Retro|Spective 147: Virtua Racing

[Wools]

I remember being stunned by the Arcade original. Seeing it run in real time was unlike anything else, bleeding edge 3D technology combined with a fantastic cabinet. I was upset when I had to leave the Arcade as a kid!

However, as time moved on, it got left behind in the history books. Subsequent 3D Racers played better, with more depth and refined 3D. However, the Switch port made me appreciate the game in a new light. There's a real purity to the basic control, clean 3D aesthetics and wringing the most out a perfect lap time is not only addictive but supprisingly difficult.

It remains a turning point in 3D technology and game history. Although others racers may be more fondly remembered, Virtua Racing is one of the most pure racing games I've ever played. As others have said, the M2 Developed Switch port is an exceptional way to play the game in 2020 too.

[Dogg Thang]

I got the Switch version. I can’t steer. No idea what’s wrong but checked other games and my controllers are working okay. In Virtua Racing, I can’t steer. Can’t be bothered to try to figure it out this evening.

[endo]

Sure you've not got the motion controls turned on?

[Dogg Thang]

Sure you've not got the motion controls turned on?

Not sure. I’ll check in the options next time I load it up. It was just weird. The Switch joycons are so dodgy at the best of times I would be surprised if it was the Joycon rather than the game, even though other games worked okay. Not to worry for now.

[wakka]

I think by default you push up on the analogue stick to steer then kinda roll it to the right or left, if that makes sense. You can change it tho.

[Leon Retro]

There's one aspect of Virtua Racing that's kept me coming back for more -- the atmosphere. I love the bright, clean game world and all the little design touches that make it such an attractive experience. The way uplifting jingles play as you go through the 'checkpoints' is also a neat touch that I really appreciate. The slick racing action is also very distinct and enjoyable.

Overall, it may be quite a simplistic old school racer, but there's something really special about the overall design that makes it a compelling slice of retro magic.

[nakamura]

I thought the MD port was well done also.

But tbh VR has crap physics.

[Team Andromeda]

It may have been surpassed by Daytona and all the others, but at the time it really was revolutionary to be throwing a fully 3D F1 car around corners at speed. OutRun and Power Drift might still be loads of fun, and arguably the better games, but Virtua Racing was something else entirely.

I was always a Hard Drivin' fan because that's all you had... until VR. It gave birth to the true 3D arcade racer.

Namco was well ahead of SEGA and tbh I was playing quite a lot of 3D polygon racers on the Amiga. The only stand out thing for VR for me was the 30 fps and 4 different viewpoints. I didn't enjoy it at all to play mind and totally disliked the twitchy handle model.

SEGA truly made up for that with Daytona USA mind.

[Leon Retro]

SEGA truly made up for that with Daytona USA mind.

It says a lot that you can still find Daytona machines and people are happy to play it. It has such perfect timeless design.

It would be nice if Sega made a new version for digital stores that stays close to the original design ethos.

[samanosuke]

Really impressive at the time. I agree with others here; Hard Drivin’ and Driver’s Eyes might’ve been there first, but as impressive as they were at the time, Virtua Racing blew them both out the water technically and set the blueprint for all 3D racers that followed. It absolutely was revolutionary.

I actually like the much-maligned MD port and feel it’s just a battery-backed save away from being a really good port. Sure, in an ideal world a couple of extra tracks and an added championship mode would’ve made it an essential purchase, but without those the real incentive is to keep playing and improve those lap times. And sadly, due to Sega’s penny pinching (ironic for a game they would charge £80 RRP for), all those lap times would be erased once the console was turned off. As a result I think it’s a solid but not stellar version.

[JazzFunk]

I only got on with the MD port and an emu version of the 32X version on a modded Xbox I had once before the capacitors borked, it ran brillish on it and was loadsa fun to play.

MD version very fun, too. I *LOVE* the little, atmospheric music jingles you get when going through certain checkpoints, I think the music on the MD version gives it a wondrous atmos, plus it impressed me WAY more than STUNT RACE FX, back in the day...

...**NT RACE FX, more like!!!!

Saturn version initially seems kinda OK when you first play it. But it feels off and is absolutely no fun and veers betwixt almost-smooth to very choppy.

I never played the arcade version but watched it longingly quite a bit. But it was £1. I could have ten credits on BAD DUDES VS. DRAGONNINJA or WONDERBOY for that type of wonga. No contest!

Other version I played was on the PAL PS2 version of SEGA CLASSICS COLLECTION and it's one of the more optimized-for-PAL games on there but I ain't played it in ages cos my mate's got me joypads (I remember it looking brill but feeling more 'rubbery' and maybe{????} less fun than the MD/32X versions but still a bloody great thing to behold).

[JazzFunk]

PS I got the complete, grey cartridge Japanese version for £5 back in about March/April 1997. From Wakefield 2nd hand outdoor market. It was a Tuesday.

I remember foregoing the PS1 and Saturn back in 1996/1997 because I was getting so many JP MD games from Wakey market on a Tuesday, even got a minty JP GUNSTAR HEROES for a fiver back then, in early 1997 it seemed MD and SNES games were primarily pretty worthless.

1997 was a proper JP MD love-in for me and it absolutely decimated all academic plans I had goin' on in that year.

In fact it ****ed my life up. Because I was riding SEGA's jock so hard. I dropped out but became EXTREMELY good at MD games, especially Japanese ones.

And just look at me now. A binman moving defecated waste about. In bins n' bags.

But I'm still very good at BIMINI RUN.

[JazzFunk]

PPS: I always thought HARD DRIVIN' on MD was kinda impressive, in an understated manner. Bet if it'd got released a coupla years later, it would've been a tad smoother.

As I was passing liquid stools t'other morn, I was pondering why the MD n' SNES never got STUNT CAR RACER. Let's face it, that thing ran OK even on a C64, it could've been grrrrrrreeeeeat on MD!

[samanosuke]

And just look at me now. A binman moving defecated waste about. In bins n' bags.

But I'm still very good at BIMINI RUN.

What about the Shubibinman games? Did you pick up the new one for SNES released a coupla years back?

[Team Andromeda]

It says a lot that you can still find Daytona machines and people are happy to play it. It has such perfect timeless design.

It would be nice if Sega made a new version for digital stores that stays close to the original design ethos.

Daytona USA blew me away, the most impressive Arcade title then and ever since. No Arcade game ever had an impact like that did on so many players. It was all the more special for me as I pee-ing myself and really bricking it at Heathrow Airport the day before I was due to fly to San Francisco. I go into the Arcade and there was Daytona USA in all its deluxe glory...

I must have spent a fortune on it that evening and any worries I had over my 1st transatlantic flight were all gone. Even better, I land in San Francisco and Daytona USA was there too in a massive Arcade full of SEGA Arcade magic