NON-STOP MOTORCYCLE FUN
Time for another Non-shmup review.
How 'bout if we have a look to neko.works' Super Night Riders, shall we?
So many choices.
Super Night Riders is like is name and music implies, a clone of Sega's Super Hang-On and as such, it does the job quite well. To begin with, the game grants us three options: Super, Classic and Easy Mode. Easy Mode is a lower difficulty variation of the previous two meant for newcomers to get used to the game's controls and physics but halves the overall score. Super and Classic have the same gameplay mechanics, but their differences are more aesthetic and I'll talk about that later. By now, let's talk about Super Mode.
Easy to learn and Fun to drive.
Like I said before, the game is based on the Hang-On series, borrowing elements from both Hang-On and Super Hang-On, where the objective is to reach the goal within the time limit, but to do that you have to reach each checkpoint before time hits zero. One of things to learn in a motorcycle game is to master the controls. While in Hang-On and Super Hang-On required complete knowledge of the bike's physics to fully master the controls and navigate flawlessly throughout the curves, in Super Night Riders, you can navigate the curves with ease by letting go the accelerate button (R2 in the PS4 port), you'll rarely be relying on the brake buttons to do that. While scoring in the Hang-On games was automatically as long as you're on the game (and on the move) like After Burner, Super Night Riders changes that for a climbing bonus point that goes up as long as you don't get hit. While the maximum score is of 50,000 points per bike, you can "scratch" your rival without crashing to obtain a bonus of 75,000 points and an achievement/trophy for doing that. While it omits the turbo function from Super Hang-On, the game grants you a maximum speed of 315KP/H, which is similar to the turbo-accelerated bike. Like in Super Hang-On, each level is divided in different regions and day/night cycles. While crashing with poles/trees is impossible in this game, crashing with the Power Rangers, I mean bikers is 100% plausible and constant crashes will be the Game Over sentence to the run as collisions reduce your speed.
Damn, I've barely made it.
After the 30th attempt.
This is when the game shows its true colors. As you unlock new courses, the game starts to reduce the time granted after each "level", making the last tracks an exercise of precision with no rooms for error. To put it simple, if you hit a bike, then consider your playthrough over even before the time hits zero, the final levels of this game have NO TOLERANCE for human mistakes and basically asks you for an EXACT and flawless play. This will make "Course 1 to 6" an exercise of frustration, as the level is 36 levels long, that's twice the Senior Course (Europe) of Super Hang-On. Fortunately, the game was updated on this February, making the final course a little easier to the point of being tolerant to 2 crashes with bikers before you consider the game done for before timer runs out.
Very professional for an Indie game.
The animated cutscene, while its short-lengthed, it is very well animated as it looks like a professional animation which is an accomplishment for indie standards, just like the cutscenes from the dreaded Broken Thunder, what graphics can't justify, it improves on other visual aspects because the overall graphics feel like an early PlayStation 3 game since the CG models are too simple, almost feeling like stick people doing Power Rangers cosplay while driving on motorcycles, and when I say Power Rangers I mean it, just look at them, their driving suits look like rejected Super Sentai heroes.
On the other side, the scenery is quite beautiful and sometimes it look and feel like updated versions of the landscapes of Super Hang-On like the Asia, America and Europe levels, catching the "Old-school" reminiscence quite well.
Saban's Power Rangers Super Bikers.
Classic Mode, while keeping the same gameplay structure of Super Mode intact, it's main feature is that makes the graphics more polygonal evoking the Sega Saturn era (Hang On GP/Hang On '96). Curiously, the biker's suit colors are even more Power Ranger-like than in Super Mode.
The music is catchy and upbeat and evokes more of doujin games rather than the arcade style, except for "Until Sunrise" which has some Megaman X2 vibes and "Starry Night" which has shmup-like paces with the SNES U.N. Squadron-like percussion. Alice has a few voice samples, but they're only "Ah"s when she hits a bike or restarts the game after selecting restart on the Game Over screen.
SUPER TRIVIA RIDERS
- The game is actually the "Season One" of the Super Night Riders series since neko.works is working on the sequel "Season Two".
- The use of a white grid on a black background in the manual evokes the Sega Genesis packages and manuals.
- In the game Light Fairytale Episode 1, there's a character that wears a red bodysuit similar to Alice.
Just having a fun ride like the 80's arcades.
Super Night Riders might be simplistic in some aspects, but as a homage to the arcade days, it does the job very well at the point of feeling like a Sega Ages take on Super Hang-On. If you're looking for some classic gaming or a boost for achievements and trophies, pick it. You'll be entertained for a while.
With a result like this in the "Shizuka Scale", nothing can go wrong.
