Top Gear

Top Gear, known as Top Racer (トップレーサー) in Japan, is a racing game developed by Gremlin Graphics and published by Kemco for the Super Nintendo in 1992.

It is the first game in the Top Gear series and one of the first racing games launched for the Super NES.

Overview
In the game, it is possible to choose among 4 different cars, each one with different attributes (maximum speed, fuel consumption, boost power and tire grip) to face 32 challenging courses situated in several places around the world. There are a number of obstacles like rocks, traffic blockers, or other cars that must be avoided while the player race against 20 other CPU cars.

Besides accelerating and taking turns the game contains a nitro system allowing the player to have 3 speed boosts. During these speed boosts it is possible to travel well over 200 MPH driving downhill and it is easier to turn. The game also allows the player to pull over into the pit-stop to refuel. This costs valuable time but is necessary to continue racing. The pit-stop system adds a layer of strategy because the player must decide when to pull over during the race because it can be hard to catch up again and return to first place.

The game features a password save system, made up of automotive terms such as "gear box" and "oilcloth". Each password grants access to another country to race in.

In the 1 Player mode the screen is split in two by a vertical line. The player controls the car on the upper half of the screen, and on the bottom half a CPU car is shown. The CPU on the bottom screen is the best competitor and will almost always come in first or (if the player places first) second place. Depending on how the player places in each race they are awarded with a certain amount of points. These points determine an overall ranking. At the end of the 4 races for each country if the player is ranked 3 or higher then they get the password for the next country and can continue.

When two players are playing the screen is still split the same way and the second player controls the car on the bottom half. If one player is ranked 3 or higher they both get to continue on to the next country.

Gameplay
When players first start the game, they are given several options to choose from, including entering their name, a choice of four different controller layouts, a choice between automatic or manual transmission, and their choice of four unique cars. During the race, the player will have to steer and shift gears (if they chose a manual transmission). The player is also given control over three "nitros", which allow the player to increase their speed for a short period of time. The game features a password save system, made up of automotive terms such as "gear box" and "oilcloth". Each password grants access to another country to race in. During the race, there are pits in which players must stop in order to refuel. If their car runs out of fuel and coasts to a stop before the race is finished, the player will be disqualified.

Development
The development of the game took between 3 to 5 months. According to programmer Ritchie Brannan, the design was collaborative between the artists and him, with Kemco's opinions. The team did not have as much development documentation for the Super Nintendo, and much was achieved through reverse engineering. The code made heavy use of the hardware and required careful timing, along with tricks to keep performance stable. Optimizing ROM usage was one of the most complicated parts, because it would affect the cost of producing the cartridge. A correction made to encapsulate the audio tracks correctly ended up not being included in the finished game.

Unlike what many people think, Top Gear was not inspired by Rad Racer (NES / Famicom). The main sources of inspiration were Pitstop (Epyx, 1983), Pole Position (Atari, 1982), Outrun (Sega, 1986) and mainly Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge (Amiga), with notable similarities - Brannan shared an office at Gremlin Graphics with programmer Shaun Southern, from developer Magnetic Fields, while he completed Lotus.

Soundtrack
The music in Top Gear consists of original compositions as well as music that has been remixed from the Lotus Turbo Challenge series originally released for the Amiga, produced by Barry Leitch. When Barry was hired to work on the game he only had a week to deliver the songs. The difficulty in understanding the hardware of the Super Nintendo led him to complete only one track, Mad Racer (Las Vegas theme). To speed up the service, he compile the music from Lotus Turbo Challenge to play on the SNES, and consequently he also had much more freedom with the console’s eight sound channels, allowing for more interesting arranges.