Power Drift

An arcade kart racer from Sega, released in 1988 and immediately becoming a hit. The game stood out from its predecessors, like Hang-On and Out Run, thanks to the new technical capabilities of the Sega Y Board: here the entire environment - from the tracks to the background - is assembled from sprites that scale and rotate in real time, creating the effect of a living, insanely dynamic attraction.

Developed by Yu Suzuki, Power Drift challenged players to a series of mind-bending tracks, each reminiscent of a roller coaster. Climbing, steep descents, sharp turns and the possibility of flying off the track made every race intense and unpredictable. The game required you to take at least third place in order to advance - otherwise you had to continue without adding to your score.

Thematic series of tracks added special charm: cities, deserts, beaches and other surroundings, divided into five races in each cup (A–E). In arcade machines with a movable hydraulic booth, the experience was enhanced literally on a physical level - the chair shook, tilted and swayed in time with what was happening on the screen.

Power Drift was eventually ported to home computers in Europe and the PC Engine in Japan, but remained unavailable on Sega consoles for a long time until it made its way to the Sega Saturn in 1998 as part of the Sega Ages series.