BC Racers (32X)

[Melf]

Mario Kart for the SNES opened up a whole new racing genre, one companies have been trying to excel at for more than a decade. At one time, it seemed like every company with a mascot got in on the kart rage, and Core Design threw its hat into the ring with the Chuck Rock-inspired BC Racers. A game that should have been a showcase for the new 32X, it instead fell victim to the same dull and uninspired gameplay that plagued most of the other contenders to Mario's crown. We've a full review of it, so grab a club and read on!

[GameUser-16-32-128]

I don't know which port of this horrendous game is the worst? BC Racers on the 32X or BC Racers on the Sega CD?

[j_factor]

The 32x version is worse. According to Joe Redifer, the 3DO version is also worse than the Sega CD version.

I have it for Sega CD, and it's not that bad IMO. I've never understood why people put Super Mario Kart on a pedestal as if it were some sort of life-alteringly transcendant experience. It's not that much better than its copycats.

[Joe Redifer]

I don't recall ever playing the 3DO version I don't think, but it seems to be based on the 32X version as far as gameplay goes from what I've seen. You can only attack to one side whereas in the Sega CD version you can attack to either side depending on what button you press.

I don't think both the Sega CD and 32X versions can be considered ports. I'm pretty sure the Sega CD is the original unless it was released for the mighty Amstrad or some European computer no one cares about.

[j_factor]

Yep, the Sega CD version was the original. There was a PC version too, but it came out last. There was never an Amiga version or anything. And certainly no Amstrad version (lol).

[Germ]

The AppleII game of the same name was fun. BC = boogers l0l

[Fonzie]

I think you need to play a few hours to discover all the tricks. That's why most people dislike the game.
In most track you have one or more crazy shortcuts (like you can jump half the track sometimes) which is extremely risky and fun to take.

Also, the gameplay is quite great, as pressing the down button act like a "super drifter" feature... So you can do 180° without loosing speed to bounce with your ass on the track borders.

Don't forget the interesting turbo (which is often used to take the shortcuts).

The 32x gameplay is "similar" to the megacd version, but you can't drift anymore and everything is overall faster (so harder). Also, you can't attack your enemies in the same way...
And for people who say that the 32x version look bad for a 32x game... No... The 32x version is quite a great performance for the hardware... See the fading of the giant sprites when they come on screen, the bigger size of the display, and the smoother framerate. But why music & gameplay sucks so much!!!! Grrr!

[Zebbe]

They should make a CD 32X version. It would be perfect. I'm actually surprised they didn't make one. Same goes for Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure.

[ary incorparated]

a 32x game that already has been done on sega cd.

[Joe Redifer]

I have both the Sega CD and 32X versions of BC Racers and the Sega CD seems to have the better framerate of the two.

[MN12BIRD]

That's soo sad. I mean for the 32X version to be worse than the SCD version! The game on SegaCD is pretty good!

[TheEdge]

I think the review hit the nail right on the head when they complained about no power ups or weapons you can get during the races. That was the mortal wound that took out the game.

[gillygil420]

The 32x version is worse. According to Joe Redifer, the 3DO version is also worse than the Sega CD version.

I have it for Sega CD, and it's not that bad IMO. I've never understood why people put Super Mario Kart on a pedestal as if it were some sort of life-alteringly transcendant experience. It's not that much better than its copycats.

I never understood what was so damn good about Mario Kart

[MN12BIRD]

I never understood what was so damn good about Mario Kart

It's tons of fun with 2 or more (N64 etc) people! More fun than any other Kart racing game and that's the whole point of Kart racing games right?

[j_factor]

Super Mario Kart on SNES was good, but I didn't care for the ones that followed. Mario Kart 64 has some big problems, like the blue shell item which is just cheap, and the AI literally cheats.