Mountain Bike Rally

Mountain Bike Rally
Cover art of Mountain Bike Rally
Developer(s)	Radical Entertainment[1]
Publisher(s)	Life Fitness[1] (exercise bike version) American Softworks[1] (normal version)
Designer(s)	Phillip Tse[1] Chris Robertson[1] Mark Slemko[1] Paul Wilkinson[1] Martin Sikes[1] Rory Armes[1]
Platform(s)	Super Nintendo Entertainment System[1]
Release date(s)	NA November 1994[1] (normal version) NA 1995[1] (exercise bike version)
Genre(s)	Bicycle racing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: n/a (not rated)

Mountain Bike Rally is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System bicycle racing video game that is a simulation of real mountain biking. The player can choose from many characters and many mountain bikes ranging from mediocre to excellent in many categories. This game received an alternate North American release under the name Cannondale Cup. Although the graphics are the same, the names of the racers, bikes, and locations were all altered.

Gameplay

The player starts in qualifying, and as he/she plays the game more frequently, he/she can qualify for the regionals, nationals, the championship, and the grueling final race where he/she must get first place in order to beat the game. Players will spend literally hours in the easier modes and this game is like exercise for his/her thumbs.

There are a selection of cyclists,^[2] including a demon, a California surfer, and a ninja. Each character has a different catch phrase for winning, being in first, being in second, being in third, and everything in between. The only violence in this game comes from the onlookers who throw objects at the bikers to cause damage. Even after being hit several times, the bike is never destroyed. Finding a repair bonus on the track can fix the damage and make the bicycle run faster again. There are also bonuses on the track for points and energy, which gives the player more strength to push his/her bicycle to the limits.

Limitations

When playing this game on an emulator, it is sometimes necessary to reset the emulator, as the game can sometimes freeze up on the name entry screen. Unlike most games, game time is not faster than real time and ten minutes on a bike in the game is actually ten minutes in real life. This special effect was originally intended for players to do on their specialized exercise equipment which had to be bought separately, although the game still worked with the normal Super NES controllers.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} "Release information". GameFAQs. http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/data/588240.html. Retrieved 2008-04-29. 
2. ^ "Basic overview". IGN. http://cheats.ign.com/objects/483/483573.html. Retrieved 2008-10-31.