Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit

From Sega Retro

n/a

  • NTSC-U/PAL
  • NTSC-J

Formulaone beyondthelimit titlescreen.png

F1HeavenlySymphony MCD JP SS Title.png

Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit
System(s): Sega Mega-CD
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Licensor: Formula One Constructors' Association, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Peripherals supported: CD BackUp RAM Cart
Genre: Racing[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega-CD
JP
¥7,8007,800 G-6034
Sega Mega-CD
US
$59.9559.95[3] 4608
Videogame Rating Council: GA
Sega Mega-CD
EU
4608-50
Sega Mega-CD
PT
CDJ4608
Sega Mega-CD
UK
4608-50
Sega Mega-CD
AU
FFOR01SMR
OFLC: G
Sega Mega-CD
BR
Tectoy: Todas as Idades

Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit, known as Formula One World Championship 1993 Heavenly Symphony (フォーミュラーワン ワールド チャンピオンシップ 1993 ヘブンリー シンフォニー) in Japan, is a Formula One racing game for the Sega Mega-CD. It was produced by Sega in co-operation with Fuji Television and is licensed by FOCA.

Though it shares many similarities with Sega's prior Formula One racing games, specifically Super Monaco GP and Ayrton Senna's Super Monaco GP II, it is thought to be produced by an entirely different team within Sega, so is not considered a sequel. Ironically Ayrton Senna is omitted from this game's lineup for licensing reasons, and is therefore the only missing driver from the 1993 Formula One season (although his name and car number can be defined by the player).

Gameplay

The game takes place in a first person view from the cockpit, like many racing games on the early era consoles, but instead of using pre-defined road pieces or background deformation, this game makes use of the Sega Mega-CD's extra hardware and uses scaling and rotation of an image, similar to the Super Nintendo's Mode 7. This effect is also used in Sonic CD's Special Stages and various other games.

All 16 tracks are available from the 1993 season, including the fictional Sega Park, given the location of Japan. The tracks themselves are accurate recreations of the real tracks, with appropriate elements from their real-life counter-part. For example, Donington Park, which was sponsored by SEGA, had various SEGA logos littered all over the place (with various billboards of Sonic the Hedgehog).

Modes

Like most racing games, this features a main Grand Prix mode, where you take the reins and take the 1993 season on. You will start off on the Sega Park test track, in a very generic car. From your performance, you will be able to select a team to drive for and make your contract. Based on how the player does during the season, they can either get new contract offers, or get fired from their current team. There are 4 save files to use for this mode, the player can do the season as various teams, or to be allowed for a friend's save.

There is also a 1993 Mode, allowing the player to take on challenges based off events in the 1993 season. For example, for the European Grand Prix, the player must take the role of Rubens Barrichello for 6 laps on Donington Park. The rain is at play and drivers are constantly pitting in with the changing weather. Rubens' tires are wearing out, and the player must pit, retain position, and don't let the Williams driver, Damon Hill, overtake Rubens. Upon selecting a scenario, a FMV will play showcasing a bit of the race's events, then transition into the gameplay. There are also another 4 saves for this mode.

Finally, there is a Free Run mode, where the player can drive on any track, with any amount of laps, any car of their choice, and the choice of weather.

Circuits

Notavailable.svg Sega Park
Sega Park is a fictional track designed as a test circuit.
Notavailable.svg ZA 1928 South African Grand Prix, Kyalami
Notavailable.svg Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos
Notavailable.svg United Kingdom European Grand Prix, Donington
Notavailable.svg Italy San Marino Grand Prix, Imola
Notavailable.svg Spain Spanish Grand Prix, Catalunya
Notavailable.svg Monaco Monaco Grand Prix, Monaco
Notavailable.svg Canada Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
Notavailable.svg France French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours
Notavailable.svg United Kingdom British Grand Prix, Silverstone
Notavailable.svg Germany German Grand Prix, Hockenheimring
Notavailable.svg Hungary Hungarian Grand Prix, Hungaroring
Notavailable.svg Belgium Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
Notavailable.svg Italy Italian Grand Prix, Monza
Notavailable.svg Portugal Portuguese Grand Prix, Estoril
Notavailable.svg Japan Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
Notavailable.svg Australia Australian Grand Prix, Adelaide

Teams/vehicles

In Grand Prix mode, the game does not initially let you race for some of the stronger teams of the season (Williams, Benetton and McLaren). Drivers will also change depending on where in the season the player is, reflecting real-life changes during 1993.

Driver numbers also mirror those of the 1993 season. There is no #1 because 1992 champion Nigel Mansell retired at the end of that season (replacement Damon Hill using #0), #13 is considered "unlucky", #18 wasn't used, and #16 and #17 were reserved for the March F1 team, which collapsed before the season began.

Notavailable.svg Williams, FW15C
Drivers:
  • 0: United Kingdom Damon Hill
  • 2: France Alain Prost
Notavailable.svg Tyrrell, 020C
Drivers:
  • 3: Japan Ukyo Katayama
  • 4: Italy Andrea de Cesaris
Notavailable.svg Benetton, B193B
Drivers:
  • 5: Germany Michael Schumacher
  • 6: Italy Riccardo Patrese
Notavailable.svg McLaren, MP4/8
Drivers:
  • 7: United States of America Michael Andretti
  • 8: "PLAYER"

Ayrton Senna, who drove for McLaren in the 1993 season, is not officially in the game, and is represented by a generic driver which the player can name. This is the only driver whose portrait just shows a man in a helmet, though there's nothing stopping you from entering "A. SENNA" for a more authentic experience.

Notavailable.svg Footwork, FA14
Drivers:
  • 9: United Kingdom Derek Warwick
  • 10: Japan Aguri Suzuki
Notavailable.svg Lotus, 107B
Drivers:
  • 11: Italy Alessandro Zanardi
  • 12: United Kingdom Johnny Herbert
Notavailable.svg Jordan, 193
Drivers:
  • 14: Brazil Rubens Barrichello
  • 15: Italy Ivan Capelli
Notavailable.svg Larrousse, LH93
Drivers:
  • 19: France Philippe Alliot
  • 20: France Érik Comas
Notavailable.svg Lola-BMS, T93/30
Drivers:
  • 21: Italy Michele Alboreto
  • 22: Italy Luca Badoer
Notavailable.svg Minardi, M193
Drivers:
  • 23: Brazil Christian Fittipaldi
  • 24: Italy Fabrizio Barbazza
Notavailable.svg Ligier, JS39
Drivers:
  • 25: United Kingdom Martin Brundle
  • 26: United Kingdom Mark Blundell
Notavailable.svg Ferrari, F93A
Drivers:
  • 27: France Jean Alesi
  • 28: Austria Gerhard Berger
Notavailable.svg Sauber, C12
Drivers:
  • 29: Austria Karl Wendlinger
  • 30: Finland JJ Lehto

History

Tobacco Sponsoring

This game controversially uses Tobacco Sponsoring. While it was standard practise for other racing games to avoid this, it would seem to be complete ignorance by the Japanese developers, despite being under supervision of FOCA and Fuji Television. Various sponsors, while visible in the cutscenes, are visible on cars and the track - Player's LTEE, for example, on the Canadian Grand Prix, and Camel on the Benneton.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as
Language Localised Name English Translation
English Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit
English (US) Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit
Japanese ヘブンリー シンフォニー フォーミュラーワン ワールド チャンピオンシップ 1993 Heavenly Symphony: Formula One World Championship 1993

Localisation Changes

In addition to the name change, various other changes were made for the American and European release. These include;

  • The game was made notably more easy for the localised release. The Japanese release, for example, is slower, and engine failure is a much higher possibility. Additionally, use of the boost for longer than one lap would cause an engine failure, in accordance to one of the texts in the game. Instead, it would take around 4 laps in the exported version.
  • The heads-up-display was moved to the bottom of the screen in the localised release, whereas it was on the top in Japan.
  • Various songs were given different usages between versions.
  • In 1993 mode, the Japanese release had music playing while racing, which went unused in the exported game.
  • A bonus menu could be accessed when the player won the Driver's Championship and the Constructors Championship, giving access to all the FMVs in the game. This was not in the Japanese version.

Production credits

Staff
Sound Staff
U. S. A. Staff
  • Director: Atsushi "Sushi" Kosugi (Beat On Beat, Inc. N. Y.)
  • Recording Engineer: Patrick Dillett, Michael Conrader
  • Mix Engineer: Patrick Dillett
  • Assistant Engineer: Justin Lucher, Hiro Ishihara
  • Musicians: Larry Mitchell, Yossi Fine, Alex Alexander, Tommy Mandel, Dana Calitri, Gwen Guthrie, Andy Snitzer, Kurtis King, Anders Bostrom, Hiram Bullock, Willine Martinez, East 4th Hones (John Allmark, John Scarpulla, John Wheeler), Tsunekazu Aoki, Tetsuo Sakurai, Yoshihiro Tomonari, Takuo Uchida, Yukiyoshi Hujimoto, Yoshio Nomura, Masahiro Inaba, Hisanori Kumamaru, Funky Fujisawa, Jake H. Conception, Jun De Martini
Naration Staff


  • Supervisor: Tetsuo Hamaguchi (Fuji Television), Nobuhiro Kasai (Fuji Television), Masanari Funaki (Fuji Television), Hirofumi Matsuno (Fuji Television), Jyun Minegishi (Fuji Television)
  • Special Thanks: Rascal Fuku-Chan, Tetsu, Shigeyuki, Tatsuyan (HIC), Ykki (HIC), Sam Ohashi, Takumi, Ann, Samaore, Tac Iwd, Wagamama Sam, Masu, Chepeat, Bossanova Oyz, T.S., Hirochan, Hiyo-Hiyo, Yutaka Kobari (Fuji Television), Kenji Hoshiya (Fuji Television), Noriyuki Sakai, Hideto Kurihara, Makoto Satou, Masahiro Saito, Takehiro Motoyoshi, Nahna, Yuki,Crystal,Takako (Beat On Beat, Inc. N. Y.)
  • Senior Supervisor: Kazuhito Kawai
Formula One World Championship 1993 Heavenly Symphony
The End
Source:
In-game credits (JP)
Heavenly Symphony MCD credits.pdf
[6]

The following developers are known, but their pseudonyms are unknown.

Source:
Developer mentions

Source:
US manual
Formula1 mcd us manual.pdf
[8]


Magazine articles

Main article: Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1994-04: "April 1994" (1994-03-08)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in (JP) #1994-05: "May 1994" (1994-04-08)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
(JP) NTSC-J
63
[9]
(UK)
63
[10]
(UK)
40
[11]
(US) NTSC-U
25
[12]
(JP) NTSC-J
65
[13]
(US) NTSC-U
77
[3]
(US) NTSC-U
68
[14]
(UK)
47
[15]
(UK) PAL
81
[16]
(JP) NTSC-J
60
[17]
(FR) NTSC-J
89
[18]
(FR)
89
[19]
(DE) PAL
88
[20]
(UK) NTSC-J
37
[21]
(FR) PAL
71
[22]
(DE) NTSC-J
84
[23]
(DE) NTSC-U
86
[24]
(UK) NTSC-J
92
[25]
(FR)
80
[26]
(DE)
86
[27]
(UK) PAL
78
[4]
(UK) NTSC-J
51
[28]
(UK) NTSC-J
90
[29]
(AU)
55
[30]
(JP) NTSC-J
84
[31]
(ES)
86
[32]
(DE) NTSC-U
81
[33]
(US) NTSC-U
70
[34]
Sega Mega-CD
71
Based on
28 reviews

Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit

Mega-CD, JP
F1WCBtL MCD JP Box Back.jpgF1WCBtL MCD JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
FormulaOne MCD JP spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
F1WCBtL MCD JP Disc.jpg
Disc
Heavenlysymphony mcd jp manual.pdf
Manual
Mega-CD, US
F1WCBtL MCD US Box Back.jpgF1WCBtL MCD US Box Front.jpg
Cover
F1WCBtL MCD US Disc.jpg
Disc
Formula1 mcd us manual.pdf
Manual
Mega-CD, EU
F1WCBtL MCD EU Box Back.jpgF1WCBtL MCD EU Box Front.jpg
Cover
FormulaOne MCD EU spinecard.jpg
Spinecard
Formula1WorldChampionship MCD EU Disc.jpg
Disc
F1 WC BeyondTheLimits MCD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega-CD, PT

Mega-CD, AU

Mega-CD, BR
FormulaOne MCD BR front.jpg
Cover

Technical information

Main article: Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit/Technical information.

References

  1. File:F1WCBtL MCD JP Box Back.jpg
  2. 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/mega-cd/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-06-22 19:24)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Game Players, "Vol. 7 No. 10 October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 100
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Sega Magazine, "September 1994" (UK; 1994-08-xx), page 78
  5. The Cutting Room Floor: Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit#Developer Credits and Build Dates
  6. File:Heavenly Symphony MCD credits.pdf
  7. https://archive.li/c9JqY
  8. File:Formula1 mcd us manual.pdf, page 20
  9. Beep! MegaDrive, "May 1994" (JP; 1994-04-08), page 20
  10. Computer & Video Games, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-15), page 93
  11. Edge, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-26), page 74
  12. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 116
  13. Famitsu, "1994-04-29" (JP; 1994-04-15), page 1
  14. GamePro, "November 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 195
  15. GamesMaster, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-30), page 59
  16. Games World: The Magazine, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-xx), page 21
  17. Hippon Super, "June 1994" (JP; 1994-04-30), page 61
  18. Joypad, "Juillet/Août 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 30
  19. Joypad, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 55
  20. MAN!AC, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-08), page 68
  21. Mega, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 40
  22. Mega Force, "Septembre 1994" (FR; 1994-0x-xx), page 112
  23. Mega Fun, "07/94" (DE; 1994-06-22), page 52
  24. Mega Fun, "10/94" (DE; 1994-09-21), page 57
  25. Mega Power, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-23), page 38
  26. Player One, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 148
  27. Play Time, "10/94" (DE; 1994-09-07), page 108
  28. Sega Power, "August 1994" (UK; 1994-07-07), page 54
  29. Sega Pro, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 48
  30. Sega Megazone, "October 1994" (AU; 1994-xx-xx), page 26
  31. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 85
  32. Todo Sega, "Septiembre 1994" (ES; 1994-0x-xx), page 58
  33. Video Games, "10/94" (DE; 1994-09-28), page 90
  34. VideoGames, "October 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 91


Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit

Formulaone beyondthelimit titlescreen.png

Main page | Comparisons | Development | Magazine articles | Reception | Technical information


Music: (1994) | (1994)

No results



Officially licensed Formula One games for Sega systems
Arcade
F1 Super Lap (1993) | F1 World Grand Prix (1998)
Sega Mega Drive
Nakajima Satoru Kanshuu F1 Super License (1992) | F1 (1993) | Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing (1993) | F1: World Championship Edition (1995)
Sega Master System
F1 (1993)
Sega Game Gear
F1 (1993) | F1: World Championship Edition (1995)
Sega Mega-CD
F1 Circus CD (1994) | Formula One World Championship: Beyond the Limit (1994)
Sega Saturn
F1 Challenge (1996)
Sega Dreamcast
F1 World Grand Prix (1999) | F1 World Grand Prix II (2000) | F1 Racing Championship (2001)