, released in Europe as ''Formula 1 Sensation'', is a 1993

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

video game by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

for the Family Computer, and a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

licensed product. It is heavily based on their 1988 MSX2+ title, '' F-1 Spirit 3D Special''. It was Konami's final original Famicom game before re-releases.

Summary

''F-1 Sensation'' features championship races and drivers from the

1992 Formula One season The 1992 Formula One World Championship was the 46th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1992 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1992 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested ...

, including Ayrton Senna and

Andrea Moda Formula Andrea Moda Formula was a Formula One team that competed during the 1992 season. Its founder was Italian shoe designer Andrea Sassetti and the name came from Andrea Moda, Sassetti's company. The team participated in nine World Championship Gr ...

's original drivers, Enrico Bertaggia and Alex Caffi. The game contains 18 tracks (the same 16 from the

1992 season Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

, plus

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

and Phoenix, respectively the venues of the

1990 Spanish Grand Prix The 1990 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Jerez on 30 September 1990. It was the fourteenth race of the 1990 Formula One World Championship, and the fifth and last Spanish Grand Prix to be held at Jerez (though the circuit ...

and

1991 United States Grand Prix The 1991 United States Grand Prix (formally the XXVIII Iceberg United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on March 10, 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona. It was the first race of the 1991 Formula One World Championship. The 81-lap race was ...

, as extras), each playable separately in the "Free Run" mode, or one-by-one against the 16 of the 1992 season in the "Grand Prix" mode. In the latter, a one-lap qualification drive must be passed before each race, determining the starting position in the grid, and also serving as a short practice for the upcoming course. In both, player drivers and rival drivers can be freely selected. Each driver in the game is divided into three levels based on real-life skill: A, B, and C. Because there are less entries than there are racers, these choices directly affect the game's difficulty. Pit stops are included, and a team-radio imitation tells the player when to go to the pits for

tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

and

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

repair. Weather forecasts are available before every racing session. However, in rare cases the weather can change during the race, forcing players to make an unscheduled change of tires. Each race has five laps, allowing for an arcade-like experience. Colliding (even sharply) with the opponents' cars heavily damages the opponent and slightly decreases the player's own stats. This encourages a brawl-like style of racing not unlike '' F-Zero'', forcing the entire set of competitors out of the race and taking the sole stand on the podium. Real world sponsors are placed on the billboards that are in the background of each race course; including Shell,

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

Sasol Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company based in Sandton, South Africa. The company was formed in 1950 in Sasolburg, South Africa and built on processes that were first developed by German chemists and engineers in the early ...

, and Agip. The car may be customized: the player selects the body type of the car, color, at the start of the game; and later also other intrinsic parts. The game's soundtrack is quoted to sound similar to other Konami FC/NES products such as ''

Blades of Steel ''Blades of Steel'', later released in Japan as , is an ice hockey video game released by Konami for North American arcades in 1987, and ported to the Family Computer Disk System and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. All teams are fictiona ...

'' and '' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', chiefly because of the same tools used in the creation process. The game can be completed in one relatively short sitting, or using password and battery-backed save support like in the original ''3D Special''. Passwords consists of both small and capital Latin letters, with some additional characters uncommon to NES games. The only known differences between the Japanese and European releases are the title of the game and the locations of the screen where lap and position information are displayed.

References

{{Formula One games 1993 video games Formula One video games Konami games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Video games set in 1992 Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan