Kaido Battle vs. Initial D vs. others

2DGaming · Post by **2DGaming** » Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:54 pm

I am not a huge fan of racers at all but just recently my gf bought a PS2 that came along with a couple of games, one of them being GT4. Surprisingly I found myself enjoying that quite a bit.

I own a JPS2 and have been searching around Play-Asia and Yesasia for some possible racers and came across these two titles - Kaido Battle and Initial D. I know about Initial D since I have watched the anime before and seen it in the arcade but I know nothing about Kaido Battle.

I am looking at the possibility of picking up a racer but not too sure whats good. I need a comparison between Kaido Battle and Initial D and also any other recommendations. I am looking at a arcadey-ish racer that is fast pace and overall enjoyable for a non-racer fan. Please no Need for Speed or Burnout. Thank you.

it290 · Post by **it290** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 1:38 am

I haven't played Kaido but I have played the Shutokou Battle games and those are probably my favorite racers ever. Kaido is developed by the same folks and is supposed to be even better, so I would recommend that unless you are a big fan of the Initial D setting, although Initial D is quite a good game as well. Also Outrun Coast 2 Coast is due out soon and looks like its shaping up well so you may want to check that one out too.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:02 am

Well I recently imported Kaido Battle 3 on ps2. It's official title is Kaido Battle: Touge No Densetsu. I'm finding it totally superior to the ps2 release of Initial D, although Touge No Densetsu requires a seriously larger time investment to get into. It is not enjoyable for a non-racer fan.

ahnslaught · Post by **ahnslaught** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:32 am

Thunder Force,

Hi, I'm pretty new to the forums, and I was looking at this thread cause I love my racing games (mainly GP racers like GPL, F1 series, etc...) and I saw you list kaido battle 3.

It looks awesome, but I was wondering how accessible this game is to non-japanese speaking folk like me (I've been looking for a mountain racing game lately, and I was waiting for the new Tokyo drift racer aka kaido battle 1 for US PS2 coming out in March, I think?)

VNAF Ace · Post by **VNAF Ace** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:16 am

I haven't played Kaido Battle before, but I have played Initial D: Arcade Stage.

From what I've read... Initial D: Special Stage for the PS2 was a pretty good arcade racer.

BTW, you should also try Ridge Racer (the orginal drift racer). Some of the best arcade racing games you'll ever play.
- Ridge Racer (PS1) (No analog control.)
- Ridge Racer Revolution (PS1) (No analog control.)
- Rage Racer (PS1) (No analog control.)
- R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (PS1)
- Ridge Racer V (PS2)

I included some info about analog control just in case you cared.

Warning: Ridge Racer games start off easy but get insanely hard at the end. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is easy if you don't care about unlocking every single car. Ridge Racer V is also easy if you just play it on easy mode.

Thunder Force · Post by **Thunder Force** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 4:10 am

ahnslaught wrote:It looks awesome, but I was wondering how accessible this game is to non-japanese speaking folk like me

It's reasonably import-friendly. If you're familiar with the structure of the Tokyo Xtreme Racer titles then you'll know what to do here as it's basically the same, except you pick your opponents from a parking lot instead of driving around for them and flashing your lights. The all-important car tuning menus are labelled in English. The storyline is told completely in Japanese through simulated emails and BBS posts you receive, and sometimes reply to, but that usually just comes down to accepting challenges or not with a Yes/No. If you don't mind button-pressing your way through a few pages of japanese text on the BBSes beteen every handful of few races, then I'd say go for it.

Last Guardian · Post by **Last Guardian** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:26 pm

ahnslaught wrote: It looks awesome, but I was wondering how accessible this game is to non-japanese speaking folk like me (I've been looking for a mountain racing game lately, and I was waiting for the new Tokyo drift racer aka kaido battle 1 for US PS2 coming out in March, I think?)

If the Pal release of 'Kaido Racer' is anything to go by I think there's a great chance that it's the same game that you are waiting for. It's released by Konami over here so there's a big chance they're publishing it in the U.S. as well.
The only misleading bit is that this game is actually Kaido Battle 2. I think that since this is the first Kaido game to get a western release they didn't give it it's prefix (or whatever it's called).

I'd say wait two weeks and give it a little local support

Ganelon · Post by **Ganelon** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 6:30 pm

I hope it's coming to the US. Kaido Battle 1 was supposed to have come here like a year ago but was killed off just before release...

2DGaming · Post by **2DGaming** » Tue Feb 14, 2006 8:26 pm

Kaido Battle is good then. The impression I am getting is Kaido Battle is a great game and better than Initial D. What about Wangan Midnight? Anyone know how this game stacks up againts Kaido Battle?

ahnslaught · Post by **ahnslaught** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:11 am

Last Guardian wrote:
ahnslaught wrote: The only misleading bit is that this game is actually Kaido Battle 2. I think that since this is the first Kaido game to get a western release they didn't give it it's prefix (or whatever it's called).

I'd say wait two weeks and give it a little local support

Maybe you're right...plus, the $20 price tag makes it very attractive as well

Last Guardian · Post by **Last Guardian** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:02 pm

2DGaming wrote:Kaido Battle is good then. The impression I am getting is Kaido Battle is a great game and better than Initial D. What about Wangan Midnight? Anyone know how this game stacks up againts Kaido Battle?

Dunno for sure but from what I understand Wangan Midnight is a prequel/spin-off from the Shutokou battle (Tokyo Xtreme racer in US) games. Wangan is the name of a stretch of Highway around/near Tokyo in these games. Kaido series is for drifting and sliding your modded rides around twisty mountain roads like Initial D.

Post by **Ghegs** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:12 pm

Last Guardian wrote:Dunno for sure but from what I understand Wangan Midnight is a prequel/spin-off from the Shutokou battle (Tokyo Xtreme racer in US) games.

I would say it's neither, since Wangan Midnight is by Namco and Shutokou games are by Genki. Totally different series with different gameplay, it's just the setting that is similar.

Last Guardian · Post by **Last Guardian** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:14 pm

No, the Arcade game (maximum tune ?) is by Namco, the PS2 game is by Genki and is a bit older.

Post by **Ghegs** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:45 pm

Last Guardian wrote:No, the Arcade game (maximum tune ?) is by Namco, the PS2 game is by Genki and is a bit older.

Ah, well. The point still stands. I don't think any of Genki's own racers have ever been seen in the arcades.

Post by **nZero** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 10:07 pm

Ghegs wrote:
Last Guardian wrote:No, the Arcade game (maximum tune ?) is by Namco, the PS2 game is by Genki and is a bit older.
Ah, well. The point still stands. I don't think any of Genki's own racers have ever been seen in the arcades.

The original Wangan Midnight first appeared in the arcade on the Namco System 246 hardware and was later ported to the PS2. This was the one produced by Genki for Namco using the Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero engine.

The only problem I have with the game is the rubber-band AI in the arcade mode. The extra modes in the PS2 version are a lot more fun.

tekneekz · Post by **tekneekz** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:20 pm

so which one is the best for ps2? i have money for one game. kaido battle 3, battle gear 3, wangan midnight, or the new tokyo extreme racer : drift coming soon?