Yeah, fine it isn't original or clever, but everyone who has ever played Daytona in any guise at all will have blurted out that line at some point in their lives. Memories of days spent at the arcades throwing any spare change into one machine in particular came flooding back upon the announcement of Daytona USA on XBLA.
First there was dancing a whooping, celebrating and jumping. Then there was fear, fear that SEGA would get this all wrong. Their track record over the last few years has been one mainly of disappointment, especially pore conversions of Sonic Adventure, Crazy Taxi and the like. However there was also OutRun Online Arcade and Afterburner, so that fear turned to reasoning. As trailers and gameplay clips were revealed that reasoning turned into excitement and the touching of wood, that SEGA would get this one right.
Get it right? Acceptable would have been enough, after all the Saturn and Dreamcast ports weren't that great, but they brought us Daytona in the home and many a penny was saved in the arcade (for a while at least), so they were widely welcomed. Well, this port is better than acceptable, it is better than SEGA getting it right, this port is perfect.
Wasn't a fan of Daytona in the arcade? Then don't expect any different here. That is the 1% dealt with. For everyone else, this port brings home the magic of the arcade version in the best way possible. Rose tinted memories are transferred to reality, both in terms of how the game looks and how it plays.
There must have been a temptation from SEGA to modernise the game, make the cars and scenery have many thousand more polygons and look as realistic as possible. However in keeping the look of the game as it was all those years ago, but just makes the heart melt. The only real changes are to make sure there is no popup or such, improvements only where improvements are needed.
The music is back too and Gamestyle defy anyone not to sing along to the background music as they battle their way through the field. SEGA know that the music is a vital part to the game's success and have included the Karaoke mode so players can just relax, drive and sing. It brings back even more memories of when SEGA were all about the fun side of gaming.
Daytona USA is split into five single player modes and online multiplayer. There is the original Arcade mode that sees players try one of three courses, beginner, advanced and expert and get to the end before the timer runs our, in the highest position possible. The only added feature here is the ability to change the difficulty, length and even mirror the courses.
Under the extras menu is Challenge, where players take on a series of individual challenges, such as completing a single lap in a set time, or by not hitting anything, getting a top speed, etc. There aren't many challenges, but enough to add to the value. Next up is the previously mentioned Karaoke mode. Then Time Trial, which takes away the traffic and is just the player vs the clock. Here is where leaderboards come into effect and where a lot of time will be lost, especially as players get close to a friends time.
Finally there is the Survival mode, here players race a much longer set of laps, but must also manage their tires as they start to erode. Pit stops become vital as they will stop the tires eroding, however they also eat up valuable time. Players score by increasing their odometer score, again here leaderboards are supported.
Those days in the arcades weren't always spent alone and many would have had Daytona cabinets set up for multiplayer races. Well thanks to online, that magic can be recreated. Basically arcade mode with up to 8 players, simple as that. No bells, no whistles, just down and dirty racing. Players can customise the race, so include a set number of private and public slots, which course, number of laps, how many AI cars there are, transmission limitations and game type (Arcade or Grand Prix). Play this in a party chat, turn down the lights and it is like being in that arcade all over again.
It all adds to a package that is much much more than could ever have been dreamed of. Arcade perfect conversion that supports wheels and pad. If it was just the arcade mode alone it would have been a wonderful, adding the extra modes makes it a must have. However at a very small 800 Microsoft Points, if this isn't added to the collection, then put the controller down, step away from the console and retire.
