The overworld map itself is designed quite well and looks similar to the one found in Parasite Eve, but benefits from the freedom of movement.Japanese PlayStation Cover There were few companies with an output like Squaresoft in the mid to late 90s.
Over the course of the PlayStations lifetime, Squaresoft produced original IPs at a rate that hasnt been seen before or since for the company, especially in their second life as Square-Enix. In addition to original games such as Parasite Eve and Xenogears, Squaresoft also took bold steps with their established franchises with very different entries in the SaGa and Mana series. Racing Lagoon represents another title in that bold time period when Squaresoft thought they could do anything and have it work. The game was directed by Hitoshi Sasaki, who also was the gamegraphic designer for Bahamut Lagoon, another cross breed RPG released on the Super Famicom. Tsukasa Fujita, notable for being on the Final Fantasy Tactics team, is listed as the designer for the game. ![]() The rather bizarre script was written by Motomu Toriyama, who later directed Final Fantasy X-2 and the Final Fantasy XIII games. Racing Lagoon (PlayStation) Racing Lagoon is described as a high speed racing RPG and leans heavily on an aesthetic similar to the street racing animemanga series Initial D. It draws direct parallels to the series from the music to the 1986 Toyota Corolla AE86 the player begins with. The game begins with an ultra stylish intro that immerses you in the world of 1999 Yokohama. The contrasting color palette of dark and light blues or greens do a fantastic job of painting a pseudo-neon haze over the pixellated Yokohama. Those nostalgic for grainy, low poly cityscapes will find a lot to love about Racing Lagoon s visuals. The car models are very well done and are at the same level of a Gran Turismo 2 or Ridge Racer Type 4. The story segments play out over static prerendered backgrounds with the CG model characters acting over them. The game tries to translate a very manga style art direction for the characters direct into the CG models, but the characters end up looking just ugly and awkward. Racing Lagoon (PlayStation) The plot revolves around Sho Akasaki, a young street racer for the Bay Lagoon Racing team with amnesia (of course) fighting against rival gangs in Japan to become the Fastest Legend, while also searching to uncover the mystery behind his lost identity. Somewhere along the lines, WON-TEC, an evil corporation, and a drug called DIABLO get thrown into the mix as the plot moves along. While the game is heavy on the narrative, the nature of its racing genre means the casual player can navigate through the game easily. Racing Lagoon (PlayStation) Racing Lagoon is broken up into a series of nights with the player navigating around Yokohama challenging other street racers, completing optional side events, and advancing the story by visiting locations on the overworld. All of the non racing action takes place on an overworld map in which you can drive around freely. You can challenge any car on the road to a race simply by flashing your lights, and you may even get challenged by another racer as well in semi-random encounters (they can be avoided by simply getting out of the cars way). Upgrading your car or purchasing new parts requires you to drive to the local tuner or body shop. This type of freedom in a racing game would eventually be major selling points for racing titles such as Midnight Club and Need For Speed s Underground series.
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