is a

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by ADK and originally published by

SNK is a Japanese video gaming and interactive entertainment company. It was founded in 1978 as by Eikichi Kawasaki and began by developing arcade games. SNK is known for its Neo Geo arcade system on which the company established many franchises ...

on April 26, 1996. It is the

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

to ''

Thrash Rally is a racing game developed by Alpha Denshi and released by SNK for the Neo Geo system. It was released by SNK on December 20, 1991, and was followed by '' Over Top'', a spiritual successor, in 1996. Gameplay Players begin by choosing a vehicle ...

'', which was released earlier in 1991 on

Neo Geo The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

platforms. Themed around

rallying Rallying is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (sometimes called "rally racing" in United States), navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed ...

, ''Over Top'' pits the players with competing against AI-controlled opponents in races across various locations. Directed by ''

Magician Lord is a side-scrolling action- platform arcade video game developed by Alpha Denshi and originally published by SNK on April 26, 1990. It was one of the launch titles for both the Neo Geo MVS (arcade) and Neo Geo AES (home) platforms, in addi ...

'' designer Takashi Egashira, the game was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at ADK. Though it was initially launched for the

Neo Geo MVS The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video ga ...

(arcade), the title was later released for both

Neo Geo AES The , stylized as NEO•GEO, is a video game platform released in 1990 by Japanese game company SNK Corporation. It was initially released in two ROM cartridge-based formats: an arcade system board (Multi Video System; MVS) and a home video gam ...

(home) and

Neo Geo CD The is a home video game console produced by SNK Corporation, released on September 9, 1994. The system is the same platform as the cartridge-based Neo Geo released four years earlier, but converted to the cheaper CD media format which reta ...

respectively, in addition of being re-released through download services for various

console Console may refer to: Computing and video games * System console, a physical device to operate a computer ** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device ** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...

s. ''Over Top'' was received with mixed reception from critics and reviewers since its initial release.

Gameplay

''Over Top'' is a

top-down Top-down may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Top Down", a 2007 song by Swizz Beatz * "Top Down", a song by Lil Yachty from ''Lil Boat 3'' * "Top Down", a song by Fifth Harmony from ''Reflection'' * "Topdown", a song by Channel Tres from the ...

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Political demonstration, a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a North American school or college sporting event Sport ...

racing game where players observe from above and races across various locations by participating in a single race against AI-controlled opponents. Each location has their own

weather conditions Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

that changes how the car is controlled through the track, as well as shortcuts to gain advantage against opponents.''Over Top'' user's manual (Neo Geo AES, JP) The title uses a checkpoint in which the player gains extra time by reaching a tunnel at the end of each location. Failing to reach the checkpoint results in a

game over "Game over" is a message in video games which informs the player that their play session has ended, usually because the player has reached a loss condition. It also sometimes appears at the successful completion of a session, especially in ga ...

screen unless players insert more credits into the arcade machine to

continue Continue may refer to: *Continue (video gaming), an option to continue a video game after all the player's lives have been lost *Continue (keyword), a programming language keyword * ''Continue'' (film), a 2022 American drama film Music *''Continue ...

playing. If a

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices, such as digital cameras as well as in many early games conso ...

is present, the player is allowed to save their progress and resume the last point the game saved at.

Development and release

''Over Top'' was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at ADK, with ''

'' designer Takashi Egashira acting as its

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

alongside producer Kazuo Arai. Yukinori Nishikata served as chief

programmer A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming. The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...

, while the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

was composed by Keiichiro Segawa and Takao Oshima. Several other people also collaborated in its development. ''Over Top'' was first released by

for the

on April 26, 1996, and was then released for

on May 24 of the same year. The Japanese AES release has since become one of the more expensive titles on the platform, with copies of the port fetching over

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

4500 on the secondary video game collecting market. The game was later re-released in the same year for the

by ADK on September 26. The title has received multiple re-releases in recent years on various

digital distribution Digital distribution, also referred to as content delivery, online distribution, or electronic software distribution, among others, is the delivery or distribution of information or materials through digital platforms. The distribution of digital ...

platforms such as the

Nintendo eShop The is a digital distribution service for the Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2, and formerly available via the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo eShop served ...

PlayStation Network PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

and

Xbox Live The Xbox network, formerly known and commonly referred to as Xbox Live, is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Gaming for the Xbox brand. It was first made available to the origina ...

Reception

''Over Top'' received mixed reception from critics and reviewers since release. ''

AllGame RhythmOne , a subsidiary of Nexxen, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went public on the Alternative Investment Market, ...

''s Kyle Knight commended its graphics, gameplay and replay value but criticized the introductory CGI sequence for being poorly done. ''MAN!AC''s Andreas Knauf compared the game negatively with ''Neo Drift Out: New Technology'', criticizing the

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

-esque visuals and sound design, as well as the simple controls. Reviewing the Nintendo Switch re-release, ''

Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

''s Damien McFerran criticized the CGI graphics and introduction but commended the music and simple controls, also saying that the game lacks longevity that will not occupy players for long. ''

Pure Nintendo Magazine Pure Nintendo Magazine (PNM) is a bi-monthly, independently published magazine that features Nintendo-related content and news. The print's first issue of PNM was published in October 2011 by Pure Media, LLC. The magazine joined Metacritic in ...

''s Trevor Gould and Heath M. Shusterman-Zimmerman gave the Switch re-release a mixed outlook.

Notes

References

External links

''Over Top''
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a video gaming website that hosts guides and other resources, as well as an active Internet forum, message board forum. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and has been owned by Fandom (website), Fandom, Inc. since October ...

''Over Top''
at

Killer List of Videogames Museum of the Game, which includes the Killer List of Videogames (KLOV), is a website featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and h ...

''Over Top''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Over Top 1996 video games ACA Neo Geo games ADK (company) games Arcade video games Hamster Corporation games Neo Geo CD games Neo Geo games Nintendo Switch games Off-road racing video games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation Network games Single-player video games SNK games Top-down racing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Keiichiro Segawa Video games scored by Takao Oshima Xbox One games