Blizzard's first real hit, a top down racer with licensed rock. Tasty coop and local fun, one of the SNES multiplayer joys.
Your verdict
Category
Racing1 player7+
Split screen
Description
Isometric racing game featuring missile-armed cars battling across varied settings. Published by Blizzard Entertainment, released in Japan in 1993. Armed racing cars firing missiles and dropping mines on isometric circuits and two-player mode. Rock N Roll Racing with its heavy metal soundtrack featuring Black Sabbath and Deep Purple.
Rock N' Roll Racing review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Daring, the music adapts great hard rock classics, from Black Sabbath to Deep Purple, in surprisingly faithful chiptune versions. The supercharged riffs stick to the energy of the missile-armed races with an infectious fire. This electric soundtrack, rare in the racing game, makes it an irresistible cult object.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Blending isometric racing and motorised combat over frenzied hard rock: this Blizzard cocktail electrifies from the start. Gunning down rivals, dropping mines and upgrading your machine between races adds an exhilarating strategic layer. The hyped commentator and the cult soundtrack galvanise. Snappy, fun and full of attitude, a gleeful motor sport two-player.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Dropping weapons mid-race, managing boost and cashing in to upgrade your machine blends racing and combat against a screaming hard-rock backdrop. Winning a heat, unlocking a vehicle or moving up a division endlessly rekindles the urge to head back out, especially in two-player. The tracks just loop around, yet this energy and this progression stay fiercely gripping.
The Japanese Super Famicom version of Silicon & Synapse's Rock N' Roll Racing, Japan-exclusive under this spelling (no apostrophe on the first word). The Japanese cart is rare due to the limited regional print, the isometric hockey-style racer being a genre poorly adopted in Japan. Intact boxed CIB with cardboard sleeve has become a target for Japanese Blizzard collectors for coherence with the Japanese The Lost Vikings, and the cote climbs hard.
Is Rock N' Roll Racing still worth playing in 2026?
Rock 'N' Roll Racing is an isometric racing game by Silicon & Synapse, namely Blizzard before Blizzard, namely motorized combat on closed circuits with onboard weapons, set to synth rearrangements of rock classics. The handling is sharp, the local co op works very well and Larry Huffman's commentary adds real personality. The cartridge remains an immediate shared pleasure. Recommended to anyone after a Mario Kart and tank combat marriage in 16 bit, best enjoyed with friends.
