Update [Mon 27th May, 2024 09:10 BST]: Ratalaika Games has revealed that it is partnering up with Masaya Games and Shinyuden to release Rider’s Spirits on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch on June 7th worldwide (thanks, Gematsu).
Developed by Genki and published on September 30th, 1994 in Japan, the original Super Famicom version of Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon - Rider's Spirits feartured the same DSP-1 chip used by Super Mario Kart, the game with which it was most closely compared to when it launched back in the day.
Despite getting a few reviews in Western magazines, Rider's Spirits was never released outside of Japan.
Here's some PR:
The original Rider’s Spirits was first released on 1994 exclusively in Japan. Now this timeless racing classic is finally available worldwide for the first time!
Play head to head against the computer or locally with a friend and compete in a wide variety of racing tracks and game modes. Choose from an array of wacky racers, each with their own unique attributes, and show off your riding skills. And if things get ugly, use all kind of crazy items in order to get advantage and be the first one to cross the finishing line!
Can you beat all your opponents and be the first one cross the finish line?
Key Features
- Choose from eight racers with different attributes.
- Numerous race tracks with different conditions (dirt, ice, etc.).
- Make use of a wide variety of items to get advantage over your rivals.
- Multiple game modes.
- Up to four players in local multiplayer.
Original Story [Tue 26th Sep, 2023 10:45 BST]: At the Tokyo Games Show 2023 (which took place between September 21 - 24 at the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan), Shinyuden and Ratalaika Games announced that it will be bringing the SNES racer Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon – Rider’s Spirits & the Game Boy Advance/Nintendo DS action-adventure Scurge: Hive to modern consoles in 2024 (thanks 4Gamer/Gematsu!).
The announcement was made via a flyer passed out on the show floor, which revealed that both games will be released for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
Bike Daisuki! Hashiriya Kon – Rider’s Spirits, in case you've never heard of it, is a 1994 Masaya-published motorbike racer for the Super Famicom that's not too dissimilar from Super Mario Kart.
Scurge: Hive, meanwhile, was developed by the Canadian developer Orbital Media for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in 2006 and follows a bounty hunter named Jenosa Arma who is on a rescue/salvage mission to a planet infected with a deadly parasite called the Scurge.
We'll keep you posted once more info is available.