Super Sprint and its nearly identical successor Championship Sprint were shining examples of arcade top-down racing in the late 1980s. The goal was simple; race your car into first place and continue on to the next track. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "top down", it means that the entire track can been seen on one screen. Think of it more like "bird's eye view". One of arcade Super Sprint's main draws is the large, Pole Position-esque steering wheel, and furthermore the way in which it controlled. Steering in the arcade version of Super Sprint was a bit different than in standard racers. Instead of gently turning the wheel to navigate a corner, it was preferable to give the wheel a good spin and watch your car power slide around the corner! It took a bit of practice to learn how much spin to give for which type of turn. This style of steering went on to become immensely popular in the series of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart Super Off-Road games. There are several tracks in Super Sprint each with its own hazards and driving challenges. On one track you may run into oil slicks. On another, a powerful tornado is eagerly awaiting to take you out. You didn't think they were going to make it easy on you did you? To help out, the game offers powerups during the game in the form of wrenches. Collect 2 or 3 wrenches, win the race and then you will be able upgrade attributes such as top speed, turbo acceleration, tire grip, etc. Upgrading these things makes a noticeable change in the way your car handles. The track selection in Super Sprint is good. Unfortunately, if you've played Championship Sprint, you will find that there are far fewer choices. Still, the choices are identical to the arcade counterparts and just as much fun to race on. Super Sprint was developed by Atari which as you know, chose Tengen to be its publisher for its NES ports. Obviously, I don't need to mention the nastiness the Tengen/Nintendo publishing lawsuit got into. Thankfully, the NES port of Super Sprint made it out alive. The NES version features easily recognizable graphics from the arcade version. Some of the detail is missing, but there is no mistaking that you are playing Super Sprint. A major concern is how will the gameplay stand up with the lack of steering wheels? All in all, I'd say they did the best they could. The control is quite good. Instead of spinning the wheel wildly, the NES version simply makes you hold the control pad down through the turn. As your car fish-tales around the turn, you must judge when to release it. This method is pretty much all that could have been done and works well. However it just isn't quite as much fun as spinning those steering wheels on the arcade version. Sound in the game is middle of the road. Some sound effects are a hit and some are a miss. This game is really about the racing though, so I think you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who finds that the sound and music in this game detrimental to its overall quality. As far as gripes go (lack of steering wheel aside), I would have to say that the tracks can easily become repetitive. Also, occasional rubber band AI can be annoying but it is not insurmountable. Super Sprint has never been given the translation it deserves. I've played several versions and either it looks great and the control stinks or vice versa. The NES version of Super Sprint does the best job of recreating the control of the original, but some of the graphical detail just wasn't sharp enough for my tastes. Still, playing this one quickly becomes addictive and you'll constantly say, "Just one more race...” Factor in that you'll own a rare (gasp) unlicensed black Tengen cartridge and it becomes even more purchase worthy. There are better racers on the NES, but if you were a fan of Super Sprint in the arcades you will definitely be please with Super Sprint on the NES.
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