Developer.....AM R&D DEPT. #2 Publisher.....Sega Players.......1 Difficulty....Easy to Hard
It's been five years since the Japanese got their version of the game, and I have to say that it hasn't really aged much. Converted from the hit Model 2 arcade board, this features multiple NASCAR cars racing around three different tracks, from the oval 777 Speedway to the advanced and expert courses which feature tight corners and break-neck straights. As in the superior Sega Rally, the game used complex texture mapped environments and creates a realistic, speedy 'simulation' of NASCAR racing.
Porting the game to the Saturn wasn't really an easy task. Firstly, the graphics are pretty rough and the PAL conversion is poor. Still, the graphics rarely slow down and move pretty fast. There's no arguing that this was a rush job, because the Saturn can do much better.
Secondly, the two player mode has gone. Many may be very unhappy about this but it doesn't seem to matter so much because it's so much fun. If you find it difficult to handle one car, you simply choose another.
Sound-wise, it's very odd. Clear music and fx but a very Japanese style of music, but I ended up feeling like singing to the words that I knew. Pretty cool.
Basically, it's not really close to the arcade visually, but it was one of the first Saturn games and paved the way for better games graphically. However, this is undeniably playable and one you'll go back to, if only for the myriad of great cheats or to beat your best times using the decent range of cars (and, dare I say it, horses!). Great fun, and worth shelling out the couple of quid for, rather than going out to buy some of the more recent (and expensive) titles which are inferior. You could always go for Daytona: Championship Circuit Edition, which features better graphics, a split-screen mode, more cars and more tracks, but the playability has taken a slight back-seat.
Graphics: 75% Audio: 83% Originality: 45% Lastability: 90% Gameplay: 90%
Overall: 87%
For some cheats, click here to download. Alternatively, click here to see Frequently-Asked Questions about the game from GameFAQs.Com.