Radikal Bikers

Radikal Bikers is a racing arcade game developed by the Spanish company Gaelco in 1998, with also a conversion for PlayStation developed instead by Bit Managers, it is only released in Europe.[6] The spiritual successor to this game was Smashing Drive.

Radikal Bikers
Developer(s)Gaelco[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s)Arcade
Infogrames (PlayStation)
Director(s)Josep Quingles
Programmer(s)Alexander Ekjanov
Diego Campos
Enric Vives
Artist(s)Toni López Yeste[1]
Xavier Arrebola G.[2]
Xavier Fradera[3]
Composer(s)Joan Sanmarti
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation
ReleaseArcade
PlayStation
Genre(s)Action, racing
Mode(s)
Arcade systemGaelco 3D Hardware[5]

Gameplay
Arcade version screenshot.

Radikal Bikers is set in a Mediterranean environment, and is based on delivering pizza on a rare Italian scooter called Italjet Dragster in heavy traffic before your AI opponent does, while getting points. The arcade version has three difficulty levels, which correspond to each of the different places: Margherita (easy, set in Milan), Capricciosa (medium, set in Rome), and Diabola (hard, set in Naples). If you beat all four races in a level, you get to play the next level free. Meanwhile, the PlayStation version includes four more locations on top of the original three as part of the extended Radikal mode: Marinara (set in Venice), Fantasia (set in Paris), Reggiana (set in London) and Americana (set in New York)

Points
  • Win one race - +50000 (Arcade) / Up to +10000 (Radikal);
  • Get Power-up - +1000 (Arcade) / +100 (Radikal) each;
  • Power Kick destructions - +1000 (Arcade) / +100 (Radikal) each;
  • Grabbing an Extra Point Power-up - +3000 (Arcade) / +400 (Radikal) each;
  • Grabbing a bad Power-up - -100 each.

Power-ups
  • Turbo - Indicated by the letter "T", which gives the High Speed, which is incompatible with Power Kick;
  • Power Kick - Indicated by the "bomb", which allows you to blow up cars by kicking them in the side for points, and is also incompatible with Turbo;
  • Extra Points - Indicated by "+$", which gives a bonus of 3000 points in Arcade Mode, or 400 points in Radikal Mode;
  • Extra Time - Indicated by the "hourglass", which gives +1 second of time;
  • The Joker - Indicated by the "?", which gives a Random power-up or extra points, which is actually based on its position and the biker you choose.

Characters

On the Arcade version are:

  • Carlo - From "Paolo's Maniak Pizza";
  • Gino - From "Frenzy Mario Pizza", but is present in the PlayStation version with the new name Paolo;
  • Nina - From "Paolo's Maniak Pizza", but is present in the PlayStation version (under different clothes and complexion) with the name Mbelle;
  • Sofia - From "Frenzy Mario Pizza", she is also present in the PlayStation version of the game.

Finally, on the PlayStation version there are three new characters: Albert, Gus and Noodles.

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the arcade version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "There's nothing else quite like this gem in the arcades, and it's sure to bring a smile to your face."[7]

Notes
  1. Ported to PlayStation by Bit Managers

References
  1. "Entrevista Toni López, diseñador y artista en Gaelco". Recreativas.org (in Spanish). Retrolaser. June 4, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  2. Bizarro, Dave (August 8, 2009). "Entrevista Xavier A.G. (GAELCO)". Retrovicio (in Spanish). Drupal. Archived from the original on 2016-01-11. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  3. "Entrevista Xavier Fradera diseñador en Gaelco". Retrolaser (in Spanish). June 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  4. Akagi, Masumi (13 October 2006). SNK プレイモア （新日本企画、 プレイモア）SNK; Atari (Atari Games/TWI); Gaelco, Spain; R. アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005) (in Japanese) (1st ed.). Amusement News Agency. pp. 20, 112, 118, 162. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  5. "Gaelco 3D Hardware (SNK)". system16.com. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  6. Castro, Emmanuel (April 20, 2012). "Radikal Bikers - Recordamos el simpático juego de los españoles de Gaelco y que arrasó allí donde pisó". Vandal (in Spanish). El Español. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  7. "Finals - Arcade - Radikal Bikers". Next Generation. No. 45. Imagine Media. September 1998. p. 144.
  8. Steppberger, Ulrich (September 2000). "Test - PS - Radikal Bikers". MAN!AC (in German). No. 83. Cybermedia. p. 65.
  9. Udo (September 2000). "Test Spiele: Radikal Bikers - PlayStation". Mega Fun (in German). No. 96. Computec. p. 52.
  10. "Análisis de Radikal Bikers (PS)". MeriStation (in Spanish). PRISA. July 5, 2000. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  11. "Review - Radikal Bikers - PlayStation". Power Unlimited (in Dutch). No. 77. VNU Media. June 2000.
  12. Olma, Alexander (October 2000). "Test - PS: Radikal Bikers - Ein K(r)ampf auf zwei Rädern!". Video Games (in German). No. 107. Future-Verlag. p. 117.
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