Daytona USA 2: Power Edition (Sega Racing Classic 2)
Lately, I've been having a certain fixation on a classic arcade racer which has had ties to several new and classic games that I've played over the last few weeks. Whether it's stopping crime in the neighborhood as a Rent-A-Hero or saving the planet as an Air Twister (complete with a cool musical score), Sega AM2 was a development studio I've brought up time again. Yu Suzuki and Toshihiro Nagoshi are two creative geniuses whose storied histories have led them to create and lead their own studios in YS Net and RGG Studio respectively. Daytona USA may have been the starting lap for these two but Daytona USA 2 was a continued legacy that never lived up to the same reputation. Rather, it never had the chance.
For the first time since its release in the arcades, Daytona USA 2 is finally released in some capacity for a home release. Unfortunately, it'll cost fans a fifty dollar price tag as it's one of the arcade titles featured in Like A Dragon Gaiden. While I absolutely recommend Gaiden outside of the arcade and Master System titles featured in the game, the chance to play the sequel to a title that I've grown fond of this year was too good to pass up. So, while I usually don't review "games within games," being that this is the only way to play Sega Racing Classic 2, I'll make an exception.
Originally released in 1998, Daytona USA 2 was released five years after the original caused a storm within arcades worldwide. While Sega had several arcade classics, including Virtua Fighter, a follow-up to their flagship arcade title of the 90s was in development. Sega knew they had a winner on their hands and the next game had to expand on what made the original so great. How can one improve on near-perfection when the original bar was set as high as it was? Simply add more content and give the fans more of what they want.
While Nagoshi directed and produced the original Daytona USA, he would step down as director for the sequel yet remained as its producer. The one directing Daytona USA 2 was Makoto Osaki, which would also be the first arcade title he directed within Sega AM2. Working on Daytona USA as a game planner, he was a designer for Scud Race, Sega AM2's first racer on the new at the time Model 3 platform. With a new engine came new physics that wasn't possible within the original Daytona USA. Daytona USA 2 was never ported to the Dreamcast or any console prior to Gaiden, as a special Dreamcast exclusive Daytona USA title was developed instead.
Sega AM2 went all out with the level designs this time around, learning from their experience with Scud Race. The level dynamics happen in real time as the background environments change within laps. The Advanced course is the best example of this as the race is held in an amusement park. Lava explodes from a hairpin as a pirate ship greets players at the starting line. For comparison's sake, the biggest dynamic interaction in Daytona USA that I remember was the horses in the Expert course.
Fun fact, fans of Daytona affectionately call it "Daytona UMA" because Uma is Japanese for horse, and said horse was also an unlockable character in the Sega Saturn version.
There are three cars to choose from in Daytona USA 2, the Eagle, Scorpio, and Phantom, separated by difficulty levels. As the beginner car, the Eagle has the best traction of all three cars but with the lowest top speed, even while using manual transmission. The Scorpio is the cover car of Daytona USA 2, so naturally it's the "intermediate" car. It's the jack of all trades with decent top speed, and handling, and is effectively the best way to play Daytona USA 2. Rounding out the three is the Expert car, the Phantom, which is the fastest among all three cars but requires work to steer and cut through corners.
Sega Racing Classic 2 is another name for Daytona USA 2 Power Edition, an updated re-release that added bonus content, several track changes, and a new Challenge course which is a mash-up sprint race of all three courses. It also included a new car based on the original Hornet from Daytona USA. What's unique about this version of the Hornet is that it emulates the original Daytona USA handling physics, perfect for those who want the nostalgic feeling while also enjoying the newer content of Daytona USA 2.
Daytona USA 2's physics are noticeably different from the original as it's easier to initiate a drift this time around. While it's easier to control the car while powersliding, it's also easier to spin the car out, resulting in time loss. Knowing when to shift is even more important to prevent this from happening. This leads to a minor nitpick I have with this port as I felt the analog controls didn't translate well on the gamepad. For context, I was using an Xbox One gamepad and I played this on the PC port of Gaiden. I felt like I needed to be extra delicate with the analog stick and the triggers in order to go for precision.
While I'm not sure if messing around with the controller settings for Gaiden will help with this issue, it was a minor inconvenience. These games were meant to be played with an actual H-Shifter, pedals, and a steering wheel in mind. Much like the console port of Daytona USA, the gears are mapped to the face buttons in a sort of "zig-zag" manner. At times I would accidentally shift to the wrong gear when I meant to press "X" instead of "B," but, again, the fact that there's a way to play the game for the first time at home serves as a grim reminder. There are many classic arcade titles that are asking to be released in a Sega compilation or even as standalone remastered titles.
While I understand the reason why classics like Daytona USA 2 and Motor Raid are kept behind larger budget games, it still shouldn't be included as a "feature." There are longtime fans of these titles who would love to throw their wallets at the screen for an arcade-perfect PC or console port of a game they grew up playing with. For now, as Gaiden is a quality game in itself, most players will at least give Daytona USA 2, or Sega Racing Classic 2 a spin. Hopefully, it will lead to something in the future!
Daytona USA 2 is available as a part of Like A Dragon Gaiden's in-game arcade. Like A Dragon Gaiden is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.