Street Racer Collection – PS5 Review

You could still argue the kart racer genre is not well-served, outside of Nintendo’s platforms. Coming from particularly barren era, Street Racer managed to find some renown on the Super Nintendo whilst also being ported to anywhere that would have it. Street Racer Collection takes four of these versions and houses them under one roof. Whilst it’s not a complete retelling of the game’s history, Vivid Image have delivered us the more fondly remembered versions.

The package contains four versions of Street Racer. Naturally, the 16-bit versions are incredibly similar. The Super Nintendo’s effort makes great use of mode 7 for it’s faux-3D appearance. The Sega counterpart doing a reasonably good job of approximating it. It’s unfortunate that a package like this trades in a lot of crossover. Even the Game Boy port attempts to recreate some of the more recognisable tracks.

The Game Boy version’s monochromatic visuals can be a little hard wrap your eyes around. Admittedly, it doesn’t translate well to a larger screen. I did get used to it and the handheld version does manage to fit a full experience in here. The two-button control scheme does compromise the originals but, as a racer, I didn’t mind it. Honestly, it’s encouraging to see the game translate well, despite the obvious limitations.

The DOS port is perhaps the most radical. Coming in 1997, the kart sprites feel almost too big for the compact tracks. It’s colourful and the brief cutscenes offer more presentationally than the other efforts. It is perhaps the closest of the bunch that feels close to a sequel. Mechanically, the big difference is a dedicated button to turn miniature. That allows for you to sneak through gaps and feels like a direct response to how claustrophobic racing can feel.

Street Racer is a kart racer that adds elements of fighting games into the mix. Whilst the main objective is to guide your driver to the front of the pack, you can aim punches at the opposition and roughing them up is very much encouraged. You can’t be too keen as your health bar needs to be managed during a race. Punches and collisions deplete this meter but you can replenish it with on-circuit pick-ups.

It’s another consideration whilst driving, although my failures were mostly related to my position. As a kart racer, I expected some rubber-banding and it certainly likes to keep the pack together. That’s before any hazards like dynamite and spins come into play. I do like how Street Racer differentiates itself from the genre luminaries. The violence is one thing but you also have the ability to jump, allowing for clever shortcuts or leapfrogging opponents. Dynamite can be passed between competitors so there’s a lovely game of tag as you frantically try to dispose of it.

There are a few modes available across each of the four ports. Championship mode takes you through a series of races. Finishing in the top six gives you some points but finishing below that can end your run entirely. You can replay the race for a better position, effectively giving you three continues. That failure state can be hard to take, especially if you’re well ahead in the standings.

There’s also battle modes for direct combat and a soccer mode for anyone wanting a very early take on Rocket League. Whilst I spent most of my time in championships, the other modes add some variety. Circuits can be practised and, from there you really see a wealth of tracks to delve into. Local multiplayer can handle four players and it is a fun enough time in a group setting.

In terms of modern niceties, you’ve got the usual save states and rewinds. I haven’t used the latter much but mapping them to the triggers gives it a lovely, tactile feel. All buttons can be remapped which might be essential, given how the control schemes differ from game to game. Each game has an extensive manual with game modes, characters and options explained. Whilst they’re not scanned directly from the source material, there’s more here than I would’ve expected.

The visual filters default to pixel perfect which, for my tastes work well enough. There’s a couple of CRT ones for those that want their scanlines on full display. One thing that does surprise me is the music. It’s really well done whilst not reaching earworm status. The tracks have a globetrotting feel and the soundtrack does well to maintain the cartoon vibes.

Cheats are readily available, for those that want to have an easier time of it. They do differ slightly, depending on the version. Infinite turbo is available for all of them and a couple allow for infinite health. Even with these active, it’s still a 90’s kart racer under the hood. Winning still comes by a fairly small margin.

It’s difficult to know how to score a collection like this. The games are represented faithfully with all the rubber-banding that entails. There’s a couple of interesting modes and it comes from an era when the genre wasn’t quite fully formed. I do think the crossover of content gives the four games some diminished returns. The presentation is a little drab and it lacks some of the historical extras that can make these kind of collections pop. That said, what’s here feels authentic and is still fun to race.