Kaido Battle in America!

* I've been getting better with CA battles. I simply changed from racing tires to sports tires. Sports tires are better for drifting than racing tires. Trouble is, they fade away faster. So don't use any racing tires for any long drift battle. I also found Sports tires to be a bit better in night battles where there's unpaved road sections. * There's still one guy I can't seem to beat. The Nikko stage features a Hi-Gambler in an second-generation NSX. He always seems to hand me my butt in terms of speed. I can get some good drifts, but can't get the speed to catch up to him. *

Part of the reason why I switched to a bolt-on turbo was to get more horsepower. I got a lot more horsepower now that I upgraded my turbo. I'm using a Stage 4 turbo from a gambling battle I won. I still don't have Stage 4 turbo parts, though. My car (after some ROM tuning) now makes 429ps at 9200 rpm and 36.6 kg-m of torque at 8000 rpm. It weighs 1203 kg (about 2,652 lbs.). * After ruling with this Honda S2000, I decided to bathe it in my traditional blue and gold colors. Think of this transformation as the king tapping his sword a knight's shoulders. Think of it as getting the green jacket when winning a Masters Tournament in PGA Golf. I like trying different things in making my S2000 red. But I've gone from red and gold to blue and gold with my Honda S2000. I'll show you my S2000 if I'm able to get some quality pictures of it to share with you all. * Meanwhile, I'm trying my hand at some zoom-zoom. The RX-7 is traditionally a better Mazda drift car, but I'm going with the Renesis beast known as the RX-8. I remember how much my brother wanted an RX-8. I love the Mazdaspeed kit for the RX-8. It provides that racy look. Almost like it's waiting to beat you in a race. My brother even said this is one of the few cars whose rear will intimidate you. I need a Mazda for an Advance Race, so I'll take my chances with the RX-8. I used one in a sponsor test, BEAUTIFUL handling.

Here are some tips from me now:
* go with Sports tires if you're doing CA battles on dry surfaces. They are better to work with in drift races than Racing Tires.

* for the CAT battles, you don't need to go full speed. There's no time limit to CAT battles. Depending upon the corner, you may keep a steady speed of about 30 to 60 mph before tackling the action section. If you try to go full speed, your chances of hitting the wall (and ending your drift run) will increase. So keep a slow, but steady speed before making your attack.

* A good drift setup for suspensions is if you put more weight on the rear suspension. You'll need an LSD to make sure you can get back up to speed fast enough. Horsepower (can't do PS translations) in the range of 350 to 500 is almost more than suitable for drifting. No need for a highway battle setup (heavy horsepower and insane top speed) in this game.

* If you think of TXRD2 as a rally game and try to slide through corners like a rally race, you might like the driving experience a bit more than if you look at it like your average arcade racer. You'll need to think rally especially when you head into later stages. I recently unlocked Hokkaido in Record Challenge mode. I also got me a Peugeot 206 Rally Car for it. You could say that doing these drifting battles and events kind of sets you up for potential success in rally. While the two aren't directly related, making those drifts and slides in tricky sections can make the difference between a champion and a pretender.
 
Here are some more tips I'd like to share on TXRD2.

* Make full advantage of those weather dolls when you've generated enough money. Reason being is because some of those Tricksters only appear in certain weather conditions. For example, you need to race on the weekend (Saturday perhaps) in the rain to race against Emi Hirose (Enchantress) at Ura Rokko. You can easily get a Trickster to show up in certain weather conditions. You may as well force certain weather conditions to happen in order to meet the Trickster or other driver you wish to combat. Get the Cloudy Doll, race Ura Rokko, and you get to face one of those Mitsubishi 3000GT's.

* Learn to "nurse the car" when in SP battles. What I consider as nursing the car is that when you're leading, try not to slam into corners hard enough. Because if you do, you're only giving your rival a better chance to win. If you have to, brake much earlier at speed to avoid getting whacked into a wall. Limit any drifts if on a twisty mountain pass. If trailing your rival, drive more carefully and try to pick up speed wherever you can. Still remember to avoid walls and hard hits as much as possible. Your ability to nurse the car in tight situations can be the difference between being a Kaido Champion and a Kaido also-ran.

I fought my first Thirteen Devils opponent as I took on "Backstab" at Haruna. First thing I noticed about his RX-7 is the Jack Knife thing. I was thinking that this was Traitor Jackknife from the highway battles. The old car was an Nissan Silvia K's. Now it's an FD RX-7. But I knocked him off in the FL battle. So it's 1 down, 12 to go! * Something stupid happened. I am undefeated in Team battles, until recently. I accidentally retired from a race against the team leader. I quickly reloaded the game. I would have liked to maybe have a confirmation question asking if I want to retire. So now, I've beaten my own unbeaten streak... by accident. It's like when you play pool (any pool players here?) and accidentally knock in the 8 ball before getting rid of the other balls.

This game is actually much better than most people take credit for (or lack thereof). The game doesn't crash and still has most of the same basic attributes which make the game fun to play. The game doesn't have the drift system used in "Need for Speed: Carbon" in which you have lots of road to use. This game is more of authentic drift battle action. The Japanese folk that made drifting famous didn't have the luxury of 4-lane roads to execute drifts. Just being able to make killer drifts on two-lane mountain roads is just enough to make you appreciate their abilities. If there was one thing besides some of the music to hate the game, let it be the manual. Some sections have "not sure about this" in parentheses. Did they pay somebody to write this? You probably know it's a bad game if the game developer couldn't figure out its own game. I remember when "X-Play" reviewed "Stake" for the XBOX. It netted a 1 out of 5 (and deservedly so) also stating that the game manual was crap. The manual could have been done better in some parts. You have to admit- for a bunch of faceless racers you go against, they sure have some personality.

--- John's Heading to Stage 4! ---
I'm now at Stage 4 at long last! It's the Final Stage! I'm now going to get to race the wintry stages at Aso and Zao. I had a hell of a race against "True Champion" at Nikko. His Audi RS6 was wicked fast and capable. Zao is perhaps the longest course in the game. I know because I raced it in Record Challenge. My new B.A.D. name is "AnnoyingHitter." I'm having to choose between three potential new "flagship" cars in my garage- a tuned (used) NSX-R, a Toyota Supra, and a Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO. I may even consider looking for a potent 4WD car just to get through some of the stages at Zao and Aso. The action just seems to get more intense as you go along.
 
GET THE SUPRA!!!! It is wicked for zao and Aso and pretty much every other caurse(apart from yokohama lol). Has great top speed and acceleration, along with an awsome handling package.

I had to lough when i read the manual. They state the definition of an LSD as "Don't know what this means?" in my manual:D

Ive only got about 40 rival's to go, Ive started playing again now.
 
A quality that you're able to enjoy a racing game is when you have enough money to buy almost any car available in the game. So describes my situation now. The popular car you see when making decals or placing sponsors is the ride I'm currently working with- the Nissan 350Z. Most of you can probably tell that I'm mostly sticking with proven drift cars. I've basically mastered drifting with front/RWD cars. I'm able to better set up front/RWD cars for drifting. I feel so confident in drifting in this game that I might try to knock down some drifts in Gran Turismo 4. Two totally different games, but at least now I've established better skills in tuning cars for drift. I'm normally a "Grip" person in most racing games.



--- Getting a Grip ---
Speaking of drift cars, I may have a new flagship drift car. In the arcade game known as "Wangan Midnight," the guy you most had to beat drove a Datsun 240Z. The 240Z is ever becoming the perfect drift car for me. I figured it would be the perfect drift car since it's lightweight and doesn't go very fast. My S2000 never realized its true potential until I added a bolt-on turbo. The 240Z may be going in the same direction as I'll try to use this in CA battles at night. The 240Z is one of my all-time favorite Japanese sports cars along with the Toyota 2000GT, Honda/Acura NSX, Toyota Supra, and the Mitsubishi 3000GT. It drifts like a dream, racking up all kinds of points. Give it a sharp corner in a drift battle, and it will give you plenty of drift points. It's just a killer car.

* ASL Garaiya
I also bought a Tuned model of the ASL Garaiya. I sometimes called the Honda NSX a Japanese Ferrari. Well, the Garaiya is an awesome car that looks more like a Ferrari- slick and hot. I, of course, adorned it in blue and gold rather than ARTA's traditional reddish-orange color. I swear I have a new supercar just by having this car in my lineup. No drifting here. This is one of my Grip cars. I did about 156 with it on the Test Course. This car will be almost completely exclusive as a Time Attack car. I've turned off the driver aids to this machine as well. I equipped a bolt-on turbo to this car. And after extra modifications, I'm making about 450ps with this car.

Players in Major League Baseball sometimes get dropped down to the minor leagues to either recover from an injury or try to improve their abilities before heading back to the major leagues. These are sometimes called "rehab assignments." I gave it a few "rehab starts" to see what this car can do. So what I did was race against some rivals I've already beaten at Myougisan. The race had to be either a Time Attack or a good SP battle. I posted a 75 second (1;15.247) time compared to MY RIVAL's 81-second (1:21.966) run. This TA battle was more like a single-A race for it. Now for a AA (double-A) challenge. So I took on Sara Kiyono (Skirt Checker) in the Usuitogue parking lot. Actually, this would seem like a Triple-A race against Sara's R32 Skyline. Surprisingly, my Garaiya had better acceleration than the R32 Skyline. Her Skyline probably handled corners better than I did, but this is still a small terror. Then I went to Hakone Nanamagari for a "Triple-A" challenge. I took my chances and took on Tamotsu Suzuki (Metro Roller) and his wicked R32 Skyline race-car-for-the-street. It was an LF battle, meaning that I had to pass him and beat him by more than 109 yards to win. Either that, or cross the line first. I ended up winning the line only a few hundredths of a mile from the finish. Metro Roller's Skyline has a paintscheme similar to the 1993(?) Calsonic race car in GT4. Metro Roller is not easy to take down, but I got him. You beat Metro Roller, that's saying something about your car and your abilities. Only greater accomplishment would be racing against Ura Rokko's Masaya Tendou (Alchemist) and his awesome NSX. This car passed all three challenges and is a true champion. Perhaps even a viable car for battles. In fact, I knocked off one of the NSX team members at Aso. I even knocked off the NSX team leader (again) in a second run. When you can beat an NSX with a shorter and much lighter car, that's saying something. Of course, I have wicked horsepower on my side with this thing. I did trail in battles early on, but the Garaiya knows its strengths in the corners. I even made an Audi wagon have to give me its Stage 5 Turbo at Aso. Maybe ASL should market their funky ASL Garaiya to America. Think it would sell here?



--- The Search for a New Flagship ---
Now for updates on the Supra, NSX, and 3000GT. I've used the 3000GT for some of the night battles that aren't CA races. I'm reluctant to find a proper 4WD car for some of the night battles that take place on tracks with off-road conditions. I'd like to get the Lancer Evo V as a proper rally car, but I'm not very good



--- A Look at my Customization Scheme ---
Finally, I'd like to just share some color and decal talk. I don't have any pictures to share unless I had a better camera or something to take pictures with and show you all. My traditional colors are blue and gold. Here are the colors for my cars:

My "Sapphire Blue" Base Color
Hue: 250
Shade: 255
Brightness: 75

[B}My "Royal Blue" Acents[/B]
Hue: 250
Shade: 255
Brightness: 150

My "Pure Gold" Accents
Hue: 50
Shade: 255
Brightness: 225

The type of decals I normally use are the Trival (or did they mean "Tribal?" If so, that's another missed translation or typo) colors. I try to make sure the blue decal is much brighter than the base blue color. However, I don't want it to be too bright. Otherwise, the balance of the blue colors gets thrown off. My gold color provides the touching accents needed to offset the blue colors. I usually try to find gold-colored wheels to accentuate the gold color of my cars. My love of this blue and gold combination were semi-inspired by Subaru's World Rally team. I love blue. The combination of blue of gold has another amount of significance. The blue and gold somewhat share my love of nighttime. The gold accents on my cars somewhat resemble shooting stars trailing across the skies at night. I think one time when I was a little boy, I looked up in the sky as the sun was still trying to dominate the sky. What I saw in the sky one morning was a shooting star. So all my life, I've loved nighttime as well as the stars and heavens which inhabit space. While the night sky isn't usually blue, the two blue colors somewhat resemble a starry night sky while the gold represents some of the matter like stars and comets. The gold-colored wheels can be thought of as some of the brightest stars in the night sky. Think of the Morning Star, the Stars of Pleiades, and that sort of thing. And being from Houston, we are sometimes known as America's "Space City." Which is why we have professional sports teams like the Houston Rockets and the Houston Astros for example. So I'm also representing my hometown on the basis of stars and space.

Think of my blue and gold more like the University of California, West Virginia University, Marquette University, Canisius College, and stuff like that. Maybe even look at the colors like those of the NFL's St. Louis Rams (only not the same gold color). I don't let gold dominate the car. I never considered a reverse color scheme, though I have worked with gold in "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero" for my Toyota Supra (nowhere near the paint options for TXRD2). So that's a general overview of my colors.

-end


I still have some dudes to knock off at Zao and Aso in the meanwhile.
 
Thanks for the compliments, okayplayercom02. Now I'm trying to win some of the Advance races available to me. Some of the CA Battle people I've put off have finally been beaten. I took on Redeye at Akagi after he keeps b:censored:ing to me about a challenge. So I took my Datsun 240Z and ended up stumbling. But it wasn't until I put on an inspired drive after boosting the power. The requirement was 18,000 CA. I ended up winning the challenge with a 36,000+ score! It really feels good to win in something you're normally not good at.

For now, I'm trying to make my 240Z remain stable in the corners. My fear of racing vintage cars (or very old ones at least) is the fact that fitting big tires on a classic car usually results in some hard-to-control cars. I got the sliding down for my 240Z. Now I'm trying to control it. In addition, my NSX may be nearing the end of its lifespan as my flagship "Grip" car. My ASL Garaiya is doing impressive in Time Attack races. And for the first time, I won my first FL Battle without crossing the line. It's usually that I try to win LF Battles before it's too late. But I finally won an FL battle against a Subaru Impreza WRX at Aso. I made sure to go with Sports tires unless it's all paved road. I have yet to race in Snowy conditions.
 
Quick update: I added a new car to my stable. The latest car to be wearing the blue and gold of my "team" in TXRD2 is a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V. It is my legit rally car. I can't find an Impreza I really liked. What I did do, however, was modify the suspension and such for it to be similar to the tuning model Subaru Impreza wagon. I decked it out as best as I could. On most of the basic engine and power tunes (not touching the turbo), this rallying car makes 471ps. I wanted to get the Starion 4WD as my premier rallying machine, but I couldn't profit from racing a Special car. So I made my own machine. Don't you find it a bit funny how I modelled the Lancer's handling dynamics... by it's rival? The Lancer and Impreza has been a pretty heated rivalry in rallying. So hateful, you almost think this is Duke vs. North Carolina. But, I'm making the Lancer Evo V as my rallying machine. Now to teach some jive turkeys in Zao and Aso a thing or two... Texas style!
 
lol my main rallying machine is the evo VII(Found it REALLY early on in the used car lot).

Deep blue with gold TE37's and [ DRILED ] Plates.


Try and find the Fiat Abarth in the used car lot. Talk about Giant Killer:D
 
I defeated Absolute Emperor! I defeated Absolute Emperor!! I defeated Absolute Emperor!!!

I said this would be a battle of small cars. It was his Renault Clio vs. my ASL Garaiya. As with most of my battles with the Garaiya, my accleration was slow. But all I needed was one moment in which the Absolute Emperor would give me the opening I needed. He tagged the outside wall on the left a bit. It was just enough to pass by and hand him his ass. He even kept gaining ground on me as I was leading. Thankfully, none of the gravel sections came up in my battle. I won the LF battle on steer determination and unrelenting courage. My ASL Garaiya is my flagship Grip car. And it got some mad respect as I won this intense battle. As if any of the past battles weren't intense enough, I know I'm probably going to get my ass handed to in this pure rally long course in Hokkaido. Now, my Lancer may be REQUIRED to win there. I think I unlocked some more cars after my win, so it's possible that I may upgrade my Evo 5 to a more recent model. I'll hand it to the Absolute Emperor (Yeti Fang)- you got a hell of a car. It was still my Japanese muscle that did him in with this battle of compact sports cars. In fact, I'll trade my Evolution V for an Evolution VIII. I wanted to get the New Car version because I already have a fully-tuned and prepped Lancer to just give away. As a member of my "family," it will of course adorn the blue and gold colors of my team. It's going to be a hellacious fight. But anything is possible if I believe and know I can make a difference in this absolute final stage.

I been thinking a bit as I was going through the game. I thought it would be cool if Lancia was in TXRD2. Imagine drifting and rallying with this proven champion. Imagine cornering around Haruna or Omote Rokko in the World Rally-winning Lancia Stratos Rally Car. I saw the credits. Did you know Daiko Kasho (of Gran Turismo fame) did songs for this game as well? You go from mountain roads to pure rallying. Only the strong survive. And hopefully, I'm game enough to get it done on Hokkaido Island.
 
So I'm racing around Hokkaido's gravel stages.

I usually like to brag about blue and gold. Well with my 240Z, I'm thinking of a special one-off color scheme. I forgot to tell you that my red 240Z is now in blue and gold. But now, I'm working on a brand new paintscheme with a theme of Summer. So what I decided to do is make a royal blue color coupled with an aquamarine color. So for the first time, I'm sampling with a water-themed paintscheme. I call it "Paradise Blue." Here are the colors:

Sunny Blue - Base Color ()
Hue: 240
Shade: 255
Brightness: 255

Surfside Blue - Decal Layer 1 (Trival1 - 1)
Hue: 225
Shade: 255
Brightness: 255

Aqua Blue - Decal Layer 2 (Trival1 -3)
Hue: 200
Shade: 255
Brightness: 225



--- Background of Paraise Blue Colors ---
My inspiration for "Paradise Blue" normally pertains to your average vacation paradise. The base blue color is a either that of a sunny day or crystal-clear waters as you look out over the ocean ahead of you. Adding a Luster finish to the decals is important because it provides the impression of the sun's rays glittering on the surface of the water. It provides that underwater look to it. I chose the brighter blue color and these lighter blues for a true water effect. Think of a sunny afternoon in some tropical paradise with these colors. I also gave you an idea of the scheme I'm using for one of my cars for the first time.



--- Other News ---

* John Hits Nine Figures!
After clearing the Gymkhana events at Hokkaido, my offical CP balance is 116,730,000 CP! It's the first time I hit nine figures in this game. My previous most was about 72M CP. Part of the reason for the bigger finances was because how I acquired sponsorship from Terror Tune. TT offers 700,000 CP to clear the Gymkhana challenge in quick time. You know, you start off by acquiring TakeOff and Your's. Putting them in the right places gives you about 190,000 CP at most. Sponsorship really begins to take off (no pun intended) when you find some of the better sponsors. Best thing you can do is try to keep all of your sponsors and place the lesser sponsors at lower-paying areas of your car. I got money. LOTS of it!

* Second Time's a Charm?
In my second CA pass, I took my Datsun 240Z out to Hokkaido. When I found out I still had Racing tires at the rear, I IMMEDIATELY went to the Tire Exchange and swapped out both sides with Sports tires. You'll need Sports tires in Hokkaido because most of the stage is gravel. And if you can't get your car sideways (even on gravel), then you haven't mastered the drift. Practice, grass hopper! After feeling the course out in my front/RWD Datsun, I made some careful passes. The paved hairpin turn was one in which I said "oh, I should be able to nail this. And I did. I did so in racking up about 4,900 CA points without whacking the wall. RWD on tarmac is great, but it takes some extra practice to feel your car out around gravel roads. Your CA points seem to double on more slippery surfaces. You still need a great-handling car to take advantage of these off-road stages effectively. I made my 240Z to be more stable in the corners when going sideways. Just losing traction while turning hard on a slippery surface gives you sufficient drift points if your car is set up right. Learning how to slide the car out without the handbrake is almost essential in running the smooth Zao and Aso sections. You sometimes see CA attack areas that are very brief. Basically kinks in the road which you can still knock down a drift. Master your surroundings.

* The 3000GT/GTO in Off-Road Conditions
I'm quite surprised about the 3000GT when off-road. I always considered this an on-road beast. It isn't well known for off-road prowess, however. I had to basically fool around with suspension and even use the Torque Balance. I set it to 30:70. But I had to move it to 40:60 when the car oversteered too easily. It feels like a pure GT race car that can handle off-road sections quite well.

* Twenty Master?
I came across some guy at Haruna who has the tag of "Twenty Master." No fancy introduction, no extremely menacing figure... just some guy who was in the Haruna PA who wanted a race. And I handed him his ass. Is it just me, or does it seem that the Kingdom Twelve and Thirteen Devils don't seem to have fancy introductions like the Slashers you go up against?

* Recently Knocked Off Shiga Kusatsu's Slasher
I took one of my 4WD Mitsubishis and took out Shiga Kusatsu's awesome Skyline. I'm still unbeaten in beating Slashers on the first try.


And that would be all.
 
I need to get back into the game. It lately seems my bad habit from Gran Turismo (where I use super grippy tires and cheats so they don't wear...Which is why I don't run the WRS) where I brake WAY too late has reared it's ugly head in this game. I keep hitting walls. Thus, [EEVEE6] has become a little floppy in her chassis, and I may have to get a new one. I'm waiting for the BNR32 to come out, as I need a 4WD with big horsepower for the winter roads...those guys are the 200MPH guys on the Wangan, i'm sure. Say, John, how does the GTO run?
 
The GTO runs pretty good in TXRD2. A bad thing about the Lancer is that you can't control the Torque Balance. You can with the GTO, though. I'm looking for a proper setup that will make the GTO succeed both on tarmac and gravel. I'm not looking for rally slides with the GTO because this is my pure race car (other than my ASL Garaiya, of course). I upgraded the handling and performance characteristics. Without(?) any turbo upgrades, it's making about 617ps. * On paved surfaces, it handles very well. I'm even able to better control grip in the corners well. My dream package would be a potent driving model while being able to make some smooth handbrake turns when the time comes. It's not that easy with a 4WD car, however. 'Cause remember- a 4WD combines the characteristics of FWD and RWD. You can get a slide working, but you may find yourself having FWD-style understeer and smack the wall. Almost like you have to ride the handbrake with 4WD cars to make them shine. * On non-paved surfaces, the car still handles like it's on a race track. Granted the 3000GT is never considered a rally heavyweight (no pun intended) compared to the Lancer, the 3000GT drives like it's still on paved roads on off-road sections. It's a car I'll gladly use in Hokkaido when the race isn't a CA battle.

Other than that, the 3000GT/GTO runs great.
 
JohnBM01
The GTO runs pretty good in TXRD2. A bad thing about the Lancer is that you can't control the Torque Balance. You can with the GTO, though. I'm looking for a proper setup that will make the GTO succeed both on tarmac and gravel. I'm not looking for rally slides with the GTO because this is my pure race car (other than my ASL Garaiya, of course). I upgraded the handling and performance characteristics. Without(?) any turbo upgrades, it's making about 617ps. * On paved surfaces, it handles very well. I'm even able to better control grip in the corners well. My dream package would be a potent driving model while being able to make some smooth handbrake turns when the time comes. It's not that easy with a 4WD car, however. 'Cause remember- a 4WD combines the characteristics of FWD and RWD. You can get a slide working, but you may find yourself having FWD-style understeer and smack the wall. Almost like you have to ride the handbrake with 4WD cars to make them shine. * On non-paved surfaces, the car still handles like it's on a race track. Granted the 3000GT is never considered a rally heavyweight (no pun intended) compared to the Lancer, the 3000GT drives like it's still on paved roads on off-road sections. It's a car I'll gladly use in Hokkaido when the race isn't a CA battle.

Other than that, the 3000GT/GTO runs great.
Click to expand...

It sounds like one worth looking into...that NSX team on..Aso, is it?...Scares the heck out of me. The GTO sounds like a good stand-in till I can get the GT-R, or, perhaps I'll bond with it and actually keep it...617PS should keep most racers at bay. Maybe. I don't worry that much about CA...I can't control drifts well enough wiht a FR or MR, due to that late brake thing, and the fact that I like to yank on the side brake. I'm finding that I get better scores in 4WDs. My old Impreza III [RUHROH] was pretty good at CA, just not fast enough.

Hm, what license plate...Depends on the color...red, FLREON, Yellow, JLTEON, blue, VAPEON, black, UMBRON...

What? If the Evo's an Eevee, why can't this one be an Eeveeloution? perhaps I can paint it a really nice moonmist violet-gray, call it ESPEON...

which actually fits in the license plate. wow...can't wait to get back to it now! Thanks!

By the way, any tips on CAT? that's driving me nuts.
 
Seems like some racing games showcase cars with wonderful handling in a variety of games. I loved the Blitz Skyline in GT4, and its capabilities are more than impressive in Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2. I even have that D1GP game for the PS2, also using the Blitz Skyline most of the time. Some racing games are like that.

You know, I might consider getting a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R. For some reason, my cars have struggled a bit against the Pulsar GTI-R in TXRD2 and even TXR3. One of the Tokyo leaders in TXR3 uses a Pulsar GTI-R as his car. It's a potent car, no doubt.

* Have to Cancel Some Sponsorships
I had to cancel my sponsorship to Your's to get Strada to join ship. Cancelling sponsorship is now a factor in the later stages of the game. I realized that I actually had 16 sponsors prior to landing my Strada sponsorship.


* Basic Combinations That Work
A usual combination I have for engine parts in TXRD2 is that of AKP-HRM-UNI. This is one of the combinations you can use to make the maximum amount of power based on your car's tuning. Finding the right combination kind of reminds me of the Program Advance techniques in "MegaMan: Network Transmission." In MMNT, you had to put together three chips together to be able to execute a special attack or acquire some special ability that's temporarily available. * A turbo combo that worked for my 240Z is that of GME-TZM-TRM. You have to play around with these combinations to get the very best out of your turbo or bolt-on turbo.

* Kei Drifting
It can be very tough nailing solid drifts in a small car. Just continuously losing the Under Litter Cup Advance Race at Zao. A car with less than 1000cc's displacemnt is needed for this CA event. My two contenders are the Suzuki Cappuccino(?) and the Mazda AZ-1. I even "attempted" to drift out the Suzuki Carry 660 Turbo around Zao's course, but to no avail. The Cappucino is best able to clear corners. The AZ-1 can slide beautifully, but unstable... and at the wrong moments as well. Can't wait to just clear the Lightweight Cup with my 240Z or something.



Let's talk a bit on the all-NSX team at Aso. Breakform is the all-NSX team. I used the Mitsubishi 3000GT/GTO against the wicked NSXes. The GTO is double-safe because there are some off-road sections. Take full advantage of getting as much control as you need with a 4WD car. Beating Itsuo Katsuoka (Drift Slayer), Keimei Sato (Moon Splash), and Tatsuya Murakawa (Foot Beat) gets better in your favor with a potent 4WD car. Tuned to the max, the GTO is almost like a GT race car that can handle the mountain roads of Japan. It's the car I'd greatly recommend. * I noted that the NSX was nearing the end of its very existance. But it wasn't until the NSX put on some sick drifts in a CA battle at night. I took on Norio Mita (Distortion) a few times. I nailed enough drift points, but couldn't beat him to the line on two seperate occasions. I think the CA battles can be a joke with how the other drifter uses his/her car. They even be hitting the walls... yet expect me to beat him to the line after racking up some heavy-duty points. Yeah, I know. Sad.
 
Here's a quick update. I've cleared a few more Advance Races. I also unlocked Kirigamine. Kirigamine is a very fast course. Cars that can run and handle at high speeds will have no problem with this course. There are three hairpins and one hairpin-like sharp corner. I'm even playing around with cars in my garage. Trying to mod them out as best as I can.

By the way, Kirigamine is a lovely course with trees aplenty. Shame on all the dopes who think the graphics are bland or terrible!
 
Now another quick update... this one not good. I've lost my first battle against a Kingdom Twelve member. So I'm now unbeaten against Slashers, Thirteen Devils, and Twenty Master.
 
Nice lol. Im still completely unbeaten in nearly 400 races(only reloaded 4 times, this is pretty much my 4th time through, but this is the furthest i've been, Now that i can actually read the email's etc;))

I can't see how people complain about the graphic's. After ive had a session on my 360 this is really the only game i can stand playing(it look's even better then GT3 imo...), and it has a really nice style to it.
 
I downloaded the TXRD2 FAQ (try saying that fast!). Even the FAQ talked about how this game wasn't well liked despite a great fanbase and some great gameplay. This is maybe the most overlooked racing game series ever. Tokyo Xtreme Racer actually has some underrated titles. My only real complaints would be translation errors and some better music. The Japanese landscape looks amazing in this game. But there are some of the media hotshots who hope every racing game can be Forza-qualty with Burnout-quality crashes (generalization). Reality is, not every game can or should be structured the same. Just most of the bare essentials of this game are just enough to shut up ANY critic. The game doesn't crash, there aren't any sound problems, sponsors and decals are pretty solid, you may elect (I don't) to use the Maziora colors... just a number of positives people seem to overlook. Imagine if "Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2" was part of a one-on-one interview. This is how I think TXRD2 would explain itself:



Role Play
(I am "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2"; answering questions)

Q: "It's the second installment of this series in the long-running Tokyo Xtreme Racer series. JohnBM01 of GTPlanet says your series is underrated and that the series doesn't get as much respect as it should. Do you really think you're underrated?
A: Presumably, I am underrated. The game series I represent is highly underrated. My company has done a great job of trying to provide great racing action even if it isn't as vibrant and glamourous as... what's that game? Oh yeah, "Need for Speed: Carbon." I'm very sure this is a great game. But even as much as I and my siblings are trying to appear in people's homes and in people's PS2's, we're overlooked. So Johnny boy is right.

Q: Speaking of "NFS: Carbon," how would you rate yourself over this long-running "Need for Speed" series?
A: Let me be honest. Street racing doesn't get as intense as this game. But look into my eyes and come close... do you think I give a f:censored: about Carbon? Let me tell you something, pal. Okay. So the Tokyo Xtreme Racer/Kaido Battle series isn't "NFS: Carbon." So what? Both of us specialize in illegal street racing. We even have some legal racing in the daytime. Here's a comparison- "NFS: Carbon" is a game in which you race in some faceless American city, preferably something resembling Southern California. Look at my game. Nothing like the scenic mountains of Japan. We're an arcade game, but we're challenging for a reason. Think of all the drifting greats that tackled tough mountain passes. Bring one of your "NFS: Carbon" fans to Haruna (or at least start off in Hakone). It will be tough at first, but you don't have the typical Hollywood drama like in "NFS: Carbon."

Q: "X-Play" given you a 1 out of 5. IGN gave you a 5 out of 10. Convince to fans that you're a great game.
A: Oh, let me begin... First of all, you're not a real drifting star until you can make a car go sideways on a two-lane mountain road. You tell me. What's more satisfying- a heated battle between two cars on a stretch of mountain road, or a fanboy's paradise whereas a Mitsubishi Lancer can easily beat an Aston Martin DB9 on four lanes of road? What's better- the Japanese roads with trees and sakura trees to the side, or the California-like Canyon battles? You know what those Canyon battles remind me of? They remind me of those stupid Flash games where if you don't do what the game asks you to, the character you use gets blasted in your face. Our rivals have character and personality. Some drivers are overconfient. Some drivers are dumbasses that can still drift a car or clear a mountain pass with sick drifts. We got funny guys and hot ladies. We got the Thirteen Devils. What's Carbon got? The cops. Oh, THAT's fun. Look at the cars. We don't have a Ferrari for the typical high schooler who loves exotic cars but can't drive worth a s:censored: in real life. But we do have a lot of cars where people will be more than willing to take 'em sideways and win races. I heard what Adam Sessler said about my game. Tough to execute drifts? Pale graphics? You see, this is typical of people who can't appreciate racing games for what they are. They want the closest thing to NASCAR or Burnout. Some cars are terrible... THAT'S WHY YOU TUNE THEM!!! Buy a car, get some parts, tune to perfection, and do Genki and Crave proud. You want bad racing games? I just named one- Burnout. More crashes than racing. At best, we should have gotten a "3 out of 5" rather than a 1. Look at Enthusia as well. People said this game was "gay." It was still as smooth of a racer as GT4 or Forza. Nobody loves the underdog... and it shows.

Q: Aren't you the least bit concerned about people who judge you in saying that there's no damage or online play?
A: I know that's what every gamer wants. People like to assume that damage is simple. Make a car, screw it up, show to friends. You don't NEED damage. I'm damned aware that cars aren't indestructible. But don't you or some other gaming media jackass criticize me just because I'm not on an XBOX with XBOX Live with 24-year old college valedictorians that are actually 14 and barely getting by in high school. I can still be a quality game for racing fans without having to kiss the bums of gaming elites. People have forgotten that racing games are about racing and not crashing. Drifters take hits, but do you see media types glorifying crashes here in Japan? Drift/Drive right and crashes won't make any sort of importance. As for online, I'm actually curious if Genki will want to have some online drift battles.

Q: This series is known for highway battles. But this drifting installment features drifting as well as some rally cars. Why the correlation between drift and drag?
A: It's something JohnBM01 brought up. He's right in that drifting and rally can kind of be one-in-the-same. Can you imagine a drift battle on city highways where sections are in gravel? It would be dangerous! We could have made it a drifting game only on paved mountain roads. But we decided to do something different. We want to challenge the gamer with a rally challenge. Think drifting around a corner is fun? Try drifting around a sharp hairpin on gravel. We have the challenge of Hokkaido to test the mettle of the hardened rally racer. We hope we've done a great job adding a rally feel to the game.

Q: Anything you want to say to your fans?
A: For those who actually put up the under $20 USD price tag for me, domo arigato! That's "thank you" in Japanese. We hope to provide real sideways drama without the hype "NFS: Carbon" (or any related series) likes to put on illegal street racing. Unlike some of those Burnout games, PLEASE don't execute some of the stunts in Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2. Same goes for just about any illegal street racing game. Take your racing to the track. But when you want a racing game series to fall on when you want to dial it down, try Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2. Now go race your hearts out.


And that would be all for me here.
 
My premier rally car WAS the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8. But now, I traded up to a used Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 MR. Two extra letters can make a difference. Mitsu afficionados know what they are getting when you have an MR version. Don't confuse Mitsu's MR to mid/RWD cars. MR is Mitsubishi Racing. This newer version is lighter than the Evo 8 I had. This machine has a different full aero mod. In fact, it looks more like a high-class touring car or GT car rather than a rally car. Get the Lancer Evo 8 MR, give it a Full Aero mod, and you'll see what I mean. It still remains a great car for racing.

You begin to appreciate the steering angle as well as the handbrake work when you get to do most of the sections which are unpaved. I've been playing around with a number of settings to get a more drift-friendly Lancer Evo 8 setup. The fruits of my labor are emphasized when I go sideways. I'm better able to enter opposite lock when around Hokkaido. The intro to this game features a Lancer doing some of the gravel roads of Hokkaido (not to mention another Lancer in the snow battling a Subaru Impreza WRC). So you know what you're getting with the Lancer. The reason why I don't have an Impreza in my garage is because I don't see an Impreza that I like (preferably the one from 2003) from my progress through the game. I do have one Subaru, but it's the much heavier Alcyone SVX. My favorite rally car of all-time for handling and performance is the Peugeot 206 WRC. It's in TXRD2; I just don't have it yet.

One last Hokkaido note: those jumps can be quite fun. However, you need to be careful upon landing. The balance of your car can be offset by landing. A proper setup can even mean the difference between a good landing and a bad landing. I almost lost a FL Battle at Hokkaido because of taking a big jump and having the balance of my Lancer offset.



--- 4WD CA Battling ---
I have to say that CA Battles with 4WD cars can be pretty fun. I defeated Kenji Kano (Onnetou Glare) in Hokkaido. I think it was my first CA Battle victory with a "Special" car. I used the Mitsubishi Starion 4WD. It's too bad you can't modify them or even peek at some of the settings for Special cars. It's best you use Special cars when the race in question is not a Category Race. Meaning your Blitz Skyline may not work in a Nissan Cup race at Shiga Kusatsu (which I think is dumb because it's still a Nissan), but you CAN use it in non-sponsored events and races. Primarily, these are most of the PA rivals. Getting sideways around the gravel roads of Hokkaido can be very fun. Some technique is involved, however. You'll need to basically ride the handbrake through corners. A properly set up 4WD car will give you the slide job you need to clear corners effectively while powering out of corners. The toughest corner for a 4WD car is a smooth hairpin. A good thing about drifting with 4WD cars is that you'll have a better chance of getting the needed traction to clear corners.



--- Changing Tires ANYTIME ---
One fallacy of the Basic Settings menu is that I can't be able to change tires on the fly. I also have no idea of what tires I'm equipped with. I found out the hard way that my 3000GT/GTO was equipped with Level 3 WET tires rather than SPORTS tires for a night race at Hokkaido. The other car (a Hi-Gambler) was Keijiro Shibuya (Greatest Line). Handed me my ass. I lost again to Shibuya's Galant VR-4 even when I switched to Sports tires in my GTO. Ouch!



--- Greater Appreciation and Understanding of the LSD ---
I've acquired some better understanding of the LSD just by playing this game and playing around with LSD settings. I'm able to actually enhance my drift settings simply by modifying LSD settings. The limited-slip differential has basically shown me the importance of it in drifting. I may now be able to play any Gran Turismo (except GT1, because GT1 doesn't have LSD settings) and mess with the LSD to get a handling advantage for my cars.



--- Unlocked Yokohama ---
Maybe the only major city in this game that you can race (besides Hiroshima) is Yokohama. Since it's a short course, it can't be raced in any conditions besides Daytime and Dry. I always get a little happy when Yokohama is mentioned because a friend of mine is from Yokohama. I have a Japanese friend named Akemi who attended my community college. It's a nice track to test out the handling of your car. The most challenging aspect about this track is that it's full of blind corners. Because this short course is in an urban setting, a number of corners will be blind. The first two major corners are blind corners that go downhill. Drift here at your own expense. It's pretty quick as well. I've logged 46 and 47-second passes around Yokohama. It is about 0.68 miles long. Yokohama's course only trails of Myougisan for shortest of the short tracks.



--- The Nissan Skyline Turbo RS-X's Full Aero ---
This car has a very interesting Full Aero. It reminds me of some of those big-bodied, old school GT cars. Think of the '70s GT Cup in ToCA Race Driver 3 with the BMW M1 Procar and that Lancia (forget the name of the car). It also reminds me of the Nissan R30 Skyline Silhouette Formula from GT2. This specific Skyline is be my latest Grip car. I sold my Skyline R34 (the front/RWD version) after modding it out. I kept the previously-equipped parts and simply modded out my R30 Skyline. I'm trying to set this car up for Grip and not Drift. But after experimenting with Grip settings, it could play the Drift part very well if asked to.



I want to end with some question for all of you veterans of the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series, and it's all about the ladies:

Who is/are the best FEMALE opponent(s) you've gone up against in a TXR or TXR Drift game? If you know your teams, what is the best all-female team you've gone up against?

For me to answer, I think two of the toughest are both boss characters. "Midnight Rose" was one of the toughest ladies I went up against in both TXR0 and TXR3. Early in TXR3, you had to try to knock off "Dejected Angel" in Tokyo. She was pretty tough. There were also those special effects when you raced Dejected Angel. Nowadays, she's Gloomy Angel (at least in the TXR Drift series, I guess). Still two of the toughest ladies. * Maybe not the toughest, but the coolest Wanderer I faced in the TXR series is Late Night Cinderella. She had a custom Mazda RX-7 in TXR0, and she races a custom Mazda RX-8 (a VERY cool RX-8) in TXR3.

What are yours?
 
[ESPEON] doesn't trust me, yet.

I finally got the GTO Twin Turbo MR. She's up to a hefty 666PS (EEK!) and I've even painted her in the correct color. But [ESPEON] is a hefty girl. I created her a brother in Record challenge, (Black, [UMBRON]) but he's a little lighter and more powerful.

I'm also having trouble with [ESPEON] getting off the corners. She has plenty of power to hustle all that weight down the straights of Aso and Zao, but it's all way up high. I might invest in an "L-Muffler," or try screwing with the ROM, though I don't trust myself at all with that.

John, what about your suspension setup with your GTO? [ESPEON], as she's set up now, likes to drift. I know. couldn't believe it either. I transfer all the power to the rear wheels, and she's a D1 champ on the Gymkhana. Fabulous power over. Most of her parts, by the way, are Level 4 or 3. I need better brakes, too: she's giving me fits by overheating them badly.
 
I usually been updating this thread a lot. Actually, though, I've had a vacation away from TXRD2.

My suspension settings? Well, I usually try to keep it as much of a drifter as possible. I'm able to better harness the 3000GT's handling better by fiddling with the Torque Balance. I try to set it up nowadays to handle mountain roads and not be so much of a CA Battle car. I use my Lancer Evolution VIII MR for that. I'm also waiting to redo the Mitsubishi Cup Advance Race at Shiga Kusatsu whenever it comes back around. It's still a work in progress, so don't expect instant results right away.

I have a Level 4 Suspension package for the 3000GT. Both the front and rear have a -4 spring rate. They both are on soft. The dampers (or shocks for most of us others) are at -2 for both axles. I want to get the best handling for my car. So I left the rear stabilizer alone and softened the front stabilizer down to -4. I left the ride height alone. if you're trying to get better turn-in, I'd increase the steering angle to about maybe 1 or 2. Go into the negatives if you think the car turns too easily.

Remember that the 3000GT/GTO is a heavy car that makes heavy power when fully tuned. After all, I used the GTO to win most of the races in Gran Turismo 1. This probably won't be your car for intense night battles or challenges. Tune to your heart's content.
 
Just recently, I found the Impreza I was looking for in the Used Car lot. I got the Subaru Impreza STi. It's the GDB model. And it's also my new most powerful car. I have only so few parts for H-Engine cars. But with lots of tuning love, I was able to boost out the horsepower to a whopping 720ps. I haven't raced it yet, but I've given it the Full Aero treatment and may just be my other rally weapon. It was already sporting Subaru's WR Blue Mica and had gold tires. All I needed to do was add sponsors, and I'm straight. Tell you how it goes when I get a chance to race this thing for a while.
 
JohnBM01
I usually been updating this thread a lot. Actually, though, I've had a vacation away from TXRD2.

My suspension settings? Well, I usually try to keep it as much of a drifter as possible. I'm able to better harness the 3000GT's handling better by fiddling with the Torque Balance. I try to set it up nowadays to handle mountain roads and not be so much of a CA Battle car. I use my Lancer Evolution VIII MR for that. I'm also waiting to redo the Mitsubishi Cup Advance Race at Shiga Kusatsu whenever it comes back around. It's still a work in progress, so don't expect instant results right away.

I have a Level 4 Suspension package for the 3000GT. Both the front and rear have a -4 spring rate. They both are on soft. The dampers (or shocks for most of us others) are at -2 for both axles. I want to get the best handling for my car. So I left the rear stabilizer alone and softened the front stabilizer down to -4. I left the ride height alone. if you're trying to get better turn-in, I'd increase the steering angle to about maybe 1 or 2. Go into the negatives if you think the car turns too easily.

Remember that the 3000GT/GTO is a heavy car that makes heavy power when fully tuned. After all, I used the GTO to win most of the races in Gran Turismo 1. This probably won't be your car for intense night battles or challenges. Tune to your heart's content.
Click to expand...

Negative spring rate? huh. I usually make it stiffer, thinking that'll help the dynamics. I'll try it if I have the time.
 
BREAKING NEWS: I knocked off Miracles Summit!!! It took me all of 27 seconds to knock him off at Aso. This new Impreza I picked up kicked major ass. Hell yeah, player! I'm living the high life now here!
 
Dix
what is the best Kaido for graphics / gameplay ?
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Definitely the newest! In Europe it's called Kaido Racer 2, but it's original name is Kaido Battle (3) Touge no Densetsu. This one has the most tracks and a lot of different cars to drive.
Anyway, I hope there will be a touge racing game for the next gen consoles PS3/X360 :)
 

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