Riding Hero

Riding Hero (ライディングヒーロー) is an arcade motorcycle racing video game developed and released by SNK. Originally developed for the Neo Geo hardware family, it has since been released in other platforms. The game is notable for being the directorial debut of Hiroshi Matsumoto. It was the first Neo Geo game that used the multi-link function that allowed two systems to be connected for LAN play. The promotional art was drawn by Shinkiro.

Gameplay
Riding Hero are three modes: W.G.P Mode, Story Mode and Multi-Play. The first two are for single player. W.G.P Mode (World Grand Prix Mode) has the player compete against CPU opponents after choosing a rider and a motorcycle with the objective of racing in ten circuits in order to win the Grand Prix. Multi-Play allows two players in linked systems to compete against each other.

Story Mode is an interactive mode patterned like an RPG. The players explores locations, speaks with different characters and makes several decisions that affect the outcome of the game. For example, the player starts challenging several characters in order to win money by betting and beating them in one-on-one races. With the earnings, the player can improve the motorcycle. By talking to characters in different locations, the player is able to access different races and challenges.

Releases
Riding Hero was released on the NeoGeo MVS on 1990-07-24, while the home version for the NeoGeo AES was released on 1991-07-01. With the launch of the Neo Geo CD on 1994, a CD version of Riding Hero was released on 1995-05-26.

While several SNK collections had been released over the years, it wasn't until Hamster picked up the rights of the game that Riding Hero was re-released in its original arcade version as part of Hamster's ACA NeoGeo line on 2018-06-07 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For unknown reasons, the North American PS4 version was released months later on 2019-02-05.

Staff

 * Producer: Eikichi Kawasaki
 * Director: Hiroshi Matsumoto
 * Programmer: H.Deep.T
 * Music: Yasumasa Yamada
 * Sound effects: Yoshihiko Kitamura
 * Character design: Koichi Sakita, Takurin.K, Kimie.M, Masayo.S
 * Special thanks: Kura, Masapee.K, Pao-Pao, Mr.Noric, Takayuki Matsuyama, Cock-A-Doodle-Doo