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Top Gear (video game)
Encyclopedia
Top Gear is a 1992 racing video game for the Super NES
, published by Kemco
and developed by Gremlin Graphics. Not only does it mark first game in the Top Gear racing game franchise, but it is also one of the first racing games to be released on the Super NES. The objective of the game is to become the fastest driver in the world by racing other drivers across several nations. The franchise is unrelated to the TV programme of the same name.
system, made up of automotive terms such as "gear box" and "oilcloth". Each password grants access to another country to race in. During the race, there are pits in which players must stop in order to refuel. If their car runs out of fuel and coasts to a stop before the race is finished, the player will be disqualified.
Cannibal (red) - The Cannibal has a top speed of 147 miles per hour (236.6 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 5.9 seconds, has low tire grip and high fuel consumption.
Sidewinder (white) - The Sidewinder has a top speed of 131 miles per hour (210.8 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 3.5 seconds, has high tire grip and low fuel consumption.
Razor (purple) - The Razor has a top speed of 137 miles per hour (220.5 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 5.0 seconds, has low tire grip and midrange fuel consumption.
Weasel (teal) - The Weasel has a top speed of 137 miles per hour (220.5 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 4.3 seconds, has midrange tire grip and midrange fuel consumption.
The music in Top Gear mostly consists of remixed tracks from the Lotus series
of racing games on the Amiga
produced by Barry Leitchhttp://www.barryleitch.com. For example, the title music of Top Gear is taken from the ending of Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, and the third race of each country uses a remixed version of the Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge title theme.
, Brazil
Machu Picchu
, Peru
Chichén Itzá
, Mexico
Rain Forest
, Sweden
Copenhagen
, Denmark
Helsinki
, Finland
Oslo
, Norway
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Sega Mega Drive
Commodore Amiga
Nintendo 64
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Game Boy Color
:
Game Boy Advance
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PlayStation 2
:
Xbox
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Nintendo DS
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Although not directly related, the original 16-bit Top Gear trilogy was created by the same developers as the (remarkably similar) Lotus games on the Commodore Amiga and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, published by Kemco
KEMCO
, sometimes referred to as Kotobuki System Co., Ltd., is a Japanese video game developer and publisher established in 1984 as a subsidiary of Kotobuki Engineering & Manufacturing Co., Ltd, located in: Seika, Japan....
and developed by Gremlin Graphics. Not only does it mark first game in the Top Gear racing game franchise, but it is also one of the first racing games to be released on the Super NES. The objective of the game is to become the fastest driver in the world by racing other drivers across several nations. The franchise is unrelated to the TV programme of the same name.
Gameplay
When players first start the game, they are given several options to choose from, including entering their name, a choice of four different controller layouts, a choice between automatic or manual transmission, and their choice of four unique cars. During the race, the player will have to steer and shift gears (if they chose a manual transmission). The player is also given control over three "nitros", which allow the player to increase their speed for a short period of time. The game features a password savePassword (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
system, made up of automotive terms such as "gear box" and "oilcloth". Each password grants access to another country to race in. During the race, there are pits in which players must stop in order to refuel. If their car runs out of fuel and coasts to a stop before the race is finished, the player will be disqualified.
Cars
Sidewinder (white) - The Sidewinder has a top speed of 131 miles per hour (210.8 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 3.5 seconds, has high tire grip and low fuel consumption.
Razor (purple) - The Razor has a top speed of 137 miles per hour (220.5 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 5.0 seconds, has low tire grip and midrange fuel consumption.
Weasel (teal) - The Weasel has a top speed of 137 miles per hour (220.5 km/h), accelerates from 0-60 miles per hour (96.6 km/h) in 4.3 seconds, has midrange tire grip and midrange fuel consumption.
Music
Lotus (computer games)
The Lotus series consists of three racing computer games based around the Lotus brand, released between 1990 and 1992 on various formats.. Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge, Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, and Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge were developed by Magnetic Fields and published by Gremlin...
of racing games on the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
produced by Barry Leitchhttp://www.barryleitch.com. For example, the title music of Top Gear is taken from the ending of Lotus Turbo Challenge 2, and the third race of each country uses a remixed version of the Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge title theme.
Bugs
There is a bug which allows a human player to finish the race in two places at the same time, obtaining the respective points of each position. When the player hits one of the posts on either side of the finishing line on the last lap at a certain angle, the car will "finish" the race, bounce back off the post, and then cross the finish line again. The player will get points for the position they legitimately finished in but also get the points for the position below them. (A car finishing in first that uses this exploit will get 35 points - it will get 20 points for coming first and another 15 for coming second. The next car over the line will only get points for third place.)Latin America
Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian 15th-century Inca site located above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
Chichén Itzá
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Rain Forest
Scandinavia
StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
Sequels
Super NESSuper Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
:
- Top Gear 2Top Gear 2Top Gear 2 was the sequel to the 1992 game Top Gear, released on January 1, 1993 for the Super NES, May 24, 1994 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and in 1994 for Amiga...
- Top Gear 3000Top Gear 3000Top Gear 3000 was a sequel to the 1993 video game Top Gear 2 for the Super NES...
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
- Top Gear 2Top Gear 2Top Gear 2 was the sequel to the 1992 game Top Gear, released on January 1, 1993 for the Super NES, May 24, 1994 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and in 1994 for Amiga...
Commodore Amiga
- Top Gear 2Top Gear 2Top Gear 2 was the sequel to the 1992 game Top Gear, released on January 1, 1993 for the Super NES, May 24, 1994 for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and in 1994 for Amiga...
Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
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- Top Gear RallyTop Gear RallyTop Gear Rally is a rally game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Color version was released under the name Top Gear Pocket, although the European release uses the original name. It features five tracks. It has a feature that allows the user to give their virtual...
- Top Gear Rally 2Top Gear Rally 2Top Gear Rally 2 is a racing game for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 2000, and is a sequel to Top Gear Rally. Like the original Rally, a related game was released for the Game Boy Color as Top Gear Pocket 2, then retitled Top Gear Rally 2 for its European release.-Gameplay:The game's objective...
- Top Gear OverdriveTop Gear OverDriveTop Gear Overdrive is a racing game released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 and the sequel to Top Gear Rally. This game had support for high-resolution graphics if used with the Expansion Pak and featured music from a band known as Grindstone.-Gameplay:...
- Top Gear Hyper Bike
Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
:
- Top Gear RallyTop Gear RallyTop Gear Rally is a rally game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Color version was released under the name Top Gear Pocket, although the European release uses the original name. It features five tracks. It has a feature that allows the user to give their virtual...
- Top Gear Pocket (Top Gear RallyTop Gear RallyTop Gear Rally is a rally game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Color version was released under the name Top Gear Pocket, although the European release uses the original name. It features five tracks. It has a feature that allows the user to give their virtual...
in Europe) - Top Gear Pocket 2 (Top Gear Rally 2Top Gear Rally 2Top Gear Rally 2 is a racing game for the Nintendo 64. It was released in 2000, and is a sequel to Top Gear Rally. Like the original Rally, a related game was released for the Game Boy Color as Top Gear Pocket 2, then retitled Top Gear Rally 2 for its European release.-Gameplay:The game's objective...
in Europe)
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
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- Top Gear GT ChampionshipTop Gear GT ChampionshipTop Gear GT Championship is a racing game developed and published by Kemco for the Game Boy Advance and released in 2001. The game was a launch title in Japan and Europe for the Game Boy Advance, and was the first Game Boy Advance game in the Top Gear series....
- Top Gear RallyTop Gear RallyTop Gear Rally is a rally game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance. The Game Boy Color version was released under the name Top Gear Pocket, although the European release uses the original name. It features five tracks. It has a feature that allows the user to give their virtual...
PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
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- Top Gear: Dare DevilTop Gear: Dare DevilTop Gear: Dare Devil is a game for the PlayStation 2 that involves driving mostly small, European automobiles around the cities of Rome, London, Tokyo, and San Francisco.-Reception:Top Gear: Dare Devil was received poorly by critics...
Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
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- Top Gear RPM Tuning
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
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- Top Gear: Downforce
Although not directly related, the original 16-bit Top Gear trilogy was created by the same developers as the (remarkably similar) Lotus games on the Commodore Amiga and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.