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Micro Maniacs for PlayStation 1
Micro Maniacs for PlayStation 1 turns a kitchen, garden and laboratory into racetracks for tiny competitors. You usually control a runner rather than a car and try to leave rivals behind among giant household objects. From the shared camera perspective, you watch the next corner, a jump and the other participants at the same time. A table edge or a sharp object can therefore make the shortest route considerably more dangerous.
The characters have their own attacks for slowing an opponent down or knocking them off the track. Alongside the initial eight participants, you can unlock four additional racers. You jump over obstacles, choose when to attack and discover the layout of the different environments. Challenge unlocks new content, while a time trial lets you practise a route without the jostling of a direct race. Some courses alternate running with vehicles.
Competitive races take place on one view, without separate screen sections. Two players can each use a controller. Shared controls let four players share two controllers; eight players use four shared controllers and one PlayStation Multitap. Each participant then operates their own half of the buttons. This changes how you steer and jump, so check the adjusted controls before the race begins.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 1 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
The manual is missing from this copy of Micro Maniacs for PlayStation 1. That is why the product title says “No Manual”. You receive the game in its box, without the instruction booklet. This makes the contents clear before you order.
The original printed manual usually contains at least English and often around six European languages. The languages vary by edition; Dutch is not always included. This information describes the original booklet and does not mean that it comes with this copy. A copy with a manual is offered separately when available.
The history of Micro Maniacs
Codemasters developed Micro Maniacs and released it for PlayStation in 2000. The game built on the miniature races of Micro Machines, but largely replaced the recognisable toy cars with its own characters. That created room for body movements, jumps and attacks associated with particular competitors. Everyday settings remained important: a kitchen or garden no longer had to be mere scenery, but could become an entire obstacle course because of the racers’ small size.
The story offered its own explanation for that scale. Dr. Minimizer wants to shrink the world’s population to solve shortages and has candidates race to find a leader. That strange experiment connects the varied characters and courses. During the original promotion, Codemasters particularly emphasised the move from vehicles to runners and the unusual weapons. The game therefore retained the competitive struggle of its predecessors, while its new characters played a much greater role in determining what a race looked like.
In North America, a partnership with Fox Kids gave the game the name FoxKids.com Micro Maniacs Racing. The European PlayStation edition is simply called Micro Maniacs. In Japan it appeared as Denkou Sekka Micro Runner. Those regional names sometimes make sources difficult to compare. This description concerns the original European PlayStation game; the separate Game Boy Color adaptation and historical web promotion are not part of the content promised for this disc.
Similar games for PlayStation 1
Micro Machines V3 shares its small scale, household racetracks and common view with Micro Maniacs. V3 revolves around cars, tanks and boats, while Micro Maniacs lets its runners jump and use personal attacks. Both support shared controllers; eight participants using four shared controllers need one PlayStation Multitap. Prize cars in V3 form a collection you keep, whereas Micro Maniacs places more emphasis on new characters and courses as progression goals.
Circuit Breakers and Micro Maniacs use a camera that provides an overview of small competitors and winding courses. Weapons in both can upset a comfortable lead. Circuit Breakers sticks to vehicles on roller-coaster-like routes with striking changes in height. Micro Maniacs usually has you race on foot among recognisable objects and ties attacks to individual characters. You therefore watch not only your line through a bend, but also where a jump might change the route.
Like Micro Maniacs, Crash Team Racing combines a distinctive cast with weapons and races where one mistake can quickly cost a place. Crash uses karts, a following camera and boosts built up through drifting. Micro Maniacs looks down from higher up at runners on one shared view and places more emphasis on jumping and personal attacks. Crash also lets you explore an adventure world and return to circuits for collecting tasks and timed challenges.
Speed Freaks shares the caricatured racers and the ability to catch an opponent with a well-timed weapon. Its competitors stay in karts and have individual handling characteristics. Micro Maniacs mainly uses runners with separate attacks, so your character choice also affects how you obstruct someone. The Speed Freaks camera follows your vehicle, while Micro Maniacs’ common view keeps the distance between participants visible throughout.
RC Revenge gives recognisable small vehicles a big role in imaginative racing settings and provides weapons against rivals. That toy perspective is close to Micro Maniacs’ jokes about scale. RC Revenge, however, has you drive cars and boats and adds a track builder. Micro Maniacs focuses on runners, their jumps and personal attacks. Micro Maniacs races share one view; RC Revenge divides the screen when two participants race against one another at the same time.
