Became my favorite racing game of all time in under half an hour.
I had no doubts when I purchased it; I can't think of any bad first party Sega arcade games to hit a console. Actually, the only time I ever had a doubt was the first time I played it and encountered the abysmal default analog sensitivity. I really have no idea what Mr. Ikawaya Iset Thedefaults was thinking, but he really messed up.
After toying with the defaults a bit though, you'll find one of the funnest, most enjoyable racing games of all time. Now, I'm one of those people who, in a racing game, wants realism, but doesn't want to sit and tool with the options menu and my virtual junker's engine. For one, though I like gameplay to be engrossing, I just DON'T CARE, and for two, I don't know all that much about car engines.
Though I'm not about to say that Gran Turismo isn't a great series, I am gonna say that it's nowhere near as well suited for me as Daytona USA; thus this review will have more tilt than a hardcore racing fan might like.
The arcadey feel really brings the game to life; no other racing game looks like Daytona USA. But, while arcadey, the game's visuals are immensely impressive, like most of the Dreamcast's titles.
The only bad thing to be said about the whole damn game is its soundtrack. While expertly recorded, I just don't feel this music. This is a racing game, I want something more upbeat. I mean, at least as upbeat as Super Hang-On or Afterburner or something. Not the weird broken Japanese Reggae R&B nonsense. I dunno, I've just always felt that Sega doesn't quite understand that America doesn't care about reggae anymore, as so expertly exemplified in Shenmue.
Regardless, the game looks great, you can get it for a great value, and above all; it plays great... once you tweek the analog. If you have a Dreamcast, and any taste in the least for racing games, pick up Daytona USA, you'll love it.