Daytona USA 2001

Daytona USA 2001
Japanese Dreamcast cover art
Developer(s) Amusement Vision
Genki
Publisher(s) Sega
Hasbro Interactive (Japan and North America)
Infogrames (Europe)
Platform(s) Dreamcast
Release
  • JP: December 21, 2000
  • NA: March 12, 2001
  • EU: May 11, 2001
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Daytona USA 2001, known in North America simply as Daytona USA, is a racing arcade game developed by Sega and Genki which is a complete revamp of Daytona USA for release on the Dreamcast platform. This version features every single course from the original Daytona USA game and the Championship Circuit Edition. Three new tracks were also specially designed for this game ('Rin Rin Rink', 'Circuit Pixie' and 'Mermaid Lake'), and all of the tracks are playable normally, in reverse, mirrored, or in reverse-mirrored mode.

The game's graphics were significantly updated from previous home installments of Daytona USA, more resembling the likes of Daytona USA 2. It was also playable online, allowing for competition between up to four players and uploading/downloading of best times and ghost car information, although the online options were removed from the PAL version. The Dreamcast's online servers for both Alien Front Online and Daytona USA 2001 were taken down permanently by mistake as a result of the developers hard-coding the IP-address to the servers in the game and Sega giving away a network block that belonged to AT&T.[1] Another addition to Daytona USA 2001 was the Championship mode, where the player must place above a certain point in the overall rankings to progress, culminating in the King of Daytona Cup.

This version tends to be criticized for poor controls. The analog stick's default setting is extremely sensitive, but that can be corrected in the options screen (except in the Japanese version). However, the game still does not handle exactly like the original arcade version of Daytona USA even when using a racing wheel. The physics, handling, and control are different from the arcade version. Though it is likely that the game has its game mechanics derived from Shutokō Battle 2, and was designed with analog controls in mind and therefore doesn't play as easily on a joypad as the Sega Saturn versions which used a standard d-pad.

Courses

Daytona USA 2001 retains all the tracks from the original Daytona USA and Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition, all of them was represented by names given in the Championship Circuit Edition:

  • Three Seven Speedway: located in the gambling metropolis, Las Segas.
  • Dinosaur Canyon: taking its name from a giant dinosaur fossil, this course winds its way through a deep canyon.
  • Sea-Side Street Galaxy: the longest street course of the series, starting from Starlight Bridge.
  • National Park Speedway: built in the largest amusement park in the world.
  • Desert City: the course surrounding a desert oasis, with balloons and trains coming out to greet the drivers.

The game also adds three new and exclusive circuits:

  • Circuit Pixie: the oval speedway course built in a forest once said to contain fairies.
  • Rin Rin Rink: a course built on a swamp, consisting on a series of curves and a long straightaway.
  • Mermaid Lake: a figure 8 course.

Soundtrack

The Daytona USA 2001 soundtrack is a mix of remixed and original music:

  • Let's Go Away (Introduction; a shortened version of the Dinosaur Canyon course theme, remixed from the original Daytona USA theme)
  • The King Of Speed (Three Seven Speedway; a remix of the original Daytona USA theme)
  • Let's Go Away (Dinosaur Canyon; a remix of the original Daytona USA theme)
  • Sky High (Seaside Street Galaxy; a remix of the original Daytona USA theme)

The courses taken from Daytona USA: Championship Circuit Edition do not have their original themes; instead, new songs are used in place of Funk Fair, The Noisy Roars of Wilderness, and Pounding Pavement. Race to the Bass and the Daytona USA Medley do not appear either. The new songs are not given names in-game, and with the lack of an official soundtrack CD; it is assumed they are named after their respective courses.

In addition to the above themes, Daytona USA 2001 also features different remixed music for the mirror and mirror-reversed versions of the courses. Theme music from the original Daytona USA arcade machine is selected at random and used as title screen music - these songs can be found in the Sound Test from track 48 onwards.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings83%[2]
Metacritic86/100[3]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame[4]
Edge8/10[5]
EGM9/10[6]
Eurogamer7/10[7]
Famitsu34/40[8]
Game Informer7/10[9]
GamePro[10]
Game RevolutionB−[11]
GameSpot8.6/10[12]
GameSpy7.5/10[13]
IGN9.3/10[14]
Maxim8/10[15]

The game was met with positive reception upon release, as GameRankings gave it a score of 83%,[2] while Metacritic gave it 86 out of 100.[3] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 31 out of 40.[8]

References

  1. ↑ dcserv.org. "Resources". www.dcserv.org. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Daytona USA for Dreamcast". GameRankings. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Daytona USA for Dreamcast Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Jon. "Daytona USA (DC) - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Edge staff (February 2001). "Daytona USA 2001". Edge (94).
  6. ↑ "Daytona USA (DC)". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 2001.
  7. ↑ Bramwell, Tom (April 19, 2001). "Daytona [USA] 2001 (DC)". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "ドリームキャスト - DAYTONA USA 2001". Famitsu. 915: 52. June 30, 2006.
  9. ↑ "Daytona USA (DC)". Game Informer. 2001.
  10. ↑ Dan Elektro (March 22, 2001). "Daytona USA Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ G-Wok (March 2001). "Daytona USA Review (DC)". Game Revolution. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ Provo, Frank (March 13, 2001). "Daytona USA Review (DC)". GameSpot. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  13. ↑ Vash T. Stampede (March 26, 2001). "Daytona USA". PlanetDreamcast. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ Chau, Anthony (March 14, 2001). "Daytona USA 2001". IGN. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  15. ↑ Boyce, Ryan (March 14, 2001). "Daytona USA (DC)". Maxim. Archived from the original on April 17, 2001. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
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