Racing Lagoon

[Zeether]

This game really should have made it here. Square had planned a US release and it never came, which is a damn shame because this is a great mix of racing and RPG. It would be nice if someone translated this because it's very heavily story driven and although you can play it without knowing much Japanese you miss out on the story bits.

[Ganelon]

The RPG bit is sort of a misnomer though. While it did start up the free-roaming driving in-between races (that's now featured in many street racers), customizations and upgrades were in Shutokou Battle long before. I'm a huge fan of its killer jazz soundtrack though.

EDIT: typos

[Zeether]

Yeah. I love the highway area music.