Retro|Spective 151: Initial D

[Neon Ignition]

History in Games:
1998 - Initial D Gaiden
1999 - Initial D
2001 - Initial D: Ryosuke Takahashi's Fastest Typing Theory
2002 - Initial D: Arcade Stage
2003 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver.2
2003 - Initial D: Special Stage
2004 - Initial D: Mountain Vengeance
2004 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver.3
2006 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver.4
2006 - Initial D: Street Stage
2007 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver.4 Limited
2008 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Ver.4 Kai
2008 - Initial D: Extreme Stage
2009 - Initial D: Arcade Stage 5
2011 - Initial D: Arcade Stage 6 AA
2012 - Initial D: Arcade Stage 7 AAX
2014 - Initial D: Arcade Stage 8 Infinity
2014 - Initial D: Perfect Shift Online
2017 - Initial D: Arcade Stage Zero
2020 - Initial D: The Arcade

Overview:
The series seemed to pop up out of nowhere in UK arcades in the early 2000's as it quickly advanced through iterations. An arcade Sega racer with a magnetic card to save progress as well as a story mode, you raced through winding mountain roads against another racer in a series that has become one of the most enduring arcade racer titles of the modern era.







What is your experience of Initial D and where does it rank in the pantheon of Sega arcade racers?

[Cepp]

It's one of the all-time greats. I was finally getting bored of DDR when this hit and swiftly moved over to pouring £ after £ into the cabinet. It's a damn shame they never released any in English past V3 (why was that anyway?).

Racing against friends and randoms in the arcade was great, as was sharing tips on how to beat Bunta

I rinsed the PSP and PS2 games as well. Played through them from start to finish multiple times. I tried the PS3 version recently as well but it doesn't feel right.

I'm not sure which version Bury Arcade Club has at the moment but one of these days I'm going to have to head over and just spend a couple of hours trying to get through it.

[Neon Ignition]

I think I first played a unit in a Blackpool arcade during the days when they'd ripped out most of their machines and replaced them with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire units. It was tucked in the back corner of an arcade and I think it was a Ver.2 unit which was later replaced with Ver.3. Absolutely loved the pumping tunes as you drifted your way through the mountains. When the PS2 version became available on import I ordered one and so Special Stage is probably the most I've played a version and it was great it was so close to the arcade version.

I've played another one in arcade once, I think Ver.5? That and using the PC to run through 8 Infinity. Sega should have done a port of the modern versions on PSN/XBL

[Cepp]

I think I first played a unit in a Blackpool arcade during the days when they'd ripped out most of their machines and replaced them with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire units. It was tucked in the back corner of an arcade and I think it was a Ver.2 unit which was later replaced with Ver.3. Absolutely loved the pumping tunes as you drifted your way through the mountains. When the PS2 version became available on import I ordered one and so Special Stage is probably the most I've played a version and it was great it was so close to the arcade version.

I've played another one in arcade once, I think Ver.5? That and using the PC to run through 8 Infinity. Sega should have done a port of the modern versions on PSN/XBL

Can you imagine? I'd kill for a PC home release. If we can get SD Gundam G Generation on Steam then surely we can get Initial D!

[phillv85]

I played a lot of Extreme Stage on PS3, it was a really fun game, but it just got too hard later on, and I just could not get any further on it. The rubber band AI gets a little frustrating.

Last time I was at the Bury Arcade Club they had Outrun 2 in the ID cab

[QualityChimp]

I bought the PS3 one off [MENTION=2725]Baseley09[/MENTION] back in 2015, but have barely touched it.
It was good fun, but the handling didn't grip me like the Forza series. Forza Motorsport 3 let you drive a Trueno and pimp it out how you liked and take loads of photos, so I played a lot more of that.

More recently, I got more enjoyment from Import Tuner Challenge, but maybe I should try it again as I love the Initial D story.

[wakka]

My history with Initial D is basically that I enjoyed the PS2 one (ver 3) but didn't totally click with it, then went on holiday to Japan, discovered ver 4 and fell in love. I shovelled a LOT of yen into ID4 machines on that trip, mostly playing online.

When I got back to the UK, I moved to London and found a few machines in Chinatown and the West End. Sank even more money in, although just in story mode this time as sadly the UK versions lacked online play.

I never got the home version of 4, because I didn't get a PS3 until really late in the gen. Then, for whatever reason, I just never got round to it. I wish I'd had a PS3 earlier on so I could've gotten the game on release and enjoyed the online play at its peak.

[QualityChimp]

[MENTION=5490]wakka[/MENTION], is that the one where you get a kind of memory card that saves your progress?
How does that work? Did you have a card you brought back from Japan and it still worked?

[Hirst]

Controversially, I reckon they have lousy handling and all the cars feel the same. The definitive Initial D arcade game is Taito's Battle Gear 2/Tokyo Road Race on the PS2. The Initial D games are nice in terms of having the music and characters, but I just don't feel they play that well.

[QualityChimp]

Fave handling of any racing games are the Stuntman and Driver series.
Just the best combo of fun, cinematic but controllable.

[wakka]

@wakka, is that the one where you get a kind of memory card that saves your progress?
How does that work? Did you have a card you brought back from Japan and it still worked?

Yeah, that's right, you bought a plastic magnetic stripe card from the machine. It prints your username onto it, as well as your online rank and your progress through the story mode. Pretty cool.

I did bring my Japanese card back with me, but sadly it did not work on UK machines. I had to buy a new one and start the game from the beginning again.

I forgot the final chapter of my experiences with Initial D. Periodically pre-lockdown I would go to an arcade in London that had Initial D 6 but no cards available, and mournfully play it despite having no ability to save my progress

I even looked into buying a card online via Ebay etc, but apparently it won't work - the card needs to be vended directly from the machine in order to function. Bummer.

I have played a few of the later ones here and there - I tried one of them, I think 8 Infinity, when I was in Shanghai a couple of years ago, but to be honest from ID4 onwards they all seem incredibly similar to one another. I'm not at all clear on what the differences even are. I'd be really interested if anyone does know, though?

[QualityChimp]

Shame there's been nothing like Initial D or Shutokou on home consoles for years.

[wakka]

Shame there's been nothing like Initial D or Shutokou on home consoles for years.

Yeah it really sucks. I feel like with Initial D, they must be protecting the arcade income by not releasing a home version.

[Neon Ignition]

It's already put a temptation in me to track down the PS3 version. Shame this set up never hit locally:

[Asura]

Shame there's been nothing like Initial D or Shutokou on home consoles for years.

I think it's just because the mainstream doesn't appreciate stuff like this.

Like, today, when Forza Horizon exists, most people would just buy that if they want a racing game.

Remember how years ago, people would make racing games themed around one car?