Moero Downhill Night Blaze

Moero Downhill Night Blaze is a visual novel/racing game developed by Top. It is the third and final installment in the Moero Downhill Night series. It is the only game in the series to feature interactive 3D racing in-between visual novel sequences. Like the other previous two entries in the series, it features a sexual content.

Development and release
The game was released five months after Moero Downhill Night 2 was released in Japan on October 26 the previous year, giving players the impression that the game was presumably made in less than two to three months with possibly little to no quality assurance, as it was ultimately rushed out the door. Some copies of Moero Downhill Night 2 itself came with a racing demo called Moero Downhill Night HR, which featured one car, one track, and same playability; the main game did not contain any playable driving segments.

And while the game was already of very poor quality making it look like it was made on a very low budget, the game still costed ¥9240 (approximately 80 USD) at its original launch in Japan.

Why It's a Downhill

 * 1) Laughably bad 3D graphics, which resemble either an N64, a hi-res PS1 game, or a racing game from the late 90s.
 * 2) The in-game car models look very questionable at best. Some cars look decent at best and some look very chunky and out of proportion.
 * 3) The designs of the game's five race tracks are horrific with very zig-zaggy roads and turns, poor textures, bad and non-sensical object placements, poor geometry and a few invisible walls which can bring you to a complete stop sometimes.
 * 4) Considering that the game already has bad visuals, it can also result in constant flickering.
 * 5) There is no reverse gear, meaning that you cannot drive in reverse, unlike many other racing games.
 * 6) AI is laughable and very poor: They just drive on a straight line, zig-zag when driving on a straight path, drive slow and never challenge you, making difficulty very lackluster and the game very boring, especially if you complete your first lap, your competitors are so far behind you, they can't even catch you up anymore. Don't be deceived by certain characters who say they are way better than you and can easily beat you when in reality, they are the total opposite.
 * 7) Speaking of boring, most of the game just consists of five races that have Qualifying and Race sessions in them, with the first race having a Qualifying session after the race, not before unlike others, while only the third and fifth races have Free Run sessions. The Free Run and Qualifying sessions are very boring since you basically have no opponents whatsoever and you have to race three laps, not one, within a time limit, while you can always reach the qualifying target time regardless long or short respectively, given how way too easy the game really is. The game can get old very quickly, even before you complete the game for the first time. Thankfully, the fifth track is very short, but you'll just turn the game off before you even race the final circuit, given how absolutely dull, lackluster and very boring the game really is.
 * 8) The opening and ending theme songs are very cheesy and poorly written and sung.
 * 9) Most of the music is either forgettable or very cheesy at best, such as during the H-Scenes, in where very cheesy music plays out.
 * 10) The overall plot is very forgettable.
 * 11) The male characters during the VN-sequences look bland and uninspired.
 * 12) Voice acting is pretty mediocre.
 * 13) Some of the girls are not only one-dimensional, but also have very obnoxious personalites, such as the character Rinka Asamiya, who is depicted as a Mary Sue.
 * 14) Very dull sound effects, especially the sound of your car's engine, which sounds more like a lawnmower than an actual high-power sports car.
 * 15) Hitting the wall during story races will result in the crew chief character annoying you every time.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The CG backgrounds look decent.
 * 2) The girls, while terrible personality-wise, look pretty adorable enough.
 * 3) At least the game is very playable to a degree, given that the game has good controls and car handling.
 * 4) While the execution was terrible, the idea of combining a visual novel with a racing game, given its heavy racing theme, still is one of the most unique and original ideas for any visual novel, making it completely ahead of its time.

Videos
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