There's obscure... and then there's obscure. Some games you love because they're great... others aren't exactly great but you love anyway because of their perks
For me, the latter rings true for this title
SUPER MAD CHAMP is a motorcycle racer with a dash of ROAD RASH, and then some. It's unfortunate the game is mostly an unknown, considering how many me-too titles call Super Nintendo home. SUPER MAD CHAMP on the other hand managed to distinguish itself as a noteworthy and truly unique effort, and its moment in the spotlight has been long overdue
THE RIDERS
1. Typical "good looking" hero boy
2. Token chick (complete with bouncy chest)
3. The "cool" rebel
4. The punk
5. The wily if not gruffly veteran
The more races you win, knock opponents off their bikes and whatnot the more money you earn. You can buy new bikes; of which there are 12. You can tune 'em up as well
ARCADE ANTICS OR SIMULATION SHENANIGANS?
Don't be fooled by the ability to buy and tune cars that Super Mad Champ is seep with sim roots and spirit. It's an arcade-like racer all the way
GAME MODES? 2 PLAYERS? TRACK COUNT?
Two modes. Sadly, 1-Player only
1. Grand Prix (3 cups... password is available)
2. Time Attack
Total of 18 tracks
ANY TRICKS I CAN PULL?
Press down to pop a wheelie
Whenever you jump, make sure you execute one, or else when you land you'll lose the momentum you had
Sometimes there's a dip in the road...
Other times this platform
During take-off's, the CPU is smart and always pop one
DASH OF ROAD RASH
Fend off the competition with a well placed kick "L" for left side, "R" for right
Two hits knocks 'em off; KA-CHING!
SCROLL-PLAYING GAMES
Scrolling is what (usually) makes or breaks a game of this nature. Coming from a lesser-name company I feared the worst. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by how well it scrolls. The lack of slowdown is a major plus as well. Not a bad job here, where many others have failed. The little details are pretty ace as well
Such as these grass cuts
TRACK VARIETY
Pretty solid -- covers most the cliches and all looks pretty damn nice
Punk swings his chain instead of kicking
Lotsa dips in this SUPER CROSS-esque track
Things get slippery here in a hurry
"Is this Heaven?" "No... it's Iowa"
Cookie if you know which classic film this quote comes from
Airstrike!
OK, IT'S GOT SOME ROAD RASH I'LL GRANT YOU THAT
Sure
BUT IT *IS* ONLY ONE PLAYER
Ya
SO FAR I DON'T SEE HOW IT STANDS OUT, REALLY
I've saved the best for last...
YEAH, SO? THAT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME
That's what I thought at first too...
WHAT THE HELL!
My thoughts exactly!
Whenever you get off your bike, whether by choice or force, this guy appears ready to fight. Both players have an energy bar and can block. It's no Street Fighter II... you can only punch and jump kick, but this basic style works
Actually, there IS one more thing you can do...
"Quit running and fight, ya bum!"
"OH ----"
"OOF!"
"Nice ride, buddy, think I'll take it. Hey great workin' wit ya, let's do lunch sometime yeah?"
Throwing bikes around -- you can't beat it. They too have an energy bar. The lower a motorcycle's energy, the less velocity it can travel at. And should it ever hit zero, well, KABOOM!
FIGHT CLUB
Looking for an easy way to upgrade your bike? Just stop, get off and wait...
Then give 'im a good slacking and then say hello to your new ride
ROADKILL
This can happen to the reckless...
Ran over while standing...
... or lying... OUCH
And you thought YOU were having a bad day!
You can even knock off passing riders if timed right
STREET FIGHTER II ROOTS
Again, the battle system is no SF II... but wait-a-sec...
Hmmmm.....
Somewhere right now Guile's rollin' round in his grave!
No fancy Hadoken motions here. Those moves above merely cap off punch combo's (rapidly hitting "Y")
IT'S LIKE "BISHIN DENSETSU ZOKU" EH?
Zoku is a SFC-only racing-fighting hybrid, but Super Mad Champ really isn't like it. Fighting is optional in SMC whereas in Zoku you had no choice after the driving bits. Zoku came off very meh to me. Proceed with that title at your own caution
FIGHT OR FLIGHT?
When you're off your bike you have two options: fight or flight. You have to weigh your pro's and con's. Fight too long and you'll never get back in the race. If you don't finish #1 or #2 (out of 5) you have to repeat the course. So, it's advisable to fight temptation. But should you engage in the scruffle, make it quick and go
But if you just want to fool around? It's great fun to finish 'em off, heh heh....
THIS GAME IS KUNIO KUN AT HEART? SAY WHAT?
The only other piece of info on the web I could find on this game is a quick post that states the following, how accurate it is I do not know although I think his info is legit
----
For those who are fans of the Kunio-kun series like I am, might be aware that at some point Technos planned on releasing Kunio Bike Racing game using the same engine from Kunio-tachi no Banka. What few people may know however, was that Kunio-tachi no Banka was actually developed by outside company called Almanic. Almanic was comprised of former Technos staff members, including Kunio-kun and Double Dragon director and producer, Yoshihisa Kishimoto. Almanic did a bunch of other stuff, but their best known work was Wonder Project J and it's N64 sequel.
Anyway, Almanic was contracted by Technos to do Kunio-tachi no Banka (the true sequel to the very first Kunio-kun game) , in addition to the bike racing game. While Technos ditched the bike racing, Almanic decided to released it anyway through another company and thus, it became Super Mad Champ (without Kunio's presense in the game).
Mad Champ, as mentioned earlier, was developed on the Kunio-tachi no Banka-engine, meaning that both games, share a similar look. As a matter of fact, you can even get off your bike and fight agaisnt a rival biker (and steal his bike while you're at it). The rest of the game plays like a typical bike racing simulator, in which you race in three different types of grand prix and customize your bike (and buy a new one when you can). It's quite a fun little game.
credit: "Johnny Undaunted" 3/26/04 ---
Take of that as you will! After reading that and looking at the game again... it is easy to spot the Kunio influences...
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Super Mad Champ (gotta love its campy title) was part of the package, with Keeper, and it too eluded me for ages. I was a bit apprehensive in buying it, fearing that it might be obscure for the bad reasons....
But after playing it, nothing could be further from the truth! The racing, being the meat of the game, is plenty solid and the extracurricular activities make it that much more fun and memorable
