Japan saw the release of the original. Toon Motor Grand Prix racing game for the first PlayStation model shortly after the console’s launch in 1994. The Japanese market loved the game’s goofy, cartoonish look and promoted it so much that there was demand in other markets. Unfortunately, however, the original MTGP it was only available in Japan and was never available in the United States or other markets.
US release
Eventually, Sony listened to non-Japanese PlayStation fans and released a title called Toon Motor Grand Prix in the United States for the PlayStation. It turns out that this was not actually the original game and was, in fact, the second in the series, known in Japan as toon Motor Grand Prix 2, just repackaged for the US market. Although this was not exactly the game that American gamers were expecting, it was so similar to the first game that they were still very happy with it. The game was extremely popular and received high praise from fans and critics alike, who compared the racing game’s setting and tracks to scenes from Toon Town, the fictional town of the cartoon characters in the Disney film. Who killed Roger Rabbit? It was as visually appealing as it was fun to play.
The game remained popular with PSOne fans and while there was high demand, Sony curiously left the title out when it started its PSOne Classics brand, which sold re-releases of popular games for the original PlayStation console. But finally, after the creation of the PlayStation Network online for the PlayStation 3 console, Sony decided to relaunch the American version of Toon Motor Grand Prix as a $5.99 USD download. This is still the same game from 1996, and many fans of the original title were happy to have a digital copy of the game instead of having to worry about a hard copy, which, by the way, is what prompted fans to ask for the game. release in the first place, as its original copies of Toon Motor Grand Prix It had been scratched and damaged from all the use!
The same game you remember
As already stated, PS3 owners will not find any changes in the PSN version of MTGP. Everything that first attracted fans is still there. Players who are new to the title will find a fun racing game along the lines of Mario Kart. The track layouts are challenging even for long-time racing game fans, and they’ll enjoy the transparent track loops that allow them to see what other cars are doing. They will also discover that they have weapons at their disposal to slow down their opponents: banana peels, oversized dumbbells, dynamite, and many other cartoon mainstays. Another fun element, just like in the cartoons, the cars will stretch and bend as they go around corners and then snap back into shape. The happy and goofy background music is the proverbial icing on the cake. You start out with some simpler levels and tracks, but as you progress through the game newer tracks open up to you offering more challenges and new weapons to slow down the other drivers.
Polyphony Digital, developer of the Motor Toon games, has said that they would like to create new games for the series that use the PS3’s motion technology and other new features that weren’t available in the 1990s. The PlayStation 4 is out now. development, so it is possible that they will postpone the creation of a new game until then. But if all goes as expected, we should see a new Motor Toon Grand Prix game sometime in the future!
