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Post everything about Initial D Arcade Stage 6 AA and 7 AAX here. If you want to talk about ver.1 and ver.2, please post them in the ver.1 - 2 section. For anything about ver.3, please post them in the version 3 section. For anything about ver.4, please post them in the version 4 section. For anything about ver.5, please post them in the version 5 section. Participating in flame wars will be severely punished. NO plagiarism in any case. If you are posting information (i.e. - shift points) that did not originate from this forums, by all means, give the author / source proper credit. Violator will be given a verbal warning on first offence and an actual warning thereafter.


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Views: 20,521  ·  Replies: 6 
> How would you rank version 4-8?
dung
  Posted: Dec 11 2017, 05:22 PM


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Ok, just got my own pair of Initial D4's, US version of the cabinets. I realize that a lot of people hate this version, but for the time being its quite a bit of fun. Right now it is running 1.2, but already have ordered the disk to upgrade it to 1.5. Got lucky and it even came with around 25 nos cards.

However, in the long run trying to figure out what version of the game is the most fun? From my perspective getting any version will be tough.

Version 5 would mean finding the export version security chips and install disk. Upside being it does not require a server and would use my existing lindberghs from ID4. Downside is that there isn't a great place to watch for this to come up. Lindbergh computers go for silly money in the us vs japan so going to want to find the stuff without the system.

Versions 6-8 are, tough. They would require importing 3 ring edge systems from japan. The cpu fan is notorious for breaking in shipping so would probably import a few loose motherboards as well. The next hurdle is that sega started requiring ops to return the security chips when they stopped using the games. They come up for sale, but the are pricey. I saw a version 7 set of chips and disks go for 300 bucks by itself. The other is that the newer ones had online unlocks. These are stored in a battery backed ram on the motherboard. If the battery dies, if the game is changed, if the game is started and not connected to a server, the unlocks are lost.

So, that all said, how would you rank the versions? I have been reading through the forums, but so far have not found a comparison game to game so apologies if this has been asked.

This post has been edited by dung on Dec 11 2017, 05:26 PM
Falbere
Posted: Dec 12 2017, 08:24 AM


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Here are my personal opinions:

#1. Version. 3. This is an all time favorite, full of nostalgia for old players. Being the latest in the pre-HD era of Initial D Arcade Stage, this one had the most amount of game content compared to the original Arcade Stage and Version. 2.
Pros: Translated into English and localized for the US. Cheap. Often considered a classic game.
Cons: The cabinet is older than your Initial D 4, not compatible. Magnetic cards instead of the plastic ones, cheaper but less durable. Most likely not what you are looking for.

#2. 7 AAX. This title drew back a huge crowd of old Initial D players back when it first came out. This was the title that managed to capture the attention of many old players, with its nostalgic classic soundtrack and a much more grippy handling physics, just like the pre-HD era of Initial D Arcade games. A wide variety of tracks and an equally plenty selection of cars means that it definitely is one of the better Initial D Arcade Stage titles.
Pros: Tag mode (co-op multiplayer), Snow tracks (Available only on later versions)
Cons: No English release available, Need to upgrade to Ringedge

#3. 8 Infinity. This is kind of a mixed bag in terms of handling model, it wasn't praised for it, but it is definitely not the worst. Among current-gen Initial D Arcade Games, this is the definitive edition. After updates, this game have even more cars and tracks than 7 AAX, Along with the most amount of customization available for players who purchased card saves.
Pros: Tag Mode and also RivalSide (Singleplayer campaign missions with a ranking system), Tachometer customization (for card saves), Variety of other customization options
Cons: Tag Mode and half the Story mode campaign is locked and not playable on ver. 1.0, New cars and tracks are not available until updates are present. No English release available
Note: Players can purchase cards themselves that might come with the locked cars.

#4. Arcade Stage 5. This is often praised for its handling, which had a unique tire wear mechanic that never re-appeared in its sequels. Players who had played it either hate it to the extreme, or love it a lot. Most players really enjoyed it. The physics can even allow players without card saves to beat players with fully upgraded cars, as long as the skill is there. Thus, this game is one of the more rewarding ones for players who practice and master the game.
Pros: Lindbergh system (no need to upgrade), Slower paced playstyle means reduced wear on mechanical components such as steering wheel and pedals
Cons: No English release available, no Tag game mode, less cars than its successors

#5. Version. 2. This is also a classic. There isn't anything wrong with this one (except for the usual car balance issues), just that Version. 3 have more content. Many players feel more nostalgic about Ver. 2 than Ver. 3.
Pros: Translated into English and localized for the US. Cheap. Often considered a classic game.
Cons: The cabinet is older than your Initial D 4, not compatible. Magnetic cards instead of the plastic ones, cheaper but less durable. Most likely not what you are looking for.

#6. 6 Double Ace. This is the first Initial D title to use the Lindbergh system. It also introduced the tag mode that everybody is familiar with by now, although story mode tag doesn't exist until 7. This game also ditched the well praised tire wear system from Arcade Stage 5.
Pros: Tag mode (co-op multiplayer)
Cons: No English release available, Need to upgrade to Ringedge

#7. Arcade Stage Zero. As of the current date of posting, this is the latest game in the Initial D Arcade franchise. A new AIME card system is finally implemented on this brand new cabinet, with a H pattern shifter and a new NU2 system powering it. However, reception is not very good. Many players are not fond of the cluttered UI design, the lack of story mode cut-scenes, the absence of older game modes such as tag, horrible j-rock soundtracks, and the reduction in the number of tracks and cars compared to 8 Infinity.
Pros: the latest Initial D Arcade game
Cons: Completely new incompatible cabinet (purchase directly from SEGA Japan), costly, extremely hard to operate inside the USA, steering wheel have less steering angle than previous titles, bigger display but not higher resolution, No English release available

#8. Initial D Arcade Stage (Original). Not much can be said about this title. This is a great game in 2002, but it had aged quite a lot. It is not going to turn heads unless the player is an enthusiast who knows what he is looking at.
Pros: Translated into English and localized for the US. Cheap. A true classic. Any arcade enthusiast will instantly recognize this one.
Cons: The cabinet is older than your Initial D 4, not compatible. Magnetic cards instead of the plastic ones, cheaper but less durable. Most likely not what you are looking for.

#9. Arcade Stage 4. Commonly regarded as the worst Initial D Arcade game EVER, this is the first HD era Initial D Arcade game, and also the last Initial D Arcade game to be ported to a home console. As a sequel to the legendary Version. 3, Arcade Stage 4 had less cars, less tracks, and physics that was absolutely horrifying to most players during that time. This is the first Initial D Arcade game that can let the player do wide angle drifting, but its physics was so horrible, some described it as driving a piece of soap. This is also the last Initial D Arcade game that had an English release, although some theorized that the awfulness of this title, which led to its horrific reception, is what killed English ports and home console ports of Initial D for good.
Pros: Translated into English and localized for the US. (The only HD era Initial D Arcade game that is available in English)
Cons: The game is a pile of trash.
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SonicSP
Posted: Dec 12 2017, 02:45 PM


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My favorite to least favorite:

8 > 0 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4

But opinion will vary a lot due to physics being very different with each version.

Games can be summed as:

5 - Complex but interesting boost system. Fairly unique racing game. Very hard to learn and master but has its own charms.
6 - Drift to gain speed boost as fast as possible. A lot of speed loss on turns. Lining is less important because of the gold boost thing.
7 - Grip style with little brakes and a lot of lining and accel control. Very right footed game. Generally less accessible than D6 skill wise but also fun.
8 - Uses both pedals a lot, uses grip and drift style in general. Most complex pedal work and speed drifting as well. Fast acceleration at the start and fast speeds while drifting. Fairly open in the sense that a lot of footwork techniques can be used relative to other games. Interesting challenges in TeamSide mode.
0 - Re-introduces the gold drift system from D6, except this time to a system similar to the tire management system in D5. The new shifter is really good. Is drift based in the sense that you now drift to conserve your "boost". Nice bigger and more bautiful screen. New cars system is nice if you have access and are subscribed to Sega's online service.


Zero is either my favorite or second favorite based on my time spent on it but I can't put it over 8 yet since I spent two and the half years playing that whereas I only spent two weeks with Zero (I did play a lot of PvP battles though and did Full Spec the car). Definitely one of the top IDAS titles gameplay wise though. My main issues with it is really the reduced courses, which includes my Nagao and Tsubaki Line displaced as well as the reduced steering angle (which isn't as bad as it sounds given the how much the angle was reduced by, though is still an overall minus compared to previous)

Feels like a combination of D6 and D8, with some D5 added in in the sense that it he a tire management system. A lot of D6 drifting points and angles are used, while D8 physics/feel exists especially on the lower tuning levels. Lower tune cars also has a better chance beating higher tune cars relative to D6-8 (where it's very very hard), assuming the player is good enough. Also has the best and fairest online matchmaking system for online play compared to previous titles. However the game is also close to useless offline with Aime cloud card system implemented now.

For the purpose of buying and playing at your own place, any game between D5 and D8 is good. D0 is a great game IMO but not for your situation due to card saves now being online.

This post has been edited by SonicSP on Dec 12 2017, 03:03 PM
dung
  Posted: Dec 12 2017, 04:54 PM


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Thank you for feedback guys, really appreciate it.

Version 1-3 are a possibility and I might do it down the road. The card reader has been emulated so I can bypass that need. The naomi hardware is relatively cheap and readily available as well as the disks/security chips. The only real hardware change I would need is the force feedback board as it is different, but the motor is compatible. Mostly it just comes down to finding a deal on the boards and if I want to deal with the hassle of wiring it into the current cabinet, but its low priority.

Zero is out. Its too new to get the hardware for used. The shifter is wrong and would be impossible to source used yet, plus the cards. All in all just not a viable option.

My research right now says that I can convert my current lindberghs to multi boots for around 300 for both. That gives me 4 and 5 plus games like outrun 2. In the long road it sounds like 7 or 8 should be the real goal skipping 6.
Falbere
Posted: Dec 12 2017, 07:01 PM


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QUOTE (SonicSP @ 4 hours, 16 minutes ago)
My favorite to least favorite:

8 > 0 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4

Heh, Sonic isn't your order just simply by release date except you rate 8 Infinity higher than Arcade Stage Zero? xD
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RIT_ninja
Posted: Dec 12 2017, 10:34 PM


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My rankings ver. 1-8 (never played 0, so I can't comment)

Special Stage - The story mode blows everything out of the water


3 - This one is ultimately the most "fun" version IMO. I can still go to arcades without cards and beat people that have full tuned cars.

8 - The most complete version of Initial D game up to date in terms of cars and tracks. The free play ticket keeps me going.

2 - The classic one. Sega's done so much to fix ver. 1 and prepped up for ver. 3's success here.

6 - I would say the physics are the 3rd best in the series after ver. 2 and ver.3. Also, the first game to feature Tsubaki Line, one of the best tracks in game.

7 - The physics are terrible and made no sense in sims or arcade terms. It's basically an upgraded version of ver. 6. After data mining the version 6 files, I found many version 7 tracks hidden in the game.

5 - I personally liked the game, but the physics was more sim than arcade, driving away a lot of potential players. The physics also made easy tracks hard to master, like Myogi and Tsukuba.

1 - Though the physics is ok, the game is unbalanced and the wall penalty made the game very hard (Try beating Kai on Usui)

4 - Piece of crap. ID4Kai couldn't save it (made it worse). Extreme Stage couldn't save it. International Players have to suck it up to tune the cars per play with no ID.net

This post has been edited by RIT_ninja on Dec 12 2017, 10:37 PM
SonicSP
Posted: Dec 14 2017, 02:56 PM


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QUOTE (Falbere @ Dec 12 2017, 07:01 PM)
Heh, Sonic isn't your order just simply by release date except you rate 8 Infinity higher than Arcade Stage Zero? xD

You should have seen it before I edited Zero in. It was literally just 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 laugh2.gif .

I put Zero in afterwards because I saw that you had it so I thought I might as well put it in too.

QUOTE (RIT_ninja @ Dec 12 2017, 10:34 PM)
7 - The physics are terrible and made no sense in sims or arcade terms.

Like and dislikes are subjective based on personal preference so I won't comment on that.

However I do think the physics of Full Tune D7 is pretty straightforward for the most part. For drifting that needs to be done at a corner to drift to turn the wheel, BC to initiate the drift, then countersteer if need needed. For griping, just control accel pedal with the right foot to adjust your lining and exit.

While it is a harder game than D6 from a technical perspective, I would say the physics are more straightforward in the sense that all you need to do is drive fast, have as straight lining as possible like in a lot of racing games and not oversteer until losing control.

In D6, the gold drift system is hard to figure out unless it's pointed out to you and in many cases being really fast requires you to drift more (double BC) to build up more acceleration after corners.

That said, I've heard that some players who played the arcades noted Teknoparrot version had some wheel issues that made it feel very different from the arcades even with wheels. I'm not too sure about this but it's an observation I've seen been noted by a few players, at least in 1.06abc. I seem to be able to play it okay, including getting some Specialist ranks (which I wasn't very good at getting in the real game).

I also theorize that maybe the shorter diameter of the home wheels (27cm on Logitech vs 35cm on the real one) is affected the feeling that makes it feel different for some people. Though I haven't played 1.20 yet so I don't know what changes have happened since then.

My biggest pet peeve with D7 is really in multiplayer, specifically the basic race boost. Unlike in D6/D8, the race boost allows you to overtake your opponent really easily which encourages people to stay back a lot. The problem was worsen from D6, where the effect isn't as strong. As an example, the best strategy in Nagao DH is to wait behind until CP4, then use the long straightaway to take over your opponent easily. The gold drift to get better boost in multiplayer is also next to useless outside of Akina Snow PvP, because of how much it slows you down to get it.

One of the things I liked about D8 is that they improved both these PvP weaknesses tremendously though D7 was also still a lot of fun back in the day online.

This post has been edited by SonicSP on Dec 15 2017, 03:06 PM