SEGA Rally Championship is a 1994 racing video game developed by Sega AM3 and published by Sega.[4] Originally released for arcades using the Sega Model 2 board, it was converted to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and Windows in 1997. The unique selling point of Sega Rally Championship was the ability to drive on different surfaces, with different friction properties, with the car's handling changing accordingly. As the first racing game to incorporate this feature, Sega Rally Championship is considered to be one of the milestones in the evolution of the racing game genre.[5] It was also an early rally racing game and featured cooperative gameplay alongside the usual competitive multiplayer.
Sega Rally PC Original Soundtrack pc game
The music for the arcade game was composed by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, while the Sega Saturn version's soundtrack consisted of a combination of newly composed music by Naofumi Hataya and arrangements of the arcade originals arranged and produced by Takayuki Hijikata previously released on the album Sega Rally Championship Ignition. The game spawned the Sega Rally series, in addition to inspiring Colin McRae Rally (1998).
The Saturn version of the game had to be almost completely remade, only referencing the graphics of the arcade version, which required detailed planning.[2][12] Mizguchi recounted: "Our designers went back to the arcade version and worked out the locations, drew pictures and captured the atmosphere and the feeling of distance. Then there was about two weeks discussion on their work. During this time they worked on the car settings and we had Mr. Yoshio Fujimoto, winner in the Toyota Castrol car to advise it. Then Mr. Nakamura, Mr. Hattori, and Mr. Fujimoto went to the Asian Pacific Indonesian Rally for three days and studied the cars".[13] Aside from Mizuguchi producing both projects, the Saturn development team was completely different from the original arcade team.[14] Unlike other well-received arcade conversions for the Saturn such as Virtua Fighter 2 and Virtua Cop, Sega Rally Championship was developed without using the Sega Graphics Library operating system, as it had not yet been completed when work on the game began.[12][15] For similar reasons, a split screen was used for multiplayer mode instead of the Saturn link cable; the developers also felt it was important that multiplayer be available to all owners of the Saturn game, not only those who had also purchased a link cable.[10][15] Finally, the arcade version of Rally was designed to be controlled with a steering wheel, and the developers struggled to simulate its drifting techniques using the Saturn's controller.[2] The game also supports the Saturn Steering Wheel, though it lacks the haptic feedback of the arcade version's steering wheel.[11]
The Saturn version was met with almost universally positive reviews. Next Generation praised the Saturn version's "down-and-dirty feel", "truly phenomenal high-speed visuals", and "quick, responsive control".[45] The magazine cited the game's physics and handling as "nothing short of remarkable".[30] Game Informer's Reiner and Andy gave Sega Rally Championship scores of 8/10 and 8.5/10, making note of technical improvements over the Saturn version of Sega's Daytona USA, which Andy nonetheless felt was the better game. Game Informer's Paul was more effusive, rating the Saturn port 9.25/10 for its "far better racing feel" and superior graphics to Daytona.[25] Sega Saturn Magazine praised the difficulty of unlocking the secret course and secret car, and remarking that "whilst there's enough drag, slide action and difficulty wrestling with the controls to convince you the programmers know what it's like to drive a rally car, there's never so much realism that you'd have to know how to drive one yourself to play the game".[36] Later, Sega Saturn Magazine would rank the game as the second best game on the platform, saying "two years on its release and Sega Rally is still the best racer on a console bar none".[46]
The Windows version was less well received. Critics generally commented that the fun gameplay is still wholly intact, but that the conversion lacks many features standard to PC racing games[20][28][31] and suffers from mediocre frame rates except when playing in low-resolution mode, in which case it instead suffers from having lower detail and more pixelation than the Saturn version.[28][31] Mark Clarkson of Computer Gaming World found the biggest problem was that, being a port of an arcade game, it lacks the longevity expected of a PC game, though he judged it to be fun while it lasted.[20] Next Generation concluded that those looking specifically to play Sega Rally Championship on PC would find the version sufficient, but that there were better PC racers available.[31] GameSpot's Stephen Poole opined that the content of the game was "just not enough".[28]
In 1996, Next Generation listed it as number 57 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", citing the "heavier", more realistic feel of the car when compared to other racing games, and the generally realistic controls.[49] In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game number 1 on their "The GamesMaster Saturn Top 10".[50] In the same issue, they also rated the game 24th in its "Top 100 Games of All Time".[51] In 1999, Next Generation listed Sega Rally as number 19 on their "Top 50 Games of All Time", commenting that, "one of the best Model 2 games, Sega Rally is some of the best fun you can have in a car without having to pretend that you've run out of gas".[52] Sega Rally Championship was named the best racing game of all time by Retro Gamer magazine, which ranked it at the top of its "Top 25 Racing Games Ever" list.[40] In Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2009 the Saturn version of the game made it to 44th position in the list of the Top 50 Console Games, due to its "distinct handling style and superb track design".[53] IGN staff writer Levi Buchanan ranked Sega Rally Championship 6th in his list of the top 10 Sega Saturn games, saying: "Yes, the Dreamcast version is much better and the current-gen sequel... is stunning, but this Saturn arcade port was one of the top reasons to stick by SEGA as it flailed through the 32-bit days".[54] Some publications and fan-voted lists have considered it to be one of the best games of all time, including Next Generation in 1996,[55] or Electronic Gaming Monthly in 1997,[56] Computer and Video Games in 2000,[57] Edge in 2007,[58] and NowGamer in 2010.[59]
Sega Rally Championship (セガラリーチャンピオンシップ), also known as Sega Rally Championship 1995, is a Sega Model 2A CRX arcade rally racing game developed by Sega AM3 and manufactured by Sega. Released to arcades worldwide in February 1995 to critical and commercial success, it is the first entry in the company's popular Sega Rally series, and has since been considered a classic and seminal Sega arcade game.
Sega Rally is an off-road racing game, in which players drive rally cars across one of four tracks as quickly as possible. Like prior Sega arcade racing games, Sega Rally enforces a strict time limit and a checkpoint system - success is measured by how fast the player can navigate the three standard tracks before either crossing the final finish line or retiring due to the timer running out.
As a rally game, Sega Rally has no concept of "laps" (in the arcade version at least) - each track is treated as a linear journey from a defined beginning to a defined end (although in reality, all tracks are circular, so the beginning is the end). There are computer players which need to be avoided, with the overall aim of finishing in first place at the end of third course. The positions are carried through to each track, so if a user finishes in 10th on the first track, he or she will start in 10th place on the second. Opponent cars are not covered by the same strict rules - they exist solely to provide an extra layer of challenge to the game.
Sega Rally is notable for being the first racing game to allow players to drive on different surfaces, including including asphalt, gravel and mud. Each surface has different friction properties which adjust the car's handling accordingly. Prior to Sega Rally's release, racing games often took a more simplified approach to differing surface types - grass for example might simply reduce the top speed of the car, not affect handling, leading to unrealistic results. These features allow Sega Rally to stand out as a true "rally" game, a sport very much dictated by road surfaces, rather than a generic racing game with rally-esque settings.
The Saturn version was converted by Sega of Japan's CS Team, under guidance from Sega AM3. The differences in architecture mean the game was almost completely remade for Saturn hardware[26]There are minor differences between regions - generally the US version has fewer graphical details than its Japanese and European counterparts, and its replay mode has fewer camera angles[27]. All versions are compatible with the Arcade Racer.
The official CD soundtrack to the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PSP game Sega Rally Revo (SEGA Rally outside North America) released by Sumthing Else Records on the 26th of August 2008. The soundtrack was composed by Andrew Barnabas and Paul Arnold.
The most shocking area Sega Rally improves on previous Sega racers is in its graphics. This is a far cry from the 20 fps mess of Daytona. Here the game is a solid 30 and rarely ever dips. More importantly the pop-up is kept to a minimum. This is done through smart course design that hides the majority of it behind turns and other track side detail. The fact that there are less competitors in each race is what probably helps the game improve in these areas. Either way this is an amazing package from a presentation perspective, including the remixed soundtrack. 2ff7e9595c
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