--- title: "New Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drops First Gameplay Footage" date: "2024-12-06" modified: "2024-12-06" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/new-tokyo-xtreme-racer-drops-first-gameplay-footage" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # New Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drops First Gameplay Footage ![Screenshot from Tokyo Xtreme Racer trailer showing the front of a modified Supra.]() *\Genki\* If you told me five years ago that *[Tokyo Xtreme Racer]()* would be making a comeback after almost two full decades away, I'd have laughed, then sobbed. But here we are, weeks away from the end of 2024, and a new *TXR* is in the works for PC and possibly consoles too, with developer Genki eyeing a launch sometime next year. Up until now, we've seen only pre-rendered trailers and stationary car reveal teasers, but a new video Genki shared on the official website has given us our first look at gameplay. For those unfamiliar, *TXR* was a series of street racing games set on Tokyo's highways, uniquely designed to play more like a fighting game than a traditional racer. Players cruise around a highway system challenging rivals ad-hoc, so no two encounters are ever identical or occur on the same stretch of road. Rather than a fixed start or finish line, battles are decided by a depleting health meter; the farther you are ahead of your rival, the quicker theirs diminishes. That makes for a high replayability factor, as does the golden-era JDM aesthetic. On the surface, there's nothing extraordinary about the footage here. In classic *TXR* fashion, we observe two cars engaged in a high-speed duel on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway, screaming through narrow tunnels and over majestic suspension bridges. The racers are also weaving between non-racing vehicles, but it's important to note that this is not regular road traffic; they're staged, rolling obstructions of a "sealed-off future Tokyo," based on the [title's description on Steam](). Indeed, while *TXR* doesn't appear to have changed much in 20 years, standards for permissible behavior in video games very much have. You can watch it all below. https://tokyoextremeracer-us.genki.co.jp/assets/videos/video01_web.mp4 While there's not a ton of meat to these clips (and I wish they were higher res), that almost doesn't matter. The fact is that *Tokyo Xtreme Racer* is back, nobody ever thought it would be, and everything looks acceptable enough in motion—that alone is cause for excitement. We do get glimpses at a selection of cars that Genki hadn't yet confirmed in the game's roster, ranging from a [Toyota bB]() to a final-gen [Mitsubishi Eclipse](). We also get a peek at visual and performance upgrades, and it seems you'll be able to add underglow and nitrous to your rides, in addition to all the typical aftermarket bumper, wings, wheels, and body kits befitting of a *TXR* title. There's no HUD or audio in these gameplay recordings, so everything feels a little sparse at the moment. Then again, if you strip [*TXR's* bangin' soundtrack]() and graphic design from the older games, they, too, probably would've come across as a little barren. I do appreciate the way brake lights glow and bounce off adjacent body panels and barriers as well as the road surface. These are the little flourishes that Genki could never have managed on, say, the Sega Dreamcast. One element that does look a little strange and I am prepared to judge now is the game's chase camera; it seems both rigid and loosely unresponsive in a way that wasn't true of the older installments, and probably wouldn't be helpful when snaking through those tight Shuto on- and off-ramps, not to mention all those non-civilian drones. There's a hint of rear-end sway when cars oversteer, almost like the camera snaps out of strictly tracking the rear of the car in these moments. Chase cams in racing games are a matter of preference of course, but one that switches its behavior haphazardly probably won't make anyone happy. Genki may still be tuning that, though, and perhaps it'll even allow players to adjust the multiple views to suit themselves. It also remains to be seen if the game includes a cockpit camera. All that said, I'm pumped for *Tokyo Xtreme Racer*. Not only has it been gone for far too long, but there just aren't games out there like it anymore. [*Assetto Corsa* mods]() have been a decent stand-in for some fans, but nothing has quite scratched the retro, JDM street racing-focused arcade racer itch quite like *TXR* used to, which is why I played through the second game in its entirety last year. I had a blast, and the anticipation for this reboot is making me want to revisit it again. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()