Arcade Archives: Escape Kids

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This week's Arcade Archives release is... Escape Kids (Konami, 1991)

PSN
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US

Switch
EU
US

Both the Japanese (maximum of 2 players, Player 2 is Ken Kosugi in the red clothes) and Asian ROMs (maximum of 4 players, Player 2 is Dio Vitale in yellow) are included. Preference Settings allow players to adjust game speed.

It's the wildest on-foot race you've ever seen! Five competitors- Syd Jones from the USA in blue, Ken Kosugi from Japan in red, Jya Aziz from India in green and Dio Vitale from Italy in yellow and the mysterious rival clad all in black- are all at the starting block, ready to run like their lives depend on it! For your entertainment, they'll run around all sorts of courses, from underground sewers to ice rinks to mechanised deathtraps, all to win the fabulous prize money (going all the way to the double digits, folks!) and avoid tripping over, getting blown up, slamming into the walls... It's dangerous being an Escape Kid, but lucrative! Those who win three races in a row get to play the exciting bike-riding bonus round too! Who will dodge the awful fate of being flushed at the end of a race? Tune in to Escape Kids to find out!

Oh, this game is silly. Described as a 'superhuman race of the future' on the Japanese flyer, this is the first home port of an interesting take on the single screen racer genre, which you can date all the way back to the original Sprint from the '70s. The most pertinent comparison here is with Leland Corp's Ivan "Ironman" Stweart's Super Off-Road, where you earn money for winning races that can be used to upgrade your car however you choose and there's also a limited-use nitro button for a speed boost. In Escape Kids, you can use your winnings to upgrade your kid's grip, tougness and speed at getting up, and the nitro equivalent here is the super jump that catapults you across the track, but there's other things to watch out for like items that can trip all your opponents up and bombs that blow you up. Of course, being an on-foot race means the controls are a bit different, and Konami took a leaf from their own Track & Field's book- hold the stick in the direction you want to go and mash that run button, shove past your opponents to win! Admittedly, that's a bit rough on the old hands these days and you will absolutely get worn out, so please play Escape Kids responsibly (or use the rapid fire function). The presentation definitely does a lot for this game- the characters are goofy, there's a bit of variety with the course design and it has maybe the best 'winner's podium' set-up of any racing game, where all five kids stand on top of toilets and the losers get flushed! An ideal local multiplayer game if you're up for some button-mashing and want something a little quirky to play~