The Saturn version (as mentioned in the intro) was virtually unplayable. There are, however, an alarming number of things wrong with the home conversions. I often wonder if having the Champion Circuit Edition as the launch game would have made a difference to how the Saturn sold at launch. They pretty much fixed all of the problems that this original port had and added in some extra stuff too. To be fair, Sega did fix the issues with the game as they released Daytona USA Champion Circuit Edition which is far closer to what we got in the arcade. It is such a shame Sega had to rush it out the door to meet the launch. This is a game that I still have a lot of good memories of. Believe it or not, this was a pretty novel feature back when this game was released.Įven though the Sega Saturn port of Daytona USA could not be any further from being arcade perfect. It does feature damage effects that can alter the way your car handles. It is the kind of racing game that anyone can pick up and play. The gameplay does resemble the Daytona that we all know and love from the arcade. Shaving off seconds here and there on your best times is very addictive. The racing feels loose, arcadey and it is fun to pick up and play.

I must admit there is still a lot of charm to this game. While the game may look very downgraded from the arcade original. Sega wanted this as a launch game for the Saturn and as a result, it had to be rushed out of the door and that is the reason for all of the pop-in. Some may think that Daytona USA was a game that was too complicated to port to the Sega Saturn. However, it is not, the actual road in front of you will pop-in as well. You are driving on a bridge and the bridge is being constructed as you are on it! If it was just the scenery that was popping in as you drove, I could maybe deal with that. I have to say that the Sega Saturn port of Daytona has the worst pop-in I have come across in any video game! I legit cannot do justice just how bad the pop-in this game has is. Still, being able to play Daytona USA in our homes at the time was a huge deal. This was an arcade port so that is the reason why the content is rather shallow. You can play against a friend or do a time trial as well. You can race on their tracks, but there are mirror tracks as well. You get to pick from a handful of stock cars and you need to try and win the races.

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