is a Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

-based racing game

Racing game

A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...

 developed by Nihon Bussan

Nihon Bussan

Nihon Bussan Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game manufacturer, commonly known as Nichibutsu . The company uses an owl sign for the company's official logo. The company has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka....

 and published by Nichibutsu for the PC-Engine

TurboGrafx-16

TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....

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Summary

The game was released on September 14, , and the word "circus" was meant to be a mistranslation of the word "circuit" (or "circuits") because the pageantry of Formula One racing slightly resembles a circus

Circus

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...

. It is loosely based on the 1991 Formula One season

1991 Formula One season

The 1991 Formula One season was the 42nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on March 10, 1991 and ended on November 3 after sixteen races...

, F1 Circus is considered to be a representation of the average Formula One game for the PC-Engine. Players can modify their vehicles and customize their race cars, while racing through top-viewed tracks that appear to be going mostly straight up in a fast-paced speed, instead of any other direction.

On February 7, , F1 Circus was later efficiently ported to the Family Computer

Nintendo Entertainment System

The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...

. Although featuring cover art from the PC-Engine version, the content in this version is closer to that of the sequel, F1 Circus '91.