Championship Pro-Am

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Championship Pro-Am
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Tradewest, Midway Home Entertainment (re-release)
Developer: Rare
Original system(s): NES
Genre: Racing
Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code US 1992 $49.9549.95 T-97046 US (cardboard) 199x US ▼ (Sega Channel) 1994-06-01 SUBsub

Championship Pro-Am is a racing game developed by Rare and published by Tradewest for the Sega Mega Drive.

It is a remake of R.C. Pro-Am, a game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. R.C. Pro-Am was a popular title in its day and spawned sequels for the Nintendo Game Boy and NES and inspired similar racing games such as R.C. Grand Prix and Rock n' Roll Racing.

Gameplay

Gameplay

Equipment

Trophy room

The game is a racing game where the player races a radio-controlled car. Races are presented from an overhead isometric perspective and pit the player against five computer-controlled competitors. Racers can pick up power-ups on the track that upgrade their components and weapons that can be used to temporarily disable opponents.

The racer moves in any direction using the D-Pad. It accelerates with and uses its weapon with or . The racer can collect power-ups that arm it with a limited supply of missiles that shoot in front of it or bombs that drop behind it. If there is no weapon equipped, the racer honks its horn with or instead. If the player fires weapons too much in a single race, the yellow racer accelerates to a top speed that cannot be matched by the player.

The racer has three categories of components that can be upgraded: tires (handling), turbo (acceleration), and engine (top speed). Each category starts at zero and can be upgraded up to four levels by collecting power-ups. Additionally, every track has a letter on it that can be collected to spell out "CHAMPION." When all of the letters are collected, the player and the opponents are upgraded to a new class of vehicle. There are three classes of vehicles, each with better characteristics than the last. The racer's statistics are reset when the player enters a new class. After the final class of car is unlocked, collecting all of the letters a third time unlocks the Single-Stage Supercharger and collecting all of the letters a fourth time unlocks the Double-Stage Supercharger.

The race ends immediately when someone crosses the finish line, and ranks are given based on the current positions at this time. The player must finish each race in one of the top three positions to progress to the next race. Otherwise, the player must expend a credit in order to continue (with the score reset). The player starts the first race in the pole position, but in subsequent races, the starting position is determined by the player's finishing position in the previous races. After each race, a trophy room is shown, with the player earning a trophy for each successfully completed race and the trophy in the center indicating the player's overall score. There are 24 levels. Since there are only twelve track layouts, the tracks are repeated with increased hazards and more laps (between 2 and 9). After completing the 24th race, the levels repeat indefinitely. An extra continue is awarded for every five races completed.

Racers can crash if they are hit by enemy weapons or if they hit the side of the track while spinning out from an oil slick or run into a pop-up wall. Racers recover after a moment when they crash.

Items

Items are found on the track and can be collected by driving over them. Only the Roll Cage item can be collected by computer opponents.

	Missile
	Equips the racer with missiles and adds another 5 units of ammo.
	Bomb
	Equips the racer with bombs and adds another 5 units of ammo.
	Ammo
	Adds another unit of ammo.
	Roll Cage
	Temporarily makes the racer invulnerable to weapons and crash damage.
	Tires
	Adds another unit to the "Super Sticky Tires" statistic, which improves the racer's handling.
	Engine
	Adds another unit to the "Turbo Acceleration" statistic, which increases the racer's acceleration.
	Turbo
	Adds another unit to the "Higher Top Speed" statistic, which increases the racer's top speed.
	Bonus Letters
	Collect all eight letters to advance to the next class of vehicle.

Hazards

These elements appear on the track.

	Puddle
	Slows down the racer.
	Zippers
	Gives the racer a boost of speed.
	Oil Patch
	Causes the racer to spin out of control. The racer recovers after a moment. It crashes if it hits the side of the track while spinning out, which increases the time before it recovers.
	Rain Cloud
	Slows down the racer. This is the same as a puddle, except it moves around.
	Pop-Up Wall
	Pops a wall out of the ground occasionally. The racer crashes if it collides with the wall but recovers after a moment.
	Skull
	Removes a unit of ammo when it is driven over.

Vehicles

Collecting all of the "CHAMPION" letters unlocks a new class of vehicle.

Versions

Compared to the NES version, graphics and music are somewhat improved. The letters that can be collected within a level spell out "CHAMPION", rather than "NINTENDO". Spelling out "CHAMPION" a third and fourth time will earn superchargers that increase speed from 104 MPH to 108 MPH and 110 MPH. Players enter their initials at the beginning of the game, not the end.

There are five opponents instead of three. Cars under the effect of the roll cage power-up cannot be destroyed by missiles or bombs. Zippers earn 100 times the points as the Nintendo versions. There are lap records for each track and beating the record grants 500 points. Extra continues can be won every time five consecutive races are won.

Magazine articles

Main article: Championship Pro-Am/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advert in Sega Visions (US) #11: "February/March 1993" (199x-xx-xx)

Print advert in GamePro (US) #46: "May 1993" (1993-xx-xx)

Physical scans

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) 30 Aktueller Software Markt (DE) 17 Cool Gamer (RU) 40 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 70 Mean Machines: The Essential Sega Guide (UK) 70 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 78 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 80 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 78 Sega Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (UK) NTSC-U 74 Mega (UK) NTSC-U 58 MegaTech (UK) NTSC-U 78 Mean Machines Sega (UK) NTSC-U 72 Play Time (DE) 69 Power Play (DE) 76 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-U 63 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U 75 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC-U 75 Sega Force (UK) PAL 70 Tricks 16 bit (RU) 60 Video Games (DE) 72

	65
Based on 20 reviews

Championship Pro-Am

Mega Drive, US
Cover
Cart Manual

Mega Drive, US (cardboard)
Cover
Cart Manual

Technical information

Main article: Championship Pro-Am/Technical information.