| Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 | |
|---|---|
 Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 cover art | |
|
Developer(s) |
|
|
Publisher(s) |
Genki (JP) |
|
Platform(s) |
|
|
Release Dates |
|
Information[]
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 (東京エクストリームレーサー2, Tōkyō Ekusutorīmu Rēsā Tsū), also known as Shutokou Battle 2 (首都高バトル 2, lit. Metropolitan Expressway Battle 2) in Japan, and Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 (東京ハイウェイチャレンジ 2, Tōkyō Haiu-ei Charenji Tsū) in Europe, is the sequel to Tokyo Xtreme Racer and the second game in the Shutokō Battle series of street racing games set on the Shuto Expressways of Tokyo, Japan. Released in 2000 for the Sega Dreamcast, it was developed by Genki and published by Crave Entertainment in Europe and North America. Compared to the original game, there is a larger map of roads which racers can drive on; in addition to the C1 Loop, racers can now drive on the Shinkanjo, Wangan Line, and Yokohane Line. There is also more rivals and teams to race against, as well as more cars to select from.
Gameplay[]
The objective of the game remained the same as the previous title, with racers competing against rival drivers on the Shuto Expressways of Japan in an attempt to become greatest racer. The SP Battle format now integrates health penalties for hitting walls and other cars.
Plot[]
The player assumes the role of Motoya Iwasaki (shortly before he earns the title of Speed King in later titles), on his quest to become the fastest racer in the Shutokou.
Rivals[]
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 features significantly more rivals than its predecessor, with 372 opponents to race. New to the series, in addition to many more gangs and bosses, are a group of rivals known as Wanderers. These drivers do not belong to a particular team, but have a selection of requirements which the player must meet in order to be able to race against them. These requirements can include appearing on certain days, driving certain cars, having a certain mileage on your car, defeating certain rivals, or having a certain amount of CP.
A unique aspect of this game is that certain teams have two or three sub-leaders, only one of which can be raced for each play-through of the game. The same applies to certain bosses in the first half of the game who appear depending on which class of car the player is driving.
Another new aspect regarding rivals is that each rival now has a real name in addition to their street names. Although this does not make an impact in the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series at this point, Western versions of this game have Western-sounding real names rather than Japanese names as in the Japanese version.
The game's teams are as follows:
First Half Teams
- Rolling Guy
- Little Gang
- Knife & Forks
- SS Limited
- Black Knights
- Fine Drive
- Curving Edge
- Galaxy Racers
- Max Racing
- Elegant Wild
- Departures
- Twister
- Diamond Image
- Rhythm Box
- Wind Stars
- Harmonize
- Super Speed Wagon
- Another Star
- R-Gangs
- Cupid Arrows
- Tokio Jungle
- TR Racing
- Top Level
- Free Way
- RATT
- Gesellschaft
Second Half Teams
- Queen's Paradise
- Rings
- Catz
- The Road of Justice
- Explosion
- Highway Outlaw
- Dry Cruise
- E.R.O.
- Team Alpha
- RR
- Thunder Dragoon
- True Ride
- Unlimited
- Fanatic Future
- Speed Master
- Commander
- Double Mind
Bosses in this game are categorised according to their role within one of the game's four zones (these include the C1, Shinkanjo, Wangan Line and Yokohane Line). The player would first beat around half of the team leaders in a particular zone to trigger a race a 'Middle Boss', and most of the leaders to summon the area's 'Zone Boss'. Beating all of the zone bosses in the game's first half causes one of two 'Big Bosses' to appear, while beating all of the second half's zone bosses summons the 'Last Boss'.
Bosses are as follows:
Middle Boss
- Jackknife Jones
- Road Master
- Lucifer
- Hard Weapon
- Maximiser
- Mystic Racer
- Midnight Rose
- Pressure Cooker
- Comeback King
- White Knight
Zone Boss
- Super Nova
- Speed Angel
- Steel Heart
- Hard Riff
- Hot Dog
- Phantom Racer
- Shadow Eye
- Happy Pirate
- Hurricane Hugh
- Road Rebel
- Mod Man
- Red Devil
- Full Moon Eve
Big Boss
- Purple Meteor
- White Phantom
Last Boss
- ???
To see a full list of rivals click here.
Other Notes[]
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 is the first game in the series where the player can personalize their car's license plate when buying a car. The license plates in the Japanese version are Japanese plates, while cars in the North American and European versions have California plates. It may be possible that in the Western versions, having license plates from a Western location would fit with the "Westernization" theme of TXR2. The rival cars in the Western versions have license plate numbers similar to those of the then-current California "Sesquicentennial" license plates, which were issued from 1998-2000. The word "Sesquicentennial" is incorrectly spelled "Cesquicentennial" on the plates.