Initial D, or Initial D The Arcade is a series of Arcade racers based on the street racing manga Initial D by Shuichi Shigeno and published in Weekly Young Magazine from 1995 to 2013.
The games feature the rural mountain passes and Japanese vehicles that the manga is famed for, including the Toyota Trueno protagonist Takuma is known to drive. The missions are 1 vs 1 street races against a single opponent as you speed down a narrow mountain pass, mastering it's tight turns to come out the victor.
Games[]
- Initial D Arcade Stage - Arcade. 2002
- Initial D Arcade Stage 2 - Arcade. 2002
- Initial D Special Stage - PlayStation 2. 2003
- Initial D Arcade Stage 3 - Arcade, 2004
- Initial D Street Stage - PlayStation Portable. 2006
- Initial D Arcade Stage 4 - Arcade, 2007
- Initial D Extreme Stage - PlayStation 3. 2008
- Initial D Arcade Stage 5 - Arcade, 2009
- Initial D Arcade Stage 6 AA - Arcade, 2011
- Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AAX - Arcade, 2012
- Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity - Arcade, 2014
- Initial D Arcade Stage Zero - Arcade, 2017
- Initial D The Arcade - Arcade, 2021
Trivia[]
- Initial D did well in Japanese markets, but wasn't able to become a hit in Europe. Head of European R&D, Patrick Michael put it down to the concept of a 1 vs 1 racer and players either being first or last not appealing to western audiences who wanted wider roads, more cars and a greater sense of achievement. [1]
- Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds utilises the gameplay honed by the Initial D development team[2]
- The Yakuza series character, Pocket Circuit Fighter, aka Fujisawa, is based on the main character of Initial D, Takumi Fujiwara, sharing his hairstyle when young, backstory being the son of a Tofu shop owner and his vehicle in Dragon Kart vehicle resembles the AE86-generation Toyota Corolla from the series.