Bigben and Kylotonn are reviving the classic V-Rally series, and it's coming to Switch.
V-Rally 4 will be the first entry in the series since 2003, and comes to Switch, Xbox One, PS4 and PC this September. The first entry appeared way back in 1997 on the original PlayStation.
Here's some PR:
Absent since 2003, the epic title is now making its big comeback with more than 50 models of emblematic rallying and extreme motorsports vehicles. Nostalgic players can collect, upgrade, customize, and master the favorite cars, three of which can be seen in today's trailer - a Porsche 911 Safari, a Ford Mustang and a Ford Fiesta RS RX.
V-Rally was first released in 1997 on PlayStation 1, revolutionizing the genre with 3 game modes and a selection of real-world vehicles and famous tracks. Some years later, on PlayStation 2, V-Rally 3 released to huge success, adding a career mode with decisive team choices and an even greater number of tracks.
With V-Rally 4, the goal is to remain faithful to the identity of the franchise, which earned the support of millions of fans, and to strike a perfect balance between sensation, presentation, and simulation, while offering the best graphics and gameplay the latest technology can support.
"It's a real privilege for me to once again work on the V-Rally series," said Alain Jarniou, Game Director at Kylotonn. "It's an extraordinary title that I have a very special connection to. I had a chance to join the team that created V-Rally to develop V-Rally 3 on the PlayStation 2 as a programmer. I'm very proud to be working on the franchise again 15 years later."
V-Rally 4 features:
+ Rally: From Africa to Sequoia Park and Japan, travel the world along difficult tracks and in extreme conditions, such as snow, ice, and mud.
+ Extreme-Khana: You'll have to be a master of precision and drifting on these tracks full of pitfalls.
+ V-Rally Cross: Leave your opponents in the dust on these dirt and asphalt tracks and take on 7 expert adversaries.
+ Buggy: Hop into your all-terrain vehicle to win the race on these particularly rugged tracks. Not for the faint of heart!
+ Hillclimb: Race to the top behind the wheel of powerful cars.
You can also prove yourself in V-Rally 4's Online and Career modes.
Will you be hopping into the driver's seat with this one?
Comments 57
YES! Very happy with this news.
Heck yeah. Really, really hope this turns out good. Was a big fan on ps1.
interesting. will look into
Fantastic news! I think it could do better on switch than any other console due to lack of competition.
Apart from the GBA version has there been a version on a Nintendo console since N64?
Hopefully it’s good. I’ve been needing to scratch a racing itch that MK8 just doesn’t satisfy anymore.
I'm not normally a graphics whore but I can see me going for the Xbox version on this one.
Will have to see some reviews nearer the time
Awesome!! Definitely my favorite game genre. Can't wait to see how this turns out!
Awesome. I love rally games. I wonder how it'll be without analog triggers though. I never played V-Rally, so don't know if it tries to be at all realistic. However the Dirt series are favorites of mine, and they would't be nearly as fun and engaging without analog throttle control.
@neyoung8 i looked. the third game came to Gamecube in Europe.
If it turns out good I will definitely pick this up! Like others have pointed out, a good racer on Switch is very welcome.
@neyoung8 Yes, there was, V-Rally 3 on the GameCube:
DiRT Rally on Switch will be better.
Yes
@ThanosReXXX Crap that looks good! So there's no way for me to play this easily on my NA Cube?
They lose the WRC license?
V-Rally never was much about realism. Where simcades go, this franchise was much more arcade than it was simulator. I don't believe the lack of analog triggers will pose them any problems if they try to stay true to the roots of this name, since I doubt wheel spin and brake lock will be modeled.
There's also always the old fall back from the Dual Shock 1/2 days, before Sony had their own analog triggers. Push the right analog stick forward to accelerate and backwards to brake, allowing much more finesse than possible with a digital button (Or the analog face buttons on a DS2 with a mere few millimeters of throw that made the analog feature absolutely pointless).
Definitely interested in this but would like to see some proper gameplay footage.
I could be into slinging some dirt on the go.
Does anyone know if you can do first person in this game?
@Mart1ndo @balboa Not really there are a lot of workaround options. 1. Use the right analogue stick for throttle, 2. R trigger for full throttle, bottom r trigger for half, 3. Double tap bottom right trigger for full throttle, once for half. And that’s just off the top of my head.
Hopefully this doesn't turn out like project cars did on Wii U where it never gets released. Because the Switch needs some more great third party support and hopefully you can use the analogue Sticks for throttle in the game.
I absolutely love rally racing. I used to play Top Gear Rally so much on N64 and really enjoyed that. I even loved rally racing in Gran Turismo 3. If this is any good I’m on it day one.
@SimplyCinnamon53 Safe to assume so, but all that is known is what you saw in this trailer full of renders.
Hard to imagine a rally racer not offering cockpit, bumper, and hood views for those that like to be close to the action rather than parasailing well above and behind their car with a chase viewpoint.
Worth noting that Kylotonn offered the full range of viewpoints with WRC 5-7 the previous three years. Those were their previous rally racers, so if anyone is curious about how this may look and play, take a look at those games on the XB1/PS4 (And I assume PC).
I doubt V-Rally 4 will be a major departure from those, since this strikes me as likely what otherwise would've been WRC 8. But apparently Bigben Interactive (The publisher) must've lost the WRC license.
@Atariboy Thanks for the info
right stick throttle/braking works just fine for those that want it analog. Not really a problem I think.
@Winklebottom @ThanosReXXX thanks, don't remember that one.
@McGruber Well, you could always look for the Japanese version. It has minimal Japanese text, except for the emails you'll get in the game every now and then. Other than that, there's no official way of playing V-Rally 3 on your GameCube.
However: if you still have a Wii or Wii U, you can of course do a Wii softmod, install a nifty little program called "Nintendont", and enjoy a whole catalog of GameCube games from all regions, by putting ISO's of those games on an external hard drive.
As long as they don't screw it up this will be a definite purchase for me
@smithpa01: Agreed! Gosh, though, it looks like it has "switch delay" written all over it . . . . .
V-Rally 3 is a hidden gem of a GBA game hopefully 4 is able to capture the fun of of that one.
@McGruber I forgot to mention that you could also use the program from that video: the Dolphin Emulator. It emulates GameCube and Wii games on any modern PC. Doesn't even have to be a high end gaming rig.
Just download the program from the official Dolphin site, then find an ISO of V-Rally (Dolphin works with all regions, so you can download a PAL version of the game, so you'll have English text) on sites like Emuparadise or The ISO Zone, and play on your PC.
Bonus for Dolphin is that you can upscale the graphics to HD.
WOW this is huge!
Owned V-Rally on GBC, liked it a lot. Will buy this if turns fine
@SimplyCinnamon53 the third one had it. I’d say it’s safe to assume it does. If not, count me out. There was no background music oddly enough. Guess it’s somewhere in between an arcade and sim rally racer.
I'll be curious to see how this looks on Switch.
Nice!! I loved v-rally on PS2!! Rally games usually have such beautiful scenery!! A nice addition to the Switch library which at this point is light on racers!!
Really hope they don't mess this up. Been AGES since I played a decent Rally game.
Oodles of mud, lots of proper damage, and ... NO SMEGGING IAPs TO FIX YOUR CAR....
Great news.
Too bad my kind of racing games are GRID (Autosport) and F1 games these days.
I hope I see them on THE Switch.
It looks like a good game. Hopefully will see more.
@Mart1ndo
"This is where the lack of analogue triggers becomes a problem."
They can always use the right analog stick if needed.
Well there's a blast from the past....
That's a pretty big announcement, I would have said Direct worthy, interesting
Good news. Lack of analogue triggers a definite niggle for me though.
I need V Rally 4 on my Switch ASAP.
Great news used to like these games
@Mart1ndo
You could use the right control stick to accelerate or brake, for example. Or maybe use the left Joy-Con to accelerate and the right Joy-Con to brake.
The Switch desperately needs some more racing games with real cars.
Day one for me!
Right on...
Wait..... What?!!!!!
""Now it turns out"" (surprise for me, I say) that Bigben interactive, in addition to buying the Test Drive franchise, also bought the V-Rally IP and there is a new version in the way?!!!, oh my, oh my!!!!
well, both were part of Atari/Infogrames and developed by Eden Games, but V-Rally had not had a new version for years!;
well, then, to wait!
What emotion!!! ^.^
After completing Gear.Club Unlimited, I now need a newer realistic racer. I hope this will be that.
Has anyone mentioned you could use the analogue sticks rather than moan about buttons yet?
/sarcasm
Rather excited about this. I seem to remember it didn't review as well as Colin McRae back in the old days (loved the first McRae game on PS1, couldn't get to grips with McRae2) but I crave a decent racer with real cars.
Gear Club appears to be a half-baked disappointment so I left it alone, but I'll be looking forward to this.
V rally GBA with the Gameboy player is still fun. I play it quite often.
@Mart1ndo No problem at all. Simulation of analogue press has been implemented for years.
Local Multiplayer or bust..
@ThanosReXXX I never really looked into Dolphin because my laptops are always low end. Is there any way to use a Gamecube or cheap bluetooth controller with it?
@McGruber Yes, there actually is. It's The Wii U GameCube controller adapter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvRzdaLKDls
A lot of people simply use the Mayflash adapter, though. Look for it on Amazon or any other webshop of your preference.
https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-GameCube-Controller-Adapter-Switch/dp/B00RSXRLUE
EDIT:
And although Dolphin supports upgrading your GameCube and Wii games to HD, you could of course always run them in native 480p, which shouldn't be as taxing as upgrading them, so even a moderately powerful system should be able to do that. You could of course always test a game out. Install Dolphin, download a game from either of the sites I mentioned earlier, adjust the settings to make the game run in 480p windowed mode and see if it runs smooth enough.
If so, you can then try full screen, to see if that impacts the performance or not, and if it doesn't, you can try 720p and up.
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