Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A playthrough of Camerica's unlicensed (but license-based) 1991 racing game for the NES, Micro Machines.

The video shows the entire challenge mode played through as Spider.

Does anyone else remember the special that the Home Shopping Network ran to sell this game when it first came out? I watched it all day, and when I finally got the game, I was completely obsessed with it.

Micro Machines is a top-down arcade-style racing game that takes its cues from the likes of youtu.be/EA-430ZNqZg, only instead of racing on streets, you race your miniature toy cars around household settings dotted with super-sized obstacles. In an extraordinarily neat inclusion for an NES game, the racing surfaces all affect your handling in appropriate ways - driving over a plastic ruler or a playing card will send you skidding, while trying to power slide across the edge of a sandcastle will usually leave you getting stuck in a clump of sand or a puddle. You'll get your wheels gummed up in orange juice on the breakfast table, or you'll find yourself steering against the draft from a lawn sweeper in the back yard. You'll use the pockets of a pool table to make a quick escape, and you'll try to bash your opponents into a bathtub drain as you swerve around rubber duckies. It's all really cool to see, and it always reminded me of World 4 from youtu.be/1kdrLp4sUMg in how it plays with proportions to fun effect. The super-blippy, arpeggio-filled soundtrack is also awesome, and it leaves little room for doubt that the game was made by an 80s British computer game developer.

The NES version of Micro Machines came in two forms: the original cartridge (which came in colors that changed between regions) and the Aladdin Deck Enhancer version (which is all but identical, save for the title screen copyright message). And though it was distributed in North America by Camerica, the game was entirely the work of Codemasters. Yes, those legends.

The start-up screen proclaiming the game as "Absolutely brilliant!" would be an embarrassing bit of hyperbole in most games, but in this case, there really is no better way to put it. Codemasters wasn't an official Nintendo licensee, but Micro Machines sits on par with Konami and Capcom's biggest efforts, and it's one of the best multiplayer experiences you'll find on the console.

Beyond that, there's not much else to say. Micro Machines rocks.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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