I’m always down for a good classic racing game. That wasn’t always the case; it took a few good ones to make me a fan. I never was much of one as a kid. Regardless, I absolutely love 16-bit racing games now. Road Spirits is one I had never heard of until recently. It’s only available on the PC-Engine CD and was never released outside of Japan. Screenshots made it look like Outrun, and that’s never a bad thing if you ask me. Without hesitation I picked up Road Spirits and eagerly popped it into my console. It turns out I was right about it, and that’s just fine by me.
Road Spirits is not an original game. It also isn’t a very ambitious one. This is derivative of Rad Racer and Outrun and brings almost no original ideas to the table. There’s not even a story – you’re in a car and you race against the clock to make it to the finish line before time runs out. Upon completing an event you’re treated to an image of a different girl, and then get to see where on the globe you’re going to be competing next. It’s a decent set up but lacks any kind of character.
In Road Spirits you aren’t racing per se. There are other vehicles you’ll encounter but they serve merely as obstacles. You are competing solely against the clock. You’ve got four minutes in which to race from the start to finish in each course. To help you out there’s a green meter at the top of the screen to show how much distance you have left. It fills in red as you move forward. Next to this you have the timer which counts down four minutes and should you fail to reach the goal before it hits zero you lose and must try again. The only other gauges you have are for speed, engine and your gear shift (you have two gears; low and high by default). There are more options but I’ll get to that.
Road Spirits is definitely on the simpler side of the spectrum. As I mentioned earlier you’re not competing against other racers and simply maneuvering around them (which is surprisingly fun). You have gas, brake, steer with left/right and shift gears by pressing up or down on the directional pad. There’s no boosts to speak of, no branching paths, nothing. It’s just you and the open road down a linear track and the stages are all in the same order no matter how you play. Some might not like this fact, especially considering the fact that Outrun came out so much earlier and gave players more freedom, but I for one didn’t really mind. Road Spirits is classic simple arcade fun.
One of the best parts of Road Spirits is that the tracks take you to locations all around the world. You’ll race in Sahara desert, the wilds of Alaska, the Outback in Australia, Barcelona Spain, Death Valley, and more. Most racers like this are limited to just North America so this is one thing that sets Road Spirits apart from the rest of the pack. With that said, the tracks are all very similar to one another. They feature different hills, turns and some different hazards along the road but there isn’t a whole lot to differentiate them from each other. You do however get pretty backgrounds that depict the change in scenery, and this was enough to keep me wanting to see the next area.
Options are a little sparse in Road Spirits. The main thing that’s missing is any sort of multiplayer mode. This is a solo only affair which is disappointing because so many other similar titles from this time give you the option to play through with a friend. You can only choose between two cars both of which handle on the road differently. The default is better for beginners, and the other is a faster but more slippery option for those who are a bit more experienced. You can also select between three different transmission types including two speed, five speed, and automatic. Shifting is done during gameplay by pressing up or down on the directional pad. Finally, you can also select from one of ten different songs to play during your long drive. This is the only option that can be changed in between races.
I do have a few minor complaints however. For starters there just isn’t very much content in this game. Once you finish all of the races you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. This means that you’ll have explored all of the content by the time you reach the end credits, and that took me less than an hour. It’s hard to fathom playing full price for this game at release and completing it in that short of time, and with such little replayability. The other problem I have is that the options menu is hidden. You can only access it by selecting ‘no’ when the game asks if you’re ready. I missed it the first time through, and only accidentally stumbled upon it. Whatever happened to having an ‘options’ selection on the title screen? How hard would that have been?
Road Spirits is actually a pretty decent looking game. In screenshots it looks like a typical behind the car racing game of its time, but in motion it’s a different story. The game moves at a smooth rate with stripes on the road which scroll in motion to help give the game a sense of motion. Objects (including cars and elements of the environment) animate in a little choppy but it’s better than in most similar games of this generation. Road Spirits is very playable, and with the well drawn and colorful backgrounds it’s even pretty at times. The soundtrack takes advantage of the redbook audio capabilities of the hardware, and all ten tracks are pleasant. The ability to change songs in between each race is a godsend, and makes everything a whole lot more enjoyable.
The game is fun, but that runs out pretty fast. Road Spirits doesn’t have a whole lot to offer. It’s easy enough that I completed it with absolutely no problems, and it doesn’t have enough options to warrant going through again. I’m not sure why this game wasn’t released on HuCard because it isn’t exactly packed with content. Road Spirits is worth playing, but it’s not going to last you long.
