SEGA AGES Virtua Racing

Thu 27th Jun 2019

Nintendo Life said:

Virtua Racing is by far the most impressive Sega Ages release to date, offering an incredible remaster that doesn’t just replicate the arcade game but actively improves its resolution and frame rate. Newcomers should be aware that it still only offers three tracks and one car, but those willing to accept this fairly meagre offering will find that the new 20-lap Grand Prix mode and the online leaderboards give it a much-needed boost of longevity. Not for everyone, then, but those who ‘get’ it will adore it.

Please note this review is based on the Japanese version of Sega Ages Virtua Racing.

• Watch Review
• Read Full Review

8/10

Tue 13th May 2025

JJtheTexan said:

I was a teenager when Virtua Racing first came to arcades. I distinctly remember being dazzled and almost overwhelmed by it; I'd never seen anything quite like it. If you're unaware, Virtua Racing is an open-wheel racing game and among the first polygonal 3D games ever, and belongs in gaming's canon. Every racing game to come would owe a debt to the trail blazed by SEGA.

This port by the masters at M2 is better than arcade-perfect, and easily the best version of Virtua Racing you can play today. It runs at twice the framerate as the arcade original, and in widescreen, yet it feels completely authentic in a way that betrays my imperfect memory. The racing is tight, fast, challenging, and fun. The music, while sparse, is perfect. Everything looks clean and sharp.

The downside? There is very little content here. This was an arcade game, after all. It was designed for quick and pricey sessions; I think it cost a dollar or more to play, which was very expensive for an early 1990s game. You can see everything this port has to offer in about 15 minutes.

It's hard to complain when M2 did such a masterful job bringing Virtua Racing to life, though I really do wish they'd also recreated some of the extra tracks from Virtua Racing Deluxe on the SEGA 32X.

• Was this review useful?

8/10

Wed 5th Feb 2025

eShopperReviews said:

Sega Ages Virtua Racing gives us the definitive version of the classic Arcade-Style racer, with newly-improved framerates, resolution, and draw distance, and 8-player split screen play, a feature I don't think I've ever seen in another game. It’s still archaic in some ways, but this port has revitalized the game to still be relevant today.

• Was this review useful?

8/10