Retro|Spective 201: Arcade Racers

[wakka]

I love the thinking and the evident passion behind this game. It really was one man's vision for what a coin op driving simulator should be and that's lovely.

But on a personal level, it's a game I've always struggled to connect with, both in the arcades and on Dreamcast. I think the problem is that I'm not a car guy.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 32 - Storm Racer G
One of the most recent Sega arcade racers, Storm Racer G offers 14 vehicles to choose from and a dozen courses and uses a throttle based boost system alongside a semi-futuristic aesthetic. The game remains only available in arcades.









Have you had a chance to try out what Sega has put out more recently?

[QualityChimp]

Ha! Nope, never heard of it!

When did this come out?

[Neon Ignition]

2014, it's one of the pains of western arcades where even new titles don't get picked up. Apparently it was a big hit for Sega

[Yakumo]

2014, it's one of the pains of western arcades where even new titles don't get picked up. Apparently it was a big hit for Sega

Couldn't have been that big. Came out in 2014? I've never seen or heard of it and I've been to plenty of big arcades since then

[fuse]

Not to argue its success, but chalk me up as another that has never even heard of this. Based on that video, I'd certainly have given it a shot if I had seen it!

[Neon Ignition]

Bit more digging and it turns out Sega sold the game in several countries but it was actually developed by Wahlap using RingEdge2

It does run on Teknoparrot too

[QualityChimp]

developed by Wahlap using RingEdge2

It does run on Teknoparrot too

You sound like Chris Morris selling drugs.

[wakka]

It looks OK, but at the same time if you told me that was an entry in the Asphalt mobile game series, I'd believe you...

There just isn't the style or verve (or, I suspect, budget) that helped define those early arcade racers.

[BearBoy]

Couldn't have been that big. Came out in 2014? I've never seen or heard of it and I've been to plenty of big arcades since then

According to Wikipedia it wasn't released in Japan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...games#PC-based

[ZipZap]

I said earlier in this thread that these days arcade racer = Burnout and this looks like another very good example of that! The drift handling looks very similar to Burnout, the boost appears to charge when you drift, the fact that it even has a boost is very Burnout, even the panning across the car at the start is similar to Burnout.

There's nothing really wrong with Burnout and playing a Burnout-style game in an arcade cab with a wheel could be quite good fun, but I don't see very much innovation in arcade racers anymore. It's almost always a boost/drift formula done in a very similar way to the games that have come before.

[nakamura]

F355 Challenge I really like but it's definitely a one man mission to totally misunderstand how to make a simulation. It just doesn't feel realistic at all, the car has so little grip and feedback.

But, I do really like it as a game. Not suited for the arcade perhaps but something about it I like.

[Yakumo]

According to Wikipedia it wasn't released in Japan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...games#PC-based

Ah, that would explain why I've never seen or heard of it.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 33 - Outrun 2 SP
One year on from the games release Sega decided to release a new version of the game with an entirely new line up of 15 course choices with new themes. Outside of that the core experience remained the same but it would be the last new Outrun content gamers would see released. A further update, two years later, was privately shown called Outrun 2 SP DX with higher resolution screens in replica Ferrari's on link up.









Were the courses of SP better than Outrun 2?

[fuse]

I remember being with some friends and playing a bunch of this on the full DX setup at ATEI one year; folks who'd asked at the show had all gotten quotes from the sales team of it costing £100k, so imagine our surprise when it then showed up at the Trocadero shortly thereafter.

While it's essentially "just" OutRun 2 SP running on Lindbergh hardware, that each car seats two people, each with their own wheel and set of pedals saw the addition of a mode where players took it in turns controlling the one car. Crashing or finishing a stage would switch control, but in reality if you were playing with someone who knew what they're doing, the former never happens, and you basically just ran the stages like a relay and never switch outside of that. I'm sure it was being charged at £2 per player too, so twice the price (with twice as many players) for half the game meant it was always a novelty compared to the more conventional cabs. They had to recoup that price tag somehow, eh, and all of that said, it's still OutRun 2 and I can't stay mad at it.