UFO 50 Retrospective Part 19 - Big Bell Race

Every game company needs a Mario Kart, right? Well it’s not really Mario Kart-ish. It’s a very 80s feeling racing game, to me.

Made in literally two weeks, using the same system from Campanella to try and cash in on the success, this game expands the Campanella universe by introducing some new characters! Most aren’t important, except for Pilot’s sister, Isabell, who will become more important later on. All of the characters are exactly the same, there’s no difference other than their color and the ending screen they get, which is the same for everyone except that it has your character on it.

The Big Bell Race is a very simple racing game that FEELS like it was made in 2 weeks. Using Campanella’s controls, you zoom through a level while smacking opponents and avoiding getting smacked. You have three health, and if you die, you start your lap over, which can basically ruin chances of getting first, unless you are VERY far ahead. And you probably will be. The AI is dumb and bad at their job. They’re just straight up slower than you. There’s also power ups you can find which increase your attack power or make you spawn bombs, stuff like that.

It’s a VERY simple racing game. Too simple, honestly. I do like Campanella’s controls, they’re smooth and silky, but there’s literally zero reason to play this after you get 1st in every race.

5.5/10. It sure is a game. One of the more interesting things about it is that it still uses LX Systems, but in the credits, says it was made by UFO Soft. They were starting to move over to that name.