Micro Machines

NES, Genesis, Amiga, Master System +51991

  1. JP—
  2. NA1991
  3. EU1992
  4. RU—

Micro Machines came out under the same name everywhere; its prototype was called California Buggy Boys. No current digital release of the 1991 game is listed here; it was an unlicensed NES cartridge published by Camerica in North America and Codemasters in Europe.

Micro Machines is a top-down racing game by Codemasters, first released on the NES in 1991 and published in North America by Camerica. Players race toy vehicles across breakfast tables, desks and treehouses, thanks to a licence from Galoob for its Micro Machines toys. The prototype was called California Buggy Boys.

The game was made without a Nintendo licence: Codemasters reverse-engineered the NES hardware, and Andrew Graham programmed the prototype in October 1989. A crash bug found late, caused by a single wrong bit, was fixed with a Game Genie-like device built into the cartridges, because many ROMs had already been made.

Ports followed on the Mega Drive in July 1993 and then on Amiga, Game Gear, Master System, MS-DOS, CD-i, SNES and Game Boy, each with its own handling and graphics. Next Generation ranked the game 18th in its 1996 Top 100 Games of All Time, and The Guardian included it in its 2014 list of the 30 best British video games.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Micro MachinesUnlicensed cartridge; also issued for the Aladdin Deck Enhancer NES 1991 Camerica 2
NA Micro MachinesEurope 1994; developed by Merit Studios SNES December 1994 Ocean Software 1
NA Micro MachinesEurope 1995; developed by Big Red Software Game Boy January 1995 Ocean Software 1
EU Micro MachinesUnlicensed; standard and plug-thru cartridges NES 1992 Codemasters 2
EU Micro MachinesDelayed from January 1993 over Sega's objections; North America September 1993 Genesis July 1993 Codemasters 1
EU Micro Machines Amiga September 1993 Codemasters 1
EU Micro MachinesNorth America March 1994; Wikipedia's development section says 1993 Game Gear Mar 10, 1994 Codemasters 1
EU Micro Machines Master System Mar 10, 1994 Codemasters 1
WW Micro MachinesPhilips CD-i Other Jun 1, 1994 Codemasters 1
EU Micro MachinesDeveloped by Big Red Software MS-DOS 1994 Codemasters 1

Also known as: California Buggy Boys WW1

Box art by region

  • Micro Machines box art, North America release
    NA Micro Machines

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.

Version differences

  • GameplayNES

    The NES original has drifting handling and shows two-player races on one shared screen, since split-screen was hard to do on the hardware.1

  • GameplayMega Drive/Genesis

    The Mega Drive version switched to a more on-rails feel, added more rotation frames for the vehicles and used a cartoon colour style.1

  • GraphicsGame Gear

    The Game Gear version was programmed from scratch to run at 60 frames per second, with the camera pulled back to show more of the track; two players can share one console, each holding one end.1

All differences (6)

Reception

Critics praised the game, especially its multiplayer mode: Mean Machines gave the NES version 93%, and the Mega Drive version scored 93% in Mean Machines Sega and GamesMaster. Next Generation ranked it 18th in its 1996 Top 100 Games of All Time, and IGN placed the NES version 31st in its Top 100 NES Games, the highest unlicensed game on the list.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2tcrf.net

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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