Hard Drivin'

From Sega Retro

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HardDrivin Title.png

Hard Drivin'
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Tengen
Developer:
Licensor: Atari Games
Original system(s): Arcade boards
Developer(s) of original games: Atari Games
Sound driver: Tengen/Lisa Ching
Genre: Racing[1]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥5,900 (6,077)5,900e[2] T-48013
Sega Mega Drive
US
$54.9554.95[4] 301017-0150
Sega Mega Drive
EU
301017-0170
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£34.9934.99[6][5] 301017-0170
Sega Mega Drive
AU
Sega Mega Drive
BR
Non-Sega versions

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Hard Drivin' (ハードドライビン) is a 1989 arcade driving game developed by Atari Games, which was later ported to numerous consoles and computers including the Sega Mega Drive. The name of the game makes reference to its unfair difficulty due to the bad controls.

Gameplay

As an arcade game, Hard Drivin' emphasized the use of three-dimensional polygon graphics and (relatively) realistic physics largely unseen in video games at the time, as opposed to longevity. There is only one course which is divided into two tracks; a "race" track which emphasizes speed and a "stunt" track which has the player negotiate jumps and loops. The race is timed, with players having to reach checkpoints to keep play going, and the game ends when the counter reaches zero.

The player can crash into objects and opponent cars, which in turn leads to a loss of time. Likewise if the player strays off road for too long, this is registered as a crash. Crashes are followed by third-person replay, again novel for the time. Completing the stunt track within a certain time allows the player to race against an opponent car, the "Phantom Photon".

The Mega Drive version adds nothing to the experience, instead aiming to be a direct port of the arcade version. While reasonably accurate, fewer polygons are used in-game and the frame rate is much lower (albeit not as low as seen in some other ports of the game). The draw distance is also shorter, and the move to the Mega Drive's D-Pad sees a loss of the analogue steering seen in the arcade version.

History

Legacy

One of Hard Drivin''s sequels, Race Drivin' also made it to the Sega Mega Drive in 1992. Race Drivin' includes all the content seen in Hard Drivin', but adds extra courses and vehicles.

Hard Drivin' stands as the first Mega Drive game to feature a full 3D world built with polygons.

Magazine articles

Main article: Hard Drivin'/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Main article: Hard Drivin'/Promotional material.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
50
[7]
Æskan (IS)
91
[8]
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
67
[9]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
78
[10]
Console XS (UK) PAL
86
[11]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
52
[12]
Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK)
35
[13]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
75
[14]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
84
[4]
The Games Machine (IT)
90
[15]
Génération 4 (FR)
88
[16]
Game Zone (UK) PAL
60
[5]
Hippon Super (JP) NTSC-J
70
[17]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
72
[18]
Joystick (FR)
72
[19]
Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) PAL
32
[20]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
71
[21]
Mega (UK)
50
[22]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
50
[23]
Mega Play (US) NTSC-U
58
[24]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
50
[25]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
65
[26]
Mean Machines (UK) NTSC-J
51
[27]
Mean Machines Sega (UK)
51
[28]
Player One (FR)
69
[29]
Power Play (DE)
61
[30]
Raze (UK) NTSC
86
[31]
Sega Power (UK) NTSC
25
[32]
Sega Pro (UK)
79
[33]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
81
[34]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
86
[35]
Sega Force (UK) PAL
81
[36]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
73
[37]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
68
[38]
Video Games (DE)
57
[39]
Sega Mega Drive
66
Based on
35 reviews

Hard Drivin'

Mega Drive, JP
HardDrivin MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD JP CartTop.jpg
HardDrivin MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Hard Drivin MD JP Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, US
HardDrivin MD US Box.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, US

HardDrivin MD US Cart Alt.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, US (cardboard)
HardDrivin MD US cb back.jpgNospine.pngHardDrivin MD US cb front.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Hard Drivin' MD US Manual (cardboard).pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU (Colour manual)
Hard Drivin Colour Manual Box Back.jpgNospine.pngHardDrivin MD EU sega cover.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD EU sega cartback.jpgHardDrivin MD EU sega cart.jpg
Cart
Mega Drive, EU (Black & white manual)
HardDrivin MD EU alt cover.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
50x50px
Manual
HardDrivin MD EU alt pcb.jpg
PCB
Mega Drive, AU

Mega Drive, BR
HardDrivin MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
HardDrivin MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
CRC32 3225baaf
MD5 2c1cd69c1c3ff24d5f4cb617fc0d5309
SHA-1 e15a3e704900b9736bc274bcb49d4421f4a3605b
256kB 1990-08 Cartridge (US/EU/JP)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/megadrive/software_l.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-07-02 23:21)
  2. Beep! MegaDrive, "July 1992" (JP; 1992-06-08), page 20
  3. https://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video/c/Z5bU24UZwms/m/Uvxnnn8EmrkJ
  4. 4.0 4.1 GamePro, "January 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 105
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Game Zone, "December 1991" (UK; 1991-11-22), page 37
  6. Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 60
  7. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 94
  8. Æskan, "" (IS; 1993-03-01), page 1
  9. Aktueller Software Markt, "März 1991" (DE; 1991-02-22), page 116
  10. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-08), page 36
  11. Console XS, "June/July 1992" (UK; 1992-04-23), page 130
  12. Computer & Video Games, "February 1991" (UK; 1991-01-16), page 81
  13. Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide, "" (UK; 1993-11-18), page 57
  14. Famitsu, "" (JP; 199x-xx-xx), page 1
  15. The Games Machine, "Febbraio 1991" (IT; 1991-xx-xx), page 34
  16. Génération 4, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-xx-xx), page 90
  17. Hippon Super, "January 1991" (JP; 1990-12-04), page 43
  18. Hobby Consolas, "Octubre 1992" (ES; 1992-xx-xx), page 140
  19. Joystick, "Février 1991" (FR; 1991-0x-xx), page 126
  20. Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming, "January 1993" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 92
  21. Mega Drive Fan, "March 1991" (JP; 1991-02-08), page 99
  22. Mega, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-19), page 65
  23. Mega Force, "Janvier 1992" (FR; 1992-01-15), page 94
  24. Mega Play, "February 1991" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 44
  25. MegaTech, "February 1992" (UK; 1992-01-20), page 38
  26. Micromanía (segunda época), "Diciembre 1992" (ES; 1992-1x-xx), page 43
  27. Mean Machines, "January 1991" (UK; 1991-01-03), page 58
  28. Mean Machines Sega, "October 1992" (UK; 1992-09-xx), page 139
  29. Player One, "Mars 1992" (FR; 1992-03-10), page 68
  30. Power Play, "4/91" (DE; 1991-03-15), page 136
  31. Raze, "March 1991" (UK; 1991-01-31), page 78
  32. Sega Power, "October 1991" (UK; 1991-09-05), page 53
  33. Sega Pro, "Christmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 47
  34. Sega Pro, "Christmas 1991" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 54
  35. Sega Pro, "April 1993" (UK; 1993-03-11), page 66
  36. Sega Force, "January 1992" (UK; 1991-12-12), page 72
  37. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 86
  38. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 84
  39. Video Games, "1/91" (DE; 1991-03-27), page 88
Hard Drivin'

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