Mad Panic Coaster

About

Mad Panic Coaster is a chaotic 1997 PlayStation arcade game where you guide a boy and girl through 15 wild roller coasters with no tracks to hold them together. Use the d-pad to steer their cart, X to jump over gaps, and Square or Circle to fire short or long-range explosive balls at monsters and traps. Each level requires three laps around death-defying loops and drops, with a health bar that resets the level if emptied. After every third coaster, a boss fight forces you to either blast the enemy or survive another three laps. What sticks out is the game’s unhinged charm. The coasters lack rails entirely, relying on sheer luck and quick reflexes to avoid falling. The story about a disfigured doctor building a coaster for his disinterested son adds a weirdly tragic edge. Developer credits are a mystery, with only publisher Hakuhodo listed. Despite its age, the mix of frantic platforming and quirky mechanics feels oddly ahead of its time.

Storyline

Batayan and Kyako, two elementary school students, are out on a skateboarding date, as a shadowy figure creeps up behind them. The next thing they know, they are suddenly on a coaster, abducted to Mad Land by the creepy Dr. Jones. He tells them about his son Masao, who loved roller coasters. For his son, he dedicated his life to build the best roller coaster in the world. One day however, a spark ignited the coaster under construction, burning it down and disfiguring the doctor. Still, he did not give up, and after many years, the coaster was completed. But Masao had already grown up, and did not care about coasters anymore.