Cool Riders

n/a

Cool Riders
System(s): Sega H1 Board
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega AM1
Genre: Racing
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code US 1995-09 $? ? UK 1995-10 £? ? JP 1995-04 ¥? ?

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Cool Riders (クールライダーズ) is an arcade racing motorbike game released by Sega in 1995. It is one of the last Sega arcade games to utilise Super Scaler technology, running on specialised hardware presumably extended from the Sega System 32 architecture.

Released at a time where Sega were pushing their Sega Model 2 arcade board, Cool Riders is considered to be an odd release, being difficult to find and taking many years to emulate due to its unorthodox graphics compression schemes. It also borrows vast chunks of its assets (including gameplay style) from Outrunners, though offers a number of differences such as an increased screen resolution and digitised pre-rendered graphics similar to Mortal Kombat (or later Road Rash games).

Cool Riders has to date never been ported to any home systems, and was not released in Europe.

Gameplay

Characters

	Max
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★★★ Handling: ★★★★★ Body: ★★★★★★★ Off-Roading: ★★★★★
	He drives Revolution. His background music is "Sightseeing at Mach 1". His first 4 rivals are Gloria, John Doe, David & Sharlie and Dr. Vincent. The advertise demo shows Max with an evil-looking scientist. During a Game Over, a steaming Max is dragged off by the scientist. The ending shows him tearing up after being given a trophy by Big Boss.
	John Doe
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★★★ Handling: ★★★★★★★ Body: ★★★★★ Off-Roading: ★★★★★
	He drives Lightning. His background music is "A Little Good". His first 4 rivals are Gloria, Max, Chris and Garcia. The advertise demo shows John Doe being given a suitcase in a garage. During a Game Over, he simply sulks and says "I'm Sorry". The ending shows him driving off into the sunset as the wind blows money out of the open suitcase lying on the road. As the last dollar floats down, the scene fades to black while scrolling through the following text. 1991: 500cc World Class: World Champion 1992: 755cc World Class: World Champion 1993: 1000cc World Class: World Champion 1994: Hyper Class: World Champion and then...
	Chris
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★★★★★★ Handling: ★ Body: ★★ Off-Roading: ★★
	She drives I.C.B.M.. Her background music is "Condition Red". Her first 4 rivals are Gloria, John Doe, David & Sharlie and Dr. Vincent. The advertise demo has Chris pose for a photo in a tunnel with her motorcycle behind her. During a Game Over, she is carried off her bike by a group of men. The ending shows exactly the same thing that was happening during the award ceremony, followed by a news article saying Chris won $100,000,000 for it.
	Gloria
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★ Handling: ★★★★★★★★★★ Body: ★ Off-Roading: ★★
	She drives Wildcat. Her background music is "Here Comes Queen of Hurricanes". The advertise demo has Gloria stomping her fists on several photos of the other riders, with a gun and handcuffs also visible on the table, before showing her and her band of goons getting ready. During a Game Over, she becomes incredibly angry, running her hands threw her hair. The ending shows the police arresting the other riders and ushering them into their cars as Gloria salutes the camera.
	David & Sharlie
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★★★★ Handling: ★★★ Body: ★★★★★★★★ Off-Roading: ★★★★★
	They drive the LoveMachine. Their background music is "Blue Island". The advertise demo ending shows David & Sharlie watching the award ceremony from the end of the game before they turn off the TV. During a Game Over, they are pelted with papers from an off-screen audience. The ending shows the same scene, but when it zooms out they kiss each other. David is played David Leytze
	Dr. Vincent
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★ Handling: ★★★★★★★★★★ Body: ★★ Off-Roading: ★★
	He drives Discovery. His background music is "Grandpa is Still Alive". The advertise demo shows Dr. Vincent driving past a castle at night. During a Game Over, the Grasshopper starts smoking and Dr. Vincent coughs before throwing his arms up in defeat. The ending shows someone holding a photo of Dr. Vincent at the award ceremony, followed by Dr. Vincent and several children relaxing outside a castle in the English countryside.
	Garcia
	Acceleration: ★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★ Handling: ★★★★★ Body: ★★★★★ Off-Roading: ★★★★★★★★★★
	He drives Grasshopper. His background music is "Into the Mountains". The advertise demo shows Garcia driving airborne around a flock of sheep. During a Game Over, he begins firing off his guns wildly before getting rammed over by a bull. The ending show him driving off into the sunset in the Australian outback.
	Big Boss
	Acceleration: ★★★★★★★ Top Speed: ★★★★★★★ Handling: ★ Body: ★★★★★★★★★★ Off-Roading: ★★
	He drives Dai Oh. His background music is "The Fat is in the Fire". The advertise demo has Big Boss and the 2 boys walking by their motorcycle near a castle, before pulling off their thobe to reveal their red bandanas, blast shirts and white pants. During a Game Over, he stands atop his motorcycle as the 2 boys throw a tantrum around him. The ending sees Big Boss and the boys putting their throbe back on and relaxing with their trophy in a building (Mosque?)

Course Layout

After a pre-stage, one of 3 sets of courses are taken. After 4 stages, the player and all rivals converge on an extra stage.

East

Stage Number
1	2	3	4
			Arctic
		Rumania	Russia
	Greenland	England	China
Niagara Falls	West Indies	Spain	Japan
	Brazil	Egypt	Hong Kong
		Kenya	India
			Antarctic

USA

Stage Number
1	2	3	4
			Florida
		Atlanta	Houston
	Washington	Mississippi	Texas
New York	Niagara Falls	Desert	Hawaii
	Chicago	Grand Canyon	Las Vegas
		Rocky Mountains	San Francisco
			Alaska

West

Stage Number
1	2	3	4
			Antarctic
		Australia	Kenya
	Polynesia	Indonesia	France
Grand Canyon	Hawaii	Japan	Switzerland
	Canada	Mongolia	England
		Russia	Sweden
			Arctic

Stages

	Pre-stage
	This stage takes place in New York in the morning.
	Niagara Falls
	The map icon for the 1st stage is of a man on a raft going down the falls, but for the 3rd stage is a fish swimming up the falls.
	New York
	The map icon for this stage is of the Statue of Liberty.
	Grand Canyon
	The map icon for the 1st and 2nd stages is of a bald eagle, but for the 3rd stage it is a dinosaur fossil.
	Greenland
	The map icon for this stage is of a flock of northern fulmar.
	West Indies
	The map icon for this stage is of a flopping fish.
	Brazil
	The map icon for this stage is of a Samba dancer.
	Washington
	The map icon for this stage is of the President.
	Chicago
	The map icon for this stage is of a teenager playing basketball.
	Polynesia
	The map icon for this stage is of a traditional Polynesian house.
	Canada
	The map icon for this stage is of a raccoon.
	Rumania
	The map icon for this stage is of a vampire.
	England
	The map icon for the 3rd stage is of Loch Ness Monster, but for the 4th stage it is the King's Guard.
	Spain
	The map icon for this stage is of a bullfighter.
	Egypt
	The map icon for this stage is of the Sphinx.
	Kenya
	The map icon for the 3rd stage is of an Ostrich, but for the 4th stage it is a Giraffe.
	Atlanta
	The map icon for this stage is of unidentified flying object.
	Mississippi
	The map icon for this stage is of a band of musicians.
	Desert
	The map icon for this stage is of bandits. The rival is Dava & Sharlie.
	Rocky Mountains
	The map icon for this stage is of an albino monkey.
	Australia
	The map icon for this stage is of a Kangaroo.
	Indonesia
	The map icon for this stage is of 3 bhikku.
	Japan
	The map icon for this stage is of a Ninja.
	Mongolia
	The map icon for this stage is of a man riding a horse.
	Russia
	The map icon for this stage is of a squat dancer.
	Arctic
	The map icon for this stage is of a waving polar bear in the western stage but of a mermaid in the eastern stage.
	China
	The map icon for this stage is of an old man on a cloud.
	Hong Kong
	The map icon for this stage is of a lion puppet.
	India
	The map icon for this stage is of
	Antarctic
	The map icon for this stage is of penguins.
	Florida
	The map icon for this stage is of ferris wheel.
	Houston
	The map icon for this stage is of Astronaut.
	Texas
	The map icon for this stage is of a person manning a canon beside a flagpole.
	Las Vegas
	The map icon for this stage is of a woman throwing cards.
	San Francisco
	The map icon for this stage is of several buildings.
	Alaska
	The map icon for this stage is if a mammoth.
	France
	The map icon for this stage is of the Arc de Triomphe
	Switzerland
	The map icon for this stage is of a St. Bernard dog.
	Extra Stage
	A return to the Pre-Stage, now at sunset.

Versions

Cabinet design

Cool Riders was only sold as a twin-style cabinet (with the ability to link up to four cabinets together), though the styles differ between Japan and North America. Though both have you control vehicles via makeshift handlebars, the Japanese cabinet unusually has seats more suited to cars, while the North American variant opts for seats moulded like motorbikes. Perhaps unusually, this is a simpler (or "less realistic") system than the cabinets used with the earlier Hang-On or Manx TT Super Bike released later in 1995 - in Cool Riders, the seats are rigid and offer no type of force feedback.

Production credits

Main article: Cool Riders/Production credits.

Magazine articles

Main article: Cool Riders/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

PDF

Arcade US flyer

Arcade JP flyer

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Computer & Video Games (UK) 70 Next Generation (US) 25 Sega Pro (UK) 46

	47
Based on 3 reviews

Cool Riders

Arcade, US
Manual Wiring diagram

Arcade, JP

External links

• Attract screen video