Go back to classic early 1990s racing games with Rider’s Spirits released for modern consoles from June 7th, 2024. Originally available only in Japan as ‘Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon’ for the Super Famicom in 1994, it’s a cult classic which resembles Super Mario Kart, but with more complexity coming from pit stops to fuel up and change any items you may want to use.
Originally published by Masaya in Japan, Riders’s Spirits includes 20 different tracks with various obstacles. Each game character has their own skillset with bikes also having different qualities and attributes, whether it’s speed or grip. So you may need to experiment with different combinations of bikes and rider to find what suits you.
In single player, the top of the screen can either show a map of the track or simulated rear view mirrors. Or if can be used for split screen local multiplayer. Five different modes are available, with a Riders GP for normal championship racing, Time Trial, Endurance, which means you need to stay first for 1, 3 or 5 minutes with a team of two racers, or two player Battle Race or Chicken Run, with the latter requiring you to stop as close to the edge of a road as possible without falling off the edge.
Like Super Mario Kart, the original release made use of the SNES DSP-1 chip for the rotation of tracks and trigonometry, leaning into the similar look and feel
The modern re-release comes via Ratalaika Games and Japanese publisher Shinyuden, and is available for the Xbox One and Xbox Series S|X via the Microsoft Store, the PS4 and PS5 via the PlayStation Store, and the Switch via the Nintendo eShop.
If you want to own an original ‘Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon’ Rider’s Spirit Super Famicom cartridge, there are a selection available via eBay, starting from around £10-£20, up to around £100+ for a mint boxed version. And depending on your console, you may also need an adaptor for non-domestic cartidges to work on your Super Nintendo or SNES.
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