Road Rash is a series of motorcycle racing games from Electronic Arts, starting life on the Sega Genesis in 1991, but appearing on several other systems over the next 10 years. In-universe, the races were illegal, forcing you to contend with police... as well as other riders, who usually had no problem attacking you with clubs, pipes, chains or cattle prods. Each game had several track locations, which became longer and more difficult for each level you achieved. You leveled up by getting at least 3rd or 4th place in each location, depending on the game. The goal was to amass money to buy better bikes and also be able to pay off hospital fees, repair bills and police fines. If you ever ran out of money, it was game over.
The games were:
- Road Rash (Genesis/Mega Drive) (1991)
- Road Rash II (Genesis/Mega Drive) (1993)
- Road Rash (Panasonic 3DO, Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn and Windows) (1994/1995/1996)
- Road Rash 3: Tour de Force (Genesis/Mega Drive) (1995)
- Road Rash (Sega CD) (1995)
- Road Rash 3D (Sony Playstation) (1998)
- Road Rash 64 (Nintendo 64) (1999)
- Road Rash: Jailbreak (Sony Playstation) (2000)
- Road Rash: Jailbreak (Game Boy Advance) (2003)
Road Rash 1 was notable for bringing the Z-axis and rudimentary physics to bear to both challenge and amuse the player, at a time when most other racing games barely bothered with such things. Going up hills slowed you down, while going down would cause you to accelerate... or, if you had enough speed, you'd soar through the air. In addition to the competitors and police, the player also had to watch out for oncoming traffic, animals crossing the road, and other realistic hazards. It was one of the earlier second-generation games to reward the player for doing something illegal.
While there was no plot to speak of (mostly because participating in extreme sports for cash prizes doesn't exactly need a plot), the games did have characters for their bikes. A notable aversion is Jailbreak, in that while it's pretty much an Excuse Plot at first, as in the player chooses to run with a gang, rise in ranks, and being acquainted with the comic relief live action cutscenes duo, Steve "Spaz" Williamsnote and Punt note , things get nasty when Spaz got captured by the cops and Punt personally asks the player and their chosen gang to organize a jailbreak to free him. Many of the AI were given profiles and would often give you advice or trash-talk you before or after a race.
Not to be confused with Road Redemption, Road Rash's Spiritual Successor.
This series contains examples of...
- Aerith and Bob: In Road Rash 64, you have Trent, Dina, Big Jim... and also names like Beej, Dust & Stinky.
- All Bikers Are Hells Angels: Averted and later on downplayed. In one of the cutscenes for losing in Road Rash 2, the player is stripped of his suit and helmet by some passing cruiser bikers, but otherwise you only race with sport bikes. Starting with Road Rash 3D, gangs are added to the mix, and one of them is the Dewleys—a stereotypical "old school" outlaw biker club that only rides cruisers. In Road Rash 64 there's a feud between the "Rumblers" and the "Thrashers", and the former will only offer to hire you if you drive a cruiser. And finally, in Jailbreak the "De Sades" have been retconned into driving cruisers to clash with the super bike-riding "Kaffe Boys".
- Alliterative Title: Road Rash.
- A.I. Breaker: Sort of. In Road Rash 64, some of the later tracks spike in difficulty, to the point that a majority of the AI racers are fairly likely to fail to cross the finish line at all. Race 4-3, Beat Down is an example where if you just avoid everyone else, all the AI will almost always get Busted by cops, while on 5-8, Marathon, the final race, it's pretty common to have a majority of the 11 racers turn up Wrecked, presumably because of the length of the course and how bad the traffic is.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: So you've been speeding all over public roads, highways and streets, running people over, hitting cars and assaulting both fellow racers and police officers alike. One of the cops may admonish you for...failing to signal.
- Assumed Win: In "Road Rash '94," the AI will sometimes start doing their victory pose before they cross the finish line... making it all the more sweeter if you pass them at the last second and take first place away from them...or even just smack them out of spite.
- Bad with the Bone: Sergio's portrait in Road Rash 3 shows him wielding a rather large bone.
- Bland-Name Product: All bikes are fictional, but some of their names reference real world makes: Panda is obviously Honda, Kamikaze is Kawasaki, Ferruci is most likely Ducati and Shuriken is probably Suzuki.
- Blood Knight: Granted, some could say all racers count, you included, but this is actually implemented in Road Rash '94 regarding its main racers and the relationship mechanics in Big Game Mode. While most racers will grow hostile if you attack them unprovoked, Rhonda Rash and Teflon Mike will dislike you if you don't try to attack them or even just hit back, viewing you as a coward for it. Do so and they'll actually compliment you for giving them a good fight.
- Carry a Big Stick: Clubs are probably the most common weapons in the Genesis trilogy, and the only one available in Road Rash 1 outside of your own fists. The police also have 'em and use 'em.
- Chain Pain: In Road Rash 2, the most dangerous weapon. Also could be swung over your head for no practical reason.
- Circling Birdies: In the trilogy, getting hit by a car head-on or just having a particularly long flight/slide after a crash causes your biker to have flickering stars briefly over them as they get back to their feet—they can even be seen struggling to get up a little. Definitely superior to the alternative...
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: In the Genesis titles. Everyone is dressed in the same color... except you. The color of everyone else also tells you what level you're on. In 3, if you take the cops or the mechanic's offer to take down another biker, it will use different colors. In the "Five-O Mode" missions, the suspect/target of the chase flashes red and blue.
- Colour Wash: A distinct purplish-pink tint is applied to the live-action cutscenes (excluding the two music videos, which use various tints) in Road Rash '94.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the Genesis trilogy, the other racers are capable of taking very difficult turns at full speed, and the cops would only ever come after you, regardless of if other racers are easier to catch.
- Just how does Lucky Luc stay just ahead of you no matter how fast you're going, anyway?
- On the other hand, the racer's position largely depends upon your own. If you're far ahead in first place, the top racers' times are just seconds behind yours even if you're on the Wild Thing 2000, and if you're far behind in last place, you're likely to catch up to the slowest racers eventually, even if the race should long be over.
- The usual rubber banding is present in Road Rash 64, but interestingly enough, it's actually avoided in that the AI is just as vulnerable to getting Busted (knocked out by/crashing near a cop) and Wrecked (crashing their bike one too many times) as you are.
- Continuing Is Painful: If you wreck or get busted, you'll need to shell out money for repairs/bail. If you can't pay the fine, it's Game Over. 3'' gives you a chance to stay in the game by taking on a Repo Man/Snitch job, where you go after a specific opponent in a race and knock them off their bike for the bike shop/police. Succeed, and your fine will be waived/your bike will be repaired and you'll be allowed to continue. Fail, and the game ends.
- Cool Bike: Road Rash 2 and 3 have the "Wild Thing 2000", a cheat-only bike that runs up to 200 mph (220 nitro) in 2 and up to 250 mph nitrous in 3.
- Crowbar Combatant: Road Rash 3 introduces one as an available weapon. It's more or less a slower but more damaging version of the club.
- Difficult, but Awesome: In Road Rash 2, the Wild Thing 2000 is insanely fast and, on level 1, has infinite nitro boosts. It's also very difficult to handle properly, with hair-trigger handling and is quite frail. Also, in the highly likely event of a crash, the player is often thrown a ridiculous distance from their bike. Road Rash 64 has a similar case with the Insanity bikes.
- Dirty Cop: Sometimes it seems as if the officers enjoy arresting you and your fellow racers a little too much...Illegal bike races may be a problem, but setting off dogs on them, shooting their bikes with a shotgun or outright handcuffing them to the back of your bike to drag them along on your chase are not exactly wholesome actions of the law. Cops in Road Rash 3 can even offer you to "snitch" on other bikers by knocking them down and letting the cops arrest them if you're unable to pay the fine.
- Disc-One Nuke: A very mild case in Road Rash 64 due to how few types of weapons there are, but race 1-1, Milk Run has a set of Nunchucks that can knock out an opponent in two hits,note which can be obtained with a well aimed wheelie jump over a log. Getting back onto the road after getting them will put you well behind the pack, but given the Rubber-Band A.I. it's still realistic to get back into the running. 1-2 also as a Monkey Wrenchnote that can be easily obtained by driving toward a house in the distance at a point where the track veers left, and likewise this is early enough that you can get back into the race. Nightsticksnote can additionally be stolen from cops starting from 1-2, Bumps N' Jumps, and there's another set of Nunchucks at the end of 1-3, Merry-Go-Round which is easier to get than from 1-1 at the expense of it being right before the finish line so that it's impossible to get them without blowing the race.
- Distracted by the Sexy: Hilariously subverted in one of the "Busted" cutscenes in Road Rash 2. The cop is in the middle of presumably lecturing the player on his reckless driving before two women in a convertible pull over to wave at him. The player tries to get on his bike, only for the cop to yank him to the ground at the last second—all while still waving back at the ladies.
- Don't Try This at Home:
- An advertisement for Road Rash 3 that appeared in Sega's Sega Visions magazine included a disclaimer that "attempting this in real life is as smart as bobbing for apples in a giant blender."
- The instruction manual and the title screen disclaimer for Road Rash (32-bit Version) takes it more seriously...
This game is meant for entertainment purposes only. Events in the game and video are fantasy and are not meant to model reality in anyway. In the Real World, if you run from the police you will go to jail; if you ride recklessly and fall off your bike you might not get back up. There's only one place for racing: A closed-circuit race track. There's only one way to ride: Within the limits of your abilities and with full protective gear. Use your head. - Enemy Chatter: A few of your rival racers and even cops would start a race by giving you some pointers or just talking smack. Natasha, for example would either be friendly or antagonistic depending on if you attacked her previously. Same as when you finish a race, one way or another—you'll either get congratulated, envied or threatened for winning, receive tips or mockery for losing (or wrecking your bike), or get admonished by the cops after a failed getaway.
- You can also get this by picking the "Schmooze" option on the Big Game Mode in Road Rash '94, where the player gets a comment from one of the other main racers. Whether they give friendly tips, a talk about themselves or just downright threaten you is determined by how you interact with them during races. Some characters may even give unique comments depending on which character you're playing with, and who they're talking to.
- Endless Game: When you beat Level 5 on the original Road Rash game on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, you get to play Level 5 again! And again... and again... forever. The same goes for Road Rash III: Tour de Force. Road Rash II actually has an ending after level 5, which is a race against some cops...and then the game crashes.
- Everything Breaks: If you crash into something in Road Rash 1 (including the enhanced 32-bit remake) and 2, the item survives intact, probably making a sound. In 3, most small objects have a "damaged" sprite... however, items switch to the damage sprite no matter how fast you're moving. Even if you're walking into it.
- Face Plant: Happens to you if you fall off your bike when going just the right speed.
- Fanservice: In Road Rash 1, there is a still of you and the other racers swimming in a lake, and laying on a float is a woman in a red bikini. This also occurs in some of the Winner cutscenes in Road Rash '94 and one in Road Rash 3D—where a lady puts on a show by provocatively dancing to a few Dewley members—as well as a few of the winner portraits in Jailbreak.
- Fauxrrari: Not as prominent as other racing games with fake branded models, but the fact that one of the bike brands is named "Kamikaze", which is similar enough to Kawasaki, stands out.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: To qualify for the next level you have to place in the top 3 in every course. However when you get there you meet most of the racers from the previous levels, even those who finished well down the rankings.
- Possibly justified with a bit of
Fridge Brilliance. You get as many tries as you like, so why can't the opponents? They may have qualified on a later attempt! (You never see them getting wrecked or busted, so they wouldn't run out of money.)
- Possibly justified with a bit of
- Groin Attack: Played for Laughs; one of the loser cutscenes in Road Rash '94 has a unqualified rider attempting to take the winner's girl, but gets rejected, first with a kick in the helmet, and then, as he's down, a kick in the groin, not once, but several times, just to make sure he's never getting up again.
- Hammerspace: A cutscene in Road Rash '94 has a cop searching the Player Character, finding a baseball bat, brass knuckles, what appears to be nunchucks, a chain...and a sawn-off shotgun which would have been impossible for them to carry. This is of course down to Rule of Funny.
- Hard Mode Filler: Completing an initial circuit of races pushes you up to the next competition level, using the same locations but driving further down the course.
- Have a Nice Death: Starting with Road Rash 2, cutscenes after races show your triumphs and, if you wreck, get busted or simply place poorly, your failures.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: With "Player A/B" as the default. Averted in Road Rash '94 and Jailbreak, where players can choose between three personalities of their chosen biker gang.
- Hollywood Police Driving Academy: In Road Rash 3 & Road Rash 64, police cars simply move to the left or the right while driving in order to block your way. And... they completely forget the fact that doing so can lead them into oncoming traffic.
- Invincible Minor Minion: Cops have health gauges, but no amount of attacking will hurt them or knock them off of their rides, and they can't crash—not even from running into an oncoming car. This was promptly averted with the following installments, but in 2 and 3 you'd likely be forced to slow down and risk losing the race to actually get to fight them.
- I Shall Taunt You: A main feature in Jailbreak to provoke rivals into attacking you. Varies from very mild, G-Rated "swear" words, references to movies and songs, or just cartoony noises.
- It's a Wonderful Failure: The game has cutscenes not just for completing the race, but for wrecking your bike or getting busted. Some classics include paramedics retrieving your bike while leaving you injured on the side of the road, getting chased down by police dogs, stumbling onto the road in the path of a semi, and getting tossed in the trunk of a police cruiser.
- Live-Action Cutscene: Half the game of the 3DO/PS1/Saturn/Windows versions with the intro, beginning a race, winning, losing, being wrecked or arrested leading to everything from a biker grabbing a dude with her chain for post-victory celebrations to a driver helping you off the road in the event of a crash. Throw in several music videos for good measure.
- Mercy Invincibility: In the three Genesis games, there is none to speak of. Damage is dealt as fast as a weapon can be swung; if a character is sandwiched between attackers, they can go down very quickly.
- Nitro Boost: Introduced in Road Rash 2 and 3 for the more expensive bikes.
- Oil Slick: You're likely to find what appears to be oil slicks on the road as a hazard in Road Rash 1, 2, 3 and '94—run into them and you'll skid all over the track. While not a feature of the bike itself, in 3, Lucky Luc's primary weapon is... an oil can. He stays just ahead of you, spilling oil on the road in hopes of making you spin out.
- Officer O'Hara - while not having the silly stereotypes, quite a large number of the cops have Irish names. In fact, one of the cops is named O'Hara.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted in Road Rash 64, though it's probably an accident. 5-7, Crash and Burn just randomly has Utsanomiko in the race twice for basically no reason, and 5-8, Marathon might have Luke around twice over, again for really no reason.
- Password Save: In the first three Genesis games, provided at the end of each race. The password saved your race placements and your cash.
- Road Rash 1's passwords were 20 characters long and included alphanumeric characters (numbers and letters) and symbols. This password was also given immediately after the race, but before being promoted to the next level - if you use that password, you have to redo any of the races before advancing, but you can still use that to get extra money.
- Road Rash 2 and 3's passwords were eight characters long and reduced to only alphanumeric characters. The promotion to the next level was done immediately after winning the race in a qualifying position, indicated by the post-race cutscene. Passwords were given on the Options screen of the main menu.
- Even though Road Rash 3 introduced the ability to save weapons between races and even accumulate them, the password did not account for this. One using a password to resume was reduced to his/her fists upon starting.
- Ragdoll Physics: Employed to hilarious effect in Road Rash 64 and Jailbreak. A high-speed collision often causes both bike and rider to be launched astronomical distances through the air... only to be back in the race mere seconds later. In the case of Jailbreak, it goes to the point where players can be amusingly hit by other bikers when he/she is on the ground after after being sent flying, only to be in the air again and the rider has to run to their bike (can be cheated by pushing triangle in the Playstation version to return to their bike instantly).
- Ramp Jump: Extremely common in the Genesis as well as the PS1 games.
- Ramp-rovisation: ...but only Road Rash 3 has actual ramps. Most of the time, one has to use rocks, bushes, or even cows as ramps. One could even get pretty good air by running over fallen bikers, and cars are also a good medium of jumping, with the exceptions of, for some reason, boxy trucks and vans in Jailbreak. Even some hills alone count — one in particular in the "Hawaii" track of Road Rash 2 is especially memorable.
- Regenerating Health: Life bars usually start filling up immediately after taking damage. If the player is knocked off the bike in 2 or 3', the life bar is automatically filled once the bike is touched.
- Road Block: One of the many reasons for Ramp-rovisation.
- Second Place Is for Losers: Averted, since you only need to place 4th or better on each track.
- In Road Rash 2, 3, 32-bit Version and Jailbreak, you needed to place at least third place to advance.
- Serial Escalation: With regards to the racing stages. The first game (and the 32-bit version) takes place in California, the second across America, and the third goes international.
- Shave and a Haircut: Oncoming cars will occasionally honk the tune at you in Road Rash 3.
- So Last Season: You know that bike that got you through one level? Once you get to the next, your opponents get faster, negating the advantage your last new bike gave you, forcing you to upgrade again.
- Theme Naming: The cops in 1 and 32-bit Version have names which start with "O'" — O'Leary, O'Rourke, O'Shea, and O'Connor. And then there's Flynn, Marshall and Ortega.
- Vehicular Assault: In Road Rash 3, the police cars and the police helicopters.
- Video Game Caring Potential: Some characters are friendly and give you advice and actively try to avoid you on Road Rash 3 if you don't fight them during the races. Most notably, this would be Natasha.