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My friend is organizing a scavenger hunt for me and him to do. He based it off of Into The Radius. Basically me and him are both going to have 3 containers with items inside of them. We are going to hide these containers all around the town I live in. I will be recording this when it starts if y'all want to watch it.

I cooked the perfect soft boiled egg today. Japanese style.  It was delicious.

Mastered #8 - Top Gear 2 (SNES)

Don't miss out on some of the benefits that stereo can provide!

Let's continue the positive mood of reviewing sequels to classic racing games and head straight into an SNES favorite. I already talked about the original Top Gear not too long ago, so, at the risk of repeating myself a little, this write-up of Top Gear 2 might sound slightly similar. The reason being that this then-new version published by Kemco in 1993 is the same in gameplay as the original but with some noticeable improvements. The looks, the sounds, and the options available for the player all feel like they got a boost from the previous game, all while still keeping the same simple and intuitive gameplay the series was known for. It's the same nuts and bolts from the original Top Gear, albeit with a shinier coat of paint and some minor differences. When it comes to reminiscing about the best racing games on the SNES, most people always point at the usual suspects from the big N — Mario Kart and F-Zero. However, Top Gear 2 here serves as a strong reminder that there were other solid titles on the platform as well.

Out of the way, roadhog!

For this sequel, Gremlin Graphics (the devs behind the game) sought to keep things familiar yet, at the same time, introduce a new approach to the racing players would be doing. Instead of having a quadri-selection of vehicles to pick from like in the last game, this time players only have one. However, your Lotus-lookalike machine won't have the same stats throughout your roadgoing adventure because upgrading is now integral to your progression. Before each race day, a screen will show you the country, city, and length of the track you will be tackling, alongside weather information. After this screen, players will be presented with another screen that allows them to use their hard-earned money on races to improve their machine's engine, gearbox, nitro, a selection of both wet and dry tires, and various pieces of armor that cover the front, rear, and sides. It is here where you can choose to invest your funds in whichever upgrades you feel more inclined to. Want to go ahead and get the best possible nitro out of the gate with no extra armor? You can do it, at the cost of having to struggle to not bang your car too much to make said upgrade worthless. In Top Gear 2, managing your vehicle's condition is crucial to succeed during races.

Speaking of the races themselves, you'll be driving against 19 other opponents on the track, all of them piloting the same car as you, albeit a different color. Gone is the forced split-screen from the original game in favor of having your car front and center on the screen. This automatically translates to a lot more screen real estate use and an improved frame rate, which is an aspect the first Top Gear sort of suffered from. And while the frame rate isn't as smooth as it can be, the improvement is certainly much appreciated. The game moves at a steady clip for the most part and it is a treat to watch. Even if Top Gear 2 decided to stay firmly planted in the original. some might say dated, driving style of using pixel scaling to create a sense of movement and speed, it does so in an admirable manner. While other racers of the time might have decided to leap ahead and experiment with Mode-7 graphics or even step into polygons, Top Gear 2 boldly proclaimed that pixel scaling was still viable.

Wet tires are essential for driving in snow conditions

With Top Gear 2 comes a ton more tracks and countries to race on, taking the total this time to a whopping 64 tracks spanning 16 different countries. You begin your journey over in Australasia and end in the United States, after following an alphabetical order to your progression. Each country hosts a cup consisting of 4 races, and for you to move forward, you have to place 10th or better. However, you have to keep in mind that cash prizes are only awarded to those finishing in the first six places. After finishing a tournament, the game gives you a long-ass password should you wish to continue your current progress with the upgrades you have already procured (No saves here, fellas!).

Speaking of the 64 tracks you'll be racing on, I gotta say, they have a good amount of personality for the time. As with the previous game, expect the same perfectly intuitive controls to guide you on your endeavor of conquering these roads. You'll be tackling chicanes, tight turns, long straights, and various stage hazards on your way to the finish line. This time, however, weather plays a more significant role. Not only do you have to upgrade your wet or dry tires accordingly for each run, but you'll also need to consider the reduced visibility of fog and nighttime conditions. Speaking of which, night driving in this 16-bit racing feels a special kind of charming, what with the taillights of the other cars moving on the horizon and the chill atmosphere. In addition to this, both rain and snow necessitate a more careful approach. You can't simply go into corners at full speed as smart use of the brakes and deceleration go a long way in helping you navigate these unscathed. Outside of those scenarios, you can expect the rest of the cornering to be similar to the previous game, with your car turning better depending on how much you "hug" the corners in advance.

This is a pretty sweet nighttime effect for a 16-bit racer

Besides the twisting turns and occasional ramps and logs you'll have to jump over (a staple of Gremlin Graphics' racers!), the background scenery is what probably stands out the most from these courses. It's a simple approach but one that proves highly effective for the gamer with the imagination to magically transport to these locations. Simply put, seeing the Tower of Pisa in Italy, the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain, or the Niagara Falls in Canada add a charming element to these backgrounds to make you feel like you're traveling the world. What's more, some very basic 3D elements are placed in certain parts of the track to give the illusion of buildings and tunnels, and while they are exceedingly archaic by today's standards, they still fulfill their role in the game.

While driving through these courses, players will also find a number of pickups — all new to this entry in the series. They consist of an "S" token that will give you a brief burst of speed, "$" tokens for extra cash, and "N" tokens for extra nitro during races. You begin the race with a standard charge of six nitro boosts, but you are able to pick more throughout the track. Knowing when to use these is crucial to coming in first. In addition to managing your nitro, the upper left side of the screen also shows you your car's current condition and damage, letting you know how much abuse your machine can take. The fuel indicator is back but there are no pit stops in the game this time around. Instead, you'll need to upgrade your vehicle's gearbox to improve your fuel capacity to endure the longer tracks. The upper right side of the screen holds a yellow track map, which is a key element to aid you in anticipating turns and knowing where you and the lead CPU driver are on the course.

These (archaic) polygonal structures on the side of the road stick out a lot

Besides the charming scenery provided by the backgrounds and various weather effects, one last point of the game's presentation I want to highlight is your drive's speech bubbles, which make a return from the first game. Expect a number of "Eat my dust!" and "Banzai!!!" as well as other different (cocky) expressions from your driver as you tear through the track. Top Gear 2's presentation may be simple but it manages to be so sensibly and functionally presented that you can't help but to be satisfied by it.

The music package's structure is similar to the previous game, with only a handful of jammin' tunes to go along. You have your main title theme, three race themes, and one ending theme. The OST somehow manages to be one track shorter than the already severely limited original Top Gear. The few tunes are, nonetheless, pretty good. They will make you hum along as you weave through your opponents or bask in the mood of nighttime racing. They will also make you wish there were a lot more of them in the game, though. Barry Leitch is not behind these, and instead, the music is credited to Patrick Phelan, Ashley Bennet, and Paul Bennet. Ayers Rock and Canterbury Plains are my two standouts here. Some cool remixes of these tracks exist out there, too. Nice!

Top Gear 2 has a boatload of achievements, 111 of them. This list and the game in general, however, are slightly easier than the original Top Gear. Experienced retro drivers will blaze through these in no time. You are basically required to win in each track and obtain 1st place in all tournaments on the hardest Championship difficulty setting. Most races are easy to win, with the exception of the ones featuring rain or snow, since those can get a little tricky. That said, once you get into the groove of how to manage your speed in those, they go down easily. In addition, you'll have to obtain enough cash to fully upgrade all aspects of your car, completely dominate a tournament on the max difficulty setting, feel The Need for Speed, use more than 10 nitro boosts in a race (Kyoto, Japan is perfect for this!), and perhaps the most tricky of them all, win a race without ever bumping into anything, lol. Passwords are permitted, and you can use various to begin tournaments with a fully upgraded vehicle on any difficulty you desire. Even though these ease things considerably, proper driving is still important to win, especially in the last couple of tournaments. All in all, it's a very comprehensive and balanced list.

The retro babes in swimsuits are only for the real winners ;D

TL;DR: Top Gear 2 is just as good as the original. It manages to retain the simplicity, intuitiveness, and exciting gameplay of the first game while adding some extra pizazz and flair to its visual package and changing some minor things in its structure. Its only real fault is not providing us with more of those exceptional retro beats. For anyone who enjoys retro racers, it's a strong recommendation for this genre in the SNES library.

As a final note, a Top Gear 3000 write-up will come eventually. I'm not too fond of the futuristic take of that one but there's no denying that the gameplay is still great. I'm kind of stuck, though, because I went first for the Genesis port of Top Gear 2 and, well, let's say that in addition to the port being craptacular, that version is insanely difficult as well, so who knows when I'll be able to beat that one.

See you in my next write-up!