Way back in the day, there were a couple of little systems known as the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. Back around that same time, there was a company producing games known as S&S who made a title called Rock ‘N Roll Racing for the two systems. Well, the SNES and Genesis may have faded out from retail shelves over the years, but S&S just grew bigger and eventually became known as Blizzard, the now giant game developer responsible for such huge hits as Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo. Well, it was once said that you never forget where you came from, and now Blizzard has repackaged and re-released Rock ‘N Roll racing for the GBA system.

Rock ‘N Roll Racing takes place in the future, and all started with the discovery of life on a planet known as Bogmire in the year 2833. The native race of Bogmire known as the Saurions liked Earth’s rock and roll music, and soon they began holding high speed races with souped up vehicles while tunes like “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood and “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath blared in the background. Well, the idea caught on across the galaxy and now is the most watched sport in 17 known worlds, as all kinds of human and alien races tune in to watch competitors battle it out on the racetrack using high speeds and dangerous weapons.

When you start off, you will get to select from three different difficulty levels. Rookie is the easiest, but only allows you to race through three of the planetary circuits. It’s a good way to get started playing though, because it’s not too hard to blow competition away and helps you get used to the game. The Veteran level is the next one, and is a lot more challenging … but a lot more fun as well. This circuit allows you to race all five of the circuits and go all the way through the game. The final difficulty level is Warrior which of course is the most challenging, but also opens up and allows you to race in a sixth final planetary circuit for the big time on a planet known only as Inferno. Blizzard did a good job in increasing the challenge as you go up, but not making it too easy or too difficult and you can feel the difference in each of the different difficulty levels. After that, you select a hero from a list of 6, each one giving different bonuses like a +1 to acceleration, jumping, or top speed.  

In order to race in the competition, you’re obviously going to need a vehicle, upgrades, and some provisions for survival in addition to a kick butt hero. After selecting the difficulty and driver, you get to head over to Fast Eddie’s dealership to buy a car. You only have three to select from at first, but as you progress through the different planetary raceways there are two more that can be opened up later which are of course more expensive but a lot faster and stronger. By winning or placing in the different races that are run, you win money which can then be used at Gordo’s Gift Shop to purchase upgrades for your vehicle like plasma rockets, bigger block engines, and better body armor.

OK, so there’s the up front part of it, so let’s look at the game and racing itself. Basically, R'nR Racing is presented in a ¾ kind of camera perspective, similar to the Hot Wheels Velocity X GBA game and the older 8-Bit Nintendo racing title RC Pro Am (which Rn'R Racing reminded me a lot of to an extent). The tracks are made up of straight shots and 90 degree turns, and there are a lot of jumps and even ramps to leap over figure 8 intersections. The game brags that it’s “the most unrealistic racing game ever”, and stays true to that description since you will be rocketing around the track blasting away at opponents, trying to avoid mines, using jump jets and turbos, and picking up money and armor powerups as you go. You also really have no need for brakes in this game … just floor it and keep the accelerator mashed down until you cross the finish line. Each planet has a number of races to run, usually about 8 – 10, and by accumulating enough points in each circuit you have the option of hopping into your space limo and heading off to the next planetary venture.

One thing that I have always liked about this game is the fact that it has a lot of personality to it. Each of the selectable characters and the opponents you race against has this “bad attitude” kind of look to them, and there are even little biographies written about each of the racers and champions of the particular planets that you will race on. Be prepared to go up against some nasty individuals, including psychos like Road Kill Kelly, currently serving 14 life sentences and Grinder X19, the robot who has skin made of steel and blood consisting of transmission fluid.

There were really only a couple of minor gripes that I had about Rn'R Racing, the first of which being in the repetitive nature of a lot of the tracks and designs. They get a little more challenging as you progress, but many of them look the same as one that you did on the planet beforehand. The second issue that I had came in some of the AI vs. player bumping matches, since many of them would send me careening off into the barricade on the side while my attacker just kept on cruising. Again, these things are minor issues, and while neither one of these surprisingly hinders or ruins the fun value or addictiveness, these are a couple of things that I noticed and just needed to bring up.

Graphically, Rn'R Racing keeps the same look and appeal that it had back in the day. While the graphics aren’t necessarily the same standards as some other titles that are out, it still looks better than a lot of other GBA titles out there. Following with the personality comment I made earlier, each of the racers look pretty outrageous and comically insane, and drive equally as outrageous vehicles that look like monster trucks, jacked up dune buggies and hovercrafts to name a few. The planets all have their own unique little things which make them different, like huge spikes or skulls lining the track, but all of the different tracks and planets tend to look and feel repetitive after a while since the layouts always seem to be zig zags, squared off tracks, and some other designs over and over again. The crashes and explosions don’t look bad though, and overall it’s colorful and moves well with no slowdown or problems.

The sound was really my favorite part of Rn'R Racing, especially due to the solid classic rock tunes that were converted well to the GBA system. Granted, it’s not anything high resolution that you will want to burn off onto a CD and listen to in your “real life” car, but for the little handheld system Blizzard did a great job in keeping the tunes sounding good and accurate to their real life radio versions. There is also in game commentary by an announcer which is well done, but he tends to repeat sayings a little bit too much at times.

Overall, Rock N’ Roll Racing is a fun, fast, arcade racing title that packs a lot of enjoyment and replay value (with some serious kick-butt attitude added in as well). Even though this is a direct port of an older racing title, it can still hold it’s own against the majority of other GBA racers that are out nowadays in my opinion. If you like racing titles and are looking for a good addition to your GBA library, this one will be a good buy and will provide a lot of action based racing with good replay value. I guess wines aren’t the only thing that age well anymore …

Gameplay: 8.0
The controls are very easy to pick up and get into, and the handling on the vehicles (even when they get upgraded or faster) was tight. The tracks can be repetitive, but still fun and most contain a number of jumps, powerups, and hazards to mess with. The car upgrading is fun and simple, and there is a good representation of the various parts and equipment to use and attach. Pushing matches usually resulted in me hitting the wall while my attacker just kept rolling, but this mostly happened at the opening of the race and while present … wasn’t anything that messed up the game or took away from it much.

Graphics: 7.9
While the game retains the same look that it had back in the days of the Super Nintendo, it still looks better than some other GBA titles that are out nowadays. The characters were well represented and have a cartoony kind of look to them while retaining the look of a bad attitude, and the overall presentation is colorful.

Sound: 8.4
One of the most impressive things done here in my opinion is the way that great classic rock tunes like the Peter Gunn theme and Paranoid by Black Sabbath were done on the little handheld system. The sound effects weren’t bad either, and while the announcer (Larry Huffman) sounded good, some of the sayings and calling of the race got a little repetitive after a while.

Difficulty: Medium
The higher the difficulty, the more challenging the game gets. Blizzard did a good job in making sure that each one had its own feel to it, and the Rookie stage is a great way to learn the game, weapons, and controls, then gradually move up into the Veteran class and so on.

Concept: 8.0
Blizzard produced a good mix of action, attitude, and fun arcade racing into a decent game title. Even years after it was originally produced, it still remains enjoyable and one of the better GBA racers out to date.

Multiplayer: 7.8
Two GBAs can be linked up for two player racing action provided both players have a cart. Since races contain four cars, being able to link four GBAs together would have been fun and a good addition.

Overall: 8.0
While it’s not 100% perfect and there are a couple of minor issues, Rock N’ Roll Racing remains a heck of a fun game and I was glad to see it brought back out again. There’s no shortage of fast paced racing, weaponry, and great music to be found here and if you are a racing fan looking for a new GBA title, look no further than Rock N’ Roll Racing for some good times and good replay value.