Favorite racing games of all time

I don't get into racing games all that much anymore for the same reason that I avoid most genres on modern consoles: They make them too complicated. Back in the day when our controllers didn't have 34 buttons there was only so much complication that could be introduced into a game and in my mind, this was better. Sure, today's games look great and are hyper realistic, but that is not really what I am looking for. I also really do not like games that utilize all of the buttons because all this means is that I am going to walk away from the game for a few days, return to realize I don't remember any of the buttons, then walk away from the game for good.

Here are some games that I stuck with back in the day and still enjoy to this day.

Wipeout: PS-1

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The Playstation release was a really amazing moment in time. While the technology wasn't necessarily a lot better than other stuff that existed out there, it seemed like it was a lot better because Sony had such a great design team and focused on having a great controller and making their system seem more cutting-edge than their competitors. Wipeout was a futuristic racing game that was very different than others that had come before and you had a damage bar that you had to watch and recharge else you would explode. You would respawn if this happened but it would normally result in you getting set back a long way in the rankings. I probably sunk hundreds of hours into this game and even though it was split-screen, the multiplayer was a lot of fun as well.

F-Zero: Super Nintendo

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F-Zero arrived years before the Playstation and to this day it is one of the most polished racing games that has ever existed. You could only choose between 4 types of "cars" and they all had one advantage over another. One of them would have higher acceleration, top speed, or toughness to the chassis. In the end most advanced players would always opt for the purple car because it had a significantly higher speed. Of course you would screw everything up if you made even the slightest mistake. Me and my nerdy high-school neighbor would compete for fastest track time and even send photos to one another many years after we no longer lived next door to one another.

I would love to see a modern graphic remake of this game where they stick to the original gameplay and don't bother with trying to make it more complicated. Of course that will almost certainly never happen because F-Zero has seen multiple sequels but in my mind at least, none of them can even come close the majesty that is the original.

Super Off Road: Arcade

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There was a SNES release of this game as well but a lot of the appeal was lost because the arcade had 3 side-by-side stand-up steering wheels and at home you were likely going to be subjected to a game pad unless your parents spoiled you rotten.

This simplistic game involved simply an accelerator which everyone basically kept pressed down all the way and a nitro button that had limited use. The tracks were all contained on one screen and you would bounce around all over the place. I normally saved all of my nitro for the last lap where I would just be bouncing off the walls as I "skid-erched" my way back into first place.

This game was a quarter muncher because if others were playing only whoever finished first would get to carry on for free. If you were playing alone against only computer-controlled opponents the computer would cheat after a while to ensure that you had to put another quarter in. It was cheesy in that regard because as soon as you paid again the difficulty would go way down. That's the way arcades were designed though. For the most part it was a lot more fun playing with other humans because you could bash them into the walls and even force them into other parts of the track on some levels.

Championship Pro Am: Sega Genesis /MegaDrive

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This one was quite similar to the previous entry but the tracks were always flat and the action carried on off a singular screen. It had an opportunity to turn into chaos very quickly and it was a lot faster than Super Off Road. I don't know if this ever existed in arcades or not, I never saw it if it did. The Genesis wasn't known for their stellar racing games and to this day RC Pro Am is considered one of the best "sleeper games" that for one reason or another, almost nobody bought it. This is a shame because it was a really magnificent game. Instead of just racing on the tracks you earned money and upgraded your vehicle with better tires, more nitro, and better engines. There wasn't a save game so you did this all in one pass-through of the game and it had really fantastic replay value because how you decided to kit out your ride determined how future tracks were going to be.

It was a long time ago that I last played this but out of all the Genesis games that I owned this was one of the few that I would return to time and time again.

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You may notice that Super Mari Kart is not on my list but that is just because of course it is on my list. I think that for anyone that was alive when that game was released that it is one of their favorites. I instead decided to go for options that are a bit more obscure.

Do you have any favorite racing games from the past... or present if you wish. For me, I haven't played many modern racing games because they are too complicated for my liking. I'm an older guy, so I tend to prefer the retro styles that remind me of my youth.