Super Off Road was a 1989 arcade racing video game released by Leland Corporation. In 1991, the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom version was released by Tradewest (a subsidiary of Leland Corporation).
This is one of the first racing games I played on the SNES. The game is a surprisingly fun experience and one that I can still enjoy playing even today.
The Story
Super Off-Road is the wildest off-road racing event. 4 tough trucks speed around more challenging tracks packed with pitfalls, power boosters, and prizes. No one knows the meaning of being a good sportsman here. Have you got the skill and determination to beat the odds?
The Graphics and Sound
The graphics are decent and will not blow you away with the good details. There are only 4 cars and basically, the only difference there is their color. The cars all drive the same and look identical on the track.
The noticeable area is the tracks themselves. Each track is nicely detailed. There are rocks in one track that you must avoid, to a figure eight circuit. Each track has its own look. Each obstacle in the game including the hay bales and water is nicely animated. The best part of this area is when you always hit a hay bale and then it becomes messed up. This tips you to the fact that the next time you hit it it's going to break and lends itself to race strategy.
The music is mediocre. You will get annoyed by music that constantly repeats, you'll probably want to turn the TV audio volume down. The sound effects are not good either. The only thing you will hear is a bang sound if you hit another vehicle and that's it. The music and sound effects overall suck ass.
The Gameplay
The single-player gameplay is tight. There is no story mode. From the start, you are asked about vehicle upgrades. You can buy engines or nitro boost, the choices are up to you. This is the strategy side of the game. You have to make decisions early on, on what to spend your cash on. Once you decide, there's no turning back and if you get last place, you lose upgrades and money. Strategy in the game also dictates how you use nitro, etc. against your rivals and using it at what time. That's the strategy element to it.
The game is even fun and harder to play when 2 players are trying for first place out of 4 cars. The game may frustrate players due to the grey CPU car that seems to cheat. This used to be an arcade game and if it had no challenge then it would not be fun to play.
The game becomes short on replay value. You will race the same tracks over again backward or with hay bales thrown in, but it feels the same. The game is fun if you have a two-player battle going on with a friend.
My Verdict
Super Off Road is not for everyone, but if you want a nice fix of strategic racing action, then this game fits the bill nicely.
Play it on the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom or play it on a good emulator. With a friend to make it better.