A Retrospective on the NASCAR Thunder Series (ft. Black Flags Matter)

[@BlackFlagsMatter]

Thanks for having me on!

[@bradsully6620]

You have a hell of a name there bro!!

[@charlesbocovo]

I sub to black flags matter

[@AM-tu1rc]

Wikipedia Articles matter. Plagarizing fraudulent clown over here.

[@keithharper1470]

2001 - 2005 the greatest era in sports video gaming. There where so much classics and competition and bringing in new fans to sports they've never played or watched

[@willmaples4062]

@Cole the sgt frog and baby Tamama lover :3 I agree. I don't consider it my favorite, but 06 and 07 are not bad games by any means. As a kid I had a lot of fun in countless hours playing NASCAR 2002-07. Yeah it was bit more buggy, but it was so damn good

[@evanwilliams6406]

Yes and people wonder why those games these days stink, there was some much competition and they made it as real as possible and the immersion that it brought make these games almost timeless like Mario or Final Fantasy or Zelda those games for Nintendo are things that people still play today.

[@napalmblaziken]

"We are all trapped in our homes." I'm working for what's considered an "essential business". So I'm not that lucky.

[@gabingston3430]

Stay safe, man.

[@redbullsauberpetronas]

You are lucky you're making money lol

[@TyTheTurtle]

Same bro. We be out here.

[@sirnickels9979]

Same here. Had our first confirmed case yesterday

[@mr198221]

Me too, but grateful to be working.

[@88fanforlife]

So much nostalgia in this video. I spent countless hours on all 3 as a kid. Still remember Christmas 2001 and my main gifts were a PS2 Thunder 2002 and Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3. Safe to say I locked myself in the room a bunch lol

[@imapopo2924]

Man TH Pro Skater 3... The nostalgia in that game alone...

[@NikoSoviet88]

the title has an EmpLemon vibe to it

[@dennisbowen452]

Thankfully its nowhere near as autist as emplemons content is

[@NikoSoviet88]

@@dennisbowen452 wdym?

[@dennisbowen452]

@@NikoSoviet88 watch the podcast he use to do with mumkey. Its at times cringey cause well emp is a better script writer than improv

[@dennisbowen452]

Plus emp has a I'm better than you mindset with a pinch of "we live in a society" ego to him which is why I dropped off

[@dennisbowen452]

@Jav GH his editing is godly good

[@11Pharcyde]

Didn't even like NASCAR but damn it I enjoyed the hell outta the games

[@seannborba8416]

Same dude. I just wanted to drive cars that had sponsors of brands I recognized. Didn't care who was in the seat

[@JustcallmeGnarly22]

My favorite is Thunder 2002 with the tribute to Dale Earnhardt on the startup screen. I played the heck out of it back in the day and still play it on occasion.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

This is some serious EmpLemon shit LOVE IT! Well done, gentleman! This was truly fun to watch! :)

[@carrsllccarrillo6507]

2004 was my favorite of the EA franchise. It was the last year (2003) that pontiac was supported as a car manufacture and since I'm a pontiac fan, I built my team using that GM brand in particular. My only problem at the time was that there was almost no wheel support for their games. Yet the heat series/Dirt to Daytona I was able to utilize one by a company that was endorsed by Dale Jr. What made the thunder series so much fun was having to play against 3 other people on one screen and I was able to get a few of my freinds into Nascar because of this layout. I love how I was able to build my team and buy shop equipment. I tried to meet certain goals with my sponsor(s) while try not to damage chassis 1 and chassis 2. It was probably the most fun I had with a nascar game series of that time.

[@blakeandrews9496]

these games were my childhood. 03 and 04 are absolute gems in gaming history. the career modes were so amazing, and the racing itself was just as great. thank you for making this video

[@evanwilliams6406]

Seems like once they dropped the "Thunder" name from the title outside of Chase For the Cup mind you, EA's NASCAR games went South in a hurry.

[@GustavoCALovatto]

Evan Williams Total Team Control was good.

[@imapopo2924]

The last one I actually liked was 2007. It felt closer to 2005 (which is probably my favorite of them all) than anything else. I never played a lot of 2004 but I can see why people love it. I'd like to see its career style brought into a newer game. They kind of did it in the newer Heat games, but I feel like they didnt do enough of it.

[@jzk0517]

Aw yeah This content is much needed and appreciated during this quarantine

[@osurocks24]

My second ever console game I ever got and my first EA Sports game was NASCAR Thunder 2002. I will never forget Sweet Home Alabama in that as that is one of my favorite songs when I was and a child and still is now.

[@kylefunderburk4194]

NASCAR 06-07 were still really good. The XBox 360 versions sucked for the same reason the 360 versions of Madden, NCAA and Live sucked, but the PS2 and XBox versions of those games were still great. Introducing tour modifieds and adding them as the bottom rung of the career mode was great. If only Heat's dirt racing was as good as EA's modified racing.

[@johnathonhamilton232]

Bro at first I was rather sad when you said yo wouldn’t do Madden videos anymore. But man! All of your content is all so good and such high quality! I’ll support you through it all!

[@justingeorge6093]

When did he say that

[@SOFTDRINKTV]

I will do Madden content again when the next game comes out, but right now I want to focus on all types of games, mostly sports related but I might throw a few non sports games in! I want to diversify my channel and not be considered a "Madden KZbinr" bc I hate Madden lol. I want to be THE channel for sports games content old and new.

[@johnathonhamilton232]

SOFTDRINKTV I absolutely believe in you! The passion and love you bring to your videos is unparalleled! I actually bought Madden 07 and 08 because of you! Looking for 2k8 now too

[@Blueflag04]

@@SOFTDRINKTV you should review more racing games

[@Unova39]

It took me 7 minutes to realize this wasn't one of the usual NASCAR channels I watch haha. Great video as always!

[@SandF3DPrinting]

09 was one of my favorites for one reason. The paint booth. I used to make custom cars in Photoshop and upload them to the game. Then I started making them for people on the IGN forums back in the day. Good times.

[@jrsmith5080]

704 is progressing in the right direction. Keep in mind they're not a big company like ea. Each new nascar heat game keeps getting better and that will likely continue.

[@darkpitbullotusdpl8767]

3 years later….here we are.

[@Ishin69]

seriously one of my favorite youtube channels right now. love your videos man

[@raymundomartinez7469]

This was my childhood every Christmas I would ask for the newest NASCAR Thunder game. Those where the days 04 thunder the best hands down.

[@tomdetroit01]

A vid with Soft Drink and BFM. Great collaboration

[@alexthesniper1952]

Thunder 04 is the Cadillac of Nascar Games period.

[@RedCometXIII]

NASCAR 2002 to 2005 were God tier. Played the absolute hell out of each and every one of them. The series fell hard though with 06 TTC. The alt paint schemes and FINALLY having Daytona in 2002 just blew my mind. The presentstion in 02 to 04 was so well done. The prerace was amazing. Contextual commentary, different versions of the anthem played, the starting grid presentation, the fireworks and flyover. Goddamnit man. There was a definite dip in presentation with 2005 but the multi-tiered career mode made up for it. The silly season in all these games career mode was awesome too. Seeing drivers retire and be replaced by young up and comers and part timers was so cool, especially when YOU were offered a ride at a team like Hendrick Motorsports or Roush Racing. The modern day F1 games are the closest thing we have to the Thunder games. 10 year career, car development, driver movement (onoy introduced in 2019), prerace ans contextual commentary. They're hella fun, but I miss the Thunder games.

[@gabingston3430]

Can you do a NASCAR Racing 2003 retrospective?

[@druryfury]

I had NASCAR Thunder 2003 as a kid and loved it. I remember sitting in front of the computer playing it and pretending to be a real driver. Lots of memories and nostalgia with that game.

[@SimRacer2001]

ahhh, the pc port. is it as different from the console as thunder 04 was?

[@robg7430]

I still had a lot of fun on Nascar 07 tbh

[@BoogityBogityBoogity]

"While the Heat series has been much better than the Eutechnyx series..." U WOTT

[@Blueflag04]

I mean he's right

[@BoogityBogityBoogity]

BlueFlag Alpha u serious? Drivingfeel wise it is even worse than the original heat games from the early 2000s, while the eutechnyx games weren‘t perfect they captured what driving a heavy stock car feels like much better, despite being on old gen consoles

[@K9RacingAndStuff]

@@BoogityBogityBoogity yeah as far as Gen7 console games go, Eutechnyx's had the physics down for the most part, though I think there's a little too much grip, but good otherwise. Unfortunately, the AI didn't complement it well, mostly because tire wear was so broken for the AI that I found very few tracks to feel good with the AI for their second release (so far, I've only found Kentucky and Homestead to be the only good ovals), other times, the AI were ridiculously fast (Watkins Glen), and the AI also not being bound to the same engine temp limitations of the player, making plate racing frustrating. It was a good step from the Gen7 EA games, which had atrocious physics (honestly, 09 felt like a lateral gain from 08, just less barrel-rolly) and even worse AI

[@TheNewChevyRoll48]

NASCAR Thunder on PS1: Am I a joke to you? Me: Yeah, you weren't that great or memorable. Still some solid games though.

[@michaelsieber6601]

Those old nascar games were way more deep then the junk we have now I took it for granted when I was 10. I picked up a newer nascar game and just expected it to be like the old ones I was way wrong.

[@badbooking3221]

Thunder 2003 career mode... two things I need to note: The cars are A LOT faster than single race mode once the car reaches overall 85 or higher. And Atlanta is by far the hardest track in here (unless you count the pit road bugs at New Hampshire).

[@SeanMurphy9343]

I absolutely cannot believe I missed this until today!!

[@mikemayhem39]

I’ve been playing thunder 04 for the last couple months, gonna get 02 and 03 just to see what they where like and have them for a hell of it

[@chrisguardiano6143]

NASCAR Thunder 2003 & F1 2002 are the two greatest racing games EA has ever made and in the top 10 of greatest racing games ever made. I loved playing both as a kid and both games introduced me to both NASCAR and F1.

[@sploit777]

Great video. Thunder 2004 was def the best nascar game of that gen but my favorite all time is nascar 06 for sure due to the team element that was added

[@badbooking3221]

NASCAR 2001 is an underrated footnote. For the PS2, it was much more in-depth than the PS1 sibling, and was a sign of things to come with the Thunder franchise.

[@supersasukemaniac]

Another thing that made the EA NASCAR games in general just a massive gut punch in the best way to fans, was the unlockable content. From fantasy Cars, Drivers and tracks. To being able to unlock the #3 car driven by Dale Earnhardt.

[@MNSonYT]

I never would have expected this but I’m happy to see it

[@AutoRockinRacing94]

They did have a NASCAR official waving by the field. Biggest example was shown in the CBS telecast of the Daytona 500 before they introduce the starting grid all throughout the 1980s.

[@JordanJMyers]

I think 06 total team control is my fav. Classic battles with my buddies in that

[@elijahwerling4668]

Yessir two of my favorite youtubers in the same one 😎

[@AustinGonder]

I used to play NASCAR Thunder 2004 all the time

[@stunna1517]

Austin Gonder same here

[@JayBeingNatural]

Also of note, the Nascar Thunder games were developed by EA Tiburon. So, they were working with this along with the Madden/NCAA series

[@bradydicarlo9143]

My first ever video game was NASCAR Thunder 2004. I still have the copy of it.

[@hotkarl2961]

loved playing Nascar thunder 2003 on the ps1 when i was a little shaver, that game had epic crashes

[@ImTheMilkMan65]

Thunder 02 is a hidden gem and more people need to gawk at it

[@kanyecheedar9170]

NASCAR 07 was incredible

[@AllendynastyMC]

This channel is what I strive for

[@SandF3DPrinting]

Also NASCAR heat 4 is the shit. I had a race in the Xfinity series at Daytona last night, omfg it was so good. The pack racing. I loved it. Took me back to playing on ps2 and having so much fun with my friends after school.

[@Suneed1997]

NASCAR Rumble will always be my favorite NASCAR game

[@lunareclipse6999]

Honestly, NASCAR Thunder 2003 on the PS2 was the first game i've ever played in my life, i remember taking the orange preset car and flipping it at Talladega, hell i still have my copy from a few years ago

[@Dalton1294]

Another about the lightning challenge from Thunder 2003 is that the actual MRN call is used when a challenge is highlighted

[@idkplayer]

Great video

[@plasmadrone3123]

yaaaay!! more NASCAR content from SOFTDRINKTV :D :D now please review the other NASCAR games.

[@E_tiBEAMERBOY]

Racingggg gamessss! Keep it up!

[@DDogDan]

Nascar Thunder 2004 introduced me to this beautiful sport that i enjoy and watched.

[@Kastagoo]

I think people sleep on '06. Physics were a bit of a downgrade but the teammate swapping was a fun feature.

[@MMCS07]

Thanks for using my clip 😃

[@BehindFor17Hours]

Nascar Thunder in 4K. You have my attention.

[@ajevans1422]

Dale jr and Tony Stewart. Two of my favorites

[@braxc]

You’ve been snappin bro

[@ryanmorrison3699]

I almost feel NASCAR themselves drew a lot of influence recently from the Thunder series. The fantasy rovals and Jordan Anderson’s accounts. That’s cool to see the actual sport draw influence from one of their video games.

[@jc1424]

I think there will be someday. It won't come across the same way as NASCAR Thunder 2004, but NASCAR will have a good year and during that same year there will be a damn near flawless NASCAR game with great racing, various pleasing features, rewarding career mode, and stupidly expensive soundtrack. They're just going to need financial help. Idk someone get Dale Jr. to donate a few million for the 2021 game.

[@PaulGaither]

I just came from a video praising NASCAR 07 as possibly the best. They said 06 had game breaking bugs in career mode which were solved and several features were tuned properly after years of neglect. Much like Madden 07, NASCAR 07 seems to be regarded highly by everyone else I watch. Not sure why it is put down @ 8:00.

[@DupontandLowesWarrior]

Thunder 2004 and Battle For Bikini Bottom were My Childhood

[@rosstheboss5953]

Do an MVP Baseball 2005 Retropestive

[@chrisgratton6436]

Best baseball game ever no question

[@skiess955]

Ross The Boss He already has

[@joshwalsh1260]

can’t make nascar ULTIMATE TEAM CARDS

[@Blueflag04]

Dirt To Daytona up there with the Nascar Thunder series

[@Thegod_of_memes]

glad Thunder 03 is finally getting it's flowers

[@dcaseng]

Career mode depth and presentation are the biggest things missing from these games since 2004.

[@stw3art14]

Man I'll always miss the 2000s NASCAR games. Really hope someone gets online to work on the emulator for Thunder 2004 though

[@GeraltofRizziaa]

NASCAR Thunder 2004 had the best soundtrack ever.

[@Bo2_MTAR]

If heat had a paint booth like nascar 14 and add just more customization in general I’d play it a lot more

[@justinturley7071]

Thunder 2004, Chase for the Cup 2005, and 07 were the best EA NASCAR Games Ever!

[@zerrothewolf8316]

the first NASCAR game I played was 2005: Chase For The Cup that game had such a great soundtrack

[@bkracingyt]

NASCAR 2005: Chase for the cup | The last great NASCAR game.

[@sblack53]

These games are 20 years old now 😢

[@T1M-NYTE]

Your content is coming thru in the Clutch

[@stormkelleh]

Thunder 2003 was insanely awesome.

[@TheGamingKiller242]

3:38 Alvin Davenport? Alvin H. Davenport perhaps?

[@drakesmith4857]

Also this one is a little strange but the wwe games thq made there were so great games great gameplay deep modes after about 16 years 2k took over the license an they haven't been able to top what thq did highly recommend playing some of theTHQ wwe games from about 02 to 2012 on the ps2 or 360

[@kevinbasta3557]

Tbf wwe 2k19 was decent

[@drakesmith4857]

@@kevinbasta3557 definitely was i actually have it 16 was pretty good to tho

[@MrAjking808]

Yeah after being older now I see how lame THQ games were the ring is way too big , the WrestleMania modes stories were hella trash . Over Arcady, I like 2K versions

[@drakesmith4857]

I think thq made some really great wwe games also tho if you take 2k16 or 19s gameplay an add svr 07 06 10 depth an boom all time great game

[@sosamanotf642]

Kevin Basta 2K19 is bad too, none of the post 2K14 WWE games are good

[@seannborba8416]

What is the background music. It sounds likr something out of gran turismo. I love it

[@D5YouTube]

NASCAR 09 really gets a bad rap. It was a terrible offline experience, but NASCAR 09 had the greatest online console experience ever. The racing was incredible and is still more realistic than titles today. Not to mention the ability to create paint schemes through Adobe Photoshop and import them into the game. EA did not do many things right in the final years of the NASCAR franchise, but they knew that the focus was changing to competitive racing and nailed the online racing down to a tee and if you ever raced NASCAR 09 online before it’s sever shutdown in 2011, you know exactly what I’m talking about. In 704 Games you can’t even Practice or Qualify online, or even change left side tires. Bare minimum car setups and you can’t even get to another drivers corner panel and spin them out. I’ll take NASCAR 09 Online over any 704 title.

[@DerrickRG]

NASCAR 09 was just Daytona and Talladega lobbies. I remember the online racing more for the game freezes and had lockups than the actual racing itself.

[@D5YouTube]

SinikkaL For the most part it was Daytona and Talladega lobbies you’re correct. However every weekend there would be the 25% ranked races that would be held at whatever track the series was at that weekend. That was a lot of fun. Then obviously if you did league racing then you raced everywhere. Being able to actually practice and qualify and tune together with everyone else in the lobby was amazing. I don’t understand why we haven’t got that in a single game since. I didn’t have to many technical issues back in the day. The occasional freeze/lockup would happen but it wasn’t too often. Also, the Talladega and Daytona races were EPIC. So many great races, finishes, and wrecks in my memories. Some great moments are even here available on KZbin.

[@rcracer8872]

As usual you are an idiot thunder 02 03 and 04 are far better

[@rcracer8872]

@@D5KZbin Earnhardt is nascar's greatest driver ever and far better than Jimmie 7× asterisk

[@akivamorris7950]

Do rise and fall of nhl games

[@Slapped]

Have you ever done a video on F1 Motorsport games? I recently got a wheel and picked it up, and I’m having a blast with it’s gameplay and career mode

[@valerieodom242]

They need to remaster thunder 2004 for the current consoles.

[@tannermctanner3210]

Theses were some of the funniest video games of all time

[@djentyman4002]

Man I played this on PC I think? Either way I played this series a ton when I was a kid. I’m going to have to shop around and grab it

[@Clay3613]

Gran Turismo 5 is my favorite NASCAR game.

[@smh02]

its honestly pathetic that every single one of the best sports games are all made well before 2010.... madden 07/08, nascar thunder 03-05, old MLB games, fucking NBA 2k11, ufc undisputed, fifa 08, etc. its actually despicable how technology is progressing backwards, getting more and more bare boned yet somehow more expensive than ever. what a joke honestly

[@donk6084]

im not a nascar fan, but loved these games

[@stann.3408]

Since we're doing the greatest EA Sports games from the 2000s, throw in MVP Baseball 2005 while you're at it

[@Beamer66]

Thunder 2003 has by far the best AI, way tougher to win a race than 2004, you have to get the setups spot on, especially the gears, play it regularly to this day.

[@beastmodebrandon6963]

Thunder 2003 had the best crashes as I felt 04 was alittle to blow over prone but ethier way I still play all 3 games to this day but 03 will be my favorite since that was the only thunder game on the GameCube

[@RCJH2022]

What site did you use to get the game for the emulator? I cant find many ea sports games. 😢

[@whomikejones32]

Hell yea this game was good too I had it for the Xbox

[@deac4831]

amazing vid

[@djuberfog6344]

I love the Thunder series.

[@Ejoshg123]

Please look at a hockey game may I recommend nhl 06,14 or nhl hitz

[@nascartoday8849]

dirt to Daytona will always be my favorite edit: i also play d2d on my phone due to emulators

[@GustavoCALovatto]

I won't deny: when I clicked it, I started to get a worry that the video might be a blind bashing on 704 Nascar games (specially with the bad impression the first attempt at current gen was). But, after it, I'm glad it was judged by what it is: I'm still on a soft spot for them because of the developers respect to the fans and by how 704 is still a small team. By what we have with other sports games, the current Nascar Heat is still somewhere behind, but I tend to advocate that there's a lot of good. The career mode is arguebly more complete than NT2004 because it have something the former lacked: the choice to run as a hired driver instead of a driver-owner only. The game has a day-to-night transition mirroring real life night races and the gameplay have always improved from each iteration to the next. Also, the developers' are trying to make a balance between DLCs and free content that most companies just don't care. I'd say that the Nascar Heat series is on a great position to improve and maybe match the Thunder series. Or maybe surpass, since 704 today is owned by the same group that controls the Autosport magazine and the Motorsport website.