I’m doing three games today, and this is why.

TOP GEAR:

This song.

TOP GEAR 2:

“You might be missing some of the benefits that stereo can provide” in 16-bit glory.

TOP GEAR 3000:

I have never forgotten any of this music in the ~18 years since I first played these games. Seriously.

Music aside, the games themselves were generic racing games, except that they were solid enough that I played the heck out of them and I honestly think they were among the finest racing games of the 16bit era. The first two had you racing through different countries, the last one had you racing on different “planets” that actually all pretty much looked like Earth, but it allowed the game to throw in some extra sci-fi-esque touches to your car.

All of the games followed a similar format, allowing you to customize your car and, as you won more races, make it more powerful by upgrading to the upgrades of your choice. Simple formula. AWESOME execution. Big props to the developers.