Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero

Shutokou Battle 0 (首都高バトル 0), also known as Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero in North America or simply Tokyo Xtreme Racer (not to be confused with the original Dreamcast game of the same name) in Europe and Australia, is a 2001 racing game developed and published by Genki (JP), Crave Entertainment (NTSC-U) and Ubisoft (PAL). The game was originally going to be released on Dreamcast, but due to said console's discontinuation, the game was moved to Sony's PlayStation 2.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) It's an enhanced PlayStation 2 port of Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 with additional content.
 * 2) The number of rivals and wanderers have been expanded up to 400.
 * 3) Unlike the previous game, you start with a higher amount of credits so you can purchase some of the best Class A starter cars like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III (called Type-CE9A in the game).
 * 4) The number of rims have been increased rather than being separated for each car that you're driving in the previous titles.
 * 5) Improved graphics and larger draw distance.
 * 6) The physics and handling model have been overhauled. Also, your car no longer comes to a full stop when bumping into a wall even with the slightest touch.
 * 7) Additional new cars such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII (CT9A), AB-Flug Supra S900 (A80RZK), Mazda Roadster/MX-5/Miata (NB8RS) and the Subaru Impreza WRX (GD).
 * 8) Great soundtrack (including remixed versions of music from the previous games) such as "Clever Drive", "Be Alert", "A Starting Point" (Unknown's theme), "Night Trap" and "Dead or Alive".
 * 9) New bosses such as Motoya Iwasaki AKA "Jintei/Speed King" (the leader of "13 Devils" and a recurring character until Import Tuner Challenge), who drives a Calsonic-esque Nissan Skyline BNR34 GT-R V-Spec (also one of the best and most iconic cars in the entire game).

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Since it's a port of Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2 for PlayStation 2, the game itself can be quite repetitive.
 * 2) It's the first game where you're forced to do a 100% completion before you can actually beat Unknown mentioned above and beating the wanderers while meeting certain conditions (Such as Technician Guy, where you can only face him on Wangan Southbound if you own ten cars) can be pretty painful. With Z.E.R.O. (Tatsuya Shima-esque wanderer) still being the worst offender since 2, where you'll have to face him after AN ENTIRE IN-GAME YEAR!
 * 3) The first bosses like Traitor/Betrayal Jack Knife and Unhappy/Dejected Angel are a noticeable difficulty spike and their battles are luck-based, specially if you're playing the game for the first time.

Trivia

 * In the NTSC-U version of Tokyo Xtreme Racer: Zero, all cars based on Honda models have their chassis codes changed due to copyright issues and said manufacturer not being keen in their cars being involved in illegal street racing (with exceptions such as Electronic Arts' Need for Speed: Underground, as it was a closed-track game). As a result, the cover art was recycled from the previous game with the Honda NSX Type-R having its front changed. Ironically, it remains unchanged on the game disc.