The One Time Genki Developed A Legal Street Racing Game

In 2005, Genki released Racing Battle -C1 GRAND PRIX- for the PlayStation 2 exclusively in Japan. It was the second to last racing game that Genki developed for the console, as Kaido Battle: Touge no Densetsu followed days later, giving fans a double feature for 2005’s Summer season. Unlike Touge no Densetsu, which was eventually localized in the United States as Tokyo Xtreme Racer DRIFT 2 in 2007, Racing Battle C1GP never saw an English localization. This includes Europe, as Konami published Kaido Battle 2 under the name Kaido Racer 2, which oddly never saw an American release. (Thanks Crave…) It was one of the few Genki racers to remain a Japanese exclusive and was a hidden gem for decades.

Earlier this year, Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 was made “beatable” thanks to a clever patch that adjusted the money values for two Wanderers, Whirlwind Fanfare and Exotic Butterfly. In August, Racing Battle -C1 Grand Prix- received an English fan translation, thanks to Igor (igorciz777), making the game easier to understand. While certainly playable and beatable before, this fan patch unravels many of Racing Battle‘s unique perks without relying on Google Lens and other alternatives. The translation progress is still being worked on with an update released a week prior. Fans can check out his GitHub for more information on releases.

C1 Grand Prix is the first and only entry in Genki’s Racing Battle series. Whether it was meant to be a series, had Genki continued developing racing games, or counted as a one-off remains a mystery, but it could have been the beginning of a new era for Genki Racing Project. While Shutoko Battle and Kaido Battle focused on highway and mountain touge racing respectively, Racing Battle entered the world of professional racing as a whole. Imagine Super GT mixed with D1 Grand Prix, centered around the mid-2000s car culture universe that Genki was known for.

Several rivals from the Shutoko Battle series return, including the Toyota AE86 team, Rolling Guys—I’m sorry, the Racing Guys as they are known in this game. Other notable teams include the all-women Toyota MR-S team, First Lady, and the Evo-driven NO LOSER. Bosses from the previous games return, fulfilling similar purposes as a way to test the player before moving on to the next stage. Before the player begins their professional racing legacy, they must first, of course, purchase a car. Racing Battle C1GP takes the best of Kaido and Shutoko battle, starting with the former’s robust tuning, menu, car roster, and progression system.

In Kaido, players can purchase a car from new and used car dealerships, offering the player an option to save money at the expense of having a pre-owned car. This was brought back in Racing Battle along with licensed car manufacturers, including Honda, which was never officially included in a Shutoko Battle game. Owning a Honda S2000 as a starter car without naming it “TYPE-AP2” felt like a breath of fresh air and you’re given enough credits to make that dream a reality. The risk of buying a used car as a starter comes with needing to restore a car’s condition. Without it, a 20k mile car will behave as expected versus buying a new car for slightly more with 0 mileage. There are many ways to earn credits later in the game, but I recommend saving yourself the headache and buying new.

The player is then taken to their garage, which immediately gave me Auto Modellista vibes. Much like Capcom’s cult classic racer, the player can customize their garage with various styles and trophies won by completing certain events. Players can also fill their garage with model cars, batteries, racing suits, and other accessories when purchasing Item Goods from Super Autobacs. The real-life Japanese automobile retailer makes an appearance in this game, selling various items that act as buffs to the player by equipping specific item goods. Some items change the mini-map to a GPS radar, give the players more Credits per race, or make it easier to win races.

The tuning shop is where players upgrade their cars, with better upgrades as they progress through the career mode. For each level, there’s an option to install aftermarket parts that are slightly better than their normal counterparts. This is also the primary way of obtaining stickers that can be installed on your car, much like real-life auto parts. The caveat is that the price for an aftermarket part is almost double the price of a regular one, with slight improvements. It’s recommended to purchase the base level of each part first, only opting to buy an aftermarket part if your purse can afford it.

A neat addition is the garage menu displays various sponsor stickers you’ve obtained as a flythrough while showing off your ride. The aftermarket parts also make sense for the car currently driven. My S2000 has access to Mugen parts as Mugen is Honda’s in-house performance brand, but it cannot equip Nismo parts as that’s Nissan’s brand.

Finally, there’s the BBS, which builds upon the same feature that debuted in the Kaido series. The message boards are the primary source of information in-game as other rivals discuss course and tuning strategy, offering advice to newcomers with basic game systems, and information on the rival teams available. BBS messages can also give hints on how to make certain Wanderers appear.

A staple in Genki’s Battle series, these lone racers need specific requirements met before they race against the player. However, unlike previous Battle games where it’s one-on-one, the conditions for each race largely depend on the type of race the player enters. Here’s where Racing Battle sets itself apart from other Genki racers. There are three disciplines that the player must master to be the best racer in Japan. SP (Spirit Point), DP (Drift Point), and RP (Racing Penalty) Battles.

SP Battle

In every Battle game, battles are settled by draining your opponent’s SP, or Spirit Points. By flashing your high beams at a rival racer, the player challenges them to a grudge match where the victor successfully depletes their rival’s energy or will to drive. With the emphasis on legal “street racing,” SP Battles work differently in Racing Battle C1GP as drivers begin in the paddocks. Players can obtain information on the drivers currently in the grid. Each rival has a one-liner given before a race and after. Some also advise on how to make elusive Wanderers appear in certain courses. This is also where players can change setting load-outs to match the conditions of the track and type of race.

Racing Battle‘s SP Battle is the same as other games before it, except re-imagined as a legally sanctioned event. Players get a set time limit, usually 15 minutes, to challenge as many rivals as possible. The traffic cars are replaced with unranked rivals who can also be challenged to a race. The player can challenge up to three rivals in succession, giving players a credit bonus for running the gauntlet. If a player challenges two rivals from the same team in a race, they will all race against the player simultaneously. Players can always enter the pit road to restore tire conditions, oil, and water temperatures, but only outside of a race.

Alongside earning Credits, players can also earn Notoriety Points, or NP, by passing other rivals, speeding, drifting, and driving cleanly overall. Driving backwards, hitting walls, and other cars, will cause the player to lose NP. It’s possible to drive poorly enough that you could lose fans by being in the negatives, though you’d have to be trying hard to do so. These points are similar to the Kudos system in Metropolis Street Racer and the Project Gotham Racer series. NP isn’t something to spend, more like a threshold identical to the number of fans you can earn in Kaido. The higher the number, the more exclusive parts players can purchase in Super Autobacs and exclusive special events where valuable parts are the prize.

DP Battle

If SP Battle is based on Shutoko Battle, DP Battle is based on Kaido Battle‘s drifting events. There are a certain number of zones and within each zone, players earn points by successfully drifting without hitting a wall, going off track, or spinning out. Most of the time, players will be up against a rival ghost but in some battles, players will go one-on-one with a rival, engaging in tandem drifting. These DP events begin with the player leading and the second half where the player chases, earning more points as they pull away from the rival and keeping close respectively.

Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix offers more courses than just the C1 Shuto Expressway, but the return of the Osaka Kanjo Loop albeit a condensed variant of Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3‘s Osaka. The game also includes official Japanese circuits, a first for the Battle series. Suzuka, Nikko, Tsukuba, and Okayama International Circuit (formerly known as TI Circuit Aida) are featured, making these circuits perfect for drifting. The official circuits are also used for SP Battles, providing an interesting blend of Shutoko Battle‘s iconic gameplay with a hint of realism thanks to the courses, licensed vehicles, and overall driving etiquette. There’s a final style of racing that emphasizes racing etiquette while also being an original in Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix.

RP Battle

RP Battle is the closest Racing Battle C1 Grand Prix gets to a Super GT-esque mode similar to the likes of Gran Turismo Sport. I’ve avoided the elephant in the room up to this point as Racing Battle is not the “GT clone” as I’ve seen described before. A racing sim doesn’t automatically mean it’s trying to be the next “GT,” as Racing Battle has identity of its own.

In this mode, it’s all about circuit racing and survival. Players go up against a full grid and complete a full race with laps. Instead of a “spirit gauge,” in it’s place is a Racing Penalty gauge. The RP gauge begins at 100 and lowers each time there’s contact, going off course, or driving in reverse.

If the RP gauge goes below 50, the player must take a mandatory penalty pit stop with no repairs. If the gauge reaches zero, they are disqualified from the race. RP can be restored by making a legal pit stop, so the risk of retiring a race is rare. When certain bosses require the player to compete in a full race, it becomes a survival as some bosses are known to be quite aggressive. (Looking at you, Unknown)

It wouldn’t be a Battle game without a banging soundtrack and Racing Battle is no different. Produced by Akihiko Hirama, Hirama is joined by Sadahiro Nakano and Reo Nagumo, both best known for their Bemani work. Sadahiro was known as SADA. Reo Nagumo was known not only for his actual name but also as dj nagureo and tiger YAMATO. At this point in his career, Nagumo had an extensive catalog with songs like 5.1.1 being played on Dance Dance Revolution cabinets to this day.

However, Nagumo was also deep into car culture as many of his songs reference them including “V35” from beatmania IIDX 8th Style. V35 refers to the chassis code for the Skyline Coupe. which also makes an appearance in Racing Battle. In short, it was a match made in racing game heaven. The trance and rave heavy genre differed from the dnb, house, and rock-inspired playlists of the past. It was successful in fitting the atmosphere that Racing Battle provided.

Overall, Racing Battle -C1 Grand Prix- is a pleasant surprise. I had not beaten the game at the time of this writing but I’ll be sure to provide a follow-up on my thoughts as closing comments. While Racing Battle never took off as Shutoko and Kaido, with the recent Tokyo Xtreme Racer revival, there are many features I’d like to see make a return.

The combination of SP and DP battles would fit well with the new title as it would be a way to include “Shuto” and “Kaido” as one. Interacting with other racers at the Parking Areas for more information on your rivals as well as an updated “Social Media” BBS system would be just as cool. The return of garage customization and the return of previous soundtracks almost sounds like a given. There are so many directions that Genki can take. Fans of racing games and car culture will enjoy Racing Battle -C1 Grand Prix- as I had. There’s a lot of potential with this style of racing game, even twenty years later.