Happy Race

Happy Race is another interesting case of "recycling" in the Supervision library. It is a direct port of the NES game Jovial Race, which itself was an unlicensed clone of the arcade classic Rally-X. While most racing games on the system tried to simulate realistic Formula One tracks, Happy Race leans into "maze-racing," focusing on navigation and evasion over pure top-speed.

You view the action from a top-down perspective as you drive a small car through a sprawling, scrolling maze. Your goal is to collect all the flags scattered throughout the level while avoiding enemy vehicles that are actively hunting you down. Like its inspiration, the game gives you a defensive tool: you can release "smoke screens" behind your car to temporarily stun or confuse the chasing enemies, though this consumes your limited fuel supply.

Visually, the game handles the Supervision's hardware better than most. Because the maze walls are composed of thick, high-contrast blocks, the scrolling doesn't feel as disorienting as the detailed tracks in Grand Prix. The sprites for the flags and enemy cars are distinct, helping you track them even when the screen starts to blur during high-speed chases. The game is divided into 30 rounds, with "Bonus Stages" appearing every five levels that task you with collecting as much fruit as possible within a strict time limit.

Despite its budget origins, Happy Race is one of the more frantic and mechanically sound action games on the platform. It trades the realism of a racing simulator for the high-pressure loop of an arcade chaser. It’s a game of "cat and mouse" that perfectly suited the short-burst playstyles intended for handheld gaming in the early 90s.