Sega Touring Car Championship
One man's trash...
Sega. For a lot of people Sega means a lot of different things. To some Sega can be Sonic the Hedgehog, its flagship franchise. To other people it could mean any of their other franchises whether current or historical like Shinobi, Yakuza, Virtua Fighter, etc. To me, Sega is means personality and innovation. The days of Sega creating home consoles is long gone, and they sit currently as a solid 3rd party publisher and developer with some good IP's, but what about the Sega of old? The legacy Sega has and will leave on video games as as whole is undeniable, but one place I feel like they left one of their biggest marks are with racing games. Sega wasn't the company to create racing games, but they were a purveyor of new ideas and pushing the boundaries of what video games could look and play like. As far back as Monaco GP to Outrun, from Virtua Racing to Daytona USA 2, their evolution of technology made it so that the modern racing game whether arcade or simulation still has its roots Sega's old racers. Of these legendary racing games, I would argue there isn't one that is as divisive as Sega Touring Car Championship.
Sega Touring Car Championship originally started similar to a lot of other racing games in the 90's as an arcade game released in 1996. Touring car racing itself has a long history, but the main premise and appeal of touring cars is not in the speed of the cars but rather endurance. The main requirement of what makes a touring car a touring car is that it must keep its original production body, but every other racing component is customizable to a racing team's liking. Because of the stock bodies, the cars are less aerodynamic than formula racing making it easier for passes and making for a more physical type of racing akin to NASCAR. After watching several highlights and broadcasts of races, it feels like a slightly slower but more varied version of F1, I'll include one here if you're curious on what actual Touring Car races are like. The nature of the bulkier vehicles leads to either lengthier endurance grand prix racing or short sprints, which is the focus of Sega Touring Car Championship. Similar to Sega Rally Championship before it, Sega was able to license the likeness of different car brands like Toyota, Mercedes, Opel and Alfa Romeo cars that included in both Japanese and European touring car competitions adding an extra layer of realism to the experience. When you start the game, you play a qualifying lap on the first course which determines your starting position. This is similar to actual Touring Car competitions, where the day prior racers have a chance to race in a qualifying lap that fills the same function. Then you play 3 2-lap races and whoever has the best cumulative times across all 3 courses is crowned champion and gets to go onto a bonus round on a secret track. This formula was brought over to the Sega Saturn in 1997 for a home port, but also includes a new "Saturn Side" with some content exclusive to the the console. Let's go into how Sega Touring Car Championship actually holds up and if it's something that is worth your time.
Earlier I said that this game was divisive, but why? That main reason across all versions is the control and difficulty, then for the home port also includes the frame rate. Across these 2-lap races, your car is moving at what feels like a gajillion miles an hour, and controlling your car isn't exactly the easiest. If you're playing the game with a standard Saturn controller on the arcade side, your inputs are so sluggish it feels like your car isn't doing anything. On the opposite hand, with analog controls sometimes your car is too slippery and sudden movements cause your vehicle to careen towards the nearest barricade. That's not all, because there's also road layout that you have to worry about, so even if you're turning at full force it doesn't come out because the tires aren't touching the road the right way and its too late. What Sega Touring Car asks of you is essentially mastery of not only it's difficult controls but also its courses, and unlike Sega Rally Championship you don't have a co-pilot to assist with upcoming turns, you just have to know them already. This makes for an experience that if you play the game for a short period of time, say an hour or two total, is frustrating and incomplete. Even if you do make it to the final race and get 1st place, you can still place 3rd or 4th overall because of a lackluster performance on the previous races because the times are calculated cumulatively. However, with some time investment to the game and its courses, you'll find that the game is rewarding to nail turns, speed past your opponents and come out on top! The last track, Bricktown, is especially rewarding to master, as the road layout affects how your tires grip the tight turns, so when you're able to maintain your speed throughout the track it's a great feeling. This also mainly applies to the "Arcade Side" of the home port, because the "Saturn Side" does have more tuning options to adjust your controls to suit your playstyle. However, you do have to fully complete both sides to get all of the unlockables in the game, so you might as well try and get used to the arcade controls. One thing that you aren't able to control however is the frame rate.
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| Previews of the Saturn edition of Sega Touring Car Championship from Sega Saturn Magazine (JP, 7/11/1997 issue) |
Presentation-wise, Sega Touring Car Championship on the Saturn isn't the prettiest game by any stretch of the means. Because of the speed of the game, the framerate is pretty variable compared to other racing games on the console like Sega Rally Championship or Daytona USA Circuit Edition. This makes for some frustrating slowdown on some tracks that are a bit more graphically intense like Bricktown Circuit for example. The road also appears a bit strange as well, seemingly warping behind you as you speed by. This framerate slightly improves on the Saturn side of the game, especially the time trials because you're the only car on the track while racing. The models of the cars themselves are detailed with appropriate sponsors for the cars at the time, and the sequences before each track whether a pit stop or a rolling start do add to the overall style of the game. Speaking of style, the music, menus and physical game case are always a nice touch to a game to give it that little extra something, and Sega Touring Car Championship doesn't disappoint. Starting with the in game menus, the car select screen is taken straight from the arcade game, and previews of tracks are given before racing on each course. The standings screens and game over jingle are fun too, not quite on the same level as some other Sega racing games but additive to the presentation nonetheless. The music overall is pretty varied with several choices for your listening experience, including some eurobeat tracks like "So High" from Channel X, a trance selection of songs as well as some Sega produced songs including songs from composer Hiro of Outrun and After Burner fame. The tracks definitely add a flair and sense of speed to the experience that makes it feel even more like a Sega racer. Next, the case and manual. I'll be taking a look at the Japanese copy that I have, which features a full color manual and some other goodies. I appreciate the cover art of the cars zooming down a speedway with the crowd blurred behind them because of the speed, along with thanking the sponsors for allowing the use of their vehicles in the game. The manual is pretty standard fair going over the different controls, modes along with some tips and tricks for racing. It also has some details on a Sega Global Net Event which I'll talk a little bit more about later. Afterwards, there is some renders of the cars (most likely from the arcade game) along with some specs, and layouts of the 3 main tracks from the arcade game as well. Lastly, aside from the spine card and registration card that was featured with Japanese games that came in jewel cases is another small flyer with information about the Net Event.
The main reason I had written this article (outside of enjoying my Sega Saturn and this game) was that I recently had an opportunity to play this game in a competition with fellow Sega Saturn enthusiast over at the Sega Saturn Shiro! Discord for their first ever community challenge. The competition itself was a great time getting to connect with people over a game that is underappreciated and niche even by arcade racers. With that being said, I do have a little bias, as I was fortunate and tenacious enough to actually win a category in the competition (Arcade Side, Championship)! The competition itself was pretty stiff, and I wasn't expecting to save as much time as I did, but having someone else to go up against to push your times lower is a great motivator. So I might have a bit more bias in favor of this game compared to people that play it casually, but its my blog so yeah. I'll link the article reviewing the competition below, and I look forward to competing in the future!
With all that being said, is Sega Touring Car Championship a must have for the console? A must play experience for racing game fans? No, I wouldn't say so. However, it does scratch an itch with its presentation and learning curve for fans of the genre. It's also still a Sega Saturn exclusive, so all the more reason to give my favorite console a little more love. It also opened my eyes to another type of racing I wasn't aware of, as well as a good little competition that made me feel more connected with people cut from the same cloth, which I'll always appreciate. If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I'll include any links I used for reference or research down below, as well as the competition article I mentioned (I'm QBerT in the article :D). Keep an eye out for more posts in the future, I'm always open to suggestions on what I should cover or games to look at.
Shiro Article:
Game References:
https://www.discogs.com/release/21960040-Various-Sega-TouringCar-Championship
https://retrocdn.net/images/4/4c/SSM_JP_19970711_1997-23.pdf
https://segaretro.org/images/f/fb/STCC_SS_jp_manual.pdf
https://segaretro.org/Sega_Touring_Car_Championship
Touring Car References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_car_racing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Japan_Grand_Touring_Car_Championship
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Deutsche_Tourenwagen_Meisterschaft
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