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Stadium Events / World Class Track Meet is a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System that was first released in Japan in 1986 as Running Stadium(JP). In America, the game was released in 1987 as Stadium Events, and then in 1988, it was rereleased as World Class Track Meet.

The game uses an NES controller and the Power Pad.

Summary[]

The game is an Olympic style title with six options for the player to choose to play, using a controller and the B side of the Power Pad. The controller is plugged into the left port of the Nintendo, while the Power Pad is plugged into the right one.

The person's character, dressed in a track suit, runs and jumps in events toward a stadium. The character on the screen will move according to what the player is doing on the pad. If the person is running on the circles (squares for the B sides of the Family Fitness pad for Stadium Events), then the character will move. If they jump, the character will also jump. If the player is not running or jumping on the circles, then the character on the screen will stop moving.

The overall objective is to get the highest score above the other players.

This game does not save any previous high scores from a player.

Event Selection[]

In order on the title screen, the games are:

  • Tournament
  • 100 Meter Dash
  • Long Jump
  • 110 Meter Hurdles
  • Triple Jump
  • Olympics

The events 100 Meter Dash through the Triple Jump are the four main games that the player(s) can play. The Tournament, which is for one player only, includes just the 100 Meter Dash and the 110 Meter Hurdles, while the Olympics has all four of the events. The player chooses from one of the six options on the title screen.

If the title screen is left long enough without choosing a game, then a mock start of the 100 Meter Dash will start. The first player will have no name, and competes against the computer. The race starts without anyone being on the pad, and both players run automatically. Once the race finishes, the game goes back the to title screen.

If it is left long enough again, the game will go to another automated race, this time the Long Jump. The first player, again without a name, automatically does one lap of the event. The game will go back to the title screen again once that round is finished, and will continue to cycle through those two automated races until the player chooses an event to play.

In the 100 Meter Dash demo race, the first player will always automatically lose. In the Long Jump demo, sometimes the first player will foul in the Long Jump by running over the white line and falling down, or get a foul by running not jumping over the white line in time. Other times it will jump over the white line in time, but get a low score.

The player can stop an automatic race by pressing the Select or Start button on the controller, and the game will go back to the title screen.

Player Names and Colors[]

After choosing an event, the screen goes to the character number selection and naming screen (unless it is the Tournament, which skips the naming screen and gives the player the name PLAYER). The player chooses how many people will be participating, which can be up to six.

If one player is wanted, then it is only needed to press the start button. If more than one player is wanted, then a player will need to used the D pad to go to the desired number, and press select. The number of players indicated at the top of the screen will change from one to the desired number. After selecting the number of people, the player presses the start button to get the naming selection available for anyone playing. The selection cursor will automatically go from the numbers to the letters below.

If a number of players is selected that is not wanted (for example, selecting one player instead of four), the player can choose another number as long as the roster for naming the players is not yet on the screen. If the roster is on the screen, then the player will have to restart the game if they want another amount of players, and do not want to go through the event chosen, even with skipping it.

Once the blank roster is on the screen, the player(s) can choose to not enter any name at all, or enter a name up to ten letters for each player, including spaces and periods. Only capital letters are used.

The D pad is used to go through the letters, and the select button to choose a letter, period, or space for the name. The A button can be used to go forward in the spaces provided for naming the players to another player's name when one player is finished (or can also be used as another way to create a space in the name). The B button is used to go backwards in the spaces.

The player runs as a track star themed character, with a colored suit. On the player naming screen, the colors are also represented in a small, solid box of color to the left of their name, along with their number. The colors each player has depends on which spot they are in the roster, such as the first player always being white.

A non-controllable computer player with a purple track suit will be used if there is either one player in an event needs at least two characters, or if there is an odd number of players, in which the last player will compete against the computer. The computer will also be used if player gets three fouls in an event with a starting gun and is therefore banned from the event, which can cause an uneven number of players left to finish the event.

The colors for the player characters are:

  1. White
  2. Red
  3. Blue
  4. Yellow
  5. Green
  6. Pink
  • Purple (Computer)

After the names are finished, the player presses start on the controller to start the event.

On the screen after the game starts, the player has their name on the top of the screen, with their number, the color box, and their name. In the event with two people, the player will always run on the side that their character is on the screen. All of the odd number players will always race on the right side of the screen, while the players with an even number will always run on the right side.

The computer will always have the number zero, a purple color box, a space, then the name COMPUTER. The computer will always race on the right side of the screen, unless it is filling in for a player that had fouled out on the left side.

Once the number of players and the player names are chosen, they will stay the same for any event (besides the Tournament) played afterward until they are manually changed. If one plays an event, then does the Tournament, then goes to another event, the number of players and their names will be cleared and will have to be entered again. This also occurs if the game is restarted.

Starting the Event[]

Positioning[]

For the 100 Meter Dash and the 110 Meter Hurdles, each player must be on two consecutive circles on the Power Pad, on the respective side that their character is on the screen. If there is only one player, they are always on two consecutive blue circles. For two players competing at the same time, one person must be on two consecutive blue circles (the left side of the pad), and the other player must be on two consecutive red circles (the right side of the pad).

For the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, which only has one player at a time, the player can be on any two consecutive circles on the pad.

The player, or both, if there are two competing against each other, must have both feet on their chosen circles on the pad to be able to start the race. If they are not in position for a specified amount of time, a small tune, different for each race, will play repeatedly until the players are ready.

Types of Starts[]

To start, the player(s) must have their feet on their chosen two consecutive circles. There are two types of starts- one with a person shooting a starting gun to signal the start, and only the whistle.

The gun starts two races: the 100 Meter Dash and the 110 Meter Hurdles. After the players are both on their chosen places on the pad, a whistle will sound, followed by the characters bending down, the the gun going off. The gunman soon disappears after the race starts.

The other type of start is shown in the Long Jump and the Triple Jump. Unlike the other two events, only the whistle is used to signal the start of the race.

Finishing an Event[]

For the 100 Meter Dash and the 110 Meter Hurdles, the objective is to finish the event faster then the person running against them, whether it is another player or the computer. The winner will turn around and stand in a victory pose with their arms raised, while the loser will turn around and slump forward.

For the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, the objective is to get the highest score. If the player achieves a high enough score, the player will assume the victory position. For any score lower than this, including a foul, the character will assume the slumped defeated position.

For each event besides the tournament, after the event (or events for the Olympics), the game will finish by showing the scores for each player, with the highest listed first. If there are three or more players, the characters with the three highest scores will be standing on the awards podium below the scores. The one in first place is on the highest block in the middle, the second place winner on the left block, and third place winner on the right block.

Position Line[]

For all events, there is also a line near the top of the screen with smaller figure of the player on it. Like the actual characters on the track, the figure is according to the player's color. The figure represents what the player is doing and where they are on the track on the event. Unlike the actual character on the track, the figure on the line cannot fall down.

  • In the beginning of the race, the figures are standing.
    • After the whistle in the 100 Meter Dash and the 110 Meter Hurdles, the figures will automatically switch to a still running position.
    • After the whistle for the Long Jump and the Triple Jump, they will remain standing.
  • In all events, the figure starts moving after the player starts moving on the pad.
  • If the player jumps on the pad, the figure will also jump.
  • If the player stops in the middle of an event, the figure will switch to a standing position.
  • The figure will switch to a standing position at the end of the event.

Events[]

Tournament[]

This game is for one player only, who automatically named PLAYER. They will compete against six named non-controllable computer players in two events- the 100 Meter Dash, and the 110 Meter Hurdles. Each computer player will have better stats than the previous one. For all of the races, the player and all of the opponents have a space before their name.

Before playing against the each opponent, they will be shown doing some stretching on a green screen that has both their name and their tagline on it. If the player does not defeat the first opponent, the game will return to the title screen.

After defeating an opponent in both of the races, the player will receive an award. If the player does not win against an opponent, they will again see the awards they have received.

After defeating all of the opponents, the screen will show all of the awards, with the words, "You are champion!" in the middle of them.

Opponents in Stadium Events and World Class Track Meet
Name Color Tagline Award Received
1 Turtle Pink Let's have a race. Bronze medal
2 Bear Grey It's my turn now. Silver Medal
3 Horse Light Blue I am really fast. Gold medal
4 Rabbit Yellow Can you beat me? Bronze cup
5 Bobcat Green Can you keep up with me? Silver cup
6 Cheetah Red If you beat me, you're the best. Gold Trophy

Japanese Differences in the Tournament[]

In the Japanese version of the game (Running Stadium), the opponents also have English names and taglines, but with two of the names and all of the taglines different. The player still has the name of PLAYER, and the colors of the opponents and awards received for defeating them are still the same.

The first opponent does not have a space before their name, unlike the other ones.

Opponents in Running Stadium
Name Tagline
1 Tortoise Let's run with me!
2 Bear It's my turn.
3 Horse I am so fast.
4 Rabbit Can you defeat me?
5 Selow Do you come with me?
6 Cheetah If you get a victory, I admire you.

100 Meter Dash[]

One of two events to have the starting gun, and two players at a time. The player(s) compete to run the fastest to the white line that marks the finishing point. This is the only event where no jumping is included.

Long Jump[]

One of two events to have the whistle only start, and one player at a time. The players compete to have the highest score for the longest jump. The player runs toward a white line, then jumps over it. Their score is posted in the upper right corner of the screen.

If the player fails to jump over the line in time, or runs over the line and trips, they will receive a foul, which is a score of zero for the round. Each player has three tries, with each player completing their first round, then their second, and then the third.

110 Meter Hurdles[]

One of two events to have the starting gun, and two players at a time. Like the 110 Meter Dash, this is a race to complete the event the fastest. The player runs and jumps over hurdles before coming to the white finish line.

Triple Jump[]

One of two events to have the whistle only start, and one player at a time. This event is the same as the Long Jump, except the player jumps three times. The player still jumps over the white line, then jumps a second time, then a third time to complete their score for each round.

Olympics[]

The Olympics has all of the four events together. After each event, the score of the players for the individual event is displayed, with the highest first. The player(s) can either let game automatically switch to the next event, or manually do it themselves by pressing the Select button on the controller.

After the last event, the game will show the tallied score for each player, one at a time. Once again, the player can manually go faster throughout the scores. Afterword, the screen then will show the total scores for all of the players for the whole Olympics, the highest being listed first.

Pausing the Game[]

After the game finishes and the scoreboard is shown with the player(s) scores, the start button on the controller can be pressed to pause the game, including the music. The select button is pressed to start the game again. The music will also start from the beginning.

The game can also be paused on the scores screens between the events in the Olympics, but not during the accruing awards screen in the Tournament.

In the Olympics tallied score screen for all four events, the only way to skip to the final scores for each player is to pause the game, then press the Start button on the controller again. Unlike the other screens in all events but the tournament, the Select button will not skip to the next screen.

Fouls[]

There are several ways to receive a foul, which is a score of a double zero for an event, or a round of an event (Long Jump and Triple Jump).

None of the players that have received a foul for the event (including all of the events in the Olympics) will be shown on the podium once an event is finished. This includes if there are three or more players. For example, if there are three players and player one fouls out, then only players two and three will be shown on the podium.

100 Meter Dash and Triple Jump[]

False Start Foul[]

The player must stay on their chosen circles until the gun goes off. If not, the character of the player that did not wait will step over the white starting line, and the gunman will give off two shots. And X will appear near the F near the top of the screen for the player that did not wait. The players will receive three tries to start correctly, receiving an X each time they do not.

If a player receives three fouls, then they foul out, with their player turning around in the slumped defeated position. If there is another player that races on the opposite side, then they will take the place of the person that fouled out. If not, the computer will compete instead.

If both of the players receive at least one foul and one of the players foul out, another player will then have their turn. The number of fouled shots will return to zero, even for the other player.

With the rule that all of the numbered players will only race on a certain side (odd on the left; even on the right), the next player in the roster may be temporarily skipped after a player before them fouls out. Also, if there are only two number players left that race on the same side of the screen, both of them will have a separate race, with the computer filling in on the other side of the screen.

For example, if there are six players, there could possibly be this scenario:

  • Player one fouls out, leaving player two left on the right side.
  • Player three is on the left side, filling in for player one. They also foul out, leaving the second player still on the right side again.
  • The next player on the left, filling in for player three, will be player five, not player four. Player five fouls out, leaving player two again still on the right side.
  • The next race will have player two, still on the right side, competing against the computer, which will be on the left side. Player two completes their race without fouling.
  • Since the next race has a space for someone else to play on the right side, player four will play, with the computer running on the left side. Player four completes the race without fouling.
  • The next race will have the right side available again, and player six completes their race, with the computer again on the left side.

Timed Out Foul[]

If a player does not finish a race within one minute, the character on the screen will automatically turn around, and the player will receive a foul. There is no warning sound with the foul.

If there are two players and both do not complete the race in one minute, then the player on the left will automatically turn around, with the other player staying in the same position. Both players receive a foul. There is again no warning sound.

Long Jump and Triple Jump[]

If a player receives fouls for all three of their rounds, they will receive a foul for the event.

White Line Foul[]

If the player runs over the white line, but is still able to continue the event, there will be a warning sound and the player will receive a foul for the round, no matter if they land their jump. If the character trips over the white line, they also will receive a foul.

Falling Down Foul[]

If the player jumps and does not land after too long of a time, the character on the screen will fall out of the air onto the track, causing the foul.

Skipping Events[]

If the player is on an event (besides the tournament, in which the events cannot be skipped, including during the opponent introductions), then skips it by pressing the select button, the score for the player(s) will be a foul. If there are more than one or two players, depending on if the event has one or two players, then the first event can be skipped, then go to the next player(s), who can either also be skipped, or complete their event.

If the player finishes a race with the computer and skips the rest of the event, then the player will retain their score. However, in a two player race where one player finishes, and then the rest of the event is skipped while the other player is still going, then the first player will retain their score while the other player receives a foul.

Differences Between Stadium Events and World Class Track Meet[]

Though the two different American releases of the game are mostly alike, there are some differences.

Differences Between Stadium Events and World Class Track Meet
Stadium Events World Class Track Meet
Title Screen Yellow 3D title with Family Fitness above it Blue and green 2D title with Power Pad in cream font above it
Light blue sky Dark blue sky
Dark blue font for event selection White font for event selection
Two colored themes for audience in stadium Three colored themes for audience in stadium
Everything above the publisher attribute higher due to it being longer Everything above the publisher attribute lower due to it being shorter
States "Mat B" for the B side of the Family Fitness Pad (Mat in white font; B in red font, surrounded by two blue lines on each side in a white rectangle) States "Side B" in white font for the B side of the Power Pad
Color of Dots Surrounding Player Naming Screen Blue White
Board in the Background of 100 Meter Dash and 110 Meter Hurdles Has Bandai (the publisher) on it Has dots and lines on it

Development[]

Reception[]

Trivia[]

  • World Class Track Meet was also available for purchase alone or with a 3-in-1 package that also included Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt.
  • If a player stops in an event with one of their two circles on the pad still covered, the character on the screen will stay in a still running position. If both or no circles are covered, in small amount of time, the character will switch to a standing position on the track.
  • In the event 110 Meter Hurdles, the player can also jump over the finish line.
  • Also in the 110 Meter Hurdles, there can be a glitch where the player finishes the event and the computer is still going, and then the computer goes back to the starting line and still continues, this time jumping over invisible hurdles, before finishing.
  • Though the cover of Stadium Events has the computer with the number double zero, the actual game has only a single zero.
  • The title screen of Running Stadium in Japan has Japanese flags, while the USA Stadium Events and World Class Track Meet title screens both have American flags. The same is true for the Long Jump and the Triple Jump.
  • The Japanese title screen has similarities between both of the title screens from Stadium Events and World Class Track Meet.
  • Bandai Namco later revived the brand and accessory on the Wii with Family Trainer.

External links[]

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