High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge

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NTSC-U NTSC-J
High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge
System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Atlus (JP), Atlus Software (US)
Developer: Cave, Atlus
Sound driver: SCSP/CD-DA (7 tracks)
Peripherals supported: Arcade Racer
Genre: Racing
Number of players: 1-2
Release Date RRP Code JP 1995-11-10 ¥5,800 (5,974)5,800e T-14401G US 1995-11-24 T-14402H

High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge, known as Touge King the Spirits (峠キング・ザ・スビリッツ) in Japan, is a racing game developed by Cave and published by Atlus for the Sega Saturn. It was not released in Europe.

The game was followed by Touge King the Spirits 2.

Gameplay

Two-player split screen

As its names may suggest, High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge is based on "touge" (峠) racing, a branch of motorsports which sees two cars race head-to-head in the mountain passes of Japan. The roads consist of sharp turns, so success relies not only on moving fast, but also being able to successfully drift around corners.

With a standard control pad, the car is steered with and . It accelerates with using a manual transmission or with using an automatic transmission. Instead of choosing the transmission prior to starting the race, the player can switch freely between the two during the race depending on which button is used to accelerate. The manual transmission offers considerably more control through the winding turns of the game's mountain courses. It is downshifted with and upshifted with . The player can shift the car into reverse by holding and pressing .

The car brakes with . If the player is not holding down the accelerator, the brake corresponds to the brake pedal, which stops the front wheels and slows the car. While the accelerator is depressed, the brake corresponds to the handbrake, which stops the rear wheels, inducing oversteer and causing the rear end of the car to kick out in a direction opposite to the front wheels. This is used deliberately for drifting, sliding the car sideways through a tight turn that exceeds the normal turning radius of the car. To drift effectively, the player must pull the handbrake as the car is entering the turn, then release the accelerator and counter-steer to correct the trajectory of the car, and finally reapply the accelerator to regain traction on the driven wheels and stabilize the movement of the car. Carefully timing the stages of the turn and managing the application of the brake and throttle are essential to drifting without losing control of the car, and players must master this technique to be competitive on the game's challenging mountain roads.

There are two views, a first-person perspective from the front of the car and a third-person view from behind the car, which are toggled with .

The game supports the Arcade Racer for analogue control. All of the controls are the same, except the car is steered by turning the wheel and shifted using the paddle shifters.

Modes

There are three game modes:

• King Battle: A single player chooses a course and a car and participates in a series of six heats against a computer-controlled opponent. Each heat is two laps, and heats can be played in any order, with progress saved to the Saturn's internal memory. If the player wins first place in every heat (in either direction), the player becomes "King of the Mountain" for that particular course.
• Versus Battle: Two players compete on any course over three laps, with either a horizontal or vertical split screen.
• Time Trial: A single player competes for the best time on any course over three laps, with no opponent.

Tune-Up

Tune-up

In the Versus Battle and Time Trial modes, players have access to a Tune-Up menu for customizing their cars before the race. Equipment is divided into the following categories:

• Engine: Choose between two additional engines with different torque curves, one tuned for faster acceleration and the other for higher top speeds. Toggle polished ports (to allow better airflow through the head) or bored cylinders (to increase engine displacement), which add horsepower.
• Turbo: Add forced induction: up to two turbos plus a supercharger can be equipped at the same time, in addition to variable valve control and an intercooler.
• Muffler: Choose between three muffler sizes.
• Suspension: Choose between two levels of suspension stiffness.
• Brakes: Choose between three levels of brakes.
• Tires: Choose between five tires with different tread patterns.
• Aero Parts: Choose between two levels of downforce.
• Etc: Toggle a roll bar, tower bar, limited slip differential, lighter body, or "good luck charm."

The game saves the player's customization to the Saturn's internal memory.

Cars

Neither the Japanese nor North American versions are licensed by any real car companies, thus the game presents the user with six fictional cars based on Japanese sports cars of the time. Players can also choose from six different colors.

	Type A
	Resembles a fourth generation Nissan Skyline GT-R. Front engine, rear-wheel drive 2,589 cc, 6-cylinder engine 286 PS at 6,800 rpm 37.5 kg·m at 4,400 rpm 0-600 feet in 6.41 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 12.55 seconds
	Type B
	Resembles a first generation Honda NSX. Mid-engine, rear-wheel drive 2,988 cc 6-cylinder engine 280 PS at 7,300 rpm 30.0 kg·m at 5,400 rpm 0-600 feet in 8.36 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 12.80 seconds
	Type C
	Resembles a first generation Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Despite being the only front-wheel drive car, it handles similarly to the other cars in the game. Front engine, front-wheel drive 1,985 cc 4-cylinder engine 260 PS at 6,500 rpm 31.5 kg·m at 5,000 rpm 0-600 feet in 8.88 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 13.31 seconds
	Type D
	Resembles a first generation Mazda MX-5. Front engine, rear-wheel drive 1,868 cc 4-cylinder engine 130 PS at 6,500 rpm 16.0 kg·m at 4,500 rpm 0-600 feet in 10.70 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 16.12 seconds
	Type E
	Resembles a fourth generation Toyota Supra. Front engine, rear-wheel drive 2,978 cc 6-cylinder engine 280 PS at 5,600 rpm 31.5 kg·m at 5,000 rpm 0-600 feet in 9.18 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 13.51 seconds
	Type F
	Resembles a third generation Mazda RX-7. Front engine, rear-wheel drive 2,568 cc rotary engine 255 PS at 6,500 rpm 30.0 kg·m at 5,000 rpm 0-600 feet in 8.66 seconds, 0-1,200 feet in 13.19 seconds

Courses

High Velocity features three courses of increasing difficulty, which can be raced either clockwise or anticlockwise (in three randomised times of day: day, dusk, and night). All three are based on real areas of Japan but have fictional circuit layouts.

Courses contain six checkpoints. The player's best times for each checkpoint on each course are saved to the Saturn's internal memory in the King Battle and Time Trial modes.

	Course 1: Full Counter
	Set at Mt. Tarumi in the Kantō region of Japan. It is the beginner course but nonetheless contains multiple turns that require players to learn how to drift effectively.
	Course 2: Power Slide
	Set at Hakone, a mountain resort in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Mt. Fuji. It is an intermediate course with narrow winding roads and a hairpin turn.
	Course 3: Full Boost
	Set at the base of a mountain overlooking the city of Ikoma in Nara Prefecture. It is an expert course with a 90-degree turn in the city center.

Versions

Localised names

Also known as

Language	Localised Name	English Translation
English (US)	High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge	High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge
Japanese	峠KING THE SPIRITS	Touge King the Spirits

Comparisons

Main article: High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge/Comparisons.

Magazine articles

Main article: High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

PDF

JP flyer

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1995-10: "October 1995" (1995-09-08)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1995-11: "November 1995" (1995-10-07)

Print advert in Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) #1995-12: "December 1995" (1995-11-08)

Print advert in Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) #77: "December 1995" (1995-xx-xx)

Print advert in Strana Igr (RU) #1 (1996-xx-xx)
also published in:

• Strana Igr (RU) #2: "Mart 1996" (1996-xx-xx)

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average
Publication Score Source

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Based on 0 review

Sega Retro Average

Publication Version Score Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J 65 Fun Generation (DE) 70 GameFan (US) NTSC-U 83 Game Players (US) NTSC-U 84 GamePro (US) NTSC-U 58 Game Informer (US) NTSC-U 61 MAN!AC (DE) NTSC-U 72 Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-J 79 Next Generation (US) NTSC-U 25 Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J 68 Saturn+ (UK) NTSC-J 88 Sega Power (UK) NTSC-J 19 Sega Pro (UK) NTSC 80 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 73 Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J 78 Última Generación (ES) 80 Video Games (DE) NTSC-U 66

	68
Based on 17 reviews

High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge

Saturn, JP
Cover
Disc

Saturn, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Technical information

Main article: High Velocity: Mountain Racing Challenge/Technical information.

External links

• Sega of America webpage: Saturn