Sega Rally Championship Plus (SAT, 1996)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-8
Level Design-8 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Good physics for the time (also over the top) - different surfaces have different friction
Jumps, Drifting
Good framerate and draw distance for the time
Good course variation and memorable courses (three default courses and one unlockable fourth course (championship mode only) which is a bit shorter)
Difficulty options (easy-hard here (ARC had very hard), race length (laps))
Practice mode (get to play on either course except Lake Side)
Automatic or manual gear shift
Relatively complex backgrounds
Pretty impressive sound (redbook rearranged OST with some extra tracks for the replays and menus, technically nice menu SCSP music)
Some nice effects (NPC chopper, water pools, mud after cars)
Textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows
"Game over, yeah!"
Time attack mode with unlockable Lakeside track
2-player vs. split-screen mode (4 on ARC and in the Plus/Netlink Saturn versions?)
Handling options (slow/normal/fast)
Can custom tune the two cars 5-6 different settings
Unlockable third car (Lancia Stratos; finish 1st on Normal, can't custom tune it though?, seem faster but has worse handling than the other two cars)
Hidden car and hidden course (unlockable via codes only)
Some other interesting codes (mirror track mode, hyper car mode, extra speed, "power up you car", Lake Side unlock, stratos car)
Plus ver.:
Slightly better graphics, full analog controller support, Netlink modem support (2 or 4 players?)
+/-
Pretty hard even on easy
Harder to drift than in Daytona USA
No car damage and the physics when hit from behind are sometimes a bit off
No NPCs at the start of races (Virtua Racing)
Funny commentary/partner voice
Up to 15 cars in a race (40 in Daytona USA)
Commentator and arrows plus distance meter instead of a course map
Race against the clock can't be turned off?
Only the third course has skid marks? (Virtua Racing)
Two camera angles (four in VR and Daytona USA)
No rumble feature?
No 2-player co-op mode (not sure how it works)?
No career/RPG mode (Gran Turismo)
Have to get first place on the unlockable fourth course to see the ending and to see an award ceremony
The CPU controlled opponents cheat a bit in turns
-
Can't continue from the course you were on and if you did badly on one course you'll have less time on the next (picking restart during a course will reset the whole championship)
No standard racing mode (vs the other cars instead of the clock)
Only two cars (four including the two cars unlocked via cheats and there's also two cheats that upgrade the existing cars, still not that much compared to some other games of the time and even earlier)
Over-sensitive controls (pretty easy to skid accidentally and to oversteer)
The loose third person view camera makes it harder to pull off finer movements in turns (can't make it tighter)
Some pop-up and a few frame drops
Can't wreck your or other cars
Spectators don't move
The codes for the regular version don't work here?
Notes:
-Plus ver. info: https://segaretro.org/Sega_Rally_Championship_Plus
Level Design-8 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7.5 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-7.5
+
Good physics for the time (also over the top) - different surfaces have different friction
Jumps, Drifting
Good framerate and draw distance for the time
Good course variation and memorable courses (three default courses and one unlockable fourth course (championship mode only) which is a bit shorter)
Difficulty options (easy-hard here (ARC had very hard), race length (laps))
Practice mode (get to play on either course except Lake Side)
Automatic or manual gear shift
Relatively complex backgrounds
Pretty impressive sound (redbook rearranged OST with some extra tracks for the replays and menus, technically nice menu SCSP music)
Some nice effects (NPC chopper, water pools, mud after cars)
Textured surfaces and reflection effect on car windows
"Game over, yeah!"
Time attack mode with unlockable Lakeside track
2-player vs. split-screen mode (4 on ARC and in the Plus/Netlink Saturn versions?)
Handling options (slow/normal/fast)
Can custom tune the two cars 5-6 different settings
Unlockable third car (Lancia Stratos; finish 1st on Normal, can't custom tune it though?, seem faster but has worse handling than the other two cars)
Hidden car and hidden course (unlockable via codes only)
Some other interesting codes (mirror track mode, hyper car mode, extra speed, "power up you car", Lake Side unlock, stratos car)
Plus ver.:
Slightly better graphics, full analog controller support, Netlink modem support (2 or 4 players?)
+/-
Pretty hard even on easy
Harder to drift than in Daytona USA
No car damage and the physics when hit from behind are sometimes a bit off
No NPCs at the start of races (Virtua Racing)
Funny commentary/partner voice
Up to 15 cars in a race (40 in Daytona USA)
Commentator and arrows plus distance meter instead of a course map
Race against the clock can't be turned off?
Only the third course has skid marks? (Virtua Racing)
Two camera angles (four in VR and Daytona USA)
No rumble feature?
No 2-player co-op mode (not sure how it works)?
No career/RPG mode (Gran Turismo)
Have to get first place on the unlockable fourth course to see the ending and to see an award ceremony
The CPU controlled opponents cheat a bit in turns
-
Can't continue from the course you were on and if you did badly on one course you'll have less time on the next (picking restart during a course will reset the whole championship)
No standard racing mode (vs the other cars instead of the clock)
Only two cars (four including the two cars unlocked via cheats and there's also two cheats that upgrade the existing cars, still not that much compared to some other games of the time and even earlier)
Over-sensitive controls (pretty easy to skid accidentally and to oversteer)
The loose third person view camera makes it harder to pull off finer movements in turns (can't make it tighter)
Some pop-up and a few frame drops
Can't wreck your or other cars
Spectators don't move
The codes for the regular version don't work here?
Notes:
-Plus ver. info: https://segaretro.org/Sega_Rally_Championship_Plus