Racing the streets
As we continue to see more and more collections of classic games for modern consoles, we are starting to get into the weeds of titles that time has forgotten. Street Racer might look familiar on the outside, what it actually did was unique. This four-player kart racing title has some interesting technical feats and a unique track system that isn’t standard fare. I used to adore this game back in the 90s, so I was ecstatic when I heard the collection was coming. Unfortunately, it hits a couple skids on its way to players.
I might as well start with the elephant in the room; this is not a complete collection of the series. The original game launched initially on the SNES and then expanded its way onto almost every platform at the time. This collection includes that version alongside the Genesis, Gameboy, and DOS versions, and that’s it. It is missing two of the most vital entries in the Saturn and PlayStation games. While I understand the Saturn version, emulation of that console is tough, omitting the PlayStation version just feels wrong.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
Street Racer is a kart racing game with battle elements. It is hard not to compare it to the king of that era, the original Mario Kart. Where it stands out is in its track and lap design. Instead of three long laps, these games relied on 10 shorter laps. The tracks are full of twists and turns and there is a dedicated jump button, which is set to default to up on the d-pad. Shame on the devs for that one. The races are chaotic and the AI is relentless, but it is still a great time with or without friends.
So let’s dig into each version of the game in minor detail. The SNES version was the original and it implements some really cool tech for the time. A four player splitscreen, which was very novel at the time. It also has Mode 7 implementation, which was all the rage with that console. It still holds up today with vibrant characters and tracks that make it feel whimsical and a poster child for 90s kart racers. The Genesis version is standard for the difference between the consoles. Colors are a little more muted, the game runs faster, but the AI is a bit more chaotic. It is fun, but I still prefer the SNES version more.
Next up, we get the Gameboy version and much like every other port onto Nintendo’s console during that era, it feels like a “we tried” situation. This is just a stripped-down version of the game that slightly resembles its bigger brothers. It isn’t awful, but it really only serves as an added bonus in this collection.
The crown jewel of this collection though is the DOS version. I was surprised to see it here, and the team has done a great job of bringing it into the modern age. The animated intro is included, and controller mapping is pretty good. The game runs better than all the other versions and it sounds great. This is by far the reason to own this collection.
As far as extras go, there is a bit more here than I anticipated. For smaller collections like this we usually don’t see a ton of things showcasing what made these games unique for their time. This one has a nice little menu with some artwork and scans of the character stuff from the manuals. I loved digging into these as it reminded me that manuals went a long way in explaining the lore of these simpler games back in the day. The characters in Street Racer are more unique than most other kart racers not tied to licenses.
Revisiting these games has been a treat. I loved them back in the day, and while they haven’t all aged gracefully, I appreciate them for what they are. Nostalgia is a heck of a drug, and I love that we can now play these games on modern consoles. The omission of the Saturn and PlayStation versions is its biggest flaw though and I wish we could have had a complete collection.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
