This is one of my favorite games on the Nes (and Genesis as it was also released on that system) but also one of my favorite licensed/racing games and video games of all time. This game didn't quite burn rubber in the sales but as its gained mileage over the years it's became a cult classic.
The game is based off of the Micro Machines toys in the late 80's and 90's which I really love and thought were really cool, have well designed cars that were smaller than the usual "Hot Wheels" cars. Even love that there were a bunch of playsets where were also really cool which were in the form of vehicles or some sort of ordinary item, when you opened em up they always revealed to be a city or something else entirely. I thought that was a cool concept much like with the "Transformers" they were a toy within a toy.
I didn't get into this game till a lot latter because I wasn't really a big racing game fan, let alone as it was a game based on a licensed property, I was skeptical as most are disappointments. But thankfully this game is up to speed on both counts.
The control in the game is solid, it's similar to the control from the arcade game "Super Sprint", it might seem a little loose at first but you get use to it and it actually fits well. The gameplay is also solid really like the racing, which is exciting as usual with racing games, you can play solo or with friends which always increases you mileage for fun.
However, what makes this game stand out is in it's presentation and it's a great one that stays true to the spirit of the toys. I really like the designs of the Micro Machines in each race it's always a different kind of vehicle like a speed boats, race cars, jeeps, dune buggies, you name it it's there; which also makes it a different kind of race, this makes it all the more cool as it keeps the game fresh and gives it variety.
I also really like the design of the tracks which are all cool because they don't fall into the usual from a speed way track, city, or any other conventional location. Here we see tracks that look like they were home made for toy cars and vehicles, where you have pencils, erasers, books, rulers, chalk or stale Cheerios to mark the tracks. This really help give the feel of not just the concept of vehicles racing in a gigantic world but gave you the feel that you were playing with the Micro Machines toys themselves.
Because as kids we always constructed made up tracks for our toy cars, most notably the "Micro Machine" cars. In a way this really gave the game a two way effect where on one hand when you play this game as a kid you feel like your simply playing with your toy cars in video game form, but playing this game at an older age you just get that nostalgic rush remember again what it was like playing with our toy cars.
The tracks are not the traditional kind of tracks as you go though the circuits there are some obstacles ahead of you, like jumps, walls but also trying to keep yourself on track and not fall off the table. This made the tracks on the tricky side and also provided variety and unpredictability in the races, you never really knew what to expect and like in all racing games you may have to practice going though them a bit before you expect to make your opponents eat your dust.
Another interesting thing is you can actually go off road if you want to in the game as you'll be able to create short cuts which will give you opportunities to win faster and easier if you want, this was way before the whole concept of secret roadways in the racing games we have now, so this game was one of the first with the concept. However the only catch is you can't go off road too far or get off track complete otherwise you car explodes and you start back a ways so choose your short cuts carefully.
"Micro Machines" like any vintage car is up to speed.
Rating: 4 stars
