Best PSX racing games

[Zz Badnusty]

no idea about LCD question

After giving a second thought about Playstation racing games, I came to remember there are a lot of "Alternative?" racing games.
The original thread post insinuated car racing games, however there are quite a few "race against the clock," "obstacle-course beat the clock," and "run on foot" racing games.
One of the more fun and outrageous games out there might be Pepsiman. Tight frenetic gameplay with goofy settings and laugh inducing scenarios.

"Easily obtainable" was a qualifier for game suggestions, but really isn't any game easy to obtain through the internet, it's more an issue of inexpensively obtainable perhaps, and in that regard Pepsiman might be one of the pricier "racing" games out there lately selling at ~$60 iirc.

A "cheap" non-traditional racing game which I'm very fond of is Choro Q Marine: Q-Boat
The difficultly seemed high to me as there are just a ton a vessels which each control vastly different from one another. It's a lot of fun learning them, but can be infuriating at the same time.




The Tomarunner games look like a lot of fun. The little I've played of the 2nd game amounted to just floundering around bumping into shit. There's a bit more involved in learning this racing game than just track and car handling.

[stu]

Several people have this opinion. I think the first two games have a different atmosphere compared to the third one.

Yep I definitely agree that the first 2 games had a different atmosphere than wip3out. I personally found the tracks on 3 narrower for some reason and the handling seemed to be worse than 2097/XL. I think the main reason I like the original over wip3out is probably more nostalgia than anything else, it was the 1st game for the PS1 and I got it the day I bought the console and loved the game, despite the difficulty.

Wipeout 3 - Special Edition is actually a PAL release for Wipeout 3 which had been released in Japan.
The Japanese version already had all those extras and it's fully in English. It's pricey nowadays though, so the Euro version is probably cheaper.

Oh I never realized that. Thanks for the info.

That and the 1997 game were classic, hugely successful in Europe.

After that, Studio 33 was given access to Bizarre Creations' engine for Newman Haas Racing (1998); with the later F1 games by Studio 33 on the PS1 all using that engine but vastly improved in many aspects.

Formula One 2001 looks phenomenal IMO

Yeah i think all the Psygnosis F1 games were great, I'll have to check out the 2001 version. Thanks

That, alone, is a pretty good reason to put it behind Crash Team Racing, Speed Punks, Diddy Kong Racing, etc.
Nobody is obligated to worship a lucky-based racer with broken AI and foggy graphics. Not everyone will consider the supreme gold each and every game which has those same Nintendo faggot characters for the nth time.
About Diddy Kong Racing, I find it much better than Mario Kart 64 but I'm not partial to its cute story nor to its iffy frame rate.
CTR benefited from the fact that it was released after those games and covered many of their issues. I know that for a hardcore Nintendo fanboy like you it's impossible to consider any Crash game as good as your Nintendo holy grail but there's a lot of people out there who consider it the best kart racing of that gen.

LOL totally agree with that.

Another reason to pass on the PS1 version of the second game is that there's also a better Dreamcast version of the game. If you want to play V-Rally 2, play Test Drive V-Rally for the Dreamcast, it's the same game but better!

The first V-Rally is also on N64, as V-Rally Edition '99, but unfortunately the port isn't very good. It's got awful graphics and doesn't play great either. I haven't played the PS1 version for comparison, but it's not very good on N64, the second game on Dreamcast is far better.

.

Um no one cares if there is a "superior" version of ANY of these games on the N64/Dreamcast/PC/GBA/any ofther freaking system because the OP asked for recommendations on PSONE racing games. NOT on other systems. Try staying on topic.

[zetastrike]

I gotta add Wipeout XL to my buy list. For the original, I'll stick to my Saturn copy.

Wip3out has real widescreen mode, so if I were forced to hook up my PSX to an LCD, I could set it to fill the screen and not just stretch the picture?

Um no one cares if there is a "superior" version of ANY of these games on the N64/Dreamcast/PC/GBA/any ofther freaking system because the OP asked for recommendations on PSONE racing games. NOT on other systems. Try staying on topic.

Telling an ABF to not talk about the N64 is like telling a youtuber to not make NES top 10 lists.

"Easily obtainable" was a qualifier for game suggestions, but really isn't any game easy to obtain through the internet, it's more an issue of inexpensively obtainable perhaps, and in that regard Pepsiman might be one of the pricier "racing" games out there lately selling at ~$60 iirc.

Yeah, I meant games that are plentiful on ebay and not pushing ~$25. I assumed most people don't care about 5th gen racing games anymore.

[RPGbandit]

A true car lover would be blown away by Gran Turismo 2 on epsx with shaders upscaled graphics, looks like a ps2 game, true car lovers will look at this as a racing dungeon crawler , rpg style

[zetastrike]

A true car lover would be blown away by Gran Turismo 2 on epsx with shaders upscaled graphics, looks like a ps2 game, true car lovers will look at this as a racing dungeon crawler , rpg style

It looks nice, but it's a simulation-sleeping pill.

[RPGbandit]

^not at all. when you get into the high horsepower cars the game becomes super challenging to your responsiveness. I have a 900 something horsepower car that weighs less than a thousand pounds. stupid FAST

the rally racing is awesome and fun, the only downside for casual gamers is if you do not like tinkering with car settings or do not like cars in general you will probably not like the game. like I said it's like a racing RPG not like final lap twin soul

[Dr Robotnik]

^not at all. when you get into the high horsepower cars the game becomes super challenging to your responsiveness. I have a 900 something horsepower car that weighs less than a thousand pounds. stupid FAST

the rally racing is awesome and fun, the only downside for casual gamers is if you do not like tinkering with car settings or do not like cars in general you will probably not like the game. like I said it's like a racing RPG not like final lap twin soul

That was the case for some of the cars, but the difficulty level was kinda ruined by the red/pink pikes peak car. It had such ludicrous acceleration and handling you could cheese your way through almost every race even if you crashed every 3 corners.

Like you already said, it's an amazing game for car lovers and is still an incredible technical showcase for the hardware. Definitely the best game of that particular racing sub-genre.

[The Jackal]

I quite enjoyed C3 Racing (or Max Power Racing as it was known over here) from Infogrames. Hardly noone knows or talks about it, but I found it to be quite fun.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah, Tomarunner-vs.-L'arc-en-Ciel is one of the PS1 games I got last year, I discuss it in my recent thread. The game does have a learning curve, but it's decent once you get used to it. It's sort of like a platformer/racing game, I guess, with some definite QTE to it too I guess. You run along those narrow paths, and have to learn to use the shoulder buttons as left and right arm buttons. It's weird and takes getting used to, but after a few races I got it. On a turn hitting the arm when there's a pole on the turn will grab it for a quick spin-turn, or hitting the other arm will bounce you off of bounce pads on the outside of the turns. You also have to alternate the arms to swim in water sections, alternate presses when bouncing off of bounce pads set up to get you up pits (or alternately take longer to climb the wall, if you miss the pad), etc. It's kind of hard to explain without playing it, but you do get used to it. There are other buttons (jump, etc.) but the arm buttons are the keys. It's an interesting series worth a try.

Um no one cares if there is a "superior" version of ANY of these games on the N64/Dreamcast/PC/GBA/any ofther freaking system because the OP asked for recommendations on PSONE racing games. NOT on other systems. Try staying on topic.

No, that's complete nonsense. Consoles do not exist in a vacuum. Why get a worse version of a game when another system has a far better version of the game? I don't often buy the same game on multiple platforms unless the versions have significant differences, and I think that's how most people are. Most people aren't going to buy the same game on both the PS3 and 360, or any other two consoles of the same generation. So of course the other platforms a game is on matters.

I think it is entirely reasonable to care more about a good exclusive than a just as good game that Is better on some other console (in this case V-Rally 2's Dreamcast version), if you have the other console that is. It would make no sense to pretend that the other versions of games don't exist. This is true regardless of the platforms involved, whether it's PS3 v. PS4 versions of modern cross-gen games or Atari 2600 v. Atari 7800 versions of those late '80s games Atari released on both platforms. Of course people care that there are multiple versions of the games. There's a reason why it's the PS4/XB1 version of Shadows of Mordor that got many Game of the Year awards last year and not the PS3/X360 version, for instance -- the PS360 version is limited in comparison and is missing some of the major things people liked about the PS4/XB1 version.

Sure, if it's true it's good to say that the previous-gen version is good for the platform. But also mention the advantages of the next-gen version.

[zetastrike]

^Yeah, but I made this thread specific to the PSX because that's what I'm trying to buy for atm. That, and I don't even have a DC or an N64. This thread isn't solely for my own benefit, but I titled it the way I did for a reason.

[stu]

No, that's complete nonsense.

I-I-I can't control my arms! My hands! They're coming towards my face too fast! AGGHHHH!

^Yeah, but I made this thread specific to the PSX because that's what I'm trying to buy for atm. That, and I don't even have a DC or an N64. This thread isn't solely for my own benefit, but I titled it the way I did for a reason.

Apparently ABF thinks he knows better...LOL!

[A Black Falcon]

^Yeah, but I made this thread specific to the PSX because that's what I'm trying to buy for atm.

There are a lot of Playstation games. I have 250 Playstation games now, and there are still so many more interesting ones... and that's with trying to avoid games that are better on other platforms! So yeah, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as finding interesting PS1 racing games goes.

That, and I don't even have a DC or an N64.

You're a Sega fan and don't have a Dreamcast? You should correct that mistake.

This thread isn't solely for my own benefit, but I titled it the way I did for a reason.

As I said in my last post, ignoring the other platforms a game is on is a big mistake. Anyway, I suggested quite a few good and interesting PS1 racing games, so I think I've covered the subject fairly well.

I-I-I can't control my arms! My hands! They're coming towards my face too fast! AGGHHHH!



Apparently ABF thinks he knows better...LOL!

What insightful commentary, I'm sure it contributes a lot to this thread.

[GriskaGyoran]

It's not heresy, it's just crazy and a sign of being a Sony fanboy,

Funny, Sony has always been my least favorite console maker, well post MSX computers. Kind of like how I hate post Steve Jobs return Apple. However when something is good I have to admit it.

[Zz Badnusty]

Yeah, Tomarunner-vs.-L'arc-en-Ciel is one of the PS1 games I got last year, I discuss it in my recent thread. The game does have a learning curve, but it's decent once you get used to it. It's sort of like a platformer/racing game, I guess, with some definite QTE to it too I guess. You run along those narrow paths, and have to learn to use the shoulder buttons as left and right arm buttons. It's weird and takes getting used to, but after a few races I got it. On a turn hitting the arm when there's a pole on the turn will grab it for a quick spin-turn, or hitting the other arm will bounce you off of bounce pads on the outside of the turns. You also have to alternate the arms to swim in water sections, alternate presses when bouncing off of bounce pads set up to get you up pits (or alternately take longer to climb the wall, if you miss the pad), etc. It's kind of hard to explain without playing it, but you do get used to it. There are other buttons (jump, etc.) but the arm buttons are the keys. It's an interesting series worth a try.

Thanks for the control overview. I'm looking forward to giving the game another go.
I'm also awaiting the first game, which looks to be a little slower and toned down, which might be a good thing.

[A Black Falcon]

Funny, Sony has always been my least favorite console maker, well post MSX computers. Kind of like how I hate post Steve Jobs return Apple. However when something is good I have to admit it.

I admit it when something is good as well. CTR is average, nothing more.

Thanks for the control overview. I'm looking forward to giving the game another go.
I'm also awaiting the first game, which looks to be a little slower and toned down, which might be a good thing.

The first game seems like it's slower? That might be nice. It'd also be nice to play a Tomarunner game where player 1 can play as the original characters... as I say in my summary, in the second game player 1 can play as the L'arc-en-Ciel band members only, the other (more interesting, original) characters are for the AI or player two.