'''Shutokou Battle''' (首都高バトル), aka "Syutokoh Battle", is an arcade oriented driving game created by Genki for the
Sega Dreamcast platform in
1999. The game was released in America as
Tokyo Xtreme Racer and in Europe as
Tokyo Highway Challenge. When released in Japan, Shutokou Battle was one of the best selling Dreamcast title at this time. The game is based on illegal highway racing in
Tokyo with custom tuned cars. A such phenomenon is growing popular in Japan since the 90's with its dedicated
manga (Shutokou Battle's biggest inpiration being
Wangan Midnight),
anime series and video games (C1 Circuit, Wangan Trial, Naniwa Wangan Battle).
=Other "Shutokou Battle"=
Main articles: Shutokou Battle series
Mobile edition
2002 Vodavone Live! 2D mobile version by Genki Mobile with unlicensed Japanese cars. Game download and gaming service only available in Japan. "Time Attack" passwords from "Shutokou Battle Zero" (PlayStation 2) can be used to unlock extra cars. Day/night racing conditions are directly taken from the user's mobile real time data. Melodies from "Kaido Battle 2 Chain Reaction" were available for free download from 25/02 to 31/03 2004 to Shutokou Battle owners only.
Portable edition
2005 Playstation Portable edition designed by GRP (Genki Racing Project) with licensed Japanese cars. Its working title was "Shutokou Battle Zone Of Control", but it has been shortened to "Shutokou Battle". Weekly Famitsu rated it 31/40, while the original Dreamcast title received 32/40. This PSP edition has been licensed to Konami for an American release as "Street Supremacy" in early 2006.
=Campaign=
Japanese famous die-cast models company, Tomica released a limited edition of Banshee's NSX in 1999. In the western release of the Dreamcast game, Banshee's controversial forehead tattooed Hindu
swastika was removed.
=Inspirations=
★ A famous car is hidden in the Japanese version, this car is Takumi Fujiwara's (from popular manga & TV series "'Initial D'") Fujiwara Tofu Shop "Home Delivery" Trueno. This special car is the only one with the ability to drive in the wrong way of the traffic. When doing this, a police siren is heard. The Genki Racing Project team later included the same car in
Racing Battle.
★ In Shutokou Battle 0, another hidden car was the red S15 Silvia that of
Nobuteru Taniguchi from the D1GP series with his original livery and is sponsored by the publisher. Taniguchi, between 2004-05, drove for
Bandoh Racing, who incidentally endorsed the earlier games.
★ The Last Bosses, called "Devils", cars are designed according to those appearing in the 1992 manga
Wangan Midnight. "Zero" drives the same large fog lights equipped black
Porsche 911 Turbo (Type-930) than Tatsuya Shima, while "???" owns Wangan Midnight's main character, Akio Asakura's tuned blue
Fairlady Z (Type-S30) "Devil Z".
=Types & Licenses=
Since it's introduction in the mid '90s, like similar games, the "Shutokou Battle" series never used licensed cars but the usual type designation such as "TYPE-86" and later "TYPE-AE86L3". Nicknames were used instead in the "Wangan Dead Heat" sidestory (eg "Rapid Fire" for the "Nissan Skyline GT-R R33"). These "types" are actually the real chassis code used by the Japanese makers to designate the various grades of a lineup. As the graphics quality was improving with each release, from 16-bit 2D to 3D/CG 128-bit, the featured cars were becoming more and more similar to the actual cars appearance. In a similar way, the chassis codes became longer and more precise, allowing the player to determine each grade and to use the "rename car" feature. Inevitably, the game becoming a solid best seller, the Japanese makers forced Genki to buy the license of their cars. The very first Genki licensed game was
Wangan Midnight for PlayStation 2 (28.03.2002), while the first licensed "Shutokou Battle" was
Shutokou Battle Online released on PC, the 9th of January 2003. Since then, every Genki racing game uses licensed makers, and
Honda doesn't appear anymore in the Shutokou Battle games (but accepted to license
Kaido Battle series though). Obviously, the licensed makers refused to condone illegal reckless highway racing, as a consequence, the game's concept was slightly modified with the traffic definitely removed.
=Car List=
Entry Cars
'TOYOTA'
★ (AE86T) Sprinter Trueno GT A'pex 3DOOR ''1985''
★ (AE86L) Corolla Levin GT A'pex 3DOOR ''1985''
★ (JZA80) Supra Type RZ TWIN TURBO ''1993''
★ (JZX100) Chaser Tourer-V TURBO ''1998''
★ (SW20) MR2 GT ''1997''
★ (XE10) Altezza RS200 "Z EDITION" ''1998''
'NISSAN'
★ (RPS13) 180SX type X ''1994''
★ (S13) SILVIA K's 2000cc ''1988''
★ (S14) Silvia K's AERO SE ''1996''
★ (Z32) Fairlady Z Version S Twin Turbo 2 seater ''1998''
★ (R32) Skyline GT-R V-spec II ''1994''
★ (R33) Skyline GT-R V-spec ''1995''
★ (Y33C) CEDRIC BROUGHAM VIP ''1997''
★ (Y33G) GLORIA Gran Turismo ULTIMA ''1997''
'MAZDA'
★ (FC) SAVANNA RX-7 ∞-III ''1989''
★ (FD) RX-7 Type RS ''1995''
★ (MX5) Miata Eunos roadster ''1985''
★ (MX5) Miata MX5 ''2000''
'MITSUBISHI'
★ (CE9A) Lancer GSR Evolution III ''1995''
★ (CP9A) Lancer GSR Evolution VI ''1999''
'SUBARU'
★ (GC8) Impreza 2DOOR WRX type R STi Version V ''1997''
'HONDA'
★ (DC2) Integra type R 3DOOR spec'98 ''1998''
★ (EK9) Civic type R spec'98 ''1998''
★ (NA2) NSX type S Zero ''1997''
Extra Cars
'HONDA'
★ (AP1) S2000 ''1999''
'NISSAN'
★ (S15) Silvia Spec-R ''1999''
★ (R34) Skyline GT-R V-spec ''1999''
★ (S30) Fairlady Z ''1975'' (Wangan Midnight tuned version)
'PORSCHE'
★ (930) 911 Turbo ''1989'' (Wangan Midnight tuned version)
Special Cars
'FOUR DEVAS'
★ (FDD) Midnight Cinderella's RX-7 ''1999'' (flame version)
★ (NA2D) Banshee's NSX ''1999'' (flame version)
★
★ Banshee's '''only' available in the Japanese edition''
'FOUR DEVILS'
★ (JZA80D) Exhaust Eve's Supra ''1999'' (racing stripes version)
★ (R34D) Raven Blood's Skyline ''1999'' (red tuned version)
'INITIAL D'
★ (AE86TD) Takumi Fujiwara's Trueno ''1999'' (Fujiwara Tofu Shop "Home Delivery" version)
★
★ '''only' available in the Japanese edition''
'MITSUBISHI'
★ (GFLF) Eclipse GS-T ''1999''
★ (GFLS) Eclipse Spyder GT ''1999''
★
★ '''not' available in the Japanese edition''