is a 1992

motorcycle racing The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

developed and published by

Namco was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company founded in 1955. It operated video arcades and amusement parks globally, and produced video games, films, toys, and arcade cabinets. Namco was one of the most influential c ...

. It is based on the homonymous real-world racing event. Players control a racer using a handlebar controller and must race against computer-controlled opponents while remaining in first place. It ran on the Namco System 2 arcade hardware. A direct sequel, ''Suzuka 8 Hours 2'', was released a year later.

Gameplay

The game was made available in two-player cabinets featuring two monitors and two replica motorcycles; players accelerate their bikes by holding down the throttle grip and brake by using the brake lever, while steering is accomplished by physically leaning the bike left or right. The arcade game can be played by up to eight players simultaneously by linking four two-player cabinets together, and the players must complete an entire lap of the track within a preset time limit; upon completion of a lap, the time is extended for all players in the race. The first player to complete a preset number of laps (between 3 and 6 and adjustable by the arcade operator) wins the race; as in ''

Final Lap is a 1987 racing simulation video game developed and published by Namco. Atari Games published the game in the United States in 1988. It was the first game to run on Namco's then-new System 2 hardware and is a direct successor to Namco's ''Pol ...

'' and ''

Dirt Fox is a 1989 racing arcade video game developed and published only in Japan by Namco. It runs on Namco System 2 hardware, and lets up to four people play simultaneously, when four cabinets are linked together. This is similar to Namco's own ''Fin ...

'' (the latter of which was only released in Japan), if they manage to finish the race in less than a preset time, they have the opportunity to enter their initials upon the game's "best time" (as opposed to high score) table.

Release

''Suzuka 8 Hours'' was later ported to the

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...

, in 1993 by

Arc System Works , commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear ...

; the game simulates the actual eight-hour race as eight "virtual hours", or over ninety "real-time" minutes. The object is to complete as many laps as possible before the time runs out; if it does, the timer starts going up again (as penalty time) and the next trip to the finish line ends the race.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Suzuka 8 Hours'' as being the most popular arcade game of June 1992. In the United States, ''RePlay'' reported the game to be the top-grossing new

arcade video game An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-oper ...

in October 1992, and then the second most-popular deluxe arcade game in November 1992. It was one of America's top five best-selling arcade games of 1992, receiving the Gold Award at the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) trade show for sales excellence. It was later the top-grossing deluxe cabinet in January 1993, then the fourth top-grossing arcade game during the summer of 1993, and then the top upright cabinet from September to October 1993. In their review of the SNES version, ''

GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...

'' criticized the absence of sound from CPU competitors' engines and the "distracting" music, but they praised the responsive controls and "sharp" graphics. In 1995, ''

Flux Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phe ...

'' magazine ranked the arcade version 54th on their Top 100 Video Games.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuka 8 Hours (Video Game) 1992 video games 1993 video games Arc System Works games Arcade video games Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises Coca-Cola Motorcycle video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Namco arcade games Racing video games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Japan