------------------------------
==============================
= BATTLE GRAND PRIX MINI-FAQ =
==============================
------------------------------
Welcome to the one-and-only Battle Grand Prix mini-FAQ...or maybe it
should just be a full-fledged FAQ, since it's the only one!
This FAQ was written in 2006, 14 years after the release of the game.
------------------------------
- WHAT IS BATTLE GRAND PRIX? -
------------------------------
Battle Grand Prix is a top-down racing game, where you and an optional
friend compete against computer players to see who can react better to
the oncoming turns.
While at first glance it may seem a fair-to-middlin' SNES game, my
friends and I enjoyed it for hours, often alternating with Super
Off-Road. If you give it a chance, BGP's entertainment value may
surprise you.
------------
- CONTENTS -
------------
- Difficulty Levels and Team Breakdown
- Set Up
- Notes, Tricks, and Bugs
- End
----------------------------------------------
---- DIFFICULTY LEVELS AND TEAM BREAKDOWN ----
----------------------------------------------
-- Beginner --
The level that started it all! In Beginner, you can choose from a
wide range of drivers, each with their own two initials,
slightly-altered helmet design, and country of origin. Homelands run
the gamut from the United States, England, Japan, and France to
whatever crazy country J.N left his wife alone with the kids in.
(That's the J.N from ???, not the J.N from France.)
Don't worry if your friend steals your first-choice driver, because as
far as anyone knows, which driver you pick doesn't change your car's
abilities.
After choosing your driver, you can press Down or Select and ally
yourself with one of eight different teams. Each team gives your car
different attributes (handling, top speed, acceleration, etc) and a
cool paint job, which is good because otherwise Hudson Soft would have
had to make different race car sprites.
A Survival game at this level will limit you to the easiest tracks
with only blue and some yellow turns.
Top speeds per team, if tuned for top speed:
Dia Team - 303
Team Bee - 307
Foam 3 Team - 299
??? Worna - 299
^ Team - 307
GLP LeMans - 296, ouch.
Culb Team - 311, the fastest at this level.
Ess Team - 303
-- Pro --
Mildly more exciting than beginner, at the Pro level the driver
selection gets even more intense, but don't worry - both you and your
friend can play as K.T from Japan, each with a different helmet!
Once you both calm yourselves and actually start racing, you will notice
that the cars accelerate slightly faster and can reach higher top
speeds.
A Survival game at this level will take place on trickier tracks, with
the dreaded red turn occasionally making an appearance.
Top speeds per team, if tuned for top speed:
LeMans (blue background) - 333
Alen Town - 337
Wall Cool - 329
LeMans (white background) - 329
Teem Toy - 337
Plolice Zoom - 326, aww...
BROS - 341, the fastest at this level.
Kapen - 333
-- Expert --
Aah, Expert level. The pinnacle of top-down-sprite-based-racing
goodness (at least in this game), Expert offers yet more
mysteriously-initialed drivers, new teams, new tracks, better
acceleration, and the highest top speeds in the game. Prepare
yourself for the same basic gameplay, only more intense!
A Survival game at this level utilizes the full vengeance of the red
turn and the um...red turn again.
Top speeds per team, if tuned for top speed:
Team Bend - 363
PD Team - 352, the slowest at this level ...or is it?
Team Estor - 359
Team Lava - 359
Team Milla - 367
Lanni - 356
King - 371, the fastest in the game! ...or is it? (See Bugs...)
KENG Team - 363
------------
-- SET UP --
------------
Before your first race, instead of choosing Start, you may also go to
Set Up. This screen allows tuning of the various attributes of your
car. From the top down they are:
- Run - choose this to start the race.
- Downforce - Affects top speed and cornering. "Down" means higher
top speed with better cornering, and I would guess that "Up" means
better acceleration, though I never use it. For top speed, go with
all the way Down.
- Steering - Affects the rate at which your car turns, Mild to Quick.
I always go all the way toward Quick.
- Tires - choose whether your tires are Hard or Soft, for both your
Slick and Rain sets of tires. Hard means you skid slightly more
when turning quickly but your tires last a long time, whereas Soft
sticks you to the track but wears out after only a lap or two. I
usually go all the way to Hard for both tire sets, but some people
prefer the middle.
- Suspension - Honestly, I have no clue what this does in this game.
Hard or Soft make no noticable difference. I usually move it a
slight bit right so it's actually in the middle.
- Engine - A very important choice. Choose from 4 specs, with Spec 1
being geared for more revs and therefore higher top speed, and Spec
4 being geared for more torque (leading to a lower top speed but
higher acceleration). For top speed, go with Spec 1.
- Brakes - Set the braking power for the Foot Brake (brake button),
Engine Brake and Auto Brake. Foot Brake power determines how fast
the car slows down when you hit the brake button; Engine Brake
determines how fast the car slows down when you let go of the gas;
and Auto Brake determines how fast the car slows down when you are
about to hit another car from behind. If you put Auto Brake at min,
your car will not slow down at all regardless of how close you are
to another car. I put Foot Brake at max, and Engine Brake and Auto
Brake at min - this gives you the greatest control over the speed of
your car with the buttons, and avoids it automatically slowing down
to avoid accidents.
- (Trans)Mission - Choose from 2- or 6-speed, manual or automatic.
6-speed gives a higher top speed, 2-speed gives higher acceleration
but a significantly lower top speed. Automatic shifts for you,
manual does not. I go with 6-speed automatic.
Summary for top speed:
Downforce - all the way Down
Steering - any (I choose Quick)
Tires - any (I choose Hard)
Suspension - middle (may not matter)
Engine - Spec 1
Brakes - any (I choose Foot Brake max, Engine and Auto Brake min)
Mission - 6-speed, automatic or manual is up to you
---------------------------
- NOTES, TRICKS, AND BUGS -
---------------------------
- Notes -
Choosing Type 1 or Type 2 when picking your team only results in a
different set of defaults for the car's Set Up. If you manually Set
Up your car (say, for top speed), then which Type you choose is
meaningless.
If it starts (or stops) raining, you need to pull into the pit to
change tires. You can pull into the pit the moment the weather
changes, even though the computer will often wait an entire lap. If
you don't pit in and have the wrong tires on for the weather, you will
slide much more when turning.
If you crash enough, or drive on soft tires for too long, various
parts of your car can start to have problems. For the most part,
these adversely affect performance, so it is advisable to pit in and
have them repaired. The only good that can come from broken parts is
if you have transmission trouble and it decides to remove 6th gear, a
few cars actually have a higher top speed in 5th gear, which you
normally cannot reach with an automatic.
- Tricks -
If you want an extra edge over AI cars you pass, pull in front of them
to make the game engage their Auto Brake. This is why I set Auto
Brake to min. (^.^)
- Bugs -
When you hit an opponent and spin out, if you have full power, you can
choose to drive on top of them again as they start moving. If you do
this, both of you will spin out again, and your health will go down to
near zero, but it will force the other person to Retire. You can do
this to multiple cars at once, but watch out afterwards - one more
crash and you're out yourself. You can pull into the pit to restore
your health, but that costs time. Ensure a top spot by Retiring
enough opponents that you can't lose.
At first, it appears that PD Team (352 MPH) is the worst choice on
Expert, and King (371 MPH) is the best. However, if you are skilled
at avoiding the edges of the track, PD Team actually has the fastest
car in the game! If you tune the PD car for top speed, then when you
reach 352 MPH, it doesn't actually stop accelerating. Your speed
slowly but steadily increases to 353...354...355...and if you're good
enough it will eventually surpass King's 371 and top out at a
very-hard-to-control 391! Combined with the fact that for curvy
tracks, if you tune the PD car for torque it has one of the highest
accelerations in the game, this makes PD truly the team of choice for
expert players.
-------
- END -
-------
Thank you for reading - I hope you enjoy this often-overlooked game as
much as I did!
