Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road (Leland Corporation, 1989) - Part 2

Let's start Part 2 with a confession: I rarely do ragequits with any game, particularly with retrogames, but during the making of this comparison, I ended up ragequitting Super Off-Road a considerable number of times on various versions. Not because it's unfair - though it certainly is at times - but rather because some of the versions become practically unplayable after reaching a certain level, that I had to re-write parts of the first part of the comparison a few times to feel comfortable with it. Also, in the making of this comparison, I did some considerable harm to my keyboard, necessitating to buy a new one, but the harm was necessitated by breadcrumbs under the backspace key. Oh well.

If you didn't read Part 1 of the comparison of Super Off-Road from last week, it should be noted that all things concerning the game's playability in its different variations was dealt with in that post. As it really is the more important bit in this comparison, I urge you to read that before reading Part 2. If you don't care as much about the gameplay, or have read the first part already, then feel free to continue.

Just as a reminder, though, if you don't want to unnecessarily click to Part 1, here are the results from the Playability section:

1. SEGA MEGADRIVE/GENESIS
2. ARCADE
3. AMIGA / ATARI ST / IBM-PC
4. SUPER NINTENDO
5. COMMODORE 64
6. SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
7. NES
8. AMSTRAD CPC / ZX SPECTRUM
9. SEGA GAME GEAR
10. GAME BOY
11. ATARI LYNX

Now, let's get on with the rest of the comparison.

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GRAPHICS

Because all the tracks were visually introduced already in Part 1 of this comparison, I decided to make this section a little less heavy to load for those of you that don't have the most modern connections, and only include a few tracks from each version. Still, there's a lot to go through, and since we skipped the Loading section, we will sort of start with that, as any loading screens will be included here by necessity, because they're always connected to the original version.

Arcade attract mode sequence.

The original ARCADE version starts playing through the attract mode sequence as soon as the cabinet boots up. Although you can only see these four screens here, the text screens are interrupted by gameplay demonstrations and views of the Ironman Speed Shop, both of which we will get to soon enough. Now, as for the other versions...

Loading screens. Top row: Commodore Amiga & Atari ST (and DOS).
Bottom row, left to right: Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Sinclair ZX Spectrum.

At least the picture of Ivan Stewart has been kept fairly accurate compared to the original version - that is, the picture in the ARCADE title sequence. From what I've seen pictures of the Ironman himself, I don't think it's a very exact digitalization of his face, but it's close enough for most of us who don't really know him from anything else than this game. The SPECTRUM version doesn't seem to display Ivan Stewart's face anywhere in the game, but at least the Ironman is trademarked to show the fleeting connection.

Note that the 16-bit screens above are taken entirely from the ATARI ST version, because the AMIGA and DOS (VGA) versions look exactly the same, aside from the screen positioning and barely notable differences in palette. The CGA and EGA graphics shall be visited briefly at a later point in this section.

Title screens and credits, left to right:
NES, Game Boy, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx.

From the 8-bit consoles and hand-helds, we can see that the NES version was the last one to feature Ironman Stewart's name and endorsement. I suppose Leland's contract with Stewart only held on for a period of maybe two years, since any version made after 1991 didn't have the endorsement, nor did they feature Ivan Stewart's name or face. Even in the NES version, the only place where you can actually see his face is the title screen. Not even the cover art or the cartridge label have Ironman featured in person. The GAME BOY, LYNX and the two SEGA versions have the truck shown from a randomly chosen angle along with revamped versions of the game logo, which is usually based on the European cover art.

Probably for many good reasons, in all these five versions above, the copyrights and credits and all the usual text things were kept at a bare minimum and in their separate screens where possible, and the detailed credits were left to the manuals, high score list abbreviations, or the bit after Game Over, as they usually are in these cases. The two 8-bit SEGA versions have some of the necessary text bits shown in the title screen with the game title, while the NES and GAME BOY versions keep everything text-related neat and short in the first screen when you boot the game up. The LYNX version has an attempt of some eyecandy with the 3D-rolling of the Telegames logo in the second screen that says "Telegames presents", but the logo rolling effect is slow and takes a long time to get through, and it's also completely unnecessary, since the Telegames logo was already shown in the credits screen at the boot.

Title sequences from Sega Megadrive/Genesis (top row) and Super Nintendo (bottom row).

The SMD/GEN and SNES versions show very little differences at this point. The credit sequence at the start-up are understandably quite different, although they make little difference in the big picture. It's the title screen itself that gets our attention for now. The size of the background picture is different on the 16-bit SEGA version, more specifically a lot wider, showing more background elements, even if they're not the most interesting thing to see here. More interestingly, the pixelation and colouring is notably grittier on the SEGA, but the SNES version has licenced use of the Toyota logo on the truck. The game logo's colouring is closer to the original in the SEGA version, so all in all, the SMD/GEN version gets a small lead.

Now, the next phase is to see the tracks, but if I were to show all the tracks from all the different versions, it would be a bit overdoing it, so instead, I've opted for the six most common tracks in the game. This rules out Hurricane Gulch (not available in the GAME BOY version), and all the additional Track Pack tracks. The rest of the tracks are selected with regards to any notable differences in the tracks' visual design.

In-game screenshots from the Arcade version.

As you can see from these screenshots, the ARCADE version has the names of all tracks shown in some otherwise unoccupied section of the screen, usually somewhere beside the info display, but not necessarily; and the names are always shown in red italic letters with black bordering.

Similarly, the info panels are always randomly placed in unobtrusive spots somewhere alongside the tracks. The panel is a grey board with no visible attachments anywhere, so it might as well be a floating device, except it is very much stationary. The slightly protruding black display at the top of the info panel shows us the race time, and under it we have each player's lap numbers and the amount of nitro in possession, each player marked clearly with their own colour.

The track graphics themselves use various shades of brown to emphasize the terrain height differences. There's also the occasional water hazards, the white-and-black lap line, the yellow money bags, the grey nitro items and, in the absence of red-and-white walls, we get white barrels with red and blue lines to mark the virtual borderlines. If these were real life 4x4 racing circuits, the blue flags you see in many corners would help mark the corners in the case of heavy dust clouds, but they are rather more ornamental in the game; however, if you bump into the flags, they will sway for a bit. Racing around does tend to raise a bit of dust, but it's barely visible. However, using nitro will lay down a clear white puff of smoke for a second or two. In most tracks, you can also see a bit of audience seating areas in some corner, but not all tracks even have them.

In-game screenshots from the Commodore Amiga / Atari ST / IBM-PC versions.

The AMIGA, ATARI ST and IBM-PC versions have pretty much pixel-perfect graphics compared to the original, at least when it comes to the racing itself. The Huevos Grande and Wipeout tracks have their titles mixed up, but that's not precisely a graphical issue. The only thing that seems a bit off is the screen width, as the home conversions have a wider look, but nothing is actually missing, nor is there anything extra. Instead, the pixels are wider than in the original, which explains the slightly off look. But it's not really something you actually notice, since it feels accurate and natural for the home screens.

In-game screenshots from the Sega Megadrive/Genesis version.

Naturally moving from the 16-bit home computers to 16-bit consoles, the MEGADRIVE/GENESIS version feels like it's viewed from a bit further away than the original, as you get more graphics outside the tracks themselves - although it is mostly just a bit more audience and terrain formations. The game screen is viewed in a widescreen style, though, which does make the action screen look a bit further away than usual; and the now blue-lettered track name is always displayed in the upper black area, instead of somewhere in the near vicinity of the info panel.

Speaking of which, the info panel looks somewhat less ornamental than the original, but otherwise it looks more metallic, somewhat upgraded in its styling yet at the same time, not necessarily any more stylish than it was originally. The same goes for the track graphics themselves - it all looks just a little bit finetuned, and perhaps a bit more cartoonish, but not alarmingly so. The only thing I might consider a downgrade is the audience, which always uses the same pattern in every track.

In-game screenshots from the Super Nintendo version.

When we look at the SNES version, though, the adjustments made from here to the SMD/GEN version are rather logical. Having been developed first, the SNES version was more closely modeled after the ARCADE original, so the screen size reflects that here, as do most of the track details and name stylings and placings, to some extent. The metallic info panel is even more metallic here than it is in the SMD/GEN version, but the styling feels a bit more logical here. The three unique elements in the SNES version are the breakable hay bales in the backwards-driven tracks, the back wall trademarks, and the small round window showing the man waving the checkered flag appearing suddenly when the race comes to an end. All in all, during the races, the SNES version is notably richer graphically than the original, or even the SMD/GEN version.

In-game screenshots from the Commodore 64 version.

Now, we get to the 8-bit home computer versions, starting with the C64, which is the first one not to feature any flags in the track's various corners. I suspect a good reason to let them go was, that they would have to be animated, taking more processing time, but would have no practical reason to be included there - quite the opposite. Gone are also the audience areas (replaced by slabs of turqoise), as well as ornamental flags and the barrels in Blaster and Cliffhanger, respectively. The C64 version also sets a trend here for the 8-bits, as it doesn't have the track names featured on the tracks, so if you grew up with only the 8-bit versions, chances are that the track names don't really mean much to you anyway, so just as a reminder, Blaster is the one at the top right corner, and Cliffhanger is at the middle in the lower row. At least the info panel is as clear as it could possibly be under the circumstances.

Despite the lack of details, the C64 version looks rather good, and gets the style of the original game well enough, including the small puffs of dust and smoke here and there. More to the point, the game runs rather fast and smooth, which is a rare accomplishment in the 8-bit conversions.

In-game screenshots from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum version.

As might be expected, the SPECTRUM version is, at least initially, the least comfortable version to look at, because the in-game graphics are basically monochrome yellow. It doesn't make much difference, which of the cars is red, blue or white; player 1 is yellow, as are the rest of them. The only way to tell yourself apart from the others is by searching for a large... well, not "large", but a visible yellow dot on top of your truck.

Regardless of the SPECTRUM's shortcomings, you get the corner flags here, as well as the barrels in Cliffhanger, but the ornaments in Blaster, as well as all the audiences, are still missing. You also have very clearly blue bits of water where they are supposed to be. The best thing is, though, that the SPECTRUM version runs surprisingly smoothly, even if it's not quite as fast as the C64 version.

In-game screenshots from the Amstrad CPC version.

The AMSTRAD version is a bit of an oddball. It has the same graphical style and pretty much all the same elements as the SPECTRUM version, with the addition of audiences, but you only get four colours (similarly to Dizzy, if you read that comparison): red, white, orange and black. This is a rather good solution to the monochrome problem, because you get more discernable colours for the two possible human players (red and white), and the pickable bonus items are much more visible this way, as well. Unfortunately, water isn't exactly blue here, but it's a minor complaint. The more pressing matter is, that the CPC version runs even slower than the SPECTRUM version - notably so - although at least it's still smooth running, unlike certain version's we have yet to deal with.

Perhaps also worth noting is, that the ramp on the left side of the middle section of Huevos Grande (the top left corner) is missing in both SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, but I have yet to notice any more than cosmetic worth to it. Which isn't much.

In-game screenshots from the Nintendo 8-bit (NES) version.

When I played the NES for the first time many years ago, I wasn't quite sure what was it that I hated about it the most: the gameplay differences to the C64 and Amiga versions, the graphics or the sounds. Now I have to concede, though, that the NES graphics were immediately off-putting to me, for reasons I have only learned since starting this blog.

Additional screens from the NES version.

As is only the normal state of things on the NES, the graphics here are clearly built from blocks, instead of fully hand-drawn, like in most other versions. The burnt orange of desert sand isn't nearly as pleasing to look at as the mud brown, particularly as the shading here is not done even as naturally as on the monochrome SPECTRUM. The lack of any audience bits also makes the NES version feel more isolated and disturbing, as does the more clinical separation approach to the info panel: the track name (here exclusively from all the 8-bit home systems), the lap time and player-specific info bits are shown as their own large billboards and displays at the top of the screen, and perhaps the most annoyingly, the red and blue colours have been switched to pink and purple, which is unsuitable for an overly masculine sport. The money bags and nitro items look smaller than usual and are both white, and the nitro looks more like a Christmas present than a nitro pack. Some of these colour miscalculations could have been easily fixed by using a colour already well used on the screen - yellow and red were available, after all, and even blue appears in some tracks in the form of water, although water is unfathomably missing from Big Dukes and Wipeout. Also missing are the corner flags, but you don't even notice that in the midst of all the other problems. Nor do you notice the inclusion of the hanging ornaments in Blaster.

Perhaps the most annoying, though, is the way the trucks have been animated. They don't jerk around seemingly naturally as they do in pretty much every other version so far, but it's rather surprisingly smooth (if painfully slow) rolling along, disturbed by the occasional bumps and unnaturally high jumps. The acceleration and nitro usage also looks unnaturally on/off-style to me, so there's not a whole lot of positive I can say about the NES version, really. Perhaps the most positive thing is, that there are some things to see in the NES version that you cannot see elsewhere, such as four players using the shop simultaneously, and a picture for the "qualifying" rounds, which makes little sense in the game's progression.

In-game screenshots from the Sega Master System version.

If you want to own Super Off-Road on just one 8-bit machine, the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM would probably be your best choice, and not only for its two (or three) unique tracks. The graphics here are, aside from having no track name displayed anywhere, the closest you can get to the 16-bits, since you get audiences pretty much for all tracks, corner flags, watery bits and barrels for Cliffhanger. The ornamental things for Blaster have still been left out, but everything looks as good as you can get the game to look on the 8-bits. Sure, some of the terrain graphics are still pretty clearly built from blocks as on the NES, but here, the correct use of shading helps a lot.

The only problem I have is the alignment of the trucks when driving up or down, which looks a bit off for most of the time, thus making it a visual impairment. If you can get used to that, though, the SMS version has the best that the 8-bits can offer. If you can't, the C64 version is your only 8-bit option.

In-game screenshots from the Nintendo Game Boy version.

Of course, the handheld consoles are very much 8-bits as well, aside from the ATARI LYNX, which is a hybrid 8-bit and 16-bit device with two custom processors, but I count them in a very separate category because of their screens and mobility. Besides, all three handheld versions have a scrolling screen, basically making the tracks 4 screens in size, which is only logical due to the handheld screen sizes. The GAME BOY version is the only strictly black-and-white version of these three, and it doesn't even have any enhancements for Super Game Boy or Game Boy Color, so what you see here is what you get.

Additional screens from
the Game Boy version.

The first point of focus is on the colours of the four trucks, but since there's only one human player, it is logical to have that truck in a different colour to the others, so the player has a white truck against the other three's grey ones. The second, perhaps the most alarming design difference is the info panel, which only has a series of numbers in the same grey background colour for each player, so it took me a long while to understand what the numbers were all about. The info panel is separated into five different number displays, the last of which is the race timer. The other four contain three numbers, the first two of which are the number of nitros the player has, and the last of which is the current lap number. As is only to be expected, the track names are not shown in the tracks themselves, but here, you get a separate "Get Ready" screen showing the track name, just after hitting the "Race" button in the shop, but before starting the race.

As for the details, the terrain formation shading has been handled better in the GAME BOY version than on the NES, which is a little bit funny. There isn't quite as much of odd bumps and tire tracks on the track surface, but enough to recognize it as the same game. The corner flags are absent again, as are the barrels in Cliffhanger and the hanging flag things in Blaster. Regardless of the missing elements, the GAME BOY version feels a bit slow, if not quite as slow as the NES version, but it certainly scrolls at a lower framerate, so the experience is quite choppy.

In-game screenshots from the Atari Lynx version.

Despite the LYNX's dual-processor, multi-colour screen and every fancy thing, the conversion of Super Off-Road that the Lynx was blessed with has the choppiest scrolling, making it feel slower than it actually is. In real time, though, it's speed is closer to the GAME BOY version than the NES. A lot of it might have to do with the memory reserved for the code to be able to link four Lynx owners in the same game (although every owner must have their own cartridges), and some of it might also have to do with the details kept in from the original game, including the track title, the corner flags, the barrels in Cliffhanger and the hanging flags in Blaster. There's also the place-switching info panel, which appears in either the lower-left corner or the top-right corner, depending on your truck's position on the screen.

All things considered, there's just too much things for the Lynx to consider and calculate to be able to handle anything properly. The graphics look nice enough on the surface, but the horribly choppy scrolling and the lack of a proper 3D terrain mapping makes the entire experience practically worthless. Unless you count this a good example of how not to do things.

In-game screenshots from the Sega Game Gear version.

Thankfully, at least one of the handheld versions acts its part visually, and that is the SEGA GAME GEAR version. Basically, the graphics are exactly what you get in the MASTER SYSTEM version (aside from slight palette differences), except the screen is similarly zoomed in as in the other two handhelds. At least here, the scrolling is smooth and fast; the info panels are clear and well-placed at the top and bottom edges of the screen, and apart from the hanging flags in Blaster, all the ornamental elements are in place. The track names are, similarly to NINTENDO's handheld version, shown just before you enter the track.

Speed Shop screens, left to right:
Arcade, Amiga/ST/DOS, Sega MD/Genesis, SNES.

One of the most visually memorable screens in the entire game is the Ironman's Speed Shop screen you enter between each race, unless you lose a race with no credits left, although even then it's the same screen, only with the words "Game Over" written in the place of "Insert Coin" or whatever it is at any point hovering over the underdressed lady with the posing by the trophy.

Sure, the pixelated female beauty is a large part of why this screen is such a memorable one, so let's focus on them now. As is often seen in various bigger paying racing events, barely clothed women are (reportedly) often seen hanging around near the pitstops and the finishing line, so their presence here is sort of justified. In the ARCADE original, all three ladies look otherwise exactly the same, but they have different coloured hair and bikini. Some of this detail is slightly reflected in the trophies, which is a nice touch. In the AMIGA, ST and DOS versions, the ladies all have the exact same look. Even though you can't see it here, the SEGA MD/GENESIS version has the two women look exactly the  same, except their hair and bikini colour are different - and the women themselves look notably different from their arcade counterparts. Their reflection is also missing from the oversized aluminum kitchenware. The SNES version, trying to be more family-friendly as Nintendo games mostly do, has changed the pictures of pixelated women to trucks in flight.

Aside from the number of possible players being limited to two on the consoles, perhaps the most striking visual difference in these screenshots above is the border colour being a greenish blue in the AMIGA/ST/DOS versions, although the DOS version doesn't have such big borders. Also, the design of the shop item selectors is much more detailed and realistic in a device-like styling sense, even if the realism of such a shop item selector didn't become an actual thing until about 25-30 years later. One detail in the item selector worth pointing out is the tab "Start Next Race", which in all these versions shows a minimap-like preview picture of the next track, and with a bit of experience with the game, you can easily make out the miniature track pictures.

Lastly, the Speed Shop interior above the item selectors is a fantastically detailed piece of graphical mastery in the ARCADE and 16-bit computer versions, but the shop looks oddly barren in the SEGA MD/GEN version, and it has been completely switched to a picture from the pits in the SNES version. The details are very different in each version, but each worth having a closer look at.

More Speed Shop screens. Top row, left to right: Commodore 64, Sega Master System, NES.
Bottom left: Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Bottom right: Amstrad CPC.

Out of all the 8-bit versions, I find it rather fascinating, that the NES version is the only one to have a proper picture for the Speed Shop. In fact, it's the only home conversion of the picture you see in the original ARCADE game, so that's a surprise bonus for the NES, if not a particularly important one. From this lot, the only other version to have the decency to show the Ironman Speed Shop logo above the player shopping slots, is the C64 version, but you get no other shop details than the logo there.

The bikini-clad ladies still wear bikinis on the C64, SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, although all the ladies wear the same colours in their respective versions. The SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions don't even have trophies in these screens, yet the C64 version goes so far as to have the ladies' reflections on the trophies. The SEGA MASTER SYSTEM's women wear something like one-piece swimsuits, rather than bikinis, and the NES women have covered up their skin even more by putting on what I suppose is a mini-dress. I really don't understand women's clothing that well, but I can't imagine all that men (that identify as men in their classic traditional male-type gender specification) would, except perhaps those working for Nintendo. The trophy in the SMS version looks a bit of a mess, so I'm not entirely sure if you see some reflection of the girl or not, and the NES graphics are so squeezed tight due to the four player slots, that it's impossible to see the trophies for any details.

As for the shopping slots themselves, the SEGA MS version here is easily the clearest one of the lot here, with the highlight being the recognizable miniature track showing for the next race. The next track to be raced is also recognizable in the NES version, if only barely. The C64 version does show a track in the Start tab, but it's always the same, so it's basically a general track-looking graphics, even though it vaguely looks like a mini version of Hurricane Gulch. The SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD have nothing but the word "RACE" in these slots along with a bit of checkered lines. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing about the C64 version's shop screen is, that the items are not named in any way, so you have to guess them by their graphics, unless you happen to have a manual to read them from, or another version to check them from. There's also an interesting little detail in the NES version, which might escape your notice if you've gotten used to the usual style of the shop system: the credits you have left are shown as tiny little car icons just under the cash indicator. Perhaps that is all for the best considering the given space.

The rest of the Speed Shop screens, left to right:
Atari Lynx, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Gear.

In the handheld versions, Ironman shines with his lack of presence, but his Speed Shop (no longer named after him, of course) looks very much like it should, except in the GAME BOY version, which only seems to have an artistic shot of what I assume to be an engine block as the background. As you might have come to realize as customary, the picture at the top in the LYNX version is the same one you see in the 16-bit SEGA version, only smaller.

As for the overall visual style of the Shop screen, the GAME GEAR version takes on after the AMIGA/ST/DOS version, even if the items are a bit reorganized to accommodate the handheld's screen. Come to think of it, all handheld versions have the shop items in a different order, with the only constant elements being Nitro and Start Next Race. Unsurprisingly, the GAME GEAR version is the only one from the handhelds to give you a preview of the upcoming track in the Start Next Race slot - the other ones just use a generic track in the picture, although I'm not exactly sure if that's what the GAME BOY version's Start Next Race slot is showing. Still, it's pretty clear the SEGA handheld continues being the supreme version of the three.

Race Standings screens, left to right:
Arcade, Amiga/ST/DOS, Sega MD/Genesis, SNES.

The final screen comparison is for the race standings screens. Again, the screen size in the ARCADE original becomes more apparent with an element you don't see in the 16-bit computer ports, which is a bunch of audience members standing in front of the podium. Also notable is, that the player's flags are above the players themselves in the original, while the AMIGA/ST/DOS versions have moved the flags to stand at their feet. The similarly squarish screen in the SNES version doesn't feature the flags nor the audience members, but that's an unfortunate design choice.

Moving from screen size-related alterations, the checkered dark blue Leland background from the ARCADE original was kept intact for the AMIGA/ST/DOS versions, but the SEGA MD/GEN and SNES versions have no Leland stamps in the background, and they have more distracting colouring on the checkered background. At least the SEGA version here has a line of small festive flags running from left to right just below the banner with the repeated "Super Off Road" text. The platforms for the three marked racers to stand on wear the same colour as the players themselves on their respective platforms in the ARCADE, AMIGA, ST and DOS versions, but they switched the platforms to have unified grey colours in the SMD/GEN and SNES versions.

Finally, we get back to the girls again. Rather oddly, in the ARCADE version, all the girls standing next to the racers in the podium look each other's clones, apart from their chosen bikini colour and style, which reflect their chosen racer's racing overalls colour, whereas in the shop screen, we see different girls, with completely unrelated bikini colours for each player slot. So, this is either a continuity error I'm sensing here, or it's a deliberate design choice. In the AMIGA/ST/DOS versions, you get the cloned girl from the shop screen, except here, they all have a different hair colour and corresponding bikini colour for their chosen racers. The SMD/GEN and SNES girls are obviously the same ones for both versions, but their Nintendo versions are clad notably less scantily, and they also all have slightly different hairstyles. Small details, but that's what we're here for.

More Race Standings screens.
Top row, left to right: Commodore 64, Sega Master System, NES.
Bottom left: Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Bottom right: Amstrad CPC.

From the 8-bit computers and consoles, the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM version continues to get everything visually the closest to the original. Sure, there's already a clear lack of details such as the background, as well as the flags and the player colours used for the podium platforms, but at least you get the ladies standing beside the racers with their corresponding colours. Again, the girls are the same from the shop screens. The NES version has a very different take on the actual platforms the racers stand on, as well as the placement of each player's race results information, but least all the colours have been done correctly.

At last, we have found one thing the C64, SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD have visually in common, even if in not an exact manner: the race standings screen's only truly graphical feature is the girl with the trophy, which is shown only above the winner's "platform", if you can call it as such anymore. The trophy itself is a graphical element that wasn't included in the shop screen alongside the girls there in the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions, so while it's an interesting twist to the old form, we still have to compare it to the original ARCADE version.

The rest of the Race Standings screens, left to right:
Atari Lynx, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Game Gear (2 variants).

Okay, this was kind of funny. As much as the LYNX version attempted to get all the details as close to the MEGADRIVE/GENESIS version as possible, the screen resolution just doesn't allow for very good results. You can see clearly enough, though, that the SMD/GEN version really was the source for this, since the girls are all wearing black bikini. The designers of the GAME BOY version decided that one racer holding his trophy in one hand and a girl in the other is enough, since the text takes almost half of the screen even when there's only half of the possible information to be had. Uniquely, the GAME GEAR version gets the background graphics from the ARCADE version fitting perfectly enough for this screen, and starts the Race Standings segment by showing only the winner holding the trophy and a girl by his side. If this wasn't you, your placing is shown after that, with a frown on your face and no girl leaning to you, nor even a trophy in your hand. It's quite a refreshing presentation of the Race Standings section, and I'd say it's enough to make the GAME GEAR version preferable to the MASTER SYSTEM version - at least graphically.

Screenshots from the three accessible DOS graphic modes.
Top to bottom: CGA, EGA 16, VGA.

Of course, I couldn't leave the DOS version completely without entry in the Graphics comparison, but as the VGA screenshots point out, they would have had no place alongside the AMIGA and ATARI ST screenshots, which are impossible to tell from each other already. The DOS version has five graphic modes to run the game with: CGA, EGA in 16 colours, EGA in 64 colours (only works on something called switchable monitors), VGA and Tandy. Of these options, I have only managed to run the game using CGA, EGA 16 and VGA modes, hence the three sets of screenshots above.

As you can see, the VGA mode is as good as the AMIGA and ST versions, but the EGA 16 mode is something like a cross between the NES, AMSTRAD and AMIGA/ST versions due to its odd colour choices. The CGA mode is like a cross between the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, coupled with the speed and smoothness of the other 16-bits. But for veteran PC gamers, none of this comes as a surprise.

So, how do we get the graphical representatives in a good order? Because not nearly every version has more than 8 tracks in them, we cannot actually take the number of tracks into consideration, since quantity in this case doesn't equal quality. It can't be denied - the AMIGA/ST/DOS versions are easily the closest to the original, but I also have to admit, the SEGA and SNES versions offer their own fair share of positive changes to the graphics, which should be taken seriously into consideration; though in the case of the SNES version, there are also some notable negative changes. The 8-bit versions are very clearly ruled by the MASTER SYSTEM, which itself is slightly unlikely enhanced by the GAME GEAR version, at least if you don't mind the scrolling, which I really don't, in this particular case. The C64 version gets the colours right, and the speed is very good as well; the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD get the track details right, but everything else is a bit unfortunate. The NES version looks way too different to ever be considered a particularly successful port, but at least it cannot be blamed for having a messy look or choppy scrolling, which can't be said of the GAME BOY and ATARI LYNX versions. In screenshots, the LYNX version looks rather nice, because it's the MEGADRIVE/GENESIS graphics downgraded, but it's what underneath the surface that turns everything upside down, in a manner of speaking. Thus, we can only come to this conclusion for this section:

1. ARCADE
2. AMIGA / ATARI ST / IBM-PC VGA / SEGA MEGADRIVE/GENESIS
3. SUPER NINTENDO
4. SEGA GAME GEAR
5. SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
6. COMMODORE 64 / IBM-PC EGA
7. ZX SPECTRUM / AMSTRAD CPC / IBM-PC CGA
8. NES
9. ATARI LYNX
10. GAME BOY

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SOUNDS

I shall take this paragraph to give some spotlight to the man responsible for the music in the original Super Off-Road, the magnificently talented Sam Powell. His career began at Team Leland in 1987 with two American football games called Quarterback and John Elway's Quarterback, but from his output, I would say the most recognizable ones after Ironman Stewart's Super Off-Road are Wing Commander (1992), Robocop versus Terminator (1993), Mortal Kombat (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), the Shadowrun series (1994, 2013 and 2014) and Everquest (2000-2003). According to MobyGames, he hasn't worked on game music and sounds since 2014, though, but with a career of almost 30 years, and with such great games under his belt, I think he should be more celebrated than he appears to be.

Now, just like before, we need to start this section properly with examining the sonic contents of the ARCADE original - and the Track Pack as well, as it might offer something different from the original set of tracks. Keep in mind, though, the amount of music does not count in this occasion, just like the amount of graphics didn't in the previous section, because the versions are so different to each other, it would be a bit pointless to base the comparison on the quantity of music. But still, music is a necessary part of Super Off-Road's identity, so there has to be at least a few memorable tunes. In fact, because the majority of Super Off-Road's soundscape is music, the main focus will be on that.

The game's soundtrack begins immediately with the main theme tune, which is played in the Speed Shop as well as the title sequence. It's a relatively fast pumping rock tune that is built mostly around two chords and a ridiculously good bassline that you would recognize instantly from anywhere as the bassline from Super Off-Road; but it's the three melody parts (played on a badly simulated trumpet in the ARCADE version) that make the main theme track the masterpiece that it is. Each of the 8 tracks in both the original game and the 8 new tracks in the Track Pack have a song for each specific track, stylistically ranging from the odd metal mariachi music in Huevos Grande, through somewhat convoluted yet traditionally structured rock'n'roll in Sidewinder and hillbilly banjo music in Big Dukes, to almost Rocky's fighting montage-like music in Cliffhanger. It's impossible to really put these tracks in any particular category for any track, although after playing the game enough and hearing these songs for about 300 times, they will always be just "Super Off-Road music". The same thing goes for the Track Pack tunes, except they all feel like recycled ideas from the first 8 traks. But then, in addition to the level-specific tunes, you still get a shortened version of the national anthems for each available country, as well as a custom fanfare for the CPU drivers who always drive under the Leland flag. As I said, most of Super Off-Road's soundscape is built by music.

There are enough of sound effects to enhance the experience even further, but they thankfully, they tend to stay well in the background. The most noticable sound effects are the pistol shot marking the race start, the synth orchestral hit when the finishing line is reached, the horn sound when a bonus item is picked up, a different horn sound when anyone enters the final lap, and then the ticking sound of the shop cursor and all the other mechanical noises in the shop as you do your business and maybe pump in some more credits. There is, however, a wonderful low brumming noise of the trucks trudging their way on the tracks, and the occasional bumps, knocks and splashes, none of which come across particularly loud, which gives the racing action an unexpected level of distance, which fits the viewpoint perfectly.

Let's begin the audio comparison from the 8-bits, if only to end on a high note. The SPECTRUM version comes in two flavours, as is only to be expected in 1990. Oddly, though, the 128k mode doesn't have any more music than the 48k mode, which only features the main title theme - which is only played in the title screen after you've selected your controls - and the Leland fanfare in the race standings screen. The two pieces of music have been programmed to utilise the beeper to some advantage, but it still only has some notable percussive tapping sounds and a single melody instrument playing low-budget variation of the tunes. What really sets the two modes apart is the quality of the sound effects, as the 48k mode sounds practically like any other 48k Spectrum game with its spurts and bleeps, and the 128k mode uses the AY-chip to produce some more sophisticated sound effects, such as engine droning, a clear booming bumping sound, splash-type noises for gunshot and nitro usage, and odd tingly sounds for picking up cash items and your opponents entering the final lap - oddly, the tingly sound doesn't play when you enter the final lap. The Shop sounds in the 128k mode feature a single beep for moving the cursor, and an ascending series of beeps for buying something, while the 48k version spurts out odd ticking noises from lower and higher pitches for moving the cursor and buying stuff, respectively. Note that the 128k sounds are only available in the disk version.

The next logical step is the AMSTRAD version, which features some multi-channel music with a clearly separated percussive part, a bass line and a melody, but there are no particularly interesting effects. Unless you count slight out of tune notes here and there, or rhythmic oddities that extend a note by 1/32th length. Like in the SPECTRUM version, the main theme and the Leland fanfare are the only pieces of music included on the AMSTRAD, but the main theme is also played during races. For sound effects, you get a wide variety of white noises, a bump noise and a couple of odd tingly sounds similar to those in the SPECTRUM version, used for the same purposes. The Shop screen only features a high-pitched beep for moving the cursor, and a splash noise for pressing the fire button. To be honest, while the AMSTRAD version has better music, the already less impressive sound effects are drowned by the music you don't really need to hear, particularly since it's heavy on the CPU.

Happily, the C64 version features a lot more of the tunes from the original soundtrack, even though it's sadly still not the entire original soundtrack translated to SID format. In addition to a much better, although notably fast rendition (including some actual harmonics) of the theme tune that plays in all the right spots, you get 3 tunes from the original racing tunes, as well as the Leland fanfare. The tunes selected from the original soundtrack are from the Sidewinder, Big Dukes and Blaster tracks, here used in rather oddly chosen order, but since you see no track names on the C64, you get almost no thematic connection, so it's all the same, really. The sound effects are also much more in tune with the ARCADE original, as you get the pistol shot for starting a race, a synth orchestral hit for finishing a race, a horn toot when you pick up a bonus item, and the usual bumps and crash noises for their purpose. The Shop sound effects are a very faint tick for moving the cursor, and a just about as faint splash noise for buying an item. All in all, much better than AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM, but still a fair distance from the top, sorry to say.

Let's move on to the NES version next. If you know the types of sounds the NES makes, you can pretty much guess what kinds of sound effects and musical arrangements to expect. The good thing is, you get all the music from the original soundtrack, including the short national anthems, albeit in tingy NES format, along with a short jingle new to the NES version, which replaces the orchestral synth hit when you finish a race. As for the other sound effects, the NES offers a rather interesting, if not a particularly well-thought-out set. For one, you get an enormous amount of loud crash noises, which kind of get irritating after no more than a few seconds. Another rather odd choice is almost constant tyre screech, which doesn't really make much sense, since you're driving in dirt and mud, sometimes even water. It's not all bad, though. Picking up a bonus item plays an odd series of higher mid-range notes that go up and down for a while and fade away. Entering the final lap plays a few odd descending notes in quick succession, which sound kind of what a guitar string sounds like when you tune it down. In the Shop screen, the two given sounds are just short "bip" sounds from a slightly different pitch. For the quantity of music and sounds, I might give the NES version full marks, but the quality is questionable at best.

Nintendo's main 8-bit rival, Sega's MASTER SYSTEM has proven itself more than a worthy adversary so far, yet in terms of music and sounds, it might have to take the shorter straw. The main theme from Super Off-Road has now been dropped from the soundtrack, and as a result, the title sequence and the Shop screen are silent, apart from the high-pitched "pip" and crash sounds when you move the cursor. In quantity of music, the MASTER SYSTEM loses just by an inch to the NES version. Of course when you notice, that from the SMS version's soundtrack, four tunes are reused, the soundtrack feels almost closer to the C64 version, but then there are 12 tracks, so the amount of music is actually on par with the original. Unfortunately, the way the music has been arranged is underwhelming to say the least: most of it only has two melodic lines of a similar pitch and timbre, and any percussive elements have been left for the trucks to perform on their own accord. At least there's a few good sound effects (if a bit unnatural for the game), but they're a bit difficult to get to hear when the music takes so much of the machine's sonic bandwidth. The good thing is, you can toggle sounds and music in the SMS version, prior to starting the game - this was explained in the Playability section in more detail.

I believe now is a good time to check out the handhelds, so we'll start with the GAME BOY version. There is only one full song and a couple of jingles, which are somehow derived or variated from the one full song. For some strange reason, a decision was made to rewrite about half of the original main theme tune, making it sound more stupid with a couple of long chromatic drops. The way the music sounds in the GB version is very close to the AMSTRAD version, but this gets more boring much quicker. Also, whenever any sound effects play, they come across louder than the music, which makes the entire experience sonically unbalanced and unpleasant. In short, the AMSTRAD version is better than this.

Putting it bluntly, the LYNX version is a mess. But so it has been so far in all other areas, so it's not much of a surprise. When you boot the game up, you get an animated screen saying "Telegames presents", which features a short jingle not available elsewhere, since Telegames only did the Lynx conversion. The entire LYNX soundtrack feels very wrong in a few different ways. All the tunes that are recognizable as cover versions from the original, sound like the equivalent of being played by a teenage cover band who have a fairly good sense of rhythm but not much else, and the general sound of the LYNX version's music is similar to the AMSTRAD and MASTER SYSTEM versions. However, there are only four covers of the original tunes, and all are played in the wrong tracks - which is an especially horrendous sin now that the track titles have been included. The rest of the music fills the gaps enough to sort of give it the distinction of a full enough soundtrack, but none of the Lynx-exclusive tunes sound particularly much like the original ARCADE tunes in either style or quality. The sound effects are just about as good as those you get in the MASTER SYSTEM version, but here you get no option to toggle the music and sound effects, so you're stuck with a lot of nonsense. But that begs the question: is a lot of nonsense better than having no in-game music at all?

So, the GAME GEAR version takes after the MASTER SYSTEM version, aside from the number of tracks and the missing Leland fanfare. That's really all I need to say about it, which makes it clear that the GAME GEAR version easily beats the other two handheld versions, and in the end scores for this section, it will come directly below the MASTER SYSTEM version.

Let's start going through the 16-bits with the DOS version, which has three sound options. As it one wasn't enough. At least the first option is "No sound", so no need to elaborate on that one. The second option is "IBM sound", which means the beeper. This mode has no music at all, and the sound effects are equally intrusive as in the 48k SPECTRUM version, as they are sophisticated. Make of that what you will, but I still prefer to have at least some music. The third option, "Ad-Lib sound", might be best described as almost exactly what you would expect the 16-bit Sega version to sound like, except more plastic and less tinny. True to the ARCADE original, all the track-specific tunes are included, as are the title tune and the national anthems. Perhaps worth noting is the switching of the Wipeout and Huevos Grande track names, which was followed with the logic of also switching the music for those tracks to fit in with the track names.

The AMIGA and ATARI ST versions' soundtracks have been treated with the same respect as the DOS version, only with each machine's own peculiar sound capabilities taken into consideration. The ATARI ST version sounds more like an Amstrad CPC or a 128k ZX Spectrum on a good day, but with some odd distortion in some of the instruments, as if the whole soundtrack was mixed down with too much gain on everything. Also, the sound effects are more 8-bittish bleeps, bloops and crash noises. Despite the distorted sounds, it's still less annoying than the DOS soundtrack on Ad-Lib.

Of course, the AMIGA version using the Amiga hardware, all the sounds and music have been made using samples. This time, though, the music is all very synth-based, instead of trying to simulate real instruments to the last detail. The banjos and drums sound close enough to their real-life counterparts, but there are some synth horn samples and other lead sounds that make the AMIGA version sound it's very own thing. In fact, it is preferable to the original ARCADE soundtrack due to the general softness of sound and otherwise nicely mixed music and sound effects. Speaking of which, the sound effects are not quite as good as in the original, with the engine noises missing and the other sounds being less impactful, but they're still the closest you can get to the original sounds on a home computer.

And then there were two. First off of the 16-bit consoles, the MEGADRIVE/GENESIS version, in terms of sounds and music, is like a mixture of the MASTER SYSTEM and LYNX versions. It sounds like a strange idea, and to be fair, it's not the most obvious of design choices. The connection to the SMS version comes in the form of being able to hear only sound effects or music, or both simultaneously. Having only sound effects reveals how very little of sound type variation there is in the SMD/GEN version, most of the sound effects being slight variations of a similar splash/crash noise, with the odd honk sound for picking up an item - and that's about it, really. Musically, it shares the soundtrack with the LYNX version, only now with better instrumentation, yet the soundtrack sounds even tinnier and more plastic than the Ad-Lib mode in the DOS version. Not my favourite, but at least it's a clear upgrade from the Lynx version, as is only to be expected.

Finally, the SNES version had a completely remade soundtrack written by Tim & Geoff Follin, which you probably know are some of my favourite SID composers of all time. Already seeing their names mentioned in the opening credits gave me an unexpected sense of anticipation, but this time it was mixed with a slight horror, because I knew from their track record, that at least Tim Follin would not necessarily stick to the original soundtrack and/or make it better, but do something that he feels might be better. And it hasn't always worked. Already, the title sequence brings in a completely new tune, a mid-tempo hard rock tune with a brilliant guitar riff starting the whole thing. The title song loops until you start the game. The name entrance screen has its own understated, if a tricky little ditty with a nicely uneven rhythmic pattern to it, and the Speed Shop screen has a fast 16-beat with a melody and harmonics reminiscent of cute Japanese shooter games. Not necessarily very fitting here, but it's a nice tune. The race standings screen has its own short latin-inspired jingle, which works well enough in the short scene, since you don't get national anthems anymore. The in-game tunes range from more heavy metal to boogie-woogie'ish hard rock, and something that could be described as "sports-disco". You know, training montage rock music mixed with disco chord progressions and string arrangements. And there's also a brief fanfare for crossing the finishing line, which again sounds like it was stolen from a Rocky movie. There's all sorts of really interesting music in the SNES version, which really spell "Follin" in large letters, but I can't say they're as fitting to Super Off-Road as the original soundtrack. The problem is more in the lack of thematic connection than the music itself, though, which is why I cannot honestly rate this as high as I would want to. Luckily, the SNES set of sound effects isn't as complete as you would wish it to be, although the little it does have is high quality. The bumps and crashes are much more impactful, and the honks and splashes sound fairly authentic. It's a great effort, all in all, but it's just too different for its own good.

Short recap: what we're looking for here is a faithful representation of the original soundtrack, hopefully something even better. The AMIGA version is the only one that, at least concerning music, sounds even better than the ARCADE version, but falls a bit short on the sound effects. Put the two together and you would have the definitive Super Off-Road experience, but as it is, I have to let the two share the top spot. The ATARI ST and DOS Ad-Lib versions follow in order, even though they both have certain unbearable sound qualities in them, and I'm of a mind to give the SNES version a shared third place with the DOS version, only because of the lack of thematic connection in its otherwise excellent soundtrack. Despite the SEGA MD/GEN version's choice of music and lacklustre sound effects, it does have good enough sound quality and enough of music and sound effects to spare, that it earns the fourth spot. Even while staying true enough to the original version, the SEGA MASTER SYSTEM and GAME GEAR versions aren't particularly pleasurable to listen to, giving the NES version the 5th place. Sure, it's sound quality is passable at best, but it has the full soundtrack. Having grown up with the C64 version, I would have loved to give it a higher spot, as its quality of music and sound effects would have earned it a higher place than the NES, but the relative lack of music in the soundtrack has to drop it to a shared spot with the GAME GEAR version. The LYNX, AMSTRAD, GAME BOY, IBM beeper and both SPECTRUM versions follow in their intended order.

1. ARCADE / AMIGA
2. ATARI ST
3. DOS Ad-Lib / SNES
4. SEGA MEGADRIVE/GENESIS
5. NES
6. SEGA MASTER SYSTEM
7. SEGA GAME GEAR / C64
8. ATARI LYNX / AMSTRAD CPC
9. GAME BOY
10. ZX SPECTRUM / DOS beeper

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OVERALL + VIDEO LINK

In the big picture, there's only so much things you can take into consideration when doing even a thorough comparison like this one. As before, the overall end scores are calculated on an unforgiving and often unreliable mathematically based method, when proper reviewers would usually decide upon a balanced score from a 100 percent. The sheer number of versions that Super Off-Road inspired, makes this particular comparison a practically impossible thing to be made in a completely reliable way, so if these scores do not exactly correspond to your views on each version, take this list as a suggested order of preference.

1. ARCADE: Playability 10, Graphics 10, Sounds 10 = TOTAL 30
2. COMMODORE AMIGA: Playability 9, Graphics 9, Sounds 10 = TOTAL 28
3. SEGA MEGADRIVE/GENESIS: Playability 11, Graphics 9, Sounds 7 = TOTAL 27
3. ATARI ST: Playability 9, Graphics 9, Sounds 9 = TOTAL 27
4. DOS VGA + Ad-Lib: Playability 9, Graphics 9, Sounds 8 = TOTAL 26
5. SUPER NINTENDO: Playability 8, Graphics 8, Sounds 8 = TOTAL 24
6. DOS EGA + Ad-Lib: Playability 9, Graphics 5, Sounds 8 = TOTAL 22
7. DOS CGA + Ad-Lib: Playability 9, Graphics 4, Sounds 8 = TOTAL 21
8. DOS VGA + beeper: Playability 9, Graphics 9, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 19
9. SEGA MASTER SYSTEM: Playability 6, Graphics 6, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 17
10. COMMODORE 64: Playability 7, Graphics 5, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 16
11. DOS EGA + beeper: Playability 9, Graphics 5, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 15
12. DOS CGA + beeper: Playability 9, Graphics 4, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 14
12. NES: Playability 5, Graphics 3, Sounds 6 = TOTAL 14
12. SEGA GAME GEAR: Playability 3, Graphics 7, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 14
13. AMSTRAD CPC: Playability 4, Graphics 4, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 11
14. ZX SPECTRUM: Playability 4, Graphics 4, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 9
15. ATARI LYNX: Playability 1, Graphics 2, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 6
16. GAME BOY: Playability 2, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 5

Mind you, I do think the two 16-bit console versions have so much specific unique things about them, that they deserve to be played for their own accomplishments. Each of the 8-bit versions have their own particular thing about them, which makes them difficult to dismiss entirely, but I can guarantee the only handheld version you need to play is the GAME GEAR version.

Thankfully, I didn't have to compile a video for this one, as a perfectly adequate video comparison was made 10 years ago by Gaming History Source, who gave FRGCB a permission to link their videos on the blog.

Thanks again to The Gambler for the suggestion (as well as quick commenting!), I hope that was worth the wait! Next time, I shall be scaling down to another game with only 3 or 4 versions around, but that doesn't mean the game isn't a classic. Well, a cult classic perhaps. Until then, keep on retrogaming!