Daytona USA

This game will certainly go down in history as a classic. Few games have realized such a transmission of visceral thrill and emotional competitiveness to the extent that Daytona has. The force-feedback steering is amazingly responsive and adds incredibly to the gameplay, allowing players to feel the road, and the bumps and impacts of other cars. The stunning graphics suck the player right in, even the smallest detail (like yachts bobbing independently in the water) was paid considerable attention. The games superb physics model allows for depth and complexity that, in my opinion, has rarely been matched. To me, this game allows the player to refine his skills, and inject his own style and finesse into the gameplay, in a manner that brings to mind the feeling of becoming an expert Asteroids or Star Wars player. Daytona does it right in just about every possible way. Arguably the greatest racing game ever made. The American twin is the most common model, and has a sturdy cabinet, aside from a tendency for the seat-rails to be damaged. The twin is truly that, each "half" contains it's own Sega/Martin-Marietta Model2 board set, monitor, speakers, controls, seat, etc. Only the coin-box is shared. The deluxe featured a beautiful molded plastic race car body, and a 50" projection television monitor. The Japanese twin features an open metal "U" rail where the U.S. version has solid wood lower sides, a 29 inch monitor without monitor glass, better seats and a better seat-adjust knob, and rug flooring, rather than the corrugated rubber of the U.S. model. 4 twins, or 8 deluxe games can be linked by means of fibre-optic cable to enable up to 8 players to compete within the same race.

REVERSE TRACKS - All courses can be run in reverse. If you score high enough in this mode to earn a place the ranking table, your name will appear with the letter "R" next to it.

TIME ATTACK MODE - At the Transmission Selection screen, hold the start button and press the accelerator. In Time Attack Mode, only the cars controlled by players are shown in action. If you score high enough to rank in this mode, the letters "T.A." are shown next to your record in the ranking table.

HIDDEN MUSIC - If you play well enough to make the high score table. You can enter special intitials at the Name Entry Screen to hear music of some of SEGA's classic games. Enter "H.O." to hear music from Hang-On. Enter "V.R." to hear music from Virtua Racing. Check the Saturn tips section for the complete listing of intials that play special songs in the Saturn version of Daytona USA; many if not all of these will work in the arcade game.

SPECIAL ENDING - To view a special ending scene, you must finish in third place or better in every course. On a "Twin type" machine, this scene can only be viewed if just one player is racing.

CHANGE BACKGROUND MUSIC - Change the background buttons while the game starts to access different music tracks.

SECRET VIEW - To get an overall view of the race condition during gameplay, hold the start button and simultaneously press view change buttons 2, 3, AND 4.

BEGINNER COURSE TIP - A slot machine hangs over the Beginner Course. When driving near it, press the start button three times to stop the slots from turning. If you score all "7"s, you will earn seven extra seconds of game time. If you score three "BAR"s, You will earn five extra seconds of time. This only works once per game and does not work on "TWIN" machines.

INTERMEDIATE COURSE TIP - If you drive into the elevated path just before the pit road, a billboad will appear that reads "You Just Lost Your Sponsors".

EXPERT COURSE TIPS - If you stop on the last corner, the seagulls will get closer to your car. If you drive the in the reverse mode on the second lap, the staute of Jeffry wil be standing on its hands. If you stop completly near the jeffery statue you can make it spin by repeatedly pressing the start button. When the game starts, press the start button repeatedly. To make the seagulls become larger up to four times larger.

SPECIAL "TWIN TYPE" OPTIONS - The "Twin Type" DAYTONA USA machines have two secret modes which can only be activated by the arcade owner or technician through the game test menus. Ask your arcade operator to activate the "Grand Prix" or "Endurance" modes to make the races longer! In Grand Prix mode, the Beginner course is 20 laps, intermediate is 10 laps and expert is 5 laps. In Endurance mode, the Beginner course is 80 laps, Intermediate is 40 laps, and Expert is 20 laps.

NO HANDICAP MODE - The game keeps races close by increasing the top speed of any car that is not in first place, which gives all players a chance to catch up. To disable this option (On "Twin Type" games only), press all four view change buttons at the course selection screen. A small white point will appear in the upper left corner of the screen. In multi-player races, No Handicap Mode will only be activated if more than half of the players enter this code. If the machine is configured for Grand Prix mode or Endurance mode as described above, entering the No Handicap Mode will have added effect of wearing away your tires during game. The amount of tire wear depends on your milage and speed.

This game can be exchanged with other Sega model 2 racing/driving titles such as Sega Rally Championship. Just unplug the cable connected to the filter board and plug into the new game that you want in the existing cabinet.