Virtua Racing: FlatOut (PS2) Retro Review (Sega AGES 2500 Vol.8)

[@MrThunderwing]

Hey, if you enjoyed this, why not also check out my recent *F-Zero GX (inc AX) Retro Review* kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6XCiKeciNeGb6ssi=En6EkO0O9bRqmlWL

[@garycormack]

I can confirm the switch version does indeed have a contrast sliders, it’s transformative, i set it to around 70% and it makes all the textures on the road pop out in their correct shades, same with the big bridge, it’s now a proper red colour instead of washed out orange

[@DuckAlertBeats]

Virtua Racing STILL looks more appealing to me than 95% of new games lol I genuinely mean that too

[@SteveBrandon]

In Canada, the Sega Classics Collection was basically direct-to-bargain-bin. That's where I found it. It was a bit disappointing a collection, considering I was hoping for straight arcade ports, and some of those ports were stinkers but there's enough decent-to-good on there that I didn't feel ripped off for what I spent (probably around $20 Canadian considering it was from a bargain bin just before Christmas 2006; bargain bins barely exist any more due to the decline of physical media games but where they do still exist, the cheap games are more like $40 Canadian now). I honestly don't remember ever playing Vitrua Racing in the arcades and while I did play the Genesis/Mega Drive version, it was only a one-time rental back in 1993 or 1994, so the PS2 version is the version that scratches the itch if I want to play (an imperfect version of) Virtua Racing. Which is only for maybe half an hour at a time at most because I can play OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (or, for that matter, F355 Challenge or Crazy Taxi) on the exact same console. The other games on the Sega Classics Collection that I think are at least decent are Columns (the only one that does include what I assume is a straight arcade port plus a new Puyo Puyo-like VS. mode), plus three other ports that didn't stray too far from the arcade graphics: Fantasy Zone, Bonanza Bros., and Alien Syndrome. I also kind of have a soft spot for the Space Harrier port that looks a bit cheesy by Playstation 2 standards but it already kind of had a retro original Playstation visual appeal to it.

[@MrThunderwing]

I was holidaying over in Canada last month (in BC)! I likewise never actually owned the Megadrive version, but I did rent it for a weekend when I had a friend staying over and we really played the heck out of the multiplayer - it was great fun. I've got a bit of a soft spot for Sega AGES OutRun on the PS2, even though it looks laughable compared to Outrun 2 SP on the PS2.

[@SteveBrandon]

@@MrThunderwing I don't hate the Sega Ages 2500 OutRun, I understand these games were essentially training new young hires, but I think I would have liked it better had I not already bought OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast for my birthday two and a half months earlier. The PS2 version of OutRun 2006: C2C still holds up amazingly well 17 years later, the Sega Ages 2500/Sega Classics Collection OutRun... not so much.

[@vrgamestudio294]

I've always really liked the sharp stencil shadows they added in this version, i think it enhanced the visuals and made them pop that bit more. I read somewhere these remakes were done by students or interns. Vr for all its faults was the stand out effort though.

[@acecarrera1]

Simple polygon of Virtua Racing (or Daytona USA) is actually perfect for VR because it offers clarity of vision without using too much computing power, but today's Sega is not as enthusiastic about VR as the day when this game came out.

[@apollosungod2819]

Also the PS2 Virtua Racing Flat Out was sold at retail in Japan for ¥2.500 that is why it had the 2500 nomenclature on it because these were BUDGET developed games however the devs who handled Virtua Racing went the extra mile but may not have had the schedule to add the winning ceremony from the arcade game even though it wasn't any trouble for the Sony PlayStation 2 hardware since it had 32MB of system ram and 4MB of Video Ram which is way more RAM than Sega Dreamcast could hope to have. It just comes down to budget. As far as why the 32X race tracks and TWI race tracks are missing from the PS2 or why those bonus race tracks are missing from the Nintendo Switch has to do with the fact that they were all handled by different dev teams... while TWI was a different company so even though "Sega" owns the Virtua Racing IP, they may not own those race tracks or they may have to pay royalties for them which isn't a good idea. Further, you can thank 90s Sega of America management for the messy handling and sales performance of Virtua Racing in the 90s. 1) the Sega Genesis Virtua Racing was a cutting edge ROM Cartridge and had a premium price but it didn't sell the numbers needed to be "profitable" 2) the Sega of America's 90s management created 32X immediately sold poorly because we who had buying power and who were being insulted directly by Tom Kalinske, well we simply refused to buy rubbish like the 32X at launch or even during the year because we knew the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation were coming so there was no reason for us to be treated like dumb children and buy rubbish like 32X... because such a device could only come from a barely there salesman con-artist who saw that there were 19 million Genesis units sold in the U.S.A. so he made a sales pitch presentation to the Japanese headquarters while also refusing to support the Sega Saturn and thus no one should be surprised as to the true reason why the 32X failed... further Tom Kalinske and Sega of America fanboys have given out misinformation to the rest of the gamers... back in mid 1995 when Edge/Next Generation did a game system roll call, they included sales figures which often came from the companies themselves and only reflected subsidiary branch warehouse sales to retailers, NOT actual gamers showing up to buy... with Sega Saturn Tom Kalinske kept insisting that it was never gonna sell much units since 1994 when he was asked by gamer magazines... obviously Sega of America fanboys defend him instead of auditing him but instead they just write books filled with lies. There was never any reason for 32X, Hayao Nakayama was never in fear of Atari Jaguar at all either and the only culprit for this misinformation comes from Tom Kalinske who has lied to the press and years later to Sega fans directly and never held accountable for it. In Japan Sega never tried to extend the life cycle of a defeated product...NEVER... this makes the 32X a serious anomaly because it was never created by anyone in Sega Enterprises LTD Japan at all... Nakayama was the big chief and he was the real reason why Sega entered the home consumer videogame system market in 1983 and why the Sega Saturn was being made otherwise Sega would have to watch 3DO backed by Panasonic (a bigger company than NEC and Sony in 1993 and 1994) simply get s coronation as the new tech king... no matter how you slice it the Sega Saturn utterly destroyed the 3DO which was more powerful than Atari Jaguar and it traded blows and initially beat the Sony PlayStation with Japanese adult gamer faith in Japan since they were buying Virtua Fighter and Sega Saturn to the tune of one million units and copies by April 1995. By Tom Kalinske and Joe Miller disrupting that it meant Virtua Racing went to 32X and thus began to choke the momentum that the Sega Saturn could build (which it was building with the 32X/SoA sabotage in Japan) which also means that for 1995 Virtua Racing 32X became a game that never sold enough copies aka a sales failure and not worth bringing up in comparisons back then in Japan or internationally. Thus the SoA delayed Virtua Racing for Sega Saturn was a further defeat to the franchise and the hardware... Had 32X never existed then Virtua Racing would have been released at least in the first three months of the Sega Saturn in Japan meaning that CS1's quality effort would have made the game stand out, be directly compared to Ridge Racer and even defeat Ridge Racer in such comparisons with no need to rush out Daytona USA which again wad rushed under pressure from Tom Kalinske and Sega of America because during 1994 he was leaking in rumor form that the Sega Saturn could launch either weeks after Japan or by April 1995... because the May 1995 Sega Saturn launch was planned by Kalinske who wanted Daytona USA as game regardless of whether the porting quality would be damaged cause he didn't care... he cared more for the 32X to outsell the Sega Saturn and PlayStation.

[@MrThunderwing]

Interesting. Such a shame SOA had to keep meddling and fuck everything up that SOJ had been doing. A really decent Saturn port of Virtua Racing at launch would've been the way to go for the Saturn, allowing AM2 to take their time with the Daytona port and not rush release it.

[@jacobbaranowski]

I played this when it was new on SEGA Geniuses and at the arcade

[@BrunoAmaral2]

I actually bought a Switch just because of VR. I love this game. A 3DS would be awesome. Maybe we will get someday an actual VR version. 😅

[@MrThunderwing]

A VR version would be awesome.

[@1Soniccool]

I have the Nintendo Switch version of Virtua Racing which it has the results music from Virtura Racing Deluxe

[@dibbsgaming]

This is a fantastic video, I really enjoyed this as I’m a big fan of Virtua Racing. I’ll never forget standing watching the game in awe at Thorpe Park when I was a kid just taking in every detail of this futuristic coin op! Then I was blown away further when I went to the Trocadero and played the Virtua Formula set up with 8 players, just incredible! The crowds were huge around it, and I even remember deeper into the arcade there was even a small tv hanging from the ceiling showing Virt McPolygon and his commentary to keep everyone up to date on the action even as they played all the other games, that was so cool! I grabbed this PS2 Sega Ages back in the day, but like you, I couldn’t stand that looping tyre screaming sample, it’s just awful! So I ended up having to play it with the sound off, which really diminished the experience. It was a pretty good game, but like you say, it’s not perfect, and all your points about the pop up and car movements are very valid. Shame that it could’ve been better. It was really cool to get the Switch version, and you’re right, they have added a gamma correction which helped it a lot. After my early experiences with the arcade version it’s really great to have such a true version of it at home now. It was interesting to learn about the 3DS port, that could’ve been amazing with the 3D! Excellent video mate, this was an awesome trip down memory lane, and I’m glad it wasn’t just me who couldn’t stand that tyre sound effect! 😂

[@MrThunderwing]

Cheers mate, glad you enjoyed it!

[@DiegoRuiz1991]

The Saturn version does something I really like: the cars skid rather than drift around corners, making them look a lot more like F1 cars

[@jakescartoons6045]

I was genuinely surprised by how poorly the manual transmission was implemented. As someone who actually drives manual in real life, it's kind of a hard pill to swallow.

[@johnboydojo]

Great review! Does make me wonder why Sega aren't making VR versions of their Virtua games though.

[@musicvideoenhancer]

Maybe the Saturn version it's not faithful to the Arcade, but it's definitely not a travesti. The gameplay is very good, I dare to say even better by modern standards, since your car doesn't feel like a soap running over the ice, plus, it has a structure that it's more like a home console driving game than an Arcade racing game (more tracks, more cars, and with this content, a career mode where you progress, starting with kart racings and climbing the ladder to higher classes). While I think the PS2 port it's a blast, the Saturn version it's a very good game by it's own merits. If we should despise a version, I would say it's the Genesis version. Came to late in the 16bit generation to really impress anyone (Starfox was old on Snes and a much better game), with limited visuals and sounds, and it can be considered more a novelty than a proper game.

[@trevagraham1605]

I never knew this existed. I liked the Sega Ages version of Outrun for the PS2.

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

The car looks a bit odd but the game plays how it should do. I like the OutRun SEGA AGES version.

[@nellysmoss76]

Polygons are timeless , this needs to be expanded and on Xbox ps4 and vr

[@tomfum]

Great video, enjoyed that. I dont think it looks too bad and ive even just bought myself a copy of it from japan based on your video. Im amazed at how clean it looks for a PS2 game as well.

[@FuZZbaLLbee]

Hot shot racing is also a great option for a polygonal racing experience.

[@MrThunderwing]

Yup, familiar with it & enjoyed it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3jYf4ePepWFpM0

[@swooperd]

Great Retrospective! Though once you mentioned the tyre screeching I could not unhear it! Really in depth break down of the gameplay, it's not felt quite right to me, and feels good to understand why.

[@MrThunderwing]

Cheers Dan! Yeah, unfortunately, once heard it can't be unheard.

[@RedLP5000S]

Awesome review. I'll have to hunt one down.✌🏻🇺🇸

[@malant2719]

I got virtua racing on switch and also have this sega ages port running on the steam deck, despite its critics I can appreciate the subtle updates to this although there's not much new content (if you've just gone through the 32x port) what's here is serviceable

[@VirtuaIceMan]

Totally agree with everything you say, having owned all versions except for Saturn. There is some force feedback for pad but it's just a rumble when crashing and going off road if I remember. I have the UK Classics Collection you showed the box of.

[@DuckAlertBeats]

After the arcade original, this is actually my fav version. I don't even mind the slightly weird steering (and the other flaws you mention) Just something I really like about it

[@MrThunderwing]

Yeah, despite it's flaws I still like it.

[@segaboy128]

Great video!!

[@Noobsaibot21]

This is my third favourite version of VR (second is the outstanding Switch port and my number one is 32X - just love that one). As for the game, I play it on the PS2 on the PVM and you really can see those 480i lines (especially on the menus - see the linked video at 11 seconds). It is a noticably "dark" game too. And sure, the handling "feels" a bit odd. And yes, the AI cars are a nuisance. But I LOVE this port all the same. /SR3zABj6Z5s?t=8

[@nrXic]

Yes the game plays decent with a wheel. This emulated version looks fantastic, but I also liked the original SD non-widescreen visuals as well.

[@lazaromartinez4097]

I had no idea about the switch version! Looks sweet

[@HappyFridayGuy]

Ps2 verson takes some dedication to master

[@TK1s_Big_Love]

Have you seen New Star GP? It's like an updated VR with some nice (light) sim elements. Only played the first few hours but it seems like something you might like. Early Access though, etc

[@MrThunderwing]

Not heard of it. Will give it a look!

[@TK1s_Big_Love]

@@MrThunderwing Good stuff!

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

You'll find a lot of games on the PlayStation 2 have force feedback (racers) especially SEGA titles. Including OutRun 2 the NTSC-J version, but they took that feature out of the PAL and NTSC regions. I've tested many racing games with one of my Logitech Wheels. Even some original PlayStation 1 titles have the feature but only playable on PlayStation 2 as you need the USB port. (Odd right) but it's true. Virtual Racing has feedback.

[@MrThunderwing]

Good to know. I think in the case of Outrun Coast 2 Coast,it wasn't so much that the FFB was removed, I believe the PAL game never had force feedback in the first place. It was when it got ported to Japan and had it's name changed changed to Outrun 2 SP - Sega of Japan wanted the FFB added (as well as some other changes for the better).

[@dbnpoldermans4120]

This game can be patched to run in 16:9 on original hardware. Unfortunatley noet ablle to patch it to run in 480p Great game, played it alot Does not get enough attention As for the sound. Just get literally any kind of music speakers (mini set for instance of an A-brand) and do not use pc speakers or speakers built in to tv's or monitors. I've seen so many youtubers especially that have nice set-ups, but then neglect the audio department Just buy a mini set for 20-30 quid and the sound will be so much better That collision detection and the handling of that is indeed infuriating. But the difficulty was lowered so you will be able to catch up in most cases

[@chorgox]

11:20 this is spot on, it really don't look well, and is what put me off of this version, is a shame because I love this game. I like the look in general of the game and in a small CRT look fantastic, at the end of the day I rather play the saturn version on my old consoles, or the switch version in bigger screens. What a pity M2 didn't make a multiplayer with local wifi

[@ruddgrandprix-speedrunraci8515]

I am not new to the SA2500 Series. How I feel about it. Cheapy the cheapskate remakes. It handles like your average commuter cars without the blast processor. Thus it handles like a commuter card rather than a sleeper. But how does it sound and controls? I find out.

[@apollosungod2819]

Hey when you said that "Virtua Racing got ported to hardware that couldn't deliver..." and you included the Sega Saturn that was a gaffe because of Sega of America's 90s management created 32X draining away resources, in this case Sega Japanese dev team CS1 which handled Virtua Racing for 32X was basically kept away from making the Sega Saturn version instead where in a more logical world Sega Japan would have shut down 32X from ever being made. As for why Time Warner Interactive handled Sega Saturn Virtua Racing, this AGAIN has to do with 90s management at Sega of America basically handing TWI with development rights under their requests and suggestions made to Sega Japanese headquarters. In fact that interview you saw that never explicitly mentions it shows that TWI programmers had to travel and make arrangements with Sega of America's physical location offices during 1995. Note that Sega of America's 90s management requested Virtua Racing for the 32X first and then they also requested Star Wars Arcade (Sega Model 1 arcade game) to be ported by Sega of America's Sega Technical Institute which is why that port is also mediocre while VR for 32X is AAA quality but on the underpowered 32X thanks to Tom Kalinske's and Joe Miller's insistence for the 32X to exist where they also had the authority to reject it if they even respected Sega Japanese headquarters next generation Sega Saturn path at all or even if they truly respected gamers which SoA management never did as they did the most to sabotage the Sega brand worldwide. As such Sega-AM2's rushed Virtua Fighter 1 did have glitches because that conversion wad handled by a dev team busy with other projects but CS1 would have handled a far superior conversion of Virtua Racing on the Sega Saturn simply because they were not tied up with other projects like original arcade games which Sega-AM2's staff had to contend with. Time Warner Interactive also made other ports for 32X and Sega Saturn before they finished their Saturn Virtua Racing port and those games tend to be from subpar to mediocre on both 32X, Sega Saturn and even Sony PlayStation.

[@ReinMixTape]

I have the Genesis/32x/Saturn ports of it. By far I prefer the 32x version. The way I look at VR is... it looks epic on hardware that is PERIOD CORRECT for it, but with subsequent ports onto much more powerful consoles... it ends up looking generic and low effort. I would say that VR overstayed its period.

[@charoleawood]

I'm sorry, but that knitted SuperTed is WAY cooler than the licensed toy. I mean your nan (if this story is real) put real time and artistry into that bear and its expression is WAY better than the "real" thing.

[@MrThunderwing]

The SuperTed analogy was intended purely as a Metaphor, they're both just pictures I found online. My Nan's been dead for about 30 years and I don't think she ever picked up a knitting needle once in her life. I'm not dissing the home made looking toy, I'm just saying the results are something that embodies the spirit of the original, but doesn't quite 100% match it.

[@charoleawood]

@@MrThunderwing Cool! I wipe the sweat from my brow. Rest in peace, Nan :)

[@wilderness_over]

good game ps2

[@RetroArcadeGuy]

What I don't stand from this game is the slipping butter physics and the car engine sounds. It just doesn't sound right.

[@MajinErick]

Hmm...I never seen this version.

[@magdcs]

I have not seen anything about superted in a long time.

[@MrThunderwing]

I used to looooove SuperTed when I was a kid.

[@Shundi12]

The weird handling and tyre screeching killed this one for me. I have it installed on my old fat PS2's hard drive and it's so disappointing. It looks so good for the first 5 minutes and then it lets you down. Thank god we have the Switch version now.

[@ZaGoudou]

So these are the kind of people still runinng Windows 7 eh 🤣🤣🤣🤣