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    Daytona USA

    Game » consists of 4 releases. Released Dec 21, 2000

    Daytona USA is a remake of the Saturn and Arcade racing classic that adds courses, cars, and online play into the mix. It was released as Daytona USA 2001 in Japan and PAL regions.

    Saw your Quick Look...

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    marcness

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    #1  Edited By marcness

    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

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    birchman

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    #2  Edited By birchman

    Interesting read! You have made quite the awesome first post.

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    CptBedlam

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    #3  Edited By CptBedlam

    Yup, nice read. Welcome to the site!

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    wolf_blitzer85

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    #4  Edited By wolf_blitzer85

    Yup that is a solid ass first post and interesting read on the finer qualities of Daytona USA. Welcome to the site!

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    TaliciaDragonsong

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    #5  Edited By TaliciaDragonsong

    How much they paying ya? ;)
     
    Daytona reminds me of arcades with racinggames from my youth!

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    RE_Player1

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    #6  Edited By RE_Player1

    Good first post. I am informed.

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    Green_Incarnate

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    #7  Edited By Green_Incarnate

    I had this game on the Saturn, and I still only played the first track. lol

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    Aishan

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    #8  Edited By Aishan

    You should put this knowledge to use and fill out the wiki.

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    PokeIkzai

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    #9  Edited By PokeIkzai

    Well color me informed. Good post, man.

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    Eaxis

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    #10  Edited By Eaxis

    I had this on the pc, and I barely played the other tracks.

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    rapid

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    #11  Edited By rapid
    @Aishan said:

    You should put this knowledge to use and fill out the wiki.

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    Steve_Evil

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    #12  Edited By Steve_Evil

    Anyone know if any extra cars unlock in this? I played the Saturn game to death and there was a code you entered to unlock around 8 cars, I remember my favourite being a pale green one with maximum speed stats and the lowest grip, was perfect for drifting around the hairpins on the expert course.

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    Bollard

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    #13  Edited By Bollard

    This is 1000x better than most first posts, bravo!

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    marcness

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    #14  Edited By marcness

    Wow!

    I'm genuinely honored to be welcomed to a new site so openly and warmly! Thanks, everyone!

    Well, I cut my teeth on posting and blogging about games on 1up.com. That place, in 2004, was the place to be to talk about games, but ever since it's been bopped around from owner to owner, the community has changed a lot, but not in a good way. Most of my contemporaries dropped off the face of the earth, probably for the same reasons. Blogging has become a lost art, especially since the inception of social media. I've always been far too long-winded to do something like Twitter. I just can't get under 140 characters! :P

    As for Daytona on PSN/XBL, I don't know which version it's based on. My best guess is that it's built on top of the arcade version, and a few things have been thrown in for replay value. I'm genuinely happy that Karaoke Mode has made a comeback. :) But alas, I can't tell if they have more cars to choose from. The Saturn and Dreamcast versions had unlockable cars, but not the arcade version. The Challenge Mode looks like something I can be interested in. I'll be picking up the game on PSN in the coming weeks, so I might be able to answer some more questions.

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    Mmmslash

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    #15  Edited By Mmmslash

    I can appreciate some hardcore fandom.

    Welcome to Giant Bomb, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

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    jozzy

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    #16  Edited By jozzy

    Should you buy the xbla version (or do you already have it, not clear about that?), could you record a video of your specialist skills with commentary. I wouldn't mind geeking out on some hardcore daytone USA.

    Awesome first post, I was expecting a "The QL sucked, you guys are daytone noobs" type of mostrosity.

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