Super Hang-On is a racing video game created and sold by Sega for arcade machines in 1987. It is a follow-up game to Hang-On, which was released in 1985. Both games use a motorcycle-shaped cabinet that mimics riding a motorcycle. A new version of the game, called Limited Edition Hang-On, was released for arcades in 1991.

Gameplay

The arcade mode in Super Hang-On is like the original Hang-On, but players can choose from four tracks based on continents. Each track has a different number of stages. If a player reaches the normal top speed of 280 km/h (174.2 mph), a turbo mode activates, allowing the player to go faster, up to 324 km/h (201.4 mph). Each stage in the game is about half the length of a stage in the original Hang-On. Africa is the shortest and easiest track with six stages. Asia is the second easiest and has ten stages, similar in length to the original Hang-On's course. The Americas has 14 stages and is the second hardest. Europe is the hardest track with 18 stages. At the start of a race, players can choose from four songs to play during the race, a feature taken from the game Out Run.

The Mega Drive/Genesis version of the game includes the full arcade version and an extra mode where players can recruit sponsors and earn money to buy upgrades for their bike. Progress in this mode is saved using a password made of letters and numbers, with two 14-character parts (example: "2FF2F433F32514 FFMJJGGK6AONNO"). The cover of this version shows a bike and rider with the same colors as Shinichi Itoh, a real-life racer who competed in the All-Japan 500 cc Championship on a Rothmans Honda NSR500.

Ports

The game was released for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Commodore 64 in 1987. Additional home versions followed for the Mega Drive/Genesis, Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, X68000, and IBM PC between 1989 and 1990. The game was also included in several Mega Drive/Genesis collections, such as Mega Games I (sold with the console as the Mega Drive Magnum Set) and Sega 6-Pak. It later appeared in Sega Arcade Gallery for the Game Boy Advance.

The arcade version of the game became available on the Wii’s Virtual Console service in Japan on September 14, 2010. It was later released in North America and Europe on May 3, 2012. Similar to Shinobi, which removed references to Marilyn Monroe, the Virtual Console version of Super Hang-On was slightly changed to avoid copyright issues. This included replacing in-game billboards that showed real brand names, such as Cibie, with billboards that displayed names of other Sega games, like OutRun and After Burner. This version was later released on Xbox Live Arcade in 2012 as part of the Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.

A version of the game was released for the Nintendo 3DS through the Nintendo eShop in Japan on March 27, 2013. This version included stereoscopic 3D effects and tilt controls to mimic the arcade experience. It was later released in North America and Europe on November 28, 2013.

Super Hang-On is playable in the in-game arcades of Yakuza 0, Yakuza 6, and Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine reported that Super Hang-On was the most successful upright arcade unit in May 1987. The ride-on cabinet became Japan's second highest-earning upright/cockpit arcade game of 1987, after Sega's Out Run. It later ranked as Japan's seventh highest-earning arcade game of 1988.

Peter Shaw of Your Sinclair reviewed the arcade game, describing it as "excellent, fast, and the most realistic motorbike ride" he had played. Mega Action reviewed the Mega Drive version and called it one of the best driving games for that system, giving it a score of 89%.

The ZX Spectrum version received a 10/10 rating in Sinclair User and earned the "SU Classic" award. It was also ranked number 27 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time list.