Designed by Shaun Southern and Andrew Morris
Developed by Magnetic Fields
Commodore Amiga version:
Programming by Shaun Southern
Graphics by Andrew Morris and Jeremy Smith
Music by Ben Daglish
Atari ST version:
Programming by Shaun Southern and Dave Makin
Graphics by Andrew Morris and Jeremy Smith
Music by Ben Daglish
Amstrad CPC version:
Programming by Steve Marsden and Dave Cooke for Spidersoft
Music by Ben Daglish
Sinclair ZX Spectrum version by Spidersoft; no further credits are known.
The Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Amstrad CPC and Sinclair ZX Spectrum versions
were all published by Gremlin Graphics in 1990.
Commodore 64 version:
Programming by Jason H. Perkins
Music by Ben Daglish
Published by Gremlin Graphics in 1991.
Nintendo Entertainment System version (uncredited):
Produced by Gremlin Graphics
Graphics by Paul Gregory
Music by Barry Leitch
Published by Electro Brain Corp. exclusively for the North American market in 1991.
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INTRODUCTION & GAME STATUS
Here's a relatively big one to finally start the year 2026 here at FRGCB. At least, Super Cars was a relatively big series in our small Amiga-based community back in the olden days, and of course, the first sequel was an even bigger thing than the original game was. To be honest, most of us didn't even know Super Cars even had a third game, because it was only ever released on the PC's in 1996, by which time most of us had already moved on to more advanced racing games. Anyway, since Super Cars II was only released on three 16-bit platforms, the original game seemed like the more interesting choice to do a comparison of. Besides, having found out only recently about the existence of the NES version, I was rather interested to know, how these six versions line up. I suppose it's only inevitable, that I find myself also comparing the two games to each other occasionally.
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DESCRIPTION & REVIEW
Super Cars, as a concept, wasn't anything particularly new and interesting, when the game came out. It's a top-down, omni-directionally scrolling, single player racing game, where you must push through [a fair number] of circuits, preferably win all the money you can by finishing first every time, and eventually get to race against tougher racers by purchasing a higher-tier car. With all the prize money you win, you can buy upgrades to your car, to make it run faster and turn better, but you are also given the option to purchase single-use weapons to give you a chance to drop some of your contestants.
All of this is rather common now, but some of these features were rather new to track-based racing games in 1990. I suppose the only game that I can think of that did most of this prior to Super Cars would have been Rare's NES classic, R.C. Pro Am in 1988, which in my humble opinion is vastly superior to this, only with an isometric point of view. Also, if you take Atari's Super Sprint and its sequel into consideration, Super Cars basically upgraded that particular concept with a more zoomed-in camera angle, making the screen scroll along with your car, plus the somewhat wider range of upgrades and different tier cars.
So, you can see how Super Cars definitely had its place in the history of vehicular combat racing games, even if it was a minor role. Perhaps sadly for the original Super Cars, the 16-bit-only sequel put the original under an enormous shade with its two-player mode, more impressive selection of weapons and all kinds of other upgrades, and later on, games like Biker Mice From Mars, Death Rally and Slicks 'n' Slide would further evolve the same concept in different ways. But I suppose the point here is, Super Cars was the last time when such a concept was attempted on the 8-bit computers. For that reason alone, it is worth checking out, but I cannot claim it to be nearly as classic as the vastly superior Super Cars II.
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LOADING
Although FRGCB has kept its line of comparing only the 8-bit tape loading times for years now, I cannot completely escape the fact, that even on the disk-based 16-bits, you do need to wait for the games to load up. What I'm going to do here, though, is give a rough estimation of how the ATARI ST and COMMODORE AMIGA versions spend their time loading; first to boot up, and then load between each track.
ATARI: boot - 40 seconds
game - 12 seconds to load a track
AMIGA: boot - 1 minute 10 seconds
game - 11 seconds to load a track
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| 16-bit loading screens. Left: Commodore Amiga. Right: Atari ST. |
This is basically how it goes, but there are various releases for the Amiga, some of which have one disk and some have two disks, which might increase the booting time a little bit, depending on your reflexes for switching disks. But what really makes the AMIGA version boot up longer is the longer opening sequence, featuring the legendary Magnetic Fields logo screen, which cannot be skipped. For the Atari version, I have only found a single-disk version, and there, the opening sequence has been squeezed to a single loading screen.
Then, of course, we have our usual 8-bit cassette loading times comparison, which in this case is a bit different again, because the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM versions both have separate 128k versions in addition to the 48k/64k versions.
AMSTRAD CPC 128k: 9 min 52 sec
AMSTRAD CPC 64k: 11 min 4 sec
COMMODORE 64: 4 min 53 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 48k, original: 7 min 59 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 128k, original: 9 min 42 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 48k, Erbe: 7 min 15 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 128k, Erbe: 9 min 37 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 48k, GBH: 8 min 56 sec
ZX SPECTRUM 128k, GBH: 9 min 58 sec
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| 8-bit loading screen, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64. |
As we see from the loading times, the AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM lower spec versions' loading times are strangely opposite on each platform. Let's just assume the reasons for this will all come clear eventually. The C64 version was also re-released by GBH, but as far as I can tell, the loader used in that release is exactly the same as the one in the Gremlin original, which is well over 2 minutes quicker than even the quickest SPECTRUM tape version. It is worth pointing out, though, that the lower-spec SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions are multi-loaders, so you need to load a little bit between every track, making the game's progress rather cumbersome. Then, of course, all three computers had disk versions as well, but we're not that interested in those.
To make note of the 8-bit loading screens, there's really not that much to say. The SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD loaders have the game logo and publisher logos displayed as you would expect, and the AMSTRAD version uses more colour for it. Below the logos, we can see the copyright text in smaller print. The C64 loading screen has some actual graphics, portraying a red car and its driver on the move in an indistinct dark environment, and a rather blocky rendition of the game logo is located at the top left corner. None of the 8-bit computer versions feature any more elaborate credit sequences.
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PLAYABILITY
A bit of personal history with the game to start this with. I didn't actually get to play Super Cars until a year or two after extensively playing the sequel on some of my friends' Amigas, and my introduction to the original Super Cars came through buying the game for my C64. It didn't take long to become disappointed in the game, although at the time, it wasn't all that apparent to me, that the C64 version didn't really represent the game nearly as well as it should have. Twenty-plus years later, I played the Amiga original for the first time, which, though still not as fantastic as the sequel, was still somewhat of a revelation.
Both the 16-bit versions start off by having you enter your name, or a four-letter handle, if we want to be more precise. This handle is entered by using your joystick stick, and you confirm it by pressing the fire button. Apart from the NES version, the 8-bit versions let you type in your name, and a longer one at that, either at the beginning of the game (C64) or after Game Over (SPE/CPC). In the end, this feature matters very little, but when you watch the Results Desk with Ron and Nancy feature after the 16-bit opening sequence, you might be slightly more thrilled to see your handle featured in one or more of the track records than how they would appear in the more usual high score tables of old.
The first entirely common feature in the game is the track selection screen, which allows you to also enter the garage and the car sales office. Here, you can also view the specs of each featured car and their upgraded versions by clicking on your chosen car. At the bottom of the screen, you can see your current amount of cash, your current car, and the conditions for your car's engine, body, fuel and tires.
If any of these conditions appear alarmingly low, you should go to the garage to fix them for a certain amount of money. The garage will also offer you single-shot missile weapons, as well as upgrades, including power steering, turbo charger, side armour, high speed kit, spin assist and a braking enhancer with the name "Retro".
Entering the car sales office is practically futile, until you have won at least a few races to pile up on cash. After all, buying a better car requires a considerable amount of money, so you might want to consider carefully about spending everything in the garage. In the AMIGA and ATARI ST versions, you are able to haggle with the car sales person, but your options are more often silly and unhelpful than realistically potential haggles. The 8-bit versions only give you a certain amount of cash against your old car when doing any purchases.
Although these menu screens are rather nice and interesting in their own way, they are rarely anything less than a chore in a racing game. The only way to make these screens more operable and swift is to either make the cursor faster, or make it mouse-operated, which is what the 16-bit versions have done. So, in the AMIGA and ST versions, keep your mouse plugged in the designated mouse port, while having a joystick in the other one. The 8-bits are joystick-operated, except for the NES version, which obviously uses the pad, which isn't any better, really. If, however, you happen to be playing either of the lower-spec AMSTRAD or SPECTRUM versions, the menu screens have been largely reduced to text-only menus.
By selecting a track - any track on the list - you are taken to the starting line of the chosen track, where you will unalterably start from the tail end of the line-up. As mentioned in the Description section of this entry, the race is viewed straight from above your car; however, there are differences in how the camera follows your car. Most versions have the camera follow your car in a dynamic manner, not exactly centering on your car all the time, but rather keeping the focus on it while keeping the movements both alive and limited to the immediate vicinity of the track. The NES version is the most obviously different in this, as it keeps your car firmly centered, and doesn't have any notable camera movement which would make it feel alive. The three 8-bit home computer versions keep the viewing area similarly restricted to the 16-bits, but the camera doesn't move in a similarly organic manner, opting to keeping your car mostly to the central area of the screen. Where the NES version surpasses the other 8-bits is the smoothness and speed of scrolling, since the C64 version is surprisingly jerky, and the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions are just slow - the latter considerably more than the former.
Driving your car is relatively simple, regardless of the version you happen to be playing. Accelerate by pressing and keeping the fire button down, decelerate by letting the fire button go, turn clockwise and anti-clockwise by pulling the joystick left or right, and you can also perform a handbrake turn by letting go of the gas pedal and immediately turning. When you have equipped your car with missiles, launch a front missile with pushing the joystick up, and rear missile with joystick down. Obviously, largely the same controls go for the NES pad, except there, accelerating happens with the A-button, and there's also a pause mode under the Start button, as usual. On the keyboard-based machines, you can find pause under the P-key, and on the 16-bits, Esc quits the current game.
Regarding the controllability, the C64 fans will have to be severely disappointed, because for some unfathomable reason, this version has your car decrease speed whilst turning, as if braking, which makes the gameplay feel particularly unnatural and cumbersome. Even the slower SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions feel more natural to play due to them having this detail done properly, but they still feel a bit off, as if being constantly driven on ice or something - driving the car feels a bit too floaty. Also, in the C64 version, bumping into anything even slightly causes you to back up a few inches, and you can easily get stuck into walls and other cars due to some collision detection problems. This problem is also present, if not equally bad, in the NES version, which also shares some of the C64 version's unnatural driving feel. The 16-bit versions are floatier than not, but feel much more natural.
What I have always disliked about the original Super Cars, particularly compared to the sequel, is that all the tracks are made of 90-degree turns and nothing else. Due to how the camera follows your car and limits the view, it is sometimes necessary to just simply memorize the tracks so you won't be bumping into walls all the time. This problem is almost entirely absent in the NES version, in which the camera is kept constantly centered on your car.
In its original and usual form, Super Cars has a nice sense progression. The first track is a figure of eight, where the overlapping bit is handled with a bridge - as is every other overlapping part during the course of the game. Being an introductory race, you only have four opponents to race against, and four laps to get through. Winning this first race will not award you with nearly as much money as later races will, which feature more opponents, longer and more convoluted track designs and more laps. Unlike its most natural point of comparison, Super Sprint, you can make progress in Super Cars, even if you don't win a race - you merely win less money for a lower position.
The reason why I said "original and usual form" is, because the NES version starts the run with a ridiculously long and complex track, and then moves on to what would be maybe the third or fourth track in the more familiar versions of Super Cars. In other words, the track designs are rather different on the NES, and not for the better, because you cannot strategize your garage purchases in the same way you do in every other version of the game due to higher gas and tyre consumption. Having a slightly iffy collision detection doesn't exactly help, either, but in the NES version's defense, I can also say that the collision detection isn't particularly flawless on the other 8-bits, either.
Because the game ultimately progresses in a similar way across all versions, it doesn't make sense to dwell on that, except make mention that all the computer versions have a password for each new difficulty level of the game, and the NES version uses a colour code system. So the only thing left to do here is to put the versions in some sort of an order that makes sense. While the NES version is easily the smoothest and fastest of all the 8-bits, it suffers from having a nonsensical progression of tracks, and the cumbersome car handling makes the later tracks practically impossible to beat without having all the upgrades. On the 16-bits, the level of detail in the car control is simply incomparable, and somewhat surprisingly, it's the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions that got that bit the closest, which makes all the difference.
1. COMMODORE AMIGA / ATARI ST
2. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k / AMSTRAD CPC 128k
3. NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
4. COMMODORE 64
5. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k / AMSTRAD CPC 64k
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GRAPHICS
If I remember correctly, I think one of the reasons why most of us youngsters from my home area playing Super Cars II on the Amiga were as obsessed about it as we were, was because it felt more life-like than any other racing game we had seen thus far. You get to talk to people and race in seemingly realistic race tracks with natural surroundings, and all the little details were just absolutely fantastic to behold back in the day. When I first saw and played the C64 version of the original Super Cars, suffice to say, I wasn't nearly as impressed. However, eventually becoming more familiar with the 16-bit versions, I realized that the sequel wasn't actually that far ahead of its predecessor.
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| Opening sequences, where available, top to bottom: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, NES. |
From all the 8-bit platforms, the NES was the only one to be given something akin to the original opening sequence, although it's still a rather condensed rendition of it. Upon booting up, you get an annoyingly white screen with grey text, where you also see the logo of the publishing company, Electro Brain. Then, you get an animated title screen with a relatively small signpost in the foreground displaying a redesigned game title logo, with the game's cars driving behind it, clouds moving in the sky, and a series of biplanes dragging long message sheets displaying the copyrights and such. Of course, it's all a bit lacking in detail and frankly a bit ugly, aside from the cars perhaps. Once you decide to start the game, you are taken to a colour code screen, where you can enter a code based on the colours on each car, which might let you start the game from a later level.
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| Main menu/track selection. Top row, left to right: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64. Bottom row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128k, NES, Amstrad CPC 128k. |
The C64 version is the only one of the 8-bits to even attempt at a similar screen, but the slight uncentered and misaligned feel of the original has been changed to a completely rectangular look, so much as to extend the brick wall behind the cars, obscuring the view to the entrance to the office.
The rest of the 8-bits feature the cars parked up side by side in an aligned manner in front of the brick wall on the left side of the screen, and the car sales office on the right is higher than in the C64 and 16-bit versions. Perhaps most notably, though, there is no trees or clouds in the background in the SPECTRUM, AMSTRAD and NES versions - just a colour gradient of sorts. Uniquely, the NES version is missing the info panel from this screen. You might also want to take note of the order of the cars' colours on the lower half 8-bits, and the fact that the SPECTRUM version has a rather cyan overall look, while the AMSTRAD version goes with a very dark blue and red theme.
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| Car dealer screens. Top row, left to right: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64. Bottom row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128k, NES, Amstrad CPC 128k. |
All the 8-bit versions have a more or less cut-down look at the office. In the C64 version, you get a jolly burly man in a brown suit, in a room with the only ornamental element being the purple curtain. Also, the purchase and dialogue options part is laid over a page of an unpatterend scroll notebook. In the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, both of which continue their specific colour themes, we get a slightly more serious-looking man, with one secretary behind him, and a less ornamental wood panel (uncomfortably red in the SPECTRUM version) to carry the text bits. The NES version looks like the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions would have, if they had access to more colours.
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| Garage screens. Top row, left to right: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64. Bottom row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128k, NES, Amstrad CPC 128k. |
Again, the other 8-bit versions do this differently, with the woman being placed at the center of the counter, and the items surrounding her instead of looking randomly shelved. In the SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, you cannot really say much about her curly hair, because the SPECTRUM version is monochrome in that sense, and the AMSTRAD version makes her hair look like it has white stripes, but it could also be a weird lighting effect. Her striped shirt has been switched to what I suppose is either a white tank top or just a sports bra, who knows. She has been made less risque in her appearance in the NES version, now wearing a more plain shirt-like item with a name tag, and she also has a black hair here, and again somehow weirdly uniquely, she is not spreading her arms on the desk. It's the weird little details like these that can sometimes make all the difference.
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| Menu screens from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k (top row) and Amstrad CPC 64k (bottom row) versions. |
Unfortunately for the 48k SPECTRUM and 64k AMSTRAD gamers, you don't get to see any of the above graphics, because the menu screens are just text-based menus, with a stamp sized picture of the office and garage featured on their respective screens. Oddly, the AMSTRAD version displays differently coloured Super Cars logos, as opposed to the consistently cyan logos in the SPECTRUM version, but you will notice the highlighter is of the same colour as the game title logo.
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| Car info screens from Commodore Amiga (top row) and Atari ST (bottom row). |
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| More car info screens, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128k, Amstrad CPC 128k, NES, Commodore 64. |
Now we get to the racing screens, and we take each version separately, with four screenshots from mostly random spots from the nine available tracks, just to get some variety. My focus here was to get screenshots of the starting lights, some puddles of water and/or oil, and a shot of the player car shooting a missile at another racer either ahead or behind. One of the screenshots is just a random filler for the sake of looking at more details.
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| Racing screens from the Commodore Amiga version. |
At this point, you might also want to memorize the way the info panel looks in more detail, because the damage meters use a tri-color indication style, and the speedometer uses a blue block. All the info is seated on a wooden panel, again.
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| Racing screens from the Atari ST version. |
Although these screenshots don't represent the full range of nature elements, I can verbally confirm, that there are water elements in the ATARI ST version, too. It's just that they appear less naturally, and more sparingly. In general, the roadside areas are considerably less detailed, which makes the game already less interesting to play here. The ST version's colours appear more to their disadvantage here, with your car's blue parts blending awkwardly with the darker road bits. Moreover, the cars appear terribly flat and lifeless compared to the AMIGA version's cars. At least the info panel is similar enough, and the scrolling is fast and smooth.
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| Racing screens from the Sinclair ZX Spectrum version(s). |
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| Racing screens from the Amstrad CPC version(s). |
The same road pattern problem is featured in the AMSTRAD version, as well, but at least the cars are now shown in green-and-blue colours to make them pop out better. Also, the different cars look more different with colours than their monochrome counterparts on the SPECTRUM. The track graphics are otherwise similar to the SPECTRUM version, but the info panel is rather simplified in its now mostly red presentation. Unfortunately, because the CPC version runs slower than the SPECTRUM version, the road's flickering on the move is even more annoying.
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| Racing screens from the Commodore 64 version. |
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| Racing screens from the NES version. |
Last, but not least, the NES version minimizes all the info stuff, and practically gives the full screen for the racing action. For the info stuff, you get two small yellow blocks at the top of the screen, which give you the remaining laps and your current placing in the race; and at the bottom of the screen, there are four vertical rods, which are the damage indicators. I suppose, in the quality of roadside elements and overall look of the cars and track things, the NES version is the closest to the ATARI ST version from all the 8-bits - only the roads seem to lack some depth. The scrolling here is definitely fast and smooth, so all in all, it's a pretty good deal.
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| Race results screens. Top row, left to right: Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64. Bottom row, left to right: Sinclair ZX Spectrum, NES, Amstrad CPC. |
I could have also included high score tables where available, and perhaps even loading screen notifications, but they really offer nothing of value to this comparison, so we go to the results of this section now. The AMIGA version is really the supreme one, followed closely by its 16-bit competitor. Easily the best 8-bit version in visuals is the NES version, followed by the C64 version. I cannot honestly say I prefer the AMSTRAD or SPECTRUM version over the other, because they both have things I prefer more about them, so I have to give them a shared spot.
1. COMMODORE AMIGA
2. ATARI ST
3. NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
4. COMMODORE 64
5. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k / AMSTRAD CPC 128k
6. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k / AMSTRAD CPC 64k
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SOUNDS
For all you tidbit enthusiasts out there, you might be intrigued to know, that while the developing team, Magnetic Fields, was established by former Mr. Chip Software personnel (Shaun Southern and Andrew Morris et al), and had their first games published in 1989, Super Cars was the first game to use their legendary recorded clip of Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March" from "Götterdämmerung". In this occasion, though, only the original AMIGA version has this included, which is already a point in its favour.
If, like me, you were introduced to Super Cars II prior to ever seeing the original game, the soundtrack would likely have been a bit underwhelming, which as a big fan of Ben Daglish, feels a bit disheartening to say, but then again, Barry Leitch's slightly more techno-based soundtrack for Super Cars II felt more appropriate for the time. But I'm getting far too ahead of myself here. Ben Daglish's musical environment for the original Super Cars is more based on hard rock and fast bass guitar melodies, which combined with strange drum echoes feels a bit unnatural overall, no matter how sampled the sounds in the AMIGA original are.
As far as I'm able to tell, there are six different tunes in the AMIGA soundtrack, most of which are fairly similar to each other, being high-energy, up-tempo bass-driven tracks of scarce riffs and even scarcer melodies played with synth horns. The opening sequence is its own track, only played at the booting of the game, which starts off slowly with annoyingly echoed solo drums beating away, which later on turns into a slightly less energetic variation on the theme from track 1. The shopping menu screens feature an up-tempo tune, and tracks 2 and 3 feature something rather similar, but less melodic ones, making them drown a little in the set of similar tunes. The fourth racing tune is a slower one, and has a more menacing feel to it, making it differ to its advantage from the rest. The four in-race tunes loop through the next set of four races, and so forth.
Unfortunately, as qualified as the AMIGA is to produce high quality sounds, the music written for this version is so fully arranged, that the sound effects were left to alternate between certain channels in the music, so whenever you hear tire squeals and crash noises during a race, some of the instruments get swapped in favour of the effects, making it all feel rather C64'esque. In addition to the aforementioned two effects, there's a countdown honker at the beginning of each race, a "ka-ching" cash register noise whenever you purchase something, and a bout of applause in the results screen following the race. It's a bit messy, and with the up-tempo tunes, the soundscape of Super Cars has a tendency to become rather overwhelming.
Upon booting up, the ATARI ST version offers a key to toggle music and sound effects, which is M, and for those who disliked the AMIGA soundtrack, it might come as an unexpectedly welcome option. However, the ST soundtrack is not just a completely different sounding soundtrack, thanks to its use of the sound chip's own sounds instead of samples; some of the tunes are actually different. I guess Daglish realized his original soundtrack wouldn't work similarly on a non-sample based sound system, so the soundtrack had to be rewritten slightly. The opening sequence tune is the same as in the AMIGA original, and the second and fourth in-race tune are the same; the third in-race tune has merely switched its location from the original first in-race tune. So, in the end, only the menu and the first in-race tune were changed. And to be frank, Daglish's work here is more suited to a pure chiptune sound, particularly without the interruptions of sound effects during race. As was mentioned before, you can also switch to just hearing sound effects by pressing M during play, which is honestly better than to have them both simultaneously. What you don't get here, though, is the cash register's ka-ching noise.
Considering the history of awesomeness in terms of music and sounds on the C64, one would expect it to be the next best thing. Well, now you have to realize that the game was squeezed into a single load, largely due to the British 8-bit gaming industry focusing almost entirely on cassettes, and a multi-loading cassette version was not a particularly attractive option. So without an opening sequence, the entire game features only two tunes: a rendition of what was originally used as the first of four in-race tunes for the shopping menus, and a short jingle for completing a race, which isn't based on anything from the 16-bit versions. During races, you will only hear awkward engine droning in oddly various forms (perhaps an audio bug?), tire squeal, crash noises and a short diddle when crossing the lap/finish line. Hardly impressive, but adequate.
Of course, when you compare that to the lower-spec SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions, the C64 feels relatively well-off. In the 48k SPECTRUM version, you only get some in-race sound effects: starting lights beeps, tyre squeal (which is actually a quickly repeating "pjut-pjut" noise) and some crash noises; no music whatsoever. The good thing is, the sound effects never get annoying here. Conversely, the 64k AMSTRAD version does have a slightly more annoying tire squeal noise, but it could be worse. The low-spec CPC version just barely wins over the 48k SPECTRUM version by featuring applause in the results screen.
The 128k upgrades are a vastly different deal, however. While they're still not as versatile as the 16-bit versions, their soundtracks are built roughly in the same manner as the AMIGA version. Both the 128k SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions have the same shopping tune as in the ATARI ST version, only in slightly different sounds, and like in the ST version, no "ka-ching" sound when purchasing anything. The in-race soundscape is more Amiga-esque in that you get both music and effects simultaneously. For both SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD, this is even less of a good idea than for the AMIGA, because you get less channels for playing sounds, which makes the music drop almost completely out when hearing the frankly overwhelming tire squeal, which happens practically all the time. Still, the sound effects are nice, and all the necessary ones are featured, although the SPECTRUM version has the effects somewhat better designed.
Finally, there's the NES version, for which the soundtrack was apparently written by Barry Leitch, though left uncredited, who then went on to write the soundtrack for Super Cars II. Leitch's soundtrack is almost entirely based on Daglish's tunes, but there are some differences in all the tunes that make them feel somewhat apart from the originals - not just because the entire soundtrack is sorely missing a low-frequency melodic instrument. Yep, no bass. Drums you do get, and simultaneous sound effects, which actually do not interfere with the in-race music, all of which are otherwise well enough designed, but the omission of bass, particularly in originally such a heavily bass-oriented soundtrack, can come as a bit of a shock. Frankly, it gets rather grating after a while, because it feels incomplete. In fact, the soundtrack isn't complete in some other ways, as well, because there is no shopping music, no ka-ching noise for buying things, no applause or a jingle for the results screen, and one of the four original racing tunes was dropped. In some ways, the NES soundtrack is vastly superior to the other 8-bit versions: it has more tunes, and it handles the simultaneous sound effects better. The missing bass is a big letdown, though.
In the end, there is no sonically perfect version of Super Cars. Sure, if you're a purist, the AMIGA version is the way to go, but for my ears at least, the ST version is the more balanced option. The NES version offers, despite all its faults, the best 8-bit soundtrack out there, but listening to the music separately from the game, I think I would rather listen to the 128k SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD soundtracks, which together offer just enough material to make for a good soundtrack, if still not versatile enough to compete with the NES version. The C64 soundtrack is well made, although drastically hindered by the lack of RAM and the decision not to go with a multi-loading tape version or a separate disk version.
1. ATARI ST
2. COMMODORE AMIGA
3. NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
4. ZX SPECTRUM 128k / AMSTRAD CPC 128k
5. COMMODORE 64
6. AMSTRAD CPC 64k
7. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k
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OVERALL + VIDEO LINK
Whenever a game is specifically designed with a 16-bit machine in mind, it rarely, if ever, happens, that the game might suit the 8-bits better. Super Cars is no exception, and in fact, it only exhibits how much superior the 16-bits really are, when things are done properly. The boringly mathematical, if sometimes inaccurate scores for our comparison this time are as follows:
1. COMMODORE AMIGA: Playability 5, Graphics 6, Sounds 6 = TOTAL 17
1. ATARI ST: Playability 5, Graphics 5, Sounds 7 = TOTAL 17
2. NINTENDO ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM: Playability 3, Graphics 4, Sounds 5 = TOTAL 12
3. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 128k: Playability 4, Graphics 2, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 10
3. AMSTRAD CPC 128k: Playability 4, Graphics 2, Sounds 4 = TOTAL 10
4. COMMODORE 64: Playability 2, Graphics 3, Sounds 3 = TOTAL 8
5. AMSTRAD CPC 64k: Playability 1, Graphics 1, Sounds 2 = TOTAL 4
6. SINCLAIR ZX SPECTRUM 48k: Playability 1, Graphics 1, Sounds 1 = TOTAL 3
Now, keep in mind that the playability score for the lower-spec AMSTRAD and SPECTRUM is lower due to the segmented tape loading system. Both the 128k versions load up everything all at once. It really affects the relative enjoyment of these 8-bit versions that much. The AMIGA and ST versions are practically equally good, because both versions are equally good to play, but have the visuals and sonics different, so they balance each other out nicely. The much maligned NES version was a surprisingly positive experience for me, having less than optimal expectations, but in terms of playability, which is the most important bit, I would definitely rank the 128k SPECTRUM and AMSTRAD versions above it, even with their comparative slowness. The C64 version is just a disappointment in most terms.
Because I wanted to get this comparison out before April, I decided to link a third party comparison video here. Here's one from a channel that FRGCB most lately got a permission to include videos from, called WORG - World of Retro Gaming. More of WORG's videos shall be included into old comparisons in the near future.
And also because I'm not going to do a comparison of Super Cars II - because it doesn't have enough versions to bother about it - here's some screenshots of the culprit, to get a glimpse of how different it is, if you haven't played it.
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