N-Philes

Way, way back in 2003, back when trivia was being held every Saturday by He Who Shall Not Be Named, I was the proud winner of Karnaaj Rally for the GBA (among other things). I never received it, though, and it would become one of the many things never sent to me as a prize until one day I discovered some cash in the mail to compensate for the never-received prizes. I had read about Karnaaj Rally online, and so I used my spoils to buy it. I also think I bought some Taco Bell, but that's neither here nor there. I came home, popped the game in, and relived the glory days of the NES's RC Pro Am and Micro Machines, but now on my tiny, Afterburner-lit GBA screen.

Karnaaj Rally is Paragon 5's chronicle of your journey to the top of the Karnaaj Circuit. What's a Karnaaj? The game doesn't tell you, and a quick Google search doesn't reveal anything of interest. The game features some fairly generic music, and it is a treat for the ears if you're into listening to things that don't sound very good. Graphically, the game looks very nice. Multi-layered level graphics give a sense of racing on an actual track, and the colors mesh nicely for an experience that won't leave your eyes the least big uncomfortable. The cars are shaded and look pretty good as well, from the Flintstones-esque cavemanmobile to the Volkswagen Beetle clone.



Graphics and music are sweet and all, but you know what really makes a party? The gameplay. Karnaaj Rally is a throwback to the days of racing around on a track with an overhead view, four cars, and two main weapons available to you: mines and missles. The options are limited, but the fun is not at all. After each race, depending on how much cash you picked up or what you bet on before the race (yes, Karnaaj Rally features gambling), you can upgrade various aspects of your car, restock your weapons, or repair what you screwed up by driving into walls. The AI seems a bit cheap at times, but this is counteracted by some of the tightest controls featured in any game I've played.

So, why haven't you ever heard of Karnaaj Rally, despite it being an excellent game? Paragon 5 and Jaleco managed to nail every aspect of the game except for the boxart and the name. Karnaaj Rally sounds like some kind of bootlegged racing game from the Middle East, not an above-average retro delight. Also, I sincerely hope that whoever was in charge of designing the box was fired or fed to some lions or kicked in his Karnaaj or something, as the art is absolutely wretched. I can only imagine the conversation around the conference table as this baby was being created.



"OK, so in the foreground we'll have this CGI guy with blue hair."

"Yeah! But make it look like he's about to puke. That'll score us points with the chronically sick kids."

"Good call. Which letter of the word "Karnaaj" are we going to overemphasize? One of them needs to be sprouting flags or something."

"How about the 'R'? Everybody likes 'R'!"

"Sounds good to me. What are we going to have in the background?"

"I've been thinking about this for a few days now. What about a blurry, hot pink car set against a checkered flag?"

"Yeah!"



So, what's the verdict? Why should you buy this game? For starters, it's only $10. It's hard to find a GBA game for $10, let alone one that's as much fun to play as Karnaaj Rally. If you yearn for the days of Rock and Roll Racing, Super Sprint, Micro Machines, or RC Pro Am, do yourself a favor and pick it up. You'll have fun coming out of your Karnaaj.

(Thanks to InsertCredit for the images. ~Steve)