Underplayed Gems

Power Drift (1988)

Power Drift cover
Developer
Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Publisher
Activision, Asmik Ace Entertainment, Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Platforms
Arcade, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, DOS, Amiga, Sega Saturn
Genres
Racing, Arcade
Rating
3.6 of 5, 8 player ratings

More by Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

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The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A high-energy arcade kart racer with dynamic sprite-scaled visuals delivering pure adrenaline-fueled racing fun.

fast-pacedarcade-styleretrothrillingcompetitivecolorful

About

Power Drift is a kart racing game released in arcades by Sega in 1988. More technologically advanced than Sega's earlier 2.5D racing games, like Hang-On (1985) and Out Run (1986), in Power Drift the entire world and track consist of sprites. The upgraded hardware of the Sega Y Board allows individual sprites and the background to be rotated–even while being scaled–making the visuals more dynamic. Designed and directed by Yu Suzuki, the game was a critical and commercial success upon release in arcades. It was subsequently ported to various home computers in Europe by Activision in 1989, followed by a PC Engine port published in Japan by Asmik Ace in 1990. It was not released on Sega consoles until the Sega Ages release for the Sega Saturn in 1998.

Screenshots

Power Drift screenshot 1Power Drift screenshot 2Power Drift screenshot 3Power Drift screenshot 4

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More by Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.