Thanks for the enjoyable overview of the game. Being the resident racing nut/gear head at Time Warner, I designed the new tracks and extra vehicles trying my best to be true to Mr.Suzuki’s original vision. This was my first 3D project so obviously I still had a lot to learn. Fortunately we came together as a team and ended up with something we were proud of!
Thank you so much for watching, AND for helping make this terrific game. Great to hear from another developer! You did an outstanding job at matching the world of Virtua Racing with your new tracks and cars. Check out the bonus episode about Virtua Racing if you get the chance, I found some 90’s footage of the Time Warner offices with the VR arcade machine inside… and Chuck’s old hairdo. If you would like to do an interview sometime, feel free to shoot me an email. My email address is in the about page of this CZcams channel, nick@segasaturnshiro.com Thanks again for watching!
@@PandaMoniumReviews Thanks for the link to the Bonus Episode. I would love to help you out in any way I can...BTW Chuck's old hairdo did not bother me at all at the time! The suave looking guy at the 5min mark is Jose Erazo, one of the sharpest artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with and that's ME talking about the different tracks. Like Chuck, I don't remember that interview at all! One of my most vivid memories of Chuck is when he proudly presented the LOADING screen to me. Obviously a huge improvement over the place holder stuff we had. The other is coming into the office at 6:30am at seeing Mikey in his office having a snooze after yet another all nighter.
Most excellent video Sir, time really flew by watching!!! I found that short cut myself back in the day, thought it was odd you glitched through a wall at the other side. But never knew it was supposed to be removed. Was that Sega's decision to remove short cuts? Also, did anyone at this Time Warner work on the Sega Saturn port of Hard Drivin' as well? That was dumped in Japan.
Thanks for the kind words Larry! It means a lot. :) Chuck doesn’t quite remember why the shortcut was cut, but I would bet that was Time Warner’s decision, since Sega was surprisingly hands off on this one. He was also not on the Hard Drivin team. Chuck told me this was his only Saturn game. (I think Sophia scared him off.) I would have to check but I think much of the people on this VR port did not do Hard Drivin.
@@PandaMoniumReviews No worries, I've subbed to you now, so definitely lookign forward to seeing more of your work! :D Time Warner in Japan were amazing in the 16 bit days, but made some hoorrible ports in the PS1/Saturn days. They tried to make a sequel to Marble Madness, after makign an arcade perfect port for Japan, but TAMA was an absolute dumpster fire. But you need to check out Hard Drivin' to see how badly Virtua Racing could have been there, the saturn VR is an absolutely masterpiece in comparison.
I have to give you a lot of praise for how much "in depth" your reviews are getting and how you take the time to interview the original developers! Loved this video! Big fan of your channel!
This is super interesting. Funny enough, Sega did the same with Star Wars Arcade on 32X. They had someone else port it and only gave a arcade unit as the source to base their work on.
It might have just been an issue with communications and language barriers, but it seems like porting teams from outside of Japan would virtually never get access to the source code of Japanese developed games. At that time at least. The developers of the many western home computer ports of arcade games would virtually never see the source code, which is partially why they'd tend to be less faithful than the Japanese console and computer ports. They'd maybe get an arcade machine to play if they were lucky.
Imagine being told by your employer to port a piece of software without the original source code (though they have it!), no easy way to debug, and to hardware that you have no access to. Absolutely bonkers management. Bless the team at Time Warner for even getting this done in the first place!
03:14 The transition from Race Drivin' and Final Lap 2 to Virtua Racer is something that can't be put onto paper in less than a thousand words. It blows you away, *and the thing's not even started moving yet*
These hour long videos always seem like daunting viewing tasks, but once I start watching the time flies by. Incredible work as always! I'm going to have to attempt to work my way through Grand Prix mode. I fired up the game a few months back, originally not liking it much in the late '90s, and to my surprise I ended up really enjoying myself. Like you said, when you get the hang of the controls and stop focusing on comparing it to other versions, it's a lot of fun.
Well that was certainly a thorough synopsis of Saturn Virtua Racing! I appreciated the interview and otherwise lost-to-time information. I remember the game being super disappointing at first because it DID NOT feel like the arcade or 32X versions. I still played it but had a poor opinion of it for years. But over the years, I've come to see all its good qualities and content. I like it more than the PS2 60fps version. It isn't an accurate 'port' but it is a fun racing game with lots of content. The 10 laps thing was too much. If only SEGA had better dev/debug tools so they could have harnessed CPU #2. Thanks for the show!
I just bought a copy of Virtua Racing for Saturn and while googling information about the game I found your video and your channel. Top-notch quality content! You got a new subscriber.
Watching this again, because of course I am. I think the best way to describe Time Warner Interactive's V.R. Virtua Racing is just that: _Time Watner Interactive's_ V.R. Virtua Racing. Its not a port, a copy, its a remodel, and a love letter. It has its issues, sure, but they made a great game
This is unbelievably good to watch this video, I never thought I'd get to know what differences there is between the Saturn and all the other versions. Thank you so much!
What a fantastic documentary about V.R. Virtua Racing! I had no idea and really enjoy playing this game still! The Pebble Beach remix at the end is the perfect cherry on top. Very well done. Subbed!
"Sega?" "Yeah?" "Where's the source code?" "Its right there, in the arcade cabinet" "You were supposed to give us the source code so we could have a launch title release, and accurate physics" "Okay, I'm gonna!" "So go do it!" ... "I think I see the problem" _"OH, DO YA?!"_
This is absolutely tremendous, and one of the best hours I've spent on CZcams. Brought back memories of playing it in the arcade and being absolutely floored by the graphics, pretty sure I later rented it on the Saturn too. It's not in my collection, but I will have to hunt it down.
That is such a good call on that one song being a Roseanne transition. Fits perfectly. Also I echo basically everyone who says your audience should be bigger. Your work reminds me of Gaming Historians but for a topic not a lot of people on youtube tackle. A billion nintendo videos but a trickle of sega ones. It's high quality stuff. Thanks as I continue to work through your backlog of videos!
I'm sorry. WHY DOES THIS VIDEO HAVE SO FEW VIEWS? This channel is amazing! Had me watching the full video till the end, and I wasnt even alive in the Saturn era! My only contact with VR is the switch port lol. Love your channel!
I just wanna say this channel is the best, the Saturn is my favorite system of all time and it's so cool seeing how nightmarish the development cycles were working with Sega
Man, this really was was an admirable effort from Time Warner. They managed to get a helluva product with their only base being eyeballing the original. That debugging story leaves me with nothing but respect for the devs. Also, I'm convinced the CREAMY 3D GRAPHICS lady is like this channel's second mascot behind good ol Stadler.
I can't believe this video only has 19k views when it's such high quality it could easily be a TV or streaming documentary. This is incredible work man. People just don't know what they're missing.
I think this channel is the embodiment of quality and quantity. Every saturn game? And with this amount of heart put into it? Makes sense it's only 41 videos in... Whatever, KEEP GOING! THIS IS SO COOL!!!!
@@PandaMoniumReviews Thanks man 😁. I planned on splitting this over two viewings but it was so good I watched it all at once. I was late to a conference call lol.
I've seen a few other Saturn V.R. Virtua Racing documentaries in the past, but this is absolutely the best one ever made. Amazing job. Thanks PandaMonium Reviews.
I can't believe this is the first time I'm watching this. I thought I saw everyone of your videos at least once. I have watched several repeatedly because they're that damn good. Take this video for instance, unlike other channels on CZcams that review retro games...you actually interview the actual people responsible for building them and that is incredible! At any rate, you spoke of Sega acting like helicopter parents and I have a few theories on why that is. Time Warner Interactive was a huge company that partnered with Sega in the past on some fairly big things. Like for example Time Warner helped to create The Sega Channel which at the time was huge. Further, I think Sega recognized that Time Warner was a very successful company and could be trusted with their IP. I would also think given how on the back foot Sega was at the time they probably counted Warner's support as vital for success. Considering how close to launch Bug and Ghen War were coupled with the IP's being virtually unknown they wanted full control. I also believe Sega didn't trust Bug's and Ghen War's developers either. I am really curious as to how Sega treated Bug 2's development. Were they just as controlling or did they let loose the reigns a little bit?
Obviously I haven't watched the whole thing but I love Virtua Racing. I'm a millennial so I didn't grow up with it, but I think it really holds up from a gameplay perspective.
Ok I finished watching the whole thing. I loved the description of the development process to put the final game into better perspective. I do think that Saturn Virtua Racing feels different compared to the original which I played on Switch. However as I intimated I don't have any preconceived notions of how it should play. I think for a complete ground up creation with no source code it gets very close. I also like the extra content for a home release. I'm sure the purists will balk but I think Time Warner did a great job.
Wow! What an epic treat of a review/documentary/retrospective/interview I love the passion shining through in your content and this one has definitely been the highlight so far :) I honestly had no idea the Saturn port of Virtua Racing had such an interesting history to it. It's what I love so much about gaming. There is always something new to uncover and discover. The only version I've had the pleasure of playing was the Switch port and while it seems to be pretty much arcade-perfect or even arcade superior, I really wish we could have gotten some additional content like new cars or tracks from the 32X or Saturn version. Fantastic video, mate!
Excellent job, thanks for taking the time to interview the original programmer and give context around the port. I used to hate this version but came around over the last few years. It has its own charm.
Great video Panda! It's a bit over an hour but nothing feels like its drawn out. Really like these interviews btw. It'd be cool to see an update video if somebody figures out that cheat code, kinda something like the rayman and mansion updates
@@PandaMoniumReviews thanks man, will notify if anything found ;) Edit: it has been 2 weeks full of research I'm dying inside and I have more than 10 pages in total
Brilliant video and excellent content. Fascinating interview with Mr Tolman. Incredible insights and amazing Easter Eggs. I’n so glad others are beginning to appreciate the Saturn’s version of Virtua Racing. While I loved the arcade (and am very grateful for the Switch port) and played the Megadrive version to death and got my 32X back in the day purely for Deluxe I still really appreciated the Saturn version. Unlike the others it added lots of content (funnily enough one of the sticks people often used to beat Sega with back in the day was the lack of extra content especially compared to arch rivals Namco who packed their arcade ports with additional content. I think looking back a lot of the disappointment was unrealistic expectations about the possibility of arcade perfect ports back in the day. Also many reviews somehow saw the game as “old” which I kind of understand as it didn’t fit into either the current/cutting edge or retro categories at the time of release. I always think of it as more like a “Cover Version” if the original. Similar with The second Daytona game - a cover version with some similar cars and tracks but additional content and a different handling model etc Certainly compared to many other Saturn racers it more than stands up. Cracking game taken on its own merits.
Another amazing video! I feel that Daytona CCE gets similar criticism to this game, i.e. controlling/playing differently from the arcade original. Personally, I loved Daytona CCE and look forward to playing this someday too. Good to hear it emulates so well in Mednafen. I had my head turned by Sega Rally at the time, so never got to play Saturn Virtua Racing.
Very entertaining and informative history on the development of the Saturn version. I really enjoy how you break down the time period, the people involved, methods used, and limits and expectations of the time. I always look forward to your reviews and your amazingly well-created videos that are essentially their own time capsules!
Wow, what a fantastic VR documentary. I uploaded a quick video of me playing on the Saturn version earlier in the week and asked in the description if anyone knew what the deal was with Time Warner handling the port. I had multiple replies linking me to your video. Really excellent work!
Such fantastic work once again. This is the virtua racing deep dive I never knew I needed. You've outdone yourself once again panda. Thank you for your dedication to these videos. Kleemalt Lagto's infamous post made it into the video too?! There truly is no escaping that madman. Lol
Man, you deserve _WAAAAAY_ more subs. The amount of work you go through for your reviews - what with the interviews, magazine scans and history lessons - is insane and your videos are just too high-quality. I love Sega Lord X and whoever as much as anyone, but damn, this was a next-level deep dive on Virtua Racing Saturn. AWESOME job! Man, after putting in all the work on original code, I wonder if they ever considered doing their own original Saturn racer afterwards and improving on their work... they really did a Herculean job with this one.
Well, if I’m being honest, this took about a month to write and edit. The bonus episode on TMOHS was something I slapped together in between. I edited the Satiator review on SHIRO! during all this as well. Could I do this in two weeks? If I didn’t have a job, yes.
My freaking god dude, what an insane development story. Your videos are truly inspirational. The pacing and small jokes here and there to spice up the video play so well. Also crazy job at the ending. My god dude
Sensational documentary You're one of the greats. Honestly, I just discovered your channel and watched a couple of videos, it's incredible. Keep up the great work!
Yo, one of the best reviews and takes on a game i ever seen. Great format, loved the interview and you really showed all parts of the game. Great work.
I love these videos. As someone just about to finish their CS degree, hoping to get into game development, I love seeing the interviews and the in-depth research into the development process. It's always super cool to see the reasons behind many games' shortcomings.
My God Pandamonium, you are on FIRE. The musical bit at the end was epic. Also, LOVE how when you utter 'freedom', of course the eagle must screech. Your videos are pure gold.
Amazing video, you just keep getting better and better. Keep up the great work Nick! As someone who has never played the Saturn port of Virtua Racer because of hearing how different and bad it is, I think you've successfully sold me on trying it out. It looks really good.
This is legit amazing. I watched the whole way and really enjoyed it. This game has such an interesting story behind it, and now I know why it exists in the form it did. You do some great work here. Also, that last bit needs to be available as a standalone video. It was hilarious.
That description of how they developed the game without source code, how they had to do the equivalent of a CPU swap when ever they needed to debug their code, and the utter bonkers rugpull they experienced as the Abrupt Lauch at E3.. I would have cursed everyday I had to work on this project.
What's wild to me is my memories of early 3D arcade games have almost been replaced by thinking of their home versions. Arcade VR still looks damn good! It's clearly primitive but they did really well with what they had.
This video is a tour deforce. Your series is reigniting my interest in the Sega Saturn. Stupidly I sold my modded V-Saturn and Action Replay cart 3 years ago. I've now bought another one and looking to get an ODE. Brilliant work!
I got notified when this video came out but I was at work and had to wait 6 hours to see this but well worth the wait. I appreciate the work and time you put into these Saturn videos. Since I am a Saturn FanBoy I wanted to be the first to pre-order the complete set of the 246 videos you are doing on Blu-Ray metal box edition hand numbered set. I want #1 of the set. :) Keep up the great videos sir I really enjoy them.
The quality of these reviews is incredible, they keep getting better too. And all for the console with the creamiest 3D graphics! Might be the best I've seen. Like everyone else I'm looking forward to seeing how this series progresses.
My favorite port of virtua racing by far! And one of my favorite sega saturn racing games as well. Live virtua racing on my sega saturn. Excellent channel and excellent reviews man keep up the solid work !
Friend, I do not know when I'll have time to sit down and watch this, so I'm here to boost your standing in the algorithm during the precious release window with a comment and a sight-unseen like, but from what I hear, this deserves it.
I subscribed to your channel after it was mentioned in a Sunday My Life in Gaming stream...watching this and not regretting it for a second. Awesome content, looking forward to enjoy the rest of your work.
Here’s a BONUS EPISODE you should watch after finishing this long video: czcams.com/video/bNGpXGfFEUA/video.html
do us a favor and never stop.
This will be nominated for best documentary this year
The grotesque thing is, that Model 1 Virtua Racing's physics and gameplay mechanics are far more satisfying than contemporary 3D racing games.
They are... What the fuck?!
Thanks for the enjoyable overview of the game. Being the resident racing nut/gear head at Time Warner, I designed the new tracks and extra vehicles trying my best to be true to Mr.Suzuki’s original vision. This was my first 3D project so obviously I still had a lot to learn. Fortunately we came together as a team and ended up with something we were proud of!
Thank you so much for watching, AND for helping make this terrific game. Great to hear from another developer! You did an outstanding job at matching the world of Virtua Racing with your new tracks and cars. Check out the bonus episode about Virtua Racing if you get the chance, I found some 90’s footage of the Time Warner offices with the VR arcade machine inside… and Chuck’s old hairdo.
If you would like to do an interview sometime, feel free to shoot me an email. My email address is in the about page of this CZcams channel, nick@segasaturnshiro.com
Thanks again for watching!
@@PandaMoniumReviews Thanks for the link to the Bonus Episode. I would love to help you out in any way I can...BTW Chuck's old hairdo did not bother me at all at the time! The suave looking guy at the 5min mark is Jose Erazo, one of the sharpest artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with and that's ME talking about the different tracks. Like Chuck, I don't remember that interview at all! One of my most vivid memories of Chuck is when he proudly presented the LOADING screen to me. Obviously a huge improvement over the place holder stuff we had. The other is coming into the office at 6:30am at seeing Mikey in his office having a snooze after yet another all nighter.
This is brilliant and I'm actively angry it doesn't have a bigger audience. Philistines.
I am angry the BOTH of you don't have a larger audience! Bransfield and Pandamonium for LYFE!
Dang, it's only Virtua Racing and the videos are already 1 hour in length! Can't wait to watch 18 hours of Burning Rangers!
Virtua racing had a nice long history before saturn though so i get the length time
I do want that 18 hour burning rangers video though lol😂
Most excellent video Sir, time really flew by watching!!! I found that short cut myself back in the day, thought it was odd you glitched through a wall at the other side. But never knew it was supposed to be removed. Was that Sega's decision to remove short cuts?
Also, did anyone at this Time Warner work on the Sega Saturn port of Hard Drivin' as well? That was dumped in Japan.
Thanks for the kind words Larry! It means a lot. :)
Chuck doesn’t quite remember why the shortcut was cut, but I would bet that was Time Warner’s decision, since Sega was surprisingly hands off on this one. He was also not on the Hard Drivin team. Chuck told me this was his only Saturn game. (I think Sophia scared him off.) I would have to check but I think much of the people on this VR port did not do Hard Drivin.
@@PandaMoniumReviews No worries, I've subbed to you now, so definitely lookign forward to seeing more of your work! :D
Time Warner in Japan were amazing in the 16 bit days, but made some hoorrible ports in the PS1/Saturn days. They tried to make a sequel to Marble Madness, after makign an arcade perfect port for Japan, but TAMA was an absolute dumpster fire.
But you need to check out Hard Drivin' to see how badly Virtua Racing could have been there, the saturn VR is an absolutely masterpiece in comparison.
@@Larry Have you ever seen Red Zone for the Genesis? That one was made by Time Warner too.
@@Larry are you scarry Larry?
I really hope Sega Lord X has seen this series by now. Continue to be absolutely floored by your work.
As someone who dedicated weeks of their life restoring a Twin and constantly being asked "why didn't you just get Daytona", this video is bliss.
Just a minute in and it's killer. Every new video you do is like a monumental leap over the last.
The "Not to be confused with World Series Baseball" reference made me laugh. Great doc, you really put work in on this one.
I caught that too. We are the hardcore fans here 👍👍🤗
I have to give you a lot of praise for how much "in depth" your reviews are getting and how you take the time to interview the original developers! Loved this video! Big fan of your channel!
This is super interesting. Funny enough, Sega did the same with Star Wars Arcade on 32X. They had someone else port it and only gave a arcade unit as the source to base their work on.
It might have just been an issue with communications and language barriers, but it seems like porting teams from outside of Japan would virtually never get access to the source code of Japanese developed games. At that time at least. The developers of the many western home computer ports of arcade games would virtually never see the source code, which is partially why they'd tend to be less faithful than the Japanese console and computer ports. They'd maybe get an arcade machine to play if they were lucky.
Imagine being told by your employer to port a piece of software without the original source code (though they have it!), no easy way to debug, and to hardware that you have no access to. Absolutely bonkers management.
Bless the team at Time Warner for even getting this done in the first place!
i WAS NOT READY FOR THE STUDLER YTPMV AT THE END
Absolutely LOVED this. So thankful for your channel and all the work you put into it. Interviewing these devs is dream status
Oh my god I just got to your Craig Stadler rap mashup. That was AMAZING 😂 Please make a little mini video of just that clip if you haven't already
@@expsharevideogames Will do!
@@expsharevideogames he did.
03:14 The transition from Race Drivin' and Final Lap 2 to Virtua Racer is something that can't be put onto paper in less than a thousand words. It blows you away, *and the thing's not even started moving yet*
These hour long videos always seem like daunting viewing tasks, but once I start watching the time flies by. Incredible work as always!
I'm going to have to attempt to work my way through Grand Prix mode. I fired up the game a few months back, originally not liking it much in the late '90s, and to my surprise I ended up really enjoying myself. Like you said, when you get the hang of the controls and stop focusing on comparing it to other versions, it's a lot of fun.
This is insanely great documentary, well detailed, engaging, and fun to rewatch. Thanks for making this!
One hour of one of my favourite games from my childhood? Yes please!
I'd buy DVD/Blu-Ray seasons of your show bruh. No foolin'. This content is a gold mine for fans of Saturn.
The best and most in depth video on Virtua Racing for the Saturn!!! Fantastic!!!👍👍👍👍
Well that was certainly a thorough synopsis of Saturn Virtua Racing! I appreciated the interview and otherwise lost-to-time information. I remember the game being super disappointing at first because it DID NOT feel like the arcade or 32X versions. I still played it but had a poor opinion of it for years. But over the years, I've come to see all its good qualities and content. I like it more than the PS2 60fps version. It isn't an accurate 'port' but it is a fun racing game with lots of content. The 10 laps thing was too much. If only SEGA had better dev/debug tools so they could have harnessed CPU #2. Thanks for the show!
Wow!! These are getting better and bigger every time!
I just bought a copy of Virtua Racing for Saturn and while googling information about the game I found your video and your channel. Top-notch quality content! You got a new subscriber.
Tbh I loved Saturn VR and still play it till this day.
Brilliant video 👍
This is probably the best Virtua Racing video.
55:40 Marty Chinn - I remember that guy. He was all over newsgroups in the mid to late 90's! Victor Ireland too.
Watching this again, because of course I am. I think the best way to describe Time Warner Interactive's V.R. Virtua Racing is just that: _Time Watner Interactive's_ V.R. Virtua Racing. Its not a port, a copy, its a remodel, and a love letter. It has its issues, sure, but they made a great game
This is unbelievably good to watch this video, I never thought I'd get to know what differences there is between the Saturn and all the other versions. Thank you so much!
What a fantastic documentary about V.R. Virtua Racing! I had no idea and really enjoy playing this game still! The Pebble Beach remix at the end is the perfect cherry on top. Very well done. Subbed!
"Sega?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the source code?"
"Its right there, in the arcade cabinet"
"You were supposed to give us the source code so we could have a launch title release, and accurate physics"
"Okay, I'm gonna!"
"So go do it!"
...
"I think I see the problem"
_"OH, DO YA?!"_
The lift drops the car to the ground at 0.69 seconds. N I C E
A very interesting history about the saturn port of virtua racing on sega saturn,BUT the greatest part were those online reviews from 1995🤣🤣
This is absolutely tremendous, and one of the best hours I've spent on CZcams. Brought back memories of playing it in the arcade and being absolutely floored by the graphics, pretty sure I later rented it on the Saturn too. It's not in my collection, but I will have to hunt it down.
His documentary skills are unreal. Check his recent virtua cop one
I would love a definitive version of Virtua Racing with all of the exclusive content from every version put into one package.
That is such a good call on that one song being a Roseanne transition. Fits perfectly.
Also I echo basically everyone who says your audience should be bigger. Your work reminds me of Gaming Historians but for a topic not a lot of people on youtube tackle. A billion nintendo videos but a trickle of sega ones. It's high quality stuff. Thanks as I continue to work through your backlog of videos!
I'm sorry. WHY DOES THIS VIDEO HAVE SO FEW VIEWS? This channel is amazing! Had me watching the full video till the end, and I wasnt even alive in the Saturn era! My only contact with VR is the switch port lol.
Love your channel!
I cracked at "Not to be confused with World Series Baseball." I'm *still* trying to wrap my head around that naming convention!
I just wanna say this channel is the best, the Saturn is my favorite system of all time and it's so cool seeing how nightmarish the development cycles were working with Sega
Man, this really was was an admirable effort from Time Warner. They managed to get a helluva product with their only base being eyeballing the original. That debugging story leaves me with nothing but respect for the devs.
Also, I'm convinced the CREAMY 3D GRAPHICS lady is like this channel's second mascot behind good ol Stadler.
She’s pretty close, that’s for sure.
If you played Virtual Racing on Saturn when it was released, you know what a disappointment it was
I can't believe the amount of work that went into this. Much appreciated Dude!
This really feels like a broadcast quality documentary, wow, thank you so much!! I also love the saturn and this series is like a dream come true.
I can't believe this video only has 19k views when it's such high quality it could easily be a TV or streaming documentary. This is incredible work man. People just don't know what they're missing.
At this point I'm just going to watch all of your stuff to count how many times Craig Stadler shows up.
Also great video.
I think this channel is the embodiment of quality and quantity. Every saturn game? And with this amount of heart put into it? Makes sense it's only 41 videos in... Whatever, KEEP GOING! THIS IS SO COOL!!!!
Phenomenal job. Great, pacing, editing, and script.
Thanks dude! Means a lot to hear his from you. :)
@@PandaMoniumReviews Thanks man 😁. I planned on splitting this over two viewings but it was so good I watched it all at once. I was late to a conference call lol.
@@WrestlingWithGaming Well my apologies for making you late. 😂 Glad you enjoyed it!
The only bad thing about your video reviews is that they end.. Keep up with the outstanding work!
oh my god the roseanne transition
What a heavy hitting interview.. the game was reverse-engineered! wow!
It's kind of nuts that Sega couldn't at least give them the source for VR Deluxe or something. They had it rough, with that and the Sophia nonsense.
I've seen a few other Saturn V.R. Virtua Racing documentaries in the past, but this is absolutely the best one ever made. Amazing job. Thanks PandaMonium Reviews.
I can't believe this is the first time I'm watching this. I thought I saw everyone of your videos at least once. I have watched several repeatedly because they're that damn good. Take this video for instance, unlike other channels on CZcams that review retro games...you actually interview the actual people responsible for building them and that is incredible!
At any rate, you spoke of Sega acting like helicopter parents and I have a few theories on why that is. Time Warner Interactive was a huge company that partnered with Sega in the past on some fairly big things. Like for example Time Warner helped to create The Sega Channel which at the time was huge. Further, I think Sega recognized that Time Warner was a very successful company and could be trusted with their IP. I would also think given how on the back foot Sega was at the time they probably counted Warner's support as vital for success. Considering how close to launch Bug and Ghen War were coupled with the IP's being virtually unknown they wanted full control. I also believe Sega didn't trust Bug's and Ghen War's developers either. I am really curious as to how Sega treated Bug 2's development. Were they just as controlling or did they let loose the reigns a little bit?
Obviously I haven't watched the whole thing but I love Virtua Racing. I'm a millennial so I didn't grow up with it, but I think it really holds up from a gameplay perspective.
Ok I finished watching the whole thing. I loved the description of the development process to put the final game into better perspective.
I do think that Saturn Virtua Racing feels different compared to the original which I played on Switch. However as I intimated I don't have any preconceived notions of how it should play. I think for a complete ground up creation with no source code it gets very close. I also like the extra content for a home release. I'm sure the purists will balk but I think Time Warner did a great job.
1 hour? You are a mad man. Never stop. When you get to the end I'll fund new Saturn games.
When he gets to the end, it’s time to start on Japan! I look forward to his Bulk Slash video.
if he makes one of these a month he'll be old enough to retire when he's done
Wow!
What an epic treat of a review/documentary/retrospective/interview
I love the passion shining through in your content and this one has definitely been the highlight so far :)
I honestly had no idea the Saturn port of Virtua Racing had such an interesting history to it. It's what I love so much about gaming. There is always something new to uncover and discover.
The only version I've had the pleasure of playing was the Switch port and while it seems to be pretty much arcade-perfect or even arcade superior, I really wish we could have gotten some additional content like new cars or tracks from the 32X or Saturn version.
Fantastic video, mate!
Excellent job, thanks for taking the time to interview the original programmer and give context around the port. I used to hate this version but came around over the last few years. It has its own charm.
This series has done a good job both at showing me how many cool Saturn games exist and why the console failed outside of Japan.
Great video Panda! It's a bit over an hour but nothing feels like its drawn out. Really like these interviews btw. It'd be cool to see an update video if somebody figures out that cheat code, kinda something like the rayman and mansion updates
If someone cracks that cheat code, I will absolutely do a follow up video.
@@PandaMoniumReviews Guess you'll need more material for that (Time) Bonus Bonus Video, I'll see if I can find some.
@@Random-yh9tj Feel free to let me know if you do! Working on one now, in light of the cheat code getting cracked. :)
@@PandaMoniumReviews thanks man, will notify if anything found ;)
Edit: it has been 2 weeks full of research I'm dying inside and I have more than 10 pages in total
Fantastic video I watched based off two recommendations from other CZcamsrs, subbed. Thanks for taking the time to produce this video for us.
Brilliant video and excellent content.
Fascinating interview with Mr Tolman. Incredible insights and amazing Easter Eggs.
I’n so glad others are beginning to appreciate the Saturn’s version of Virtua Racing. While I loved the arcade (and am very grateful for the Switch port) and played the Megadrive version to death and got my 32X back in the day purely for Deluxe I still really appreciated the Saturn version.
Unlike the others it added lots of content (funnily enough one of the sticks people often used to beat Sega with back in the day was the lack of extra content especially compared to arch rivals Namco who packed their arcade ports with additional content.
I think looking back a lot of the disappointment was unrealistic expectations about the possibility of arcade perfect ports back in the day.
Also many reviews somehow saw the game as “old” which I kind of understand as it didn’t fit into either the current/cutting edge or retro categories at the time of release.
I always think of it as more like a “Cover Version” if the original. Similar with The second Daytona game - a cover version with some similar cars and tracks but additional content and a different handling model etc
Certainly compared to many other Saturn racers it more than stands up.
Cracking game taken on its own merits.
This explains why I always preferred the 32x version out of the Genesis and Saturn versions. the Saturn Version always felt off
Another amazing video! I feel that Daytona CCE gets similar criticism to this game, i.e. controlling/playing differently from the arcade original. Personally, I loved Daytona CCE and look forward to playing this someday too. Good to hear it emulates so well in Mednafen. I had my head turned by Sega Rally at the time, so never got to play Saturn Virtua Racing.
Very entertaining and informative history on the development of the Saturn version. I really enjoy how you break down the time period, the people involved, methods used, and limits and expectations of the time. I always look forward to your reviews and your amazingly well-created videos that are essentially their own time capsules!
Wow, what a fantastic VR documentary. I uploaded a quick video of me playing on the Saturn version earlier in the week and asked in the description if anyone knew what the deal was with Time Warner handling the port. I had multiple replies linking me to your video. Really excellent work!
Glad you liked it!! Yeah, it was a tricky situation, and impressive they were able to do what they did without the source.
Such fantastic work once again. This is the virtua racing deep dive I never knew I needed. You've outdone yourself once again panda. Thank you for your dedication to these videos.
Kleemalt Lagto's infamous post made it into the video too?! There truly is no escaping that madman. Lol
Thanks for the kind words Virtua Bro. As our shitposting facebook friend would say, woooo.
@@PandaMoniumReviews woo indeed lmao 🤣
Man, you deserve _WAAAAAY_ more subs. The amount of work you go through for your reviews - what with the interviews, magazine scans and history lessons - is insane and your videos are just too high-quality. I love Sega Lord X and whoever as much as anyone, but damn, this was a next-level deep dive on Virtua Racing Saturn. AWESOME job!
Man, after putting in all the work on original code, I wonder if they ever considered doing their own original Saturn racer afterwards and improving on their work... they really did a Herculean job with this one.
Whoa! Did you just make an hour video in just two weeks? That's incredible!
Well, if I’m being honest, this took about a month to write and edit. The bonus episode on TMOHS was something I slapped together in between. I edited the Satiator review on SHIRO! during all this as well. Could I do this in two weeks? If I didn’t have a job, yes.
@@PandaMoniumReviews Oh that makes sense. I'm still watching the video btw ^^
@@st1ka I hope you enjoy it friend. :)
@@PandaMoniumReviews I did! Absolutely amazing video, my dude! :D
I’ll parrot what everyone else is saying. This was a fantastic video. It really makes me look forward to your future videos.
Also, you have got to upload that end song separately. Sir, you’re incredible.
Oh man I’m looking forward to this. Your reviews are the best I’ve come across on CZcams. Thanks so much for the effort you put in.
My freaking god dude, what an insane development story. Your videos are truly inspirational. The pacing and small jokes here and there to spice up the video play so well. Also crazy job at the ending. My god dude
Sensational documentary You're one of the greats. Honestly, I just discovered your channel and watched a couple of videos, it's incredible. Keep up the great work!
Wow, the amount of attention and effort put in this review is incredible. You really dug deep in this game and the story behind it. Well done!
Yo, one of the best reviews and takes on a game i ever seen. Great format, loved the interview and you really showed all parts of the game. Great work.
I love these videos. As someone just about to finish their CS degree, hoping to get into game development, I love seeing the interviews and the in-depth research into the development process. It's always super cool to see the reasons behind many games' shortcomings.
My God Pandamonium, you are on FIRE. The musical bit at the end was epic. Also, LOVE how when you utter 'freedom', of course the eagle must screech. Your videos are pure gold.
AWESOME EPISODE!!!! I really enjoy the suff you make! Best YT-Channel
Amazing video, you just keep getting better and better. Keep up the great work Nick! As someone who has never played the Saturn port of Virtua Racer because of hearing how different and bad it is, I think you've successfully sold me on trying it out. It looks really good.
This is legit amazing. I watched the whole way and really enjoyed it. This game has such an interesting story behind it, and now I know why it exists in the form it did. You do some great work here.
Also, that last bit needs to be available as a standalone video. It was hilarious.
That description of how they developed the game without source code, how they had to do the equivalent of a CPU swap when ever they needed to debug their code, and the utter bonkers rugpull they experienced as the Abrupt Lauch at E3..
I would have cursed everyday I had to work on this project.
Always remember, when you play Virtua Racing, _Get you the Exciting Race._
What's wild to me is my memories of early 3D arcade games have almost been replaced by thinking of their home versions. Arcade VR still looks damn good! It's clearly primitive but they did really well with what they had.
Love your documentary style with humor and insight approach to each of these game synopses.
Digi sent his audience to the right dude
He did not have to go this hard for a review of Time Warner Interactive's V.R. Virtua Racing, but he did. Respect.
This video is a tour deforce. Your series is reigniting my interest in the Sega Saturn. Stupidly I sold my modded V-Saturn and Action Replay cart 3 years ago. I've now bought another one and looking to get an ODE. Brilliant work!
This is one of the best game related videos I've seen in a while. Love the amount of work and research you did for it. Fantastic watch!
amazing video. btw, 'AMAZON FALLS' its a lovely track name
Fantastic to watch, loved every minute. Thank you!
I got notified when this video came out but I was at work and had to wait 6 hours to see this but well worth the wait. I appreciate the work and time you put into these Saturn videos. Since I am a Saturn FanBoy I wanted to be the first to pre-order the complete set of the 246 videos you are doing on Blu-Ray metal box edition hand numbered set. I want #1 of the set. :) Keep up the great videos sir I really enjoy them.
I've watched this one 3 times, and the world series baseball bit still sends me. Almost to 10k!!
Sent by Digi Valentine, amazing video. Definitely looking into the rest of this series
Love these documentary long form episodes, hope to see more!
Panda, you've outdone yourself with this review. Just incredible journalism, editing, and presentation. Wow!
Outstanding work on this! I was hooked all the way through. Gave me a new appreciation for both the game and the developers. Mad respect!
The quality of these reviews is incredible, they keep getting better too. And all for the console with the creamiest 3D graphics! Might be the best I've seen. Like everyone else I'm looking forward to seeing how this series progresses.
Really great video! Had so much fun watching this. Thank you very much!
My favorite port of virtua racing by far! And one of my favorite sega saturn racing games as well. Live virtua racing on my sega saturn. Excellent channel and excellent reviews man keep up the solid work !
Friend, I do not know when I'll have time to sit down and watch this, so I'm here to boost your standing in the algorithm during the precious release window with a comment and a sight-unseen like, but from what I hear, this deserves it.
this is honestly my favourite video of yours, watched it 2 times and it was amazing both times!
edit: now 3 times
I subscribed to your channel after it was mentioned in a Sunday My Life in Gaming stream...watching this and not regretting it for a second. Awesome content, looking forward to enjoy the rest of your work.
I didn’t know MLIG gave me a shoutout there! Thanks for the kind words, glad you’re liking the series. :)
yep, they did: czcams.com/video/woE4YrNTAew/video.html check it out from minute 08:30 :D