As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, the more realistic racing games have not as aged as well as arcade ones, as car physics in games have become more accurate and the graphics more detailed. Plus it’s not a racing genre that I’m particularly into. That said, I can see why N64 Magazine would this game an impressive 90%, even if it not for me.

The graphics are very impressive for the N64, with the road itself having a lot of detail, cars that don’t look like boxes and good trackside detail. The weather is impressive as well, with one of the England tracks having fog, the alps having snow and some tracks (including one of the other England tracks) having some very impressive rain.

N64 games usually show rain by having a texture in front of the camera, but the rain in V-Rally moves towards the camera, making it look like you really are driving into it, so the effect is unlike what has been seen on the N64 prior to V-Rally. And on top of that, it offers its own native widescreen.

There are three main modes. Arcade is a race with a checkpoint (which can be turned off with a cheat), but it’s a proper race with racers that start alongside you. This takes place on full circuits, doing multiple laps.

Championship mode is a more rally-like “A to B” race format, with the default option here being racing on your own, but against the times of other racers. If you want a bit more action, though, you can chance the setting to “V-rally”, you can do this races, but at the same time as the other racers.

The tracks themselves are also very impressive. They take place across various countries, each providing a different kind of road surface and background design, making each area look very distinct. On top of that, each area has multiple tracks so even if you’re going back to the same location, there’s still variants of them.

I can see why N64 gamers would be very impressed by V-Rally. It produces some great visuals from the N64, has way more than the usual 5 or 6 tracks and provides a surprising amount of variety in terms of how the tracks look.

Fun

How long has the N64 waited for a top quality car game? Too long – even in Wil’s book and he’s not a driving fan (in fact, he’s still playing Wonder Project J2 on the quiet). And make no mistake about it, V-Rally is a top-quality driver.

James Ashton, N64 Magazine #22. Review Score: 90%

Remake or remaster?

As it’s a simulation game, current games (like the DiRT series) do a better job.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to get V-Rally: Edition 99