TVN Carreras (literally TVN Racing) is a racing game created by TVN as early as 1991 during the NES era (technically the SNES era). The game was later made available on the arcades via Chilean PlayChoice-10 machines as well as VS. TVN Carreras. It was later ported onto the Game Boy and Sega Genesis, then on the SNES and Sega CD, and so on. The game remained exclusive to Chile.
Contents
Gameplay
You take control of not only dog breeds, but you also take control of TVN characters at the time. The NES didn't have a battery save on cartridges (until later games, including Kirby's Adventure), so all the characters from the NES release are included in every moment in every version (even if you play it for the first time). The NES, Game Boy, Sega Master System, and Sega Genesis lacks Mode 7, so the graphics for the ground must have 2 colors, with a total of 3 (15 in the Genesis and Master System versions) colors. It doesn't update onto a new frame, but instead uses palette cycling to create the illusion of movement. The SNES version, on the other hand, uses Mode 7. Later versions use 3D models.
Ports and Rereleases
The Name Registring Screen
The game saw many ports and rereleases.
The game saw its release in the arcades on Chilean PlayChoice-10 machines as well as a port of the NES release called VS. TVN Carreras, which added name registering. The left arrow means backspace, Aceptar (meaning OK in Spanish) registers the name. The game gets ported into other systems, and so on.
Reception
The game has sold nearly 1 million copies in Santiago and Concepción, and 10 million copies across Chile.
Tecnolochile gave the NES version a score of 2/5 stars, critizicing the game for its crudely drawn graphics and short looping music.
Anti-Piracy
Completing a race on a pirated copy will crash the game.
Items
Ice cream
It allows you to get an extra life.
Flute
It allows you to subtract the score of racers near yourself.
Trumpet
It allows you to hurt some racers near yourself.
Telephone
It allows you to call and get more racers near you.
Trivia
- The HUD in the NES release has a white background and a black font. The colors for the HUD are inverted in later versions of the game to prevent people from getting a seizure.
- This is the #1 Chilean video game of all time.
- TVN sued Nintendo for copying their game. The copy is Super Mario Kart.
