Power Drift by Sega was an attempt by AM2 to make realistic 3D tracks out of 1988's 2D technology. Yu Suzuki and company used a series of scaling sprites, one right after the other to achieve the desired effect. They did something similar with the helicopter game Thunder Blade. It was odd and cumbersome, with lots of clipping problems given the high speed circuits of Power Drift. However the game play was something new and fresh.
For the first time arcade goers were treated to 3D tracks which dipped and banked. Arcade gamers had seen some similar tracks but never to the extremes that Power Drift delivered them. Courses were compact and the changing elevations were extreme. The tracks here have been rightfully compared to roller coaster tracks. The deluxe version of the arcade cabinet was a very memorable. It was on hydraulics so it would pitch the players up and down, left and right to further immerse them into the experience.
The best part of this game was in the diversity of racers. Each had their own car and personality. Yelling at rivals or taunting opponents on the multiple courses. The cars themselves were very unique. No two looked alike and they were all highly-stylized and low to the ground so we could clearly make out the virtual driver. In order to race on the tracks the team at AM2 invented an ultra-compact, short car, more like a super-powered go kart for the game. These karts were loads of fun. They turned out were the perfect format to bring the arcade experience home.
In 1992 Super Mario Kart gave the masses the first taste of kart racing. A kart is the closest thing a person could get to a bare-bones racing experience. Many professional Formula-1 racers get discovered via kart racing because the focus is more on skill than horsepower. With the addition of the popular characters from the Mario series, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and Nintendo would be swimming in success (and money!).
Nintendo did the genre one better and incorporated weapons and power ups to the experience. Damnable shells that would knock you out of contention on the final lap or power ups that would boost you past the finish line a hair in front of the computer. There was no real "random" quality to the power ups but we saw past that and enjoyed the experience. The multiplayer modes were fantastic and have always been among the best party titles ever. There have been many updates to the Kart series but for most on 1UP the SNES version was the gateway experience. Fantastic tracks, different vehicle classes and an absurdly demanding race AI kept players on their toes. When combined with the frenetic combat element then the races became much more memorable than just about every arcade racer ever. Mario Kart even accomplished this on a flat track, the technology to create Power Drift-style 3D tracks was still a ways off for consoles.
As memorable as the kart games were they were sadly few and far between. The last notable kart series with cartoonish graphics was the decent Street Racer series which saw a release on the SNES which many likened to Mario Kart, as well as on the Genesis / Mega Drive and a polygon version on the original Playstation. The combat kart racing would continue via the Nintendo series, but to many this type of game was too chaotic. They preferred something a little more sensible and realistic. In the arcades they wouldn't find it. Next time we'll look at two racing titles, one from Japan and one from the USA, that redefined what reality meant to the arcade crowd.
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