Full Throttle (1987 video game)

Full Throttle, also known as Top Speed, is a one-player racing arcade game developed by Taito in 1987. It is very similar in style to the Out Run games in that it features a fast, red car hurtling through the US countryside. The key difference in gameplay is the addition of a nitro boost button.[6] The game was released under the title Full Throttle in Japan, Top Speed in North America,[3] and both Full Throttle and Top Speed in Europe.[1][2]

This article is about the arcade racing game. For other uses, see Full Throttle.
Full Throttle / Top Speed
Developer(s)Taito
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Hiroyuki Sakou
Designer(s)Hiroyuki Sakou
Programmer(s)Kyouji Shimamoto
Takeshi Murata
Takeshi Ishizashi
Artist(s)Hiroyasu Nagai
Composer(s)Masahiko Takaki
Platform(s)Arcade, X68000
Release
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player
Arcade systemTaito Top Speed[5]

Trivia
  • The car featured is a red Mazda RX-7 for right-hand driving countries.
  • Director Hiroyuki Sakou went on to create Taito's Operation Thunderbolt a year later.
  • This game was the forerunner of the Taito Z system on which Taito's driving games were based from 1988–91.
  • Some of the billboards in Full Throttle/Top Speed are plugs for other Taito games such as Operation Wolf and Plump Pop.
  • One of the billboards in Full Throttle/Top Speed features two detectives who are obvious references to Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs from Miami Vice. Taito released the similar Chase H.Q. the following year, which also featured Miami Vice-esque detectives.
  • This game has a copyright notice in the Japanese release. US and World Top Speed releases do not have this screen.

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Full Throttle on their November 15, 1987 issue as being the second most-successful upright arcade unit of the month.[7]

Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games gave Top Speed a positive review, comparing it favorably to Out Run and stating "it must rank amongst the top as a realistic racing game with great graphics and smooth handling."[1] Commodore User, on the other hand, rated Full Throttle five out of ten, calling it a clone of Out Run and comparing it unfavorably to Sega's game.[2]

References
  1. Edgeley, Clare (November 15, 1987). "Arcade Action". Computer and Video Games. No. 74 (December 1987).
  2. "Arcades: Full Throttle (Taito)". Commodore User. No. 51 (December 1987). November 1987. p. 148.
  3. "Full Throttle (Registration Number PA0000340904)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  4. Akagi, Masumi (October 13, 2006). アーケードTVゲームリスト国内•海外編(1971–2005) [Arcade TV Game List: Domestic • Overseas Edition (1971–2005)] (in Japanese). Japan: Amusement News Agency. pp. 136–7. ISBN 978-4990251215.
  5. "System 16 - Taito Top Speed Hardware (Taito)".
  6. "Full Throttle, Arcade Video game by Taito (1987)".
  7. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - アップライト, コックピット型TVゲーム機 (Upright/Cockpit Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 320. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 November 1987. p. 25.
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