Zero4 Champ DooZy J Type R

Summary

Zero4 Champ (ゼロヨンチャンプ) is a series of racing games created by Yutaka Kaminaga of Media Rings, which started in 1991 with the Super Famicom and PC Engine title Zero4 Champ. The Saturn version DooZy-J Type-R is no different that the rest apart from the backgrounds being made of polygons instead of sprites. Zero4 Champ mixes the more "stylish" Japanese drag racing with an anime-style "Story Mode". Unlike the American version of the sport which uses oversized metal blocks on wheels, Japanese drag racing features various sport-grade Japanese cars such as the Toyota MR2-GT (SW20), the Mazda RX-7 Type RS (FD3S), the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI (CP9A), the Subaru Impreza WRX STi (GDB), the Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BNR34), and the Honda NSX Type-S Zero (NA2), all import scene classics. There are also around 5 mini-bonus games which add replay value.

Reception

Visually, Zero4 Champ wasn't well-received as the developers decided to use sprites for the cars rather than polygon models. The game allows extreme car customization so that they outperform the opposition. As well as loads of options to choose from for customizing there's also full RPG and simulation gameplay. Overall, Zero4 Champ was considered an average drag racing-style game; not an adequate arcade racer or racing simulation.

The series

1991.03.08: Zero4 Champ (ゼロヨンチャンプ), PC Engine

1993.05.03: Zero4 Champ II (ゼロヨンチャンプII), PC Engine Super CD-ROM²

1994.07.22: Zero4 Champ RR (ゼロヨンチャンプ ダブルアール), Super Famicom

1995.12.25: Zero4 Champ RR-Z (ゼロヨンチャンプ ダブルアール・ヅィー), Super Famicom

1997.06.20: Zero4 Champ DooZy-J (ゼロヨンチャンプ ドゥーヅィージェイ), PlayStation

1997.06.20: Zero4 Champ DooZy-J Type-R (ゼロヨンチャンプ ドゥーヅィージェイ タイプアール), Sega Saturn

2002.11.21: Zero4 Champ Series: Drift Champ (ゼロヨンチャンプ シリーズ ドリフトチャンプ), PlayStation 2 (Hudson Soft)

2002.12.24: Go! Zero4 Champ (GO!04チャンプ), Mobile phone i-mode 504i (Hudson Soft / Profire)