Road Fighter is a Konami racing game that reached arcades in North America in November 1984 and in Japan in December 1984; its working title was Red Car. The player has to reach the end of each stage before the fuel runs out, refilling it by touching special multi-coloured cars, and two buttons select two top speeds. The car is a Chevrolet Corvette with a fictional top speed of 400 km/h, and there is no music during the race.
The Famicom version came out in Japan on 11 July 1985. The NES version never appeared in North America and reached Europe only in 1992, through Palcom Software.
Road Fighter led to the spiritual successor Konami GT (1986) and later sequels such as Midnight Run: Road Fighter 2 and Winding Heat. The arcade game returned in 2010 on Game Room for Xbox 360 and Windows, and in 2019 in Hamster's Arcade Archives on Nintendo Switch and PS4.123
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Road Fighter | Arcade | November 1984 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | ロードファイターRōdo Faitā | Arcade | December 1984 | Konami | 1 |
| JP | ロードファイターRōdo FaitāFamicom | NES | Jul 11, 1985 | Konami | 3 |
| JP | ロードファイターRōdo Faitā | MSX | 1985 | Konami | 1 |
| EU | Road FighterNever released on the NES in North America | NES | Jun 18, 1992 | Palcom Software | 3 |
| WW | Road FighterGame Room (Xbox 360 and Windows), arcade version | Xbox 360 | Mar 24, 2010 | Microsoft | 1 |
| WW | Arcade Archives ROAD FIGHTERArcade version; also on PS4 in 2019 | Switch | Jul 25, 2019 | Hamster | 4 |
Also known as: ロードファイター JP2Rōdo Faitā JP2レッドカー JP2
Box art by region
EU Road Fighter 
JP ロードファイター
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
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GameplayArcade
The arcade game ranks you during the race, starting in 40th place and moving up by overtaking; it has six courses and bonuses for rank, cars passed and a clean run.2
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ContentFamicom/NESMSX
The Famicom version has four courses and the MSX version six; neither ranks the player, and both give a fuel bonus instead, with fuel coming from special cars on the Famicom and a heart-shaped B item on the MSX.2
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GameplayNES (EU)
The European NES release raises the low-gear top speed from 196 km/h to 224 km/h.3
Where to play legally today
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Arcade Archives Purchase
Reception
Game Machine listed Road Fighter as the most successful table arcade unit in Japan in January 1985, and Computer Gamer reported that it sold well in European arcades. The late European NES release fared poorly, with 9% from Mean Machines and 44% from Total!.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
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