Super Chase HQ is an enhanced port of the classic Taito driving game, Chase HQ. It appeared in arcades first, under the title “Super Chase: Criminal Termination” and was ported to the Super Nintendo by Taito themselves and first released in 1993. Like its arcade counterpart it is a single-player only game.

The first major difference is that the driving position in this is first-person, viewed from inside the car, rather than using the third-person viewpoint of the original. Which changes the dynamic of the game somewhat, and not necessarily for the worse. You can see yourself in the rear view mirror and your hands turn the steering wheel and occasionally push buttons on the dashboard.

The feel of the driving is still good, though, even with the change of viewpoint, and you’re allowed to glide around, enjoy driving the car, and zipping around oncoming traffic, before reaching your target.

“Nancy” still briefs you between missions. In this port she says “Nancy here!” before the tickertape text message takes over, filling you in on what you’ve got to do. Chase a car… Chase numerous vehicles in some missions. And ram them into submission before your timer runs out!

Super Chase HQ does follow the familiar Chase HQ structure, which is: 1. Chase through traffic, 2. Drive through a tunnel, 3. Come out of tunnel into a new style of landscape, 4. Intercept and identify target vehicle (you’re awarded a time extension), 5. Stop target vehicle within the time limit.

When you do tackle one of the boss cars in Super Chase HQ you’ll notice that the occupants sometimes lean out of the windows and fire guns at you. This is another enhancement over the arcade game. I’m not entirely sure what this does, other than look good, but having your windscreen riddled with bullet holes definitely adds to the thrill of the chase.

The cockpit of your car moves around dynamically, as you bounce, jump and crash your way around the roads. When you’re bumping with a boss car the screen flashes blue to indicate a positive hit. When you finally manage to reduce a boss’s health to nothing their car will start smoking, then start burning, before eventually stopping, when you’ll have completed the stage. You’re provided with three nitro boosts, which are best saved for the boss battles. If you can time it right, one nitro boost can give you enough bump power to remove more than half of your opponent’s health, but you have to be a good driver to keep your speed up and not crash or slow down.

Super Chase HQ has automatic or manual gear-changing; a switchable MPH to Km/h speedometer, and normal or easy difficulty levels (hard is also unlockable).

Graphically, Super Chase HQ is good. It’s a completely 2D driving game, so the oncoming cars scale in the old school way (ie. with hand-drawn frames), rather than with hardware scalers. The movement of the road; the cockpit and car, plus the forgiving controls, make Super Chase HQ a fun game to play overall.

Super Chase HQ has no high score table or name entry, which is slightly disappointing, but it does have playability in abundance. Which more than makes up for its shortcomings.

More: Super Chase HQ on Wikipedia