???/Unknown is the canonical final boss in the Tokyo Xtreme Racer series in most games, except for Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3, where he was replaced by a ghost with the same name, and Street Supremacy, where he was merely a Wanderer.
During Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2025's events, it was revealed the car was built by Tetsuya Kudo, A.K.A. Machine Light King.
Game Appearances[]
Tokyo Xtreme Racer[]
He first debuted in Tokyo Xtreme Racer for the Dreamcast, where he was the final boss, being the leader of The 4 Devils. This would be the first of many times he would hold this role. His custom S30 can be unlocked by completing Quick Race mode.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2[]
He returned in Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 once again as the final boss, but now as a Wanderer (not being a part of any team). However, his car was not a Custom vehicle in this game, due to TXR2 not having them to begin with. This is the only game where he does not drive a Custom car.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero[]
In Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero, he drives a dark blue Type-S30ZX; his own Custom car. His driving skills and car power-to-weight ratio are significantly higher compared to the other bosses (to the point of having 1 horsepower for every 0.6 kilograms of car).
??? accelerates considerably faster than both Speed King, White Charisma, or ZERO to 263 mph, and it's rumored that if the game had not a speed cap, ??? would reach just south of 310 mph (just below 500 kph).
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3[]
Here he does not appear, and he is replaced by a Ghost Car of the Same name, but there is files referencing a White Toyota Supra A80 with an exposed engine, that is supposed to be ???, which is unused for unknown reasons.
Street Supremacy[]
In Street Supremacy, he appears as a Level 50 racer under the name "Driver With No Name", and drives a custom S30 with lightning decals. This is the only game where he is not a Boss, instead being a Wanderer. It is possible that this rendition of the character is a different driver using the same name.
Import Tuner Challenge[]
In Import Tuner Challenge, ??? returns as the final boss in a dark blue S30CuUK after the player has defeated all the teams, bosses, and Wanderers.
Racing Battle C1GP[]
He also made an appearance in Racing Battle C1GP as yet again the final boss, but instead of his traditional S30, he now drives a Z33-based Fairlady Z resembling its Super GT GT500 form, with the S30 parts seemingly spreading from the front left quarter of the car.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2025[]
??? appears as a Level 30 racer, with a new logo more akin to the post-story RECORD opponents. ??? can be raced after defeating the 3 RECORD opponents and what remains of the 72 Wanderers in the game.
???'s S30 returns in Tokyo Xtreme Racer (2025), featuring Wedssport TC105X rims, wide bolt-on fender flares, and a power to weight ratio of more than one PS/ton. It is revealed that the car was built by TXR25's Mysterious Mechanic during his time as a street racer, under the alias of "Machine Light King".
Bios[]
Tokyo Xtreme Racer Bio[]
"Said to be the ghost of a legendary driver who died 10 years ago. None have faced him and lived to tell the tale."
First Bio (Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2)[]
"Legendary racer completely shrouded in mystery. Nobody has ever actually met him. Rumored to appear when there is another racer like him."
Second Bio (Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2)[]
"No one can tell where this mysterious figure will appear next."
First Bio (Zero)[]
"Legendary racer completely shrouded in mystery. Nobody has ever actually met him. Rumored to appear when there is another racer like him."
Second Bio (Zero)[]
"The outside looks classic, but the inside is completely different. Powerful acceleration and out of line turning ability are adequate for the legend."
First Bio (Street Supremacy)[]
"One legend describes him as a demon stalking the Tokyo Highway. Other stories vary, but everyone agrees: This guy is fast. He believes he's the absolute best, and will only speak to drivers he feels are able to comprehend his level of ability"
Second Bio (Street Supremacy)[]
"Underneath his car's classic exterior is a twin-turbo powerhouse that generates neck-breaking acceleration. His cornering ability is baffling. Some speculate he's not the original, but rather a protege of the Driver with No Name."
Racing Battle C1GP[]
"「首都高に巣食う悪魔」伝説の走り屋の亡霊」など、いろいろな噂があるが、いずれの説にも共通して言えることは真に走りを極めた者の前にしか現れないということである。恐るべき加速力と、常識を超えた旋回性能はまさに伝説と呼ぶにふさわしい。先行している時は追う者の気力を削ぎ、追跡中は絶えずプレッシャーを与え続けるという。
Translated to English:
"There are various rumors such as" the devil nestling in the capital "and the legendary runner's ghost, but what can be said in common in any theory is that it only appears in front of those who have truly run It is. The tremendous acceleration power and turning performance beyond common sense is just a legend. It is said that the chasing person's energy is reduced when he is ahead, and the pressure is constantly applied during the chase.
Import Tuner Challenge Bio[]
"Known as "The Demon of the Metro" or "The Ghost of a Legendary Racer", he won't appear unless his opponent has truly mastered racing. The body is a famous old car, but there is something different inside. His magical acceleration and cornering is legendary. If he's ahead he saps the will of his opponent and if he's behind, he keeps up the pressure."
Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2025[]
"There are many rumours of it, such as "the Demon haunting the Shuto Expressway", or "The Ghost of a legendary racer from decades ago". Whatever it is, all agree he only appears to those who have truly mastered driving. Though his car is a classic, his internals are entirely different. With seemingly magical acceleration and extraordinary cornering, he truly deserves the title of Legend. When leading, he drains the chaser's will, and when chasing, he continuously pressures them."
Gallery[]
.png "Unknown License Plate (TXR Zero).png (458 KB)")
Defeat strategies[]
Unknown, being the final boss of basically all TXR games but TXR3, has performance stats that are beyond what everyone else is capable of doing. Still, its a car known to be unstable because of its power, so altough extremely hard, there is some strategies to defeat it depending on the game.
- In the first TXR, ???'s AI is quite well adapted to the car, but since the game only features the C1, the car can't make full use of its top speed specs.
- So, as long as you get challenged out of the straight road in the Ginza section (between the Edobashi and Kyobashi junctions), its possible to beat Unknown by sheer skill. A really recommended strategy, is to be challenged in the Inside C1, forcing him to hard brake in the Edobashi Junction, since all AI drivers struggle that section.
From TXR2 until ITC, ???'s top speed, yet being hard capped close to, or just above 400 km/h depending on the game, has possibly the quickest acceleration of the whole rooster.
- In TXR2, ??? suffers from extreme wheelspin and poor grip on turns, so the best way to get challenged, is to get challenged near any exit out of the Bayshore line or anywhere in the C1 or New Belt Line as long as there is not any long straights, so he cant get up to speed quickly in the turns. If challenged on the Wangan Line, you will need to be close to any high speed turn, so it will lose SP from hitting the walls.
- TXR: Zero probably features the most infamous version of ???, where the car's top speed is simply uncatchable in time, if raced "under the rules" (on the Wangan Line, on speed alone), it will beat you in under 25 seconds no matter the car you drive, as the S30ZX has the strongest grip of any car in the entire game, coupled with the highest power to weight ratio on the entire roster, probably the highest power-weight ratio, of the entire series (1 hp for each 0.6 kg or 1.3 lb). The only ways to beat him are:
- First, after defeating ZERO (as it is almost always the last Wanderer to be defeated due to requiring a full in-game year, appearing after day 365, giving you plenty of time for all previous Wanderers), you must wait at the victory screen until the autopilot takes you to the K1 line, or the C1. This can take upwards of 20 minutes, depending on where you beat ZERO. After reaching C1, make sure you are not challenged on the straight between Edobashi and Kyobashi JCT, so that it cannot escape.
- Second, if you attempt to challenge ??? on the Wangan Line, it's practically mandatory that you only do so with a Class C car that exceeds 1,000 hp and whose power-to-weight ratio is as close as possible to, or exceeds, 1:1, preferably Speed King's R34KK, White Charisma's FD3RK, or ZERO's 964T. Any car with more than 1,000 hp, or capable of reaching the 263 mph hard cap in less than 15 seconds should also work. This is so you can maintain ??? for at least 10 seconds until ??? inevitably crashes into traffic or any obstacle on the road.
- These two strategies work under the fact that ???'s S30ZX suffers from a very well known, extreme over-steer that the AI simply can't handle quick enough, and WILL crash the car against something.
- It is worth to be emphasized, by speed alone, TXR Zero's Unknown IS UNBEATABLE.
- These two strategies work under the fact that ???'s S30ZX suffers from a very well known, extreme over-steer that the AI simply can't handle quick enough, and WILL crash the car against something.
- In Import Tuner Challenge, ???'s AI, as with like any other driver, has a clumsy behavior on turns, but his acceleration is still quicker than what any other driver before would have.
- The best strategy, is to be challenged either in the C1, or the Ginza lines, and to use nitrous at the very start of the battle, so you can keep up with his initial burst, and wait for any traffic that can block him. DO NOT LET HIM REACH TO THE TATSUMI/ARIAKE STRAIGHT.
- TXR 25 has a pretty straightforward strategy. Unknown's S30 uses nitrous upon the start which along a very high power:weight ratio gives they a really strong 0-400 KM/h aceleration, yet it isn't fully uncatchable depending on the car or setup.
- So the very best advice that can be given, is to also use nitrous upon shifting to 3rd gear (to avoid wheelspin on lower gears), and, if raced in the Wangan line, ensure the car can go above 480 KM/h, since ??? will really slow down the aceleration beyond 450 KM/h.
- It is also extremely advised to use defensive perks, like HP restoration (via near missing traffic), and lowered damage, so ???'s Center-Of-Attention perk attack wont put you at risk of losing.
Trivia[]
- If it's observed closely enough during race in Tokyo Xtreme Racer: ZERO, Unknown's Z has the license number plate "53-68", possibly referencing the license plate "Yokohama 33, Te 53-68", which is the plate of Wangan Midnight's main car, the "Devil Z" .
- It may also be possible that Unknown itself is an homage to Akio Asakura, Wangan Midnight's main protagonist and the Devil Z's current driver.
- This license plate has since reappeared in TXR25.
- Unknown's driver logo/icon for its initial console release appearances features an unholy and demonic symbol of a goat-headed demon above a hexagram. This can be a further homage to the Devil Z's reputation of being an extremely difficult (and even deadly) car to drive for all of its owners.
- This changes during TXR25, with a digital corruption-focused background themed after the RECORD opponents, featuring the name "UNKNOWN" at its center.
- If anything by the game's lore, with TXR2 and Import Tuner Challenge, then both Swift Emperors/Speed Kings/Jintei (Motoya Iwasaki and Ren Tennoji) are the only known individuals to have ever defeated Unknown.
- The third may be Purple Meteor/NAMAHAGE, as everything points to him being the Player in TXR1, but the lore in this game has become confusing and even contradictory with later games, so this fact cannot yet be completely confirmed.
- This may also explain why TXR3 doesn't feature ???, as his only requirement is to beat all racers on the bay roads, and since Snake Eyes canonically never raced against Speed King/Jintei (then Motoya Iwasaki, Snake Eyes being the Player from TXR3), this would make his explicit requirement never be fulfilled.
- According to Tetsuya Kudo (Machine Light King), this car was the one he built as the last car his then tuning shop built when he went bankrupt, and became the car he ran until his then retirement, when he got rid of the S30. It can be deduced that, the original B.A.D. name of the car, was "Machine Light King", switching names to "???" after the driver's change (single, or several).
