Evolution of Initial D Games | 1998 - 2023

GET INITIAL UNITY FOR FREE HERE: initialunity.online/ (not sponsored).
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Today, we shall look at the entire history of Initial D games. Whether it was wasted potential, or just bad games, not enough evolution or something else that kinda killed the official Initial D franchise we won't know. What we know is, which games we love, which we hate and which all the way from 1998 to 2023 and beyond are worth playing. This Initial D Evolution is a video I wanted to make for quite some time now.
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Initial D Gaiden (1998)
0:32 - Initial D Koudou Saisoku Deinetsu (1998)
0:57 - Initial D (PS1 Version) (1999)
1:25 - Initial D Arcade Stage (2001)
1:47 - Initial D Another Stage (2002)
2:08 - Initial D Arcade Stage 2 (2002)
2:27 - Initial D Special Stage (2003)
2:48 - Initial D Mountain Vengeance (2004)
3:21 - Initial D Arcade Stage 3 (2004)
3:43 - Initial D Street Stage (2006)
4:04 - Initial D Arcade Stage 4 (2007)
4:31 - Initial D Extreme Stage (2008)
4:54 - Initial D Arcade Stage 5 (2009)
5:14 - Initial D Arcade Stage 6AA (2011)
5:41 - Initial D Arcade Stage 7AAX (2012)
6:08 - Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity (2014)
6:28 - Initial D Perfect Shift Online (2014)
6:55 - Initial D Arcade Stage Zero (2017)
7:34 - Initial Drift Online UNOFFICIAL (2020)
8:08 - Initial D The Arcade (2021)
8:30 - Initial Unity UNOFFICIAL (2021)
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#initiald #initialdevolution #initialdarcadestage

[@zoomingpast]

Which of these games is your favorite?

[@KaTyJP]

Underrated content u deserve a million views and comments the editing is really nice

[@zoomingpast]

@@KaTyJP These comments always make my day. Thanks a million ♥️

[@ferdigrkn619]

of course initial unity, im still playing it and love it ✨

[@RECHOOSENONE]

all arcade stages are good games. Last i play its 8. I cant run zero stage. i download python scripts and over tools. maybe i doing something wrong.

[@RECHOOSENONE]

visaols dont changes, maybe minor after stage 6

[@asianguy8936]

Initial Unity actually came out on Steam, it’s now called Togue Shakai. Came out on the 7th of January. It’s pretty good so far.

[@tessakitty2196]

Nono its by the same developer but its a different game. It has different physics and everything

[@MercxryVEVO]

Technically not wrong, although Togue Shakai is a complete rework only thing they have similar are the idea and the developer. But yeah Its still kinda the same game

[@asianguy8936]

@@MercxryVEVO I just left out those details lol

[@nathanwhitfield7834]

@@MercxryVEVO same concept but it only has 2 cars in common so far, no common roads, and different physics I consider them different games

[@alainbuschenrieder6024]

I don't find it under that name, no results.

[@biswanathsaha2208]

Initial D and Wangan Midnight by Bandai are still today the most played arcade games here in Japan. Whenever I go to the arcades, the Initial D machines and Wangan midnight are always full. Now a days you can even create save files in the arcade. Just swipe a IC card, and your save gets loaded with the car customizations

[@weedxy2gab]

Correction : 1) Initial D is developed by SEGA 2) Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune series is developed by BANDAI NAMCO *BANDAI NAMCO never develope Initial D games. Initial D is solely owned and developed by SEGA*

[@thecanunu2647]

If they're implementing saves into arcade games then I think it's time for them to make a console/pc version lol

[@TiJayFLY]

@@thecanunu2647 Japan has had arcade savegames on IC card for decades.

[@stormyfish404]

same in Malaysia, but rarely see a Initial D arcade, even it have it is a very old machine

[@limyeeyang801]

@@stormyfish404 Malaysia only have until arcade stage 8

[@OGRiceBone]

Stage 3 nostalgia, Having those driver data saves were lit. Just walking into an arcade and seeing people line up their cards on top of the machines to wait to play was just part of core memories.

[@iceboy1053]

AA = Double Ace Which means Project D's double ace, Takumi Fujiwara & Keisuke Takahashi, and new Tag Battle feature. AAX = Double Ace Cross Same as AA, and refers a new CPU Tag Battle mode.

[@Sylveighty]

Every single Arcade Stage game has its own unique physics that makes each game worth playing at least once. Surprising how SEGA manages to refresh them in a way that doesn't just feel like its a complete port of old physics from other games, which means every game also has it's own set of mechanics and techniques that behave differently based on the game, you got old D's (1,2,3) Eraser and TST, 1 being floaty fast, 2 being fast and grippy, and 3 being slower and stiffer, to 4/4Kai's wacky cornering physics and "overspeed penalty", to 5's "Tire wear" mechanic and the first game to introduce Brake Cancels in the form of Powerslides, 6 with the Drift system and boost systems that influence cornering and acceleration, different cornering settings with their own varying physics, 7 with their "fast brake cancel" with emphasis on keeping as much speed through corners 8 with their stiffer but faster pace, reflected in their brake cancels where it feels like doing a combo on a fighting game lol Zero with their take on hybridizing D6 and D8, incredibly high speeds with fast cornering. Using brake cancels and gas release tech Zero2 with their stiffer physics but still keeping very fast pace, with the introduction of the tire and body gauges, meaning that races become more like battles of attrition than all-out sprints, using the H shifter to its full advantage for 5-3 shifting, and infamously the "wheel slam" technique to reduce understeer when cornering The Arcade with their unique take on physics, no longer needing tech to drift, and being able to corner by simply slowing down to an appropriate speed, with the car improving its cornering based on your speed and stiffening at faster speeds, with minor changes for Season 1,2 and 3

[@kasumi0516]

The Arcade Stage in 2021 IS released outside of Japan, you can find it in a few Asian countries like Taiwan or Singapore, but sadly has not migrated to the Americas or Europe. Really hope they do that soon, the game is awesome

[@skn_st]

It’s been a while, thanks for the explanation.

[@hudson_rhtt]

Great content! These evolution type videos are common, but the way you make it, it's really great, not just showing the games, but making you own comments on it, keep it up!

[@n-u-n]

Arcade Stage2でドハマりしたな… タイムアタックやるようになるとコーナー一つ目失敗でスタート＋セレクト同時押しの強制終了で、１０秒しないで１００円が溶ける恐ろしいゲームだった。

[@TiJayFLY]

This channel is awesome :) Well structured, informative narration, and space to let the games speak for themselves. Fantastic!

[@zoomingpast]

Such praise

[@firdausali6316]

For me, Initial D Arcade stage 5 is the most amazing ID game. The physic and saving the tyre/boost gameplay for grip play is most accurate in initial d anime/manga

[@azarulnazimabdullah22]

Yup it like playing a Gran Turismo... Need to save the tire... Love IDAS5 to bits...

[@starksvensk]

Actually underrated video! You explain things very well and your editing skills are great.

[@jaykl]

Special Stage is my all time favorite. It has the courses from Stage 2, plus additional ones like Shin Usui, anime VA dialogues and a story mode that follow up to Takumi’s encounter with Bunta in the WRX.

[@samii_leopard]

Amazing content! I'd like to see an evolution of the Wangan Midnight game series. I only saw footage of the arcade machine games and i think of it as one of the best games out there! I wish they were released outside of Asia, honestly..

[@zoomingpast]

Hell yeah, great idea! Gonna put that one down on the list, it'll come out soon :)

[@Reragi]

NA is still stuck on 5DX+, but Asia *and* Australia are on 6RR. There are some other countries in Europe with machines as well but these are usually older machines like 3DX+ or 4. If it wasnt so expensive to license it would be nice to have you guys have access to 6 too since its got a global ghost system to race other countries :)

[@samii_leopard]

Yeah.. it's a good thing 5 and 6 can be emulated but 6 is a paid access file right now

[@samii_leopard]

@@jaketakesongames4001 Wait really?? I've always been told it was paid!

[@samii_leopard]

@@jaketakesongames4001 Oooh okay!! Thanks for letting me know!

[@bwarbahzad6397]

I thought I was watching a 100k channel! Really good video+editing

[@zoomingpast]

Awwww thanks a million ♥️

[@damian_cross]

I get confused everytime I see these Initial D videos because my experience with the arcade games was so different than the information online. For example, I am 90% certain Stage 2 and Stage 3 had snow courses, at least for Akina. Stage 4 seemed like it completely changed the series too, switching to cell shaded graphics and using a hard manual shifter instead of the sportstronic one from the previous 3 games. Also the cards were thicker and more expensive. But I dunno, maybe I'm wrong.

[@Mameyaro]

Version 2 and 3 did have snowy Akina, and Version 4 completely changed the physics model to a simpler one that wasn't as popular as Version 2 and 3. Version 4 also switched to a new card system that was more robust than the old ones which meant you never had to "renew" them like the old ones. The shifter didn't change from the simple up/down one until Arcade Stage 0 in 2017, which featured a full 6 speed manual.

[@Elratauru]

That's what happens when somebody who doesn't know shit makes videos for games he never played... and just looks online. He even wonders "why would that be", come on... It's obvious it was due to the engine change to the next generation of hardware :/ Also, yes, Akina Snow was a thing since ever.

[@noodlez4052]

@@Mameyaro Version 2 did not have snow Akina that didn't start until Ver. 3

[@arctic_ph]

the AA in the later arcade series, as far as i know stands for double ace, the machines are usually 4 cabs due to being one played for the uphill while the other races downhill

[@olajuwonthomas7342]

Forever love this series since I got into the games years later after the anime.

[@arabellapatriciabieber]

Such a cool video, thank you for talking about the Initial D games! I wish I knew about the anime back then when the PS2 version came out so that I could have had it and played with it. 😭

[@luckydomains]

Initial D the Arcade. There was a machine in vegas at an arcade called Game Nest and for an arcade racing experience it was def the best

[@rewindapp]

Thanks for talking about Initial Drift Online. Nice video!

[@zoomingpast]

One of my favorites out there

[@auqiix6039]

great video!

[@SomeNameHere]

UPDATE 30 May 2023: Togue Shakai got 9 Different Cars 5 Tracks Fully licensed Eurobeat Car customization now

[@gileee]

I loved how the opponents in the Arcade Stages actually used their moves from the games. It was awesome.

[@ABoLee]

Thanks you for making this video! Before watching I didn't know there is a product on GameBoy :). By the way, name of Initial D Arcade Stage 6, "AA" is mean: double Ace: uphill and downhill, and the name of Initial D Arcade Stage 7, "X" is mean: cross.

[@RayyanAziz098]

5:50 he accidently turned on his real accent

[@Genbu39]

Stage 3 is the freaking legend. Street stage is also underrated. Stage zero and the arcade are fun, but it's hard to say you are driving when you play the games. Initial unity is great. But it will be better if it supports steering wheels control.

[@bingsu_au]

The arcade got released to a few countries outside of Japan, Namely Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia... etc

[@OGGIdris]

not sure what happened to my comment before but imma rewrite it: Arcade Stage 0: first game to include support for Sega Aime and soon Banapassport and e-amusement cards. Game soon got collab events with Touhou Project and MF Ghost, the sequel to Initial D. Initial D The Arcade was released internationally... i guess.. as an export version but I guess Sega or Bandai Namco whoever was responsible for importing the games are pretty bad with responding to arcade venues. Australia is pretty much the only western country to have at least 5 places officially connected to the servers but I see majority play Wangan Midnight. Hence the dead online and local battles. Since the Sega Aime system was a thing, those who played IDAS0 got their full tuned cars turned to tickets to buy in the newer title.

[@zoomingpast]

Great info, thanks a lot!

[@74Bagas]

damn man... why i found you now.... this is literally my kind of channel i was hoping for... haha, subscribe... keep it up

[@zoomingpast]

Such praise. Thanks a million man, appreciate it :)

[@morgzana1374]

i never thought graphics would get better overtime

[@Gokuroro]

Great video! A few items of note: The (most probable) reason why Arcade Stage 4 didn't have as many cars or courses is because the game engine completely changed, possibly in favor of newer/better graphics, which also ended up changing a lot of the physics of the game and had a lot of backlash for that back in the day, with many people preferring to play Arcade Stage ver. 3 instead of Arcade Stage 4. There was another (and probably many more) online fan game back in the day with a top-down view. It actually used a spaceship game engine and the cars controlled as well as they could for the type of engine they used, but it was kind of fun nonetheless. I tried finding references for it but to no avail. Kind of in-topic for the video: there was an Initial D-inspired series of games (even having a "mysterious tofu delivery racer" and other references in some of the games included) called "Kaido Battle" (brought to the west as "Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift") for PS2 which I believe were 3 games and all of them were localized as well. It had a much more "simulation" focus for downhill/drift battles than the Initial D games (the ones I played at least), with the player having to change tires, suspension, etc to actually setup their car for drifting.

[@tohohomoccho]

Ahhh, I remember arcade stage 1-3 had magnetic card reader, to save a driver data. Young boys were in fever. They trained their home game-center, and went to different game-center to beat rivals. Which team was faster??

[@noodlez4052]

Actually there's Akina (snow) version on Initial D 3rd stage the arcade. This is still my favorite arcade racing game, I use to play 2nd stage constantly at my local arcade till they got rid of the card reader where I couldn't use my card anymore.

[@tfenixs86]

Stage 3 is the 1st arcade stage to feature snow.. i was there when they 1st released it and it blew everyones mind.....

[@tripleaces659]

5:29 : Damn, thats a nice pass 🤣

[@VariousJ]

spent so much money on arcade stage 3 when i was younger. i always play when i see one in stores or when i am in asia

[@slothbro2740]

woah, that 2001 initial d arcade stage looks fricking good as hell even today

[@VortexGP]

I have to say this is one of the first "Evolution" videos that I actually liked a lot

[@zoomingpast]

Thanks a bunch, I appreciate it :)

[@mybrainmelted]

I have fond memories of me and my wannabe-drifter friends going to the arcade playing Stage 3 in high school. Since then I've only played stage zero a couple times, but it didn't quite feel the same.

[@BRNYudra76]

nice info

[@animask_7916]

Dude thanks for the video, it was really interesting, you also got a great voice

[@zoomingpast]

Thanks a lot, appreciate it 😊

[@way2hi980]

i play stage 8 infinity at a local arcade in the usa. we have two machines and i have a card with two exfull spec cars, awesome opportunity

[@Nocxys]

5:23 sorry for commenting so much, but arcade stage three did have snowy Akina so just wanted to say it

[@bunto7552]

2:22 these graphic are crazy for the time

[@MiuTakigawa]

Still playing initial d street stage today!

[@klevisrexhmati1154]

Initial drift online has such a good sense of speed ngl

[@pas8414]

Bar perhaps an arcade cabinet in the 2000s, I don’t think any of these were ever released here in Australia

[@sezaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

the intial d arcade one stage 3 i have at my local bowling alley and its really fun it has a wheel a shifter and a handbrake for the setup it sick

[@BloodTrinity]

"Never released outside of Japan" Well, that is true, but my local arcades actually imported cabinets for Stage Zero and The Arcade. Granted it isn't translated into english, we can still play online with other players.

[@sinueeplayz2285]

Lucky

[@Timmy3850]

AA refers to the Double Ace in Project D, Takahashi Keisuke and Takumi Fujiwara.

[@Lex_XD]

My First Initial D game is Initial D Arcade Stage 6AA.

[@notyourboynelly2382]

Intial D The Arcade is actually in my mall's arcade. Took awhile for me to figure out how to change the shifting to manual since there is no english version I believe. But overall, really fun with friends or yourself.

[@neogeo39]

You could have shown the games in third person to see at least the evolution of car models Very cool road texture evolution I guess

[@justsomeguyidk2112]

Street stage made my while childhood🥰

[@bueniwalker94]

Quality content.

[@laszlomiko9085]

The creator(s) of Initial Unity are making a sequel/successor named Touge Shakai, which is currently in early access on Steam (according to some the physics are unfortunately not as good as in Initial Unity).

[@starterb]

Initial D from ps1 was amazing man, good times

[@supersmallchibiwolf872]

I watched the Initial D anime but I haven't played the games. Cool video. ^_^

[@user-sl5kk4pf7c]

street stageめちゃめちゃやってたなぁ〜🥺

[@tinfoilhat1619]

i wasted so much money on stage 3... "can you hold the brake pedal for boost off?" lol

[@rogerbale]

love tyhis video, I just start watching the serie now and I love racing videogames so I would like to know about games about the serie. Thank you so much.,

[@Keezical10]

Stage 3 for me 🥲 childhood nostalgia

[@jwork5680]

Initial D stage 5 has a realistic-ish physics which i miss tbh

[@mariopsmt]

Remember that this is meant to be played on arcade which changes everything.

[@Hakuratallica]

Actually ID: The Arcade was only released in Australia, one of the places in Australia I know they have ID: The Arcade is Melbourne.

[@jamie_5267]

Where about in Melbourne? I thought all of Initial D’s Arcade machines in Australia was gone

[@andyte7362]

ID: The Arcade can be found at B. Lucky & Sons in Melbourne Central. Need to get a blank Wangan Max Tune card though as ID: The Arcade uses a similar system

[@theSonicguy001]

What’s the song playing in the background of the Arcade Zero showcase?

[@jshack6647]

I had to throw this is but 6AA wasn’t the first with a snow course. Arcade Stage had an Akina snow course.

[@samicrossfusionxben-dhiab5441]

I would say Initial D8 was the last good one imo, car data was stored locally on cards, and people still to this day can play Initial D8 at Round1s in the US. but finding a card is hard now since they dont manufacture them anymore and you have to see if the card reader is even functional because sometimes they could just be off or broken. my round1 has perfectly functioning card readers, but no cards. I also happen to work there lol.

[@xupux]

Which round1? I got one near me in Atlanta i may have to stop in haha

[@samicrossfusionxben-dhiab5441]

@@xupux i unfortunately work at round1 north riverside mall.

[@akumati86]

6:13 Oh hey that's me!

[@zoomingpast]

It sure is😁 (and credited)

[@Murr1sson]

One main reason why i enjoy Arcade stage 8 a lot more than zero, is that the animations and even voice lines were removed. Idk why this ticks me so much but the animation and voice lines made it the perfect initial D game and removing that and replacing it with the Less memorable Legends style with only text just feels like an insult to the work that was put into the previous installments in the series. It's not a bad game, just dissapointing in some areas.

[@JayPadrino]

Here in Jacksonville Fl There is A Aracde Spot That Has The 2021 Inital D The Arcade Cabinet.

[@MaddyRedux]

Funny thing about ID The Arcade, my local arcade has four cabinets here in Vegas 😂.

[@marcoleung368]

Welp the "Initial D The Arcade" is available outside japan. I live in Hong Kong and they have some english added into the game but most of them are just japanese I guess its just not available outside of Asia, which is still sad

[@xMostHated]

The physics jump between 3 and 4 was massive, enough to turn me off from Arcade Stage for a few years. The latest looks incredible though. I wish I had nearby arcade cabs

[@tfenixs86]

4 actually made it easier to drift... so its fun in its own right... especially when u are watching the replays and see your car actually drifting like in the anime.. very cool... 1 2 and 3 your car can barely slide.. let alone drift....

[@turboeddy]

Great video! But you missed the best of them all! The Assetto Corsa modding community 😀

[@yegorkant3789]

Now all the Initial D Arcade legacy is in Assetto Corsa and this is the best what could happened to this files

[@spookpeople]

im going to atest for the psp version its not bad its completely fine don't let it stop you from trying it

[@jayfujiwara9740]

Ikr🤷‍♂️

[@cjthechill]

I had no idea any of these existed

[@apexjuan494]

I'm over here playing arcade stage on PSP, taking this personally.

[@MuhammadMoazzamhere]

I was first introduced with initial D by playing mountain vengeance... ikr

[@zoomingpast]

But you pushed through :D

[@seishinIsAnxiousAgain]

what's the songs name at 6:27 ?? its so familiar

[@Drift4Drifters]

Its sad how Sega has the rights to make every Initial D game and they deliver one garbage after another. This franchise has so many potential, witch besides can be canonical to Yakuza games. In the end of the day, the best experiences for enthusiasts of tofu delivering is somewhere else, but not on Initial D games. Ok, i cant leave without mention that Kaido Racer 2 is the real deal.

[@amudeas]

Ayo, was that steins;gate music being played on the last game?!

[@Whoisashotn]

Initial unity got a sequel called Touge Shakai, add it to this

[@pirex380]

good video

[@SoapsFantasy]

Imagine an Initial D game developed by CyberConnect2

[@WTaeyoungS]

Most people should have already pointed out, but AA means double aces

[@theSWBFman]

As of today, Initial D The Arcade has unofficial servers running. Playable on PC with wheels/controllers, game saves (emulated aime card), and a WIP English translation mod.

[@hachiroku99]

Initial D special stage still my favourite until now😊

[@giorgos6827]

3:41 what's the song name??

[@truenolover]

is this last one listed compatible for consoles as well?

[@b0nk756]

what's the song that played in initial d street stage 2006?

[@ab-15188]

My only complaint with PS1 game as a child was why doesn’t the graphics looks exactly like it’s beautiful looking high definition cd cover

[@lildad559]

IDO is one of my favorite games i just wish the dev would actually do something with it again me and my buddies played it religiously but we had to switch to assetto corsa because theres nothing new in IDO

[@Enfetamina]

The ending song... :)

[@abdelrahmanbaydoun1048]

0:44 ayo why is itsuki driving nani!?

[@vf1skull1]

What's the song in the Arcade stage zero part??

[@zoomingpast]

I wish I knew :(

[@FireStar-oe6wj]

6:27 Y así nació una de las canciones más memetizadas en la historia.

[@rodrigoperez7396]

I still play stage 8 at my local round 1

[@Nelsea7190]

Initial d the arcade was a rather shocking game fo anyone who last played AS4. it was a harsh lesson in handling and corner speeds. it probably didnt help i chose an evo7 for the short time i was on vacation there, it seemed to not handle the best but the corners played differently from V2-4.