Manx TT
Super Bike

SEGA, Psygnosis, Perfekt Entertainment, Tantalus, 1997, Japan, SEGA Saturn

Summary: 7 of 10

Welcome to the best motorcycle racing game on Saturn. The only other there are is Hang On GP and Road Rash. The first is shit, the latter much fun, but can't be compared.
But judged as a racing game in general, it can not compete with other arcade titles like SEGA Rally or SEGA Touring Car.
It's good and fun to play, handling is fine with the 3D analog pad and the superbikes can't be selected right from the start resulting in some sort of replay value, but still there are drawbacks in graphical detail, bike control and collision.
Nevertheless it's a must have.
The Manx TT is a grandprix that does exist in reality and takes place on the Isle of Man.

Graphics: 7 of 10

We have seen better graphics on Saturn.
The bikes and their animation look very good, but the tracks lack detail and drawing distance. Nevertheless, this 60Hz version has a smooth framerate and no slowdown.

framerate & stability	Smooth and stable.
drawing distance, pop-up	Not very far, you can see the track appearing at some distance, like in Road Rash.
graphical detail, realism	The geometrical detail is ok, nothing seems blocky so that you can each polygon. But the textures aren't very good, huge areas got the same textures and look all the same.
drawing errors, polygon clipping	None found.
light effects	None.
weather, night & day	None.
further special effects	The shadows of the bikes and drivers are cool, as the are animated, too

Sound: 6.5 of 10

Pure arcade music tracks and vocals. The engine sound is OK, but again not as cool as Moto Racer (PeeSX). The BGM is nothing really special.

sound FX	Realistic and echoes in the tunnel sounds nice. But all bikes got the same sound...
voice samples	Good quality.
background music	16 tracks of electronic music. Not as original as other racing games tracks. Actually, some tracks can be unnerving when it plays in the background.

Tracks: 7 of 10

This game actually breaks the record: only 2 tracks, Laxey and TT-course!
Both are additionally listed as reverse mirrored tracks, which extends to 4 different courses.
One could think the Isle Of Man is a small island and thus the lack of tracks, but a friend of mine who knows the original Manx TT grandprix says, the original course is very much longer.
So some more tracks should be possible.

number of tracks	2(+2 reverse mirrored)
licensed tracks	No.
track types	round courses.
track design	Not bad: tight and wide corners, long straits with little hills, tunnel, through the wood, steep slope section

Bikes: 7.5 of 10

Derived from two licensed bikes, there are a lot of different bikes to choose from. Multiple versions of the Honda and the Suziki are distinguished by color and number.
After some driving, the superbikes become available.
The bikes and drivers do look good as well es their animation when driving through the corners. The shadow changes it's shape according to the bikes position and consists of a mesh transparency, like the bike window.
I miss some sort of kick start(driving on the back wheel only) like in Moto Racer(PeeSX).

number of bikes	about 15 + bonus sheep
licensed bikes	Honda XVF-RC4S Suzuki SSX-R750
change car color	No.
tuneable	No.

Gameplay: 7 of 10

The handling is really good. With a 3D analog pad it's fun to race.
A negative thing in bike control is the fact that when a certain point of steering is reached the bikes break and you loose control for a split of a second.
Another thing is when your opponents crash into you from behind they don't push you forward, but slow you down. And my experience is that they like it very much ;-). Sometimes I move away to avoid them crashing me and slowing me down. Opponent speed is adjusted to your own, they get slower when they passed you and they catch you up from behind.

racing modes	The arcade mode let's you select the track and manual or automatic transmission. The Saturn mode offers Practice, Challenge and Superbike. Furthermore there is time attack and 2 player mode with horizontal split screen.
camera viewpoints	Just like many other games, only behind the bike and drivers view are available. Drivers view rotates the view when driving through corners realistically.
speed impression	Fast.
racing simulation physics	None.
collision detection	Annoying when opponents collide with you again and again.
replay recording	No. There is a ghost rider, but saving is not possible.
(input) devices	Couldn't test arcade racer. 3D analog pad is perfectly supported.

Presentation: 6.5 of 10

About the original Manx TT grandprix, there is no further info in the game itself, but in the handbook. A full screen video shows some clips of real racing.

Special features:

None.

Legal stuff:
This page is not affiliated with, or endorsed by Sega or any other company.
All appearing trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Manx TT Super Bike