Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II
| Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II | |
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 European cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Series | Super Monaco GP |
| Platform(s) | Sega Master System Sega Mega Drive Game Gear |
| Release date(s) | Sega Mega Drive[1]
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| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | 8-megabit Cartridge (Master System and Game Gear versions) 16-megabit cartridge (Sega Mega Drive version) |
Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II is an arcade-style Formula One racing video game developed and manufactured by Sega, and the follow-up to Super Monaco GP. The game was released for the Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, and the Sega Game Gear, appearing in the United States on 16 July 1992, Japan on 17 July 1992, and sometime later in 1992 in Europe. Along with boasting the most "realistic physics",[4] it was the best received console driving game at the time of release, the game was also endorsed by the then Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, who won the race more times than any other driver, with six victories, and five races consecutively between 1989 and 1993. The game's development was also assisted by Senna, who supplied his own advice about the tracks featured in the game.
Gameplay
Super Monaco GP 2 focuses on either the player's attempts to win the Drivers World Championship, or to win the "Senna GP". There are three different modes of racing:
Senna GP
The player races one race, similar to the Super Monaco GP from the previous version of the game. However, in this version, there are three tracks to choose from: Senna's own farm circuit in Tatuí, São Paulo, and two other fictitious tracks, designed by Senna himself. The player must choose which track they wish to race on, and select whether they want to drive with an automatic, 4 speed manual, or 7 speed manual gearbox. A preliminary lap must be undertaken, the result of which determines the player's placement on the starting grid. The player must then attempt to win the Senna GP; a display of the player's lap times are given after the race.
World Championship
The player competes against 15 other drivers on the tracks which make up the 1991 Formula One season calendar, with the ultimate aim of winning enough points to become the Drivers World Champion.
Beginner Mode
After the player enters their name and nationality, they have the choice of warming-up for the first by completing as many free laps of the track as they wish, or by going straight to the race mode. Selecting race mode will force the player to choose what type of gearbox they desire; the preliminary lap then begins, determining the player's place on the grid for the subsequent grid.
Master Mode
This mode is the same as the Beginner version except that the player can progress to better Constructors through challenging rivals. The player may, before each race, select a rival against whom to compete. If the player beats the same rival several times consecutively (from two to four times, depending from two factors : if the player raced without crashing on other racers, and on the level of the rival's team -an A-level team will need more wins than the B and lower-level teams-), then the player and the rival swap places; that is, the player assumes the rival's seat with their constructor, and the rival is relegated to the player's former constructor. This is not part of Formula One but something specific to the game. There are 5 different leagues of constructor.
Free Practice
Much like the warm-up in Championship mode, the player is given the option of training freely or simulating a race. However, in this mode, the player may choose the number of laps, starting position and, in some cases, the weather. An easter egg in the game allows selection of the motorbike from Super Hang-On.
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Realism
The game lacked the realistic physics of some contemporaries, such as Geoff Crammond's Formula One Grand Prix. Typically the fastest way around the track would be to position the car on the inside of the track approaching a bend, which kept steering to a minimum (and speed to a maximum) - as negotiating the bend merely moved the car further to the outside of the track. Some gentle bends could be taken with no steering at all by taking the inside line (whereas realistically this would send the car flying off at a tangent).
Additionally, the in-race rendering of cars saw all cars except the player's "rival", painted in the "default" red and yellow (Madonna) colours, rather than their individual colours displayed in the menu.
Nevertheless features such as slipstreaming, speed changes on inclines/declines, and the features of the tracks themselves were reasonably realistic for their time. Mega placed the game at #5 in their "Top Mega Drive Games of All Time".[6]
World Championship tracks
Differing from its predecessor, Super Monaco GP II World Championship mode followed the real-life schedule in a closer way, running in the same order of the 1991 Championship. The tracks themselves are very close to their actual configurations and contain the scenery specific to the courses nationality. For the first time, rain was a possibility when driving in Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, Belgium, Japan or Australia. The track line-up is as follows:
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Teams and drivers
The 16 teams are based upon teams which actually competed in the 1991 Formula One season. Apart from Senna, the actual names of the drivers are not used due to licensing arrangements. Below is a list of the teams, their drivers, and to whom they corresponded in the 1991 Formula One season.
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During the constructor select screen, Sonic the Hedgehog makes a cameo appearance.
Notes
1. ^ Ivan Capelli drove for Ferrari in 1992, replacing Alain Prost who was fired before the 1991 Australian Grand Prix.
2. ^ P.White could also be David Brabham (who was part of Brabham's 1990 driver lineup); perhaps the programmers confused Australia and Austria.
3. ^ Moon's team position and engine are based on the Modena team - but colour and driver appear to be based on March, which at time raced upon the Leyton House Racing name.
4. ^ Bertrand Gachot drove for Coloni in 1990, sharing the same nationality with Cool's A. Delvaux.
5. ^ Gilles Villeneuve appears to be represented in the game, despite being killed in 1982, and having never driven for Tyrrell. The nationality, first initial and picture all bear a resemblance.
6. ^ Luis Perez-Sala mentioned as a likely driver, due to come from the Team Modena estate team GLAS-Lamborghini created by Mexican businessman Fernando Gonzalez Luna and would have as one of their drivers Luis Perez-Sala, apart from physical resemblance to the character in the game.
See also
- Super Monaco GP
- Ayrton Senna Kart Duel
References
- ↑ "Release Information for Sega Mega Drive". GameFAQs.
- ↑ "Release Information for Sega Master System". GameFAQs.
- ↑ "Release Information for Sega Game Gear". GameFAQs.
- ↑ Senna's Super Monaco GP II "Senna's Super Monaco GP II". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ↑ MegaTech review, EMAP, issue 6
- ↑ Mega magazine issue 1, page 76, Future Publishing, Oct 1992
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