Retro|Spective 046: Tokyo Xtreme Racer

[Neon Ignition]

A series that has a lot of history but is mostly tied down to the following games:




Mainline Entry 01 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer
Formats: Dreamcast
As an early DC offering, the mission based racer proved a hit for Sega's final console bringing drift based racing to the system. The game followed on from a lineage of similar moulded games across systems but this title was the main origin point for this series as it is known, following on from past generations Shutokou Battle games.



Mainline Entry 02 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2
Formats: Dreamcast
The sequel upped the graphics quality and was met with a slightly stronger critical response than the previous game received. Some of the racing physics from this game also made their way over into Sega's Daytona USA 2001 release.



Mainline Entry 03 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero
Formats: Playstation 2
Set between the second and third games, this game is technically more of a visually updated conversion of the second game even though it was originally to also have hit Dreamcast. Instead the series made the jump to Sony's megahit console.



Mainline Entry 04 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift
Formats: Playstation 2
Set between Zero and 3, this entry brought in day and night races with daytime races allowing competitions for rewards to take place. However, this relatively simple expansion proved unsuccessful with critics.



Mainline Entry 05 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3
Formats: Playstation 2
As the third game finally hit, the series was losing momentum in the west. This latest entry saw a European release be dropped and its US release limited in numbers. The game was also the last of this run to take place on the streets of Tokyo.



Mainline Entry 06 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2
Formats: Playstation 2
The follow up to the previous drift entry expanded the range of race types and modes available to the player as they raced through the Tokyo mountains. Once again though the game received a mixed response and by now its run seemed to be winding down in the west.



Mainline Entry 07 - Tokyo Xtreme Racer X
Formats: Xbox 360
Known as Import Tuner Challenge in western markets, the game was the final entry in the series that had seen the main entries pass mostly within a single generation and a number of ports and loosely connected games come and go. It was also Genki's swansong after it failed to find an expanded audience.



Share your thoughts and memories of the series

[Asura]

Loved the first one on DC. There was something about how lean an experience it was. It was an incredibly simple game, with only the bare minimum of graphics to support it, but it was oh-so-playable, with wonderful, silky-smooth performance.

[Leon Retro]

I remember quite liking the first game on the Dreamcast, then really enjoying the second game. The sequel has graphics that really impressed me at the time - and it played really well. For some reason, I haven't played any of PS2 games, so I might investigate which edition to buy.

Another interesting thread. Thanks Superman Falls

[QualityChimp]

I've not played enough of this series.

Way back in 2012, I asked if there were any games similar to PS2 Kaido Racer 2 and [MENTION=5011]vanpeebles[/MENTION] suggested Import Tuner Challenge.
Nakamura didn't like it and J0e suggested RR6. Initial D was dismissed. I ended buying all three!

I really liked ITC though, which had a fun loose story (later implemented in games like Hozrizon and The Crew) and I loved the presentation with the introduction of your competitors.



Naturally, the game isn't backward compatible on the One (most of my faves remain unconverted )

I might dig this out though, because I enjoyed my limited time with it and it's got the sort of cars I like.

[dvdx2]

Shutokou battle you mean ;-)

The first two on the dc are amazing games (especially the 2nd). Definitely in my top 10

[Leon Retro]

I really liked ITC though, which had a fun loose story (later implemented in games like Hozrizon and The Crew) and I loved the presentation with the introduction of your competitors.

Another game to add to my small 360 collection. I hope the graphics do the 360 justice.

[QualityChimp]

Shutokou battle you mean ;-)

Well, I only ever had the PAL version so it's "Import Tuner Challenge" to me, although I also think this sounds like a foreign fishing game...

The names got really confusing too.
"I'm playing playing the third Shutokō Battle game, Shutokō Battle 0 (aka Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero in the US and Tokyo Xtreme Racer in Europe and Australia), which isn't set before Shutokō Battle 1 (aka Tokyo Xtreme Racer in the US and Tokyo Highway Challenge in Europe), but between Shutokō Battle 2 (aka Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 in the US and Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 in Europe) and Shutokō Battle 3 (the fourth game in the series, also known as Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 in the US and wasn't published in Europe, but had a prequel called Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift (known as Kaidō Battle: Nikko, Haruna, Rokko, Hakone in Japan) and a sequel called Tokyo Xtreme Racer DRIFT 2 (known as Kaido: Touge no Densetsu in Japan and Kaido Racer 2 in Europe and Australia)).

Got that?"

Another game to add to my small 360 collection. I hope the graphics do the 360 justice.

Well, I'm not a massive graphics obsessive, but from what I remember, they seemed perfectly functional.
It plays out like a cross between Tokyo Drift and Initial D.

[Team Andromeda]

The sequel on the DC. That game still looks great today, back when it came out it looked memorising.

[QualityChimp]

No mention of the Wangan Midnight games, Supes?

Look! The whole movie is on YouTube!
(It's pretty weak, if I'm honest, but he drives around in Bluestreak.)

[nakamura]

An extreme weird series. The Dreamcast games were absolutely rubbish games but utterly captivating to play. The graphics of the second game were excellent despite some monumental slowdown. The AI in Shutokou Battle 2 is the worst I've ever seen though. Still absolutely love it mind.

The first PS2 game is the best overall. They dropped anti aliasing to get a much better performance and AI was greatly improved. It's a better 'game' for sure. Shutokou Battle 01 has the best visuals but lack the car lineup of before and AI takes a step back again.
The drift games are part of the series at all in Japan but are a fun if repetitive spin off.

I love Genki racing games. My all time favourite games even though so few of them are actually great games.

[Colin]

I loved the DC ones despite as Nakamura rightly saying, as games they were nothing amazing. They were a big 'wow' at the time for me mind you. They were both completely forgotten once I had my hands on MSR though, which I adored. Was actually playing that last week and thought it still looked great. (Had a real DC week!)

[nakamura]

Yeah the first was impressive because it was rock solid 60, something Sega Rally didn't get near. The second was a real wow moment, vastly improved car modes and superb camera angles on replays.

[Atticus]

They were pretty simple and formulaic but an absolute ton of fun. Highlights for me were the races when a tasty opponent (I remember a naughty supra that had a faster straight line speed than the Blue Flame) came back at you at proper light warp speed and you manage to block them into the path of another car in a final split second move.

Even the physical action of pressing a button to flash your lights to start a race felt really good.

[Cepp]

There were a great take on the genre and something I loved playing on the DC.

[QualityChimp]

I popped on Import Tuner Challenge and it's still good fun! The battles are pretty tense.