‘Moto Roader MC’ Review (Nintendo Switch)

I have always been fond of top-down racing video games and I’m not entirely sure why because I haven’t actually played a whole lot of them. I think my first memory of this type of racer probably came from seeing Super Off Road in gaming magazines in the nineties. There was something about that style and look that drew me to it. Moto Roader MC has a similar nineties vibe to it and I was looking forward to playing it.

Originally the game was released for the TurboGrafx-16 and its CD-ROM2 add-on in 1992. And it does feel like that in many ways. With its simple (to today’s standards) title screen, controls and graphics. Thankfully there are many people, like myself, that still love that look.

Moto Roader MC does give its players plenty of options right from the off though. There’s Race, Time Attack and Omake. Race is the main game, pitting you against (a choice of up to) four other racers in five different ‘cups’ – Circuit, City, Nature, Marchen and Special. All cups have five different tracks and you get points if you finish in the top four. There are a few variations on the cups and tracks in which you can edit to.

There’s a good variety in the tracks despite how simple you might think they have to be. The simplest being a straights circular track but beyond that things do get quite odd at times but this makes for some really fun tracks. I enjoyed playing through every one of them and there’s a strange addictiveness to the game as a whole.

The difficulty came across just about perfect for me. On first go I was struggling a bit but a few cups later and I felt like I had the chance to win any of the races. It wasn’t that easy though and to win any of the races at all was tough going but tough in a good way. Not impossible. My only real complaint is that sometimes, after dropping to the back of the positions, it did feel like I was never going to get back into first place. The tracks sometimes feel so short that you’ll never be quick enough to gain ground.

Time Attack obviously gives the game some extra longevity and while not quite as much fun as the races themselves, it never really gets old trying to beat you or your friends best times. Omake is the oddly titled kind-of bonus game of sorts which is like a very basic game of Rocket League. With one racer against another and a goal each, it’s a game of football with cars. There is some fun to be had with it but it’s nowhere near as entertaining as racing.

The graphics and sound are, as expected, very nineties and they bring that charm with them. Especially for players who grew up in that era who will love the whole package. The major complaints do come from the fact that this is a game from 1992 though. Well, my assumptions about these problems are that they were in the original game and have not been changed. The biggest annoyance for me is that there’s no way to seem to be able to restart the game. Or exit the game mode you are playing. You can pause the game but that’s it. So once you start something be prepared to finish it or go through an annoying and quite long process to start the game again.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Moto Roader MC. It might be a little too simple for some modern gamers but whether in single or multiplayer, it’s just fun to play. I kept going back for more and more, and that’s the sign of a good game. If you grew up playing games in the eighties and nineties, you still might have missed this. At a bargain price, you’ll probably like it as much now as you would have then.

*** 3/5

Moto Roader MC is available on the Nintendo eShop now.