Bari Bari Densetsu

Bari Bari Densetsu is a 1989 motorcycle game for the PC Engine, the console sold outside Japan as the TurboGrafx-16. The title refers to the motorcycle manga of the same name, which explains why the game concentrates on road racing and the world of circuit riders rather than on motorsport in general.

The PC Engine was an interesting piece of hardware at the end of the eighties. It handled a large palette and fast background redraw, which made it good at high-tempo games. Quick racing was among the things the console used to sell itself, because smooth scrolling scenery could disguise the fact that the display remained two-dimensional.

Racing on two wheels has a different rhythm from cars. The machine leans into a corner, braking distances are shorter, and a fall means an immediate loss of pace rather than a bounce off a barrier. Motorcycle games therefore usually work with precise timing on corner entry and with overtaking through narrow gaps between rivals.

The Japanese scene of the late eighties reached for manga licences as a matter of course, because they arrived with an audience that already knew the characters. For a console game that meant a ready-made visual identity and clear expectations about what would appear on screen, with nothing to explain.

Bari Bari Densetsu is one of the titles that starts directly in the browser on OldGame.cz, where the release year and screenshots from the console version sit beside it.