Kaidō Battle series
| Kaido Battle | |
|---|---|
| File:Kaidobattle.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Genki |
| Publisher(s) | Genki (Japan), Crave Entertainment (North America) |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Release | Kaido Battle (2002), Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction (2004), Kaido Battle: Touge No Densetsu (2005) |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Conquest Mode (Story Mode), Versus, Time Trial, Free Run |
Kaido Battle (街道バトル) is a racing video game series for the Playstation 2 created by the Japanese video game developer Genki. They are focused on Touge racing and heavily centered on drifting. The franchise currently has three games, with one of them being released in North America under the Tokyo Xtreme Racer banner by Crave Entertainment, being called "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift."
Gameplay
The game, like Genki's Shutokou Battle franchise, 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 in 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 includes racing for sponsors, which includes some kind of racing challenge. 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 Shutokou 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 "Trickers", a type of mini-bosses in the course. After all the Trickers have been beaten, the main boss of the course (called the "Slasher") will challenge the player through an in-game BBS system. If the Slasher is beaten, the player may advance to the next stage.
Trivia
- A team on Nikko's Irohazaka course are named "Emperor" and drive Lancer Evolutions. The leader's name is "Sudo Kyoji." This is a nod to the anime/manga Initial D, in which the leader of the Emperor racing team is Sudo Kyoichi.
- One of the rivals on the Haruna course is nicknamed "Tofu Maniac" and drives an AE86 with a black and white color scheme. This is another Initial D nod.
- After a player completes the game, rivals appear in the parking lot during the daytime. These rivals are based on actual Japanese professional race drivers, including 2001 D1 Grand Prix champion Nobuteru Taniguchi, who is a technical advisor for the Kaido Battle games and a member of the Genki racing team.
- The game also features famous tuned cars that were featured in Option Magazine. Among them is technical advisor Nobuteru Taniguchi's famous HKS Silvia S15 and RE Amemiya RX-7.
Games in the Franchise
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Kaido Battle (2002, released in North America as Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift)
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Kaido Battle 2: Chain Reaction (2004)
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Kaido Battle: Touge No Densetsu (2005)
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Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift (North American release of Kaido Battle, 2006)
