''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'' (東京エクストリームレーサー, ''Tōkyō Ekusutorīmu Rēsā''), also known as in Japan, is an arcade-style
racing
In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...
video game
A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
series created by
Genki, inspired by
street racing
Street racing is an illegal form of motor 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 likely as old as the a ...
on the
Shuto Expressway
The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the .
Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Its first installment, ''Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King'', was released in 1994 for the
Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in No ...
, while the latest installment is ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'', that released in early access on PC on 23rd January 2025 which is Genki's first major platform racing game release in 18 years as the last major release was back in September 2007.
While the series was most commonly localized under the name ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'', when published by
Crave Entertainment
Crave Entertainment (aka Crave Games) was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but w ...
, other publishers have given certain installments entirely different names, such as ''
Tokyo Highway Battle'' when published by Jaleco and THQ International; ''
Import Tuner Challenge'' by
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
; and even ''
Street Supremacy'' when released by
Konami
, commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
. There is also a sub-series named ''Kaido Battle'' which focuses on
Touge racing and
drifting.
Gameplay
The ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'' series focuses on highway street racing, primarily inspired by the underground ''Wangan'' racing scene in real-world Japanese expressways such as the
Shuto Expressway
The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the .
Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...
and the
Wangan Line in the 1990s, where players took control of a lone street racer aiming to be the best in the underground ''Wangan'' racing scene.
The main unique racing mechanic of the series is the "SP Battle" system, where each competitor has a "Spirit Point" (SP) gauge that depletes when they fall behind or hit obstacles. The goal is to drain the opponent's SP bar to zero by maintaining a lead or forcing the opponent into mistakes while preserving your own gauge. Races end when either gauge depletes or when a significant distance is achieved between the two cars.
Racers can freely roam the highways to challenge opponents, who are typically part of rival teams or lone "wanderers." Challenges are initiated by flashing headlights at nearby vehicles. Winning races earn money, which can be used to upgrade the car's performance, enhance visual customization, or unlock new vehicles. The series' progression system revolves around defeating specific rivals and bosses, ultimately culminating in showdowns with elite racers.
History
The series was originally subtitled "Drift King", after the trademark nickname of street racing and professional racing driver
Keiichi Tsuchiya who is featured in the first ''Shuto Kousoku Trial'' episodes and endorsed the game with, then team manager, Masaki Bandoh of Bandoh Racing Project.
Sega Saturn spin-offs
During the 1990s, Genki produced a highway drift/adult content (omitted in the localization ''
Highway 2000'') oriented ''Shutokou Battle'' spin-off series for the Sega Saturn, ''Wangan Dead Heat'', and a circuit/tune edition unique episode for the PlayStation, ''Kattobi Tune'', which oriented the ''Shutokou Battle'' series through a new direction, leading to the Dreamcast version and its worldwide recognition and distribution. ''Kattobi Tune'' was compiled under the supervision of Rev Speed, a popular Japanese car tuning magazine and features seven licensed professional tuners,
RE Amemiya,
Spoon
A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...
,
Mine's, Trial, "RS Yamamoto", Garage Saurus and
JUN Auto, appearing years later in ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'' and also in the influential ''
Gran Turismo'' series by
Polyphony Digital
Polyphony Digital Inc. is an internal Japanese first-party video game development studio for PlayStation Studios. Originally a development group within Sony Computer Entertainment's Japan Studio known as Polys Entertainment, after the succes ...
.
Chronology of ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'' console games
Though the entire ''Shutokou Battle'' series has been referred to as the "''Tokyo Xtreme Racer''" series in the west, only a subset of games had an official "''Tokyo Xtreme Racer''" title attached. The games also received different names in different regions, adding to confusion.
''Kaidō Battle''
''Kaidō Battle'' (街道バトル, ''Kaidōbatoru'', lit. "Highway Battle") is a spin-off series for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
created by Genki. They are focused on
Touge racing and heavily centered on
drifting. The franchise currently has three games, with two of them being released in North America under the Tokyo Xtreme Racer banner by
Crave Entertainment
Crave Entertainment (aka Crave Games) was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but w ...
.
The series, like the main ''Shutokou Battle'' games, includes licensed cars and authentic Japanese mountain roads as courses. In Conquest Mode, the player competes during the day in drift contests, earning more points for holding a drift longer or for a quick combination of drifts, but earns no points if the player bumps against the wall or a guard rail. Doing this, the player earns money to buy new cars and modifications. Daytime racing also features racing for sponsors, which includes a kind of racing challenge determined by the sponsor. Beating a sponsor challenge earns the player a sponsor. Sponsors give the player better parts and extra bonuses for winning drift contests.
At night, the player can challenge rivals in the parking lot, and race them in a vein similar to ''Shutokō Battle''/''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'': the first one to have their life bar depleted loses; however, the first racer to cross the finish line will win the race. Through the night, the player will face the "Tricksters", a type of mini-bosses in the course. After all the Tricksters have been beaten, the main boss of the course (called the "Slasher") will challenge the player through an in-game BBS system. After the Slasher has been beaten, the player may advance to the next stage. The final boss in the last course is called the "Emotional King."
The story unfolds in ''Kaido Battle'' when Hiroki Koukami challenges and defeat all Slashers, including Motoya Iwasaki, the Speed King from ''Shutokou Battle'', until he challenges Hamagaki, the Kaido President & 1st Emotional King in his yellow Pantera GTS at Irohazaka. By doing so, Koukami becomes the new Emotional King, while Hamagaki becomes a Trickster.
In ''Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction'', Tatsu Zoushigaya arrives at the age of just 18. Like Koukami, he beats all Slashers and eventually Koukami himself in his Lancer Evolution 3 at Aso, Hamagaki in his Genki S2000 Turbo, as well as the secret rival Ground Zero Kazioka in his Skyline GT-R. But since he was defeated, Koukami moves away to Hokkaido and the Kaido Circuit spirals into chaos.
To fix it, in ''Kaido: Tōge no Densetsu'', Zoushigaya becomes the Miracles Summit and now drives a black Subaru Impreza Prototype Rally Car and Kyoichi Imaizumi, Zao's Slasher, becomes the Absolute Emperor and drives a white Renault Clio V6 Phase 2. These drivers are now the fastest on the Kaido Circuit. Meanwhile, the 13 Devils from Tokyo led by Iwasaki come to the Kaido Circuit and have the intention to conquer it. In order to protect the circuit from the Devils, they create another team: The Kingdom Twelve. At the beginning, their leader's identity is unknown.
This time, the hero is also unknown and is able to beat everyone, even Imaizumi and Zoushigaya. By beating them, he is able to defeat the members of the Kingdom Twelve & the 13 Devils. By e-mails, the Kingdom Twelve's leader's identity is known after he beats Timberslash: Hamagaki. After beating him and Iwasaki, the hero battles Koukami and beats him. And after these events, the truth is revealed: Hamagaki was still angry since he lost his title as the Emotional King.
Thus, in ''Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction'', he challenged every rival and eventually challenged Koukami again at Aso. But Koukami won again, making Hamagaki angrier than ever. Eventually, since Iwasaki became depressed, Hamagaki cajoled him to race into the Kaido Circuit, but by doing so, he manipulated him, and lies to everyone saying that his team protects the Circuit from the Devils, while the Devils didn't know his real goal: to found the fastest Rally Team and Highway Team.
; Games in the Kaidō Battle sub-series
* ''
Kaidō Battle'' (2003). Released in North America as ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift'' in 2006.
* ''
Kaidō Battle 2: Chain Reaction'' (2004). Released in Europe as ''Kaido Racer'' in 2005. Not released in North America.
* ''
Kaidō Battle: Legend of the Mountain Pass'' (2005). Released in North America as ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2'' in 2007, released in Europe as ''Kaido Racer 2'' in 2006.
Drifting
The
D1 Grand Prix drifting championship inspired the new series ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'', released in 2005 and remembering the 1997 drift circuit based ''Shutokou Battle Gaiden'' and the continuation of the "Shutokou Battle circuit +
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 ...
" concept introduced in ''Kattobi Tune'', a genre close to the ''
Zero4 Champ'' series by
Media Rings.
The first and only episode has the tagline "C1 Grand Prix", which is a double reference to the D1 GP and the Route C1, the latter being the
Inner Circular Route of the Shuto Expressway and the circuit for most episodes of the ''Shutokō Battle'' series.
''The Fast and the Furious''
Genki was also developing a game related although not part of the ''Shotoku Battle'' series, ''The Fast and the Furious'', based on the
movie franchise of the same name. It was presented at
E3 2003 and conceived as an
open world
In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...
game. The game was planned to be published by
Vivendi Universal Games
Vivendi Games (formerly known as CUC Software, Cendant Software, Havas Interactive, Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing and Vivendi Universal Games) was an American video game publisher and holding company based in Los Angeles. It was foun ...
and release on PlayStation 2 in late 2003 and the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
in 2004. However, it was eventually cancelled.
List of ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer'' games
Mobile phone titles
These are exclusive to Japan.
See also
*
Shuto Expressway
The is a network of Toll road, tolled expressways in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is operated and maintained by the .
Most routes are Grade separation, grade separated and have many sharp curves and multi-lane merges that require cauti ...
* ''
Shuto Kōsoku Trial''
*
''Wangan Midnight'' (2007 video game)
* ''
Initial D
is a Japanese street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. It was serialized in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Young Magazine'' from 1995 to 2013, with the chapters collected into 48 volumes. The ...
''
*
''The Fast and the Furious'' (2001 film)
*
Import scene
The import scene, also known as the import racing scene or tuner scene, is a subculture of modifying mostly Japanese car industry, Japanese-import cars, particularly in the United States and Europe.
History
Car modifying has been popular among y ...
Notes
References
External Link
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shutoko Battle series
Street racing video games
Video game franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1994
Video games set in Tokyo