What a difference 10 years makes. It's basically unrecognizable from the original Monaco GP. This time you're actually racing on the (mostly accurate) Monaco GP track, there's crowds, yachts in the marina, radio banter, and proper engine sounds just to name a few improvements. The game offers multiple sim difficulty levels and controls in general are great. There's a qualifying before the proper race as well. It's a very self-contained and short experience, but easily took the crown as the best racing sim when it came out.
It does resemble a true simulator in its simplicity, which for the time this was released for the genesis is absolutely bonkers. Too punishing for me, personally, but you do feel the weight and the fast turns and lightning quick acceleration that only cars like these are capable of.
"Let's try hard to win!"