Victory Run

[Justin]

Who else likes this game? Victory Run was one of the very first games I ever got for TurboGrafx-16 and although I was frustrated with it as a kid and felt let down by the fact that the game didn't have the cool red sports car that was on the box art, the game has really grown on me over time. I love it! 

 

You may know that I'm a tremendous Out Run fan. I have the second highest known score and the highest score that was performed publicly and video taped. I also really loved Rad Racer on the NES. When Victory Run came out for TurboGrafx-16 I was so excited. I saw the red sports car on the box, racing down a nice clean strip of highway towards the Eiffel Tower and thought "Awesome, this will be like Out Run for TurboGrafx!" I was right. But I was so wrong.

 

What you find is a game that forces you to use your brain and pushes you beyond the limits of where Out Run takes you. Victory Run is a pretty good representation of the Paris to Dakar Rally (at least for an 8-Bit or 16-Bit system). In the game, just like in the real Paris to Dakar Rally, you race a souped-up off-road rally car from Paris, down through the south of Europe, into North Africa, through the Sahara, and then take a turn into West Africa until you reach Dakar at the western edge of the continent. 

 

There's a lot more to be thinking about in the game than in Out Run. As you move further into the game, the course changes from paved highways, to dirt tracks, Sahara sands, rocky roads and grass fields. Each track makes the car handle differently, and occasionally there are rocks and other obstacles in your path that will affect your driving. The different terrain also takes a tremendous toll on your car. At the beginning of the game you stock up on a total of 20 car parts that you can take with you on your journey. They include: 

 

• Tires
• Gear (Transmission)
• Engine
• Suspension (Shocks)
• Brakes

 

There've been lots of 8 and 16-bit car games that have shops and replacement parts. Fatal Run on Atari 7800 comes to mind. Smack into the back of a car and replace the bumper at the end of the level. Those are cartoonish consequences though, and not many games integrate realistic consequences of wear and tear with strategy like Victory Run does. Headed into a rough level with a bumpy road? Is it a good idea to replace your half-used tires? Is it worth it since they'll be worn out at the end of the level anyway? Do you even have enough tires? How many seconds will that shave off your time? Is it worth replacing the transmission before it wears out in the middle of the level? These are all things you need to be thinking about in Victory Run as part of your strategy to win, that you don't need to think about in games like Out Run and Rad Racer.

 

And as it turns out, the reason the car isn't the red sports car from the cover is because it's supposed to be the white Porsche 959 rally car that won Paris to Dakar in the late 1980s when this game came out. So it's actually really cool that they used the real life car in the game. Why they didn't show that on the box is beyond me.

 

So who else likes this game? Do any of you own it?

[Justin]

 

ALSO: Thinking about doing Victory Run for a High Score Squad Challenge. Who here has access to Victory Run (through emulation or otherwise) to play in a Squad Challenge?

[Atari 5200 Guy]

When I was in my early 20's I bounced between living with Mom and my Grandmother.  One trip Mom and I made to Springfield, Missouri and before we went home we stopped at TRU.  This was when they still had those tags you had to take up front, pay, and then go to the security booth with your receipt.  On this particular trip, we really was just killing time when we stopped at TRU when I found a TG-16 for $30.  Unfortunately I didn't find any other games so I was stuck with Keith Courage.  While not a bad game it wasn't impressive.

 

Trying to find TG-16 games in my hometown was null.  The TG-16 simply didn't exist.  The only few games I found were from a rental store still being rentals.  Victory Run was one of them, the other was Vigilante.  Both became instant favorites and I soon ignored Keith altogether.  I didn't spend much time on Victory Run but I did like the game.  As time went on and being stuck with Keith, yet again, I ended up just selling the system.  Something I regret to this day.  Lack of interest was due to not being able to find anything else for it.

 

I would love to have another again if I could find Blazing Lasers.  But I would also want a PC Engine only because of Gradius II and Salamander, both of which are favorites of mine.  I especially like Salamander/Life Force which should have been brought over to the TG-16.  I'm sure that there are others in Japan we never got that are simply mind blowing.  It was a good system and I loved the controller.

 

I'd say go for it.  

[RickR]

I tried out Victory Run yesterday at a gaming show.  Fun game!  I'm glad I watched your Instagram live-feed first.  I made it to the second leg on my first and only try. 

 

I stayed on to help some other people who were trying the game.  From this experience, I'm not sure it would make a good monthly challenge.  I think many people have never heard of the TurboGrafx 16.  And the game itself is a little long to put in multiple runs for a high score challenge. 

 

http://forums.atari.io/index.php/topic/344-cowlitz-gamers-for-kids-expo-pics/?do=findComment&comment=38663

Justin, I was so excited about the game and the system that I spent some time looking for a vendor at the show that carried a system or games to buy.  No luck.  I asked a good friend who runs a booth about it, and his exact words were "good luck".  The only TG-16 item I found at the entire show was a hard plastic carrying case for the system. 

 

Given all that, I'm still going to try to find one.  I figure I just want the base model....the little tiny unit that looks like it's missing a piece of something due to the weird shape.  Ebay?  Who knows. 

[RickR]

PS - they should have added a "Wide Load" sign to the back of those garbage trucks!  Road hogs! 

[Justin]

On this particular trip, we really was just killing time when we stopped at TRU when I found a TG-16 for $30.  Unfortunately I didn't find any other games so I was stuck with Keith Courage.  While not a bad game it wasn't impressive.

 

 

That's almost my story exactly! Toys "R" Us was so good with TurboGrafx stuff. I still remember going to TRU in the fall of 1993 hunting down Atari stuff and starting to see TurboGrafx-16 items go on clearance. I remember it was getting close to Halloween and our TRU had a stack of TurboGrafx-16 systems brand new in the box stacked up, maybe about 10 of them, with a sign saying they were only $30.

 

I always loved TurboGrafx-16 but it didn't get a lot of play from me for a little while there. My young wallet was spread thin across Lynx, Jaguar, SNES, Genesis, and ordering new old 2600 and 7800 games directly from Atari and from Video 61. I always wanted more games back then but still appreciated the system and have so many great memories with it. I kind of "lived all over" and had access to game stores in Michigan, South Carolina and Florida. Even in used game stores TurboGrafx stuff was getting harder to find around that time. Often times you'd go in to look for a game like Victory Run and they wouldn't have a copy, so you come out with something else, like Final Lap Twin.

[Justin]

I tried out Victory Run yesterday at a gaming show.  Fun game!  I'm glad I watched your Instagram live-feed first.  I made it to the second leg on my first and only try. 

 

Congrats, Rick! I'm so glad you gave Victory Run a try! And it was very cool having you in the Instagram livestream! It's great to get members of the forums in there. Kid A, btbfilms76, Atari Creep, and Rhyne (a newcomer to the forums) are often in the livestreams. I hope to maybe incorporate some of these features into the new chatroom when we get that all worked out! I stream on Instagram because we have a good following there of people who aren't on Facebook, its a good way of reaching a different audience and trying to get them engaged in the forums and in Atari in general, and it's also very convenient for me because I don't always have a lot of time to do this, I can just pull out my phone and we're good to go.

 

 

Justin, I was so excited about the game and the system that I spent some time looking for a vendor at the show that carried a system or games to buy.  No luck.  I asked a good friend who runs a booth about it, and his exact words were "good luck".  The only TG-16 item I found at the entire show was a hard plastic carrying case for the system. 

 

I can help you with this!

 

 

And the game itself is a little long to put in multiple runs for a high score challenge.

 

 

I agree. I'm thinking of doing a timed first lap, that way everybody gets to participate and you don't have to get through the entire course. Or maybe some other creative idea. I want to make it easy and fun to participate!

 

 

 

PS - they should have added a "Wide Load" sign to the back of those garbage trucks!  Road hogs! 

 

lmao so true! 

[Atari 5200 Guy]

Well...I guess I will give out one of my resources to help out

 

http://www.collectorscardsandgames.com/new/TurboGrafx-16.html

 

I have ordered from the above link a few times with good results.  Be warned, though, his stuff may be a bit dusty so if you get something from them be sure to have some handi-wipes at the ready.  Prices are reasonable on most stuff and they don't charge your paying method until they are ready to ship.  That's about the only thing I don't like about them...you don't know shipping charges until it's on its way.

 

$70 for a TG-16 system.  Might have to try to get one but might be a while.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

That's almost my story exactly! Toys "R" Us was so good with TurboGrafx stuff. I still remember going to TRU in the fall of 1993 hunting down Atari stuff and starting to see TurboGrafx-16 items go on clearance. I remember it was getting close to Halloween and our TRU had a stack of TurboGrafx-16 systems brand new in the box stacked up, maybe about 10 of them, with a sign saying they were only $30.

 

I always loved TurboGrafx-16 but it didn't get a lot of play from me for a little while there. My young wallet was spread thin across Lynx, Jaguar, SNES, Genesis, and ordering new old 2600 and 7800 games directly from Atari and from Video 61. I always wanted more games back then but still appreciated the system and have so many great memories with it. I kind of "lived all over" and had access to game stores in Michigan, South Carolina and Florida. Even in used game stores TurboGrafx stuff was getting harder to find around that time. Often times you'd go in to look for a game like Victory Run and they wouldn't have a copy, so you come out with something else, like Final Lap Twin.

 

Yep.  I was 22 at the time and was making good money working at Tyson's with my aunt.  I was a floor boy in the debone section and my aunt was a QC in the same area.  I was bringing home about $400 a week after taxes.  I quit when my aunt went to the doctor and was diagnosed with problems related to working there.  I wasn't driving then and my aunt was my ride to and from work, and I didn't want those issues to happen to me.  Seeing the pain she was going through daily was enough for me.  

 

So, with one of my paychecks Mom and I went and spent a day in Springfield.  I didn't mind splitting half of that paycheck with her.  Lord knows she spent tons on me.  Mom had a strange fetish with two-piece bathing suits, though.  Then again I had a strange fetish with video games and computers so ...

 

That's what I used my part of the money on was buying that TG-16.  I wasn't sure I was going to get one after buying it because they couldn't seem to find them.  I looked through the window as best as I could to help and located ONE machine way up high to the left.  When the guy came back to say they must be out I pointed out the one I seen. 

 

I had $200 free money that day (no bills) and would have spent all of it on the TG-16 if I could have found more games or accessories.  Needless to say Mom and I hunted that city up one side, down another, we simply could not find anything more for it.  Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Ventures, none of them had anything.  No game trading stores at the time either so that was not option.  By the time someone mentioned EB in the mall the mall was about to close for the day.  So, Long John's for dinner and then we headed for home.  Good memories.

 

I liked the console and controller.  Keith just seemed more like a demo product to me.  If I could have found other titles I probably would still have that machine to this day.  Lesson learned.  

[Justin]

Needless to say Mom and I hunted that city up one side, down another, we simply could not find anything more for it.  Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Ventures, none of them had anything.  No game trading stores at the time either so that was not option.  By the time someone mentioned EB in the mall the mall was about to close for the day.  So, Long John's for dinner and then we headed for home.  Good memories.

 

 

That reminds me, there were some games available at Babbage's at the time. Both Lynx and TurboGrafx still had endcaps at Babbage's with a few games on the shelf. Most of the TurboGrafx games were Duo CDs and wouldn't work on a regular TurboGrafx. There were a few regular TurboGrafx-16 TurboChip games on the shelf. One game I remember getting was another driving game on TG: Chase H.Q. It was $49, which was $20 more than the TurboGrafx console at Toys "R" Us. This was part of the problem at the time and one final straw on the TG's demise, by that time games were sparsely available, expensive, and it seemed really inconsistent that a new TurboGrafx-16 system was $30 and TurboDuo was $300.

 

I clearly remember Babbage's also had BoxyBoy, New Adventure Island, and Splash Lake. Camp California was one of the Duo Super CDs they had on the shelf, it was a Beach Boys game that was supposed to be a sequel to Yo Bro!.

 

 

 

I wasn't sure I was going to get one after buying it because they couldn't seem to find them.  I looked through the window as best as I could to help and located ONE machine way up high to the left.  When the guy came back to say they must be out I pointed out the one I seen. 

 

 

So were the TurboGrafx systems stacked out on the floor? Or were they locked away in the security cage?

 

 

 

I liked the console and controller.  Keith just seemed more like a demo product to me.  If I could have found other titles I probably would still have that machine to this day.  Lesson learned.  

 

 

Me too. It's never too late to get back into TurboGrafx!

[RickR]

 

I can help you with this!

 

 

Please PM me.  That link from Kamakazi may do the trick too.  Am I wrong to assume just the most basic small unit is the way to go?  I was going to buy the everdrive for it too.

 

Thanks!

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I would recommend an Everdrive.  That could hold you over until you find physical copies.  TG games are getting more scarce than Atari stuff.  Better get what you can while you can before it is too late.

 

As for Justin's question, no, they had two wooden shelves where they stacked some systems.  The TG-16 was on top of some SNES systems and turned so you only seen the short end of the box.  Would have been difficult to see inside the area because the SNES box was most likely keeping it out of view.  It was not setup like you would think.  Stuff everywhere.

[Starbuck66]

I covered this game in episode 5 of my podcast (received a Meh rating):

 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/turbotasticpodcast/Episode_5_Victory_Run.mp3

 

Not a bad game, but I definitely prefer Outrun. I really don't like how easy it is for your transmission to break and cost you the entire race. The large trucks popping in are definitely a problem as well. There are better arcade racers I can play, including the PCE version of Outrun if I want to play one on my TG16.

[Justin]

Please PM me.  That link from Kamakazi may do the trick too.  Am I wrong to assume just the most basic small unit is the way to go?  I was going to buy the everdrive for it too.

 

Thanks!

 

 

I'll send you a PM! I wouldn't say that you're wrong to assume the most basic small unit is the way to go, but it really depends on how much you want to get into TurboGrafx. I would say getting a nice TurboDuo is the way to go, because it plays:

 

• All TurboChip games from the original TurboGrafx
• All TurboCD games from the original TurboGrafx CD system
• All TurboDuo Super CDs
• The Turbo EverDrive of course   

 

Some of these SuperCDs that came later almost look as good as arcade games from that era. Whenever I power up Gate of Thunder my jaw drops and I can't help but think it looks just like an arcade game I'd see at Lost Ark and wonder how TurboDuo didn't do at least as well as Sega CD. It just looks and plays incredible. (Gate of Thunder is one of the games on the pack-in SuperCD that came with TurboDuo) Duo really is a whole new world of TurboGrafx and I'm so grateful that things got far enough along with TurboGrafx that we even got to have that in the US.

 

Expense is the issue here. TurboGrafx is getting expensive, and the TurboDuo is getting even more expensive. But if you love these games it's worth it. I'd love to suggest to get a TurboDuo because it plays everything. Plus, TurboDuo came with a lot of great pack-in games to kick things off! But if you're watching the gaming budget, starting out with the most basic system plus an EverDrive would be a smart way to get started.

[Justin]

As for Justin's question, no, they had two wooden shelves where they stacked some systems.  The TG-16 was on top of some SNES systems and turned so you only seen the short end of the box.  Would have been difficult to see inside the area because the SNES box was most likely keeping it out of view.  It was not setup like you would think.  Stuff everywhere.

 

That would make a lot more sense if it were inside the security cage. Stuff was always everywhere.

 

 

I covered this game in episode 5 of my podcast (received a Meh rating):

 

 

I just came back to this thread to post this! I'm glad you shared your podcast on Victory Run here.

 

 

Not a bad game, but I definitely prefer Outrun. 

 

 

Me too.

 

 

I really don't like how easy it is for your transmission to break and cost you the entire race. The large trucks popping in are definitely a problem as well. There are better arcade racers I can play, including the PCE version of Outrun if I want to play one on my TG16.

 

 

Here's where we differ. From the time Victory Run came out in 1989 until I played it again recently, I would've also given it a "Meh" rating. But Victory Run deserves another look. Here's why:

 

 

1.) Increased challenge over Out Run & Rad Racer

 

I've always marked Victory Run down because it's just too darn hard. As an 8 year old kid trying to play this game it was a struggle even to get past the first leg of the course. You jump over hills, parts wear out, steering is hard. But that's kind of the point. TurboGrafx-16 was like a pre-mature version of "Super" Nintendo, targeted at gamers who probably got in early on the NES and were now a few years into it and looking to step things up with something new and more challenging. I see Victory Run as Out Run and Rad Racer kicked up a notch for teen and adult players who've already beaten those games. When I saw Victory Run in that light, I started to give the game another look. And that plays into my next point:

 

 

2.) Pretty accurate 8-Bit/16-Bit representation of Paris-Dakar Rally

 

This gave the game some real world challenge. Yes, gears wear out prematurely and cost you the entire game. That's very frustrating when you're first learning that. But that actually happens in the real world with the rally. The game forces you to think about these things and take everything you've learned into consideration and think proactively. Part of the strategy is preventative maintenance of your rally car, which means figuring out the right parts ahead of time and replacing parts on your car before they go bad. I like this challenge.

 

One of my "hobbies" outside of classic gaming is stuff to do with cars. I know a little about the Dakar rally and when it hit me that "Oh, this isn't an Out Run clone, it's an 8-Bit Dakar rally game" I began to appreciate the game more. It's something different, made to challenge you and frustrate you more than a nice cruise in Out Run. It's a cool approximation of the Paris-Dakar rally. They could've released another Out Run clone when they introduced the TurboGrafx-16 in the US. But they chose to mix things up a bit, with mixed results. I give them credit for that!

 

 

3.) Big, colorful, TurboGrafx-16 sprites

 

What can I say, I love the big sprites on TurboGrafx-16. Especially the big tree bosses on Legendary Axe. How cool is that? I noticed how big the trucks are in Victory Run and I hated them when I used to run into them. They're pretty exaggerated. But the more you play the game the better you get at avoiding them and it's just more increased challenge.

 

 

4.) Nothing will ever beat Out Run, but I like Victory Run anyway

 

Out Run is one of my all-time favorite games, if not my absolute favorite game of all time. Yes, I prefer Out Run to Victory Run. I prefer Out Run to Asteroids and Super Mario Bros. But I think the gaming world is a better place with Victory Run in it, even if it's not as ubiquitously pleasing and easy to play as Out Run.

[Starbuck66]

Fair points Justin, and I tried to weigh the "challenge" factor in when I reviewed it. It was an ambitious move at the time, and I while I think it was innovative I also think it was poorly executed. It seemed like luck had more to do with parts breaking than any strategy or driving style on my part. 

 

The music and backgrounds are all very nice too, as well as how the game gives you a taste of the Paris-Dakar rally. All of that lends it a uniqueness and charm. 

 

I think if you're looking for Outrun with more of a challenge by way of parts management, this could be a game worth playing. If you can accept and overcome the flaws in the game then I could see it being enjoyable. Me personally, I can't, so that's why I rated it the way I did.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I've been keeping an eye on this EBAY Seller in Japan.

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Used-Video-Game-Yamatoku-Classic/_i.html?_nkw=PC+Engine&submit=Search&_sid=32806015

 

Prices seem reasonable.