Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC

I love racing games and have been pounding the drum for at least a decade that there simply aren’t enough of them. Oh sure, we still get Forza games and there’s a new Mario Kart launching with the Switch 2, but most of the big racing franchises from just a couple generations ago are completely missing in action. I want more racing games! It seems that EastAsiaSoft must have heard my begging, because here is Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC, a new throwback game from the developer of Formula Bit Racing DX. Apparently, I’m going to need to be more specific with my requests, because what I really wanted was a GOOD racing game. Yeah, it’s going to be that kind of review. Here is what I thought of Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC.

Don’t let the lengthy title fool you, Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC is about as barebones as a racing game can possibly be. There are no upgrades or tuning or color swaps or anything that might soup up your car in any way. Instead what you do is pick a vehicle and then race through thirty-two short stages that, aside from a couple of trees and different colored tiles, all look exactly the same. You don’t earn any money nor unlock any items, accessories or decals. You just move on to the next race. Full stop.

The races can be played from a number of different camera angles, including one that is overhead, making it look like classic racers from the 1980s. There’s also a fixed perspective that reminds me of games like R.C. Pro-Am. However, the one you’ll likely stick with is also the most conventional. The camera races behind the player, like most driving games, but it’s from a slightly higher up perspective. This makes swerving in and out of traffic a lot easier. Maybe too easy.

One of the big problems this game has is that the computer opponents don’t really put up much of a fight. This is the kind of racing game where you always start at in last place, yet you’ll almost always be in first place before you even enter the second lap. There are four different difficulty levels, each with eight races to conquer. However, only the hardest set of courses offer a challenge, which means you’re guaranteed to come in second or third. You might actually have to play those stages multiple times to come in first, unlike the rest of the game, where being in the winner’s circle was almost always a sure thing.

Now, I say that there are thirty-two different stages to race, but are they really that different? It’s not that the stages all blur together, but rather that most of the levels do nothing to differentiate themselves from the rest. And it’s somehow even worse than that, because the stage names don’t even make sense. You might expect the Desert Blaze level to be set in the desert during a heat wave, but it’s not. It’s actually a snow level. And before you ask, there isn’t any snow or ice in the Arctic Reach or Glacier Point stages. Maybe the Midnight Plains course will shake things up and be set at night? Nope, it’s still the middle of the day. There are no dangerous cliffs to watch out for in the Phantom Cliff level and don’t look for any water when racing the Tempest Isle. It’s almost as if somebody made a list of location names, and then somebody else assigned them at random.

If it sounds like I’m dogging on Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC, it’s because I am. It’s not a very good game. But it’s not a complete failure. The various cars handle well. It’s also bright and colorful. And did I mention that it’s easy to get into, no matter what kind of player you are? That’s because the gameplay is reduced to either accelerate or brake. I mean, there may be an emergency brake button, too. But I wouldn’t know, because there’s no way to look up what the buttons do.

Speaking of obvious things this game forgets to do, you also can’t race against others in Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC. And it’s not just that you can’t go up against the rest of the world through online play, but rather that there are no multiplayer options at all. Not even if you have a second controller. In fact, this game has no modes at all. Starting the game just means that you can select the novice, junior, senior and pro stages, and the garage is only there to let you switch between a handful of cars. Even the settings are limited to the music and sound effects being on or off. This game is the very definition of barebones.

Perhaps you could make the case that Super Engine GT would be worth getting if there were no other similar throwback racing games on home consoles. But there are tons of them, almost all of which offer more modes, better gameplay and even multiplayer support. It’s not broken and the races themselves are reasonably fun, but there is absolutely nothing about this game that stands out in any meaningful way. Don’t worry if you can’t remember its long and misleading title, because there’s no good reason to ever think about Super Engine GT Turbo SPEC again.