Penny Racers Guide (N64)
by KeeperBvK aka Burkhart von Klitzing
Contact:
[email protected]
Dedication: I dedicate this work to my beloved dad who already passed away.
I always loved you and I always will. Thank you so much for the
time we had.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.1 Legal Stuff
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Guide may not be posted on any other website other than
www.gamefaqs.com
www.gamerhelp.com
www.honestgamers.com
www.supercheats.com
without my permission and it may not be used commercially in any possible way.
If you want to post it on another site please contact me via E-Mail or via
the Message Board.
Do not claim this guide or any part of it to be your creation.
If you find any mistakes (even regarding the language as I'm German) please
let me know.
Copyright 2010 Burkhart von Klitzing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.2 Version History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.00: 04/25/2006, 46 KB: Looks complete to me.
1.01: 05/13/2006, 46 KB: Added gamerhelp.com.
1.02: 03/12/2007, 47 KB: Added honestgamers.com.
1.03: 03/17/2007, 47 KB: Added supercheats.com.
1.04: 09/15/2008, 47 KB: Just spotted a stupid mistake in the FAQ section.
1.10: 04/10/2010, 48 KB:
+ Bazillions of people have waited for this: Finally got the final two parts,
thanks to Anthony Decker.
+ Improved on the volcano guide.
+ Improved on some of my record times.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
0.3 Contents
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Latest Update | Search Key |
------------------------------------|---------------|------------|
0.1 Legal Stuff | 1.10 | |
0.2 Version History | 1.10 | |
0.3 Contents | 1.10 | |
------------------------------------|---------------|------------|
1. What is Penny Racers? | 1.0 | AAA |
2. Controls | 1.0 | BBB |
2.1 Controls during a race | 1.0 | BB1 |
2.2 Controls for the track editor| 1.0 | BB2 |
3. The Tracks | 1.0 | CCC |
3.1 Country | 1.0 | CC1 |
3.2 Lakeside | 1.0 | CC2 |
3.3 Harbor | 1.0 | CC3 |
3.4 Mountain | 1.0 | CC4 |
3.5 Ruins | 1.0 | CC5 |
3.6 Volcano | 1.10 | CC6 |
3.7 Alpine | 1.0 | CC7 |
3.8 Caves | 1.0 | CC8 |
3.9 Ice | 1.0 | CC9 |
4. The Parts | 1.10 | DDD |
5. Optimal part setup | 1.10 | EEE |
6. Record Times | 1.10 | FFF |
7. Secrets | 1.10 | GGG |
8. FAQ | 1.04 | HHH |
------------------------------------|---------------|------------|
9. Closing Comments | 1.0 | III |
10. Experimental | 1.0 | JJJ |
11. Credits | 1.10 | KKK |
------------------------------------|---------------|------------|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. What is Penny Racers? AAA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The European box says "It plays like Mario Kart and it looks like a 3D
version of Micro Machines.". Seriously, I have no clue as of how the editor
of the Total 64 magazine could come up with this comparison. The game looks
like an average racing game, just with cuddly little cars and it also plays
pretty much like an arcade racing game but not like Mario Kart. The racing
tracks are pretty realistic, you only get to choose one weapon prior to a
race and it is highly limited in terms of ammo and it is never nearly as
frantic as Micro Machines and Mario Kart. Penny Racers isn't a bad game, it
just can't decide on whether it wants to be a fun racer or an arcade racer.
It's stuck somewhere in between.
By the way: Penny Racers is part of a long-running racing game franchise,
called Choro Q in Japan.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2. Controls BBB
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=2.1 Controls during a race-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=BB1
Start................................: Start / Pause
Control-Stick Left and Right.........: Steer
Control Stick Down while at low speed: Perform a wheelie to take sharp turns
A Button.............................: Accelerate
B Button.............................: Brake
C Right..............................: Switch between course map and
tachometer
C Up.................................: Zoom in
C Down...............................: Zoom out
R Button.............................: Honk
Z Button.............................: Special Weapons
--------------------
Button Combinations:
--------------------
R + Control Stick while driving: Slide and Roll
R + A when standing still : Reverse
The manual mentions two techniques I can't pull off. Maybe you can. In case
you do, please let me know how and I'll add it to the guide, crediting you
for it.
"Drift: When turning, press the B Button (brake) once and push the Control
Stick opposite the direction of your turn to drift. Doing this helps you make
turns while only slightly reducing speed."
"Full-Back Dash: While backing up, release the R Button with just the right
timing and you'll make a dash start."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=2.2 Controls for the track editor-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-BB2
Control Stick...: Move the cursor
A Button........: Accept / Execute / Skip onscreen messages
B Button........: Cancel
C Left and Right: Rotate the course layout
C Up and Down...: Zoom the layout in / out
--------------------
Button Combinations:
--------------------
Z + C Buttons: Adjust the angle of the layout camera
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3. The Tracks CCC
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-3.1 Country=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-CC1
O--------------------OO-----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Easy ||First Dash Zone: To the right of the first fountain.|
|Weather : Sunny ||Second Dash Zone: Offroad near the goal. |
|Road Type : On road |O-----------------------------------------------------O
O--------------------O
This track really is easy, at least as long as you allow it to be. You can
easily raise its difficulty by trying to take fancy shortcuts, rolling around
corners or making use of every dash zone. Simply follow the road, never roll
or slide around corners, be sure to go right at the first fountain to find a
dash zone and ignore the second dash zone in the sand close to the finish
line. Some corners will require you to drive offroad for a short time if you
do not roll, but believe me: It's best not to roll. It would make you lose a
bit of time and rolling in the first 90 degree corner makes it a lot harder
to get to the dash zone near the fountain.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=3.2 Lakeside-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=CC2
O--------------------OO-----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Normal ||First Dash Zone: Offroad to the left of a corner |
|Weather : Rainy || after about one third of the course.|
|Road Type : On road ||Second Dash Zone: Offroad to the right after two |
O--------------------O| tricky corners. |
O-----------------------------------------------------O
Lakeside isn't that much more of a challenge than Country is. Basically you
should stick to the road again for most of the track, but this time you ought
to roll in a few places. When approaching a corner with sand and a free fall
into the water behind it, start to roll early on. Then again after leaving
the first tunnel, roll through the next two corners. While it is possible to
reach the dash zone in the second corner by rolling, I don't recommend it.
Instead, roll early and follow the inner path through the corner to save time.
Next, traverse another tunnel and again roll through the next two corners.
Try to stay far to the right in the second bend to hit the dash zone. The
rest of the track is standard fare.
Once you have a really good suspension (8 or 7) you should only roll in the
hairpin-curve at the beginning of the course. All other corners can be taken
the normal way.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=3.3 Harbor-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=CC3
O--------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Hard ||First Dash Zone: Behind the third corner. |
|Weather : Sunny ||Second Dash Zone: Two corners behind the church. |
|Road Type : On road ||Third Dash Zone: At the bridge; close to #2. |
O--------------------O|Fourth Dash Zone: In a short cut soon after the |
| bridge. |
O----------------------------------------------------O
This track has a few more tricky corners than Lakeside and Country do, yet it
still is quite easy to handle since there are lots of dash zones.
Steer around the first two corners the normal way, but then roll through the
third one to get to the dash zone on the left. Advance along until you reach
some signs indicating a right turn. Roll again and move on to a big square.
It doesn't matter which way to take so simply choose the one with fewer
opponents around. Drive through the church and roll into the next two corners,
allowing you to use the next dash zone. This should take you to the third
turbo right in front of the bridge. Jump over it and roll through the first
corner afterwards. Keep an eye open for a narrow path on the right, which is
not only a shorter way than staying on the road but it also contains another
dash zone. You neither have to roll to get there, nor do you have to anywhere
on the remaining part of the track. Just take the last few corners and race
to the goal.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-3.4 Mountain=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=CC4
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Normal ||First Dash Zone: Right after leaving the first |
|Weather : Sunny || tunnel. |
|Road Type : Off road ||Second Dash Zone: In the last bent of the track. |
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
Don't even think about attempting this course without having equipped the off
road tires. Since this will probably be your very first experience at non-on-
road-tracks I want to make this clear. Racing with on road tires in this
stage will neither affect your acceleration nor your max speed. You even
won't drift off more in corners than before (at least with level 1 tires).
The only difference is that you mysteriously spin in hard corners like you
would usually do when being hit by an item. At first I always thought I'd get
hit by the enemies and I started to be really annoyed, but then I realized it
only came from my tires so you better stick to my suggestion.
Otherwise Mountain is fairly easy. Most corners are easy to steer through
once you know them and the (scarce) dash zones also are quite easy to handle
once you know how.
The first few seconds on this track are fairly simple, so use them to get
ahead of your opponents. Do not roll and try not to ride up the ramps. They
don't really harm you, but you won't accelerate in midair. As soon as you
leave the tunnel you should roll to get in line with the dash zone found in
the grass on the right. Watch out for the boulders bouncing around. Their
shadows are of great help. Roll through the next corner and drive up the hill.
Just before you would go down again, start rolling so you don't jump and lose
control. This time you might hop over the ramp, since it's way easier to pull
off than to go left of it. Now, go under the bridge and roll one last time to
reach the second dash zone on the right.
As you progress in the game, new possibilities arise on this track. For
example you can go over the grass right at the beginning of the track to save
a bit of time once you have off road 3 tires. At the point with the ramp and
the puddle you should not hop over the ramp but simply drive through the
puddle once you've got a really good engine and good tires (at about class A).
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=3.5 Ruins-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-CC5
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Easy ||First Dash Zone: In the first curve after the torch|
|Weather : Night || passage. |
|Road Type : Off road ||Second Dash Zone: Soon after the triple bump. |
O---------------------O|Third Dash Zone: Just before the finish line. |
O----------------------------------------------------O
Equip your off road tires and be prepared for what might be your hardest
track so far no matter what the games tries to tell you.
Steer around the first few easy corners and brake when you see the creek.
This corner is pretty short but also difficult to take. Next, hop down and
aim a bit to the left of the dash zone in the next bend and start drifting
(not rolling!) shortly before you would pass by it, so you smoothly go over
it. When reaching the yard, go around the column on its right side and watch
out for the spikes coming out of the ground. Move on and early start rolling
into the corner after the triple bump to get to another dash zone. Drive
through a few more relatively easy curves until you see a big boulder near
the track: Like with the first dash zone you should stay a bit on the outer
ring of the corner before drifting to the dash zone. This will get you to the
goal already.
When you have Suspension 8 or 9 or better you don't have to brake in the
early curve with the creek in sight and later in the game you should ignore
the last curve and just drive through the grass instead.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-3.6 Volcano=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-CC6
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Hard ||First Dash Zone: To the right of the big rock. |
|Weather : Night ||Second Dash Zone: In the next corner. |
|Road Type : Off road ||Third Dash Zone: At the end of the path on the |
O---------------------O| lower level. |
|Fourth Dash Zone: On the lower level close to the |
| finish line. |
O----------------------------------------------------O
This is the hardest track in the game in my humble opinion. On your first few
tries you'll probably fall into lava and water repeatedly and shout at the
various bumps on the track. Then, eventually, you get the hang of how not to
fall off the bridges and you can take advantage of many dash zones so even
this course loses most of its difficulty to you.
Use your off road tires to get around the first few easy corners. After the
bumpy section you will have to make a decision: Either brake to get to a dash
zone on the right, close-by behind the corner or keep up your speed and move
around the huge rock on its left side. Both paths are equally good. If you
chose the dash zone, you will jump up high (aim to the left of the tree in
the distance), nearly rendering it impossible for you to reach the second
dash zone. If you chose the other path, though, you can ram the railing
behind the tree and use it to lose a bit of speed so you are able to hit the
dash zone on the left in the corner. Either way you should drive down to the
lower level afterwards and steer onto the third dash zone just behind the
short tunnel. Aim for the opening on the left and be prepared to brake. After
an easy left turn and another easy right turn you ought to brake or else you
won't be able to move on safely on the small path in the lava stream. In case
you have any competition really close nearby (potentially slamming you into
the lava) you might want to roll into the corner instead of breaking. This is
a bit harder to pull off, but you will both be relatively safe from being
rammed into the melted stone and you can face the bridge straight without
losing too much speed. Anyway, stay in the centre and simply hope not to get
hit by the lava bombs raining down. You might be lucky to avoid some by
driving far right or far left but this would extremely increase the
possibility of falling down which is by far the worst that could happen here.
Move on and be ready for another narrow path, this time being a bridge over
water. Again you either have to brake (but this time being able to approach
it at a higher speed than before, since the bend leading to it isn't as hard
as before) or roll into the corner. The timing once again might need some
practice, but it's well worth it. After crossing the bridge turn left and
roll into the corner with the big flashing sign in it. Now you can easily
drive over the last bridge (with nothing but an abyss below it, if you care)
and into a cave. Aim for the exit on the right and stay a bit to the right to
avoid some bumps which would make you hop into a wall aimlessly. The
remaining few turns are fairly easy. Stay on the upper level and race to the
goal. There is another dash zone on the lower level, but you better ignore it:
It is hard to reach and the boost it gives you is really hard to benefit from
at this place.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=3.7 Alpine-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=CC7
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Normal ||First Dash Zone: In the snow after the tunnel. |
|Weather : Snowy ||Second Dash Zone: Further in the snow. |
|Road Type : Icy road ||Third Dash Zone: On the track nearby. |
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
The first track where you should put on the snow tires is a fairly simple one.
You won't need the roll manoeuvre a single time and each lap is rather short.
Anyway, the first few curves lack any difficulty like they already did on
various other tracks. Once you leave the tunnel, though, don't simply steer
into the right corner, but leave the track to reach a shortcut and a dash
zone on the left. Stay on the snow and gain some more speed on another dash
zone. There also is a boost pad on the track but it is located directly
behind a bump, making it nearly impossible to reach it, so don't bother.
After leaving the second dash zone you should return to the street and follow
it to the goal. There's not much else to say about this course, except for
that the avalanche doesn't affect your car, but it sometimes blocks your path
with a tree stump.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=3.8 Caves-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-CC8
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Normal ||First Dash Zone: After the first corner in the |
|Weather : Sunny || icicle section. |
|Road Type : Icy road ||Second Dash Zone: Two corners later. |
O---------------------O|Third Dash Zone: Near the finish line. |
O----------------------------------------------------O
This is another track for the snow tires, of course.
This time there are even more simple curves at the beginning than on other
tracks, but don't get fooled by that: It gets harder.
After quite a while you will see big icicles falling from the ceiling. Roll
to the left corner and make sure not to be too far on the left of the track
or else you hit the dash zone. Doesn't sound bad? It is anyway, since you
will have a hard time not racing straight into the water when touching the
dash zone. So you better ignore it, take the next corner the normal way and
then roll again in another curve. This time you should stay left and try to
hit the dash zone. Throughout this section you have to deal with big icicles
crashing down. Fortunately they are relatively easy to dodge by avoiding the
centre of the road. The rest of the track is fairly easy: Leave the cave,
drive through a few more curves and roll into the very last corner before the
goal to reach the dash zone on the left.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-3.9 Ice=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-CC9
O---------------------OO----------------------------------------------------O
|Difficulty: Hard ||First Dash Zone: After the third corner. |
|Weather : Sunny ||Second Dash Zone: Behind the right corner after the |
|Road Type : Icy road || jump. |
O---------------------O|Third Dash Zone: Near the finish line. |
O----------------------------------------------------O
Put on the snow tires and start rolling in the first corner (in higher
classes you can simply drive around it). Roll again in the third corner, no
matter what class you're in, so you get to the dash zone. The next section is
self-explanatory, but then you will hop off a ledge and jump over a creek.
Most of the time I bounce off the ground again after landing, making me crash
into the wall and lose time. If anybody could help me out on how not to
bounce again here, I'd appreciate it a lot. Steer left and roll through the
right curve to reach the next dash zone on the right. Drive on and roll again
in the bend where you see another fence up ahead. Now relax and advance until
you reach the narrow fence section just before the goal. At the end of this
section you should roll, both to better get around the corner and to hit the
dash zone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. The Parts DDD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special parts are marked with an asterisk.
-----
Cars:
-----
You have to choose a car at the beginning of your "career", but don't worry:
They are all the same so just pick your favourite in terms of optics and win
the other ones in class C.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
---------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Racer 1 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 2 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 3 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 4 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 5 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 6 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 7 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 8 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 9 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 10 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 11 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 12 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
Racer 13 | 1 | From the get-go or in class C |
* Racer 14 | 1 | See Secrets section |
--------
Engines:
--------
The Engine is a very important part to consider in Penny Racers. Although it
might be tempting to go for the TopEnd-engines, you should stick with the
Stock-engines. They require more points but they grant you a way better
acceleration and their max speed is higher. It seems stupid, but e.g. Stock 2
has a higher max speed than TopEnd 3. Hence I suggest picking the best Stock
engine whenever possible...or at least until class A. In class A you won't be
able to obtain any new stock engines but some great TopEnd engines. In class
you should pick up the TopEnd 9 as soon as possible and equip it.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
------------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Stock 1 | 1 | From the get-go |
Stock 2 | 2 | From the get-go |
Stock 3 | 3 | From the get-go |
TopEnd 1 | 1 | In class C |
TopEnd 2 | 1 | In class C |
TopEnd 3 | 2 | In class C |
TopEnd 4 | 2 | In class B |
TopEnd 5 | 2 | In class B |
TopEnd 6 | 3 | In class B |
TopEnd 7 | 3 | In class A |
TopEnd 8 | 3 | In class A |
TopEnd 9 | 4 | In class A |
* TopEnd SS | 5 | See Secrets section |
* TopEnd S | 7 | See Secrets section |
Acceleration 1 | 1 | In class C |
Acceleration 2 | 1 | In class C |
Acceleration 3 | 2 | In class C |
Acceleration 4 | 2 | In class B |
Acceleration 5 | 2 | In class B |
Acceleration 6 | 3 | In class B |
Acceleration 7 | 3 | In class A |
Acceleration 8 | 3 | In class A |
Acceleration 9 | 4 | In class A |
* Acceleration S | 5 | See Secrets section |
* Acceleration SS | 7 | See Secrets section |
------
Tires:
------
I already made this clear in my opening for the Mountain track description so
I'll simply quote myself here (altering it a bit):
Racing with on road tires on an off road track will neither affect your
acceleration nor your max speed. With level 1 tires you even won't drift off
more in corners than before. The only difference is that you mysteriously
spin in hard corners like you would usually do when being hit by an item. At
first I always thought I'd get hit by the enemies and I started to be really
annoyed, but then I realized it only came from my tires so you better stick
to my suggestion.
Of course the same also goes for other tracks and tires. The aqua tires on
the other hand have yet to prove being worthwhile. There are so few watery
areas in this game that one never has to use these. Just ignore them.
When using level 2 or 3 tires, you will also drift less if you have the
correct tires equipped on your car. Since every tire of the same level
requires the same amount of points you can and should always equip the
correct set of tires for every track.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
---------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Street 1 | 1 | From the get-go |
Street 2 | 2 | In class B |
Street 3 | 3 | In class A |
Off Road 1 | 1 | In class C |
Off Road 2 | 2 | In class B |
Off Road 3 | 3 | In class A |
Aqua 1 | 1 | In class C |
Aqua 2 | 2 | In class B |
Aqua 3 | 3 | In class A |
Snow 1 | 1 | In class C |
Snow 2 | 2 | In class B |
Snow 3 | 3 | In class A |
-------
Brakes:
-------
Brakes are quite unimportant. Yeah, sometimes you might want to slow down a
bit, but most of the time you either speed through the tracks or roll around
corners. If you have some spare points and no important parts to pick you
might want to equip some better brakes.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
---------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Brake 1 | 1 | From the get-go |
Brake 2 | 1 | In class C |
Brake 3 | 1 | In class C |
Brake 4 | 2 | In class B |
Brake 5 | 2 | In class B |
Brake 6 | 2 | In class B |
Brake 7 | 3 | In class A |
Brake 8 | 3 | In class A |
Brake 9 | 3 | In class A |
-----------
Suspension:
-----------
The better the suspension, the better your handling. Equipping a good
suspension helps you get around corners more easily so always try to get the
best one you can. If you have to decide whether to pick a better suspension
or a better engine, though, go for the latter one.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
----------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Suspension 1 | 1 | From the get-go |
Suspension 2 | 1 | In class C |
Suspension 3 | 1 | In class C |
Suspension 4 | 2 | In class B |
Suspension 5 | 2 | In class B |
Suspension 6 | 2 | In class B |
Suspension 7 | 3 | In class A |
Suspension 8 | 3 | In class A |
Suspension 9 | 3 | In class A |
* Suspension 10 | 7 | See Secrets section |
------
Armor:
------
Spoilers do not only take away a lot of fun about watching a movie or playing
games and such (Hey, Darth Vader is Luke's father), they also improve your
handling.
Bumpers lower the effect of ram attacks done by your opponents.
Except for class AA there are always better ways to invest your part points
then for armor, but in class AA you should go for the best Spoiler you have.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
---------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Spoiler 1 | 1 | In class C |
Spoiler 2 | 2 | In class B |
Spoiler 3 | 3 | In class A |
* Spoiler 4 | 7 | See Secrets section |
Bumper 1 | 1 | In class C |
Bumper 2 | 2 | In class B |
Bumper 3 | 3 | In class A |
* Bumper S | 7 | See Secrets section |
-------
Extras:
-------
Extras are nice little tweaks for your car. They only serve decorative means.
Even those extras requiring one or two points don't serve any purpose.
Another guide on gamefaqs says they would enhance your traction and handling
but as far as I am concerned, they don't.
Name | # of points required | Where to get it first |
---------------O----------------------O-------------------------------O
Lights 1 | 0 | In class C |
Lights 2 | 0 | In class C |
Lights 3 | 0 | In class C |
Lights 4 | 0 | In class C |
Taxi 1 | 0 | In class C |
Taxi 2 | 0 | In class C |
Taxi 3 | 0 | In class C |
Taxi 4 | 0 | In class C |
Ski | 0 | In class B |
Surfboard 1 | 0 | In class B |
Surfboard 2 | 0 | In class B |
Snowboard | 0 | In class B |
Roof Box | 0 | In class A |
Ads | 0 | In class A |
Luggage | 0 | In class A |
Pot | 0 | In class A |
Statue | 1 | In class AA |
Crown | 1 | In class AA |
* Light | 2 | See Secrets section |
* Air Duct | 2 | See Secrets section |
* Nozzle | 2 | See Secrets section |
---------
Specials:
---------
These add some nice frenzy to the racing: Specials are sweeeeeet things like
turbo boosts, cannons, mines and such. Unfortunately most specials are
extremely limited only refilling after a lap so it's better to invest your
spare points in a better engine or better suspension before thinking about
specials.
|Name | # of points required | Where to get it first | # of uses |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Cannon 1 | 1 | From the get-go | 3 |
|This shoots a cannon ball straight ahead. Has a small blast radius. Hard |
|to aim with. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Cannon 2 | 2 | In class B | 5 |
|The same as Cannon 1 but with more shots. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Turbo | 1 | In class C | 3 |
|A short turbo boost. Very useful. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Protect | 1 | In class C | 3 |
|Protects you from ram attacks and items. Use it to ram your enemies. The |
|shield is limited by time. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Octopus | 1 | In class C | 5 |
|Three of these little fellas spin around your car. Looks cute but I have |
|absolutely no idea what they are supposed to do. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Spin | 1 | In class C | 5 |
|Spin around to ram enemies away. Using this leaves you unable to |
|accelerate, it spins your vision and it is hard to aim with, so don't use |
|it. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Double Spin | 1 | In class C | 5 |
|Don't believe the Parts guide on gamefaqs: This doesn't make you spin |
|twice. Double Spin is the same as Spin but with a larger impact. Still a |
|bad item. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Smoke | 1 | In class C | 5 |
|Produces a smoke cloud behind your car, blocking the view of anybody |
|behind. Pretty useless. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Spikes | 1 | In class C | 3 |
|Sets two spikes on the road. One on the left and one on the right. A car |
|can pass through by driving just where the item user was when dropping the|
|spikes. Don't use it. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Landmine | 1 | In class C | 3 |
|Sets a proximity mine on the road. It has a small blast radius, but it's |
|not worthwhile. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Block | 1 | In class C | 5 |
|Sets a concrete block on the road that will only disappear after three |
|have crashed into it. Better than Spikes and Landmine but still worse than|
|Turbo. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Weight | 3 | In class C | 3 |
|Great. Using this will slow down every single enemy for a while. The best |
|special item in my opinion. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Missile 1 | 2 | In class B | 3 |
|Shoots a missile up in the air, creating a nice explosion up ahead. This |
|is a decent item with great offensive potential, but you need to watch out|
|not to hit an obstacle, creating the explosion close to you. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|Missile 2 | 3 | In class B | 5 |
|More shots than Missile 1, but I still recommend either equipping Weight |
|or Turbo. |
O---------------O----------------------O-----------------------O-----------|
|* H Laser | 5 | See Secrets section | 30 |
|Shoots homing rainbow lasers that explode upon contact. Unfortunately they|
|tend to be worse at finding their way than Mario Kart's red shells and the|
|explosions are dangerous to yourself, too, especially if you don't realize|
|there's an enemy right next to you. But still this can be highly |
|effective, breaking anybody's will to play on, especially since it can be |
|used a whoopin' 30 times. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. Optimal part setup EEE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most racing classes have a certain amount of part points for you to manage so
use them wisely to equip your car as good as possible.
Class C: 6 points
Class B: 10 points
Class A: 14 points
Class AA: infinite points
| Class C | Class B | Class A | Class AA |
-----------O--------------O--------------O--------------O---------------O
Engine :| Stock 2 | Stock 3 | TopEnd 9 | TopEnd SS |
Tires :| xx 1 | xx 2 | xx 3 | xx 3 |
Brake :| Brake 3 | Brake 6 | Brake 6 | Brake 9 |
Suspension:| Suspension 3 | Suspension 3 | Suspension 9 | Suspension 10 |
Armor :| None | None | None | Spoiler 4 |
Special :| None | Turbo | Turbo | H Laser |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Record Times FFF
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------O---------------------O-----------------------
Country| Best Lap: 00'20''03 | Best Total: 01'07''89
-------O---------------------O-----------------------
--------O---------------------O----------------------
Lakeside| Best Lap: 00'28''37 | Best Total: 01'31''42
--------O---------------------O----------------------
------O---------------------O------------------------
Harbor| Best Lap: 00'41''88 | Best Total: 02'21''93
------O---------------------O------------------------
--------O---------------------O----------------------
Mountain| Best Lap: 00'22''68 | Best Total: 01'17''80
--------O---------------------O----------------------
-----O---------------------O-------------------------
Ruins| Best Lap: 00'34''15 | Best Total: 02'04''73
-----O---------------------O-------------------------
-------O---------------------O-----------------------
Volcano| Best Lap: 00'43''45 | Best Total: 02'29''76
-------O---------------------O-----------------------
------O---------------------O------------------------
Alpine| Best Lap: 00'20''03 | Best Total: 01'11'80
------O---------------------O------------------------
-----O---------------------O-------------------------
Caves| Best Lap: 00'32''32 | Best Total: 01'45'87
-----O---------------------O-------------------------
---O---------------------O---------------------------
Ice| Best Lap: 00'38''38 | Best Total: 02'04'86
---O---------------------O---------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Secrets GGG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unlocking classes is not really a secret, but anyway: Rank in first, second
or third place on every track in class C to unlock class B. Do the same in
class B for class A and in class A for class AA.
Unlocking parts is the real meat of this section. Some parts are unlocked
rather easily by simply earning a gold medal in a certain race, while others
require fulfilling certain, very special tasks.
TopEnd S: Come in on the third, second or first place in a class A race and
have at least one lap time ending with 99 split seconds.
TopEnd SS: Become 1st, 2nd or 3rd on Harbor in class A and have at least one
lap time lower than 42 seconds. I highly recommend using three turbos in one
lap to achieve this.
Acceleration S: Win a race in Caves in class A.
Acceleration SS: Finish on either of the three winner places in a class A
race having equipped Light and Missile 2.
Suspension 10: Rank in first place in Volcano class A without using any
weapons. Use of the Turbo item is allowed, though.
Spoiler 4: Become 1st, 2nd or 3rd on Alpine in class A without using any dash
zones.
Bumper S: Become 1st, 2nd or 3rd on Ruins in class A without ever touching
the grass.
Light: Rank in first place on Lakeside in class A.
Air Duct: Become 1st, 2nd or 3rd 30 times in a row on the same track in class
A without shutting down the N64.
Nozzle: Become 1st, 2nd or 3rd on any track in class A using a non-special
extra (Pot, Lights 1, Ski, etc. for example).
Racer 14: Come in first place on every track in Class A using Racer 11. Your
victories don't have to be consecutive.
H Laser: Win any race with Racer 14.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. FAQ HHH
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Q: So there are different weather conditions...do they affect your driving?
A: No. It doesn't matter whether it rains or snows or whether you're driving
at night or in the sunshine: Only the ground affects your driving. Weather,
on the other hand, can affect the visibility on the track.
Q: Is there a turbo start like in Mario Kart and such?
A: Not as far as I am concerned. I believe the only way of getting a good
start is to toggle to the speed meter when the red lights appear and then
to accelerate so far that the pin stays just below five. This will give
you a nice little boost but nothing near as good as a dash zone.
Q: Sometimes my special item refills after a lap and sometimes it doesn't.
How come?
A: You only get another use for your special item when being on the third
place or worse. The third and fourth places give you one additional use,
the fifth gives back two and the sixth place gives three.
Q: I've heard that your special item, doesn't refill if you haven't got any
uses left. Is that true?
A: No, you get refunds anyway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
9. Closing Comments III
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Penny Racers surely isn't the greatest fun racer to ever hit a console and
I'd choose a Micro Machines, Konami Krazy Racers or most Mario Karts over
this any day, yet I still found it to be a solid game and once you get used
to the sometimes absurd and frustrating physiques, it provides a longer
motivation than Mario Kart 64. Most people probably disagree with me on this,
but in my opinion MK 64 only lasts for about two days and even then it's
nowhere near as fun as it should be.
I'd appreciate any comments, questions, high scores, critics or whatsoever,
so please mail me at
[email protected] if you have anything to tell me (even
misspellings and stuff).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10. Experimental JJJ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In some other guides I've seen the author implement the following and I
thought "Why not give it a try for your own guides?":
If you really like this guide and you think it helped you or entertained you
a bit or whatsoever and you feel like rewarding me not only by writing a nice
e-mail, feel free to send some money to my paypal account at:
[email protected]
Of course I don't want to make somebody send me money who doesn't really want
to (even if I could, I wouldn't ;) ), but (also of course) I'd appreciate any
contribution.
Thank you very much for reading this guide and hopefully some more of my
stuff on gamefaqs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
11. Credits KKK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thx go out to:
Anthony Decker for making my day! Thanks a lot for telling me how to get
Racer 14.
