Battle Gear 3 VS Initial D : Special Stage

[PowerK]

Hi, folks.

I'm considering on importing one of those two racers for PS2. Battle Gear 3 or Initial D : Special Stage.

I've played Initial D : Arcade Stage Ver.2 couple of times at arcades....and although I liked it....it was a bit...too arcadey for my taste. (I know it never tries to be a simulation racing, and I respect that).

Anyway, I've never played Battle Gear series... I've only heard that the latest one which is Battle Gear 3 was little bit more realistic racer than Intial D.

Those of you who's played both of them, what're your thoughts/opinions ?

Help me decide.

Cheers.

Regards,
PowerK
Initial D fanatic.

 

[kirkis9]

BG3 in short has advanced physics but not real sim mode. You cant tune up your car AT ALL, just the exterior. However the gameplay Drasticaly makes up for what Initial D A.S. should have been. they are both

http://www.bakkayoma.com/artikles/artikles.htm
bg3 review+vids

 

[PowerK]

kirkis9, thanks for you input.

Gees, it's quite confusing.. you know I've found out that Battle Gear 3, and Initial D : Special Stage are not the only Initial D (Anime) inspired games on PS2... There're more... such as Kaido Battle, and Shutoko Battle.

Very hard to decide.

 

[PowerK]

Do you know if Battle Gear 3 for PS2 supports 16x9 widescreen aspect ratio ?

 

[animalica]

"Initial D - Special Stage" - a good game with a very sensitive arcadey handling, good tracks, story is supported with pics from the Manga, some events are related to the story and the same music like in the anime.
A good FAQ is available at www.gamefaqs.com.

"Battle Gear 3" - best graphics in a PS2 racer after the GT series (but a little bit übershiny bodies), handling not sim and not arcade, real cockpit view, only japanese manufacturers, 61 cars and 7 tracks + reverse (at least 2 are real), only optical tuning.
Predecessor was "Battle Gear 2"/"Tokyo Road Race" (PAL), a good game but BG3 is much more advanced in everything - and not so hard.
Or just read here about BG3:
www.novicius.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=578

"Initial D - Special Stage" is now available as "Playstation 2 the Best" - means only ~30 US Dollars.

Important!:
If you are buying PS2 imports, pay attention if you are buying the Japan or Asian (mainly for Hongkong) version.
If you are one of the unworthy people like me who are using cheat devices it`s easier to find codes for the japanese version than for the asian version.

The japanese versions are most of the time a little bit more expensive than the asian.


BG3 Asian needs a code and password to unlock the garage mode.
SCEH forgot to put the code to the game, so you can find it here:
www.playstation.com.hk/whatsnew/news_pr/20040115.html

If you got a japanese PS2 and a BBA you might play BG3 online.
If you got a chipped japanese PS2 the chip must be turned off.

The limited japanese BG3 version comes with a key for the BG3 arcade cabinet and a Skyline toy car.


Some places to order:

www.play-asia.com
www.lik-sang.com
www.yesasia.com

Up to now I only ordered at Play Asia and they are fast and reliable.

 

[PowerK]

animalica,

Thanks for your informative reply. That helps a lot.

 

[Kaniyodrift]

Originally posted by animalica
"Battle Gear 3" - best graphics in a PS2 racer after the GT series

It's already April?

 

[animalica]

Originally posted by Kaniyodrift
It's already April?

No it`s February.

The cars don`t use so much polygons like the GT series but they look right and well done (angles, proportions, scale etc).
And the scenery looks more lively.

But look for yourself:

Fanpage with forum and a video and screenshot section:
www.battlegear3.org

Another fanpage (with 3 replay videos):
www.bakkayoma.com/artkive/game/battlergear3.htm

The official japanese homepage:
www.battlegear.net

Download the trailer (highly recommended!):
7,46 MB:
http://download.battlegear.net/bg3ps2_256k.wmv
15,7 MB:
http://download.battlegear.net/bg3ps2_512k.wmv

Screens:
www.the-magicbox.com/game070602h.htm
www.the-magicbox.com/game081902h.htm
www.consoles-otaku.com/previews/ps2/Battle_Gear_3/Battle_Gear_3.htm

 

[Kaniyodrift]

Originally posted by animalica

The cars don`t use so much polygons like the GT series but they look right and well done (angles, proportions, scale etc).
And the scenery looks more lively.

But look for yourself:

I don't need to look - i play it

Anyway, GT series is not using much polygons... at all - games like Colin McRae Rally use more than twice as many (on PS2)
Polygons are not what makes car model realistic or not: i mean, i have a car in Vice City (PC) that has some 105000 polys - it does not look more realistic than GT's cars that have some 3000-5000 polys. What makes cars realistic are modelling, lightning etc.

Well, my point actually was that BG3 has not best graphics in a PS2 racer after GT (since u stated it had) - NFS: HP2, Burnout 2, and a bunch of other racers on PS2 have better graphics than BG3... but let's drop this subject - i don't actually give a 5#1+ about graphics - never have, never will... heh, after the next gen, this subject will fade away anyway imo

BG3 let's see... the cars feel a lil too light imo, 2 player is pretty fun: especially after crashing into U-turns happens less and less... then switch off CPU-controlled cars and select that special night downhill course AND...

 

[animalica]

Turned off the chip in my PAL PS2, used a "Magic Slide Card" and BG3 started.
But when I try to go online the "DNAS" verification comes up with a 402 error again.
402 = modded console or hardware has other region than the software.
No way to play online with imported games from Japan or USA.

Maybe you can play BG3 online with a JPN PS2 and a JPN version of BG3 (comes with a unique ID & password).
But I don`t know if they block IP`s outside from Japan.

 

[PowerK]

Originally posted by PowerK
Do you know if Battle Gear 3 for PS2 supports 16x9 widescreen aspect ratio ?

Just for the record, Battle Gear 3 does NOT support 16x9 widescreen aspect ratio.

 

[Hks_Fanatic]

i ordered Bg3 today so its on the way sweet!
really looking forward to this one
grtz

 

[DRIFT GOD]

Originally posted by animalica
Turned off the chip in my PAL PS2, used a "Magic Slide Card" and BG3 started.
But when I try to go online the "DNAS" verification comes up with a 402 error again.
402 = modded console or hardware has other region than the software.
No way to play online with imported games from Japan or USA.

Maybe you can play BG3 online with a JPN PS2 and a JPN version of BG3 (comes with a unique ID & password).
But I don`t know if they block IP`s outside from Japan.

you cannot play games online if you swap them in, ive tryed with BG3 and got the DNAS 406 error, to confirm this i took my original copy of NFS:U and swaped it in, tryed to go online and got the DNAS 406 ERROR, hit reset loaded the game {without swapping} went online with no problems. this is also why you cant play your burnt copies online, if there was a way to load imports/burnt games with no modchip/swap discs they would work

my opinion of BG3 is that this is the best "DRIFT BASED" game ive ever played, there is no need for sim mode because each car has its own unique handeling and as you progress though the challenge mode you get better/faster cars. the interior view is great, the S2000 has a digital dash that looks cool, and the lighting effects are great, lights come on in tunnels, pop-up headlights "pop-up" tire marks stay on the road, the only thing i dont like is the limited number of cars & tracks, otherwise i would rate this game 8 out of 10

 

[godzilla_GTR]

have any of you played road rage 3?

 

[Omnis]

i absolutely hate battle gear.....at least the arcade cabinet. its incredibly small, you sit upright, and the steering wheel is in a bad position.

lol. ps2 version might be cool. and i hear kaido battle is great

 

[Race Idiot]

Well i've only played Kaido Battle 2 and Initial D SS. Kaido battle 2 wipes the floor with Special stage.