R.C. Pro-Am

114K plays 1988 #Racing

R.C. Pro-Am is a racing game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America in February 1988, and then in Europe on 15 April. Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car around a series of tracks in vehicular combat. Each track qualifies its top three racers for the next track. Collectible power-up items improve performance, hazards include rain puddles and oil slicks, and missiles and bombs can temporarily disable opponents. Originally titled Pro Am Racing, it was ported to the Sega Genesis in 1992 as Championship Pro-Am, an enhanced remake with enhanced graphics and additional features. R.C. Pro-Am spawned two sequels: Super R.C. Pro-Am in 1991, and R.C. Pro-Am II in 1992.

As one of Rare's first successful NES games, R.C. Pro-Am was well-received for its visuals, sound, gameplay, and enjoyability. Its overhead perspective distinguishes it from earlier first-person racing games. It inspired subsequent games such as Super Off Road, Rock n' Roll Racing, and the Mario Kart series. It has appeared in many "top games of all time" lists and is regarded as one of the best of the NES library. It was re-released in Rare's 2015 Rare Replay compilation for the Xbox One, and on the Nintendo Classics service on February 21, 2024.

From Wikipedia's article R.C. Pro-Am, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Keyboard controls

GenesisPlayer 1Player 2
D-pad↑↓←→IKJL
AZN
BXM
CC,
XAY
YSU
ZDO
ModeShiftB
StartEnterSpace

Hotkeys

  • 1 Quick save state
  • 2 Quick load state
  • 3 Change save slot

X, Y and Z are for six-button games such as Street Fighter II.

Gamepads are detected when you press a button. Remap any key from the emulator’s Controls menu (gear icon).

Emulator help & troubleshooting

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Keyboard controls

GenesisPlayer 1Player 2
D-pad↑↓←→IKJL
AZN
BXM
CC,
XAY
YSU
ZDO
ModeShiftB
StartEnterSpace

Hotkeys

  • 1 Quick save state
  • 2 Quick load state
  • 3 Change save slot

X, Y and Z are for six-button games such as Street Fighter II.

Gamepads are detected when you press a button. Remap any key from the emulator’s Controls menu (gear icon).

Emulator help & troubleshooting

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Pixel Verdict

R.C. Pro-AmGenesis

5.0 Outstanding!

Critics 90 · 2 reviews

What the reviews talk about

Key wordscompellingrealisticenjoyablechallengingfun

What the critics said

  • Computer Gaming World called it "a compelling, innovating approach to car racing video games".

    — Computer Gaming World

  • He concluded by lauding its graphics and sound, saying that they "help make this the best game of its kind ever produced in any electronic game format".

    — Computer Gaming World, 1988

  • They hailed it as one of Rare's best early products, stating: "Radio-controlled car racing in videogame form was pretty much perfected here".

    — Retro Gamer, 2004

  • In a retrospective at Rare's 25th anniversary, GamePro listed R.C. Pro-Am as one of Rare's best games, calling the release "one of Rare's finest moments".

    — GamePro, 2010

  • Paste magazine placed it as the 8th greatest NES game ever, saying that it is "way more fun than real remote-control cars, which never seemed to be equipped with missile capabilities".

    — Paste, 2008· about another version

From the Reception section of Wikipedia's R.C. Pro-Am article, under CC BY-SA 4.0. The words are the critics'; their full reviews are on the publishers' pages.

Scores

  • AllGame 4.5/5
  • Computer and Video Games 1989 90%

From the review table of Wikipedia's article. The face takes, first that applies: the Metascore for this platform, GameRankings' archived average, our average of the critics (one number per publication, a panel averaged), one review alone, the players' rating. Critics and players are never mixed.

Players' rating: 77/100 · 204 votes

Full reviews

Face key

  1. 1.00+
  2. 1.540+
  3. 2.050+
  4. 2.560+
  5. 3.068+
  6. 3.575+
  7. 4.080+
  8. 4.585+
  9. 5.090+

5.0 Outstanding! · 4.0 Great job! · 3.0 Good job · 2.0 Could be better · 1.0 Wake me up when it's over · A thumbs-up adds half a point. Our own drawings, in the spirit of the faces GamePro magazine used in the '90s.

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