Before the concepts of "skilled-driving" games improved with games such as Hitmaker's (AM3) Crazy Taxi and AM2's Eighteen (18) Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, Sega's AM1 team developed a driving arcade game that was like practically no other, something with a BIG NAME that would really have an impact on arcades and vice versa. Just think of Cool Riders (OutRunners) with "freedom".
The result was "Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders". In honor of the high-dollar motorcycle company celebrating 95 years in business (1903-1998), this game was released. What better time was it to release this game? Be honest here.
It allowed players to explore through the city of Los Angeles on one of five Harley motorcycles such as the FLSTF Fat Boy, the infamous 1948 FL Panhead, Dyna Wide Glide, XL1200S Sportster, and the obscure police motorcycle; the FXRP. Each bike has its own attributes, but unfortunately the selection screen does not give them out, making this game seem a bit rushed. But anyways, the main goal is to complete a series of checkpoints around a barren city and collect hidden "tokens" (which resemble the Harley-Davidson logo) that give you bonus points.
Let's break it down in review, shall we? Even nearly 2 decades later, it is kick-ass! It's a good driving game for beginners and even people who aren't fans of driving games at all. Compared to other Sega driving arcade games, you don't have to master much advanced techniques, and the controls are smooth. There isn't as much oversteering as I have seen in overrated games like Scud Race/Sega Super GT and even WaveRunner or Sega Rally Championship.
All in all, the gameplay is very fun. You're given anywhere from three to five random checkpoints (depending on machine settings). It doesn't last for long unlike in Crazy Taxi, but not too many other games allow you to drive motorcycles in an open-world atmosphere. The main challenge is to avoid bumping and colliding with cars, especially on the fast freeways. But the biggest challenge for me is getting all of the hidden tokens located in secret areas. Sometimes when you spend too much time collecting tokens, you will slow down your speed and won't make it to the next checkpoint in time. Also, the game had some pretty unreliable collision detection with cars, especially when you turn towards busy streets. Sometimes when you complete a checkpoint (on the freeway), the arrows point at the wrong direction and can confuse players where they are supposed to go, and also forces you to make a wide drift turn. My advice is to look the map on the lower left of the screen to find where you are going to. But there are occasionally tokens that give you 5-10 seconds of bonus time to catch up to the next checkpoint--which is why I think this is quite a forgiving game.
For a game developed in late 1997, the graphics have held up quite well. The city of L.A. looks faithful for its time, and each portion of the city looks unique. The motorcycle riders all have their own style and personality. You have a Paul Phoenix-wannabe, a cowboy, a fat biker gang member wearing a bandana and denim jeans, a golden-blonde chick and a badass policewoman. You have a lot of things surrounding you such as pedestrians, buses, cars and you've got helicopters and airplanes flying over you while you taxi to the checkpoints. Running over things in sight such as shopping carts and trash cans is cool. There are also interesting things to look at such as an enormous dragon statues and UFOs surrounding areas like Hollywood. But in some areas the graphics are ugly. Some of the game is unpolished such as trees and vice versa. But if you squint, it's hardly noticeable and that is not really anything to be complaining about. All in all, the graphics are still impressive for its time.
The sound is okay. Very realistic motorcycle sounds with music pieces to accompany you. I like to press start and honk the bike's horn sometimes, especially with the police force motorcycle. I like the announcer who is loud and crazy. When you jump your bike off of things or do wheelies, he'll shout "Amazing!", "Dynamite!", "Cool!", "Cool it!!", etc. All in all, the soundtrack isn't anything that remarkable unless the machine's engine volume is turned down. Don't expect any "licensed" music; this is all MIDIs and PCM streams generated through the Sega Saturn sound chip (Yamaha YMF292). The genre type is mainly heavy metal and dramatic '80s chase tunes. Most of the music has digitized samples of cheesy guitar chords and detuned organs. It sounds good, but you're better off listening to AC/DC in your discman with your headphones on while you play the game. :P
Let's talk about the cabinet. I have played both versions; standard and deluxe. Either version would work for me really, although pressing the rear brake with my foot to perform drift turns is easier on the deluxe cabinet. Either way--it's the same game. The major difference is that the deluxe version has a tilting bike that unlocks right when you start the game, whilst the standard version has the same gameplay physics but you are just steering with the handlebars.
This is a very old arcade game, but it's challenging and exciting enough to where you will have plenty of fun, no matter how much money or time spend on playing this game. Harley-Davidson & L.A. Riders will keep you coming back. The game is still around at many high-end arcades such as Dave & Buster's and amusement parks. But if you want something longer, then you might want to consider the said-mentioned games above (Crazy Taxi and 18 Wheeler: APT) instead
The sad thing is, it's probably never going to be released on home systems due to licensing issues. If the Harley-Davidson license hadn't been (ab)used to make half-assed budget PC titles with the license; then this game would've been ported to the Dreamcast with very little problems. Hell, if it was a watered-down port released for the iOS software I would buy it. XD
Go find an arcade with this game and make sure you get your moneys worth... you won't be too disappointed.