Super Monaco GP
Also known as: G.P. Mônaco
A superb Formula One racing game from Sega that took sprite-scaled graphics to a whole new level. The game's single track offered a very reasonable representation of the famous Monaco Grand Prix circuit. Players could chose to race with one of three different skill/gear settings : Beginner : Automatic Gears Intermediate : 4-Speed Manual gears Professional : 7-Speed Manual Gears Before entering the Grand Prix, a qualification lap had to be completed. In the event of qualifying, the qualifying time determined the player's position on the starting grid. During the race itself, checkpoints had to be reached within a set time, or the race was over.
Released
1 May 1989
37 years ago
Overview
Summary
A superb Formula One racing game from Sega that took sprite-scaled graphics to a whole new level. The game's single track offered a very reasonable representation of the famous Monaco Grand Prix circuit. Players could chose to race with one of three different skill/gear settings : Beginner : Automatic Gears Intermediate : 4-Speed Manual gears Professional : 7-Speed Manual Gears Before entering the Grand Prix, a qualification lap had to be completed. In the event of qualifying, the qualifying time determined the player's position on the starting grid. During the race itself, checkpoints had to be reached within a set time, or the race was over.
Description
About This Game
Super Monaco GP (スーパーモナコGP) is a Formula One racing simulation video game released by Sega, originally as a Sega X Board arcade game in 1989, followed by ports for multiple video game consoles and home computers in the early 1990s. It is the sequel to the 1979 arcade game Monaco GP.
The arcade game consists mostly of one race: the Grand Prix of Monaco (though represented by a totally different track, albeit with the same features of the real-life Circuit de Monaco). The player simply chooses a transmission type, qualifies, and race. The player must qualify in under 45 seconds in the shortened track in order to actually race. If he fails, the game ends (though, in the home versions, even if the player fails to qualify, he still starts off the race at the last position). When in the race itself, there is also a position limit, which starts off on 20th (15th in the home versions) and decreases as the player bypasses checkpoints along the track, ultimately stopping on 3rd. If the player falls behind the indicated position and does not manage to recover fast enough, a game over happens.
The game was one of the first games to include a rear-view mirror, along with Winning Run. The Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Super Monaco GP adds a World Championship mode. In the World Championship mode, the goal is to win a season of races, and then go on to defend the title. The circuits are modeled on the ones used in the 1989 Formula One season, with background scenery similar to the real-world circuit venues, though without the wealth of details the Arcade version had. This Mega Drive/Genesis version was also released in arcades for the Sega Mega-Tech system board in 1990.
