That rhythm was explicit in the prog fusion of Nagoshi's brilliant F-Zero GX, but it's Daytona USA that'll always eclipse it - even if it's not quite as refined, it's a crowd-pleasing stadium rock-out of a racer, one we can all sing along to even if we can't quite remember all the words. "The curves and bumps give the tempo of the game," he continued, "while the handling provides the rhythm." "When I develop a game, not only driving games, rhythm is the factor I care the most about," Nagoshi wrote in one of the rare occasions he wasn't celebrating the fine whiskies he so adores (though the analogy does come as part of an appraisal of Men in Black 2, proving he's always a man of esoteric tastes). It's the arcade racer as a rhythmic experience, something its designer Toshihiro Nagoshi would expand upon in his Edge column nearly a decade after the game's original release. It's not quite as groundbreaking as Virtua Racing, and I don't think it plays quite as well as Sega Rally Championship, but Daytona USA has a special charm all of its own. There's more to Daytona USA than technical prowess, though, and it stands out as an icon of Sega's legendary 90s output.
Watch on YouTube Don't just take my word for it - John Linneman's also a big fan of the port. Somehow I was lucky enough to find myself at London's Trocadero when it made its debut here in the UK, a large crowd gathered around as we all patiently waited to take our turn behind the wheel. 3D games weren't anything particularly new or novel - I remember my first glimpse of Virtua Fighter, running on Sega's Model 1 board, in the dark corner of a bowling alley - but the texture-mapping introduced by the Model 2 felt like a bigger step forward still. What makes it so special? First off it's worth acknowledging the impact of the 1994 original - or at the very least the impact it had on me and millions of other impressionable young players. It's about to be delisted from Microsoft's marketplace, so I'd strongly suggest you grab it while you can. Virtua Fighter 2, Cyber Troopers Virtual-On and Sonic the Fighters all received near-immaculate re-releases, but the best of the lot was the first to arrive: Daytona USA, AM2's almighty racer which, back in 2011, got a port that had no right being as good as it was. Just over a decade ago Sega dropped a batch of Model 2 ports on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, providing impeccably presented emulations of some of the games that carved its reputation in 90s arcades. Sometimes you really don't know how good you've got it.
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