Uniracers

Infobox VG| title = Uniracers


caption = Cover art of Uniracers.
developer = DMA Design (with Nintendo of America)
publisher = Nintendo
designer =
engine =
released = 1994
genre = Racing
modes = Single player, multiplayer
ratings = ESRB: K-A
platforms = SNES
media = Cartridge

"Uniracers" ("Unirally" in PAL territories) is one of one video games created by the DMA Design (now Rockstar North) for Nintendo of America, called 1x1 during development, that was released for the SNES in 1994.

The gameplay of "Uniracers" involves racing riderless unicycles around a 2D track. Heavy emphasis is placed on performing stunts.

Gameplay

Performing stunts causes the unicycle to go faster on race or circuit tracks and earn points on stunt tracks. The stunts that can be performed are relatively simple, mostly only involving jumping in the air and rotating about a given axis in 3D space. The idea is to be able to perform these stunts quickly in tight situations while landing the unicycle on its wheel to avoid wiping out, which results in the loss of accumulated speed. If a long series of stunts are completed before landing you can receive a message saying,"Twister City!", "Flower Power!", or something similar.

The game features nine tours of five tracks each (two race, two circuit, one stunt) for a total of 45. Beating each of the first eight tours requires defeating computer-controlled opponents for each of bronze, silver, and gold ranks. The last circuit features the Anti-Uni as the computer-controlled opponent. During that tour, touching the Anti-Uni causes several odd effects, such as the track becoming invisible, the controls reversing, and the background no longer moving in sync with the actions.

Split-screen two-player modes are available as well, including a league mode that allows up to eight players to compete in one-on-one races. There are 16 different colored unicycles to choose from, each with a save file and customizable name.

The levels are multicolored bars that display patterns according to the tracks layout. There are also various obstacles like speed-ups, corkscrews, loops, twists, and of course, jumps.

References