R.C. Pro-Am
Encyclopedia
R.C. Pro-Am is a racing video game developed by United Kingdom
-based company Rare. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES) by Nintendo
at North America in February 1988, and then in Europe on April 15 that year. Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car
around a series of tracks. The object of each track is qualify for the next race by finishing in the top three. Players collect items to improve performance, and they must avoid a variety of hazards such as rain puddles and oil slicks. It is one of the first racing games to feature vehicular combat
, which they can use missiles and bombs to temporarily disable opposing vehicles. Originally titled Pro Am Racing, R.C. Pro-Am was also ported
to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1992 as Championship Pro-Am, an enhanced remake
with enhanced graphics and additional features.
Listed by video game reviewers as one of Rare's first successful NES titles, R.C. Pro-Am was well-received for its visuals, sound, gameplay, and enjoyability. The game distanced itself from earlier racing titles by using an overhead, instead of a first-person, perspective. Reviews have cited it as inspiration for future games such as Super Off Road
, Rock n' Roll Racing
, and the Mario Kart
series. It has appeared in many "top games of all time" lists and is regarded as one of the best titles in the NES library.
against three opponents around a track from an overhead isometric perspective. Players use the horizontal buttons on the control pad to steer their car left or right, and they use the other buttons to accelerate, fire weapons, and pause the game. Consisting of 24 tracks total, the goal for each of them is to qualify for the next race by finishing in the top three in the four-car field. The game ends
if players finish in fourth; however, they have two continues in which they can restart the previous race, but they will lose all points accumulated up to that point. For each successful completion of a race, the player receives a trophy; larger "High Score Trophies", leading up to the "Super Trophy", can also be obtained for achieving high scores. After the game ends, players can record their scores on "Top Pro-Am Drivers" list, but the scores are erased when the console power is turned off.
Throughout the courses, there are items on the track that players can collect by touching them. "Tune-up items" help increase the car's performance, such as turbo acceleration, "hotter engines" for higher top speed, and "super sticky tires" for increased traction and cornering; these additional abilities are displayed on the "track conditions" screen between races. Players can also collect weapons that can temporarily disable other vehicles: missiles take out the opposing vehicles from the front, while bombs take them out from the rear. The number of missiles and bombs carry over to the next race, and players can collect extra ammunition, represented by stars, on the track. Roll cage
s, which opponents can also collect, help protect cars from crash damage, stationary "zippers" give cars an extra speed boost, and "bonus letters" give players large point bonuses and the ability to drive an upgraded car if they can spell "NINTENDO" with them. Players can upgrade from a standard truck to a faster 4-Wheeler and then to the fastest Off Roader. There are also various hazards that must be avoided: oil slicks that cause cars to spin out of control, water puddles and "rain squall
s" that slow them down, pop-up barriers that crash cars, and skulls that decrease ammunition.
The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis port, Championship Pro-Am, features some gameplay differences from the NES version of the game. In this port, players race against five other vehicles instead of three, but players still must place in the top three to move to the next track. Another feature is that race records are recorded; players are prompted to enter their name before the game start to track high scores and race records. Finally, players try to successfully spell "CHAMPION" in order to upgrade to a new car.
(NES) by Nintendo
in February 1988 in North America; it was released in Europe on April 15 that year. It would later be ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis under the name Championship Pro-Am and was released by Tradewest
in 1992. Its music was composed by David Wise, known for his work on Cobra Triangle
as well as the Donkey Kong Country
and Banjo-Kazooie series.
R.C. Pro-Am was subject to preview coverage in the Fall 1987 issue of Nintendo Fun Club News – the company's predecessor to its house organ
Nintendo Power
. It received a more in-depth look into the game in the proceeding Winter 1987 issue, saying that "this game is a must for RC Car (radio-controlled) owners". It was featured on the cover of the magazine's February–March 1988 issue, which also included a full walkthrough. Later, in Nintendo Power premiere issue in July 1988, R.C. Pro-Am was listed 6th on its "Top 30" NES games list, and it was the top "Dealer's Pick". It went down to the 8th position in September 1988, and 12th in November.
who called it "a compelling, innovating approach to car racing videogames". Bill Kunkel found that it distanced itself from earlier racing titles such as Sega
's Enduro Racer
, Nintendo
's Mach Rider
, and Atari
's Pole Position
by going from a more traditional first-person to an isometric perspective. He also praised the game's simplicity and controls, comparing them to that of an actual radio-controlled car. He criticized the game for its lack of a two-player feature and for the instruction booklet's vagueness. He concluded by lauding its graphics and sound, saying that they "help make this the best game of its kind ever produced in any electronic game format". Bloomberg Businessweek listed R.C. Pro-Am, along with Cobra Triangle
, as Rare's most notable titles in the NES library
.
The game has continued to be well-received by contemporary video game publications. Allgame
's Chris Couper stated that R.C. Pro-Am is among the best NES games, due to its realistic nature. He commented that the game's challenge and sounds contributed to its enjoyment level. Retro Gamer
saw the game as a precursor to Codemasters
' Micro Machines, and they compared the action and variety of items to the later Mario Kart
series. They hailed it as one of Rare's best early products, stating: "Radio-controlled car racing in videogame form was pretty much perfected here." The 2009 book Vintage Games compared the game to Spy Hunter
, noting that game emphasized collecting power-ups and weapons and not just on racing. It added how the trend of combining racing with vehicular combat would reappear in future games such as Super Mario Kart
and Rock n' Roll Racing
. Later in 2010, as part of Rare's 25th anniversary, the magazine said that it was Rare's first successful NES title as well as one of the first games to combine racing and vehicular combat. Readers ranked the game 22nd in a list of their 25 favourite Rare games.
R.C. Pro-Am has appeared many times on various "best games" lists over the years. A survey conducted by GamePro
in 1990 ranked the game as the 10th-best sports video game at that time, whereas many gamers considered it a sports game despite disagreements by others. Game Informer
put the game at number 84 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time" list in August 2001. Paste
magazine placed it as the 8th greatest NES game ever, saying that it is "way more fun than real remote-control cars, which never seemed to be equipped with missile capabilities". IGN
listed the game as the 13th-best NES game of all time, citing its popularity amongst gamers as well as good sales. Executive Editor Craig Harris said that it was one of the first games to introduce the concept of vehicular combat, inspiring other titles such as Super R.C. Pro-Am
, R.C. Pro-Am II, and the Mario Kart series. 1UP.com
listed it as the 14th best NES title, citing the game's good graphics and gameplay elements, though it said that the difficulty level was too high. As with other retrospectives, the website staff listed the game as inspiration for future series such as Super Off Road
and Rock n' Roll Racing. In a look back at Rare as part of the company's 25th anniversary, GamePro listed R.C. Pro-Am as one of Rare's best games, calling the release "one of Rare's finest moments".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based company Rare. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System
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...
(NES) 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....
at North America in February 1988, and then in Europe on April 15 that year. Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...
around a series of tracks. The object of each track is qualify for the next race by finishing in the top three. Players collect items to improve performance, and they must avoid a variety of hazards such as rain puddles and oil slicks. It is one of the first racing games to feature vehicular combat
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
, which they can use missiles and bombs to temporarily disable opposing vehicles. Originally titled Pro Am Racing, R.C. Pro-Am was also ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis in 1992 as Championship Pro-Am, an enhanced remake
Enhanced remake
A video game remake is a game closely adapted from an earlier title, usually for the purpose of modernizing a game for newer hardware and contemporary audiences. Typically, a remake shares essentially the same title, fundamental gameplay concepts, and story elements of the original game...
with enhanced graphics and additional features.
Listed by video game reviewers as one of Rare's first successful NES titles, R.C. Pro-Am was well-received for its visuals, sound, gameplay, and enjoyability. The game distanced itself from earlier racing titles by using an overhead, instead of a first-person, perspective. Reviews have cited it as inspiration for future games such as Super Off Road
Super Off Road
Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990...
, Rock n' Roll Racing
Rock N' Roll Racing
Rock N' Roll Racing is a battle-racing video game developed by Silicon & Synapse and published by Interplay for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The background music consists of instrumental versions of several heavy metal and rock n' roll songs,...
, and the Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
series. It has appeared in many "top games of all time" lists and is regarded as one of the best titles in the NES library.
Gameplay
R.C. Pro-Am is a racing video game in which a single player controls a radio-controlled carRadio-controlled car
Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...
against three opponents around a track from an overhead isometric perspective. Players use the horizontal buttons on the control pad to steer their car left or right, and they use the other buttons to accelerate, fire weapons, and pause the game. Consisting of 24 tracks total, the goal for each of them is to qualify for the next race by finishing in the top three in the four-car field. The game ends
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
if players finish in fourth; however, they have two continues in which they can restart the previous race, but they will lose all points accumulated up to that point. For each successful completion of a race, the player receives a trophy; larger "High Score Trophies", leading up to the "Super Trophy", can also be obtained for achieving high scores. After the game ends, players can record their scores on "Top Pro-Am Drivers" list, but the scores are erased when the console power is turned off.
Throughout the courses, there are items on the track that players can collect by touching them. "Tune-up items" help increase the car's performance, such as turbo acceleration, "hotter engines" for higher top speed, and "super sticky tires" for increased traction and cornering; these additional abilities are displayed on the "track conditions" screen between races. Players can also collect weapons that can temporarily disable other vehicles: missiles take out the opposing vehicles from the front, while bombs take them out from the rear. The number of missiles and bombs carry over to the next race, and players can collect extra ammunition, represented by stars, on the track. Roll cage
Roll cage
A roll cage is a specially constructed frame built in the cab of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured in an accident, particularly in the event of a roll-over. Roll cages are used in nearly all purpose-built racecars, and in most cars modified for racing...
s, which opponents can also collect, help protect cars from crash damage, stationary "zippers" give cars an extra speed boost, and "bonus letters" give players large point bonuses and the ability to drive an upgraded car if they can spell "NINTENDO" with them. Players can upgrade from a standard truck to a faster 4-Wheeler and then to the fastest Off Roader. There are also various hazards that must be avoided: oil slicks that cause cars to spin out of control, water puddles and "rain squall
Squall
A squall is a sudden, sharp increase in wind speed which is usually associated with active weather, such as rain showers, thunderstorms, or heavy snow. Squalls refer to an increase in the sustained winds over a short time interval, as there may be higher gusts during a squall event...
s" that slow them down, pop-up barriers that crash cars, and skulls that decrease ammunition.
The Sega Mega Drive/Genesis port, Championship Pro-Am, features some gameplay differences from the NES version of the game. In this port, players race against five other vehicles instead of three, but players still must place in the top three to move to the next track. Another feature is that race records are recorded; players are prompted to enter their name before the game start to track high scores and race records. Finally, players try to successfully spell "CHAMPION" in order to upgrade to a new car.
Development
R.C. Pro-Am was developed by UK-based company Rare. In 1987, the game was originally titled Pro-Am Racing but was later renamed. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo 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...
(NES) 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....
in February 1988 in North America; it was released in Europe on April 15 that year. It would later be ported to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis under the name Championship Pro-Am and was released by Tradewest
Tradewest
Tradewest is a now-defunct American video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company is best known as the publisher of the Battletoads and Double Dragon series in North America and the PAL region.The Tradewest name was revived in...
in 1992. Its music was composed by David Wise, known for his work on Cobra Triangle
Cobra Triangle
Cobra Triangle is a single-player game developed by Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System following the success of their previous game, R.C. Pro-Am....
as well as the Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country is a side-scrolling platformer video game developed by Rare, featuring the character Donkey Kong. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. Following an intense marketing campaign, the original SNES version sold over 8 million copies worldwide, making...
and Banjo-Kazooie series.
R.C. Pro-Am was subject to preview coverage in the Fall 1987 issue of Nintendo Fun Club News – the company's predecessor to its house organ
House organ
A house organ is a magazine or periodical published by a company for its customers or its employees...
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
. It received a more in-depth look into the game in the proceeding Winter 1987 issue, saying that "this game is a must for RC Car (radio-controlled) owners". It was featured on the cover of the magazine's February–March 1988 issue, which also included a full walkthrough. Later, in Nintendo Power premiere issue in July 1988, R.C. Pro-Am was listed 6th on its "Top 30" NES games list, and it was the top "Dealer's Pick". It went down to the 8th position in September 1988, and 12th in November.
Reception and legacy
R.C. Pro-Am was reviewed in Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
who called it "a compelling, innovating approach to car racing videogames". Bill Kunkel found that it distanced itself from earlier racing titles such as Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's Enduro Racer
Enduro Racer
Enduro Racer is an arcade game from Sega. It was released in 1986 with either a stand up cabinet with handlebars or a full-sized dirt bike on the cabinet itself. Some said it is essentially the dirt version of Hang-On, hence using the similar engine and PCB.-Gameplay:The player rides the dirt bike...
, 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....
's Mach Rider
Mach Rider
is a futuristic driving video game created by Nintendo. It was first released on October 18, 1985 for the Nintendo Entertainment System, as one of the 18 initial launch games. A month later, on November 21, the title was released in Japan. On March 15, 1987 it was released in Europe and Australia...
, and Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
's Pole Position
Pole Position
Pole Position is a racing video game released in 1982 by Namco. It was published by Namco in Japan and by Atari, Inc. in the United States...
by going from a more traditional first-person to an isometric perspective. He also praised the game's simplicity and controls, comparing them to that of an actual radio-controlled car. He criticized the game for its lack of a two-player feature and for the instruction booklet's vagueness. He concluded by lauding its graphics and sound, saying that they "help make this the best game of its kind ever produced in any electronic game format". Bloomberg Businessweek listed R.C. Pro-Am, along with Cobra Triangle
Cobra Triangle
Cobra Triangle is a single-player game developed by Rare for the Nintendo Entertainment System following the success of their previous game, R.C. Pro-Am....
, as Rare's most notable titles in the NES library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
.
The game has continued to be well-received by contemporary video game publications. Allgame
Allgame
Allgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
's Chris Couper stated that R.C. Pro-Am is among the best NES games, due to its realistic nature. He commented that the game's challenge and sounds contributed to its enjoyment level. Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
saw the game as a precursor to Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...
' Micro Machines, and they compared the action and variety of items to the later Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
series. They hailed it as one of Rare's best early products, stating: "Radio-controlled car racing in videogame form was pretty much perfected here." The 2009 book Vintage Games compared the game to Spy Hunter
Spy Hunter
Spy Hunter is a 1983 arcade game developed and released by Bally Midway. It has also been ported to various home computers and video game systems....
, noting that game emphasized collecting power-ups and weapons and not just on racing. It added how the trend of combining racing with vehicular combat would reappear in future games such as Super Mario Kart
Super Mario Kart
is a go-kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . The first game of the Mario Kart series, it was launched in Japan on August 27, 1992, in North America on September 1, 1992, and in Europe on January 21, 1993. Selling eight million copies...
and Rock n' Roll Racing
Rock N' Roll Racing
Rock N' Roll Racing is a battle-racing video game developed by Silicon & Synapse and published by Interplay for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The background music consists of instrumental versions of several heavy metal and rock n' roll songs,...
. Later in 2010, as part of Rare's 25th anniversary, the magazine said that it was Rare's first successful NES title as well as one of the first games to combine racing and vehicular combat. Readers ranked the game 22nd in a list of their 25 favourite Rare games.
R.C. Pro-Am has appeared many times on various "best games" lists over the years. A survey conducted by GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
in 1990 ranked the game as the 10th-best sports video game at that time, whereas many gamers considered it a sports game despite disagreements by others. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
put the game at number 84 on its "Top 100 Games of All Time" list in August 2001. Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
magazine placed it as the 8th greatest NES game ever, saying that it is "way more fun than real remote-control cars, which never seemed to be equipped with missile capabilities". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
listed the game as the 13th-best NES game of all time, citing its popularity amongst gamers as well as good sales. Executive Editor Craig Harris said that it was one of the first games to introduce the concept of vehicular combat, inspiring other titles such as Super R.C. Pro-Am
Super R.C. Pro-Am
Super R. C. Pro-Am is a racing video game developed by UK-based video game company Rare for Nintendo's Game Boy handheld console. It was released in North America in June 1991 and in Europe on April 23, 1992; it was re-released in 1998 as part of Nintendo's Player's Choice series, which...
, R.C. Pro-Am II, and the Mario Kart series. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
listed it as the 14th best NES title, citing the game's good graphics and gameplay elements, though it said that the difficulty level was too high. As with other retrospectives, the website staff listed the game as inspiration for future series such as Super Off Road
Super Off Road
Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road is an arcade video game released in 1989 by Leland Corporation. Virgin Games produced several home versions in 1990...
and Rock n' Roll Racing. In a look back at Rare as part of the company's 25th anniversary, GamePro listed R.C. Pro-Am as one of Rare's best games, calling the release "one of Rare's finest moments".