Life is shocking. Always has been, probably always will be.
Not all Japanese people are short. Shocked? I was. I'm a vertically restricted 5'8" (1m 72cm) which in my opinion is on the tail end of acceptable. 6' 0" would have been nice. But no. So imagine my shock when on first trip to Japan (some six years ago) when I discovered that many Japanese men and women towered above me. Clearing the elusive 6' 0". Shocked? I was. It didn't end there however. Shocks of many shapes and forms (much like Japanese people) have been hurtling towards me all my life.
Michel Buffa shocked me when he said this game was good. He said it back in 1994 but none-the-less it is a shocking statement because it's not.
The other shocking thing is that Dick Dastardly speaks Japanese. Fluently. As does Penelope Pitstop. And the Ant Hill Mob.
Wacky Races is not, I repeat, 'Not', a racing game. Shocked? Yes - me too.
Wacky Races is split into two parts. One part is betting. The Second part is map and object finding.
You bet on a race by selecting two cars from a selection of 10, they then race - such as it is. Each race is composed of a sequence of pre-rendered clips.
These clips are not as good as the actual cartoon and while faithful to varying degrees it should be remembered that the cartoon was 2D and the game is rendered, 1990's style, in 3D. It suffers.
Once you win a bet it's time to take a trip. Since the game is 90% Japanese language and 10% Japanglish the nature of the trip is somewhat, what can I say? Obscure.
The option to collect 'items' and trade them is apparent. Dick and Muttley are certainly out to get you. Sadly though the finer details are explained by a red sponge that sits on your dashboard. The dashboard to a skeleton inspired car you never seem to drive. Oh - and these finer details are all in Japanese. So only 170,000,000 Japanese know - of which probably only about 3 care.
Ultimately the game lacks polish. The sequences are unstoppable. The language is excitable. The chap doing the voice seems to have escaped from a third-rate noodle bar TV advert.
Artistically the developers 'Future Pirates' (Should that be Future Cowboys or Present Cowboys?) have cut too many corners and while the idea of Wacky Races on the 32bit system seems promising - I was hoping for Mario Racing style game - it's all well short of mediocre.
It's a 'shocking-ly' poor effort all-in-all.
Rare-ish Japan only game.
3DO Kid.
