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,[2] and both Full Throttle and Top Speed in Europe.[3][4]
| 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 system | Taito Top Speed[5] |
Reception
editIn 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."[3] 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.[4]
Legacy
editThis game was the forerunner of the Taito Z system on which Taito's driving games were based from 1988–91.
Director Hiroyuki Sakou went on to create Taito's Operation Thunderbolt a year later.
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Full Throttle (Registration Number PA0000340904)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d Edgeley, Clare (November 15, 1987). "Arcade Action". Computer and Video Games. No. 74 (December 1987).
- ^ a b c d "Arcades: Full Throttle (Taito)". Commodore User. No. 51 (December 1987). November 1987. p. 148.
- ^ "System 16 - Taito Top Speed Hardware (Taito)".
- ^ "Full Throttle, Arcade Video game by Taito (1987)".
- ^ "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.