A Retrospective Look at Gran Turismo
GTPlanet Twitter follower jef722 sent me a link to a recent article posted by EDGE Online, and I found its perspective and approach incredibly refreshing. EDGE argues that Yamauchi’s creation is much more than just a racing game – it’s a classic Japanese RPG, played out in hundreds or even thousands of races:
While you can extrapolate Gran Turismo’s unusual design forward into the beginnings of customizable, sandbox gaming, you can also trace it back to a much more traditional source. It so drastically expanded the scale and lifespan of the racing game by following a path parallel to that of Japan’s dominant game form, the RPG epic. The arc is the same: from humble beginnings, you incrementally acquire greater power, in order to best new opponents, in order to earn more currency and in order to acquire greater power still. Buying parts and tuning settings to develop car performance is a close analogue of leveling RPG characters, increasing and tweaking their stats by buying them new abilities and equipment. The experience of playing the game is characterized as much by acres of menu downtime, browsing, comparing, fiddling and planning, as by the action itself.
This formula seems commonplace now, but it changed everything back in 1998. These other games, however, fail to emulate the seemingly endless choice of vehicular options in GT, and its open structure gives you no choice but to write your own story. Of course, if you want to write that story, it’s going to take hard work, something which EDGE touched on quite eloquently:
You have to step out of Arcade mode and start on the long road of a Gran Turismo career to get past the immaculate sensory sheen and unearth GT’s radical agenda for racing games. In doing so you step straight into the first round of the infamous license tests, the austere lessons in driving technique that provide access to the various championships and racing events. They’re almost perversely unexciting; the first thing the game asks you to do is drive a small hatchback in a straight line and then stop it. It’s a long way from the seductive rush of the arcade, or even the steep demands of a motorsport simulation. The tests’ purpose is to train, yes, but also, by their very dullness, to imply the deadly seriousness of what’s to follow. This isn’t kids’ stuff, and you can’t just walk into it; Gran Turismo is a privilege that must be earned with graft. Many are put off by them, and it’s almost as if they were meant to be.
Indeed, if you’re a patient, hard worker, you’re going to find the Gran Turismo experience incredibly rewarding. If you’re just looking for a quick thrill, you’re going to have a more difficult time appreciating what GT really is. Thankfully, for those of us who enjoy the challenge, Yamauchi has kept each major release true to the original, and let’s hope that doesn’t change with GT5. As we look forward to it, we should not forget to appreciate his artistic foresight which has provided us so many great memories over the last decade. Check out the full article right here for more!
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Newest comments are displayed first.
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December 7th, 2009 at 1:21 pm - #race’emhard
so GT is a RPG. damn, I was RPGs all this time. PD, sneaky bastards
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December 5th, 2009 at 2:12 am - #Vinicius
I just love this game, so much.
GT is a winner, since 1997.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm - #overdriver
Hey jordan, just curiosity: how near was i to bringing you the news about gt5 demo? Always wanted to be a part of the community but felt that if you do not have anything new to offer, why joining… that felt like my chance lol maybe next time! :|
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December 3rd, 2009 at 9:24 am - #overdriver
Hey! Can anyone tell if this is true, because if it is, it’s great news!!!
Apparently on December 17th on PSN will be a GRAN TURISMO 5 DEMO!Would be huge for me knowing I brought something useful to this community that always been useful to me…
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=228789?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS
Waiting comments, hope this is not old news on the forums…
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December 3rd, 2009 at 9:16 am - #takethewall
@mickle pickle
Engine swaps and drivetrain swaps are not pure fantasy… No they’re not common, but people do them. Just look at all of the RB swapped 240sx’s and even ls1 swapped civics. Even Full Race sells a kit for the s14 to swap in the entire drivetrain of the R33 gtr.
I would without a doubt classify the gran turismo games as RPGs. Not a typical rpg, but an rpg nonetheless. I’ve never dumped more hours in to a game than I have on any of the games in the gt series. Always looking for new parts, trying out different tunes, getting new cars. It has all of the elements of an rpg except androgynous spikey haired heros and stories of a rebel group of travelers out to save the world.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 8:31 am - #S3 Racer
GT5 demo on dec 17!!!!
Qualify with 370z on the beloved tokio.
Forum thread somewhere here.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 8:02 am - #STJ
Look at that picture, there’s a JZX90 Toyota markII from GT2! Thats my favorite car ever i want it so bad in GT5.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 6:22 am - #stey
EU and USA launch date, or at least PSN update on GT5p or demo of GT5 this Christmas.
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December 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 am - #tameem
@ stey
totally agreed…. i want gt5 NEWS!!!!!
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:53 am - #z06
I WANT THAT POSTER!
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:30 am - #stey
Boring!!! anything new about GT5
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 am - #S3 Racer
fm = f****** micsosoft??
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December 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 am - #S3 Racer
@MicklePickle:
had the except same problem with FM. the hype was so big that i was thinking of buying an 360 elite FM for 250€!!! Luckily I didn’t. Conclusion of the reviews were that the physics aren’t the best. Saw a pic here somewhere with an Range rover drifting, how realistic is that? And I got the ps3, and gaming rig pc, so the most games for x360 had them on pc. So the hole enterprise was intended to crash.like your cowboy – samurai approch! ++
@8@No$:
NFS Porsche was excellent (only played it on pc ) but for me there are two excellent NFS: Prosche and the follower NFS Hot pursuit, I think it was. With Bush, hot action cop,… on the soundtrack. See still remembering the soundtrack. That’s kind of a good sign@ all:
Super commenting here!!!! No one arguing, insulting…. Quite a proper comment section .
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December 3rd, 2009 at 1:26 am - #LM-Spec
I really miss the “Racing Modification” feature from GT1 and GT2. It was so badass!
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December 3rd, 2009 at 12:54 am - #Red Frog
Yamauchi has pretty much strayed as far from what the original GT was as he possibly could.
Horrible tacked on rally game? Duct taped F1 physics? Now we’re adding NASCAR? Sounds like they’re the ones going for quick thrills.You people are all sheeple. Except TOLL-Scibba-HRT, like him I’d love to see a graphical overhaul for the original game. Over a decade later it’s still the best driving game around, just a shame the graphics shred like an eye-grater.
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December 2nd, 2009 at 10:00 pm - #Will
@ 8@No$
I think the game with the story that you’re thinking of is R4. Possibly the greatest arcade racer of all-time, but not GT. ;)
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December 2nd, 2009 at 8:43 pm - #TeamStig
I agreed with the article, but I don’t understand why there are some who don’t consider GT a videogame because it’s too niche. Not every videogame is intended for the mass audience, and neither was GT. Kaz has said time and time again that he was shocked when the game caught on as fast as it did. Don’t get me wrong, I welcome newcomers to the series but if you don’t understand or have any interest in racing, you shouldn’t be playing GT. It’s as simple as that. If the game is too “over your head” it’s not Polyphony’s fault – it’s yours. You can’t criticize something you don’t get.
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December 2nd, 2009 at 6:39 pm - #8@No$
What’s all this about GT being an rpg? It;s a racing game, more accurately THE racing game.. But seriously, the realism in the tweaking options, the tracks, the licenses, the tasks, the home menus everything in the game gives a real “warm” feeling like playing an rpg but without a character (YOU are the character). In that aspect I understand the term. Oh, and I would like the story option (remember it from GT1 not sure if it went through to the second one) to come back. It is nice to learn the story the technicals the evolution the people behind a machine. These make the machines really come to life. You have a feeling that you buy the car and want to take care of it, learn the story of it, not just drive it.. It is the exact opposite of the “shallow” arcade feeling of games like NFS..(except for the nfs porsche for PC (not PSX version – porsche 2000) which was one of the best games I have played) Anyone agrees?
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December 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm - #Vivian
@ 8@No$
that was good time!!! playing all day and when it was 11:00 pm, I said: now driving 6 hour of Rome circuit (or 400 km?!?). I must win the race because you don’t wanna start over, so I had the Suzuki escudo pikes speak. golden days!!!
GTPlanet on Google+
wow now that i think about it, GT is really like an RPG, for instance completing races over and over again to get credits