About this game
Rad Racer is a 1987 racing game developed and published by Square — known in Japan as Highway Star — featuring pseudo-3D perspective racing across eight courses, from American desert highways to European mountain roads. Designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, programmed by Nasir Gebelli, and scored by Nobuo Uematsu, it was a direct showcase of Square's technical capabilities in the year Final Fantasy was also released. Like its predecessor 3-D WorldRunner, the game supports anaglyph 3D viewing with red-blue glasses, and it was distributed in North America and Europe by Nintendo, giving it an unusually wide international reach for a Square title of the era.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Highway Star arrived in August 1987, just four months before Final Fantasy launched in December. The Sakaguchi–Gebelli–Uematsu trio had already released 3-D WorldRunner earlier the same year, and Highway Star demonstrated their increasing mastery of the Famicom's graphical capabilities. Nintendo's decision to publish and distribute the game internationally — under the Rad Racer name — gave Square a level of visibility in Western markets that few Japanese third-party developers had achieved. The game's smooth pseudo-3D racing with recognisable real-world car models and destinations made it a standout title in the NES racing genre.
Tricks & Tales
Rad Racer's development originated from Square president Masafumi Miyamoto's desire to showcase Nasir Gebelli's 3D programming skills, which Gebelli had developed while making games for the Apple II in the United States. The game was one of the first NES titles to offer an optional 3D mode — pressing Select switched to red-blue anaglyph display, compatible with included or standard paper glasses. Highway Star is sometimes cited as an influence on later racing games for its combination of realistic road environments and accessible arcade-style controls. The Uematsu soundtrack was unusual for a racing game, featuring melodic compositions more reminiscent of his RPG work than typical high-tempo racing fare.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Released in Japan as Highway Star (August 1987, published by Square) and internationally as Rad Racer (October 1987 NA, January 1988 Europe, published by Nintendo). Content is equivalent across all versions. The name change from Highway Star to Rad Racer reflects Nintendo of America's localization style for the period.
Available in our shop
Hand-cleaned and tested units shipped worldwide from Toyohashi, Japan. HP direct purchase exclusive: we include a printed shop owner's note card with every order.
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