Play F1 ROC II - Race of Champions Online

Summary

F1 ROC II: Race of Champions (known in Japan as Exhaust Heat II) feels like a hidden gem of the SNES era, especially once you discover its quirky handling. The steering is deliberately slippery—almost ice‑like—so you have to tap the accelerator to pull off the “boost‑turn” tricks that later F‑Zero titles would popularise. That learning curve pays off as you climb a career that starts in a prototype Group C car, moves through Formula 3000, and finally lands you in a 1992 Formula One season with real‑world machines like the FW14B Williams, McLaren MP4/7 and Benetton B192.

When you reach the top tier you must pick one of three teams—Footwork, Larrousse or Benetton—and race the sixteen international circuits in strict order, collecting points rather than just crossing the line first. Miss a pit stop or slam into an obstacle and your championship hopes evaporate, mirroring the unforgiving nature of actual F1.

What really set the game apart was SETA’s custom ST010 DSP chip, which gave the AI drivers surprisingly aggressive behaviour for its time, even if later analysis showed the chip’s ROM was only half‑used. GamePro praised the depth and smooth controls but docked the title for thin sound effects and modest car graphics, leaving it just above average in their eyes.