Manx TT Super Bike and Some Healthy Competition
The mid-2000s was a great time to buy Saturn games.
They were dirt-cheap and they were plentiful, or at least they were here in Japan. Every retro store had a junk bin heaving with 50-100 yen games, and even those titles deemed valuable enough to be displayed on-shelf rarely crept much above 1000 yen. I took advantage of this abundant supply, and a good chunk of my Saturn collection comes from this period.
Including Manx TT Super Bike, which I wouldn't have paid more than a few hundred yen for, if that. Despite that low cost, I hadn't actually gotten my money's worth, as it had spent most of the last 15-20 years gathering dust on a shelf, untouched. However, that changed last week, and it was all down to a bit of competition.
Over on BlueSky, and at the old place, Sasha's RetroBytes was kind enough to arrange a time attack challenge for Manx TT Super Bike, as well as Wipeout 3. As part of the semi-regular Splash Wave Racing series, social media users were encouraged to post their best laps on Manx TT, Time Trial Laxey using the Honda RVF-RC45 (13) - the pink one. AT or MT entries were welcome, so even those of us who don't understand gears could get in on the action.
I ended up placing a respectable 3rd (AT) with a best lap of 1:01:77, which was a huge improvement on my initial attempts. My first eureka moment was that I didn't need to break - just easing off the throttle going into corners was enough. Although I was using the Saturn 3D controller, I found it easier to stick to the d-pad, deftly inching my way around corners with a series of countless small touches. I memorised the course, learnt where to ease off the throttle and when to hammer it, and took note of the time splits, so I knew when to restart and when to persevere.
I eventually switched to the thumbstick on the 3D pad, which is when I recorded my best lap. And with that, my time with Manx TT came to a close. Several dozen times around that course over the span of a few days, and a new-found appreciation for a game that I rarely, if ever, thought about. Not to mention the sense of satisfaction in finding a reason to get some use out of one of the hundreds of games that line my shelves or are hidden away in storage boxes. And all thanks to some nice people online who dared to ask "how fast can you go?"
I find I'm becoming more competitive as I get older, at least in my leisure activities. I didn't give a fuck when I was a kid. I was just happy to take part and have fun, though my discovery of basketball as a teen allowed me to develop more of a competitive nature. These days, I cherish every personal best I achieve during my evening runs, and will share them widely with people who couldn't give a flying fuck that I just shaved a second off my best 7km pace. If I see another runner pull alongside me, or god forbid a cyclist, you better believe I'm speeding up.
We're in a race, whether they know it or not.
Although it's great when my daughter beats me at Street Fighter 6, I do also hate it. Especially when she just spams Cammy's flying kick, while using the most basic control scheme. Unbelievable.
When it comes to video games and being competitive with friends, there are three that immediately come to mind: Shatter, Pac-Man Championship Edition DX and Resogun.
Shatter was my first download-game love. I played it to death, and have fond memories of competing with friends at 1UP dot com to post the best scores. We were pretty good, often appearing in the Top 100 worldwide rankings. I still adore Shatter, and of course went back for the remaster a couple of years ago. Last I checked, I was in the Top 10 on several stages, but not having friends playing at the same time took the shine off it a little.
Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is basically crack. I can still recall receiving aggressive text messages from friends at strange hours, informing me of new high scores, and having no choice but to return to my PS3 and get back at it. For those few weeks, nothing felt more important.
And then there's Resogun - a PS4-launch delight that came with your PS+ subscription. For a good month there, everyone with a PS4 was playing it. Local friends, friends overseas, online friends, mortal enemies - we were all saving the humans and sharing our scores. It became dangerously competitive, and time-consuming, given that a full run would take the best part of an hour. But when you found yourself in the middle of a good run, when everything was falling into place and you were perfectly synced with the rhythm & flow, it felt amazing. And to top it all off, you knew that you would soon be sharing your new high score with less-talented friends. What a rush.
Even without the competitive element, I would've still played Shatter, Pac-Man and Resogun. The competition just made them that much more irresistible and, ultimately, memorable.
Manx TT Super Bike is back on the shelf now, and it might stay there forever. Then again, someone might ask me how fast I can go, in which case: game on!
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