I'm glad you touched on this re-release. The game looks beautiful, but I bet it'll look even better running on the system. It STILL blows me away every time I see it, but you had to be there to appreciate it.
I could talk your ears off about this game. I started playing this game on the Sega Saturn, then the arcade machine showed up on my campus. I became one of those arcade players that would play all three courses—and well, by the way—before I was done, just to show off, unless someone wanted to play with a friend. I finished 1st in the Beginner and Advanced courses regularly, but usually the top 5 in Expert. Finally, the Dreamcast version game out, and was disappointed....because there wasn't a Karaoke Mode. WTF?!?!?
Enough about me; here's some juicy tidbits about the games:
- Daytona USA fans strongly preferred the Saturn version over the DC version, despite the abysmal graphics, because the driving physics were changed. The changes were pretty transparent to non-fanatic players, though....I feel it was just the fans whining about having to relearn a game.
- The Karaoke Mode was accessible via code on the Saturn version. As said above, it didn't make it to the DC version. The world wept.
- Each version of the game has their own little set of extras and codes. I wonder if any of them made it to the PSN/XBL versions:
- Arcade: You can get extra time in the Beginner course by playing the slot machine on the back straight. Press Start 3 times to control the slot machine. Get three 7's to get 7 seconds of time. Get three BAR's to get 5 seconds. All players in a multiplayer game can do this once in a race.
- Saturn: You can make the Jeffrey statue one-third into the course "break-dance" by repeatedly press X. First, Jeffrey will spin; do it more to make him spin around on his head.
- Dreamcast: Hold the Gas and Brake pedals during the "Gentlemen, start your engines" screen until the course is loaded to race during sunset.
- Saturn: By placing 1st on all courses on Normal difficulty, or by putting in a code, you can race as one of the horses you see galloping about on the back end of the Expert courses. It's crazy fast and has crazy grip....but if you want to be stylish, you can still drift with it. :)
- All versions: There is a huge list of letter combinations you can enter on the ranking screen to get the game to play snippets of various Sega theme songs.
I don't know for sure, but I have a theory that the drift mechanics in this game are directly influenced by what gear and speed you're on upon entering the turn. Each turn has a different "maximum speed;" playing the game can be broken down to memorizing the speed limits for each turn. You CAN play very technically, but the other cars, CPU and player alike, won't really let that happen smoothly. Drifting helps you maintain your speed in the turn and let you exit the turn at a higher acceleration.
Like all the other Sega AM2 games, Daytona USA's controls are very easy to pick up, but the techniques are VERY hard to master, and that was the charm behind the AM2 games. I believe that each course teaches you a different set of racing skills to play the game. The skillset are based off of real-world techniques, but they're by no means very realistic. The Beginner course gets you used to the theory behind the footwork timing of drifting and turn speed limits with that last sharp corner in the course. The Advanced course shows how road grade (uphill/downhill slopes), road banking, turn sharpness, and car angling affect drifting and cornering, and introduces drafting/slipstreaming to gain speed. The Expert course teaches you (the hard way) about the importance of driving lines and throttle feathering to maintain traction during cornering, drifting, and accelerating. I feel that the courses vary in traction, with Beginner having the most grip, and Expert the least.
..............Okay, I've said too much. Enjoy the essay. :P
Log in to comment