Power Drift (Arcade)

Power Drift is sometimes identified as the first kart racing video game, something it can claim on a technicality because it does, in fact, feature racers in go-karts. However, the kart racing genre is often defined by the player’s ability to directly interfere with other racers through use of items or abilities, and while you can collide with other racers in Power Drift, it doesn’t really define the experience. It can’t even be played in multiplayer surprisingly enough. There is one trait it does share with games that more comfortably fit under the genre name though, and that’s the focus on race courses that are small and full of many twists and turns, the driving still a challenge since you’re almost always working to accommodate that upcoming turn or winding road.

Power Drift comes in a few arcade cabinet setups but most feature a steering wheel and brake and gas pedals, and while it’s certainly more convenient to play while sitting, there are standing versions available as well. While the wheel guiding your turns is of course incredibly important, the pedals as well as the gear shifts are going to be the real key to navigating the game’s courses. You can’t just take a turn in Power Drift with a hard left or right, much of the area beside the road populated with hazards like signs or trees your racer will crash into, and with elevated roads to consider as well, falling off can lead to a huge time loss before you’re set back onto the track to keep going. You’ll often need to be in high gear to beat the computer-controlled racers to the finish, their driving fairly competent and they even seem to drive off-road unhindered at parts, but driving at that speed is almost untenable in some of the more winding tracks and briefly shifting to low gear and getting your speed cut for it is actually a good strategy.

 

There is no drifting maneuver per se in Power Drift, although if you brake during a turn your racer will certainly appear to be performing such a technique. Because the small and quick tracks require a lot of quick adjustments, track knowledge becomes key to overcoming them, and thankfully you’re given four laps on every course so you can get comfortable with its layout and gradually play a bit riskier. There are certainly simple ones you’ll clear with almost no issue while others will likely require more than one full race to maser their demanding curves, and interestingly enough the game doesn’t really split them into difficulty levels. When you start playing Power Drift, you’ll be presented with five course choices labeled A to E. These are actually full bundles of five courses each, these packs of levels fully unique and featuring tracks with a range of difficulty levels. Some of these are fairly flat, but others will involve elevated ground that is often made up of logs strung together in a distinct looking manner. These wooden bridges will sometimes even weave right over the road so you can see racers passing by, but they are technically 2D despite their construction and some technical tricks give you the impression of racing in a 3D space. While you will get setting variety like snowy forests and desert tracks, the real excitement comes from seeing a level that gets more creative with the way these winding wood roads add more unusual map shapes to the table.

There are 12 racers in a round of Power Drift and the character you pick to race as feels irrelevant beyond some expected visual fun like how they taunt racers they bump into or how they’ll react to their placement in a race. In a five track course you only need to place third or better to continue on a single credit, although there is room to retry a track if you fail to make the mark. However, if you settle for less than a gold trophy in any of the five levels, you won’t be able to experience the special extra track that pays homage to other Sega arcade titles. There are two unique versions of the extra stage, one featuring your racer swapped out with the motorcyclist from Hang-On and the more impressive one having you pilot the F-14 Tomcat from After Burner, and these vehicles do play a bit different from a regular kart. The Tomcat can fly over other racers and even the road barrier, although you still need to follow the shape of the track if you’re aiming to win the bonus race. It is a bit of a nice touch to have these extra levels, the game allowing for some room if the player is merely hoping to clear all five tracks but a small reward awaits if they do particularly well. Both of them being possible to earn in more than one course pack also means if there is a particular track stymieing you, there might still be hope for you to give that motorcycle a whirl over in another set.

 

Power Drift can certainly be difficult as you’re rapidly managing the gears and brakes on certain tracks, but the soundtrack helps to make it a bit more exciting. The game already has a bit of a strong attitude, racers with mohawks and biker gear mugging to the screen, but the rock music backing the racers certainly helps the energetic racing feel more electric. Japan would receive a 3DS version of the game that also includes the cute touch of letting you play as characters from other old Sega classics such as Axel from Streets of Rage and Alex Kidd, but you certainly shouldn’t turn your nose up at a Power Drift arcade cabinet still, the kart racer not needing to indulge in the cameos and random items of the genre it tries to pretend it pioneered. The fight is certainly with the track and the on-screen maps will definitely show how tough some will be, but that same speed that makes it difficult at times also means you can quickly come to grips with what you’re up against and eventually reliably take those corners and come out on top.

THE VERDICT: Power Drift’s embrace of vertical track segments and frequent curves make for courses that are visually appealing and tough to take the top spot in. Learning the level and how to manage your gear shifts and pedal usage gives you quite a lot to consider once as you factor in how fast you need to move in order to keep up, the player consistently engaged and given some room to learn the level so even the roughest tracks aren’t necessarily going to cost you a credit to continue. Exciting music complements the speedy but technical play too, Power Drift a enjoyable single player challenge despite its strange spot between traditional racer and what would become the kart racing genre.

 

And so, I give Power Drift for arcade machines…

A GOOD rating. Power Drift didn’t take off too well in the States and the focus on careful driving may be the culprit behind that, but if you’re looking for a racer that mixes unique track shapes and challenging maneuvering, it offers quite the package. 25 unique tracks plus the two special bonus ones gives the game plenty of content to see and the tournament structure for a five race course allows you to squeak by without being perfect, the process of training up to master the demanding bends of certain levels satisfying but not totally necessary to get a lot out of the experience. It would be easier to manage gears, pedals, and driving with a controller than the many pieces of cabinet hardware that you might not even have a proper sitting arrangement to engage with, but once you start to get a feel for what a typical turn expects out of you, you can build and understanding of the speed and strength required to cleanly navigate courses without having to worry about constant off-road injuries. Notably, good driving can often overcome the computer-controlled racers as well even after a few spills, although like many arcade games this can vary a bit based on the mercy of an arcade proprietor since difficulty and even continue options can be tinkered with in the cabinet settings. It does at least feel like Power Drift finds a nice niche for itself, having some degree of technical play in an arcade setting but not to the point it might totally scare off potential players.

 

While I’ve focused a bit too much on how Power Drift is often chalked up as the first kart racing game, it feels more like that title being forced on it detracts from actually looking at where it succeeds. It’s not going to pack the same thrills as a game like Mario Kart because it wants to keep its focus on tight turns on small courses, their design more interesting because they’ll embrace roller-coaster style bridges and layouts on top of putting up a fight with how you need to handle them. People coming to it for that “first kart racer” claim will probably walk away a little miffed that it doesn’t fit into that genre, but come in expecting a racer full of swerves and constant adrenaline and you’re more likely to enjoy the plentiful offerings and technical play Power Drift serves up.