Hang-On

n/a

Hang-On hardware NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J PC-8801 mkII SR MSX
Hang-On
System(s): Sega Hang-On hardware, Sega Master System, MSX, PC-8801 mkII SR
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Sega Enterprises, Inc. (U.S.A.) (US) Sega Europe (EU) Pony Pax Softonica
Developer: Sega R&D 1 Coreland Sega R&D 2 Pony Pax Softonica
Distributor: Unidesa (ES)
Licensor: Sega Enterprises, Ltd.
Genre: Racing, Arcade
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code JP 1985-07-05 ¥? ? US 1985-08 $? ? UK 1985 £5,200 ? ES 198x ? ? JP (Card) 1985-10-20 ¥4,3004,300 C-502 EU 1990 4580 EU (Card) 1987-08 4080 DE (Card) 19xx UK (Card) 1987-08 PACK-INpack 4080 UK 1990 £9.999.99 4580 IT 19xx AU 19xx AU (Card) 19xx 4080 TW 19xx K-303 JP 1986-03 ¥4,9004,900 R49X5806 JP 1986 ¥6,8006,800

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Hang-On (ハングオン) is a 1985 arcade game developed by Studio 128. One of Yu Suzuki's designs, Hang-On is notable for being the first full body experience arcade game, as some cabinets were shaped like bikes that the user had to ride on. It was built on the arcade Sega Hang-On hardware that later powered Space Harrier.

Gameplay

The objective of Hang-On is to ride a superbike across five stages before running out of time, avoiding obstacles along the way. While the player begins on a starting grid with other bikes, you do not race them directly - a high score is achieved by simply staying on the road.

The arcade version of the game includes advertisements for Bridgestone, Shell, Garelli Motorcycles, TAG, John Player Special cigarettes, Forum cigarettes, and for "Marbor cigarettes". The advertising for cigarettes both in Hang-On and the later Super Monaco GP was criticised as these games were also marketed for children. Many re-releases of these games omit these adverts.

History

Development

The title is derived from when the biker is turning and has to "hang on" to the bike while the bike is leaning, which Suzuki had read in a Japanese bike magazine, though he later learned the technique was called "hang off" in North America. Nevertheless, he chose to keep the former name.

To develop this game, Suzuki told G4TV, "I rode on motorcycles a lot. When we came up with the prototype (for the arcades), I would ride on that prototype bike for hours and hours every day." His and AM2's efforts culminated in Hang-On. It began the "Taikan" trend, the use of motion-controlled hydraulic arcade cabinets in many games of the late 1980s, two decades before motion controls became popular on video game consoles.

It was also one of the first arcade games to use Sega's Super Scaler technology, allowing three-dimensional sprite-scaling at high frame rates, which was handled in a similar manner to textures in later texture-mapped polygonal 3D games of the 1990s. Hang-On's chiptune music was also notable for introducing digitized drum sounds.

Sales

Upon release, Sega initially projected the game to sell 5,000 arcade cabinets worldwide, including 2,000 in Japan, 2,000 in the United States, and 1,000 in Europe and other countries.

It went on to become Sega's best selling coin-op with 20,000 arcade cabinets sold worldwide by early 1991, in addition to an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 further pirated cabinets in circulation.

Legacy

Hang-On was ported to the Sega Mark III as a launch title (along with Teddy Boy Blues) in Japan. Consequently, it was brought overseas to the Sega Master System and also made available on launch in Europe (where it was distributed on Sega Card with launch Master System consoles in several regions). The Master System Hang-On later became a built-in game and in 1990 was re-released on cartridge, also in Europe.

In North America, the Master System Hang-On was never released on its own, instead being part of Hang-On / Safari Hunt (built into some Master System consoles and also released on cartridge) and later Hang-On / Astro Warrior.

Hang-On was also made available for the PC-8801 mkII SR and MSX computers, and was succeeded by Super Hang-On in 1987, which gained wider recognition as it was ported to more systems, including the Sega Mega Drive. A similar game known as Hang-On II was released for the SG-1000.

Hang-On is featured as a mini-game in both Shenmue and Shenmue II. It is also possible to buy a Sega Saturn port of Hang-On in Shenmue under the Sega Ages label - this version was not released in real life, but as similar games such as OutRun and Space Harrier were re-released for the Saturn, it is entirely possible that a version of Hang-On was planned too.

The Hang-On bike is a hidden vehicle in Power Drift. An unlockable gear in Sonic Riders will play the Hang-On theme when used, as will inputting the name "H.O" in the high score table of Daytona USA.

Production credits

Main article: Hang-On/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Hang-On/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

File:SMS DE TVAdvert 1989.mp4

SMS DE TV advert (1989)

File:SMS DE TVAdvert 1989.mp4

PDF

Arcade JP flyer (ride-on)

PDF

Arcade JP flyer (sit-down)

PDF

Arcade EU flyer

Arcade ES flyer

Artwork

Photo gallery

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  Ride-on cabinet

• 

  Sit-down cabinet

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  Upright cabinet

Physical scans

Arcade version

Arcade, US (deluxe)

Arcade, US (upright)

Arcade, US (sit-down)

Arcade, ES

Arcade, JP (sit-down)
Manual

Master System version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score 1700 igr dlya Sega (RU) 40 Console XS (UK) PAL 78 Computer & Video Games (UK) 83 Computer & Video Games (UK) 80 Micromanía (segunda época) (ES) 80 Sega Power (UK) PAL 75 Sega Pro (UK) 78 Sega Pro (UK) PAL 78 Tilt (FR) 65

	73
Based on 9 reviews

Hang-On

Master System, JP
Cover
Card Manual Inside

Master System, EU (cartridge)
Cover
Cart

Master System, EU (card; 4080E)
Cover
Card

Master System, EU (card; 4080M)
Card

Master System, EU (card; 4001K)
Card

Master System, DE (Card version)
Card Manual

Master System, IT (Card version)
Cover
Card

Master System, AU (Cartridge; hotline sticker)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, AU (Cartridge; NIAL sticker)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, AU (Cartridge; Classics)
Cover
Cart Manual

Master System, TW

MSX version

MSX, JP
Cover
Cart

PC-8801 mkII SR version

PC-8801 mkII SR, JP
Cover

Technical information

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
✔	CRC32 071b045e MD5 2864be0d35269c5030a7f297f70e3ac3 SHA-1 e601257f6477b85eb0b25a5b6d46ebc070d8a05a	32kB		Cartridge (EU)
✔	CRC32 5c01adf9 MD5 67849e734a1304799606ba5a22f840d2 SHA-1 43552f58f0c0c292f3e4c1b1525fd0344dc220c6	32kB	1985-09-11	Cartridge (JP)
?	CRC32 649f29e8 MD5 9d07e037338bd71ebf6b39e2014d3472 SHA-1 817d7bba41f0619342127d562f848045b9ddd7ea	32kB		Card (EU)				Page

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Hang-On