Arcade Video game published 29 years ago:
Rad Mobile (c) 1990 Sega.
Another in the long line of ground-breaking racing games from Sega, Rad Mobile is a twenty stage race across America; starting in Los Angeles and finishing in New York. With the game's release, Sega yet again introduced new gameplay elements to the genre, primarily in the form of dynamic weather effects. Sega's 1989 racer, "Turbo Out Run", also included limited weather effects, but they were far less prominent as a gameplay feature and a good deal less impressive than they are here.
Another Sega innovation is that many of Rad Mobile's stages have banked corners; with the car's cockpit view tilting to match the driving surface. Some stages also have police patrols, and players must either avoid or outrun the police cars or risk being pulled over. Being pulled over will result in a loss of valuable seconds.
In addition to the tight time limit, rival drivers (represented as red cars) and heavy, two-way traffic, players now had to contend with heavy rain, thick fog and darkness. Windscreen wipers and headlights had to be manually switched on by the player which, together with the first-person in-car view, gave a more realistic and interactive feel to standard but undeniably superb racing action.
- TECHNICAL -
Deluxe model
Runs on the Sega "System 32" hardware.
Players: 1
Control: paddle
Buttons: 2
- TRIVIA -
Even if the titlescreen says '1990', the game was released in February 1991 in Japan.
Also released as "Rad Mobile [Upright model]".
Rad Mobile was Sega's first 32bit arcade game.
Sega's legendary game mascot, Sonic The Hedgehog, is shown in this game dangling from the player's rear view mirror. This is actually the first time Sonic ever appeared in a video game.
Pony Canyon / Scitron released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Formula : G.S.M. Sega 5 - PCCB-00059) on April 21, 1991.
A Rad Mobile unit appears in the 1992 movie 'Encino Man'.
- UPDATES -
The US version is slightly different, it has the "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
* Rad Mobile's stages and relative driving conditions are as follows :
1. Los Angeles - Day
2. Mojave Desert - Day
3. Las Vegas - Night
4. Provo - Rain (features police patrol cars)
5. Salt Lake City - Day
6. Rocky Mountains - Day
7. Cheyenne - Thunder Storm (features police patrol cars)
8. Lincoln - Night
9. Omaha - Day
10. Kansas City - Fog (features police patrol cars)
11. St. Louis - Night
12. Springfield - Rain
13. Chicago - Day
14. Indianapolis - Night
15. Cincinnati - Day (features police patrol cars)
16. Columbus - Dusk
17. Pittsburgh - Night
18. Washington - Fog (features police patrol cars)
19. Philadelphia - Day
20. New York - Day
* The two-lane, oncoming traffic levels, such as the Rocky Mountains, are easier than they appear. Rather than trying to pass cars on the left and risk a head-on collision, pass them on the right. This is particularly good advice for the Rocky Mountains stage as it's possible to fall over the cliff edge that is situated on the left-hand side of the course.
* There are at least two endings to this game depending on what place the player finishes in and whether or not he or she used any short cuts. The best ending is achieved by finishing in first place without using any shortcuts.
- SERIES -
1. Rad Mobile (1990)
2. Rad Rally (1991)
- STAFF -
Developed by Sega-AM2.
- PORTS -
* CONSOLES:
[JP] Sega Saturn (1994) "Gale Racer [Model GS-9003]"
- CONTRIBUTE -
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