Nintendo 1986

Racing / Action

NES

Singler Player

 

Mach Rider

Grip the handles of your futuristic motorcycle. Feel the freezing wind crack against your cheeks. Suddenly you're off! Riding at speeds up to 500 miles per hour in a desperate attempt to save the planet. You'll love every hair pin curve because you've crated this daredevil course yourself. Along the way you'll be challenged by an endless array of ruthless villains who will do everything in their power to destroy you and your planet. You'll defend yourself with a specially mounted Power Blaster. But watch out! The action is fast. The danger is imminent. Design your own course or ride one of ours, in this lightning fast Nintendo Programmable game!

In the Fighting Course, you will ride through 10 areas while fending off Quadrunners who will be right on your tail the entire way. Use your guns to take them out or ram them into obstacles to make it to the finish line alive. In the Endurance Course, you will need to travel a certain distance in the time provided. There are enemies and obstacles but they won't be able to kill you; crashing only slows you down. The Solo Course is just like the Endurance Course, except there won't be any enemies. This mode is great for beginners who simply want to practice their driving skills. The time and distance required will increase each round. There are six different variations of Quadrunners that require an increasing amount of shots to destroy: Pink Life: 1 Bullet Destroy: 200 Block: 400 Blue Life: 4 Bullets Destroy: 2,000 Block: 4,000 Green Life: 2 Bullets Destroy: 500 Block: 1,000 Purple Life: 5 Bullets Destroy: 3,000 Block: 9,000 Red Life: 3 Bullets Destroy: 1,000 Block: 2,000 Black Life: 6 Bullets Destroy: 5,000 Block: 20,000 Blocking an enemy will reward more points than simply destroying them with your guns. To 'block' an enemy, you need to ram him from the side and force him to collide with an obstacle. Successfully blocking an enemy will replenish all of your bullets so don't let these opportunities pass you by.

You can shift up or down using the D-Pad from 1st gear (slowest) up to 4th gear (fastest). To shift properly, you will need to have enough speed built up to make it to the next gear. If your speed decreases enough, you won't be able to accelerate properly while still in 4th gear. You will have to downshift to a lower gear first to pick up speed again. Hazards like water, oil and tacks will cause you to skid. This can lower your speed and even result in crashing into other objects and Quadrunners. If you begin to skid, you can recover by steering in the opposite direction. Unlike with slipping hazards, these obstacles are deadly if collided with. You can destroy the Oil Drums and Bomber Balls with your machine gun but rocks can only be avoided. In some regions, you will suddenly enter a snow-filled winter zone. In this mode, the road becomes slippery and counter-steering will be less effective, forcing you to downshift more often. In Design Mode, you can create your own tracks and then race on them. There are 37 different track pieces that you can place and move around, with the only restriction being that the course must begin and end at the left and right sides of the frame. Because the Famicom Data Recorder was never released in the United States, you won't be able to save or load any levels you design. Later re-releases on other consoles have restored this function.

Game Genie Codes

VZISZL	Unlimited Lives	Game Genie
OXKLUTIE	Invincible VS Enemies	Game Genie
OXKGGKOV	Invincible VS All Objects	Game Genie
KVGLXY	Bike Won't Explode on Collision	Game Genie
SZPZOT SZPZNT	No Speed Decrease on Grass	Game Genie
ATUGAISL	No Sliding on Water or Oil	Game Genie
AIZKXZ	Unlimited Bullets	Game Genie
KKAZNG UETUXY	Unlimited Energy	Game Genie
SZTZSG	Unlimited Time	Game Genie
SXZEIL SXLALL	Ludicrous Speed	Game Genie
SZYGYV	No Winter Mode	Game Genie

 

Mach Rider
Before F-Zero visually wowed us on the SNES, there was Mach Rider. Despite appearing to be a standard combat racing game, there's a surprising amount of driving technique involved. The first thing you will notice when playing this game is that while the shifting system is really unique, it isn't very intuitive and will give you some trouble at first. Shifting is an important part of this game because it not only determines speed but also the amount of traction you will have on turns and ice. If you lose enough speed in high gear, you may not able to accelerate and will have to downshift for more torque before shifting up again. Shifting is also important for matching the speed of enemy Quadrunners; you will likely overtake them immediately in 4th gear.

Many racing games struggled on the NES due to its limitations, but Mach Rider performs impressively, especially considering how early it was released. Don't expect a lot of variety though. The enemies are all the same, just with stronger versions. As you progress, the only difference between each track is increased difficulty and a different palette; all of the challenges you will face are largely identical between them. Though it could never stand on the same level as racing games that would follow just one generation later, if you are seeking a pure action-oriented combat racer, Mach Rider might be just what you're looking for.