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Capcom's
cutesy overhead racing game came as a massive
breath of fresh air in the arcades of the late
eighties. Surrounded by nothing but dark and moody
titles, F1 Dream's easy and accessible
gameplay, colorful circuits and catchy theme tune
provided a very welcome alternative to the violence
and grit of the other top releases of 1988.
The gameplay is near-identical to Nintendo's excellent
Disk System game Famicom
Grand Prix (1987), and it does play like a
dream. The two-button 3-gear system is tricky
to get used to at first, but eventually your attention
will shift from the accelerating to the driving
- and then you'll need all of your racing skills,
because the game gets tough really quickly. The
slightest error can make all the difference between
glory and gloom.
Time and time again, developers would return to
the overhead racing genre, shunning the '3D' rear-car
perspective in favour of simplistic overhead racing
(F1 Circus
springs to mind as one of the best). It might
seem like an odd decision in 1988, but when it
worked as well as this, who can blame them? |
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PC
ENGINE VERSION
NEC Avenue did a fantastic job in porting F1
Dream to the PC
Engine in 1989. They provided a near-perfect
replica of the arcade's Formula racing, and expanded
the game for home use by adding more races, a
password system, and an exclusive introductory
'City Race' league in which you face off against
various punters in a double-or-nothing duel for
cash money.
These funds can then be used to hire various mechanics,
who will then upgrade your car throughout your
city, F-3000 and F-1 careers. It's a great enhancement
to an already brilliant game, and the Japanese
text doesn't get in the way at all: blue mechanics
are for engine upgrades, red for tires, yellow
for suspension and white for 'body'.
An excellent title in its day, that still retains
a remarkable amout of charm today. |
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F1
Dream
F1ドリーム
PC ENGINE |
DETAILS
| Format |
PC
Engine |
| Released |
25
Aug 1989 |
| Publisher |
NEC
Avenue |
| Product
ID |
H54G-1005 |
| Size
(cm) |
14.2
x 12.4 x 1 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.10 |
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Classy
port of the Capcom racing
classic, that actually goes
as far as improving
on the arcade original.
A timeless PC Engine gem -
it's hard to believe it remains
so cheap!
Standard PCE case, 2Mbit HuCard,
2x2 fold-out colour booklet. |
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'F1
Dream' and 'Capcom' are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd.
'PC Engine' and 'NEC' are registered trademarks of NEC Corporation
F1 Dream TM & © 1988 Capcom All Rights Reserved
Page content, design & layout © 2008 www.Jap-Sai.com |
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