Final Lap R
FInal Lap R was the last in Namco’s legendary Final Lap arcade racer series, released in 1993.
It carries the aesthetics and technical specifications of the 1988 originals – the superlowres 288x224 display, the behind-the-flatarse-cutout-of-a-car POV, proud oil company branding on the courses.
The nineties seats are a bit slicker, but ultimately it’s an anachronism.
Final Lap is one of those games that changed the genre but then forgot to get better. It was the first time 8 players could race together in F1 in Suzuka – by linking 4 cabinet pairs in the arcade.
And the party plan wasn’t just a superficial thing. This is homo-rubberbandiens – the fossilised prehistory of letting shit players catch up. In the name of fun, if you can imagine that.
That was all so good it became standard but the 80s graphics and slalom-type steering controls fell behind.
The Final Lap sequels took players to different courses around the world, culminating in this, R, jetting you off to the barrelscraped destinations of Hungary, Brazil, Germany and Belgium.
Looks sexy though, doesn’t it?
Photographer and writer covering Tokyo arcade life – the videogames, the metropolis and the people
