Super Hang-On was a very popular motorcycle racing game in arcades a long time ago. You sat on the cabinet like a motorbike and made it lean left and right to steer. Even though I didn’t play it very much (motorcycle games just didn’t appeal to me), I always knew it was in the arcade I was at. For some reason, every arcade I went to that had it; the volume was turned all the way up. So wherever you were at, you could hear the “dong…dong…dong…” music on the title screen every few minutes. And now you can enjoy Super Hang-On with new 3-D graphics by downloading it from the Nintendo 3DS eShop.

Super Hang-On is quite similar to classic racing games like Pole Position, or even more accurately, Rad Racer. You must make it to the next checkpoint to refill your time before it runs out while avoiding other racers and obstacles on the sides of the road. If you crash, you’ll have to wait until you reappear on the road again, which cuts down your time. There are four different areas you can choose to race on with varying difficulty.

I’ve been blind in my left eye since birth, so I can’t see the 3-D graphics, but I’ve been told they’ve been done very well. Super Hang-On has a slew of options that you can toggle, like changing the difficulty and controls. You can also make the screen look like it’s tilting around when you steer, just like the arcade game. Even more, you can opt to control the game with the analog stick or just by leaning the 3DS left and right using the motion sensor! Plus a whole bunch of other options that I have no idea what they do! If you enjoy classic challenging racing titles, you may want to download this one.

Kid Factor:

3D Super Hang-On is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Use of Alcohol and Tobacco. Wha…?!? I don’t remember seeing that in the game. I would think it would get a descriptor of Violence since when you crash; your guy gets thrown from his motorcycle and flops around on the ground. But he appears later right back on motorbike ready to race! Well, whatever descriptors this game is supposed to have, I’d be OK with any kid playing this. Younger players may have trouble with the harder courses, though, and may get frustrated and/or bored.

Tags: Game Reviews