Konami Wiki
Advertisement

F-1 Spirit 3D Special (F1スピリット 3Dスペシャル) is a full successor to the game, and was released in 1988 for the MSX2+ spec. Unlike the original, this game uses scaling-based third-person graphics like Pole Position and the like, and focuses specifically on F-1 racing.

In addition to the Free Run and Grand Prix modes, there is a two player Battle Mode. The difficulty level can be set, and in Free Run a number of settings (such as the number of laps) is variable. Cars are custom made; the body and color of the car, the engine, the tires, the suspension, the brakes, the gear, and the wings can be all modified.

It was released on three floppy disks, and it's the only game Konami ever developed for the MSX2+ spec. This game featured a special cable which allowed two MSX2+ computers to be linked via the second joystick port. This cable was sold separately under the name JE700 Multiplayer Link Cable, and it was also reverse-engineered by some enthusiasts for use in other games.

Another thing that makes this game special is that it uses MSX-Music ("FM-PAC"), the Yamaha YM2413 OPLL sound chip, originally sold separately or built into various models of the MSX2+ and MSX turboR computers. This is the only game in which Konami used that particular sound chip; other Konami games with enhanced music use Konami's own SCC sound chip. Even games distributed on floppy disk were often accompanied by a SCC ROM cartridge, like Snatcher and SD Snatcher. The original music was composed by Goro Kin (supposedly a pseudonym).

A similar product, F-1 Sensation, was released for the Family Computer in 1993. It contains many of the same features (though Battle Mode was dropped), but is based around the 1992 Formula One season.

Advertisement