History Trivia / TokyoXtremeRacer

** Data in ''Import Tuner Challenge'' shows that there were plans to feature both the RX-7 [=FC3S=] alongside the [=FD3S=], on top of a dozen more drivable cars and traffic cars. Only scant traces of bot

** Up until ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'', every character had their real names changed into English. No, not translated, straight-up ''changed''. Meanwhile, street names were often poorly translated from Japanese to English, causing parts of the lore to be LostInTranslation. ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'''s translation, meanwhile, was rushed, which caused grammatical errors, nonsequiturs, and a ''very'' infamous GameBreakingBug that made the game impossible to 100%.
** The translation through-out the franchise ''in general'' veers back-and-forth between having zero resemblance to the source material or coming close to it, but resembling YouNoTakeCandle depending on the game. A lot of nuances, wordplay, puns and metaphors were lost when going from Japanese to English.

** Also in ''Touge Legends'', the Gemballa Turbo R-GT 320 was scraped from international releases because of licensing issues. Likewise, rims from Sparco and Speedline were also made unavailable in international releases for the exact same reason. They can still be found in the game's files, and they're all actually easier to restore than the special decals.

** It was very likely that ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2'' was going to feature the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJHndZX4Y_o Ferrari Testarossa]], codenamed "TYPE-TR", as part of its car roster. However, the car itself cannot be accessed through normal means, whilst its aftermarket parts are only obtainable in the game's demo version.

** Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and allegedly barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, did not cover the ''Drift'' sub-series and ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'', as those exclusively feature sanctioned races; as such, Honda cars kept appearing in those titles, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car in ''Touge Legends''.
** Because of licensing issues, all Lotus and [=DeTomaso=] cars had to be cut from the international releases of ''Drift'' and ''Chain Reaction''. It got to the point that both brands were cut entirely from ''Touge Legends''.
** Genki were on the receiving end once again with ''Import Tuner Challenge'': between rising licensing costs, exclusivity contracts, and bans lke Honda's, the car roster was thoroughly gutted, dropping from the 164 drivable cars of ''Zero'' to a measly ''54''.

* FranchiseKiller: ''Import Tuner Challenge'''s lukewarm-to-mixed reception, combined with Genki's budget problems, caused it to be the last main entry of the franchise to this day. Genki didn't completely stop working on the franchise, as proven by the development of the mobile-exclusive ''Shutokou Battle Extreme''... which proceeded to be both a critical ''and'' commercial flop and get shut down shortly after its' release. Since then, Genki has focused on things beyond videogame development, outside of occasionally assisting Namco Bandai in developing the ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series starting in 2011.
* LateExportForYou: As one can tell by merely glancing at the [[VideoGame/TokyoXtremeRacer main page]], exports begun to be delayed around the time the ''Drift'' games were released. This was in part caused by a variety of factors, and definitely not helped by the localizations being handled by multiple publishers at one point, but there was no apparent reason as to why ''Street Supremacy'' was delayed that much. This also had the unfortunate effect of causing some major confusion over release order and timeline amongst Western fans. To wit:
** ''Chain Reaction'' and ''Street Supremacy'' were released one year after Japan, the former exclusively in Europe.
** ''Touge Legends'' was released one year after Japan in Europe and two years after Japan in the Americas.
** And the crowner, the first ''Drift'' game was released in the States for the [=PlayStation=] 2 a whole ''three years'' after Japan, ''by which point the [=PlayStation=] 3 had been out for a whole year''.
* LostMedia: ''Shutokou Racer Xtreme'', the mobile-exclusive entry, had its' servers shut down and was pulled from app stores a bit over a year after its' release. As of right now, no one has put the game's data up for download. Even if someone had access to it, however, [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames the game would be unplayable due to its' "always-online" nature]].

** ''Shutokou Battle DRIFT KING Tsuchiya Keiichi & Bandō Masaaki'', ''Shutokou Battle R'' and ''Kattobi Tune'', the three games developed before Tokyo Xtreme Racer by Genki, were never released outside Japan and remain downright obscure to even the most die-hard fans of the series. What makes this particular, though, is that some of the drivers in the games actually debuted there.
** ''TXR: Drift'' and ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'' were never released in Europe. On the flipside, what ''should'' have been the second ''Drift'' game in the West, ''Chain Reaction'', was released ''only'' in Europe under the unassuming title of ''Kaido Racer'', causing confusion when what's ''officially'' the third ''Drift'' game, ''Touge Legends'', was released worldwide as ''TXR: Drift 2''.

** There are several cars hidden in ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2'''s data that are unplayable, either with complete models or what were meant to be temporary placeholders: amongst them, the Mazda Lantis, the Toyota Crown, the Suzuki Wagon R, the Daihatsu Move, and over a dozen variants of other cars.
** The car data for ''Zero'' also contains several cars that are normally inaccessible to the player and unusable regardless. Amongst them is a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, which doesn't appear anywhere in the game. It's likely that the Charger was planned to be included as part of the ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' promotion, but not included in the final roster for unknown reasons.
** Hidden in ''3'''s data are incomplete versions of cars belonging to some bosses that the player was meant to be able to buy in the shop after defeating them. This data also hints at Midnight Cinderella and Death Driver being considered as bosses once again during development, something that wouldn't happen until ''Import Tuner Challenge'' for the former.
** UNKNOWN was originally planned to be ''3'''s final boss, as shown in [[https://youtu.be/dh-BASIBVLs?t=260 this datamining video]]: a recreation of his introductory cutscene from ''Zero'' is present, but never used in the game. Instead, ''3'' ended up being the only mainline game where he ''doesn't'' appear, instead being replaced by a MirrorBoss.
** Crave wasn't going to publish the Drift series in the US at first: Sammy were the ones to show some interest, but for reasons unknown, that never happened. Instead, Crave got the deal to translate and export those games as well.
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-->''There is a legend like this on the streets: in the middle of the night, there is a mysterious figure that only those who have reached the top can encounter. The figure is demonically fast.''
-->''It is a form that can change depending on whom it meets, appearing strong to those who seek strength and appearing beautiful for those who seek beauty. The answer can only be attained by those who fight.''

** ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2'' was going to have a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJHndZX4Y_o Ferrari Testarossa]], codenamed "TYPE-TR", likely as a ShoutOut to Yoshiaki Ishida from ''Manga/WanganMidnight''. However, the car itself cannot be accessed through normal means, whilst its' aftermarket parts are only obtainable in the demo version.
** Other cars that are present in ''2'''s data but are normally unplayable, either with complete models or just placeholders, are the Mazda Lantis, the Toyota Crown, the Suzuki Wagon R, the Daihatsu Move, and over a dozen variants of other cars.
** The car data for ''Zero'' contains several cars that are normally inaccessible to the player. Amongst them is a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, which doesn't appear anywhere in the game. It's likely that the Charger was planned to be included as part of the ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' promotion, but not included in the final roster for unknown reasons.
** ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'' was meant to give the player the option of installing a nitrous oxyde injection system on their cars, but it was axed before release. It's still mentioned in Harisen Chop's bio as a key part of the team's identity, and part of it survives as the overboost button on turbo cars. The upgrade itself, however, still exists in the game's code, and can be restored to working condition through modding.
** Also hidden deep in the files of ''3'' is leftover code for cars that were at one point or another planned, but ultimately DummiedOut. This includes a Ruf RCT, which was likely supposed to be Z.E.R.O's car, and two Peugeots, the 206 S16 and the 406 Sedan, with the latter having a [[Film/{{Taxi}} Taxi-inspired bodykit]]. Interestingly, RUF cars still appear in the game, driven by various team members, whilst a Peugeot appeared in ''2'' and ''Zero'' driven by Knife and Forks member Table Manner. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOa1oGCMe_o See here.]]
** Still hidden in ''3'''s data are incomplete versions of cars belonging to some bosses and Wanderers that the player was meant to be able to buy in the shop. This data also hints at Midnight Cinderella being considered as one of the bosses once again during development, something that wouldn't happen until ''Import Tuner Challenge''.
** [[LivingLegend UNKNOWN]] was originally planned to be ''3'''s final boss, as shown in [[https://youtu.be/dh-BASIBVLs?t=260 this datamining video]]: a recreation of his introductory cutscene from ''Zero'' is present, but never used in the game. Instead, ''3'' ended up being the only mainline game where he ''doesn't'' appear, instead being replaced by a MirrorBoss.
** Further data mining reveals ''3'''s final boss to have its' own bio hidden in the game's code, and a detailed one at that: it is impossible to access it through normal gameplay means.

** A truly bizarre one took place in ''Drift 2'', where the Toyota Verossa is fully modeled, tunable, and is used by several rivals, including Bloodhound... and yet, it's not available for the player to buy. It can still be driven by asking it on loan from said rivals. Adding to the weirdness, it's the ''only'' non-unique car the player cannot buy.

* BadExportForYou: To the point that almost every single game in the franchise was hit by it, in one way or another.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and allegedly barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, did not cover the ''Drift'' sub-series and ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'', as those exclusively feature sanctioned races; as such, Honda cars kept appearing in those titles, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car in ''Touge Legends''.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 2'' was going to have a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJHndZX4Y_o Ferrari Testarossa]], codenamed "TYPE-TR", likely as a ShoutOut to Yoshiaki Ishida from ''Manga/WanganMidnight''. However, the car itself cannot be accessed through normal means, whilst its' aftermarket parts are only obtainable in the demo version.

** Special decals, in particular boss decals, were somehow accidentally made inaccessible in the international release of ''Touge Wars''. They are still in the game's data, and can still be applied to the player's cars by modifying HEX values.
** Also in ''Touge Wars'', the Gemballa Turbo R-GT 320 was scraped from international releases because of licensing issues. Likewise, rims from Sparco and Speedline were also made unavailable in international releases for the exact same reason. They can still be found in the game's files, and they're all actually easier to restore than the special decals.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and allegedly barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, did not cover the ''Drift'' sub-series and ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'', as those exclusively feature sanctioned races; as such, Honda cars kept appearing in those titles, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car in ''Touge Wars''.
** Because of licensing issues, all Lotus and [=DeTomaso=] cars had to be cut from the international releases of ''Drift'' and ''Chain Reaction''. It got to the point that both brands were cut entirely from ''Touge Wars''.

* LateExportForYou: As one can tell by merely glancing at the [[VideoGame/TokyoXtremeRacer main page]], exports begun to be delayed around the time the ''Drift'' games were released. This was in part caused by a variety of factors and definitely not helped by the localizations being handled by multiple publishers, but there was no apparent reason as to why ''Street Supremacy'' was delayed that much. This also had the unfortunate effect of causing some major confusion over release order and timeline amongst Western fans. To wit:

** ''Touge Wars'' was released one year after Japan in Europe and two years after Japan in the Americas.

** ''TXR: Drift'' and ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'' were never released in Europe. On the flipside, what ''should'' have been the second ''Drift'' game in the West, ''Chain Reaction'', was released ''only'' in Europe under the unassuming title of ''Kaido Racer'', causing confusion when what's ''officially'' the third ''Drift'' game, ''Touge Wars'', was released worldwide as ''TXR: Drift 2''.

** Up until ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'', every character had their real names changed into English. No, not translated, straight-up ''changed''. Meanwhile, street names were often poorly translated from Japanese to English, causing parts of the lore to be LostInTranslation.
** ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'''s translation, meanwhile, was rushed, which caused grammatical errors, nonsequiturs, and a ''very'' infamous GameBreakingBug that made the game impossible to 100%. The translation through-out the franchise in general veers back-and-forth between having zero resemblance to the source material or coming close to it, but resembling YouNoTakeCandle depending on the game.

** Also in ''Drift 2'', the Gemballa Turbo R-GT 320 is unavailable in international releases because of licensing issues. Likewise, rims from Sparco and Speedline were also made unavailable in international releases for the exact same reason. They can still be found in the game's files, and it's actually easier to restore than the special decals.
* DescendedCreator: Hiroshi Hamagaki, founder of Genki, is the final boss of the first ''Drift'' game and the BigBad of the ''Drift'' saga as a whole.

* FandomLifeCycle: As all [[CultClassic Cult Classics]], it has been stuck in Stage 2 ever since its' release in both its' native Japan and across the world. A dedicated fandom continues to exist and succesfully replenish its' numbers.
* FranchiseKiller: ''Import Tuner Challenge'''s mixed-to-lukewarm reception, combined with Genki's budget problems, caused it to be the last main entry of the franchise to this day. Genki didn't completely stop working on the franchise, as proven by the development of the mobile-exclusive ''Shutokou Battle Extreme''... which proceeded to be a critical ''and'' commercial flop and get shut down shortly afterwards. Since then, Genki has focused on things beyond videogame development, outside of occasionally assisting Namco Bandai' in developing the ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series starting in 2011.

** And the crowner, the first ''Drift'' game was released in the States a whole ''three years'' after Japan, ''by which point the [=PlayStation=] 3 had been out for a whole year''.
* LostMedia: ''Shutokou Racer Xtreme'', the mobile-exclusive entry, had its' servers shut down and was pulled from app stores a bit over a year after its' release. As of right now, no one has put the game's data up for download. Even if someone had access to it, however, [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames due to its' always-online nature, the game would be unplayable]].

** ''TXR: Drift'' and ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'' were never released in Europe. On the flipside, what ''should'' have been the second ''Drift'' game in the West, ''Chain Reaction'', was released ''only'' in Europe under the unassuming title of ''Kaido Racer'', causing confusion when what's officially the third ''Drift'' game, ''Touge Wars'', was released worldwide as ''TXR: Drift 2''.
** ''Racing Battle: C1 Grand Prix'', set in an AlternateUniverse sometime after the events of ''3'', was only released in Japan. It is playable on PAL and NTSC-U consoles, and some fan translations exist on the web.

** Other cars that are present in ''2'''s data, either with complete models or just placeholders, are the Mazda Lantis, the Toyota Crown, the Suzuki Wagon R, the Daihatsu Move, and over a dozen variants of other cars.

** ''Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3'' was meant to have an optional nitrous system upgrade, but it was axed before release. It's still mentioned in Harisen Chop's bio as a key part of the team's identity, and part of it survives as the overboost button on turbo cars. The [=N2O=] updage itself, however, still exists in the game's code, and can be restored to working condition through modding.

** Still hidden in ''3'''s data are incomplete versions of cars belonging to some bosses and Wanderers that the player was meant to be able to buy in the shop. This data also hints at the possibility of Midnight Cinderella being considered as one of the bosses once again, something that wouldn't happen until ''Import Tuner Challenge''.

** Data mining reveals ''3'''s final boss to have its' own bio hidden in the game's code, and a detailed one at that: it is impossible to access it through normal gameplay means.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games with traffic cars. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, has a loophole as they did not cover the ''Drift'' sub-series and ''C1 Grand Prix'', as those games took place on mountain passes and in sanctioned track races respectively (both without traffic cars); as such, Honda cars kept appearing there, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games with traffic cars. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, has a loophole as they did not cover the ''Drift' sub-series and ''C1 Grand Prix'', as those games took place on mountain passes and in sanctioned track races respectively (both without traffic cars); as such, Honda cars kept appearing there, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Genki were on the receiving end of this from Honda, who did not want their cars associated with criminal activities and barred ''any'' developer from featuring them in street racing games. As a result, many drivers switched cars between ''Zero'' and ''3'', whilst all-Honda teams and some notable bosses and Wanderers did not return: chief amongst them Dream Wraith and his NSX [=NA1=], whose absence is strongly felt. Honda's ban, however, did not cover the ''Drift' sub-series, as those games took place on technically closed mountain passes and in sanctioned races; as such, Honda cars kept appearing there, and Dream Wraith eventually returned alongside his car.