#cyber spin

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Shinseiki GPX: Cyber Formula / Cyber Spin (SNES) (1992)

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Navigate through neon-lit tracks, unleash power-ups, and challenge opponents in this nostalgic 16-bit Super Nintendo retro racing video game!

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‘Cyber Spin’

[SNES] [USA] [MAGAZINE] [1992]

This game intrigues me, particularly for how far the team went to purge it of the branding and theme of its origins. Lying at the heart of Cyber Spin is its source game, Shinseiki GPX Cyber Formula, part of a larger franchise of Japanese anime and games that spans decades. Despite its demand for nigh-perfect play to progress, it has actually been notably pared down from its predecessor. Not only were the characters, car selections, cutscenes, and some game modes removed, but also the car sprites were given an overhaul and the track layouts simplified from track two onward. I cannot fault them on that last decision, however. Though the car handles well enough, this truly is a game of memorization and lightning reflexes. I have rarely seen a password system so critical for a game so short. ~Daniel Greenberg, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the SNES Library

Source: Electronic Gaming Monthly, September 1992 (#38) || RetroMags; Phillyman

[snesaday]

Approximate Release Month: June 1993 Genre: Racing Developer: Park Place Productions Publisher: GameTek

Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge offers motorcycle and Jet Ski racing in one cartridge. That’s great and all, but neither are developed enough to offer a full experience.

There are two crucial issues with the game. First, piloting the bikes and boats is overly difficult. Whenever I would take a turn, a combination of over- and under-steering and then over-correcting from that would send me into the track wall. Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge is brutally difficult, so wiping out once is likely to relegate you to near-last place. I never felt comfortable taking turns even though I did improve as I played more and more.

Second, there is barely a game here. The career-style Challenge mode is the main way to play, despite being listed third on the main menu for whatever reason. There are three islands, each with one motorcycle race and one boat race. You need to place high enough across both races to advance to the next island, and the cycle repeats. You get sent back to the main menu if you fail and have to start over from the start. Having only six tracks is rather anemic for a racing game, especially one without multiplayer or, you know, fun gameplay. As a bonus, all the tracks look the same.

I’ve mentioned a few times that Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge is hard. Part of the problem is definitely the controls, as mentioned above. The AI is also an issue, or lack thereof. The CPU racers don’t seem to react to the player’s existence. If you get in their assigned racing line, they won’t react or try to get around you. They will go through you. This, combined with the fact the CPU drives mostly perfectly, makes jockeying for position difficult. I was unable to make it past the second island.

I’d like to end this review with some positive impressions but I don’t have any. The Jet Skis and the motorcycles drive similarly, so I can’t even recommend the watersports half as a distinguishing factor. There’s a good sense of speed, but the camera whips around as you take turns in a way that I found disorienting. Said camera can’t keep up with the speed so I relied on the minimap to know when a turn was coming.

Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge does almost nothing right yet isn’t bad enough to be interesting. It is the video game equivalent to stale white bread: you shouldn’t eat it but at least it’s not covered in mold. There’s no reason to play this when Cyber Spin or even Battle Grand Prix are available and vastly superior overhead racing experiences.

Next week: Luigi gets his own edutainment game because Mario is Missing!

SNES A Day 206: Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge Approximate Release Month: June 1993 Genre: Racing Developer: Park Place Productions Publisher: GameTek Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge…

[retro-roulette]

Retro Roulette #83: Cyber Spin (SNES, 1992)

What

Something called Cyber Spin was released by the Japanese publisher Takara in 1992. It is based on the anime series Future GPX Cyber Formula, though all of the anime stuff appears to be stripped from the U.S. version. Instead, we get characters like, uh...C. Davis?

All of that brings us to the most important question - what the hell is Cyber Spin? As it turns out, it’s a top-down racing game. If you had that in your Retro Roulette pick ‘em league, go get your prize. The mechanics are pretty simple - you should go fast, can use a boost meter to go slightly faster, but that meter is also your health, so it’s gotta be used intelligently. You can take a pit stop to restore that meter, but it takes a bit of time off the clock to do so. That’s about it! That’s really the whole game.

So is it any good? In a word - no. 

Oh, you wanted more words? Alright, well, it’s a functional game, but it’s frustratingly light on features, even for a game of its era. Like a lot of older racing games, it offers “variety” in its courses, but that mostly means that the backgrounds are different and there are different turns. There are no extra modes or features to speak of - just a small handful of courses and that’s it. It does remind me a bit of some old arcade-style racers I enjoy to some extent, but it does so in a way that reminds me how those games are just better than this one. Nice going, Cyber Spin. If this game’s primary is to make me want to go and play better games, it definitely has that going for it.

While not outright awful, Cyber Spin offers no depth, no innovations in gameplay, and no other reasons to justify its existence. It’s just...sort of there. If you’ve ever considered going to your local game store, barging through the doors and demanding “Give me the least necessary game you have,” I believe I’ve found what you’ll receive. This is almost worse to me than a game that’s outright awful - at least then there’s a laugh or two you can potentially get out of it. With Cyber Spin, there’s barely anything to even write about.

Cyber Spin was a relatively early release in the history of Arc System Works, which has since become much better known for its crazy, super-detailed 2D fighting games, including the BlazBlue and Guilty Gear series. Those games are pretty cool, unlike Cyber Spin. 

Next week’s game is an under-appreciated NES puzzle game that is better than Cyber Spin. See you then!

[paranoiasnfm]

CYBORG – Cyber Spin at Six Flags Great Adventure

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Visit Original Link

[snesaday]

Approximate Release Date: April 20, 1993 Genre: Racing Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: Hudson Soft

There’s much about Battle Grand Prix that is disappointing.

Most immediately noticeable is its similarities to Cyber Spin. The two games are more or less completely interchangeable. Sure, Battle Grand Prix has a modern aesthetic instead of futuristic, and features a brake button instead of a boost, but that’s kind of it. There are the usual exhibition and career modes here, but there’s also a two-player multiplayer mode.

The existence of multiplayer means the screen is always split vertically in Battle Grand Prix. I’ve said many times before how I hate it when racing games do this, but I understand why it was done. If developers want to make a game work in multiplayer, designing a game around fullscreen and splitscreen pretty much doubles the amount of work in many areas. Given that you’re mostly playing by using the warning signs to know when a turn is coming up, it’s not unplayable but it’s very claustrophobic.

One feature that might attract gear heads is the ability to alter your cars before each race. You can adjust things like downforce and suspension and really fine tune how the car will handle for the upcoming race. I’m not a car person, so figuring out exactly what a hard or soft tire did was beyond me. I also didn’t notice difference when I just randomly messed with things. I assume Battle Grand Prix actually models this stuff and it’s not a trick!

Battle Grand Prix isn’t a bad game, especially if you want to tune cars or have a multiplayer experience. But if you want a relaxed solo racing experience you should choose Cyber Spin every time.

Tomorrow: Claymates is the first of a weird number of Super Nintendo games obsessed with clay.

SNES A Day 173: Battle Grand Prix Approximate Release Date: April 20, 1993 Genre: Racing Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: Hudson Soft There's much about…