Battle of the Ports - Enduro Racer (エンデューロレーサー) Show #96 60fps

[@SoftBank47]

I absolutely adore the Master System version of this game. I found a copy in Japan and couldn't wait to get home to play it. It wasn't too hard, but man is it addictive. I don't know if I've enjoyed any Master System game more.

[@tonk82]

The speccy did good on this one. One of his best arcade conversions.

[@RetroCore]

It's not bad but I think probably one of the best conversions would be Alien Storm. The speccy version looks and plays really well.

[@solarflare9078]

Now this was a pleasant surprise! The ZX Spectrum got a really great port here! Probably even the best port in the video!

[@dse763]

I notice that the checkpoint voice is the same as Outrun.

[@RetroCore]

That wouldn't surprise me.

[@TEBLify]

Still play the SMS version, but it's more of a completely different game. Music in the c64 versions wins it for the rest, but I might be biased towards it's specific soundscape.

[@104d_3rr0r_vince]

I was playing the cpc version (zx port). My first ever game on zx was that as a friend got it. It was great cause there was no us.gold involved... SMS got paperboy 3.

[@RetroCore]

+Vincent GR Yep, no US Gold meant the game had a chance of being good. Hehe, never thought about the Master System game being PaperBoy

[@TechRyze]

Shitslow Spectrum port on the Amstrad CPC.

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

man, i almost forgot this game existed...

[@izzie31]

Just wanted to say keep up the good work, its rare i find a channel i enjoy when it comes to retro gaming and yours is top notch! cheers for the hard work.

[@RetroCore]

+Injustice thank you very much for the kind words and I'm happy that you enjoy the shows! If you've not seen my Retro Core shows you will probably enjoy them. The older shows are pretty crude but the 5th series is much better. Actually, a new Retro Core will be released tonight if I get home from work early enough.

[@thefurthestmanfromhome1148]

ST zand ZX Spectrum coder, Alan Laird, never even saw the original coin op, he was just given a VHS tape of someone playing it and some promotional material. He said the ST version was more of a pain to work on, compared to the Spectrum version, wasn't all that faster and there was a lot more video memory to move around. So he found it less favorable.

[@yethboth7873]

I remember the dirt bike arcade cabinet for the Arcade version. I remember to do the wheelie you had to pull back fast on the actual dirt bike you was sat on which I admit was difficult. Whereas on the handle bar arcade cabinet, it was just the handle bars you needed to pull back on which was easier.

[@RetroCore]

+Yeth both (YethBothONE) I also remember the arcade cab. So hard to do the wheelie but then again I was only about 10 or 11 then :)

[@chunkycjw]

I had the Speccy version at first, which did play quite well. I always thought that the sprites were drawn really well in a lot of Speccy games even Out Run's sprites were drawn well and would have been good on the Spectrum if not for it being incredibly slooowwww. The Master System version of Enduro Racer was my favourite though and i'm glad they changed it to an isometric perspective. Had hours of fun with it back then.

[@RetroCore]

+Craig Wilson I was so surprised at how good the Speccy version played. Talking of nice Spectrum sprite work, have you seen Alien Storm? That look svery nice on the Spectrum.

[@chunkycjw]

Didn't have it at the time, but saw it in one of your previous videos and looks like it plays pretty good😉

[@GlenLehane]

I used to enjoy playing the C64 version. It was slow and ugly, but the controls were tight and that music was really catchy. Plus, for all it's faults, it was miles better than C64 Super Hang On

[@Ryuhei64]

This game surely was impressive at the arcades back in 1986, it looks much wilder than Hang On. Do we know if the game was successful?

[@steve36207]

loved the arcade.... but the sms version will always be my fav :)

[@custardo]

Played it the most on the Speccy, so that version wins by default.

[@RetroCore]

+custardo Seriously though, the Speccy version is pretty good.

[@YukkuRim]

I watch this game for the first time. this game like the excite bike by nintendo. (ﾟ∀ﾟ;)

[@RetroCore]

+YukkuRim ゆっくりゲームチャンネル Yes, it is similar to excite bike but in 3D

[@sturmwind1180]

+YukkuRim ゆっくりゲームチャンネル Did you ever get to play Excitebike 64? That was a great version.

[@RetroCore]

No. I would like to play it though.

[@sturmwind1180]

+YukkuRim Yes, it's on the Nintendo 64. It was quite a late release, but it is really programmed well. It also contains the original + a re-made 3d version of the original.

[@sturmwind1180]

Retro Core Yep, I think you would love it. It also contains historical versions of the game too, so, as well as being a good game itself it is good value. Not too difficult to find, nor expensive either.

[@losalfajoresok]

As usual I played a lot the C64 version but didn't remember it was so slow. However I had a lot of fun back in the day, and that's what mattered in the moment. :)

[@RetroCore]

You're right. The C64 version isn't that bad to play. Yes, looks crap and it is slow but you can get more fun out of it that the likes of the CPC version.

[@MrSegAsh]

Another Classic !!! Good work, keep em coming 😀

[@RetroCore]

+Ashley Clifford (SegAsh) No worries. I've got loads of games still to cover. Enough for well over 150 shows. Then I will need to start asking for ideas.

[@NightSprinter]

Nothing would beat the arcade, of course, but home ports I'd go with the ST. I just lack an RGB cable..

[@Maru96]

Spectrum ports looks surprisingly fun, it requires a music hack asap

[@boomhaueruk]

Or you can just play the 48k version, which didn't have music. The two machines often had different versions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4uqkHmboK1_q5I

[@sturmwind1180]

So it's stick to the arcade version then? I'm really surprised that this game hasn't had a Sega Ages or similar release on either the Saturn or the DC. Seems like a prime candidate to me. It's impressive to me that the old Spectrum was able to have a go. I haven't played that version though. Anyway, great stuff, as usual.

[@RetroCore]

+Sturmwind I get the feeling that Sega always thought of Enduro Racer as a poor spin off of Hand On. Then again Hang on also never received a Sega Ages release.

[@sturmwind1180]

True.

[@BlockABoots]

Wonder if this game will make it to the Sega 3D Classics series on the 3DS!?

[@RetroCore]

+BlockABoots It should do. I can imagine this looking pretty cool in 3D

[@ShadowSumac]

From the description it sounds like Arcade cabinet should have been done from titan no less. Armstad port looks like "no efforts" kind of deal. They don't even bother to add more colours, despite Armstad being much more capable in that regard than Spectrum. C64 is good, which is not surprising. And music is nice, though it reminds me of certain track from Punch Out. SMS port is basically Excite Bike (NES), but from isometric point of view.

[@RetroCore]

I like the way they made a new version for the master System. They knew it would have been a terrible idea to port the arcade version.

[@ShadowSumac]

Retro Core Yeah, me too. Sadly most of the time devs attempted to port game "as is", which led to less than good results.

[@Lightblue2222]

I would have loved a Genesis port.

[@LastGamer]

Thomson computers was a good port

[@RetroCore]

For the system, it wasn't bad. I'd like to do more Thompson stuff in the future.

[@LastGamer]

Retro Core nice. It’s crazy that enduro racer hasn’t come out on anything else since

[@RetroCore]

That's right. I guess it's another one of Sega's list IPs.

[@SushiSunshine2000]

Arcade version definitely looks best!! All the others just can't compete but the Master System seems like a pretty different game.

[@RetroCore]

+Scribble Sushi Yep, I guess Sega knew the Master System couldn't handly an arcade port so they changed the game.

[@SushiSunshine2000]

Retro Core Yeah, it's funny because they triend to do a Master System version of Space Harrier that was similar to the Arcade version and it turned out to be an absolute lol fest. The graphics were naff, and in addition to that they made a sad and depressing version of the Space Harrier theme tune. Strange because the Japanese Master System boot screen had a really cool version of the theme tune.

[@RetroCore]

+Scribble Sushi The really sad thing is that I loved the Master System version because it was the only one I had :p Finished too! But yeah, the main theme was a let down without the FM audio. Still, at least it had the speach.

[@Mr.madmight266]

I think the Atari ST is the best looking version, but i also like how the C64 and Spectrum versions look. but the arcade is undeniably the best.

[@RetroCore]

Back when the arcade was out there was no way any home system could reproduce it. Still, the home machines made a reasonable attempt.

[@MusicalPenguin127]

I always find you to be a bit harsh on ZX Spectrum conversions at times. Yes there were some shockers but bearing in mind what the developers were working with at the time, a good amount of them were really good, especially the arcade racers like this.

[@lepterfirefall]

Why does Atari st music sound like that 1970s popcorn song?

[@MrSegAsh]

Strange why a port didn't appear on the Megadrive ?

[@RetroCore]

It probably would have been pretty bad anyway :)

[@RyuHayabusa06]

Sadly this game never got a really good home port. Shame too because it was always a pretty cool game. I remember playing this at a pool hall a bunch of times and loving how it had handle bars and the music.

[@RetroCore]

+RyuHayabusa06 The music is great!

[@MrDerOutsider]

come on sega the master system version could have been nice if it was based more on the arcade version!

[@SikSlayer]

Wow it wasn't on many systems.

[@RetroCore]

+rd1979 NOpe. Funny that it saw an Atari ST release but no Amiga release.

[@SikSlayer]

Yeah, I thought the same thing. Also wonder why there was no Mega Drive/Genesis release.

[@RetroCore]

To be fair, these types of games are always pretty poor on the Mega Drive.

[@jesuszamora6949]

I wouldn't even call the Master System game a port. It's a completely different game, just about. It's actually weird that this is the route Sega took with it, considering how well Hang-On II did on the system. Hell, even Hang-On on the SG-1000 was more faithful than this. Does make you wonder why Sega never made a Megadrive version of the game, considering how well Super Hang-On was received...

[@RetroCore]

I think it would have been pretty crappy. Hang On on the Mega Drive is pretty choppy if you look at it these days.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

My only exposure to the game was the Master System version. I didn't find it tremendously interesting. I probably would have liked the arcade game more.

[@RetroCore]

+Andrew Vrba The Master System is nothing like the Aracde as you know. I think you would have liked the arcade version much more.

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Retro Core Watching the footage of the arcade game, to me at least, the graphics seem to POP more than Hang On's do. Much more eye catching.

[@RetroCore]

Andrew Vrba True. Probably because it came after Hang On but did it come before Super hang On? I should check that out.

[@miikasuominen3845]

As a port, the Spectrum easily takes the top place here. Amazing port, really. Amstrad was a (lazy) direct port, would have been good, but it's just too slow. ST port was (just) ok, playability wise, but graphics were horrible methinks. C64 version is just pure crap, on everything except the sound and Master System version I don't even count being a real Enduro Racer.

[@RetroCore]

The Master System got a few Arcade conversions which are totally different from the original game. Line of Fire and Space Gun spring to mind.

[@miikasuominen3845]

Yes and I suppose that they just though, that they cannot do the original game justice with Master System. I mean, they probably though that they couldn't make it technically work like the original. Somehow I think, that in that case, why bother naming it "Enduro Racer"? Well, it probably just plain and simply sells better ;) Also, regarding the bad Amstrad ports... I find it interesting and even have made some background digging and technical reasons, why Amstrad got so many direct (and bad) ports. Exactly like MSX did and both were basically direct ports of Spectrum. I think, that there are a couple of different reasons: Firstly, time the firms had to make the versions and the amount they were paid for them. They had a very tight schedules and didn't get paid very well. So as Amstrad and MSX had same processor as Spectrum (but had smaller install base), they made main version for Spectrum and then hastily stitched up the other versions. C64 had to have an own version, as it had everything different as those machines. Secondly, both Spectrum and Amstrad didn't have any helping hardware (no hardware sprites or hardware scrolling. And I think normal CPC-models didn't also have DMA for their sound chip? Not totally sure about that, though). Which made it really hard to do anything that included scrolling the screen. Now, Spectrum had the really low res color resolution (where the famous color clash came). But that made scrolling the screen much easier for the CPU compared to Amstrad (and MSX), which had more colors. That is why they mostly used the higher resolution with 4 colors OR made the games without scrolling. And if there were scrolling, they used big jumps and that is why Amstrad AND MSX had mainly very jumpy scrolling. Specially on MSX they used character sized jumps on scrolling almost always, as MSX didn't have hardware scrolling even though it did have hardware sprites (but hastily made ports didn't use hardware sprites)... Anyway, my fingers are aching from all this typing ;)

[@RetroCore]

Yes, basically European software houses such as Ocean, US Gold, Tiertex and other shitty outfits were interested in one thing and one thing only, money! Forget about quality. Just hire a few teenagers out of collage, give them a short development window and get that game on to the shelves.

[@miikasuominen3845]

Yes, I have read some stories, that a few coders at the time have posted. They are kind of nasty reading, like sleeping on matrices at back room (had to sleep at work, because of the schedules), with rats running around... Times were different and a few ruthless people got rich, with bad policies.

[@esathegreat]

I would have felt cheated buying the Master System version