proceed to the second race, in which you also must qualify and race again. The only difference? The second run is in the rain. What sets Super Monaco GP away from the norm in its more arcadey mode is that when you pass a checkpoint, instead of a time extension, there is a minimum position indicator. If you fall below the minimum position, you are out of the race. The World Championship is a standard 16 round Grand Prix Championship, with a few nice features. The pick of the unique features would be the Rivals. Before each race, pick a rival. If you beat him in two consecutive races, you will be traded to his team. By doing this, you can work up the ranks, getting faster and faster cars as you progress. However, if you lose too many times, your own team will sack you, and you will be picked up by a lower team. Lose too many times, and it's game over. A nice little feature to add to the standard mix.

Super Monaco GP controls like a dream. Move the car from side to side, and shift up and down with the Direction pad. The A button hits the brakes, the B button accelerates, and finally, C will take you to the Pits when 'Pit In!!!' flashes on your screen. There aren't any issues with the controls in-game. With the faster cars however, things begin to get a little dodgy. I guarentee you will be getting quite frustrated when you are constantly being retired due to speeding into a sign.

Thanks to the deep World Championship mode, Super Monaco GP will last you some time, and it's about time more Arcade to Home conversions had genuine time consuming features such as this. The initial Super Monaco race will entice you for some time, but it all lies in the World Championship.

Let's break it down...

Graphics: 8.2

Finally beginning to widen that gap between the 8-bit and 16-bit consoles. Not too bad a conversion from the arcade game, except for the pixelisation of those signs. Backgrounds are terrible, taking away a lot from the overall atmosphere. Could have been better.

Sound: 6.7

Unless your a beer swilling petrolhead, there isn't really much to offer in the sound department. Music is severely lacking, almost non existant. Sounds can be muffled at times. Vocal effects add some pressure.

Gameplay: 8.4

The arcade race mode is nice, especially since it strays from the normal 'Time Extension' concept. A little short, and pretty easy. It all lies in the World Championship. Much deeper than other F1 games at the time, the World Championship mode is long, and has plenty of extra things that will keep you at bay for months. Control is nice, until you begin to get the more powerful cars.

Lastability: 7.8

The arcade mode is quite easy, and damn short. All your time will be spent on the World Championship, trying to work your way up into the A division.

Port-a-bility: Unable to properly comment

I was only ever a spectator of the Arcade version, never experiencing it first hand. There are subtle differences that you can notice from watching, but what we have been given for home essentially captures the essence of the arcade game, and the addition of the World Championship more than makes up for those little niggles in the sound and graphics departments.

Pro's

- World Championship
- World Championship
- World Championsh....Hang on a minute
- Graphics are quite advanced
- Easy to control

Con's

- Arcade mode is too easy
- Controls turn to **** once you get to A division
- Sound and music is lacking
- Those awful backgrounds

Does it belong in my collection? Depends

If you are a racing freak, go for broke. If you don't really care for racers, try it out first.

Overall: 7.3 (With adjustments made to 7 for GameFAQs and 7.5 for FBGames to suit their respective rating systems)

While some might expect the overall rating to be higher from the amount I raved about the World Championship, you must all remember that the game was superceeded. But if you can't find any of the others, and still want a fairly solid game, go with Super Monaco.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/04/01, Updated 08/04/01