American title:	Rad Racer
European title:	Rad Racer
American publisher:	Nintendo
European publisher:	Nintendo
Developer:	Square
Year (USA/Europe)	1987/1987
Genre:	Racing

Square, well-known for their RPGs, especially the Final Fantasy series, once started with a game with an epic story. The story of this game was so emotional, that they gave the game the title: Rad Racer!? Ok, so that was nonsense, but Square did start with Rad Racer, a semi-classic racing game for the NES.

Story
You are a nameless person who just got a new car. You're at the start to begin with the race. Transamerica - from the West- to the East coast. Your car has a special ceramic protective layer, so it won't be damaged during crashes. That is the 'story' of Rad Racer and it doesn't make any sense at all. Transamerica? That's strange, I'm racing through Greece in Course 4! Race? My only 'opponent' is the timer, what's the goal and where's the alternative story for the F1-car? Ok, it's only a racing game, but still...
Rating: 1/10

Game play 
There are eight courses in total. You race against the clock, you have a certain amount of time to get to your goal, and when you reach a goal you'll will receive time to go to your next goal until you reach to the end of the coursel. After completing a course you go to the next one. So it's racing, racing and more racing. Accelerate with A, break with B and press Up for more turbo. Stay on the road, don't hit the cars from the back with too much speed (especially in the later courses) and watch out for those cars. The cars you meet become more and more annoying when you proceed in the game, going from left to right and back, their goal is to slow you down or that you crash against their back. They are very irritating and they're also responsible for the game's challenge! Control is good, very responsive, but you can get a Nintendo-thumb with this game. Replay value is not too high. It can be fun to play the first courses and then quit.
Rating: 6/10

Graphics
The graphics in Rad Racer are quite good. You see your car from behind, kind of a 3-D view. Every level has different cars as 'opponents' and different backgrounds. In the first level day will change into night and into day again. Your sport wagon looks good, the F-1 car not as good. The F-1 car is pretty high, and such a car must be low and very aero-dynamic though. Also at the side of the roads there are signs warning you for corners. Fortunately there is also no slow down in this racing game. There is also an extra option in this game which uses an accessory that came with Rad Racer: the 3-D glasses. Wear these and push Select and you will get some three dimensional effect, well to be quite frank it isn't exciting or special at all.
Rating: 7/10

Music & sound
You can choose to race with or without music. You have three tunes to chose from. Personally I like all the tunes, they are long enough so they don't  become repetitive. Sound effects are okay, acceleration is good, and when using your turbo the engine you'll hear a louder noise. The only real weak sound effect is when you break.
Rating: 7/10

Bottom line
Rad Racer is a solid racing game for the NES. It's certainly not the worst on the system, but it isn't the best either. To me it's a classic because it was my first NES racing game. You should give it a try, and it's fun to see that Square was able to make other games than RPGs.

Final rating (not an average): 7 out of 10