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When Bigfoot debuted on the NES in 1990 I was almost certain that there would never be a good monster truck game. All of that quickly changed the following year. I was on a high school trip to
Knotts Berry Farm when my friends, and I decided to see what arcade games they had. I almost had a heart attack when I saw a monster truck-themed arcade cabinet. I instantly ran over to check it out. I'm pretty sure no one was playing it, otherwise I would have knocked them down to get my hands on it. I was surprised to see that it was developed by Taito. I knew they made solid arcade games in many different genres. Arkanoid, Bubble Bobble, Darius, Double Dragon, Rastan, The Legend of Kage, and Superman were just a handful of hits that were well known to seasoned players. Double Axle played like an over-the-top American version of an earlier Taito hit known as Chase H.Q. The controls were very similar in that you had a low gear, and high gear, plus a boost button to run down opponents.
Double Axle was what every young boy in the '80s had wished a monster truck racing game could be. You took control of an unnamed truck, and entered one of three main races. The Cross Country Race, Icy Road, and Mud Bog Race. You were up against other trucks, and even a monster van, and giant diesel truck as well. The tracks were spread across all sorts of terrain, including dirt, mud, high water, snow, gravel, asphalt, and sand. You could also roll over some boulders, fallen logs, and even plow through trees. The trucks were unstoppable. No other racing up to that point even came close to capturing the raw power of a six ton, 1000 horsepower monster truck. As long as you finished in the top three then you could advance to the next race. Extended plays weren't always the rule in racing games. Even better than that was that there was a bonus race in between each race.
The Night Stadium, High Way, and Sea Side Crushing Race were the bonus stages in between rounds. This time it was a one-on-one challenge where the objective was to destroy as more obstacles than your opponent. These included cars, busses, billboards, tires, barrels, and anything else that was tossed on the track. If you managed to complete all of the races, and bonus stages then you were rewarded with the final challenge. It was labeled Car-Crushing!! but turned out to be a monster truck demolition derby. You could imagine how much that kid in me was losing his mind! You had to destroy nine other trucks in 120 seconds. Including an enormous black cab diesel truck.
I implored my friends to enjoy the rest of Knott's Berry Farm, I had no intention of leaving the arcade until I ran out of money. They asked my older brother if it was okay to just leave me there. He said to trust me. He knew monster trucks were my life, and I would be having a blast all by myself. Surprisingly it didn't take me too long to figure out the stage layouts. I must have spent $6 in total playing, and mastering the game. The only downside was that the cabinet had a bad turbo button, I would have to mash it extra hard to get it to kick in. I had burst a blood vessel in my finger slamming it on the button over, and over. It got swollen, and I spent the rest of the trip with my finger in a cup of ice. Knowing I had beaten the game made the pain worth it. I would see it randomly in other arcades, and if the turbo button was working could beat it on one quarter just about every time. I only wish that Taito had released this on their compilation disks.
Sadly there wouldn't really be any great monster truck games for the home consoles. At least not to my standards. Monster Jam had taken over the airwaves in the early '90s, and had redefined what monster truck competitions were about. I wrote a little bit about how Feld Entertainment bought out the monster truck organizing body, as well as the rights to many classic trucks on the blog
American Daredevils, the monster trucks that changed the world, part 2. They licensed their stadium tour to developers looking to cash in on the craze. Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction was released in 2002 for the Playstation 2, GameCube, and GameBoy Advance. It was a dismal game, the subsequent releases Monster 4x4 Masters of Metal (2003), Monster Jam (2007), and Monster Jam Urban Assault (2008) didn’t do much better with audiences, or critics. Motor Storm Pacific Rift (2008) for the PS3 helped save the idea of monster trucks within a racing game. There wouldn't be a truly great Monster Jam game in my opinion until 2021 with the release of Monster Jam Steel Titans 2. By then I was content with other racing experiences.
I never stopped being a fan of monster trucks, and I hope to someday find a monster truck game that captures the magic of the early years. Until then I'll keep digging through the archives looking for new experiences. Were you ever a fan of monster trucks, or lesser known racing games? Let me know in the comments section please. As always if you would like to sponsor me
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