SEGA Rally Championship

SEGA Rally Championship is a racing game originally created by SEGA as an arcade release in 1994. The game was also released in 1995 for SEGA Saturn and in 1997 for Windows. Several years later, in 2003, the Game Boy Advance edition was published, and that's the one we present here.

The game made history as the first racing simulator to implement different terrains and conditions (desert, mountain, and forest) that influenced the car's behavior. Moreover, the various environments were inspired by real locations, such as Corsica (for the mountain) or Yosemite Park for the forest. The famous Lancia Delta Integrale is available as a drivable car, along with the Toyota Celica GT-4, while Sandro Munari's Lancia Stratos can be unlocked later. The title was hugely successful, even in the SEGA Saturn version. It is said that SEGA Rally Championship influenced the famous Colin McRae Rally.

As for the Sega Rally Championship for Game Boy Advance, due to hardware limitations, a faithful arcade conversion was not feasible, especially considering the much simpler graphics. However, from a gameplay perspective, there's no reason to complain. The game features six new tracks and expands the available cars to eight, including the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza, Ford Focus, Peugeot 206, Toyota Corolla, and the three cars already present in the original arcade version. The GameBoy version also adds mini-games, including RC Rally, where you drive a remote-controlled rally car. There's also a bonus system that, once accumulated, allows unlocking mini-games and other add-ons.

In short, it's a pocket-sized masterpiece that racing enthusiasts shouldn't miss.