Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon – Rider's Spirits

Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon – Rider's Spirits
Developer(s)	Genki
Publisher(s)	Masaya
Platform(s)	Super Famicom
Release	JP: September 30, 1994
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon - Rider's Spirits (バイク大好き！走り屋魂, lit. "I Love Bikes! Race Ya Soul")^[1] is a 1994 video game for the Super Famicom. It is a racing game that allows players to race on motorcycles.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

The bottom of the screen can serve two purposes in the game. In single-player mode, it can show the map race or it can show a simulated rearview mirror showing action behind the player. Like a real bike, it shows two rear-view mirrors.^[2]

There are eight characters with four types of characters. Each of the four character types has its attributes for speed, handling, acceleration.^[2]

Tracks in the game include various attributes such as ice, dirt, asphalt, and cobble-stone.^[2]

"Chicken Race" is a mode in the game where the player goes down a ramp and must stop as close to the edge without going over. Going over results in wrecking the motorbike.^[2]

It is possible to play in two or four player mode.^[3]

There are items when going through a "pit-stop" on the track and the racing itself is complex, with drifts and wheelies. The player can choose from eight characters of various appearances and has a fuel gauge to watch while playing the game. Two views are present; a first-person view through the motorcycle rear-view mirrors and a second view using a more conventional third-person view. Other than the number of laps and the lap time, all other information is in Japanese.

Development

The game uses the DSP-1 chip, which is the same chip used by Super Mario Kart.^[3][4] The DSP chip provides fast support for the floating point and trigonometric calculations needed by 3D math algorithms.^[5]

Release

The game was released on September 30, 1994 in Japan for the Super Famicom, and was published by Masaya.^[6] The game was never released outside of Japan, but in 2019 it was translated into English.^[7]

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Famitsu	26/40[6]
Video Games	74%[4]
Mega Fun	89%[8]
CVG	82/100[9]

Previews and reviews for the game noted the resemblance between Rider's Spirits and Super Mario Kart.^[10][3] Mega Fun went so far as to call the game a "Mario Kart Clone".^[8] EGM said it wasn't a Mario Kart sequel, but it "may as well be".^[2] Both EGM and Super Console noted that aside from using motorcycles the games are very similar.^[2][3]

Upon release, four reviews for Famitsu gave the game a score of 24/40.^[6]

Video Games 74%^[4]

Mega Fun 89%^[8]

CVG gave it a score of 82 out of 100.^[9]

See also

• Hashiriya

References

1. "Japanese title". Super Famicom. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2011-07-15.
2. EGM staff writers (August 1994). "International Outlook: Rider's Spirits". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Vol. 7, no. 8. p. 74.
3. Super Console staff writers (October 1993). "Super Console News Network". Super Console (in Italian). No. 8. Futura Publishing. p. 17.
4. "Reviews - Super Nintendo - Rider's Spirits". Video Games. April 1995. p. 114.
5. Byuu. "SNES Coprocessors — The Future Has Arrived". Archived from the original on 2012-03-07.
6. "バイク大好き！走り屋魂 [スーパーファミコン] / ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
7. "Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Tamashii - Rider's Spirits". ROMhacking.net. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2019-05-11.
8. Noak, Philipp (December 1994). "Test: Super Nintendo - Rider's Spirits". Mega Fun.
9. CVG staff writers (December 1994). "Review: Rider's Spirits". Computer+Videogiochi (in Italian). No. 43. Gruppo Editoriale Jackson. pp. 124–125.
10. Sega Power staff writers (January 1995). "News: Rider's Spirits". Sega Power. No. 62. Future Publishings. p. 7.