Enduro Racer (エンデューロレーサー) is a 1986 racing video game created and sold by Sega for arcade machines. It was released in two types of arcade machines: a stand-up machine with handlebars and a full-sized dirt bike machine. The game is often compared to Hang-On because it uses a similar engine and circuit board. In 1987, the game was later released for the Master System, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Thomson computers, and Atari ST.
Gameplay
Enduro Racer is a motorcycle racing game inspired by the sport of Enduro. Players ride a dirt bike through five stages that include hills and turns. They must avoid other riders, logs, and boulders. The game uses handlebars with a throttle and brake for control. Players can lift the handlebars on the cabinet to perform a wheelie. Jumping over logs is possible, but landing with the wheelie technique is needed to avoid crashing. During the race, players compete against a timer. If a player crashes, the timer stops, but restarting the game takes time and adds to the total race time.
Development
Before creating Enduro Racer, Sega game developer Yu Suzuki made Hang-On, his second game with the company. After choosing to make a motorcycle racing game, Suzuki had to pick a racing style. He liked dirt bikes, motocross, and Enduro, but Sega's research showed that road-based GP 500 racing was more popular worldwide, so that style was used for Hang-On. Enduro Racer gave Suzuki the chance to create a dirt bike game.
Enduro Racer was made available on many systems, including the Master System, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Atari ST. Activision handled the computer versions. The Commodore 64 version has four levels, with the third and fourth being harder versions of the first and second. The ZX Spectrum version includes five tracks and supports two-player multiplayer. The Japanese Master System version has ten unique levels, but other regions have only half as many levels because the cartridge size was 128 KB instead of 256 KB.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Enduro Racer as the most successful upright/cockpit arcade machine of August 15, 1986. It stayed at the top of the charts through September and October 1986. During the second half of 1986, it was Japan's second highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game, behind Sega's Space Harrier. It ranked as Japan's sixth highest-grossing upright/cockpit arcade game for the entire year of 1986.
In the United Kingdom, Enduro Racer was the eighth highest-grossing arcade game of 1986 in London. The ZX Spectrum version of the game reached number 2 on the UK sales charts in August 1987, after BMX Simulator. Later, in June 1988, Enduro Racer topped the UK budget sales chart.
In January 1987, Clare Edgeley reviewed the arcade game in Computer and Video Games, calling it "brilliant" and noting it was different from Hang-On. In 1993, the ZX Spectrum version was voted number 50 in the Your Sinclair Official Top 100 Games of All Time. A reviewer for Computer and Video Games praised the ZX Spectrum version for being close to the original arcade game, with smooth graphics. John Gilbert of Sinclair User also highly praised the ZX Spectrum version, saying the conversion "puts other top software houses to shame."
Ferdy Hamilton, a reviewer for Commodore User, was disappointed with the Commodore 64 version, mentioning "blob-like sprites," jerky controls, and stating the conversion could have been better than the ZX Spectrum version, which he called "unfaultable." Three reviewers for Zzap!64 strongly criticized the Commodore 64 version, pointing out poor features. One reviewer said, "It doesn't look, sound, or play anything like the original—in fact, it doesn't play at all well." A reviewer for ACE noted that the Atari ST version was a good conversion of the original, but the replacement of bike noises with music might disappoint some players.
Enduro Racer was released again for the Wii's Virtual Console in North America on December 15, 2008, and in Europe on January 9, 2009.