Mach Rider is a 1985 NES game by Nintendo, similar to Atari's RoadBlasters.
Mach Rider began as a 1972 dragster-ish toy (looking something like the games Quadrunner enemies.
Though goals vary from mode to mode, common elements include the Quadrunner enemies who appear from behind the player, and are colour coded by toughness; death causing barrels mostly along the edge of the track, but sometimes also on the road (also more points can be gained by defeating enemies by knocking them into barrels, rather than shooting them); changing weather conditions (slippery roads); and slippery obstacles on the ground (ie tacks, water, and oil). There are also nice palette swaps for the stages and main sprite as the stages change.
The goal here is to complete the course, avoiding both course obstacles, and the Quadrunners. Before each stage the player is given two stage options to select from.
In the endurance course the goal is to cover a specified distance. Lives are not counted, though death will waste time.
The solo course mode is the same the endurance, though without enemies.
Here the player can construct courses from a good range of pieces, and use them in any of the above modes. This means you can make completely straight courses to cheat, or better make courses to challenge friends. Created tracks can be saved to the Famicom Data Recorder, or in the Virtual Console version, to the Wii's internal memory.
The standard version, as detailed above.
The 1985 arcade versions of Mach Rider contain only one mode: in the Japanese release it is the fighting course, in the North American it is the Endurance course. Both versions feature the extra splash screens of the character, and also reward stage completion by unveiling parts of another version of that image, this time featuring Mach Rider suitless, and female ala Metroid.
The Virtual Console release includes the ability to save courses created in the design mode.
9-Volt's microgames are themed on NES games, one being Mach Rider. The graphics are the same, though the objective is only to shoot the enemies.
The stage 'Pizza with a Vengence' plays similarly to Mach Rider, and other games of its ilk. Particularly Mach Rider-esque is the jingle played upon each racing segment's completion.
Melee features covers of Mach Rider in the F-Zero Big Blue stage. There is also a Mach Rider trophy to be collected, accompanied by the following description:
Here Mach Rider is represented in sticker form, the image is taken from the illustration that features on the Japanese, and some of PAL-lands boxes. The sticker boots the strength of explosives-based moves. The same remix of the music appears again, this time in the Port Town stage.
The Mach Bike appears as an unlockable vehicle.
If you would like to use an abridged version of the Mach Rider jingle for your town theme in Animal Crossing try this:
C C C B B - B A A A A C B - - -
There is no staff credits shown in-game; they are a mystery to the Internet. GameFAQs has Shigeru Miyamoto credited as producer, but who knows where thy got that from—