Release Date: March 20th, 1991 (Japan Only)
Developer: Jaleco Entertainment
Publisher: Jaleco Entertainment
This was a game where the provenance and the setting for the game is actually the most interesting part of it. The game itself, I remember, is a little bothersome, but it handles a subject matter that is reminiscent of great overland races like the Iditarod. Feats of human accomplishment or ingenuity are always enjoyable to learn about, and the "sport" that is featured in this game is really one that is fascinating.
What is "Rally Raid?"
Big Run, aside from having a mouthful of a title, is a game based off a relatively esoteric sport, the "rally raid." The rally raid is a off-road race with any car that can be modified to run off road, from a Porsche to a Humvee. The races run for over a very large distance, with the racers traveling about 500-600 miles a day for around a week. It is a long distance race where part of the "sport" is surviving the race itself. The racers have to make certain checkpoints by an appointed time, or they are disqualified. This game takes place during the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally Raid, a race through North and Central Africa, and you drive in the car that actually run that race, a Porsche 959.
The Paris-Dakar Rally (now known simply as "Dakar") began in 1978 and ran from Paris, France down to Dakar, Senegal. The race travels mainly through Western Africa, which is a very geographically diverse region: racers have to travel through deserts, mud, rocky terrain, and grasslands. Now the neat thing is that racers are allowed to travel in any type of vehicle that can be modified for off-roading, be it a dirt bike or a Jeep. Now the issue is that you also need to pack supplies, usually a guide of some kind, and kits/spare parts for your own repairs. If you can't make a checkpoint due to a flat tire, that is on you. In the 2000s, they moved the race from Africa to South America due to security concerns in West Africa. Apparently, Dakar is going to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2020, which should be a fantastic race to witness.
So while this is indeed a racing game, it is a wholly unique racing game. Each "level" is a different part of the trek from Tripoli, Libya down to Dakar, Senegal, and the goal is usually to complete the allotted section in about 2 to 2 and a half minutes.
Now is this a good game? Well...as I said it is interesting in that it is a curiosity, but I really wouldn't go beyond that in terms of value as a game.
Now I should mention here and now that the game is an arcade port, so this is not an SNES original by any means. The game begins with you choosing a sponsor for the race. Each sponsor has their own merits and disadvantages. Some sponsors have more money for you and your trip, but provide less parts for your car, while others have the opposite with little money but more parts for your car. For the best experience, you want a nice balance of both.
You then choose your guide, mechanic, and support. Honestly, you really want to hire the best for each one. The guide will be able to tell you when turns are coming up, and there are several sections where your visibility is compromised, so this is actually pretty helpful. The mechanic and their support are necessary as there are times when your car will break down, and a quality mechanic can get you on the road with only 10 seconds lost rather than a whole minute.
Yet as I said, you really do need car parts as well. Over time, especially if you continually hit things on the road, the parts of your car will continually degrade. Between rounds, you have the option to work on your car, but if you breakdown mid-race, it is going to eat up a whole bunch of time, and will usually cost you the game. If you completely run out of car parts, then you are pretty much shit out of luck. The other draw-back to carrying too many car parts is the fact that you are actually carrying the car parts during the trip, which will weigh down your car considerably. So the more "prepared" you are in the race, the less your top speed will be.
Now the levels themselves have some neat tricks to them. There are usually obstacles such as boulders, trees, and other racers constantly present, and also some adverse weather conditions, such as rain storms and sand storms, which completely block out your visibility sometimes.
Now these all sound like neat and novel ideas to a racing game, but the game does have some draw-backs. As I said, this was an arcade port from a game released in 1989 for a Jaleco Arcade machine. This means that it is also a pre-Mode 7 racing game. Yup this is an old style racer, and as such it is kind of clunky. There is kind of a faux-parralax thing going around with the background, and the car really can only turn 30 degrees at a time rather than a full 360 like in F-Zero. It really makes for some awkward controls, especially when you are trying to dodge things on the road. In fact, rival racers are almost impossible to avoid sometimes, as there is no real way to dodge them. The strange scrolling of the screen makes it impossible to tell where they are going to be when they reach the foreground, so more often then not you will just hit them.
The music, as well, is rather bland, and considering that this game takes place in Africa, does not really utilize its setting too much.
In the end, this game is a curiosity rather than a must have title. The game is pretty hard as well, I only made it half-way through the entire race before I got disqualified. Your car breaks down WAY too easily and you will most likely lose because o fthis.
With that being said, the game is also pretty hard to find. It is a Japanese only title, and it is pretty rare for that market as well. You can find some copies on ebay for around $15-20 bucks, but the shipping adds to the costs significantly.
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