If you are either a fan of the anime or the arcades of Initial D, then you are REALLY going to love this game!
User Rating: 10 | Initial D Special Stage PS2
Initial D Special Stage is a nicely done racing game that is based on the Arcade Stage games where you buy memory cards where you have parts for the car you chosen and race against the characters from the anime. If you're familiar with the anime, manga and arcades of Initial D, then you're right at home with this game. Note: you need to either buy a modchip, mod your PS2 hard drive with HD Advance or get an imported japanese PS2 because this game is only in Japan. The soundtrack is really good since it's straight from the original anime (not the Tokyopop licensed one) and the characters you've known from the anime and manga are there too: Takumi, Itsuki (Iggy), Iketani (Cole), K.T. (Keisuke Takahashi), Ry (Ryosuke); they're all there. One great thing about this game is that the characters actually talk while the race is on. If you saw the japanese anime, then you'll know the voice acting immediately. Mountain passes are tricky since there's lots of hairpin corners but a little practice and you'll rule them all. Controls are pretty good too since the cars handle like in the arcade. One thing you can do if you play this game is play it like you would in the arcade: shift down once and brake then turn... pretty easy, huh? A story mode was added in the game too and you're basically playing the role of Takumi and Keisuke (only on some courses). As Takumi, you're basically reenacting the entire anime from the first to the fourth stage so the anime is sort of like your test to see if you remember how it happened and if you can do it exactly like that. Keisuke's part is the same too like when he raced Takeshi uphill on Myogi. Story mode was well-done and also hard at the same time. Might take a while to pass it and might take even MORE longer if you haven't seen the anime. Great anime based racing game and even great soundtrack. gotta love eurobeat...compliments of Avex. This game is a great racing arcade console-style and one of the reasons to mod your console. I liked this game and you might like it too.
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