A post-apocalyptic future, the year 2112, and you, a rider nicknamed Mach Rider, tear on a motorcycle through a contaminated landscape where an enemy attack lurks behind every hill. This is no idyllic Sunday outing but a fight for survival in the saddle.
The game combines high-speed motorcycle riding with shooting elements, because besides steering you defend yourself against enemies on the track. You dodge obstacles, shift gears and try to reach the safe zone before your rivals wipe you out. This mix of reflexes and aggression gave Mach Rider a distinctive, harsher tone than most races of the time.
Mach Rider is one of Nintendo's early NES titles from the mid-1980s and was one of the games released in the console's early lifespan. It came about at a time when Nintendo was still defining just what its new hardware could handle, and was experimenting with various genres and ideas.
Culturally, it is interesting that the game combined racing with a darker sci-fi framework, which made it one of the more distinctive efforts of its day. The character of Mach Rider also later appeared as an element in the Super Smash Bros. series, which shows that Nintendo did not forget about it.
It also offered a track editor, thanks to which players could build their own courses, which was a premium feature at the time, one that extended the play experience and encouraged creativity.
Although it counts among the less remembered classics today, Mach Rider remains a testament to the boldness of early Nintendo in trying out unconventional genre combinations.
Why play: Gritty sci-fi racing with shooting and a track editor from the dawn of the NES, plus a character Nintendo never abandoned even years later.
Game 64 of 120 for Nintendo NES
