Famicom Grand Prix
Encyclopedia
is the title of two racing game
s released by Nintendo
for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan
only. The first installment was , released on October 30, , which was followed by , released on April 14, . Both games were released in special blue-colored Disk Cards, which supported Nintendo's Disk Fax
peripheral, allowing players to send their time trial scores to Nintendo for the chance to win prizes.
F-1 Race is a top-down racing game where the player controls a Formula 1 car. The player can either choose to play alone, or with other cars. The cars have a certain amount of health, tire life and fuel, which can decrease if the player crashes into a wall, crashes into another car, or drives off the road. Health, tires and fuel can be regenerated if the player takes a pit-stop, but doing so takes away racing time. Winning races during the Grand Prix mode will award the player with money, which can be used to buy new cars.
3D Hot Rally is a rear-view rally racing game where the objective is to complete each course within the given time limit. The player can choose between three possible courses, as well as three possible cars, each with its own unique characteristic. The game supports the Famicom 3D System
, allowing the player to see the screen in three-dimensions by wearing a specialized set of goggles. Like in F-1 Race, 3D Hot Rally supports the Disk Fax peripheral, which allowed players to send their time trial scores to Nintendo for the chance to win prizes. This was the final game to support the blue Disk Card format.
The second game's composers are Soyo Oka
, Hiroaki Suga, and Hideki Kanazashi. Nintendo designed and programmed Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally with auxiliary program support from HAL Laboratory. The game was one of the dozens that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory developed in conjunction for the Disk System.
s, which can be filled up by picking up exclamation mark-shaped symbols with the letter "H" along the road. When the player picks up eight hot marks, the player can accelerate their vehicle to a top speed of 300 km/h without slipping off the road for a period of 15 seconds. This helps the player reach the next checkpoint or the goal quicker than usual.
plays the role of the vehicle's driver, while Luigi
serves as his navigator. Although both brothers are shown prominently on the game's cover (making this the first game in Japan to depict Luigi in his taller and slimmer design that he sported in the western version of Super Mario Bros. 2
released almost five months later), they hardly appear during the game, except when they get out of their vehicle either to repair it or after they successfully cross the finish line.
One of the three vehicles that Mario and Luigi drive in this game, Monster (as seen on the front cover), also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee
as one of the Trophies. The title screen music from the game was arranged by Kentaro Ishizaka and was added to the Wii
game Super Smash Bros. Brawl
as one of the unlockable songs for the Mario Kart series stage, Mario Circuit. Monster also appears in the same game as a sticker. In Mario Kart Wii
, a Kart based on Monster (named the Tiny Titan or Rally Romper, depending on region) may be unlocked. It is special for its high off-road stat.
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...
s released by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
only. The first installment was , released on October 30, , which was followed by , released on April 14, . Both games were released in special blue-colored Disk Cards, which supported Nintendo's Disk Fax
Disk Fax
The Disk Fax was a machine that was used in combination with games for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan. One of the main features of the Disk System is the ability to save data, allowing players to save information such as high scores and other achievements on their game disk. Disk Fax...
peripheral, allowing players to send their time trial scores to Nintendo for the chance to win prizes.
Famicom Grand Prix: F-1 Race
Vehicles
There are a total of 24 available cars in F-1 Race, each with its own price and performance specification. The most powerful car in the game costs exactly $50,000,000. The tire performances of a car is determined by its color, which goes (from worst to best) from blue to yellow to red. Moreover, a green-colored car indicates that it has wet tires. The player can own up to three vehicles and can choose between any of them prior to starting a race. The player has three gauge indicators (body, tire, gas) that shows the vehicle's conditions through the course of the race: the body gauge will decrease whenever the player's vehicles collides with a hazard such as another vehicle or the guardrail next to the track; the tire gauge decreases based on how hard the player steers their vehicle; and the gas gauge gradually decreases once the race begins, especially when the player uses turbo boost. The player will lose their car if it becomes too badly damaged and the game will end if all three vehicles are lost.Steering method
A key feature of F-1 Race involves the method in which the player steers their vehicle. The player steers the vehicle from its perspective, rather than from the player's perspective. Pushing the d-pad right will steerg the vehicle clockwise, while pushing it left steers it counterclockwise. Pushing the d-pad left or right once will steer the vehicle to a 22.5 degree angle, while pushing either twice will steer it to a 45 degrees. The player can hold down the d-pad to steer even quicker as well, however this can result in an oversteering if the player is not careful.Pit
The player can restore their vehicle to top shape by entering the pit stop being passing the finish line. The player can restore their car faster by tapping the A button while the crewmen are repairing the vehicle.Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally
Famicom 3D System
is an accessory for the Family Computer that was only released in Japan in 1987. The 3D system consisted of a pair of liquid crystal shutter glasses that received video signals through dual 3.5mm jacks on a special adapter. It gave compatible games the illusion of 3D depth, like the Sega Master...
, allowing the player to see the screen in three-dimensions by wearing a specialized set of goggles. Like in F-1 Race, 3D Hot Rally supports the Disk Fax peripheral, which allowed players to send their time trial scores to Nintendo for the chance to win prizes. This was the final game to support the blue Disk Card format.
The second game's composers are Soyo Oka
Soyo Oka
is a Japanese composer, musician and author, formerly employed by Nintendo. She is best recognized for her video game soundtracks during the 1980s and 1990s.-Biography:Oka was born in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan...
, Hiroaki Suga, and Hideki Kanazashi. Nintendo designed and programmed Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally with auxiliary program support from HAL Laboratory. The game was one of the dozens that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory developed in conjunction for the Disk System.
Hot Dash
Located above the player's speed meter is a "Hot" indicator which is represented by eight exclamation markExclamation mark
The exclamation mark, exclamation point, or bang, or "dembanger" is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume , and often marks the end of a sentence. Example: “Watch out!” The character is encoded in Unicode at...
s, which can be filled up by picking up exclamation mark-shaped symbols with the letter "H" along the road. When the player picks up eight hot marks, the player can accelerate their vehicle to a top speed of 300 km/h without slipping off the road for a period of 15 seconds. This helps the player reach the next checkpoint or the goal quicker than usual.
Endurance
Below the player's speed meter is a damage indicator which will deplete every time the player's vehicle collides with another vehicle or a hazard. When the damage indicator is fully depleted, the game will end. To avoid this, the player can pause the game and select "repair" from the sub-menu to restore the character completely; however, the more damage the vehicle has taken, the longer the repairs will take (the player can speed up the process by pressing either button). The game can also be set so that the player's vehicle will be repaired automatically after passing through certain "repair points".Vehicles
There are three different kinds of vehicles in the game, each with its own performance specification.- - A sports carSports carA sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
-type vehicle for experts. It has the fastest acceleration rate of the three vehicles, but its vulnerable on bad roads. - - A 4WD-type vehicle for novices. Its abilities are stable and balanced.
- - A buggyBuggy (automobile)-See also:* Dune buggy* Swamp buggy* Moon buggy* Rock buggy* Buggy body...
-type vehicle for intermediate players. It has the slowest speed, which is contrast with its strong durability, especially off-road.
Characters
MarioMario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
plays the role of the vehicle's driver, while Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
serves as his navigator. Although both brothers are shown prominently on the game's cover (making this the first game in Japan to depict Luigi in his taller and slimmer design that he sported in the western version of Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 2, often abbreviated SMB2, is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System as a sequel to the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. The game was also remade as part of the Super Mario All-Stars collection for the Super Nintendo Entertainment...
released almost five months later), they hardly appear during the game, except when they get out of their vehicle either to repair it or after they successfully cross the finish line.
Related releases
On July 25, 1988, an official music album of the game was released. It contains every music track from the game with realistic vehicle sound effects, plus arranged versions of three songs from the game.One of the three vehicles that Mario and Luigi drive in this game, Monster (as seen on the front cover), also appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBM or simply as Melee, is a crossover fighting game released for the Nintendo GameCube shortly after its launch in . It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 game Super Smash Bros., and the predecessor to the Wii game Super Smash...
as one of the Trophies. The title screen music from the game was arranged by Kentaro Ishizaka and was added to the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Super Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
as one of the unlockable songs for the Mario Kart series stage, Mario Circuit. Monster also appears in the same game as a sticker. In Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii
is a racing video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series and the second Mario Kart title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released worldwide...
, a Kart based on Monster (named the Tiny Titan or Rally Romper, depending on region) may be unlocked. It is special for its high off-road stat.