Little-Known or Forgotten Racing/Driving Games

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The Top Gear series (not to be confused with the amazing "Top Gear" show) is certainly unforgettable. It's known as Top Racer in Japan. It was really that game that kicked off a franchise that lasted a pretty good while. The first Top Gear I ever played was "Top Gear Rally" for the Nintendo 64. My worst memories of Top Gear Rally were having to race in the Jungle stages as well as picking a handling setup that would help me better pilot the car I'm driving. I even enjoyed painting up my car. Blue and gold are my colors. Certainly painting up a car in blue made me happy. I even had on little white dots to represent stars. Most of my art is inspired by stars and space. Those were some great times.
 
TheCracker
Not seen it before John but it looks pretty good 👍

I wonder if it's available on MAME?
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It is on MAME, but it has a different name. Look for 'Millie Miglia 2: Great 1000 miles Rally'. I remember playing this in the local arcade in my misspent youth! 👍

Edit: Anyone remember these forgotten arcade gems (see below)? Race Drivin' stood out for me as it was (at the time), a very good simulation of driving. Not physics wise, they were renowned for having lousy physics, but they incorporated some pretty advanced features. For instance, you had to turn a key to start the engine, and the manual cars had a working clutch. If you were lucky enough to live by a big arcade, you could try the 'three monitor' setup, that was at the time, simply astounding!

Hard Drivin'


Race Drivin'


Also, check out this old Sega chestnut - Virtura Racing! A classic from way back when Sega and Nintendo ruled the world. Nintend had the FX chip and Fox Mcloud. Sega had the DSP and Virtura Racing.

I remember paying £60 fOr this game, and I was very happy with my purchase at the time. The Megadrive version was a faithful recreation of the arcade original, though not as highly detailed. One thing that was clear though, the arcade version had WORSE pop-up, which was odd...

Megadrive/Genesis version:


Arcade version:


:odd: Why aren't the YouTube Vids loading up? Any ideas? I wrapped the link in YouTube tags... EDIT: Sorted! 👍
 
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Oh man, I loved vanishing point, such an interesting way to race. You race to beat the time with other competitors doing the same thing at once. I remember how odd it was for a racing game to feature a Ford Explorer as a vehicle!


Anyone remember Beetle adventure racing for the N64? I used to play that at a friends house all the time!
 
This one is more forgotten, rather than little-known- R Racing Revolution. I never bought it, but I hired it a few times and it was a very fun game with good physics, great circuits and awesome cars.

Racingbox.jpg


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Surprised nobody here mentioned Test Drive or the Duel, arguably two of my most favourite games of all time. Seriously slow and dated now though...

;)

I also enjoyed Jaguar XJ220 on the Amiga and another game I enjoyed and would dearly love to have a crack at again was Max Power Racing which was released on the PSX. Yes, it was the magazine-endorsed game, I remember that it was a lot of fun.

I also spent a stack of hours playing Street Rod II, I didn't acquire the original until recently.

Most of the games mentioned here are available for free nowadays, I'm surprised at the good mentions of Mille Miglia, I've been considering downloading it, but thought it looked a bit cheesy... guess I'll have to give it a go!

👍
 
How about Porsche Challenge, but driving the Formula Ford on the track with the big uphill entry and downhill exit lefthand hairpin on the PS1. I think it came out just before
GT1!!
The Porsche was the greatest but the Formula Ford was a great drive.
 
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zed300
How about Porsche Challenge
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MY BOXSTA!!! lol, classic game! 👍

Anyone remember Motorhead for the PS1? Now that was a classic game. It ran at a silky smooth 60fps - an achievement for a game from that period in time. It was fast, and the tracks were uber challenging. Fantastic game! 👍


:dunce: Figured out how to do the vids now, will edit my last post! 👍

JohnBM01
The Project Gotham Racing series is my favorite XBOX racer other than the Forza Motorsport series. But before PGR, there was this. In my view, Metropolis Street Racer is a forgotten title. I do fear that it may not be a true or little-known racing title to most of you. So there you have it.
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Great game, and criminally overlooked! MSR is PGR1 though (both games were made by Bizarre Creations), dunno if you know that? In my humble opinion, the PGR series has gone down hill drastically since the first game, and if you look closely, you can see how.

Instead of doing what PGR/MSR was good at, whoever it was decided to put the game into direct competition with the Gran Turismo franchise. God knows why, they are two entirely different games! Maybe I'm the only one that has noticed this, by the second game, Bizarre had destroyed what was special about PGR in the first place.

I love the fact that the courses were so tight, with little room for manoeuvre, and I derived much satisfaction from chaining drifts around consecutive 90 degree turns in a small compact car. Nowadays The tracks are more arcade orientated, with faster more gradual sweeping turns, and a congomerate of super cars (and bikes). Don't get me wrong, there are still some proper dodgy corners in the later games, but nothing like the corners in MSR/PGR1.
 
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magburner
MY BOXSTA!!! lol, classic game! 👍

Anyone remember Motorhead for the PS1? Now that was a classic game. It ran at a silky smooth 60fps - an achievement for a game from that period in time. It was fast, and the tracks were uber challenging. Fantastic game! 👍


:dunce: Figured out how to do the vids now, will edit my last post! 👍
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I do recall it very well, came out close to the original Gran Turismo, which kind of hammered it in the sales side of things.

It currently available as a PSP/PS3 download from the Playstation Store for £3.49 👍


Scaff
 
Scaff
It currently available as a PSP/PS3 download from the Playstation Store for £3.49 👍
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I'll look into getting that! 👍

EDIT: Games are coming in think and fast! Anyone remember Formula 1 '97 for the PS1? Now that WAS a game! The physics were pretty good, and it even had crash damage and engine failures, as well as being super tough! IMO, This is on of the best ever F1 games to be made, and the last by Bizarre Creations, before they defected to the Dreamcast with MSR. :grumpy:

It also had the iconic Murray Walker commentating, who could forget those excited classic phrases like " He's swarming about all over his gearbox!" An absolute gem of a game!

 
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JohnBM01
I had "Le Mans 24" in mind for this thread. I want to advise something. I am NOT talking about the classic "Le Mans 24 Hours" game on the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. But I'm talking about Sega's arcade game, Le Mans 24. Released in about 1997 (a year after my all-time favorite arcade racer- Super GT (or SCUD (Super Car Ultimate Drive) Race)), this game featured a dumbed-down and arcadish version of le Circuit de la Sarthe. You could take on the 24-hour challenge (which lasts more than five minutes) in which you actually note times changing. There were six cars you could choose from:
* Mercedes-Sauber C9
* Mobil 1 Porsche 911 GT1
* Gulf McLaren F1 GTR (kind of like the one in Super GT/SCUD Race)
* Clarion Nissan Skyline LM
* Ferrari F40
* Mazda 787B

There were three tracks. Two of them were Le Mans, while the other track is an expert-level street course. What concerns me so much was that this game hasn't had anything in the way of pictures or videos or anything. I have never been able to find a Le Mans 24 unit at any arcade area. It's just so forgotten to me. I think it's sad to me. Sad that a game like this has very little information on it and very little in the way of any real experience. Don't really care if it was a good or a bad game. It just saddens me that this game never really had a lot of attention to it or hype. Sega Super GT and Daytona USA are NOT forgotten games. More people like Daytona USA more than Super GT (though I tend to differ), but at least people recall these games and know what the experience is like. I SURELY do, especially with Sega Super GT.
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I remember this game! I remember playing it in Manchester Airport, at terminal 2, 10 years ago!

Toronado


How about Lotus II: RECS?
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Screw Lotus 2, I had the original Lotus Challenge (well, the original on Megadrive, not the original original).
It even had a glitch in the game, where on the 2nd to last level (called Marsh) one of the checkpoints only gave you 6 seconds of time. You an even still find this bug if you find a rom of the game and play it.

Anyone remember the Lotus Challenge game on the PS2 by Kuju? I remember it being ok.
Or Auto Modellista? Cel-shading + racing game = win.

Another random racing game I used to play a lot was Le Mans 24 Hours on the PS1 (called Test Drive: Le Mans in some places). If I remember right it had Tiff Needell as the commentator and it was based around the 1997/1998 races and had several fake tracks along with the Bugatti circuit and La Sarthe itself. It had quite a lot of secret content too, with a space track where you drive space shuttles, and cars that are different pieces of food, such as pizza and cheese cars.
 
Ardius
Anyone remember the Lotus Challenge game on the PS2 by Kuju? I remember it being ok.
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I remember most of the cars handling like a baby deer on a frozen lake.

The damage was fun, though. :)
 
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Max Power Racing, for PS1. I remember buying this a long time ago for about $5. It actually had a fairly decent car selection. IIRC, it had some type of rally mode which was half decent. It was a pretty good game, even after 4 years when I bought it. I quickly lost interest since it was the time I got the PS2. Still have the game and cover today.
 
There is another little-known racing title. Check this out:



Racin' Force (1994, Arcade)
(WARNING: No sound; unit not fully set up, so there was bad driving late in the video)

This was from 1994 from Konami. Those of you who may remember the WEC Le Mans 24 game released in 1986 (by Konami) may kind of recognize the GTP race car you use. I've grown some interest in what this game was like because it features a voxel graphics engine. Voxels are basically 3D sprites with nothing in the way of any advanced 3D environment shading techniques. This game features four different tracks- the Circuit Course (a figure-8 road course), the High-Speed Course (twisty track with an urban background), Enduro Circuit, and Country Road (the toughest, also the only open circuit). You race against 7 other GTP race cars. Actual information on this game is completely unknown with no impressive pictures or descriptions of this game.



There's another one I want to get to, but I haven't prepared a true post for this other little-known title. Stay tuned!
 
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I haven't found this other video in question, but I want to share with you another little-known/forgotten title...




GP Rider (1990, Arcade)

What I am unsure of is if this game is voxel-generated. Note how realistic the graphics look for a racing game of its kind. Every environment detail looks voxelized and has some sprite detail. However, not enough detail to show that there's been no real evolution of racing game design. I have no idea how many bikes are to a track at one time, but it looked like a real evolution in designing tracks. Maybe not a generational leap with a game that has surpassed Pole Position in any real way, but this game was a real leap towards a more realistic and believable racing environment.



It all seems to come together pretty nicely. I believe I've seen an arcade unit of this game before. Never played it, though.
 
Hope this is the right place. Has anyone played Le Mans 24 hour with a dfp. Is this possible? Thanks for your help.
 
I've started a new YouTube playlist featuring some of the forgotten racing titles, especially those that I've listed in this profile. I'll try and work to find as many forgotten titles as I can to hopefully educate gamers on past racing games.

Le Mans 24 is a purely little-known game. Playing that game with a Driving Force Pro would be interesting, but I'm not sure if it would be any more interesting to play with one.
 
I used to have Le Mans 24 for PS1 back in the day, i actually really enjoyed it, don't remember much about it though.
 
magburner
I'll look into getting that! 👍

EDIT: Games are coming in think and fast! Anyone remember Formula 1 '97 for the PS1? Now that WAS a game! The physics were pretty good, and it even had crash damage and engine failures, as well as being super tough! IMO, This is on of the best ever F1 games to be made, and the last by Bizarre Creations, before they defected to the Dreamcast with MSR. :grumpy:

It also had the iconic Murray Walker commentating, who could forget those excited classic phrases like " He's swarming about all over his gearbox!" An absolute gem of a game!
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I never played Formula '97, but I used to play the preceding game in the Playstation Formula One series called... well... Formula One. I loved it, the racing was great and it included the Adelaide Street Circuit which I loved racing around.
 
Sega Outrunner. The arcade version is the best in framerate. I was so addicted to it when I was a teenager. Pretty much can remember all the corners in each city.

 
i know its not exactly a racing game, but The Italian Job for the PS1 was pretty awesome
i loved like the last few missions where you got to drive the bus around the alps :D
 
Here are two more little-known games, both on laserdisc. Enjoy these early-mid '80s laserdisc titles:


"GP World" by Sega - 1984, Arcade
http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/games/pages/gpw.asp <<< NOTE: if you visit this link to see Audio and Video, you need to play the AVI videos in the ZIP files with the DivX Player to see them. Otherwise, all you'll get (in Windows Media Player) is sound playback.


"Laser Grand Prix" by Taito - 1983, Arcade
More info here: http://www.dragons-lair-project.com/games/pages/lgp.asp#



GP World was the game I was trying to look up earlier when I've somehow lost it trying to look for it on YouTube. I encourage you to visit my "Little-Known or Forgotten Racing Games" video log at my YouTube page for more games in this category. Check it out here: < http://www.youtube.com/profile_video_blog?user=JohnMarineTube >. Remember that "little-known" or "forgotten" doesn't necessarily mean good games. Maybe they were forgotten for all the wrong or right reasons. Feel free to post most of these titles if you wish.
 
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I had downloaded Stunts on my PC back on my very first computer in... 1997 or 1998. I've since had copies on my eMachines and my current HP computer. I mostly make circuits rather than crazy stunt tracks. Just be sure to be on your A-Game when taking on Skid Vicious. But often times, I take on Helen Wheels in that game. One of the funniest deals is that I've raced that third guy, and I give him the Acura NSX to race. When I give him the NSX to race and I beat him in an NSX, he still says "...give me the NSX next time." I'm like... dude, I GAVE you an NSX to beat me, and you failed! Make your damned mind up!

Screamer is a forgotten title as well. I think I added a Screamer video to my YouTube playlist that shares the same name as this thread. Please visit my playlist on YouTube by going here: < http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=64613E18AAD3625E&playnext=1 >. Feel free to cycle through the list to see a variety of old videos of past games. Here a list of individual games (not video links) I've posted as of this thread reply:

* Racing Hero
* GP Rider
* Racin' Force
* Sega Le Mans 24
* The Cycles
* World Rally
* Drift Out '94: The Hard Order
* Super Monaco GP
* Mille Miglia: Great 1000 Miles Rally
* GP World
* Laser Grand Prix
* Final Lap
* Top Speed
* Race Drivin'
* World Tour Racing
* Cisco Heat
* Grand Tour Racing '98
* Cyber Cycles
* Speed Haste

I'll try to find some more classic videos. I feel YouTube is a big part in showcasing these games because you can see and hear the game in action. In fact, someone on YouTube sent me a Personal Message asking me if I wanted to see more racing videos of little-known or forgotten racing games. So I'm glad I'm getting a chance to educate people on past racing titles. Anything I can do to help, I'll be happy.
 
Here's another game for you. One game, two different versions:


Virtua Racing
(1992, Genesis/Megadrive)


Virtua Racing Deluxe
(1994; 32X)

The game isn't truly forgotten or little-known. So why did I include this? Well, as much of a classic as the arcade was, not many knew you could play this classic racer... on your Genesis or 32X! In fact, I only know of this game and Virtua Fighter 2 as games you could play on your Genesis/Megadrive go (though I heard the Genesis version was a colossal fail). The SVP technology was essentially Sega's answer to the Super FX Chip for the Super NES.

VR Deluxe adds two more cars to race as well as two more tracks. You could race a stock car or a GTP prototype in addition to the basic formula car. Obviously racing different kinds of cars present different levels of handling. But just the fact that a home version of this classic arcade game looks just as good as the arcade version is a true accomplishment. Problem is, I heard this game costed about $100 when it was released. But if you had the money, you had a game as close to arcade-perfect as possible.



The next game after this was Daytona USA. A rumor I once read was that Daytona USA was to be a Model 1 game (like Virtua Racing) until *at the last minute* making it a Model 2 game. Can you imagine if Daytona USA could have been made for 32X? There you have it- Virtua Racing... for consoles!



[UPDATE] View all the videos I've saved in my collection by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=64613E18AAD3625E .
 
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