V-Rally 3

Moby ID: 69505
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Description official descriptions

V-Rally 3 for the Game Boy Advance adapts the console game of the same name to the handheld platform, offering its own selection of cars, tracks, modes and a platform-appropriate graphics engine.

The main game mode is V-Rally Mode. It takes players through a rally championship over seven different countries, with each country's course consisting of distinct stages. Stages are taken on in groups of two, allowing for changing of car setup and repairs after every pair. Car setup options include a choice of tires (appropriate to road and weather conditions) as well as suspension, steering, brakes and gearbox. Bumping into the roadside during a race damages the car, with body, suspension, brakes, steering and turbos getting individual damage ratings. The repairs must be possible to be carried out within a time window or there is no choice but to drive on with the damage.

The game contains 10 licensed cars from 9 manufacturers, of which only two are available from the start. Winning a rally championship unlocks further cars. Driving the more powerful unlocked cars increases the game's difficulty, requiring much better times to keep ahead of the competition.

The game's second major mode is called V-Rally Cross and offers traditional circuit racing on five different tracks. Only one is available from the start, the others have to be unlocked by winning on the earlier tracks. Races are against three opponents and consist of two rounds of three laps each, one in forward, one in reverse direction. Performing well in the first round fills a boost meter that can be utilized in the second.

Time Trial mode allows single runs utilizing cars and tracks unlocked in the other modes. Multiplayer is available via the link cable and offers two-player versions of V-Rally Cross and Time Trial.

The game's graphics engine renders the tracks in texture-mapped 3D, with backgrounds, scenery (like trees and spectators) and the cars themselves displayed as 2D bitmaps. Graphical effects include rain, snow, fog and nighttime conditions. By default, the camera is behind the car, but there is also a first-person cockpit perspective (not available in V-Rally Cross) that shows the driver's hands steering and shifting and also displays damage to the car as cracks in the windshield.

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Credits (Game Boy Advance version)

45 People (44 developers, 1 thanks) · View all

Production
Development External Production
Audio Development (Music)
Audio Development (Sound Effects)
Publishing Vice President
Vice President Label
Production Director
Producer
Product Assets Manager
Legal & Business Affairs License Manager
Legal adviser
Senior Vice President of Marketing
Marketing Director
Marketing Manager
Brand Manager
European Head of Communication
Head of Communication
Marketing Services MS Manager
Design Studio Manager
Design Studio Team
Copywriter
Infogrames QA / Testing QA Manager
QA Team
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 83% (based on 13 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 5 ratings with 1 reviews)

A visually stunning GBA racer with decent, but flawed gameplay.

The Good
The first time I saw a screenshot of V-Rally 3 I thought it was a fake. And who could blame me. The picture depicted a fully texture mapped 3d graphics engine that looked more like a Playstation racer than the usual mode 7 jaunts that GBA owners are so familiar with. Yet here I am several months later, cart in hand and playing what I thought I would never see on a GBA. The graphics in V-Rally 3 are proof that there is more to the GBA than a portable SNES. All of the tracks are rendered in real time texture mapped 3d with only the cars themselves remaining as 2d sprites. It looks amazing and there's plenty of visual variety too with rolling hills, snow, mountains, buildings zooming past and even the odd onlooker. This all zips along at a very smooth rate without any slowdown in sight. What's more is once you get past how great it looks you find yourself with a playable rally racer that has a lot to like about it. Modes of play feature the primary rally racing mode in which you choose a car and get racing on over 10 road tracks that each have 5 sizable stages to them. Before each rally you can adjust your car for the conditions ahead. This sort of thing usually drives me nuts but here it's kept fairly simple and accessible. Other components include a time trial mode for practicing and a closed circuit game with 6 different tracks. Of course like any good racer there are extras to unlock, plus another first for the GBA is the ability to choose to view the action from behind or inside the car. As is the case with most GBA racers you can link up with a friend and go head to head on any of the games courses which is where the real replay value comes in and also the only place you might get a challenge of some type (see bad). The controls are easy to master and nicely implemented. I didn't even miss the analogue control you come to expect with rally games because the physics have been made very digital friendly.

The Bad
When they brought the PSX style graphics to the GBA I really wouldn't have objected if they left the god awful music that plagues PSX racing games behind. Sadly the music is the typical PSX racing game crap that you want to turn off after about two seconds, luckily it isn't on during gameplay. During the Rally Cross mode the opponents cars suffer from Ridge Racer syndrome in that they aimlessly cruise around the track in impossible fashions and if they crash into the back of you then you slow down just as much as if you crash into them. What's worse is that they sail on by as though nothings happened. I also noticed that in this mode the other cars were visible through walls which was a little poor and due to the fact that the car sprites are at above and behind angles, you can't choose the 'in car' view in this mode. The game is also a tad on the easy side. Did I say a tad? I meant the game's very easy. Stupidly easy one might say. I've managed to sail through a large number of races and unlock all of the cars without ever losing a single race which is a pretty annoying, meaning the only challenges you might get are from head to head with your buddies or trying to beat your ghost in time trial. There is also a bit of clipping with the 3d when you turn a hard corner and the camera ends up slightly outside game boundries but this is acceptable considering the wonders the team has performed in getting the advance to do 3d this well in the first place.

The Bottom Line
It's far too easy but V-Rally 3 is still a good racing title and one to shove in the faces of friends who continue to say that the GBA is just a portable SNES.

Game Boy Advance · by Sycada (177) · 2014

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Victor Vance.

Game added November 14, 2014. Last modified February 4, 2024.