The Best Touge Racing Game You Have Never Played

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2 is a fairly old PS2 racing game centered around Japan and its mountain roads. Launched to mixed reception and mediocre sales, could this game perhaps be a misunderstood gem?
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[@uokutadrifts]

Fun fact: the series was originally known as Kaido Battle. The first Kaido Battle, Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift was localized for US only, while the English version of Kaido Battle 2 (Kaido Racer) was released for EU/AU market but not US

[@connorbutters8479]

well that's one way to bollock your sales

[@apophisstr6719]

@@connorbutters8479 All those name changes were just so unnecessary.

[@darkblader06]

Kaido 2's career was very forgiving

[@SetsunaTheFandom]

Also thanks to the difference of versions, non-JP ones don't have special vinyls and certain cars.

[@integradc2328]

Ngl Kaido Battle 3 Touge Legends was my favourite since it had refrences to Initial D , Wangan Midnight and Over Rev

[@m-seb]

13:35 The funniest part of that truck is that it has a black background/yellow text plate, meaning that it's a company car. That guy is racing his work truck.

[@apophisstr6719]

This last Kaido Battle is particular great because of the amount of contents it had and the details they included, it's the first Kaido Battle game that actually had the real parking lot of every track modelled. To normal people it's probably a bit meaningless, but for us hardcore fan of the series and the whole japanese street racing culture...it's details like these that made it absolutely legendary.

[@RedzaMalaysianCrossover]

This game is great for a budget game and slowly become my favourite PS2 racing game. The intro of this game itself already got me into this series. Worth noting that some cutscenes are quite broken of emulation. This game not only have JDM and European car but also has some D1 drift and WRC cars as well! Also Midget too. In previous Kaido Battle game has a lot of D1, European and American cars. Worth checking out.

[@budaroddy]

🤝

[@shifty1927]

My favorite tas txr zero .. before they had to worry about licensing cars. All types of jdm,European, and American legends . Also alot of non legends. 4 door skylines, integras, k cars etc

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@shifty1927 K-Car, like a Dodge Aries or kei car, like a Suzuki Cappuccino?

[@ahmadilzaimanyusof4155]

It also have Kancil (Mira)

[@elen5871]

dominating the touge in a Renault 5 Turbo 2 is incredible tbh

[@NerfMaster000]

The thing is, drifting isn’t really the core thing in this series despite what the name might suggest. The Western publisher probably only put drift in the name to attract the Tokyo Drift/Initial D crowd.

[@budaroddy]

Yes but when you learn to drift properly you will be drifting all the time because its the fastest and awesome

[@kagenlim5271]

Also, at 7:30 WTF IS THERE RIDGE RACER MUSIC

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

It's like people who can't differentiate between Initial D and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune. Two totally different games.

[@integradc2328]

Dont forget about the Over Rev! refrences

[@xXVibrantSnowXx]

@@kagenlim5271 It's called video edit

[@IGNTR02]

Fun fact: When Genki was developing the US version of TXR3, they were also developing a Fast & Furious game which was going to be released at November 2003 alongside TXR3 but they cancelled it. No reason or information about the cancellation was revealed but a possibility is that they were focusing more on TXR3.

[@DarcyFerrier]

Was that fast and furious game related to the Tokyo Drift one that was released on PS2?

[@shifty1927]

Tokyo extreme racer zero had a trailer for the original fast and furious in the games bonus videos. Also a cool street racing documentary.

[@xXVibrantSnowXx]

Another fun Fact: Kaido battle was planned to be released for Nintendo DS but it got cancelled Here is a trailer for it kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5LOnaZmlLuIb9U

[@IGNTR02]

@@DarcyFerrier Nope, that game was made by another developer.

[@ImDannn]

They had to cancel the F&F game to focus on the Yellow Busses

[@BlackRockStella]

God, this game is truly an underrated gem. Played the hell out of it and managed to beat every single rivals.

[@DSL_Returns]

I really love all racing games made by Genki, the lore and cars and all the references they make to Wangan Midnight and other media.

[@senorlechuga8832]

I barely heard about Genki, and much less played their games, but they seem really really solid. At most I played this spin-off game on the 360, Import Tuner Challenge, and while it didn't have many cars you could turn your car into an absolute rice field, letting you change almost everything the car had Edit: Turns out ITC was actually a sequel and Ubisoft just gave it that name just because

[@adlibbed2138]

Import Tuner Challenge was actually a sequel to the TXR series, it's just that as he pointed out, the series are known by so many names it's rather difficult to brought up in any racing game discussions

[@Icemann336]

ITC is legendary to me for the ludicrous customisation and the classic TXR formula. I even finished the game recently with just one car as well!

[@FlipFanatic]

@@Icemann336 ITC was a disappointment to me as it was finished in sub 6 hours. the older games took days or weeks to grind to 100%

[@K0Y0I_sis]

@@adlibbed2138 They should just name every game "Jintei's Tantrum" (C1 Grand Prix included).

[@DaveSpecC]

@@FlipFanatic Sorry but sub 6 hours? I went back and played few months ago, didn't lose once and took alot longer than 6 hours to beat every rival. Dont talk bollocks.

[@fernfernacelli]

Of note - this game handles SURPRISINGLY well with a steering wheel. I’d had this since it first released (always loved it!), but never got to race it with a wheel until a few years ago. Well worth the investment. REALLY cool game.

[@TrikzLane95]

This was one I got when I was in my preteen years, and now, in my mid 20s, I still LOVE this game and HATE this game at the same time. But I only hate it because it's SO challenging at times, you can figure out how to work the mild grind, (signing on sponsors, lvl 10 gymkhana ca attack in late game nets like 4m+ CP a win), but you still need to be a good player to actually BEAT the slashers. If you figured out the critical engine and turbo part sets for each engine type, you can make some crazy horsepower. Thanks Dustin for showing the world this GEM of a game.

[@geoacuraisuzu]

These games is actually some of my favorite racing games The entire series is awesome

[@cinemadweebproductions1828]

Dude I’d honestly love to see a full play through of you playing this tbh, I’d do anything to play it but watching you satisfies the urge

[@Hartbreak1]

The TXR games are the real definition of underrated games. These never got good marketing in the US and a lot of people who got into these games was by word of mouth mainly. I got TXR Zero because I spotted it at GameStop at a deep discount and this game I got it because a friend of mine that loves to play obscure games gifted it to me and before that day I didn’t even know that game existed even though I had played some of the older games by that point.

[@Eggyteevee]

I like how the game says "Prepare For Struggle" in the race start and then Eden passes the rival in less than 20 seconds with a Turbo Box

[@SetsunaTheFandom]

Nice to see you playing one of my favorite racers! I remember almost reaching the penultimate arc (Zao and Aso) and had a hell of fun in this game!

[@FullBitGamer]

seeing videos like this show up on my feed makes me feel old, all these young youtubers finding out about these "hidden gems" that literally EVERYBODY I knew in school was playing when they released. But hey, at least they are getting some attention still.

[@edgiest-edgelord-that-edges]

The fact that I JUST find your channel and then a day later you play one of my favorite racing games ever from childhood is absolutely wild lmao

[@Cascroft-lp6ir]

Kaido Racer 2 is quite possibly the best racing game on PS2. The graphics were unreal with a component cable

[@user-fo1ow1jq3b]

How would you rate it compared to gt4 physics?

[@DecaTarce]

This is still my favorite racing game, just absolutely nails everything I ever asked for. So grateful this got a localization, however rough it may be. I remember nabbing it on release back in college. Huge love for all of the Genki Racing Project games, Racing Battle might be my #2 pick.

[@shimapancyra]

The opening is named Call Me now by South Dakota Star and is currently a lost media.

[@heimanlee5955]

Quite a pity the Shutokou/Kaido Battle saga ended up in a short-lived smartphone game. Please also do the Japanese-only C1 Grand Prix-it's more like colliding Shutokou and Kaido Battle together, but stages are set in not just expressway but also circuits like Tsukuba.

[@Drift4Drifters]

This game deservers a fan translation as soon as possible.

[@tmnttiny]

Genki teased Tokyo Xtreme Racer coming out in 2025 THEY'RE MAKING A NEW ONE LETS GOOOOOO

[@slappa7377]

18:18 **Gran Turismo 1 Flashbacks**

[@trautsj]

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero is still to this day one of my favorite (and most played) racing games of all time. I can't even remember how many PS2's I killed letting them run on autopilot to get miles up to unlock the last level engines for cars to see how fast they'd go. Goddamn... good times.

[@Fleetish]

The Coffee Breaks in GT4 took place on a track that's named Gymkhana in the files. That's why :P

[@noboruryuu4345]

I've played hundreds of hours on these genki games. Absolutely loved them back in the day!

[@lol-ih1tl]

I guess the racing game community is going to start a journey on finding racing games they've never heard before.

[@leandromagnus5985]

Racing Battle: C1GP was made by Genki RP too, it was based on best motoring, and feature circuit and wangan racing, both Kaido Battle 3 and C1GP are my favorite PS2 racing games, KB3 physics are just too good, better than GT4 were

[@SATO_FD2R]

That *_Ridge Racer OST Slaps!_*

[@Blaze1990sp]

Was loving the Sonic adventure station square music towards the end LMAO

[@connorbutters8479]

Games like this Aare what make the 6th console gen so much fun to revisit. absolutely the biggest generation for budget racing games

[@ElevatedMiata]

To anyone who wants to play this, starting with a fwd is a good idea, the crx is a really great fast option that can even do drift events, the ae85 really sucks, any rival is faster in a straight line.

[@therossionfan]

Oh hell yeah, so happy to see this franchise getting some love for once

[@coryj8374]

Actually Im old enough to have put many hours into TXR Zero. Its really that game that got me into the JDM scene and Tokyo underground racing scene in Japan. Me and My bayside blue R34 GTR were wangan legends haha

[@theasiangod]

I wish they would bring back the tokyo xtreme racer series.

[@benf2682]

Hakone has always been my favorite map from battle gear. I had the course memorized at one point lol.

[@adrianjarrett7412]

Wish they would bring this back, remember playing on dreamcast, ps2, and Xbox 360

[@XxGeNuiN3xX]

Tokyo Xtreme Racer one and two were one of my most favorite games on Playstation growing up. These games got me into cars.

[@SuussyBakka]

Fun fact: I’ve played this series and both of those games. I have an Asian family and love arcades, so I am so glad I had the privilege to play those games.

[@djwonderbrad]

How does one own an entire Asian family? How often do you feed them?

[@Drift4Drifters]

Im glad this game is not easy to drift, what makes it more rewarding. Respect the game and the game will respect you back.

[@kaminekoch.7465]

Honda City that you used at first is considered an "Office Lady car", just so you know.

[@budaroddy]

I just love how Kaido Racer Chain Reaction had cars like DeTomaso Vallelunga and Renault 21

[@90Kenny]

I remember playing this in high school. Now I'm 33 Good times!

[@justjoe1071]

I used to have this game... We definitely need more entries. I don't know what happened to my copy. But I have an initial d game.

[@9nineofdiamonds]

Played the game most of my time in winter break during my time in uni, maining the yellow Cyborg until I have enough to main the RX7 FD while using the C35 Laurel to drift. Till this day, I still remember there was a driver who prefers Galants to Lancers with other characters here and the damn drift physics to cause my thumbs to sore after multiple gymkhana farming and speed drifting attempts on ShigaKu touge

[@justkady]

Ive always been a fan of touge and genki and all that jazz, so txrd2 was one of the first ever genki games i played, but thanks to my pc's specs it only ever ran at 30% speed, glad to see you covrering it Dustin!

[@acidman3035]

I played this game a lot. I still own my original PS2 copy of the game. Best racing game ever. Lots of fun. I also played it a lot with a logitech G25.

[@TrustonLeongTheDriftPro]

Hardly anyone knows about the Kaido games made by Genki. Very nice vid man

[@CapnFlappyJaw42]

Man i have dumped so many hours into this game, it's one of my all time favorite racing games. The physics are a bit to handle sometimes but once you learn it my god is this game fun

[@elitef40]

I've been waiting for someone to play this legendary game!

[@9520221]

That Nitepinkeve22 guy kind of triggers me by calling nanamagari an “Lidl Irohazaka”

[@zeskior6613]

The car cutscene is also bugged for me but the ghost should appear. Mind making a video of best display setting in TXR3 and TXRD2?

[@Gunwoo]

I miss these old Kaid Battle games. Still have part 1 and 2 in my PS2 hard drive. Great OST in both of them too

[@dadbodii]

I died laughing seeing that one of the sponsors was “yours” instead of mines

[@danzifer]

Fun fact: Tokyo Xtreme Racer was originally supposed to be used as a promotion for the first "The Fast and the Furious" film, until legal stuff severed ties. Some coding made it into the final version of the "0" game including various graphics and trailers.

[@goldentiramisu7935]

man, imagine spend so much cash for your dream JDM and then got dusted by a turbo soap box

[@mrdaykurutakuchannel]

I enjoyed playing TXRD2, but the car controls in this game are quite tricky, especially with FR cars.

[@dopey473]

Glad you discovered this, it's an absolute masterpiece I love the forum feature it really makes the world feel alive

[@pyromanuss]

I remember playing the game and choosing my starter car for 10 minutes cause there were so many damn options

[@blakekercheval5952]

That game is the closest thing weve gotten to initial D in a game bc the actual initial D games were arcady. That game was really ahead of its time with physics and the ability to tune cars and see major changes in the cars with different upgrades.

[@frankdeutan]

Superb game, finished it last year on a PS2 after 10 years without playing it.

[@cvtt3194]

I loved this game as a kid, the tuning was insane, cool euro cars too.

[@drivewaystar6485]

I've totally played tf out of this game. Between this and Zero is what got me and my brother into the jdm scene

[@iceboy1053]

You should try Battle Gear 2(Tokyo Road Race) or Battle Gear 3 from Taito, it's another arcade racer banger.

[@TheMrbiohazard56]

honestly i’m glad i have TXRD2 and TXR3! Definitely the best games in the series!

[@flexxx222]

I recently played this on the Steam Deck. Really liked it at the beginning but after over 600 battles I missed a sense of direction. The progress seems to come to a halt and it feels kind of grindy.

[@kmsthanks]

Every Tokyo Xtreme racer game has that inevitable grind to it, I just found drift 2 to be the least grindy

[@DaveSpecC]

One of if not the best games on PS2. Series X emulates it super well in 4k too.

[@AcidMayo27]

Yo we need to see the later stages of the game with properly fast cars like RX7s and such, really liking this game

[@drishavg]

I love Genki's TXR games. It what got me fully hooked on JDM cars and the Japanese street racing culture.

[@indigo3032]

i would want to watch another video of this, like a walkthrough of the career mode

[@Ren-fx5ti]

I miss this game so much.

[@cody345_hemi]

I have almost every game in this series, including the PSP Game and XBOX 360 spinoff

[@rolandiii9961]

Ahh man this is a nostalgia trip right here

[@oakiraji]

Please continue the series

[@kmsthanks]

This is a really good game. I got pretty far into it a couple months ago but I haven't had the time to revisit it. Definitely the touge gran turismo with some classic Tokyo Xtreme touches. The drifting physics are really good and challenging on controller, it's strict on countersteering and realistic so the skill curve is a bit hard for rwd cars.

[@fistingendakenny8781]

I have 4000 hours in this game. Its amazing.

[@carston101]

Wtf. I've got a purpose built 180 drift car and yet I can barely get it through a turn without losing all my points. But Dustin is fuckin nailing it with some dinky little Daihatsu. What?

[@spudwilkins9440]

I am amazed that the same guys made Phantom Crash / S. L. A. I!

[@tangerinedream8987]

Please do more of this.

[@justavagabond5348]

damn, I played this game MANY years ago on a PS2 from a friend of a friend, I really liked it but never seemed to remember the name only some aspects of the game and customization and racing in a tight road with some cherry blossoms, every now and then I tried to search about this game and never found it, until now! :D DAMN a whole trip down memory lane, I'm so happy tho :)

[@TheJakeMG]

Here's the music used in this video if you'd like to know: Tokyo Extreme Racer 3 OST - Zero One Tokyo Extreme Racer DRIFT 2 OST - Gymkhana Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec OST - Machine Test GRID Autosport OST - Track 1 Tokyo Extreme Racer DRIFT 2 OST - Day PA Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition OST - Garage Music 6 Sonic Mania OST - Comfort Zone Ridge Racer 2 (PSP) OST - Disco Ball Gran Turismo 4 OST - Race Settings Sonic Generations OST - Vs. Metal Sonic (Stardust Speedway Bad Future JP) YAKUZA 0 OST - Now It’s Personal (Extended Cut) Yakuza Kiwi 2 OST - Outlaws Lullaby The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie Game OST - Sandwich Driving 101 PAYDAY: The Heist OST - Home Invasion (Counterfeit) Persona 4 OST - Like A Dream Come True Need for Speed Carbon OST - Crew Race 06 Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec OST - Slipstream Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed Paul Haslinger - The Streets Of Gold (Need for Speed Undercover OST) Gran Turismo OST - Freedom To Win Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec OST - Light Velocity Moby Glitch - Gontran Sonic Adventure OST - Welcome To Station Square DRIVECLUB OST - The Club Rules (Kilon Ten Remix 1) Race Driver: GRID OST - Atomsplitter Reloaded Persona 4 OST - Period Persona 3 OST - Master Of Tartarus Rayman 3 OST - The Teensie Highway Persona 5 OST - Life Goes On

[@Viirrvill]

i have this game XD no wonder the animations looked familiar, though my edition is named "Kaido Racer 2"

[@abolfazlnozari679]

25:48 of course we want to see more! Do you know how sad it is when your video ends?

[@Creative_YT]

Do the graphics _kinda_ remind anyone else of the original CSR Racing?

[@Wideforteman1]

I've played it I miss it such a underrated game

[@HighlyBasic430]

I still have the disc for the original Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift

[@SkylinesBack]

Yes a video on tokyo xtreme racer let's go

[@killajames07]

still got my 100 percent save on the ps2 for this game. one of my favorite games in general :)

[@neogriff]

I played it as Touge battle ... I think. I forgot, it's been too long and I can't remember where I put that game 😅

[@adamdrumonde1664]

This is a great example of a game that would have been more successful if not for the name. I avoided them back in the day because I thought they were some F&F trash, while also playing the japanese versions struggling to navigate menus, having no idea they were even related to the tokyo xtreme racer series.

[@MrJr1976]

I'm glad I already purchased these for PS2

[@kanjo7132]

Definitely need more of this

[@rakkinen]

14:26 a wild Persona 4 appeared

[@bluntedspetsnaz718]

Excellent game played it way back in 07 wish the made this and wangan style game with newer cars and more customization

[@cyborggunslinger4230]

Recently just beat this game took me about 100 hours but that was because it was my first play through

[@brokenbaron2434]

2:37 what if the NFS game designers decided to try old and unknown games to get "new" ideas?

[@KiraKiraDaze]

What emulator do you use Eden?, Ive been getting these black stripes every time i play Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2,

[@bumpingblazer657]

Please complete the game on Twitch, I think everyone would love to see you do it

[@NaF390_CH]

Actually you can "technically" make your opponent go panic if you keep on flashing them or intentionally tailgating them