Top Gear

Download Top Gear and race through a variety of challenging tracks in this classic arcade-style racing game! With its fast-paced gameplay and iconic music, Top Gear remains a beloved title among racing game enthusiasts. Are you ready to rev your engine? Play now!
a game by Gremlin
Genre: Racing
Platform: SNESSNES
Editor Rating: 8/10, based on 3 reviews
User Rating: 7.1/10 - 21 votes
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See also: Download Racing Games, Top Gear Games
Top Gear
Top Gear
Top Gear

Top Gear by Kemco offers the in-credible speed of F-Zero, and some of the best split-screen, auto racing action ever to hit a home system.

Can't Drive 55!

The object of Top Gear is to drive on 32 tracks in eight different countries. Place within the top five and you'll get a password to move on to the next country.

Whether you play Top Gear solo, or with a friend, you'll always see a split-screen (top and bottom) view from behind the car. Either Player Two, or the computer, controls the car on the bottom half of the screen.

There are three difficulty levels to choose from: Amateur, Professional, and Championship. Increasing the difficulty makes the computer drivers more aggressive.

The four cars you can chose from-the Cannibal, the Sidewinder, the Razor, and the Weasel- are rated for maximum speed, acceleration speed from 0 to 60 m.p.h., tire grip, and fuel consumption. The Cannibal has the highest maximum speed -- 147 MPH!!! The Sidewinder the best handling and the lowest fuel consumption. The Weasel is a tough competitor with vicious cornering ability and a speedy 0 to 60 time (4.3 seconds!). The Razor is loose around the comers and has a lower top speed and acceleration. If you can win with the Razor, you're truly the king of Top Gear. All cars are equipped with three Nitros per race. There's also a refueling pit on most tracks, lucky for the gas-guzzling Cannibal.

The Checkered Flag

Top Gear is one of the hottest racing games ever! The pace never slows and the tracks dish out enough variety to hold even the most die hard, speed king's interest. The computer opponents provide a solid challenge. The game even has some supercool background music. Gamesters, start your engines!

ProTip: Nitro is most effective when you're approaching a straightaway and the road ahead is clear of cars. If you bang into another vehicle when you're zooming, your momentum stops.

Download Top Gear

SNES

System requirements:

  • PC compatible
  • Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
  • Pentium II (or equivalent) 266MHz (500MHz recommended), RAM: 64MB (128MB recommended), DirectX v8.0a or later must be installed

Game Reviews

Today we are looking at the original Top Gear game. It is crazy to think that this humble early SNES racing game would go on to spawn a franchise that would go on for over a decade, spanning different console generations and various handhelds as well. It was a fun arcade racing series and the original game is one that I remember renting from the video game store in the early days I had my SNES. I thought it would be fun to look back at this and see how well it holds up.

Racing Around The World

We do have to take a second to remind ourselves that the original Top Gear was released in 1992 and was one of the first racing games for the Super Nintendo. This means that the game is not stacked with game modes. However, it does have a rather interesting point system. You earn points when you win races and after a handful of races in a particular area, you will move on to the next area if you have earned enough points. It makes for an interesting early racing game.

Hitting High Gear

One thing I will say about the original Top Gear is that it is quite easy. This is a racing game that by today's standards is very basic, but in 1992 on the SNES it did offer some unique features. The later races that take place on longer tracks for example will require you to keep an eye on your fuel and manage the race better. There is a nitro boost that you can use a few times per race too which adds an element of strategy to the game as the first time you compete on a track, you will not know what the best time to use the boost is. Overall, the game feels great, it has a kind of Mario Kart feel to it if I am being honest and that is meant as a compliment.

Slim Pickings

As Top Gear is an early racing game, you do not exactly have a ton of cars to pick from. You have four cars to play as and I do think that they do a good job of making the cars different enough that you want to try them all. For me, the white car is the beginner car as it is very easy to drive. However, the red car and its apex speed is the key to blasting through this game, but it does have a higher learning curve and does require you to learn the tracks. The game could do with a save feature as you have to use a password system which is better than nothing, but it made me realize how much we take saving games for granted these days. At least, the passwords are quite short.

It May Be Early, But It Still Rocks!

I was surprised at how well the original Top Gear holds up as far as the presentation goes. Granted, you will hear the same songs over and over again, but this is not a bad thing as this game has some epic music that was used in the earlier Lotus series I believe. The visuals are great for their time, nice and chunky sprites that I think hold up pretty well. Things are a little basic and sometimes I felt like the backgrounds chugged along a bit, but I was surprised at how good this still looked 30 years later.

8

I will admit that I do have a lot of nostalgia for Top Gear as it was a game, I played during the early days of having a SNES. Actually, I forgot to mention it in the review, but I have a lot of fun memories of playing this with my dad as it is fun in two player as well. If I am being 100 percent honest, for someone with no nostalgia for the SNES, this may seem like a very basic racing game. However, I will say that the game handles great and is very easy to pick up and play so that may help win over some younger gamers.

Pros:

  • I am very happy at how well this game holds up
  • This game has a rocking soundtrack that I love
  • It is fun to play the first game in a long running series
  • The core gameplay is great as the cars handle so well

Cons:

  • At the end of the day, this is an early and basic SNES racing game
  • Some of the graphics really show their age

Kemco's new road racing game for the SNES, Top Gear, is fast and furious. Compete in various countries around the world, while challenging the most grueling courses this side of Indy! Pick your car from a variety of design configurations. You can choose either an automatic or a manual transmission to further customize your car. Bump and gear-grind your way through hairpin turns while doing your best to avoid the other racers. Kick into nitro power for an incredible burst of speed that makes turbochargers a thing of the past! If you are ready for intense racing action, this cart is for you.

Snapshots and Media

SNES/Super Nintendo/Super Famicom Screenshots