GAME REVIEWS

Friday, October 30, 2009

Final Lap Twin

~ FINAL LAP TWIN ~
Namco / NEC
HuCard
1989

I wrote this racer off when it first came out because it had received some pretty low scores in Electronic Gaming Monthly (stupid of me, I know) and I'd already bought Victory Run for my driving fix. Thank goodness a friend of mine ignored the magazine balderdash and went ahead and purchased the chip. I tried it out at his house and was hooked as soon as I started a game up in the RPG mode. Yes, rather than have me speed around in circles interminably, FLT defied driver tradition and presented a full-fledged, races-based journey to undertake. What a novel idea for a racing game! And hell, it played pretty damn well and featured some good tunes too. So, of course, I immediately went out and acquired it, and I've played through the adventure a number of times in the years that have passed since then. FLT is a game that all Turbo enthusiasts should try--I have yet to run into someone who doesn't dig the quest mode.


FLT's RPG land is actually pretty fun to explore. Do a little searching and you can find quite a few hidden items and secret messages.


Random "battles" are one-on-one, single-lap race-offs...


...while boss confrontations are huge, multi-lap spectacles.


Your car eventually gets cursed, which causes it (and apparently every other vehicle in the land) to shrink.


Maxed-out ratings are nice, and acquiring the secret parts is essential, but if you don't track down the mysterious "Mr. Minute" for a last-second upgrade...


...then this guy will annihilate you.


Completing the quest doesn't have to mean you're done with the game. The regular racing modes can provide lots of additional enjoyment, especially if you play with a buddy, record your best times, and go for new records.

1 comment :

Pablo McNasty said...

Interesting. This goes along the same vein as the Puyo Puyo RPG (Nazo Puyo, I think) and I'm sure others like it. The overworld looks like it was lifted from Dragon Quest, I must say, but racing has got to be more fun than battling slimes.