is a 2006

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

racing video game. It was designed by Polyphony Digital, the developers of the popular '' Gran Turismo''

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

series. ''Tourist Trophy'' is one of only four titles for the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

that is capable of

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...

output, another being '' Gran Turismo 4'', the game engine of which is also used by ''Tourist Trophy''. ''Tourist Trophy'' was first released in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

on January 26, 2006, then in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on February 2, 2006. The

North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Ca ...

version was officially released on April 4, 2006 with seven extra motorcycles, new riding gear, seven bonus background music tracks, enhanced visual effects, an exclusive "Semi-Pro Mode", and bike profiles. The game was launched in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on June 1, 2006, and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

the next day. The PAL version offered two additional motorcycles and five new BGM tracks from European artists

Infadels Infadels were a London-based indie-electro band signed to the Wall of Sound record label. Infadels were founded in 2003 by Alex Bruford (drums), Matt Gooderson (guitar, programming) and Bnann Watts (vocals), who were joined shortly afterwards b ...

Vitalic Pascal Arbez-Nicolas (; born 18 May 1976), better known by his stage name Vitalic (), is a French electronic music producer. History His first singles were released in 1996 and 1997, but were confined to underground electronic music scene. H ...

and Hystereo.

Gameplay

TT Mode

License School

''Tourist Trophy's'' core "Race Event" mode requires licenses, obtained after completing riding lessons on various circuits using various motorcycles. There are four licenses to unlock, and each following license is progressively more difficult to obtain and allows the player to unlock faster motorcycles in Challenge Mode upon completion.

Challenge Mode

Unlike the ''Gran Turismo'' games, ''Tourist Trophy'' does not contain a currency system. The player must obtain licenses in order to complete short races in "Challenge Mode", which award motorcycles to add to their garage. Motorcycles won by the player are used and tuned to compete in championships, and are unlocked for use in the game's Arcade mode. ''Tourist Trophy'' has 135 motorcycles with engine displacements from 124 cc to 1670 cc, including both road and race versions, from years 1961 through 2005. Dedicated racing bikes exist as semi-licensed "RacingModified" versions of street bikes, as well as five official fully licensed 2005

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

endurance bikes. Motorcycles from many major manufacturers, as well as two specialized Japanese tuners,

Moriwaki Moriwaki Engineering is a Japanese manufacturer of speciality high performance products and motorcycle accessories. __TOC__ Company founder Mamoru Moriwaki is a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner and founder of Moriwaki Engineering, a ...

and Yoshimura, are included; bikes from the latter two can only be obtained as prizes in Race Events. 37 different track layouts are present in the game, including 22 original courses, the

Tsukuba Circuit is a motorsport race track located in Shimotsuma, a neighboring city of Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, about north of central Tokyo. It is long, with 32 pit garages and a long back straight. There is a small chicane used only for moto ...

motorcycle layout, and two versions of

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...

as it appeared in the 1980s and 1990s. The motorcycle selection covers a broad range of modern motorcycles, including scooters, enduros, motards,

sports bike Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

s and

naked bike The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...

s, as well as any respective "RacingModified" versions. For "RacingModified" bikes, a racing number from 5 through 99 can be selected—numbers 1 through 4 must be won in Race Events.

Race Event

Race Events are

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

that consist of multiple races. Winning all races within a championship will award the player with new motorcycles and riding gear, and finishing an entire championship will grant the player's motorcycle a special racing number depending on their overall position. Prize bikes include "RacingModified" variants unavailable in Challenge Mode, and a classic racing motorcycle, the 1961 Honda RC162. Completing all 22 Race Events initially available will unlock a bonus 23rd Race Event. Completing the game will unlock an ending

cinematic Cinematic describes anything related to ''cinema''. It may refer to: any movie updates, cinema nights, cinematic review Film-related * Cinematic cutscene, a sequence in a video game that is not interactive * Cinematic music, original music writte ...

and add the " Clover Crown" ending theme to the "Music Theater".

Riding Gear

A feature exclusive to ''Tourist Trophy'' is "Riding Gear" (named "Closet" in the Asian editions). The player can unlock and collect 186 different riding accessories for their rider, including different helmets, gloves, boots or shoes, pants, jackets, and one-piece racing suits commercially available from more than a dozen manufacturers (

Simpson Simpson most often refers to: * Simpson (name), a British surname *''The Simpsons'', an animated American sitcom **The Simpson family, central characters of the series ''The Simpsons'' Simpson may also refer to: Organizations Schools *Simpso ...

, Vanson Leathers,

Alpinestars Alpinestars is a manufacturer of clothing and protective gear for motorsports and action sports founded in 1963, and located in Asolo, Italy. Its lines include specialized products for MotoGP, motocross, motorcycling, Formula One, WEC, V8 S ...

Arai Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) is co-operative industrial research association by the automotive industry with the Ministry of Industries, Government Of India The objectives of the Association are Research and Development in auto ...

Shoei is a Japanese company that produces a line of motorsport helmets. History Shoei is a Japanese company producing motorcycle helmets since 1958. Its roots go back to 1954 with the founding of Kamata Polyester Co., whose first helmets were p ...

, Kushitani, RS Taichi, Dainese, AGV,

Lewis Leathers Lewis Leathers is a brand name of the oldest British motorcycle clothing company. D. Lewis Ltd,L for Lewis, L for Leathers, Steve Myatt, Classic Bike Guide magazine, July 2005. p. 14 to 19 manufacturer of leather jackets which was established in ...

, Bell, SPIDI, and XPD). Up to four different combinations can be saved, including two racing suits and two street riding outfits. The Suzuka 8 Hours racing motorcycles have their own respective racing suits, which can only be used with said bikes selected. The player cannot use any other riding gear with these motorcycles.

Riding Form

The "Riding Form" option is available in both Arcade Mode and TT Mode. Before an Arcade Mode race, the user can choose among four Riding Form presets: "Lean Body", "Neutral", "Lean Bike" and "

Motard Supermoto is a form of motorcycle racing held on race tracks that alternate between three kinds of track surfaces: the hard packed dirt of track racing, flat track, the irregular jumps and obstacles of motocross, and the paved tarmac of road r ...

/Dirt". Lean Body focuses on quick cornering, Neutral focuses on handling, and Lean Bike prioritizes slow cornering. The Motard/Dirt form with one leg out in turns is dedicated to enduro and

riding; however, the user is free to use it on all bikes. This mode is named after the mode in Gran Turismo games. In TT Mode, the user can enter the Garage Riding Form settings with up to four fully customizable forms to save. They are saved as "Form A", "Form B", "Form C" and "Motard/Dirt". Each one has eleven unique parameters and four presets: "Neutral", "Lean Body", "Lean Bike" and "Motard/Dirt" from which to choose. The adjustable parameters are as follows: * "Head Roll Angle" dictates how far to the side the rider's head turns in corners. * "Head Pitch Angle" dictates how far up or down the rider's head is positioned. * "Lateral Slide" determines how far the rider's hips slide towards the inside of a turn. Increasing this value raises cornering speed at the cost of stability and responsiveness (as a result of the change in

center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the balance point) is the unique point where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. This is the point to which a force may ...

). * "Vertical Slide" dictates how much the rider tucks their body in towards the bike in corners. * "Body Lean (Full Bank)" dictates the extent to which the rider leans into corners. * "Torso Roll Angle" determines how far the rider's torso leans into corners. Decreasing this value results in increased responsiveness at the cost of stability. * "Torso Yaw Angle" determines how far the rider's torso twists toward corners. Decreasing this value results in increased responsiveness. * "Arm Angle" determines how far in or out the rider's elbows are positioned. Decreasing this value results in increased cornering speed (due to lower drag) at the cost of responsiveness. * "Seat Position (Forward/Back)" determines how far forward or back the rider sits, influencing their posture and the extent to which they tuck. * "Leg Angle" works much the same as the "Arm Angle" setting; a high value offers increased responsiveness while sacrificing cornering speed. * "Body Lean (Upright)" dictates the extent to which the rider tucks on straights. An increased value results in lower drag, and thus higher acceleration and top speed.

Gameplay settings

''Tourist Trophy's'' default setting is "Normal". Using the Normal setting, the player can perform maneuvers such as

wheelies Wheelies is a disability themed virtual nightclub on the online platform ''Second Life''. Created by Simon Stevens, it was awarded the Revolutionary Award in 2008 by Gordon Brown. History Launched in September 2006, "Wheelies aims to make guest ...

and stoppies on powerful-enough bikes. These possibilities are disabled with the "Professional" setting. Enabling "Professional" over the arcade-oriented "Normal" will enhance the simulation aspect and difficulty level of the game. The "Professional" setting is intended to allow a more realistic experience, with manual

tucking Tucking is a technique whereby an individual hides the crotch bulge of the penis and testicles so that they are not conspicuous through clothing. The practice is most commonly employed by transgender women, as well as non-binary people who we ...

and separate front and rear brake controls instead of the default double-brake system. The in-between "Semi-Pro Mode" is an exclusive feature of the North American edition. Other options augmenting difficulty are "Strict Judgment"—a 10-second slowdown penalty for shortcuts as seen in '' Gran Turismo 4''—and a " Best Line" display.

Other features

Photo Mode and Best Shot

Pre-generated photos can be taken from a race replay and saved on a PS2

memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...

or a connected

USB flash drive A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since firs ...

, like in Gran Turismo 4. This function is known in the game as "Best Shot". Using various replay angles from different parts of the course as a digital camera, the game is able to produce a selection of

screenshots screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is a digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by the operating system or software running on the device powering the display. Additionally, s ...

with variable compression (Normal, Fine, or Super Fine) and size (up to 1280 x 960 px @ 72

dpi A Daytona Prototype International (DPi) was a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the International Motor Sports Association's WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, as their top class of car, acting as a direct replacemen ...

). Outside of Best Shot, the game's Photo Mode allows the player to take a photo at a particular moment in a replay; its parameters are almost fully adjustable, giving the player the opportunity to compose their own photographs. The user can choose to save the photo to the PS2

or a

, print it with a

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...

-compatible Epson printer, or display it in-game using the "Musical Diaporama" feature. Saved game screenshots can be exchanged with friends or published to the Internet. Formatting the USB device in Photo Mode or Best Shot will create the "DCIM/100PDITT" folder, allowing ''Tourist Trophy'' to store, upload and download game picture files generated under the form "IMG_00X.JPG". Standard USB 2.0 flash drives (including MP3 players and mobile phones) can be used to manage game JPEG files instead of the official I-O Data model.

Replay/ghost files

A memory card or USB flash drive can store ''Tourist Trophy'' replay/

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

files downloaded from either the official game website or elsewhere online, and can be used to exchange files with another USB device. Once the files are in the flash drive, the user can upload them from within the game in order to compete with a ghost (in "Time Attack" mode) or to watch a replay (in the "Replay Theater"). Each file can be used as a Replay or as a Ghost. Formatting the USB device from Theater Mode will create the "PDI" folder, allowing ''Tourist Trophy'' to store, upload and download files generated under the name "replay

.dat This is a list of file formats used by computers, organized by type. Filename extension it is usually noted in parentheses if they differ from the file format name or abbreviation. Many operating systems do not limit filenames to one extension s ...

". Standard third-party USB devices are also compatible with such files.

Development

Polyphony Digital reused the physics engine,

graphical user interface The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

design, and all but one circuit from '' Gran Turismo 4''. However, the number of NPC opponents was reduced from five in existing ''Gran Turismo'' games to only three. ''Tourist Trophy'' also uses the License School feature that was popularized by the ''Gran Turismo'' series, as well as the Photo Mode introduced in ''Gran Turismo 4''. The B-spec mode, which appeared in ''Gran Turismo 4'', is absent in ''Tourist Trophy''. While wet, dirt, and reverse racing conditions and tracks such as the

Circuit de la Sarthe The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hou ...

were removed, a unique course was recreated specifically for ''Tourist Trophy''. The Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo is an official track appearing in the Superbike World Championship and

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

, which sees extensive use as a test circuit during the off season. It reappeared in ''Gran Turismo'' (PSP) due to its presence in Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and the World Touring Car Championship, but did not appear in Gran Turismo 5. Polyphony ostensibly planned to add this track to Gran Turismo 5 (as it remains unused within the game's files), but it was left out for unknown reasons.

Original soundtrack

The ''Tourist Trophy'' original game soundtrack was released on March 15, 2006 by

For Life Music Entertainment is a Japanese record label founded in 1975.Official site
of FLME Inc.'

Sub-divisions

*Güt Records *Anri *

Track listing

*Composed by: Sun Paulo and

Makoto is a unisex Japanese name although it is more commonly used by males. As a noun, Makoto means "sincerity" (誠) or "truth" (真, 眞). People Given name * Makoto (musician) (born 1977), drum and bass artist *Makoto (Sharan Q) ( まこと), ...

*Performed by: Sun Paulo, Quadra, Makoto, KASAI and Mitsuo Okada #"I against a speed" (Short Mix) – 3:14 #"Discommunication" (Short Mix) – 3:32 #"Who I am?" (Short Mix) – 3:46 #"Forest" (Short Mix) – 8:00 #"Fiber Optics" (Sun Paulo Remix) – 11:10 #"Five Silver Rings" – 2:36 #"Mystery" – 2:20 #"Low Sky" – 2:30 #"Mind Visions" – 2:31 #"Introduction" – 2:34 #"Far West" – 2:45 #"Blue on Black" – 2:52 #"Your Soul" – 2:23 #"Take Your Soul" – 2:04 #"Inside My Love" – 2:07 #"Peaces of Mind" – 2:32 #"OKINAWA WIND" – 3:00 #"BRAZILIAN WIND" – 3:02 #"CALIFORNIA WIND" – 3:32 #"Digital Mononoke Beat PT.1" – 3:09 #"Digital Mononoke Beat PT.2" – 2:49

Reception

In October 2003, Sony Computer Entertainment's announcement of a Polyphony-developed motorcycle racing game generated excitement among ''Gran Turismo'' fans, and the debut of ''Tourist Trophy'' at the 2005

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game expo / convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. The ...

was met with good reviews. The game received "average" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. In Japan, ''

Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' gave it a score of all four eights for a total of 32 out of 40. The game won

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

's award for Best

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia o ...

Simulation of 2006.

Possible sequel

In 2015, when asked about the possibility of a sequel to ''Tourist Trophy'', Kazunori Yamauchi said: "I am aware that the game is expected by many fans, so I can't deny a Tourist Trophy 2". While such a sequel has not yet come to fruition, Yamauchi later admitted in an interview in 2018 that it was "still nthe back of his mind".

References

External links

*
Tourist Trophy official website, Global
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tourist Trophy (Video Game) 2006 video games Gran Turismo (series) Motorcycle video games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Racing simulators Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in Hong Kong