Quintet’s Japan-only 1998 genre-blender Code R is part racing game, part dating sim because, let’s face it, it is the ’90s!
Featuring various modes including battle mode, time attack, and a story mode, your goal is to race “bad guys” whilst listening to various girls and responding to them in choose-your-own-adventure style. The game is compatible with both the 3D multi-controller and the Arcade Racer, and the races are well done and challenging.
Compared to the racing, dating is only so-so (as is the case in real life) and as the game isn’t translated, it is difficult to understand the girls, since they speak a different language (this also feels like in real life). Still, it’s a tidy package. Code R — what a hell are you gonna make?
Back in 1997/1998, when we had a bunch of Japanese Saturn games, Code R was one of them. These games always intrigued me, even as a kid, it felt something else was there to discover, it’s not only a racing game, it features night/day cycles, people to talk to and so on.
This and much more were reasons why the Saturn was so influential during those formation years. Sure, in 1999, my brother got a PS1 and we enjoyed it for years to come, but the 16 to 32-bit transition was dominated by the Saturn, we had a SNES and a Mega Drive before that, both consoles we enjoyed for years as well, but the paradigm shift of the 32-bit era, I feel is understated.
Things changed so abruptly, we discovered entirely new genres, it was then on the Saturn we played the first Resident Evil, Tomb Raider and exclusives such as Shining Force III, the then exclusive Grandia, and many more, Fighters Megamix, Croc, Pandemonium, Sonic R (one of my favorites to this day, yes, I mastered the game at 11yo and could grab both emeralds and beat the secret character all at once, even with Amy!!!), Die Hard Trilogy, Code R, Keriotose!, Ninja Jajamaru-Kun, Alien Trilogy, Mystaria, Herc’s Adventures, Dragon Force, the list goes on and on.