Rad Racer II is an experience where you keep checking the controller isn't broken. Then comes a point when you realize that this is how the game is played and you start questioning your life choices. I like a good, challenging racer but this isn't a good challenge. The handling is questionable, some of the checkpoints are too far apart, and the boosting system is retarded. At least the soundtrack is rad, even though one of the songs got dropped.

Old school head-on racers have this mechanic of pulling you off the racetrack during tight turns. This style can be done very well as is the case with Outrun, Pole Position, the Cruisin' series, Top Gear, and even contemporary titles Horizon Chase Turbo. The issue with Rad Racer II is that it's too demanding. Some checkpoints require way too fine a margin to make it past. If you screw up a crucial turn or get stuck behind someone on a long straight, forget about it. There's also this weird turbo feature for when you start the race or spin out like Sebastian Vettel. You can get a quick boost if you hit A after holding B and Down while not moving for 3 seconds. 3.2 seconds to be exact, and it feels like an eternity because in the world of racing, this IS an eternity. You must press A at a precise moment to boost. Screw this up and you'll waste another 3 seconds. Not to mention the 3 or more seconds it takes to spin out. One mistake will likely ruin your chances of progressing. Lame.

The game relies heavily on course memorization. The manual even suggests that you sit there and memorize it until you're ready. I'm okay with learning the nuances of the course, but screwing up results in too much time lost to efficiently development muscle memory. It is unworthy of your time.

Not even the awesome music can save this title. By the way, why did they scrap the 3rd song? Someone must have figured out that Still Alive wasn't based on a traditional folk song but a tune recorded back in 1950 by Earl Scruggs and the Foggy Mountain Boys. So we only get two songs to listen to throughout the journey. Which is more than enough before turning this shit off and never playing it again. Rad Racer II was so bad they didn't even release it in Japan. Instead they exported it to the US so that ignorant parents would drop coin on something with RAD in the title for their sons. I like an old retro racer just as much as the next asshole, but not this garbage.