F355 Challenge

F355 Challenge is a racing simulation arcade video game based on the actual race car and Ferrari event. It was developed by the AM2 division of Sega for the Sega Naomi Multiboard arcade system board under the direction of Yu Suzuki, and was later ported to the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 home video game consoles under the names F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa and Ferrari F355 Challenge respectively for both American and European releases. The only model of car featured in the game is the Ferrari F355 Challenge model. The game was considered the most accurate simulation of the F355 possible up until that time.[2]

F355 Challenge
Developer(s)Sega AM2
CRI (Dreamcast)
Tose Co., Ltd. (Playstation 2)
Publisher(s)Sega (Arcade and NTSC PS2)
Acclaim (Dreamcast)
Sony (PAL PS2)
Designer(s)Yu Suzuki (director/producer)
Platform(s)Arcade, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
ReleaseArcade
July 1999
January 2001
(F355 Challenge 2: International Course Edition Arcade)[1]
  • JP: January 2001
Dreamcast
  • JP: August 3, 2000
  • NA: September 19, 2000
  • EU: October 20, 2000
PlayStation 2
  • JP: September 26, 2002
  • EU: September 27, 2002
  • NA: September 28, 2002
Genre(s)Racing simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade systemSega NAOMI Multiboard

Some versions of the arcade cabinet are noteworthy for having three screens, allowing the player to look through the side windows as they would in a real car. The three-screen cabinet version also features an H-shaped gear stick and three foot pedals, and presents a tough challenge to any player who decides to use them. The cabinet itself is composed of four NAOMI units: one for each of the three screens and one to sync them all. The game also allows the player to use an automatic transmission or paddle-shift the gears. It also uses a real-time "Magic Weather" system similar to Shenmue.[3] The Dreamcast version has link cable play for direct competition; however, as of January 2006, the online servers for F355 Challenge are now offline, and the website has gone offline.

The game features an original soundtrack featuring Genki Hitomi and Minoru Niihara that mimics the style of 1980s hard rock/heavy metal which is integrated into a radio station format during gameplay (some music was later reused for another AM2 game, Shenmue). The radio DJ and the announcer are played by Alan J (Alan John Peppler), an American DJ who works at the Japanese radio station Bay FM.

Yu Suzuki is a keen Ferrari enthusiast who allegedly used data from his own Ferrari 355 at certain tracks to implement in the game during its development.[4]

Circuits
Sega F355 Challenge three screen arcade unit

The 1999 arcade version of the game includes six circuits:

In addition, the home console versions of the game include five extra unlockable circuits:

All these circuits can be unlocked by either finishing in certain positions in a certain race or championship, driving over a certain cumulative distance in the game, or by entering a password in a revealable password entry screen. These tracks were also included in the F355 Challenge 2: International Course Edition arcade machine, released in 2001.[5]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed F355 Challenge on their January 1, 2000 issue as being the seventh most-successful dedicated arcade game of the year.[23]

John Gaudiosi reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "F355 offers plenty of eye candy and deep gameplay for dedicated, hardcore Ferrari aficionados."[20]

The Dreamcast version received "favorable" reviews, while the PlayStation 2 version received "average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[6][7] The Dreamcast version was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Driving Game" award among console games, losing to Test Drive Le Mans.[24]

See also

References
  1. "F355 Challenge 2: International Course Edition (Japanese Release)". gamervision. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. Wiley, M (19 September 2000). "F355 Challenge (DC)". IGN. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20101123004347/http://gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=418
  4. Dan Trent (21 July 2020). "Sega's F355 Challenge versus ... the real thing". Autoblog. Retrieved 15 October 2020. The game’s creator, Yu Suzuki, had already put a generation into the driver’s seats of Ferraris in the legendary Outrun. His success gave him the means to buy one for real, inspiring a near-obsessional desire to share the joy of driving it with gamers the world over. If Outrun was a bit of cheesy, throwaway fun, though, F355 Challenge was the real deal. Suzuki genuinely wanted you to feel you were at the wheel of a Ferrari. And put his heart and soul into making the experience as authentic as possible, the iconic arcade machine requiring a separate Dreamcast processor for each of its three screens.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. "F355 Challenge 2 - International Course Edition". The Arcade Flyer Archive. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  6. "F355 Challenge for Dreamcast Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  7. "Ferrari F355 Challenge for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  8. Edge staff (October 2000). "F355 Challenge (DC)". Edge (89).
  9. Helgeson, Matt (December 2000). "F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa (DC)". Game Informer (92): 124.
  10. Kato, Matthew (November 2002). "Ferrari F355 Challenge". Game Informer (115): 128. Archived from the original on 24 February 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  11. Dan Elektro (28 November 2000). "F355 Challenge Review for Dreamcast on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  12. Kilo Watt (23 September 2002). "Ferrari F355 Challenge Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on 14 February 2005. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  13. G-Wok (October 2000). "F355 Challenge Review (DC)". Game Revolution. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  14. Ajami, Amer (17 August 2000). "F355 Challenge Review (DC)". GameSpot. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  15. Ajami, Amer (2 October 2002). "Ferrari F355 Challenge Review (PS2)". GameSpot. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  16. Holy Hand Grenade (13 October 2000). "F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa". PlanetDreamcast. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  17. Murrin, John (20 October 2002). "GameSpy: Ferrari F355 Challenge (PS2)". GameSpy. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  18. Krause, Kevin (8 October 2002). "Ferrari F355 Challenge Review - PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  19. Perry, Douglass C. (30 September 2002). "Ferrari F355 Challenge (PS2)". IGN. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  20. Gaudiosi, John (January 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4 no. 1. Imagine Media. p. 94.
  21. "Ferrari F355 Challenge". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: 147. October 2002.
  22. "Review: Ferrari F355 Challenge". PSM: 50. November 2002.
  23. "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - 完成品夕イプのTVゲーム機 (Dedicated Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 602. Amusement Press, Inc. 1 January 2000. p. 25.
  24. GameSpot Staff (January 5, 2001). "Best and Worst of 2000". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 13, 2002.

Official websites

General resources
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