Retro Gaming: Super Monaco GP (Arcade – 1989)
The name of the principality is obviously inseparable from Formula 1. This is why, in 1989, Sega said to itself that rather than requesting official licenses from the teams or the drivers of the championship, or even from the FIA, it All you had to do was put the word Monaco on your brand new arcade terminal and it would pass cream. Surprisingly, the inevitable legal action (well yes, anyway…) did not come from the Formula 1 authorities. but from McLaren’s sponsor at the time. An American tobacco company who, in addition to politely pointing out that no authorization had been requested, took the liberty of expressing doubts about the relevance of displaying the colors of a pack of cigarettes on a video game intended for children …
Once these legal details were settled out of court (the quantities are not known…), the players were able to enjoy the pinnacle of the automobile simulation of the year 1989. Although the graphics appeared to be in 3D, it was in fact hundreds of 2D elements thrown at the player’s face at the speed of a Gatling gun to, in the end, have a truly stunning pseudo 3D effect. The delicate “simulation-style” handling – it’s 1989, huh… we wouldn’t get too carried away with the term simulation – was a revolution compared to the arcade games of the time. Just like the steering wheel integrated into the terminal which already at the time had paddles for gear changes. If you managed to finish on the podium, which was frankly not won, you enjoyed the right to play… in the rain this time.
Strangely, and despite what the title might suggest, the only circuit in the game was not really the official Monaco layout. Definitely, we go from surprise to surprise… Admittedly, there was indeed a tunnel and a hairpin but if we go there… it is the case for all underground car parks. However, the atmosphere was perfect. From immaculate yachts anchored in port to a compact crowd of tax-averse spectators, it was all there.
There was indeed an attempt to port it to Sega MegaDrive but the console was unable to transcribe the same speed or the same level of detail on the screen. They even tried to get help from a guy to improve things on the sequel to the console version. The game was called Super Monaco GP 2 Ayrton Senna but I can’t remember the name of their adviser. Brazilian I think…