Fun packed action filled race.
- JP release: 19th December 2002
- EU release: 5th December 2003
- NA release: 16th March 2004
- Developer: Hudson Soft
- Publisher: Takara (JP), Zoo (EU), Conspiracy (NA)
- NGC Magazine: N/A
- Mods Used: Widescreen Hack


The Choro Q series of racing game can not settle on a name outside of Japan, often ditching any form of subtitles. This was called Choro Q! in Japan, Road Trip: The Arcade Edition and and Gadget Racers in Europe. At around the same time this came out, Choro Q Advance 2 on the GBA and Choro Q HG 3 on PS2 were also released under the name “Gadget Racers”, despite all being completely different game, with the PS2 one having RPG elements.
On top of Road Trip and Gadget Racers, another name the series likes to use is Penny Racers (which was used for the first N64 game). One amusing example: Choro Q Advance was Gadget Racers in NA and Penny Racers in EU, while Choro Q Advance 2 was Gadget Racers in EU and Penny Racers in NA. Stuff like that can’t be useful for word of mouth.

Gadget Racers on GameCube takes the “kids toy” aesthetic (the franchise is based on Japanese toys with parts you can swap out) more into play than the GameCube games, with some levels taking place in larger-than-life locations (although the scale is never consistent), with the regular circuit using a pair of plyers as a large arch. There are some power ups and you can upgrade your car from unbelievably slow to just slow by grinding races.

What messes all this up, though, is the steering. You’ll constantly be understeering or oversteering, there seems to be very little between the two. There’s also a strange sensation as though your car rotates before it changes direction, which feels very unnatural. Performance also seemed very random, in some races it seemed like I didn’t have the parts to keep up, yet the next race I won with ease. It makes it a slog.

Poor
The rest of the controls don’t fare so well. Steering is sluggish at best. I’d expect the steering to be difficult when you hit a patch of oil, but that’s how the game feels throughout each race – like you’re driving on a semi-greasy surface. When you do hit an oil patch the vehicle becomes more resistant to turns, but it doesn’t spin or drive in the chaotic way that you’d anticipate. This is almost disappointing, because I would have rather had great controls that turn very tightly, but become loose and uncontrollable when the tires lose traction.
Louis Bedigian, GameZone
Remake or remaster?
They could pick some of the best Choro Q games for a collection.
Official Ways to get the game
There is no official way to get Choro Q/Road Trip: The Arcade Edition/Gadget Racers.
GameCube Games by Date
2002: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2003: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2004: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2005: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2006: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec