Tokyo Xtreme Racer, known as Shutokō Battle (首都高バトル, Shutokōbatoru, lit. "Expressway Battle") in Japan, is an arcade-style racing video game series created by Genki, inspired by street racing on the Shuto Expressway in Tokyo. Its first installment, Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King, was released in 1994 for the Super Famicom, while the latest installment is Shutokou Battle Xtreme, for iOS and Android in 2017; in 2024, Genki announced a new entry, the first console racing game in 18 years, for PC, with a planned 2025 release.[1]
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer | |
|---|---|
 2024 logo of the upcoming title | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Developer(s) | Genki |
| Publisher(s) | Crave Entertainment, Jaleco, THQ, Ubisoft, Konami |
| Creator(s) | Genki |
| First release | Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King 1994 |
| Latest release | Shutokou Battle Xtreme 2017 |
While the series was most commonly localized under the name Tokyo Xtreme Racer, when published by Crave Entertainment, 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; and even Street Supremacy when released by Konami. There is also a sub-series named Kaido Battle which focuses on Touge racing and drifting.
Gameplay
editThe 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 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
edit| 1994 | Shutokō Battle '94 |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Shutokō Battle 2 Highway 2000 |
| 1996 | Tōge Densetsu: Saisoku Battle Tokyo Highway Battle Wangan Dead Heat Plus Real Arrange Shutokō Battle Gaiden |
| 1997 | Shutokō Battle '97 Shutokō Battle R |
| 1998 | Kattobi Tune |
| 1999 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer |
| 2000 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 |
| 2001 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero Shutokō Battle H" |
| 2002 | Shutokō Battle I Shutokō Battle EZ Shutokō Battle (mobile) |
| 2003 | Shutokō Battle Online Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 Shutokō Battle Online Special Pack |
| 2004 | Kaidō Battle 2: Chain Reaction |
| 2005 | Shutokō Battle Evolution Tokyo Xtreme Racer Advance Street Supremacy Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 Shutokō Battle Evolution Plus |
| 2006 | Shutokō Battle Evolution Import Tuner Challenge |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | Shutokō Battle (mobile) |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | Shutokō Battle Xtreme (mobile) |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer |
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
editDuring 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, 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.
Chronology of Tokyo Xtreme Racer console games
editThough 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.
| Original Japanese Title | Year (JPN) | US Title | PAL Title | Console | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shutokō Battle 首都高バトル |
1999 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer | Tokyo Highway Challenge | DC | |
| Shutokō Battle 2 首都高バトル 2 |
2000 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 | Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 | DC | |
| Shutokō Battle 0 首都高バトル0 |
2001 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero | Tokyo Xtreme Racer | PS2 | PAL region name not to be confused with earlier "Tokyo Xtreme Racer" (1999) in US region on Sega Dreamcast. |
| Kaidō Battle: Nikko, Haruna, Rokko, Hakone 街道バトル 〜日光・榛名・六甲・箱根〜 |
2003 (Feb) | Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift (2006) | Not released. | PS2 | Kaidō Battle sub-series, 1st entry |
| Shutokō Battle 01 首都高バトル01 |
2003 (July) | Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 | Not released. | PS2 | |
| Kaidō Battle 2: Chain Reaction 街道バトル2 CHAIN REACTION |
2004 | Not released. | Kaido Racer (2005) | PS2 | Kaidō Battle sub-series, 2nd entry |
| Kaidō: Tōge no Densetsu KAIDO 峠の伝説 |
2005 | Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2 (2007) | Kaido Racer 2 (2006) | PS2 | Kaidō Battle sub-series, 3rd entry |
Kaidō Battle
editKaidō Battle (街道バトル) is a spin-off series for the PlayStation 2 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.
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
editThe 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" concept introduced in Kattobi Tune,[2] 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
editGenki 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 game. The game was planned to be published by Vivendi Universal Games and release on PlayStation 2 in late 2003 and the Xbox in 2004. However, it was eventually cancelled.[3]
List of Tokyo Xtreme Racer games
edit| Overseas title | Japanese title | Original release date
(YYYY/MM)[a] |
Platforms | Developer | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | Shutokō Battle '94 Keiichi Tsuchiya Drift King | 1994/05/27 | Super Famicom | Genki | Bullet-Proof Software |
| - | Shutokō Battle 2: Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya & Masaaki Bandoh | 1995/02/24 | Super Famicom | Genki | Bullet-Proof Software |
| - | Tōge Densetsu: Saisoku Battle | 1996/03/22 | Super Famicom | Genki | Bullet-Proof Software |
| Tokyo Highway Battle | Shutokō Battle: Drift King - Keichii Tsuchiya & Masaaki Bandoh | 1996/05/03 | PlayStation | Genki | Bullet-Proof SoftwareJP JalecoNA/EU THQEU |
| - | Shutokō Battle Gaiden: Super Technic Challenge - Road To Drift King | 1996/12/20 | PlayStation | Mitsui | Media Quest |
| - | Shutokō Battle '97: Drift King Keichii Tsuchiya & Masaaki Bandoh - New Limited Ver.97 | 1997/02/28 | Sega Saturn | Genki | Imagineer SPD2 |
| - | Shutoku Battle R | 1997/04/25 | PlayStation | Genki | Genki |
| - | Kattobi Tune (spin-off) | 1998/04/23 | PlayStation | Genki | Genki |
| Tokyo Xtreme RacerNA Tokyo Highway ChallengePAL |
Shutokō Battle | 1999/06/24 | Dreamcast | Genki | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA/EU Ubi SoftEU |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2NA Tokyo Highway Challenge 2PAL |
Shutokō Battle 2 | 2000/06/22 | Dreamcast | Genki | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA/EU Ubi SoftEU |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer: ZeroNA Tokyo Xtreme RacerPAL |
Shutokō Battle 0 | 2001/03/15 | PlayStation 2 | Genki | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA/EU Ubi SoftEU |
| Wangan MidnightNA | Wangan Midnight[b] | 2002/03/28 | PlayStation 2, Namco System 246 | Genki | GenkiJP NamcoNA |
| - | Shutokō Battle Online | 2003/01/09 | Microsoft Windows | Genki Racing Project | Genki |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer: DriftNA | Kaidō Battle: Nikko, Haruna, Rokko, Hakone | 2003/02/27 (JP) 2006/4/18 (NA) |
PlayStation 2 | Genki Racing Project | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3NA | Shutokō Battle 01 | 2003/07/24 | PlayStation 2 | Genki Racing Project | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA |
| - | Shutokō Battle Online Special Pack "SpeedMaster" | 2003/08/06 | Microsoft Windows | DigiCube, Genki Racing Project | |
| Kaido RacerPAL | Kaidō Battle 2: Chain Reaction | 2004/02/26 | PlayStation 2 | Genki Racing Project | Konami |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer Advance | - | 2005/04/20 | Game Boy Advance | David A. Palmer Productions | Crave EntertainmentPAL |
| Street SupremacyNA/PAL | Shutokō Battle | 2005/04/21 | PlayStation Portable | Genki Racing Project | Konami |
| - | Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix | 2005/05/26 | PlayStation 2 | Genki Racing Project | Genki |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Drift 2NA Kaido Racer 2PAL |
Kaidō Battle: Tōge no Densetsu | 2005/07/28 (JP) 2006/12/01 (PAL) 2007/04/17 (NA) |
PlayStation 2 | Genki Racing Project | GenkiJP Crave EntertainmentNA KonamiPAL |
| Import Tuner ChallengeNA/PAL | Shutokō Battle Ten (Shutokou Battle X) | 2006/07/27 | Xbox 360 | Genki Racing Project | GenkiJP UbisoftNA/PAL |
| - | Wangan Midnight | 2007/07/26 | PlayStation 3 | Genki | Genki |
| - | Wangan Midnight Portable | 2007/09/27 | PlayStation Portable | Genki | Genki |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer (tentative) | Shutokō Battle (tentative) | TBD 2025 | Windows | Genki | (TBD) |
| Overseas title | Japanese title | Original release date
(YYYY/MM) |
Platforms | Developer | Publisher |
Mobile phone titles
editThese are exclusive to Japan.
| Japanese title | Original release
date (YYYY/MM) |
Platforms | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shutokō Battle H | 2001 | Feel H Mobile | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle I (J) | 2002/02 | i-mode Mobile | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle EZ | 2002/02 | EZweb | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle | 2002/?? | Vodafone live! | Genki Mobile |
| Kaidō Battle Cross Action FIRST STAGE | 2005 | ? | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Evolution | 2005/04/04 | i-mode | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Evolution Plus (2) | 2005/09/06 | i-mode | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Evolution | 2006/01/26 | EZweb | Genki Mobile |
| Kaidō Battle Cross Action SECOND STAGE | 2006/06/05 | i-mode | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Car Sensor Version | 2007/03/22 | i-mode | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Neo | 2008/09/18 | EZweb | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle[4] | 2011/11/01 | Mobage | Genki |
| Shutokō Battle A | 2011/?? | Android | Genki Mobile |
| Shutokō Battle Xtreme | 2017/01/26 | Android / iOS | Genki |
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ Romano, Sal (2024-08-22). "Tokyo Xtreme Racer announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ Kattobi Tune official website
- ^ "The Fast and the Furious [2003]". IGN. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
- ^ "Shutokou Battle Mobage for iPhone and Android". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2018-02-15.