Ugh, this game sucks so much. That said I just might find time to punish myself with it later this week. I think the third track is as far as I've ever made it.

That will be fine, Luke.  If anyone beats the game, make sure to take your picture right before the end of the last track.

^^ Awesome! Thanks!

Actually, guillavoie said this in the SMB 3 contest, so I thought I could use a PAL system, as this game is sped up for PAL systems.
Let me know if you accept my score or not

"pausing trick"?!?

I think I can do this as well,it's just a matter if I can do it before the week is up.

Since Rad Racer is optimized for PAL systems, it will be allowed.  Otherwise, PAL systems are not allowed.

Same here, I'm hoping I have enough time to put in. I popped it in and can get to lvl 5 without crashing. But, level 5 is always dumb because I crash from hitting the back of cars too fast. 

Haha,I try to slam on the break before it gets to that point. I don't mind hitting them as long as it is flush,otherwise I get slingshotted to either side usually into a sign,rock,etc.

345 is impressive man, that's awesome. I weigh 185, so 200 is pretty good as far as I am concerned. I'm always pushing, so I'm sure I'll get more, but I am heavily into distance running, so I am all about maintaining my endurance without getting to bulky.

I've actually never played this game before, picked it up recently though. Took a few tries, this is the best I can do for today.

Attempt #1 - 37,009
Still didn't make it into the top 10, but hopefully I'll get there by Sunday.

Yeah,if you are into distance running you won't be able to lift extremely heavy weights. It's just the way it works. More mass = lift more.  But if that's what you are into,who cares what you can lift. I am kinda bulky (5'8" 207) so I know you'd smoke me in a race. I'd probably keep up for maybe half a mile then I'm done. Back 3 years ago when I was 175 and running 4-5 times a week I could have,but not now. I sold out for strength.

This game is unforgiving. OMG, I tried 3 times and couldn't pass the second check point on the first race. I only crash once and I still can't make it.

Is there a difference between the cars?

no. are you holding up while accelerating? it takes a long time to get up to speed with the A button alone.

Wow I didn't realize you could do that. I've just been playing error free and making good use of my brakes when I need to.

29,599
Paricipatin'

Well, I improved my high score, beat the first level (finally), and feel like I'm improving. Unfortunately I didn't score enough to climb the standings Oh well, if I keep improving I won't have to worry too much, the ladder-climbing will come eventually. Too lazy to post the pic now though, just thought I'd say I actually feel like I'm getting better every time I play...working off 20 years of rust is never easy

EDIT: Okay, scratch that...not too lazy anymore!  Just got my absolute best performance ever!  20 years ago, the furthest I ever got was stage 2.  Now, I spent time on level 2 continuing to get the hang of the course, but not beating it...then figuring I could at least rank ahead of last place, I started from the beginning and somehow managed to make it to stage 5!  So, here's my current score, 39,538:



This is my personal best performance ever, and although I'd like to build on it, unfortunately my thumbs are killing me!  The best advice I can give is to slow the fuck down for turns, and know when to lay off the turbo...just because you can get that epic speed boost doesn't mean you should.  Takes a bit of practice, but it's not too tough.  That said, I highly doubt I'd have a better run than this any time soon, seems like it was a fluke, but I'm enjoying this one (surprisingly, forgot how much I liked Rad Racer as a kid), so I'll definitely be attempting it again this week

*mind blown*

I used to play with Ferrari,but now I always play with the F-1 car. Makes me feel like I'm playing Pole Position.

I thought I owned this game, but Appearently that was RC PRO AM (1 and 2) and Mach Rider

Nice run! Especially for never getting past level two. The biggest tips are indeed to brake, brake and more brake. If you don't know the course by heart, slam on the brake as soon as you see the turn signs on the side of the road. The biggest thing to remember is going 'slow' for 3 seconds is infinitely better than crashing. Another tip is to pick your spots when passing cars. Don't get over anxious. Go slow and take your time when they cut you off and block you in. Especially once you are past level 2 and they purposely try to demolition derby you right off the road. 

The game will actually show your high score during the demo if you wait long enough. It appears in the text box that says stuff like "Press Start", "Square" "Game Over" etc. Its not on the screen for long, but it'll keep looping if you miss it the first time. Could be very helpful for those struggling to snap a quick pic of their score at the end of their run.

F*CK!!! I had a really stupid second of inattention, and I crashed near the end of the race. and I nearly broke 50K!
Also, someone should update the scores in Gradius and in the leaderboard :/

Final score:49102

Drats! How could you?!
I'll get my revenge, sooner or later!