Virtua Racing

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Description

Virtua Racing is Sega's first ever 3D, polygon-based racing game. The game consists of racing Formula-1-looking cars around a beginner, intermediate, or expert track, competing against a second player or computer drivers. Despite having Formula-1 cars, the game controls are very "arcadey" and players can see the leap they made from here to Daytona.

The Megadrive/Genesis version of Virtua Racing is of note as it is the only game for the system which features the SVP chip (Sega Virtua Processor). The chip is a 3D processor built into each cartridge (the console itself had no 3D capability) and is very similar to the SNES's SuperFX chips, used in games such as Starfox and Stunt Race FX.

Screenshots

Promo Images

There are no promo images for this game

Alternate Titles

• "バーチャ レーシング" -- Japanese spelling

Part of the Following Group

• Virtua Racing series

User Reviews

Unnecessary? Yes Amazing? Also yes.

Genesis

AkibaTechno (248)

Critic Reviews

Player One	Genesis	May, 1994	99 out of 100	99
Consoles Plus	Genesis	Jun, 1994	94 out of 100	94
Power Unlimited	Genesis	May, 1994	9.1 out of 10	91
Mean Machines	Genesis	May, 1994	90 out of 100	90
Score	Genesis	Oct, 1994	90 out of 100	90
High Score	Genesis	Aug, 1994	4 out of 5	80
Video Games	Genesis	Apr, 1994	80 out of 100	80
Megablast	Genesis	Jun, 1994	80 out of 100	80
FLUX	Genesis	Apr, 1994	7.9 out of 10	79
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)	Genesis	Jun, 1994	7.8 out of 10	78

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Trivia

1001 Video Games

The Arcade version of Virtua Racing appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Compatibility

This game won't work on a model 3 Genesis.

SVP chip

This game caused a quite interesting problem for owners of phones. The SVP chip had a frequency that was so high it was picked up by the phones and they rang like crazy. It was enough to sure cause headaches!

Awards

• Gamefan Magazine
  • 1994 (Vol 3, Iss. 1) - named the Best Genesis Driving/Racing Game of the Year ("Megawards" )

Information also contributed by Big John WV and DANIEL HAWKS !

Related Web Sites

• Sega's SVP Chip: The Road not Taken? (A feature article on the fansite Sega-16, which discusses the history of the SVP chip and its use in Virtua Racing, as well as the unused potential that the chip offered to Sega. The article also provides a comparison between the SVP, the 32x peripheral, the Sega Saturn, and Nintendo's SuperFX chip (Marc. 17th, 2006).)