Presented in an overhead isometric perspective, a single player races a radio-controlled car around a series of tracks in vehicular combat.

Collectible power-up items improve performance, hazards include rain puddles and oil slicks, and missiles and bombs can temporarily disable opponents.

It inspired subsequent games such as Super Off Road, Rock n' Roll Racing, and the Mario Kart series.

[citation needed] At track 32, all computer-controlled opponents run at maximum speed and cannot be beaten without weapons.

"Tune-up items" include turbo acceleration, "hotter engines" for higher top speed, and "super sticky tires" for traction and cornering;[1] these additional abilities are displayed on the "track conditions" screen between races.

[3]: 6  Collectable weapons can temporarily disable other vehicles; missiles stop opponents from the front, and bombs from the rear.

Excessive use of projectile weaponry makes the yellow car accelerate to 127 mph, which cannot be matched by the player.

[11] Its music was composed by David Wise, known for his work on Cobra Triangle and the Donkey Kong Country series.

[8] A more in-depth review in the proceeding Winter 1987 issue said that "this game is a must for RC Car (radio-controlled) owners".

This unqualified success made Rare into a major developer for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Bill Kunkel found that it was distinguished from earlier racing games such as Sega's Enduro Racer, Nintendo's Mach Rider, and Atari's Pole Position by going from a more standard "pseudo-first-person" view to an isometric perspective.

[17] Retro Gamer saw the game as a precursor to Micro Machines by Codemasters, and compared the action and variety of items to the later Mario Kart series.

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

[28] 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".

[29] IGN placed it the 13th-best NES game of all time, citing its player popularity and good sales.

[30] 1UP.com listed it as the 14th best NES game, citing its good graphics and gameplay elements, though the difficulty level was too high.

As with other retrospectives, the website staff listed the game as inspiration for future series such as Super Off Road and Rock n' Roll Racing.

[2] Rare began work on a follow-up game for the Nintendo 64, called Pro-Am 64, which changed direction and became Diddy Kong Racing.