DF Retro: Gran Turismo - A Driving Retrospective - Part 2: The PlayStation 2 Era

[@ColourShedProductions]

Incredibly detailed insight as usual John. The heat haze effect in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec combined with the smooth frame rate that never drops even in the replays, these parts alone are the reason it's aged so well for a PlayStation 2 game; I couldn't believe Polyphony Digital pulled it off over 20 years ago. And Gran Turismo 4 is the best-looking game on the console, especially with its increased focus on street circuits based on real-life street layouts which help with how realistic it looks, though I wish those output options 480p & 1080i were available in the PAL region. Racing games from the 6th generation, this was the peak of the genre. Racers continue to look better graphically today, but the gameplay, there's something about all the ones mentioned in this video that are still fun to play.

[@nololol]

hahahahaha only right to see you here man....

[@leahtofu]

My favorite retro game reviewer!! Hope life’s treating you well!! ✨

[@riazuddin4920]

Completely agreed! GT3 was just a great, great racing game, and GT4 added to it with more cars, tracks, better racing, better graphics...I mean by the time GT arrived on PS3 they still sued some of the PS2 models (cheap and signs of things to come for PD) but just goes to show how exceptional that game was. GT2 is still my fave racer of all time though!

[@SONGOKU02]

Your videos are good as well dude. You are one of my favorite reviewer on youtube. :) And yes, as teenager, seeing gt3 back than, it just blew my fucking mind. XD

[@spiderjerusalem100]

Good to see you here, i love your videos. Review more PS2 games!!!

[@executable3]

Am I alone in feeling like this needs a Part 3 detailed the rest of the GT games, their rivalry with Forza Motorsport/Horizon and the decline, or at least consolidation of the racing genre into a few key franchises?

[@arthurb5194]

Definitely. I love GT5 and GT6 but they're so flawed compared to how complete the PS2 era was. They really underestimated the work needed to bring the series to HD. I'm glad they took a step back to regather themselves with Sport, even though critically people didn't like it as much because it was anemic on content at launch. Forza sorta did the same thing on Xbox One with Forza 5, which gave them a platform to build on for the rest of the generation. I can see why they didn't just port GT6 to PS4 though, the Standard cars would be the meme of the decade.

[@r3v0lv3rz]

Definitely needs a part 3.

[@mikenewbold1699]

no because gt never improved after 4 infact it got worse on many ways

[@cured_bacon647]

@@mikenewbold1699 your mom got worse in many ways

[@TheUltraseal]

@@mikenewbold1699 Disagree, having played GT3 and GT4 recently again i found that i while i still love the car collection side of them, they are not really good racing games due to how braindead the AI is and the fact that 6 cars on track is barely about enough to be called a race, both points that have been improved upon in later games.

[@KevinCampusano]

"Even though I have enough CRTs to pull it off" What a legend.

[@TranCeFORM3R]

He clearly has enough CRTs to survive an earthquake

[@SONGOKU02]

@@TranCeFORM3R As retro gamer, you should own some. XD I don't, but i don't have the space for it.

[@r3v0lv3rz]

I can't imagine it would be difficult to pickup another two PS2 consoles that support iLink these days, missed opportunity to flex.

[@helloguy8934]

@@SONGOKU02 I own an oled... Does that count?

[@SONGOKU02]

@@helloguy8934 Oled is a modern tv. Surely not. Crt is the old tube style tv.... There is a big difference on that. If you follow df retro, you already should know, that old games don't work that good with modern tvs, because it hides some inperfactions, it seems sharper and tbe art design of many old games even play with that, so some effects looks better on crt and this will not look great on a modern tv.

[@PuNkY-fr]

No PS3 Era video ? Ooooh noooooo ! But the two parts was great ! We want more racing games ^^

[@AceUndergeekBunny]

Well, maybe a part 3 for PSP era by you ☺️☺️☺️.

[@r3v0lv3rz]

Bring on the part 3.

[@SONGOKU02]

@@AceUndergeekBunny He kinda already put gt psp in this video... So it wouldn't make sense. I wished a psp and ps3 video too. Maybe also 360 and Wiiu..... XD

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

I’m pretty certain he’s working on one, John has posted tweets about the PS3 games, even showing a PS3 installing a GT5 and posting stuff about the games technical details. If there isn’t gonna be one I would be shocked.

[@chrismorozin4145]

I really am a huge fan of DF Retro, but these GT videos in particular have been my favorite work of yours so far, John.

[@WilfredBrimleyGaming]

It's such great content

[@duperrec]

Please finish this series with the other GT releases. This was extraordinary to watch. Masterful work; thank you!

[@RacerBest]

I love the wide variety of racing games covered here, in my opinion this generation has the greatest selection of racing games. Hope to see more racing game related videos in future.

[@StrawberryMooosic]

35:03 "Simulation style games with real world cars, such as-" Enthusia? "Gran Turismo," Enthusia! "Sega GT," ENTHUSIA! "and Enthusia!" YEAH! Always a win to see that game get a mention at all. Such an underrated gem.

[@jeanmichel2005]

never heard of this game, but it does look amazing!

[@franco8344]

John, it’s hard to find the words to describe how amazing your work of DF Retros always are, these last two are tied with the Shenmue ones as my favorites, and are genuinely a treat to those of us who still have warm memories of the Y2K/early 00’s period, in all of its cheerful optimism. I think that, in the last 20 or so years, the evolution of video games have become far more reflective of the change of the times than any other kind of media, and your work is therefore as much documentary work on video games as it is documentary work on the early 21st century itself. Genuinely excited to see what else you’ve got in store for future episodes!

[@xplodax]

Well put, sir

[@supermahmoud]

A Part 3 is much needed for the HD era !

[@matsnilson7727]

GT3 is definitely one of the games that have impressed me the most graphically. Back in the day it was just unbelievably pretty to behold, and it till looks nice today.

[@GoTeamScotch]

It was a game that definitely felt "next gen" when it came out. The beautiful visuals were a big selling point and helped it feel more real.

[@joisongoncalves]

Gt4 é melhor sem comparação

[@matsnilson7727]

@@joisongoncalves GT4 might hold up better today but didn't have the same visual impact as GT3 had a few years earlier - despite looking even better. After having seen and played GT3 we all expected an improved sequel to be released, and for that reason GT4 never made our collective jaws drop in quite the same way as when we first saw its predecessor. Not graphically at least, which is what I was referring to in the earlier comment. But GT4 is definitely hard to beat as a complete package. It's a true beast of a game.

[@MadX8]

@@matsnilson7727 Yeah, having enjoyed these games when they came out, GT3 had an impact GT4 couldn't have. I also prefer GT3 over GT4 despite the amount of content GT4 has. Can't explain why, it's just the vibes on GT3 that hit different I guess.

[@Peanut-Butter-Banana-Rama]

It's bizarre how good Gran Turismo 3 still looks. Good artistic design never ages.

[@tensevo]

I agree, all devs can learn from this. Resource limitation is never an excuse for poor design.

[@Galm12000]

Watching this today, i was shocked every time the footage switched to gt3. My brain just wouldnt compute it being ps2 for a second.

[@alanlee67]

The industry has been caught in the resolution arms race since the 7th generation....just iterating on graphics quality while chasing the diminishing returns of pushing exponentially more pixels. I remember articles saying that xbox 360 games like nba2k did not look very different from their 6th gen ports when played on a crt.

[@marciamakesmusic]

@@tensevo the key is having the time to work on it

[@nononono12345]

@@theblah12 it’s funny because most creators today where bred on those systems. 99 - 2005 formulated this stuff now. I play on an emulator with 1080p and the games look phenomenal still!

[@MegaTrolleybus]

I strongly believe GT4 is still the best in the series. The sheer amount of content aside, its artistic style and atmosphere feels just right. Something about this and previous era of racing games had the right balance of substance and style.

[@blondbassist]

I would agree with you, but the shift in focus to more realism/seriousness throughout the game and the heresy that is the rigid chase-cam takes it down a few notches. Still a phenominal game though.

[@MsSirAndy]

GT7 is for now 2nd place, 1st is GT4... but with updates GT7 will get better and better and take the 1st place in the podium beating GT4 so far

[@MegaTrolleybus]

@@blondbassist The shift to realism was always their goal so it was just a matter of time. I enjoyed the more arcadey nature of earlier games too but fortunately there were a lot more arcade racers back then to complement GT4's realism.

[@marcos1669]

@@MegaTrolleybus problem with that is there are already a lot of hardcore Sim Racing gamesz IMHO is an error to try to change the type of game because hardcore simracers are not going to be impressed and traditional fans are going to be allienated, as a matter of fact the physics on GT7 are off and do weird thing in certain cars

[@MegaTrolleybus]

@@marcos1669 With its assistance tools GT7 tries to strike a balance between full simulation and beginner friendly. I think it has a lot to offer, especially for new players to the series. It's by no means perfect but it's going to be updated for many years to come. Hopefully many more tracks and modes in the future.

[@Stunlokked]

GT3 was one of those games where like 8 hours would go by with me even noticing. collecting cars was so much fun, and getting a nice bonus car at the end of a championship actually felt amazing.

[@callumdointhings5]

This was insane. Watching this right after Audi's recent 30 minute DF Retro video has been nuts. You guys are top of the line when it comes to this stuff @RAV: I mean it was really interesting, but I was saying that the amount of quality analysis videos and DF Retro content (which typically gets way lower viewcounts and hurts the algorithm) they put out on a daily basis and the fact that they dropped an hour video right after Audi's 40 minute video is insane - as well as Polyphony putting in so many unexpected features into these games. Triple screen support, photo mode, 1080i support, the windows reflections, open cockpits with drivers, super weird game modes, etc all at 60fps on a bloody PS2 I knew nothing about any of this since i got started with GT on the PS3. The video was insane lol

[@rav186]

….really? You think this is “insane”?

[@FranciscoFJM]

@@rav186 Yes, whats your issue?

[@Daumex]

@@rav186 Salty troll is salty

[@rav186]

@@FranciscoFJM I disagree, that’s my issue.

[@rav186]

@@Daumex you might want to look up what ‘salty’ means.

[@PFBM86]

Man, there's just something special about the PS2 hardware and games that utilized it effectively. I could spend all day watching content like this and reminiscing on how mind-blowing these games were back in the day.

[@zeus1117]

Wipeout series would be worthy of an episode with special focus on music selection and the era around that time !

[@surject]

Hell yeah.

[@Edexote]

Wipeout was such a big deal in the early 32 bit days, a video on the series would be awesome.

[@griffgames9538]

Good luck with a music focus (YT licensing limits).

[@TomokoxKuroki]

PLEASE

[@Clay3613]

You mean Burnout, Flatout?

[@Chris-wj6pn]

Gran Turismo 3 is quite simply THE game that sold me a Playstation 2. I bought the edition of the console that came with it packed in after saving for months on end as I was at the time a fairly recent college grade (just a couple years prior) on a tight budget. I had zero regrets for my purchase! I have continued to be a racing sim enthusiast ever since, but that was the one that began my shift from arcade-style racers to sim-racers. Thank you for this two-part retrospective, it was thoroughly enjoyable!

[@3rodox]

I felt like I was having a fever dream during the Volvo game section lol. Seriously though, another excellent video from John & DF 👏

[@alexsilva28]

What Volvo section? Are you ok?

[@Aggrofool]

how to feel like you're taking shrooms without actually taking em

[@powerrobin5717]

Felt The same. It was just great

[@DanielLiljeberg]

I got the same feeling... Sounded like a Norwegian speaking Swedish or something

[@GoldenCroc]

@@DanielLiljeberg It was.

[@samcs06]

It blows my mind how good the PS2 era of games still holds up. It just shows you art design wins out over graphics. Would love a break down of the need for speed games also

[@HyggeState]

I cannot believe the work put into this. Good on you, John!

[@PeteSkerritt]

The passion absolutely shines in this series. Exceptionally knowledgeable. It was a “You had to be there” time. You’ve excelled at trying to take us on this journey in time, but it’s hard to convey the genuine sense of how we reacted to this progression in the genre. Even as more of an arcade racing fan, I admit to buying the GT games pretty quickly on PS/PS2 because of the hype and technical prowess shown. GT3 especially was, as you said, that next-gen leap we really haven’t seen since.

[@MastermindAtWork]

The PS2 and the rest of the 6 generation of consoles was definitely the golden age for all racing titles. GT3 and GT4 was the games that got me into the series and what made me stay with it.

[@CaliberBlue]

I love the 6th generation but personally I think racing games had their golden age during the 7th! Burnout Paradise and GT5 are how I got through high school and college.

[@kevinleite6309]

@@CaliberBlue Burnout Paradise is one of the worst in the series, at least to me... The concept of an open world racer breaks all the glory of burnout. Burnout 3 is the best arcade racing of that era. Is fast, simple and you just need to press some buttons to start a race.

[@03chrisv]

The 6th gen was probably my favorite console generation. As much as I love my Series X, PS5 and Switch there was just something very special about the PS2, Xbox and GameCube. The graphics were a huge step up from the 5th generation and developers were in like a renaissance era when it came to creating all sorts of games.

[@vincentemond5620]

@@kevinleite6309 Paradise is as good as Takedown, if not better. But they are vastly different games.

[@7thsaga662]

I go back and forth between gen 5 and 6 as the apex. But my god the racers in gen 6 is GOD TIER

[@UnrealButcher]

I got the GT3 Force Feedback steering wheel with paddle shifters and gas and brake. First time I turned off music in a racing game to hear it's shift points. Loved how you could feel your tires break loose through the steering wheel and lift off the gas to get traction back. Great game and great fun hanging with friends and family playing it. This looked so good on my 38 inch RCA widescreen CRT in 1080i, with my monster cables of course.

[@D3Vlicious]

Would really love to see more DF Retro content focusing on racers from this era (late 90s to mid-2000s).

[@ThePokestopPapi]

Incredible retrospective! As a newfound fan of the Gran Turismo series with GT7 on PS5 as my first ever entry into the series, its absolutely fascinating to witness what made the initial few entries so captivating and revolutionary at the time! Gran Turismo’s impact within the racing genre of gaming is undisputed and unlike no other.

[@j.d.6915]

That leap from Gen 5 to Gen 6 will probably never be duplicated again. It reminds me of the leap from Gen 2 to Gen 3. Suddenly things look like what they are actually supposed to look like.

[@Rokabur]

That's what I've always repeated. After gen 6, it's takes much more power for lower increases in visuals.

[@retrosoul8770]

Did you mean from gen 3 (nes/ms) to 4? (Gen/snes)?

[@j.d.6915]

@@retrosoul8770 No, I mean Atari 2600 to NES

[@thetonyshow3754]

I hardly ever comment on KZbin videos, but have to commend you for this 2 part retrospective. Terrific analysis, exhaustive capture work, and a true understanding of how special a time and place in the industry Gran Turismo 1,2, and 3 occupied. Even by DF Retro’s normal high standards, this was well done.

[@WindyCornerTV]

1:10:07 - Thanks for including me in the credits at the end! I'm glad I could help you with capturing some footage for this video! :)

[@IamMarkSmith]

John, I didn’t realize you were such a “petrol head.” This and the Ridge Racer series are some of my top favorite DF content. Thank you so much for the excellent coverage.

[@Holammer]

For emulation, PS2 era games started to get "good enough" texture and model quality. So GT3 looks pretty good running at 4k, almost like a PS3 game.

[@TSL73]

I would say most 6th Gen games especially from 2004-2006 are almost on par with 7th Gen games graphically when you increase the resolution.

[@gellister]

I feel like the lighting models and texture detail are still too rudimentary in PS2 and XBox original on the vast majority of comparable releases to make these claims. Maybe racing games are a bit easier to ignore but Xbox 360 and PS3 made a huge jump from the previous consoles when you look at the way lightning is handled especially. More power to you if you feel the difference is small and only resolution , I just genuinely disagree.

[@SteelSkin667]

@@TSL73 That is how I feel as well. That also extends to late 7th and 8th gen games that are almost on par with early 8th and 9th gen games respectively, but it is still remarkable when you consider the immense gap in performance between the 6th and 7th gen consoles.

[@TSL73]

@@SteelSkin667 The strange thing about the 6th Gen is that there were a lot more games that ran at 60 FPS on it than 7th Gen.

[@SteelSkin667]

@@TSL73 That's true, particularly on the PS2 and Game Cube. It's mostly Western developers that stuck with 30 FPS targets during that time period - in fact I think there would have been a lot more 60 FPS games on 7th gen if Japanese developers didn't struggle with the transition to HD consoles, and with the PS3 in particular.

[@andyv6476]

I love that Feeder intro! Hits me in the feels!

[@tantfarbrorn]

Omg, that swedish voice-over… Amazing video, great production and it´s great to see all these racing games again, the collage brought back a lot of memories. A big part of my gaming experience during this time.

[@duskonanyavarld1786]

Do you know what type of Swedish is used? I have never heard that dialect.

[@GoldenCroc]

@@duskonanyavarld1786 Norweigan dude speaking swedish for some reason.

[@tantfarbrorn]

@@duskonanyavarld1786 It´s one of life greatest mysteries, I cant pinpoint it my self :p

[@Lord_Deimos]

I remember seeing GT3 for the first time and my jaw dropping... the leap in visuals between the 5th and 6th console generation was huge in general. I've never felt so impressed by a visual leap between console generations ever since because the difference is minimal.

[@SONGOKU02]

I felt the same from ps2 - ps3. But ps3 - 4 was small...

[@ThreeDaysOfDan]

@@SONGOKU02 motorstorm shits over the best looking Ps2 games , and so did driveclub

[@Charles8777-od4kj]

Sure but devs used clever tricks to hide hardware weakness GT3 has faked reflections, car Windows are so tinted because car models didn't have interiors Then there is Project Gotham Racing 2 with car models with interiors and high quality reflections

[@MrBarlien]

Great video again, love these series retrospectives! But I can't agree on what you said @ 17:26. The leap from PS2 and OGxbox to PS3 and 360 was insane. San Andreas to GTA4 and Morrowind to Oblivion blew my actual mind.

[@pgr3290]

Gran Turismo 2 into 3 for me is THE largest generational leap I have ever personally seen. You went from an admirable but admittable mess of crawling pixels and wobbling textures that were vaguely car like if you squinted and applied imagination, to something ridiculously clean and refined. It was truly jaw dropping. The first time I saw the sun pouring through trees on a rally stage as the dust whipped of the back of my perfectly realised car my mind melted. This was exactly the moment I knew gaming had truly arrived into the mainstream, and PS2 sales proved me right. No home console to this day has had such huge sales and such a massive impact on widening the industry's reach. The first racing game that blew my mind was Virtua Racing on 32X, because you could have a proper 3D racer, at home, on your TV. The other was GT3. I will honestly never forget the day I booted this up for the first time. I can shut my eyes now and be back in my memories, to my living room and everything else from over 20 years ago. I'll take it to my grave.

[@pgr3290]

I'll also add that GT3 looked so damn good if you run it now in an emulator at high resolution like 1080p or 4K or whatever, it still looks stunning. It still looks great. If it can look this pretty after all this time try and imagine how ridiculous it looked back in 2001. Arcade quality visuals in your house. PS2's power just oozed out of the screen, GT3 and Metal Gear Solid 2 showed how muscular the system was after some earlier launch disappointments.

[@blonded1787]

Just A Day was the perfect Intro song imo. All the Fedder songs were great. Maybe it is just nostalgia but I sometimes still listen to these songs.

[@MadX8]

They were great I agree. Having to play the NTSC version now on PCSX2 (because PAL 50hz... No thanks), I have to say that I don't like the US soundtrack and US opening is the worst of all imo. The Japanese doesn't work well for me sadly, otherwise that would be my go to. I miss "Just A Day" opening... GT3 is really special

[@gazray08]

loving these videos, feeder - just a day on the intro is iconic for me. pure 2001 nostalgia. still cant believe we got this, gta3, ffx and mgs2 all in the one year.

[@Casomyro1983]

gt4 version of nordschleife even had the track covered with graffiti. that was cool.

[@pmsr1980]

I'm 41 and I had the privilege to play this titles. I experienced first hand the transition from GT2 to 3 and 4... and man, we're living sad times with GT7 and this so called Last Gen(s) :(... The phenomenon we lived in that era it seems to be irrepetible... and it's our (gamers) loss. As for the videos AWESOME work! Thank you kind sir!

[@samjones4772]

Ace combat on PS2 was also pretty mind blowing graphically. Might be worth a video

[@Housesider]

DF Retro is basically the *perfect* type of content for someone like me who became a fan of not only gaming, but technology in the 90s as a kid. It never gets old seeing well-made deep-dive retrospectives like this. This is some incredible work. And yes, I too love racing games so I would absolutely NOT mind seeing more series covered in future episodes 👍🔥

[@theamigashow9506]

2001 was an amazing year in gaming on PS2! Great video John.

[@mou55ab]

Impressive high-quality crazy amount of work from John. I've always been a fan of Gran Turismo as I have played it since the PlayStation era! Thanks for both the nostalgia and the technical insights into GT and racing games in general.

[@oscarkotovsk]

This retrospective/analysis was one of my favorites in the years I've been following DF. Definitely want some more racing games coverage! I'd love to see a part 3 for the GT series covering the PS3 era in detail, a Need for Speed retrospective and everything else you may make, John & DF!

[@GrahamScott155]

I'm not a Gran Turismo guy but this level of effort on this topic is excellent. The clarity, production and detail is brilliant to watch. Earns every view it gets. Well done

[@carlosnascimento9269]

I still clearly remember standing there with my jaw on the floor when I saw GT3 for the first time. Another excellent video John. Thank you.

[@Derpington95]

While maybe not as technologically interesting, the ToCA Race Driver series deserves a shout out as well from this era. Great content as always!

[@That_Handle]

Hear, there! Especially considering it's force feedback and online play on 2 and 3.

[@captainn2111]

What a tour de force video! Amazing amazing work guys! Thank you for all the hard work. First class video content!

[@MikeRox83]

Oh my, this was a far bigger trip down memory lane than I was ever expecting especially with the contextual rival titles of the time which I also have so many fond memories of. Really does make me realise that this generation, Dreamcast - PS2 - GameCube - Xbox really was peak gaming for me. I'm so glad the prices of the non Nintendo platforms have stayed relatively in check overall as it's confirmed this is where my gaming focus is going to remain.

[@Rdeboer]

GT3 looked and sounded amazing back in the day. Details like glowing brake discs and tunnel lights reflecting off the shiny cars; the way the sound changed when you entered a tunnel or hit a stretch of wet tarmac. The overall presentation and experience was a cut above anything I'd ever seen.

[@tydendurler9574]

Funny that nobody mentions the horrible engine sounds though. Was a super turn off, especially cause it looked so great.

[@That_Handle]

Agree with all the above especially including response regarding GT's engine SEs being lackluster. For race engine SEs of the PS2 era, I enjoy both ToCA Race Drivers 2 (esp. its V8s) and 3 - GRID's forerunner - when it comes to engine SEs (and less ~understeer); but, that's not to say I won't enjoy the GT4 NTSC-U online-beta alongside ToCAs 2 and 3 online now. 👍 .... Regarding ~spatial SEs from tunnels, there were PS1 games which applied echoes when [navigating tunnels] including applying the echo to the music. What some may not know is that, for PS1 games which allow you to swap in a music CD after the track or map had been loaded, the game also had the echo applied to the CD music you swapped in for at least one or two game titles (I'm recalling to the best of my recollection).... might have been _R4: Ridge Racer Type 4_ and 1 of or all of the _Wipeout_ titles. After the race is over, the player would pause the game before transitioning away the track that was just finished in order to swap back to the game disc then take the game off [pause] again.

[@tydendurler9574]

@@That_Handle you used every trick there is to write words, punctuation and abbreviations🤔👏

[@That_Handle]

@@tydendurler9574 🤷‍♂️✌️ .... you know.... I didn't utilize any bold letters or bold italics. Not so sure bold italics can be entered anymore at least by way of the app. As long as it reads better than [if otherwise] and I don't draw on too long, pulling away from being succinct.

[@azzimaz]

Pls make a Part 3 covering GT on PS3 era, Part 4 on GT Sport era & Part 5 on GT7 era John. This documentary has been sooooo fascinating evn for a non racer but Playstation 1st party games fan like myself 😍 The amount of effort you put in here truly shows. Thank you so much for this & keep up the great work there at DF 😁👍👍👍

[@dempsej]

GT4 rendition of Nurburgring is IMO the best. Ps. Great episode, I was afraid of it’s length, but then I was sucked in and watched whole video at once. Good stuff, thank You!

[@Kevin_2435]

I absolutely loved this. I grew up as a small child playing Nintendo 64 but later in 2002, I received a PlayStation 2 bundled with Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. It was that game that introduced me to sim racing and car tuning. I was extremely fortunate to get a game with so much content and quality to it because I was too young to follow the market and buy other thing. GT3 really set a high bar for me. I wish so badly that other games that came out later could match the feel that game gave me. I love DF Retro so much. It's so cool for this show to take me back to the games of my childhood.

[@SiggsGBR]

Small note, it was good hearing music from MSR backing a large portion of this video. That game had an amazing soundtrack

[@lecorsaire2283]

I’m not a big fan of the GT games nor racing games in general, but I do appreciate the amount of love you put into these retro game videos John! Always interesting and packed with tons of great info.

[@aussiepunkrocksV20]

This retro series videos are my favourite...excellent depth, interesting insight and brings back a lot of memories from my late teenage years. I never stopped playing the GT series on PS2, but I REALLY WANT TO PLAY it again right this instant! Thank you for these retrospectives!

[@WMARUoriginal]

I have to say this again and again, but DF retro needs to be available on blu-ray/4K UHD discs. These are so well put together, entertaining and historically valuable. If the resources are limited to a small amount of episodes, please let the first one be the Final Fight episode which I’ve watched at least a half dozen times. I can’t get enough of that intro!

[@marcw3852]

I remember first playing GT3 at launch and thinking 'this is it, graphics have been completed' we're done'... Those were the days

[@roberto1519]

More in-depth content like this is what keeps me coming back to KZbin. The effort for making these are noted. Honestly the only reason why I follow this channel, really, as the normal podcast style content that focuses on things that only interest a specific niche is way off the road for me.

[@beswick1985]

So good John. Fantastic video. In my opinion Gt4 remains the best looking game amongst its rivals of the day. Thank you for the effort in producing such great content ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[@MatSpeedle]

I've popped to eBay a few times watching this to pick up some of these other racing games. Love the way you set the mood with including these other games. Superb series, huge amount of effort and superb editing in this John. Thanks for all your hard work!

[@KavendishGaming]

Thank you so much, John! This is a remarkable documentation! Kudos! I would love to see Forza Motorsport getting that treatement or the PGR titles.

[@PieczykM]

This video... WOW... bravo DF and John :)

[@ChrisLT]

GT 3 at the time was a revelation. The PS1 to PS2 jump, to me, will always be the biggest graphical leap between console generations. HD was huge, too, but as a non-PC player I couldn't believe how amazing PS2 games looked. Glory to Hans Nilsson.

[@Fuuntag]

The PS1 to PS2 era jump is the most exciting I think there will ever be in gaming for visuals. The ceiling was still unknown & the way there was still open to debate. And this is not to mention just the obviously massive increases in fidelity taking place and developments in gameplay. Doom 3 & Farcry would come along eventually but by that stage standards were set and to a degree so were expectations. I miss the exciting happy & hacky days prior where one could still be surprised, something Sony still tried to recapture with folly in the Killzone 2 & Motorstorm “gameplay” trailers…To finish this on a car pun; a time where no one knew what was around the next corner.

[@TSL73]

@@Fuuntag I think once ray tracing and Unreal Engine 5 gets utilized more we will have the same jump in graphics, and especially if we get a mid generation cycle console with better ray tracing capabilities

[@bes5164]

Cmon John. How do you do this? I basically do not play racing games and do not care about the genre at all, but the style of your videos, the knowledge you are presenting and the enthusiasm in every your word are just MINDBLOWING! The GT series is basically your best work! Cannot wait for the next part! Thanks!!

[@DJBV]

That trip through memory lane was delicious thank you John for this amazing video The 6th gen was truly the best gaming generation

[@IvanGarelli]

How is it John, that you can research, narrate, edit and convey your passion for these games so well? I would expect a team of dozens to come up with an episode like this, and yet you could do it all. Amazing work, I was at the edge of my seat the whole time.

[@MagisterHamid]

John: time to make an episode about Wipeout! A series which not only defined a genre but so much more! The first cool game!

[@jdk_360]

Oh yeah.

[@tHeWasTeDYouTh]

I want a video like this talking about GT5/6 and comparing them to Forza and PGR games on the Xbox 360. Great job John I have watched this video 3 times. Once on my phone while I drove home from work, another on my computer and finally I went to my brothers house and watched the video again on a 4K 65 inch tv

[@registeredblindgamer4350]

You guys need to check out Enthusia. That was a great racing game on PS2.

[@marcos1669]

One of my favourite racing games, the only game that actually rewards you for being good and driving cleanly

[@lordspalse0062]

I loved that game with a deadly passion. I will leave the replay mode running and go to sleep on the beautiful replay sound tracks. Wonderful time.

[@Aidan.17]

1 hr of retro driving game coverage in a part 2. I cannot fathom the work that went into this pre-editing. Thanks John!

[@sunray2818]

Crazy story: I have almost all copies of the games John mentioned in this video and I love all of them, great work out there.

[@craigsampson3386]

A bit of GT trivia, in Australia a copy of the GT4 game was given away for free with the purchase of the FPV F6 Typhoon '04 because the car was in the game. Also a track day learning how to drive your new car. Not sure if all FPV dealerships had this offer, but the one my boss bought it from did. Also when GT3 launched a local game shop in a shopping centre celebrated its launch giving out free car stickers and other merchandise, along with a junior and senior competition on stage that ran for a month or so. At the time I was young and I entered the junior competition, it was a time trial event with 1 specific car and 1 specific track and you could only enter once a day. The track was Trial Mountain but I forgot the car but it was slow so probably an MX-5. I got in the finals and came 2nd and won a novelty sized cheque of $50 and got my picture taken for the local newspaper 😎

[@RealComp5]

OK, now I REALLY want to see GT3 running on 3 screens with 3 PS2 consoles. I would love to see that!

[@vintatsh]

Loved this series John! What a throwback to the early 2000s where racing games on PC were my passion. I remember being floored by how good GT4 looked at a friends place. I don't think we'll ever get a time like this anymore where you have many of the big publishers pushing for realism with such a passion in one specific genre and everyone turns up with their own unique take.

[@LordTurban]

I hope you continue this DF Retro Series with the PS3 Gran Turismo and compare all of them across the years and how it evolved in a more precise way.

[@AriaLaurel]

Great video. It's a bit bittersweet to be reminded of the sheer scope of high quality, unique racing games we had in that generation. On the one hand they're still amazing and we can be thankful to revisit them, but it's a bit of a bummer how many of them aren't represented in today's gaming landscape.

[@Pedro_The_Neco]

Starting off with MSR music! I love it!

[@MPearse721]

This look at the history of Gran Turismo and simulation racing games has to be one my favorite DF series so far

[@3boodPhotography]

Such an amazing episode, I would love for a further episode on GT5 to 7.

[@Alexp37]

Yes!

[@C.I...]

Including the lost HD concept shown of gt4 but with 16 car grids.

[@FallenOne3]

Wow, this episode was huge, so much nostalgia for many of these games.

[@skycloud4802]

GT3 A-Spec still is a fantastic game to play. My favourite of the series.

[@rayndooma5624]

Damn John, you took me WAAAY back to my teenhood! This was amazing and nostalgic to watch. Incredible job my guy! I can only hope one day, that Gran Turismo will be also available to play on PC...

[@heinzmueller7975]

I found TOCA Race Driver impressive at the time. Damage model, weather, many cars.

[@pandaman5OOO]

Seriously. How was TOCA not even mentioned?

[@Martinec1998]

@@pandaman5OOO Codemasters were completely ignored... TOCA (+CMR) were real PS competitors to GT

[@C.I...]

Toca 3 was an amazing game. It had cube mapped reflections too I think. Just don't try the PC port unless you use an Australian copy, because it will brick your computer.

[@dottyorb]

I want to see a part 3 to this so badly.

[@blubbntroet]

Been playing Sega GT last days again and it’s fun. It’s by no means as polished as GT but for the time it’s a decent game and better than most people tell (really have to get used to driving, it’s not jump in and win). Nice Video, Dreamcast and PS2 will always be my favorite times and consoles ❤️

[@abonham82]

A simple like isn’t nearly enough to cover how much I appreciate the insane amount of work and quality you put in to this!

[@mayen67]

I remember when I got my PS2, I got the GT3 Pack in edition, so GT3 was the first game I played on it and the opening sequence blew me away.

[@strzxgvnuvwvfld3597]

I really enjoyed this. It's fascinating having all the differences in these engines pointed out, learning how lighting and so on progressed, and also seeing how other driving games from the time handled these challenges. Great stuff as always!

[@_sabot]

This was awesome, thank you so much! I really would appreciate another part for the PS3 era

[@Alexp37]

Yep.

[@Shad0wplay]

Thank you John, this may very well be the best game documentary I've ever seen. Your presentation and production is remarkable. Keep up the good work! And if you find time to make a part three, covering the last of GT history it would be well appreciated. Best regards, David

[@JMartinni]

Would definitely love to see similar coverage on the Need for Speed Underground era (Underground 1/2, Most Wanted and Carbon I suppose) and its competitors at the time.

[@marcos1669]

there was no real competition, but yeah, we need a DF retro for this

[@FranciscoFJM]

@@marcos1669 Midnight club

[@marcos1669]

@@FranciscoFJM how could I forget, I love Midnight Club 2....

[@offspringfan89]

Oh man, what else can I say about DF Retro that hasn't been said before? Praising John Linneman for the content is beating a dead horse at this point, he's so good it's ridiculous. Amazing stuff as usual, I wish I were in a better condition to support DF on Patreon, these guys earn it with amazing content as this. Kudos for DF staff and all patreons for making this possible 👏.

[@cosmindinaa]

John and everyone at DF, thank you for all this awesome content! I will surely enjoy this one.

[@gmbai]

Bravo! Excellent video. I also really enjoyed the Volvo part 😂

[@OwtDaftUK]

A lot of people were quick to judge PS2 on those early games where the developers were still not making the most of PS2 very fast ram and not using the PS2's vector units all. There is a demoscence of the PS2's vector units doing real time ray tracing. There is clearly a big leap between early PS2 and later PS2.

[@eduardoleyvadiaz9030]

Automodellista was superb! I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it in the channel. Great work! I really enjoyed the video!

[@MegaRayland]

It feels odd to cut the analysis here considering how much GT5 added and changed (HD graphics, new dynamics, weather, time of day cycles/passage of time, damage model, head tracking, track creation, online, etc). As for GT Sport, I know many ‘purists’ hated it but I enjoy it a lot. It is a game for competition and it shines at that, and the single player component is an excellent pick up and play option the likes the series hadn’t seen in a long time. With GT2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 it always felt you had to invest a lot of time to start seeing everything the game had to offer, but with Sport everything is right there from the get-go and you can just focus on racing and doing what you want when you want it.

[@robatw]

I usually not comment on Videos. But John... seriously. I really enjoy all your Videos but especially your racing stuff. The 2 GT Videos are just phenomenal. I really would love to see more coverage of GT, Forza (not horizon) and especially one of my favorite ges of all time rallisportchallenge 2. I like that you shouted that one out but it deserves more ;) Thank you very much for your hard and obv. Outstanding work.