Virtua Racing Deluxe (バーチャレーシング デラックス) is an enhanced port of Virtua Racing, released as a launch title for the Sega 32X in North America and Europe in late 1994.
Much of its team was comprised of developers who had produced the port of Virtua Racing to the Sega Mega Drive, however the visuals in Virtua Racing Deluxe are far more accurate and the some music was rearranged. Naofumi Hataya also composed several new tracks for the game, in some cases replacing original themes.
With ideas similar to the original, Virtua Racing Deluxe plays much the same as its 1992 arcade counterpart.
Cars
In contrast to the arcade original, Virtua Racing Deluxe gives the player a choice between three cars.
Formula Car
A single-seat, open-wheel race car, similar to those used in Formula One and the Indianapolis 500. This is the same car that is available in the arcade version of the game.
Stock Car
A race car resembling a production car, similar to those used in NASCAR.
Prototype Car
A sports prototype race car, similar to those used in Le Mans and the FIA WEC.
Tracks
Virtua Racing Deluxe includes all three tracks from the arcade Virtua Racing, plus two exclusive tracks to the 32X:
Highland
Highland is a mountainous track with buildings and trees as scenery.
Sand Park
Sand Park is a desert track with rock formations.
Versions
Virtua Racing Deluxe operates at around 20FPS during gameplay - two-thirds of the frame rate of the arcade game which targets 30FPS (though more than the Mega Drive conversion's 15FPS).
In order to speed up processing time, the collision detection has been pared back. In the arcade version, driving into a palm tree causes the car to stop and coconuts to fall, while on the 32X the car clips straight through. Likewise road signs which would be pushed out of the way by the player's car in the arcade have no collision detection on the 32X.