The Initial D (D) video game series, known in Japan as Initial D Arcade Stage, is an arcade racing game series developed by Sega, based on the anime and manga series Initial D. In the United States and Europe, the game series is simply known as Initial D.

Premise

In the Initial D video game franchise, players race against different opponents through various mountain passes featured in the manga. Vehicles that are featured in the game are mostly Japanese cars, such as the Nissan Skyline GT-R, Mazda RX-7, Subaru Impreza, Honda Civic, as well as the Toyota AE86. Using the optional magnetic card system (arcade installations from Arcade Stage Zero and later utilize Amusement IC, Banapassport, or Aime cards rather than dedicated magnetic cards), players can save a customized car as well as their progress for future sessions; otherwise, their game progress is deleted. Players can continue growth with their cards on another Initial D cabinet of the same version. However, the card must be renewed every 50 plays.

Resuming from another version is subject to the following conditions: There is no backward compatibility (i.e., a version 2 card cannot be used on a version 1 machine). Upgrading the card to a more recent machine is permanent. When upgrading from one version to another, remaining plays will be carried over, and 50 plays will be credited to the card.

This feature was not present from Arcade Stage Zero to The Arcade, however. Players with a save data on Arcade Stage Zero were rewarded with continued play benefits which included full tune tickets based on the number of cars owned that were fully tuned, up to 56 cars, titles based on the player's level, and avatar pieces, dressup tokens and avatar tokens based on the player's mileage.

Players with a save data from Sega World Driver Championship were rewarded with a full tune ticket and avatar pieces based on the driver level.

There are 13 games in the series: 10 for arcades and 3 for home consoles. Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.1 (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.2 (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.3 (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage 4 (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage 5 (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage 6 AA (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage 7 AAX (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity (Arcade) Initial D Arcade Stage Zero (Arcade) Initial D The Arcade (Arcade) Initial D Special Stage (PlayStation 2) Initial D Street Stage (PSP) Initial D Extreme Stage (PS3)

Game modes Legend of the Streets In the main story mode, players race with opponents from the manga, with their opponents increasing in difficulty during the progression of the game. In the English versions of the game, until the release of Arcade Stage 4, their names are derived from the Tokyopop manga.

Time attack Players race in a timed game to rank highest against other players at their current machine or online. From Arcade Stage Ver.2/Special Stage to Arcade Stage 6 AA, players could change stages' weather conditions. This feature was removed from Arcade Stage 7 AAX to Arcade Stage 8 Infinity.

Bunta Challenge First started in Arcade Stage Ver.2 to Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage the player races against Bunta Fujiwara, the legendary street racer in the Initial D series. Each time Bunta is defeated, the player will gain a level, and difficulty increases. In Arcade Stage Ver.3, the player loses 1000 points upon defeat. Regardless, the end credits still roll if you win or lose to Bunta. Bunta's car differs across levels, levels 1-6: AE86 Trueno, levels 7-11: AE86 Trueno w/TRD 20-Valve 4AGE Racing Engine, levels 12-15: GC8V Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version V. This model was discontinued and removed in Arcade Stage 4/Extreme Stage. However, Bunta appeared as a final boss in Akina. It later returned in Arcade Stage 7 AAX (Only in Legend mode after clearing Rebirth mode). And soon returned in Initial D The Arcade in an update during the 20th anniversary, which can be unlocked at Street Racer Grade C9.

Online Battle This was introduced in Arcade Stage 4/Extreme Stage, this mode allowed players to race against others located on the same continent.

Racer's Event Introduced in Arcade Stage 5 to Arcade Stage 8 Infinity. Only two modes are included in-game such as online battle and time attack.

Tag Battle Introduced in Arcade Stage 6 AA through to Arcade Stage 8 Infinity, this mode allows players in the same location to team up. One player drives uphill and the other downhill to race with rivals. Matches are made based on past racing results, pitting drivers with similar levels against each other. When there is a difference in the level with your tag partner, the stronger driver will match with a stronger driver, and a weaker driver with a weaker driver. The team with the highest score wins.

Project Kanto's Fastest/Operation Kanto First introduced in Arcade Stage 7 AAX, this mode is similar to tag battle mode, where players race against the rival characters based in the manga from Gunma to Kanagawa area. In races against Project D's Ace, the courses are random. In Arcade Stage 8 Infinity, new rivals include Tohru and Atsuro in Momiji Line, Sakamoto and Wataru in Sadamine Rain, and the Lan Evo Teams in Tsuchisaka.

Theory of Streets Introduced in a content update for The Arcade, this mode allows the players to face up to 2-3 other bots based on real players around the world on Sega's official servers. Players can choose their mentor to build their friendship with and earn rewards by beating the bots, and choose their opponents ranging from different street racer grades.

Games versions

Version 1 Japanese version 6 July 2001, English version: 2002

Beginning with four courses such as Myogi (Night Kids' home course), Usui (Impact Blue's home course), Akina (Takumi's home course), and Happogahara (Todou School's first home course).

Version 2 Japanese version: 10 December 2002, English version: 2002

With two new courses such as Akagi, Takahashi brothers' home course, and Irohazaka, Emperor's home course. And additional rivals such as Kenji, 2 Guys from Tokyo, Kenta Nakamura, Toru Suetsugu Kyoko Iwase, Nobuhiko Akiyama and Sakamoto.

Version 3 Japanese version: 27 January 2004, English version: 2004

The Lan Evo Team's home course is one of the new courses, such as Akina Snow (only night), Shomaru, which was initially an exclusive for Special Stage and Tsuchisaka. Also, new opponents in the game are Tohru Suetsugu, Atsuro Kawai, Miki, and the Tsucisaka Lan Evo team. New cars featured in the game are the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V, Lancer Evolution VI T.M. Edition, Mazda RX-8, and the Nissan Skyline 25GT-T. The game features original Eurobeat songs from artists including Matt Land, Powerful T., Ace Warrior, and Marco Polo.

Stage 4 Japanese Version: 21 February 2007, English version: July 2007

It is also known in the updated version (Version 1.50) as Initial D Arcade Stage 4 Kai is the fourth release in the Initial D Arcade Stage series. Unlike the first three versions of the game, the game runs on the Sega Lindbergh hardware, uses a new card system, and features a new physics system. This game was the last game to be released in the West. Only two new rivals, such as God Hand and God Foot. Competitors from previous games, such as Miki, the Tsucisaka Lan Evo team, Sakamoto, Nobuhiko Akiyama, Atsuro Kawai, and Tohru Suetsugu, have been removed. New courses such as Lake Akina, Myogi (new layout with four sections), and Tsukuba Fruit Line. Some cars featured in previous games, such as the Lancer Evolution VII and Toyota Celica have been removed. It was also the first game to feature online battles via Sega's ALL.net service and the start of its Initial D.net service only exclusive to Japan and Asia.

Stage 5 Released on 25 February 2009 in Japan, Initial D Arcade Stage 5 was the second game in the series released on the Sega Lindbergh hardware. A few notable differences include massive physics changes. Compared to Arcade Stage 4/Extreme Stage, which used "drifting" physics, Arcade Stage 5 featured more realistic driving physics, which included tire and brake wear down. Although the tire and brake wear are not displayed anywhere in the game, experienced players can notice the difference in the change in physics as they progress in races.

New characters that appeared for the first time in the game are Kobayakawa, Satoshi Omiya, Imposter Project D, Kai Kogashiwa (R.T. Katagiri S.V.), and Hideo Minagawa. New courses such as Happogahara, which was used from Arcade Stage Ver.1 to Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage (only daytime used is night) and only Extreme Stage appeared with full daytimes between day and night and Nagao, R.T. Katagiri S.V.'s home course.

Stage 6 AA This version was released on 3 March 2011.

A new mode, Tag Battle, was introduced. Unlike its predecessor, it was released for the Sega RingEdge hardware for the first time. The game saw a change in its driving physics. Unlike Initial D Arcade Stage 5, a drift gauge and an updated tachometer were introduced to help inform players when they were drifting. The 'Legend of the Street' mode also introduced a "Rolling Start" since the story mode in Initial D Special Stage. The tachometer now informed players whether or not their speed was below the gear range. The online network was extended to support regions in which earlier versions of the game were known to be popular, finally achieving both nationwide and international matches. New cars and courses were added to the game through online updates without upgrade kits like IDAS4 1.5. The game also added a mileage system to show players their total driven mileage. Mileages could be used to redeem exclusive cars that were later available in updates. New characters that appeared for the first time in the game include Ryuji Ikeda, Hiroya Okuyama, Go Hojo, and Rin Hojo. New course such as Usui, which used from Arcade Stage Ver.1 to Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage appeared with new layout, Tsubaki Line, Sadamine and Akina Snow, also appeared before in Arcade Stage Ver.3 which daytime is night change into the day.

Note: AA = Double Ace

Stage 7 AAX Released for Sega RingEdge on 28 November 2012. Like its predecessor, the legend of the streets mode from Original and Another mode are the same as the previous one (Arcade Stage 6 A.A.) with Rebirth mode. The game is mostly a carry-over from Initial D Arcade Stage 6 A.A., including updates. New characters include Shinji Inui to complete the Sidewinder battles of Project D, also Arcade Stage Ver.2/Special Stage and Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage characters such as Nobuhiko Akiyama (Rebirth), Sakamoto and Tohru Suetsugu (only in Legend) appeared in this game and rewind of Keisuke, from Project.D using Kyoko's F.D. New cars include the Toyota Sprinter Trueno 2-door and the new Toyota 86 G.T. (to replace the FT-86 prototype from the previous game). A new class of vehicles is introduced in this game called "Complete Cars." These include pre-tuned cars from several tuning shops in Japan, such as RE Amemiya. Online battles now include tag battles, allowing two in-store machines to link together and with internet access to battle against two other players in tag battles. New courses such as Tsuchisaka, which were previously used in Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage also appeared, and Nanamagari, Team Spiral's home course. In this game, there are three songs which also used from Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage, and only one song from Arcade Stage Ver.2/Special Stage, with new songs. The ending theme of this game is Gamble Rumble (7th Stage Version) by m.o.v.e., the first theme remix of Initial D Third Stage, Arcade Stage Ver.2/Special Stage, and Arcade Stage Ver.3.

Note: AAX = Double Ace Cross

Stage 8 Infinity