Shutokou Battle series

Shutokou Battle (首都高バトル^?) is an arcade oriented driving game series created by Genki in 1994. The games were released in America as Tokyo Xtreme Racer and in Europe as Tokyo Highway Challenge. The Tokyo Xtreme Racer series lasted from 1999 - 2006. At 2017 , Genki released a new installment "Shutokou Battle Xtreme" for iOS and Android devices.

The series is based on illegal highway racing on the Shuto Expressway's Bayshore Route in Tokyo with custom tuned cars, a common occurrence at the time of the series' debut. However, since then Japanese police have begun cracking down on street racing and the hashiriya scene. Anti-street-racing legislation have also been enacted, levying heavier fines for street racing infractions.

Despite this, the underground cultural phenomenon of illegal street racing has seen its popularity steadily growing in Japan since the mid-80's with its own dedicated manga (Shutokō Battle's biggest inspiration being Wangan Midnight), anime series and video games franchises (C1 Circuit, Wangan Trial, Naniwa Wangan Battle, etc.). Perhaps the most influential popular works spawned by the phenomenon were the six Shuto Kousoku Trial films (a.k.a. Freeway Speedway: Megalopolis Express Way Trial) released from 1986–1996, which were an obvious source of inspiration for the Shutokō Battle series.

The game series' influence can be measured by the number of North American and European driving video games inspired by its iconic features, such as cosmetic tuning (Midnight Club, Need For Speed Underground, Juiced, and Supercar Street Challenge among many others), a wide selection of Japanese import cars, or the choice of Tokyo as the game setting, which has even influenced films like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Indeed, the trailer of the first movie in The Fast and the Furious franchise was included in western editions of Shutokō Battle Zero.

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Wikipedia