is a series of racing games created by

Yutaka Kaminaga Yutaka is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yutaka can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *豊, "bountiful" *裕, "affluence" *穣, "fertile" *温, "warmth" The name can also be written in hiragana ゆた ...

Media Rings was a Japanese music, video game, and software publishing company located in Akasaka, Tokyo. Founded in October 1989 as a music and video packaging firm, it since became a distributor and producer of electronic entertainment. The company has bee ...

, which started in 1991 with the

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, though ...

title ''Zero4 Champ''. The series would transfer to the Kaminaga-founded

WorkJam WorkJam Co., Ltd. (株式会社ワークジャム ''Work Jam Co., Ltd.'') was a Japanese video game and software development company. Its main headquarters were located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. History WorkJam was founded by Yutaka Kaminaga on Dec ...

with 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 ...

title ''Zero4 Champ Series: Drift Champ'', codeveloped by

Tamsoft is a Japanese video game developer, founded on 26 June 1992. Its current president, Toshiaki Ōta, previously worked at Toaplan as one of the six original team members and head of software development.Translationby Gamengai. ).Translationby Shmu ...

and published by

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...

, along with the

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

''Go! Zero4 Champ'' developed by Profire, both of which were released in late 2002.

Conception

In Japan,

street racing Street racing is typically an unsanctioned and illegal form of auto racing that occurs on a public road. Racing in the streets is considered an ancient hazard, as horse racing occurred on streets for centuries, and street racing in automobiles is ...

sometimes occurs on long straights in industrial areas, which are used for drag races. These races are known as or "04", short for "0-400 meters", ヨン being Japanese for the number four. Japanese drag racing is noted for its flair, featuring various sport-grade Japanese cars such as the

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

MR2-GT (SW20),

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

RX-7 Type RS (FD3S),

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

Lancer Evolution VI (CP9A),

Subaru ( or ; ) is the automaker, automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate (company), conglomerate Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries), the Automotive industry#By manufacturer, twenty-first ...

Impreza WRX STi (GDB), the

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BNR34), and

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

NSX Type-S Zero (NA2), all

import scene The import scene, also known as the import racing scene or tuner scene, is a subculture of modifying mostly Japanese-import cars, particularly in the United States and Europe. History Car modifying has been popular among youths in the US, especi ...

classics.

Summary

The series is something of a predecessor to works like ''

Initial D is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 ''ta ...

'' and ''

Wangan Midnight is a Japanese racing manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki. It was first serialized in Shogakukan's ''Big Comic Spirits'' in 1990, but was later serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1992 to 2008. The ...

'', with its touge racing, aero parts tuning, and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

-style "Story Mode". It has also

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

and simulation gameplay which was succeeded by the

Shutokou Battle ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'' is an arcade racing video game series created by Genki and inspired by street racing on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo. Its first installment, ''Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King'', released in 1994 for the Super Famicom. In 20 ...

titles ''Kattobi Tune'' and ''Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix''.

History

* 1991.03.08: ''Zero4 Champ'' (ゼロヨンチャンプ),

* 1993.05.03: ''Zero4 Champ II'' (ゼロヨンチャンプII),

PC Engine Super CD-ROM² The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

* 1994.07.22: ''

Zero4 Champ RR is a 1994 racing life simulation video game developed and published by Media Rings for the Super Famicom. The game is about an 18-year-old race car driver who must chase his dreams of drag racing after being turned down for university and becomin ...

'' (ゼロヨンチャンプダブルアール),

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

* 1995.11.25: ''

Zero4 Champ RR-Z is a 1995 racing video game developed by Media Rings for the Super Famicom and the sequel to ''Zero4 Champ RR''. Summary Vehicle manufacturers in the game include Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mitsuoka, Nissan, Subaru, and Toyota. This game is an ...

'' (ゼロヨンチャンプダブルアール・ヅィー), Super Famicom * 1997.06.20: '' Zero4 Champ DooZy-J'' (ゼロヨンチャンプドゥーヅィージェイ),

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

(subtitled ''Type-R'' / タイプアール for the latter console) * 2002.11.21: ''Zero4 Champ Series: Drift Champ'' (ゼロヨンチャンプシリーズドリフトチャンプ),

(

) *{{flagicon, Japan 2002.12.24: ''Go! Zero4 Champ'' (GO!04チャンプ),

Mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

i-mode NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a mobile internet (distinct from wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocols, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail, and the packet- ...

504i (Hudson Soft / Profire)

Zero4 Extreme

In June 2005, a fan-made

flash game A browser game or a "flash game" is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Some browser games are also available as mobile apps, PC games, or on co ...

''Zero4 Extreme'' (ゼロヨンエクストリーム) was released by Kuruma,Zero4 Extreme official website
/ref> though it is currently a dead link.

Notes

External links

''Drift Champ'' official website''Go! Zero4 Champ'' press release
1991 video games 1992 video games 1993 video games 1994 video games 1995 video games 1997 video games 2002 video games Japan-exclusive video games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 2 games Racing video games Sega Saturn games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games TurboGrafx-16 games TurboGrafx-16-only games TurboGrafx-CD games TurboGrafx-CD-only games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 1991