Prosperity is a nebulous concept that varies depending on who perceives it, but if I had to pinpoint a time and place off the top of my head that exemplifies such a term it would definitely be the videogame landscape of late 80s/early 90s Japan, a period whose people that had the chance to participate in its creative outburst I am extremely envious of. Which is a mindset you have to put yourself into to truly appreciate the beauty of Virtua Racing. Its blocky polygon simplicity is something I would give everything to be able to witness for the first time along with all the arcade habituals who were mesmerized by its vision of the future of videogames all the way back in 1992.
There's something very magical and charming about the dimensionality the different points of views available offer Virtua Racing, a feature that exposes the understanding AM2 and Yu Suzuki already had of the possibilities of 3D. Shifting the POV to a bird's eye view reveals the "toy boxyness" nature of Virtua Racing, a humble playground of colorful polygons that with each further step into driver's seat dispels the archaic software and sells you on the illusion of a real formula 1 racing sim. While lacking that classic sunset driving personality found in previous arcade classics like Hang-On or Outrun, the SEGA touch can be found within the catchy checkpoint jingles and in its drifting curves, and the short selection of racing tracks are memorable and fun to conquer.
SEGA's efforts over the years in preserving its history has consistently been one of its better decisions, with fantastic Sega Ages ports such as these that remind us that SEGA used to rule the world and was once a haven for very talented people on the vanguard of innovation who would consistently tread new waters and change the industry in a span of months. Virtua Racing is now just a footnote on the history of videogames, understandably left behind as subsequent games would quickly use it as a stepping stone for better things to come, but it's important to know that at a very short point in time, it was the best videogames were ever gonna get.
There's something very magical and charming about the dimensionality the different points of views available offer Virtua Racing, a feature that exposes the understanding AM2 and Yu Suzuki already had of the possibilities of 3D. Shifting the POV to a bird's eye view reveals the "toy boxyness" nature of Virtua Racing, a humble playground of colorful polygons that with each further step into driver's seat dispels the archaic software and sells you on the illusion of a real formula 1 racing sim. While lacking that classic sunset driving personality found in previous arcade classics like Hang-On or Outrun, the SEGA touch can be found within the catchy checkpoint jingles and in its drifting curves, and the short selection of racing tracks are memorable and fun to conquer.
SEGA's efforts over the years in preserving its history has consistently been one of its better decisions, with fantastic Sega Ages ports such as these that remind us that SEGA used to rule the world and was once a haven for very talented people on the vanguard of innovation who would consistently tread new waters and change the industry in a span of months. Virtua Racing is now just a footnote on the history of videogames, understandably left behind as subsequent games would quickly use it as a stepping stone for better things to come, but it's important to know that at a very short point in time, it was the best videogames were ever gonna get.