Editing Famicom Grand Prix (series)

The '''''Famicom Grand Prix''''' series is a short Japan-only racing game series in the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]] released solely on the [[Family Computer Disk System]] and developed by both [[Nintendo EAD]] and [[HAL Laboratory]]. It spans two games, both of which are quite different from each other in gameplay and content despite the shared genre and branding. Both games were subject to a tournament shortly after release. The series is a spinoff of an earlier, much more basic racing game on the [[Family Computer]], ''{{wp|F1 Race}}'' by HAL Laboratory, which had no relation to the ''Super Mario'' franchise until its [[Game Boy]] port added cameos of several characters; it also has elements from ''{{wp|Mach Rider}}'' by the same development team.

|style="text-align:center"|[[File:F1Race.png|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{flag list|Japan|October 30, 1987}}[[Family Computer Disk System|FDS]]</span>

|style="text-align:center"|[[File:HotRally.png|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{flag list|Japan|April 14, 1988}}[[Family Computer Disk System|FDS]]</span>

|'''''Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally''''' is a forward-camera time-based racing game featuring Mario as a driver and [[Luigi]] as a navigator racing through three lengthy branching courses going through various environments each, going through hills, jumps, and different times of day. Here, the aim is to get to the checkpoints on time while avoiding objects on and alongside the road, with the opponents merely serving as obstacles. The number of playable vehicles has been reduced to three, but they are much more physically and functionally different from each other than the previous games' are, including a [[Kattobi|sports car]], [[Yonque|4-wheel-drive van]], and [[Monster (vehicle)|buggy]] with their own strengths and weaknesses. Once again, damage must be repaired, though due to a lack of pits, Mario and Luigi must stop alongside the road to repair it themselves.

The two games would provide the backbone for later vehicular racing games produced in-house at [[Nintendo]]. Two notable examples were on the Disk System's successor, the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (or Super Famicom) through use of its "Mode 7" graphics layer. The first, ''{{wp|F-Zero (video game)|F-Zero}}'', was inspired by complaints from Nintendo of America that the cars in ''3D Hot Rally'' looked too "cute," so the game was given a space-themed aesthetic to appeal to mature audiences.<ref>Nintendo (September 19, 2017). [http://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/interview-f-zero/ F-ZERO Developer Interview]. Retrieved September 20, 2017 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011823/https://www.nintendo.com/super-nes-classic/interview-f-zero/ Archived] September 12, 2017, 01:18:23 UTC via Wayback Machine.)</ref> The gameplay is a mixture of the two games, having the circuits, limited resources (in this case, a "power" gauge that represents the vehicle's durability and boosting ability), and "generic" NPC racer system of the former game and the camera angle and physics of the latter. Another successor on the same system, this one within the ''Super Mario'' franchise, is ''[[Super Mario Kart]]''. This one has a similar mix of traits, but it instead plays up the levity by removing the limited resources and changing the vehicles to [[Pipe Frame|go-kart]]s, with a cast entirely of ''Super Mario'' characters racing each other with the help of comedic items. Both of these games would go on to spawn their own respective series. While the ''Famicom Grand Prix'' series itself has ended in favor of the ''[[Mario Kart (series)|Mario Kart]]'' series, the [[Monster (vehicle)|Monster]] vehicle from the second game makes sporadic appearances in the franchise, such as a miniaturized version called the [[Tiny Titan]] appearing in ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''.

{|border=1 style="text-align:center"

!colspan=2 style="background:red;color:white"|{{color-link|white|Family Computer|FC}}/{{color-link|white|Nintendo Entertainment System|NES}}<br><small>Predecessors</small>

 

{|border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; height:100%" width=100%

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''{{wp|F1 Race}}''</big>

|width=50%|{{flag list|Japan|November 2, 1984}}

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A forward-camera Formula One racing game where the player must complete circuits in a time limit while avoiding other cars as obstacles.

 

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''{{wp|Mach Rider}}''</big>

!width=50% style="background:#EAECF0"|Initial release:

|width=50%|{{flag list|Japan|August 27, 1985}}

!style="background:#EAECF0"|Developer:

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A forward-camera vehicular combat game where the player must guide a motorcyclist through several end-to-end stages while avoiding obstacles and shooting enemies. Other modes have looping courses, but they are not depicted as circuits. A course designer mode is also included.

 

|-

!colspan=2 style="background:red;color:white"|{{color-link|white|Family Computer Disk System|FDS}}<br><small>Series</small>

|-

 

{|border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 margin=0 padding=0 style="border:1px solid black; border-collapse:collapse; height:100%" width=100%

|-

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''[[Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race]]''</big>

!style="background:white; height:250px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:FGPI Acceleration screenshot.png]]

|width=50%|{{flag list|Japan|October 30, 1987}}

!style="background:#EAECF0"|Developer:

|[[HAL Laboratory]] / [[Nintendo EAD]]

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A top-down Formula One racing game where the player must beat a large grid of opponents around circuits while keeping resources from depleting to get money to buy better vehicles. The game has limited multiplayer.

 

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''[[Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally]]''</big>

!style="background:white; height:250px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:HotMarkFMC.png]]

|-

|[[HAL Laboratory]] / [[Nintendo EAD]]

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A forward-camera rally game where the player must drive between lengthy end-to-end stages divided between several sections while avoiding obstacles and opponents and keeping up with the timer.

 

 

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''{{wp|F-Zero (video game)|F-Zero}}''</big>

!style="background:white; height:250px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:SNES F-Zero.png]]

|width=50%|{{flag list|Japan|November 21, 1990}}

|[[Nintendo EAD]]

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A forward-camera futuristic Formula One racing game where the player must complete circuits before three named opponents and several generic ones while keeping the vehicle powered.

 

!style="background:#EAECF0; height:32px" align="center" colspan=2|<big>''[[Super Mario Kart]]''</big>

!style="background:white; height:250px" align="center" colspan=2|[[File:SMK Mario Circuit 1 Starting Line.png]]

|style="height:100px" colspan=2|A forward-camera go-kart rally game where the player must drive around circuits and beat a grid of seven opponents, using items to assist. The game has a full two-player mode.