F355 Challenge

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NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J NAOMI NTSC-U/PAL NTSC-J
F355 Challenge
System(s): Sega NAOMI Multiboard, Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
Publisher: Sega Enterprises, Ltd. (JP) Sega Enterprises, Inc. (U.S.A.) (US) Acclaim Entertainment (US, Europe) Sega Corporation (Japan) Sega of America (US) Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (Europe)
Developer: Sega AM2 Sega Mechatro (Deluxe Cabinet) AM2 of CRI Tose
Distributor: Halifax (IT) Infogrames Benelux (NL)
Licensor: Ferrari Idea
Peripherals supported: Visual Memory Unit, Jump Pack, Dreamcast Modem, Race Controller, Visual Memory Unit, Dreamcast VGA Box, Dreamcast Taisen Cable GT Force
Genre: Racing Simulator (レーシングシミュレーター), Racing
Number of players: 1-2
Official in-game languages: 日本語 English Français Deutsch Español Italiano
Release Date RRP Code JP 1999-07 ¥? ? US 1999-09 $? ? JP 2000-08-03 ¥5,800 (6,090)5,800e HDR-0100 US 2000-09-18 $44.9944.99 T-8119N DE 2000-10-20 T-8118D-18 ES 2000-10-20 FR 2000-10-20 T-8118D-59 UK 2000-10-20 £39.9939.99 T-8118D-05 IT 2000-10-20 FR/NL 2000-10-20 T-8118D-59 AU 2001-01-12 JP 2002-09-26 ¥6,800 (7,140)6,800 (7,140) SLPM-65178 US 2002-09-28 SLUS-20558 EU (Promo) 2002 SCES-50956 EU (NL/DE/IT/FR) 2002-09-27 SCES-50956 DE 2002-09-27 SCES-50956 ES 2002-09-27 SCES-50956 FR 2002-09-27 SCES-50956 UK 2002-09-27 SCES-50956 IT 2002 SCES-50956 AU 2002 SCES-50956

F355 Challenge (F355 チャレンジ), also known as F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa, is an arcade racing game developed by Sega AM2 for Sega NAOMI Multiboard hardware. It is the brainchild of AM2 head and Ferrari enthusiast Yu Suzuki, and was originally released in 1999.

Like previous Sega AM2 racing games, F355 Challenge is based on a real event endorsed and run by supercar manufacturer, Ferrari - the "Ferrari Challenge". Here, Ferrari owners come together and race across various race tracks across North America. At the time, they were likely running an "F355 Challenge" for the Ferrari F355 as the car was still current, however this changes year-on-year (at the time of writing for example, they are running F430 and 458 challenges, though the basic goals are the same).

The game's subtitle "Passione Rossa" is Italian for "Red Passion", and takes its name from the official Ferrari owners club of the same name.

Gameplay

As the name suggests, the game has you race in a Ferrari F355 against other cars around a series of tracks. No other cars feature within the game though there are a number of options allowing you to modify your car to your liking. The player races through a dozen tracks based on real locations aiming to finish first. Up to two players are supported on-screen at once.

The arcade F355 Challenge is also notable for its deluxe configuration, which adds an extra two screens on either side of the "main" monitor. This allows players to look left or right and see more of the playfield. It is impossible in the Arcade and Dreamcast versions of F355 Challenge to change the view - games are always played as if the player was sitting in the driver's seat.

Tracks

• Motegi (oval circuit)
• Suzuka (short configuration)
• Monza (1998 configuration)
• Sugo
• Suzuka (full configuration)
• Long Beach
• Atlanta*
• Nürburgring*
• Laguna-Seca*
• Sepang*
• Fiorano (Ferrari test track)*

* exclusive to home versions.

History

Development

F355 Challenge was conceived by Yu Suzuki, who had been working for over ten years trying to deliver a true driving experience to video game consumers. The game can be seen as a spiritual sequel to the 1986 release of OutRun, however was designed with a completely different style of gameplay in mind. Whereas OutRun (and many other Sega arcade racers) aim for a unrealistic and fast-paced arcade experience, F355 Challenge aims to be as realistic as possible, giving the user the experience of driving a Ferrari without actually owning one.

It is rumoured that Yu Suzuki's personal Ferrari F355 was used as a basis for many of the features included in this game.

The game features a hard rock soundtrack by Japanese singers Genki Hitomi and Minoru Niihara.

Legacy

The arcade version was followed by F355 Challenge 2: International Course Edition in 2001. F355 Challenge 2 is largely the same game but gives arcade users the five console-only tracks from F355 Challenge and two new music tracks.

Versions

The Original Arcade Version Of F355, Released in July 1999 was only available as a deluxe version, and uses its own BIOS that is made especially for the game, the BIOS itself is based on the rev C NAOMI BIOS with support for a special shared memory board that interfaces with all 4 NAOMI motherboards. 3 of the NAOMI systems are set as slaves, and the 4th is the master, syncing all of the units together. All Arcade Deluxe variants of F355 can support an optional thermal printer that prints out your racing line, lap times and gear shifting. The December 1999 version used a Updated BIOS,added multiplayer,and a single screen twin mode, which only uses 2 NAOMIs instead of 4. twin mode also removes the simulator setting and thermal printer, as the six speed shifter and clutch was removed in this version to make it more affordable. and added VMU support to view your race data on Shenmue Passport although the Dreamcast version can also read this data. In August 2000, F355 Challenge was ported to the Sega Dreamcast, in the west sporting a subtitle, F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa. Acclaim distributed the game in North America and Europe instead of Sega itself. Following the demise of the Dreamcast, it was also brought to the PlayStation 2 in 2002, this time as Ferrari F355 Challenge. The home ports feature a number of options not seen in the arcade original, most notably five unlockable tracks, online play in the Dreamcast version, and a third-person camera in the PS2 version.

While the use of NAOMI hardware makes the Dreamcast port almost identical to the arcade game, the PlayStation 2 version makes several noticeable cutbacks, rendering in a lower screen resolution and sporting a simpler lighting model and less detailed textures in some areas.

Sega Logistics Service announced it would end service on the arcade machines on March 31, 2017.

Production credits

Main article: F355 Challenge/Production credits.

Digital manuals

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  NAOMI US manual (deluxe)

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  NAOMI US manual (deluxe; alt)

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  NAOMI US manual (twin)

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  NAOMI US manual (twin; alt)

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  NAOMI US manual (twin, addendum)

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  NAOMI US service bulletin

Magazine articles

Main article: F355 Challenge/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

PDF

NAOMI JP flyer (1)

PDF

NAOMI JP flyer (2)

PDF

NAOMI US flyer

PDF

NAOMI UK flyer

Dreamcast print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #137: "December 2000" (2000-10-30)

Dreamcast print advert in Dreamcast Magazine (JP) #2000-27: "2000-27 (2000-08-18)" (2000-08-04)

Dreamcast print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) #12: "October 2000" (2000-09-07)
also published in:

• Dreamcast Magazine (UK) #13: "No. 13" (2000-09-07)

Dreamcast print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #6: "Septembre/Octobre 2000" (2000-0x-xx)

Dreamcast print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #7: "Décembre 2000/Janvier 2001" (2000-1x-xx)

Print advert in Neo Plus (PL) #30: "Marzec 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Neo Plus (PL) #31: "Kwiecień 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
• Neo Plus (PL) #32: "Maj 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
• Neo Plus (PL) #33: "Czerwiec 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
• Neo Plus (PL) #34: "Lipiec-Sierpień 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
• Neo Plus (PL) #35: "Wrzesień 2001" (2001-xx-xx)

Artwork

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Photo gallery

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  Twin cabinet

Physical scans

NAOMI version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score Arcade (UK) 100 Consoles News (FR) 90 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 97

	96
Based on 3 reviews

F355 Challenge

NAOMI, World(?)
Wiring diagram

Dreamcast version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score 576 Konzol (HU) 93 Ação Games (BR) 81 Arcade (UK) NTSC-J 75 Bonus (YU) PAL 84 Click! (PL) 60 Consoles + (FR) NTSC-J 88 Computer & Video Games (UK) 50 Dreamcast Monthly (UK) PAL 100 Dreamcast Monthly (UK) NTSC-J 100 Dreamcast Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 83 Dreamcast Magazine (UK) PAL 91 Dorimaga (JP) NTSC-J 90 Edge (UK) NTSC-J 70 Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U 70 Entsiklopediya igr dlya Dreamcast (RU) 80 Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 73 Fun Generation (DE) NTSC-J 93 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 80 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 85 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 90 Game Station (UK) 90 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 72 Gamers' Republic (US) NTSC-U 100 Hyper (AU) PAL 89 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 89 MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-J 89 Mega Fun (DE) PAL 88 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 88 Neo Plus (PL) 90 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 75 Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) PAL 80 Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) NTSC-U 70 Playmag (FR) NTSC-J 75 Play (PL) 92 PSX Extreme (PL) 83 Sega Magazin (DE) NTSC-J 90 Strana Igr (RU) 90 Strana Igr (RU) 88 Video Gamer (UK) 70 Video Games (DE) PAL 78 Video Games (DE) NTSC-J 70

	83
Based on 41 reviews

F355 Challenge

Dreamcast, JP
Cover
Disc Manual Spine Card File:F355Challenge DC JP RegCard.pdf Registration Card File:F355Challenge DC JP DreamPointBankCard.pdf Dream Point Bank Card File:F355Challenge DC JP FerrariOfficialGoodsPresent.pdf "Ferrari Official Goods Present" Campaign Insert

Dreamcast, US
Cover
Disc Manual Inlay

Dreamcast, UK
Cover
Disc File:F355-DC-UK-Manual.pdf Manual File:F355-DC-UK-QRC.pdf Reg Card

Dreamcast, FR/NL
Cover
Disc File:F355-DC-EU-Manual.pdf Manual

Dreamcast, DE
Cover
Disc

Dreamcast, IT
Cover
Disc

Dreamcast, ES
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2 version

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average
Publication Version Score GamePro (US) NTSC-U 70 GamesMaster (UK) PAL 84 Game Station (UK) 70 MAN!AC (DE) PAL 86 PlayStation 2 Official Magazine - UK (UK) PAL 70 Play (US) NTSC-U 80 PSM2 (UK) PAL 67 PSX Extreme (PL) 73

	75
Based on 8 reviews

F355 Challenge

PlayStation 2, US
Cover
Manual

PlayStation 2, JP
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2, EU (Promo)
Disc

PlayStation 2, NL/DE/IT/FR
Cover

PlayStation 2, UK
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2, FR
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2, FR (Display)
Cover

PlayStation 2, DE
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2, ES
Cover
Disc

PlayStation 2, IT
Cover

PlayStation 2, AU
Cover

Technical information

Main article: F355 Challenge/Technical information.

In the Dreamcast version, the opening cutscene renders up to 1.9 million polygons per second, about 32,000 polygons per scene at 60 FPS.

ROM dump status

System	Hash	Size	Build Date	Source	Comments
?	CRC32 bf9aadf0 MD5 d075df437bfaa5d07e991ea177a26ba1 SHA-1 93b5cdd0626ef81b877f64491e65bf54a0f34941	2,188,509,184		DVD-ROM (EU/AU)	SCES-50956 (V1.00)
?	CRC32 95215558 MD5 60f0fa9d68b7cade9c54900096a513a7 SHA-1 3a616da88aa26727edb9f8c0f7c11780426922ad	1,875,509,248		DVD-ROM (JP)	SLPM-65178 (V1.00)
?	CRC32 2076d6fa MD5 3a5bf67b47a105c30f5adcb36fae3d21 SHA-1 81ada2dabc971a5f8b6151788025f5b594a9055d	1,875,443,712		DVD-ROM (US)	SLUS-20558 (V1.01)

External links

• Acclaim webpage: Dreamcast
• Sega of Japan catalogue pages (Japanese): Dreamcast, PlayStation 2
• Sega.com Asia webpage: Dreamcast
• Sega.com Asia webpage (Chinese): Dreamcast
• F355 Challenge on PlayStation.com: JP, US