F355

[charlesr]

Fantastic game, but why does everyone call it a serious/sim racer?

It's not very realistic, with the car not even being able to take tight corners at anything above a crawl and can be quite happily played by hamfisted noobs without instantly driving off the road.

And the only way to play for quick times involves changing gears 3 times for each effective upchange.

Is it just because it was one of the first games to off TCS/Stability control/ABS and the ability to turn them off?

[figflair]

I think it was because it was impossible to win races with all the assistance turned on. Playing it without them was incredibly difficult on the harder tracks but also incredibly rewarding. I used to love that game but it drove me insane at the same time.

[Kubrick]

with the car not even being able to take tight corners at anything above a crawl

n00b!

The car can be drifted around corners at higher speeds than "gripping" them. Especially with assists off.

The 2up/1down gearchanging (the JP players called this "Hiro-shift") helps times yes, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Drifting the car is what you need to master for quick times.

I pretty-much played nothing else apart from F355 for over a year and became really good at it. What sort of laptimes can you achieve?

[Yoshimax]

Get this going on the DC again - couldn't we still race each others ghosts ? Maybe we could chuck VMU's about to each other ? I've still got mine but me 355 is Japanese - Sure I could find a US or PAL version though (in fact I don't think JP had the online functions?)

What a game - I think the sim element came from the elaborate arcade setup - it had a fully functioning clutch ffs !

How I treasured those paper slips showing my performance after a game - Was gutted when the paper ran out and they never replaced it !

[SuperDanX]

I pretty much hate video games now, but this.. My oh my this is something special. Obviously im crap at it but its one of those games id love to be great at and throw my car around the track with gay abandon. Sadly i lack the dedication and after playing it on the Dc and the ps2 on and off for the best part of 6 years i still suck. Not really an answer to charles question but i like to praise this game any chance i get.

[On The Edge of Insanity]

I remember being incredibly into this back when it first came out, I got it with my Dreamcast and had to wait a few months until Christmas before I could get any more games.

I did become almost Zen like, comparing the telemetary to see where I could gain some more time in time trial and spending hours just doing lap after lap trying to improve my times. I think I got into the top ten on the rankings for Long Beach and top 50 for most of the other tracks.

I played it a little late last year when I re-bought a Dreamcast, but I wasn't anywhere near as good just using the pad, so I think I may have to invest in a wheel at some point and get back into it.

I remember this game making me want to own an F355 when I grew up, on my current wage I can't quite see it happening though!

[Kubrick]

Your JP save file will work fine with the PAL/US versions, Yoshi I used to switch between UK/JP versions no problem with the same VMU.

The JP ver had all the online functions too and worked from the UK if you had a dricas account. The replays didn't have any sound effects though, just that music

To this day, I still haven't played a racing game that feels as right as F355 does.

[Baseley09]

Total awesome, one of the few games the official wheel is great for imo.

With Crazy Taxi + wheel & this its like arcade gameing indoors > Neo Geo.

[Yoshimax]

I would give a nut for an exact replication of this game on 360 with 720p graphics.

I remember the day me Jap version turned up (basically about 2 days after JP launch) and having my brother in law on the phone as I booted it so he could hear "that" engine sound when I pressed start Happy days.

How is the PS2 version ? I've got one lying about doing f-all now that GH is coming to 360 this week - Do I go with it via component on my HDTV or will the DC look better thru VGA ?

[huxley]

^ps2 version is pants!
DC version looks fab via vga

[Salsa Party Animal]

DC will be great with VGA. Go for that.

[SuperDanX]

Ps2 version seems pretty solid to me, on a sdtv. Hdtv may show up a few pixels i guess.

Yes THAT music, teh worst Music 0<, sfx0>Max!

[charlesr]

n00b!

The car can be drifted around corners at higher speeds than "gripping" them. Especially with assists off.

Yeah, another area in which it's not realistic. Great fun for sure, but not sim.

[lurch996]

The PS2 version is only worth playing if you have a GT Force Pro. If you do, PS2>DC.

I agree with charlesr, I love the game but it's not very realistic and it feels more like Fiesta 1.25 rather than Ferrari 355

[Kubrick]

Video of a good player on Sugo with no assists - Link

I really wish I had a PC and some way of capturing races back when I was playing it.