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Retro|Spective 147: Virtua Racing

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    Retro|Spective 147: Virtua Racing




    History in Games:
    1992 - Virtua Racing
    1994 - Virtua Racing Deluxe
    1995 - Virtua Racing Saturn
    2004 - Virtua Racing: FlatOut

    Overview:
    Riding right at the forefront of the modern 3D era that came in during the 90's, Virtua Racing became an arcade staple with its simplistic yet iconic visuals. The rapid evolution of 3D visuals meant that the racing genre and Sega moved on from Virtua Racing very quickly but Sega was happy for a while to enhance the original game with new courses when bringing it to new consoles. The game most recently saw an airing with last years Switch port.







    What are your thoughts on Virtua Racing and where does it stand in the pantheon of Sega racers?

    #2
    I was too young to fully appreciate OutRun and then Power Drift hitting the arcades but that certainly wasn't the case with Virtua Racing. All of my money that I'd reserved for Street Fighter II CE and Fatal Fury 2 got pumped into this instead. I had to then go and scrounge more coins to play my regular games as I'd had so little play time with it being 50p a shot.

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      #3
      Never liked any of the VR games, even the Arcade one. Outrun, Super Hang-on and Power Drift were still the kings, until Daytona USA hit

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        #4
        Virtua Racing was absolutely amazing, at least from my perspective. My local bowling alley had the duplex 8-player (4-player?) model; either way, it was amazing seeing that networked 3D experience with all four players. It really felt like something futuristic.

        As for the game itself... I'm kinda with TA on this. While it's very playable, I don't feel as though it even remotely stands when compared to Daytona, Rally or Manx... Like, while as a kid I probably would've swore until blue in the face that it was the best thing ever, as an adult, I can appreciate that the arcade Super Monaco GP is a superior game in terms of raw gameplay.

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          #5
          M2 did an amazing job with the SEGA AGES port of VR on Switch.

          That aside, Virtual Racing was unique for its time but ultimately not as good as the aforementioned sprite scalar racers that came before it, nor as good as the likes of Daytona and Sega Rally after it.

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            #6
            Loved the 32x version, Saturn version was awful.

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              #7
              Originally posted by vanpeebles View Post
              Loved the 32x version, Saturn version was awful.
              Switch SEGA AGES port is the definitive version of VR. Blows everything else out of the water, including the original coin-op.

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                #8
                Unfortunately you need a switch for that, and I’m not paying nintendo prices for a 50 quid chinese tablet.

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by vanpeebles View Post
                  Unfortunately you need a switch for that, and I’m not paying nintendo prices for a 50 quid chinese tablet.
                  Is it made of clipArt

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Asura View Post
                    Is it made of clipArt
                    The drifting sticks sound like they could be.

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                      #11
                      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.

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                        #12
                        Was it revolutionary? I mean Driver's Eyes is a couple of years older.

                        Anyway, I didn't like it much. Loved the graphics and still do but I always found it lacking to play. However, I have since enjoyed it more since it came to Switch. It's a good game for sure overall. But not amazing for me.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by nakamura View Post
                          Was it revolutionary? I mean Driver's Eyes is a couple of years older.

                          Anyway, I didn't like it much. Loved the graphics and still do but I always found it lacking to play. However, I have since enjoyed it more since it came to Switch. It's a good game for sure overall. But not amazing for me.
                          I think so; VR was far from the first 3D game, but I don't know about other people - for me, it was the game which showed that 3D was the way gaming was going, and soon.

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                            #14
                            I honestly haven’t played the original since it was in the arcade. I remember being really impressed but it was so quickly overtaken by flashier games, I might pick the polished version up on Switch today and have a go.

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                              #15
                              Truly revolutionary in the Arcades. I also feel that the Switch version is the very best retro remake I have ever played.

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