Pole Position II

Overview

Pole Position II is the direct sequel to Pole Position, a 1982 arcade racer by Namco. The game utilizes the same fundamental hardware as its prequel, a dual Zilog Z8002 CPU-powered board capable of handling 16-bit instructions, sprite scaling and stereo sound. The main attraction of Pole Position II over its predecessor is the addition of three new courses. The tracks included in Pole Position II are

• Fuji - Based on the eponymous race track in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Included in Pole Position. Renamed "Namco" or "Blue Circuit" after losing the license to the official track name in subsequent reissues of both titles.
• Suzuka - Based on the Suzuka International Racing Course in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Renamed "Wonder" or "Orange" in after losing the license to the official track name in subsequent reissues of the game.
• Seaside - Based on the contemporary configuration of the Grand Prix of Long Beach in California, USA.
• Test - Based on the full circuit layout of Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA.

Beyond these additional tracks, Pole Position II also features striped roads, more detailed explosion graphics, and altered color schemes for the cars.

Release History

Pole Position II was released in November 1983 in Japan and North America (published by Atari). A conversion of the game was handled by General Computer Corporation and included as the pack-in game during the (re)launch of the Atari 7800 in June 1986.