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[VGEsoterica]

I am not sure how many Gaf'ers will remember Harley Davidson and L.A. Riders? It had its moment in arcades in the late 90's and early 2000's but after that it seemed to disappear from arcade floors and become quite rare. Which is unfortunate because it's a legit awesome arcade game...especially with the giant sit down motorcycle with a full set of pedals and a giant set of handlebars to steer and accelerate / brake with.

The most interesting thing though is that Harley Davidson and L.A. Riders created the mold that Sega would use to make a much more well known arcade game...Crazy Taxi!

Racing against a timer? An open world to race in? Going from random checkpoint to checkpoint? A vibrant and colorful art style? Wild arcade steering? Sounds like I am describing Crazy Taxi...because I am! But I am also describing Harley Davidson and L.A. Riders which came out two years before Crazy Taxi ever hit arcade floors. It's like a long lost Crazy Taxi prototype except it's a finished game you can play from start to finish.

It's really just Crazy Taxi's older, more motorcycle based brother. Makes sense why it was never ported home though; I am sure the Harley Davidson license was not a cheap item to obtain for Sega in the arcades. Add in the fact that you can "beat" the game in under 5 minutes and you have a recipe for a game that would never get a port?

Anyone ever play? If you haven't you should def check it out. Especially if you enjoy Crazy Taxi. It might not have The Offspring or KFC but it has everything else

 

[VGEsoterica]

If you've never seen it in action. It looks near identical to Crazy Taxi

 

[deriks]

There was a cabinet in the arcade inside the mall until pre-pandemic days. I played once when I was a teenager. But like the guy said, it was expensive, so never played again. Pretty good looking thou

 

[VGEsoterica]

There was a cabinet in the arcade inside the mall until pre-pandemic days. I played once when I was a teenager. But like the guy said, it was expensive, so never played again. Pretty good looking thou

yes I remember it being $2 worth of quarters for a single play. But considering how expensive, large...and short the game is one $2 investment really gives you a solid experience in the game

 

[SadeVillain]

Oh yeah, loved that game. The arcade where I used to go as a kid still exists and they still have that harley game.

 

[Digity]

Great game.

 

[The ninja farmer]

Right up there with power drift (Mario karts shell less cousin).

was awesome with the sit in cabinet.

La Riders was great for it’s time, but I remember always feeling cheesed at how short the time to play was. For your money. Maybe not as cheesed as with dragons lair. But that’s for a whole other thread

Still a great from the golden age

 

[VGEsoterica]

Right up there with power drift (Mario karts shell less cousin).

was awesome with the sit in cabinet.

La Riders was great for it’s time, but I remember always feeling cheesed at how short the time to play was. For your money. Maybe not as cheesed as with dragons lair. But that’s for a whole other thread

Still a great from the golden age

haha Dragon’s Lair. My father memorized it back in the day and last time I saw it at our local arcade (I was probably like 8?) he beat the game with a single credit. My child brain was amazed

 

[TexMex]

Remember it and loved it.

Side note - was in an “arcade” Recently and there’s a new(ish) Cruisin’ game that was also published by Nintendo?!

Also a Halo arcade cabinet? Lots of really new looking stuff.

they were all really terrible tho.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Remember it and loved it.

Side note - was in an “arcade” Recently and there’s a new(ish) Cruisin’ game that was also published by Nintendo?!

Also a Halo arcade cabinet? Lots of really new looking stuff.

they were all really terrible tho.

I heard about the new Cruis'n game. Its made by Raw Thrills (the Buck Hunter people) and just licensed from Nintendo. Kind of like Mario Kart Arcade GP being made by Namco

 

[The ninja farmer]

haha Dragon’s Lair. My father memorized it back in the day and last time I saw it at our local arcade (I was probably like 8?) he beat the game with a single credit. My child brain was amazed

I remember first seeing a dragons lair machine in our local video shop at the time and my jaw dropping at the ‘graphics’

 

[VGEsoterica]

I remember first seeing a dragons lair machine in our local video shop at the time and my jaw dropping at the ‘graphics’

Haha graphics will always be amazing when it's hand drawn animation on laser disc. But back then I get it...nothing looked that "good'

 

[stranno]

Not to mention you can hook up to 4 players. If you have power to spare you can run four instances of Supermodel in the same computer. Last time I tried it was a bit buggy tho, especially with Scud Race.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Not to mention you can hook up to 4 players. If you have power to spare you can run four instances of Supermodel in the same computer. Last time I tried it was a bit buggy tho, especially with Scud Race.

The fact Supermodel gets the network play functioning is beyond me...so impressive

 

[dan76]

Talking of Model 3 you should do Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. It was supposed to come out on Dreamcast with extra levels but was canned because some idiot at Sega thought they were too well known for their arcade games and they wanted to move away from that. It would've sold Dreamcasts by the bucket load.

 

[SF Kosmo]

I don't think it was very rare. I saw them everywhere. Fun game, kind of the start of the whole open world racing thing. It plays pretty well in the newer versions of SuperModel.

Now if you want to get into the deep cuts let's talk about Wild Riders.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Talking of Model 3 you should do Star Wars Trilogy Arcade. It was supposed to come out on Dreamcast with extra levels but was canned because some idiot at Sega thought they were too well known for their arcade games and they wanted to move away from that. It would've sold Dreamcasts by the bucket load.

lol have you been looking over my shoulder? I just need to re-edit it. Leaving even like 2 seconds of soundtrack w/o me talking over it kicks up a copyright claim on YT.

 

[dan76]

lol have you been looking over my shoulder? I just need to re-edit it. Leaving even like 2 seconds of soundtrack w/o me talking over it kicks up a copyright claim on YT.

Great, can't wait. For me as a fan of only the OT it's the best Star Wars game. One of the few games that actually puts you in the films. If only it was longer, I'd kill for a Bespin level.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Great, can't wait. For me as a fan of only the OT it's the best Star Wars game. One of the few games that actually puts you in the films. If only it was longer, I'd kill for a Bespin level.

Star Wars Battle Pod was pretty legit too. Played it once...fun time but way too expensive. It was $5 a credit so I played till I had to put more money in and I never played again

 

[Kuranghi]

I used to play this every time I saw it, my tiny thighs weren't powerful enough for it though haha.

I know this isn't a "never ported from arcade" game but I always loved 18 Wheeler and this game reminds me of it quite a bit:




The first time I realised I could drive through the houses during the tornado part I was blown away, one of my first tastes of destruction/"physics" in games.

I sucked so much at the parking though, I never wanted to slow down in good time, just bomb it and pull the break at the last second, which ofc is a terrible idea.

 

[Codeblew]

Every time I see Crazy Taxi mentioned, I always think of this for some reason

 

[The ninja farmer]

Crazy taxi on the Dreamcast.

one of my best gaming experiences (and I’ve been gaming since the vcs missile command days)

 

[VGEsoterica]

I don't think it was very rare. I saw them everywhere. Fun game, kind of the start of the whole open world racing thing. It plays pretty well in the newer versions of SuperModel.

Now if you want to get into the deep cuts let's talk about Wild Riders.

I swear you people have access to my capture folders