Zero4 Champ II [ゼロヨンチャンプ] Game Sample -- PC Engine CD

The Zero Saga continues in 1993! Media Rings made one of the few (and most successful) niche drag racing sims. The series has spawned over a half dozen iterations over the period of over ten years (though the PS2 game has standard racing), but got its start on the PC Engine and PCE-CD. You'll either love its approach or hate it for being too boring, as racing is secondary to tuning and the simulation aspects involved. Most games featured a variety of codes or cheats to manage how quickly you get to the meat and potatoes of the game.

Visually, the game is considerably more detailed than its predecessor. It succeeds in creating a decent amount of "photo realism" with its buildings, crowds and cars for the hardware, and event graphics are great. Naturally, the music is much better with the game's move to the CD format, with many tracks having a nearly redbook quality to them and almost every sound the game produces is with CD-DA/ADCPM, keeping everything cohesive.

The setting and story this time around is also quite interesting. Instead of playing it safe, Zero4 leaves Japan and comes to America, so (as you can expect) there are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions in the game about the West (and vice-versa) but also some culturally significant moments as your character tries to fit in to his new surroundings. The game takes place one year after the events of the first game and returning protagonist, Monogusa (by default), has become the best Zero4 champion in Japan, defending his title from rivals... at least until he is bested by an American foreigner! After you finish installing the turbo and intercooler, Asami warns you that a stranger is tearing up the circuit and he's already smoked the top boys. Now you gotta stop him.... but you're handicapped because your car is in the shop for maintenance , so you have to borrow your friend's Toyota 2000GT (which was no slouch and a culturally significant car for the Japanese automotive industry).

Their funny exchange outlines the differences between American and Japanese cars of the time with them going back and forth (like how Monogusa says American cars are always breaking down and always run out of gas while the foreigner says that was ancient history and American cars are way better in design with better fuel economy and that Japanese people should just stick to riding bikes). After losing, your rep is tarnished and you vow to beat him, but he'll only have a rematch on his home turf. So, with the help of your friends, you sell your current car, use Asami's connections to find a place to stay (you live in a barn at her Aunt's house) and get in touch with American circuit sponsors, and bid your girlfriend farewell as you start a new racing chapter.

The dialogue is neat and the game doesn't take itself too seriously (you learn English from a sketchy school in two weeks for $10,000 through "harsh and questionable" censored means). The core of the game is the same, it's just expanded in nearly every way. Minor circuit races (to earn cash and prep for the real deal) are here is well as the ability to bet money on two Zero4 variants for super cars and trucks, shopping for cars and parts and tuning performance (with actual manufacturer licenses and now a garage to store your favorite rides), taking on part-time jobs (in this case, working for the "Absolutely Michigan" pet center, "Go Go Delivery" service or as a security guard in a First-Person RPG) as well as other tasks as the game progresses.

To go in a little more detail, the pet center has you walk dogs with different temperaments as you encounter obstacles. The delivery job gives you thirty seconds to reach a random destination on the map while avoiding cars and obstacles. The security guard job is considerably expanded from the first game. You can now level up, find items, fight different enemies, learn skills, and find unique items that you can use in other modes (like soundtrack CDs to change race music, for example). You can also spare women to get recovery items or find naughty mags to fully recover and have a nosebleed, lol. There are multiple floors to search, and you keep items and levels you get between visits.

Racing itself, as expected, is basic and mainly about tuning and timing. The speed and accuracy between shifting gears and starting is the main component needed to win races. The versus mode is actually a little less robust than the first, but it allows for up to four players and there's an interesting adult Easter egg smuggled away in it. As a whole, the game is a great sim and one of the best of its kind on the system. It has some great graphics, nice music, and a wealth of features that proved that a game for car enthusiasts in this format could be viable. This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.

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