DF Retro: Road Rash - The Complete Saga - Every Game & Every Port Revisted!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 มิ.ย. 2024
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Electronic Arts' Road Rash was a major title for its initial push onto the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis consoles, with the series migrating to CD-based hardware and 'next-gen' consoles including the 3DO, Saturn and PlayStation, taking in some intriguing handhelds ports along the way. Join John Linneman for this extended look into the franchise from its origins through to its eventual decline and extinction.
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00:00:00 - Introduction
00:01:49 - Chapter 1 - Before Road Rash
00:03:24 - The origins of Road Rash
00:06:03 - Chapter 2 - Road Rash 1
00:09:31 - How do the graphics work?
00:16:19 - Port Analysis - Amiga, Master System, Game Gear, Game Boy, Book, PSP
00:28:25 - Chapter 3 - Road Rash 2
00:32:03 - Road Rash on Game Boy Color
00:34:09 - Chapter 4 - Enter the 3DO
00:37:11 - Road Rash for 3DO
00:46:00 - Port Analysis: PlayStation
00:52:33 - Port Analysis: Sega Saturn
00:57:10 - Port Analysis: Windows 95
01:02:00 - Sound Comparison
01:04:47 - Chapter 5 - Road Rash 3 and Road Rash CD
01:15:50 - Bad Super NES Clones ft. Audi Sorlie
01:18:00 - Chapter 6 - Road Rash 3D for PlayStation
01:27:49 - Chapter 7 - Road Rash 64 for N64
01:32:41 - Chapter 8 - Road Rash: Jailbreak for PlayStation
01:39:36 - Road Rash: Jailbreak for Game Boy Advance
01:46:02 - The Ending and Credits - เกม
![Road Rash: The Complete History - SGR [directors cut]](/img/n.gif)
Huge thank you for giving my Road Rash Soundtrack remakes a shout out in the video! I really appreciate that! I watched the whole video and thoroughly enjoyed it! Keep up the good work! Looking forward to more! x
I hope you will got boost with that.
Dean Harris soundtrack is awesome, I urge you to check out RR2 theme.
Im glad he mentioned it too! I never knew about it, and I'm definitely going to look it up now!
Definitely going to look it up too. Listening to Dean's remake, it has a similar sound and vibe to the 3DO soundtrack
Today is the birthday of a friend of mine that passed away in 2022. He was the biggest Road Rash fan that I ever met. He played all the games and desperately tried to enjoy all the "spiritual successors".
Today my heart is filled with all the great memories of playing Road Rash with David. Thank you. This is a wonderful retrospective.
That's heartbreaking.. 😢
Thanks for sharing and sorry about the HIV, that can be tough.
Rip david. I love roadrash too. Glad to hear of fellow folks who also loved the series
Damn man, sorry for your friend.
Was he vaccinated?
I love the DF Retro episodes. John puts a lot of passion on them.
Yep, they are peerless. I'd love one focusing exclusively on the 6th gen consoles with their wildly unique architecture
Definitely especially the intros
Wow, John, this is not a DF episode, this is a legit documentary!! Great job!
An hour and a half road rash special? God bless Jon Linneman.
With this, the Daytona USA 2 and GT7 vs Forza Motorsport videos, you are killing it John. This is great content. Thanks
DF Retro is the reason why I subscribe to this channel. So many memories of me playing this game on my PC back in the late 90s, watching the music videos included and just drooling over the character portraits
Too bad it's so sporadic now.
i had road rash for pc in a box set with nascar '94 and need for speed 1, those were the times :) played the heck out of it
Road Rash 64 has entire open world map that can be fully explored to find secret weapons and easter eggs. You'll lose the race but keep all the weapons you find. Also had the funniest crashes and sounds.
thanks for the tip! i loved when racing games did this kind of design
What I loved about the Road Rash games was that I felt like I was on a road trip as I'd pass through towns and the scenery would change. It's nice to see Skitchin' get mentioned. That game was a lot of fun too.
The potential for this as a reboot is huge, so it amazes me it has never happened. Especially with the 90s nostalgia wave, it would be perfect to set it in the era of the original titles and have it span California, the US and then the world as you levelled up. Needn't be open world, either. Just hand drawn art and that solid 2D style that made the originals much more appealing than the final 3D era.
I adored Road Rash on the PS1. Another absolute banger from Digital Foundry, I just love the deep detail you go into and the hard work you put into your videos.
I worked on EA Replay for the PSP as a developer, so I’m proud of my place in Road Rash history. Nothing tops the 3DO version, however!
Wow, what a great video!
Here in Brazil, this game was an absolute phenomenon in the early 2000s. Good times.
Eu não lembro de Road Rash ser esse fenômeno todo não viu kkkkkk mas com certeza quem tinha mega drive jogou pelo menos uma vez.
Which one?
Joguei muito, ta louco
@@HoroJoga Os de MD fizeram algum mínimo sucesso (ainda tenho minha cópia do RR1), mas nada escabroso já que nem entre os donos do console era dos jogos mais jogados e comentados. No BR, na época do MD o que fazia sucesso era SF2 e no PS1 pessoal só tinha olho aqui pra Winning Eleven. Não sei em que realidade alternativa o ludoviajante viveu rs
Eu amo, mas a EA abandonou a franquia porque não fazia sucesso. Existe sim muito reconhecimento tardio, mas ai nunca sei se é pessoal realmente jogando e gostando ou um bando de manjador pagando de cult
Lembrei que a versão do 3DO rendeu muito conteúdo em revistas, mas como quase ninguém jogou e depois seus ports demoraram demais pra serem lançados, fez diferença alguma na vida da grande maioria dos jogadores... e acho que isso vale tanto pro Brasil quanto pro resto do mundo
Now THIS is my Christmas gift this year. Thanks so much, everyone at DF. This game was a huge huge part of my childhood
I’ll never forget my dad picking me up from school when I was 4 and just playing on the bike in the playground kicking the air 😂
I'll never forget my dad coming home from work with all of the cheats written down on a torn piece of paper for Road Rash 2.
No game has made me and my friends laugh harder than Road Rash 64. My favorite of them all!
I literally just had this experience last night! It's so stupidly funny.
I wish more games prioritized frame rate on N64. The game feels great to play today through emulation compared to most games from that generation.
Just kicked a biker into a cow and heard mooooo! lmao
Deep dive retro videos are by far the best content on Digital Foundry.
I miss Road Rash so much.
I wasn't aware the soundtrack remakes existed so thanks for not only a great video, but for my new purchase of Road Rash 2's remade soundtrack!
Almost a 2 HOUR DF RETRO!?! Hell yea John! Thank you so much for your excellent work. I always look forward to your videos and watch them asap
The longform DFR videos are honestly the best content on this channel (on a channel filled with Tier 1 content). Another fantastic documentary! Thank you so much for touching on this legendary series, it deserves more remembrance.
If anyone was wondering (and not in the know including John) at 26:40 it appears that EA simply replaced the game's soundtrack with the Need for Speed: II OST. The specific track that was playing was Feta Cheese created by Saki Kaskas. Classic stuff!
I came on comments to comment the same. I though i was the only one to notice. :D
Weird that ne realized that the next game in that collection is using NFS 3 soundtrack, but didn't realize that the previous one is using NFS 2 one.
The resolution on the Book conversion is insane! The characters are beyond detailed and sharp, zero jaggies on round shapes at all!
Wow John! This is, by far, your best DF Retro Video ever! Great work and outstanding attention to detail!
I agree q
Didn’t expect the LGR cameo!
I was lucky enough to have Road Rash on 3DO when I was a kid, one of my favorite childhood games and the best version imo.
I had it too, bought my 3do here in Australia from an importer for $1000.
You were lucky enough to have a 3DO as a kid is what you meant:) I remember trying to figure out how to afford one so I could play the golf game they advertised. Of course it's only in the last couple of years that the graphics on the golf game they advertised has actually come to fruition.
It is the best version and I still have it on my FZ-10.
$1000! Wow you are hardcore. I bought my 3DO new for $100 from the same place I bought my CDTV also for $100. They were closing them out.@@futurecactus
I was lucky enough to have a friend that had the 3DO and Road Rash was just amazing.
That was awesome, watched the full thing. Just the other night on my MisterFPGA I was playing Road Rash on the Sega CD and it felt fantastic - when playing it via emulation in the past it's felt 'off' for whatever reason, but on the Mister it felt exactly as I remembered. I need to go back and play it again on my real hardware just to compare, but I really reminded of how much fun this game was when I was a kid.
Agree my favourite on Sega Cd and love 1/2/3
Reading from the book is some of the best content ever on DF Retro.
YES, ROAD RASH 64!!! I swear I thought I was the only one that ever played that wonderful black cartridge.
The 90's grunge vibes were immaculate. Hearing those first few seconds of Rusty Cage still gives me goosebumps to this day. Fantastic retrospective 👍
Nice that you've mentioned Dean Harris. He did a great job!
Another masterpiece by you, John. RIP Saki and Chris.
Being a kid at the time that was into gaming, Soundgarden, and motorcycles, this game ruled and I still vividly remember the FMV's and soundtrack
I never expected this series to be covered by DF, but I'm very glad it is now. One of my favorite series ever. Used to play II with my brother and uncle and played the hell out of 94 on PS1.
This video just wrapped up my entire year with a bow. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of me and my older cousin playing Road Rash 2 on my aunt's Sega Genesis at Christmas. Some of my most treasured childhood memories. Thank You for revisiting this series!
Speed Kings (2003) released on GC, PS2, and Xbox and developed by Climax Brighton/Racing is a pretty darn good nod to Road Rash with a lot of the same feel just in a fully realized 3D world on 6th gen consoles. It even has the "slide mechanic" mentioned in the video.
Interesting, I never heard of this before and was watching a video of it - and it reminds me more of Burnout than Road Rash - but I'll have to check it out.
Agreed!
Came to the comments about to mention the same thing. I think it's a better game than the contemporary reviews suggest (all pretty 6/10 stuff). Admittedly, the aesthetics are kinda boring, it's a very gray and brown game. The visuals don't really suit the fairly comical gameplay, but other than that it's pretty hard to find fault. Maybe it's not really that flawed and it was just a formula that was on the way out by 2003.
I should also mention Jacked (2006). It is more heavily inspired by Road Rash (it has melee weapons) but ends up being a worse game than Speed Kings
That Thunder Force 4/Lightening Force soundtrack is awesome (1:08:45). Everyone should check that game out. It’s one of the best looking and sounding games from the 16-bit consoles. Oh and Road Rash is pretty good too 😉
Thx for all the effort you put in the vid! It really comes across how much you like the series. 🏍
but a bit deceptive as that's the staff roll credits theme, its not something used on normal gameplay.
I can't believe I watched this entire video. I was originally impressed by how the Genesis versions managed that pseudo3d look, then every port even down to the gameboy amazed me even more. I didn't even play the series much but wow you made it interesting from technically.
What a treat! I loved this episode. Thanks for covering Road Rash, one of my favorite retro games.
I love these Retro episodes (especially with John). I always watch them several times. Thank you! (And while I never owned a Road Rash game, it was one of my favorite games to rent!)
Road Rash 2 is my personal favorite. The crashes can be absolutely insane, and sometimes if you are going fast enough you can fly backwards for miles!
This series brings back a lot of fond memories. Played it so much on the Mega Drive back in the day. Never played the 3D 32-Bit versions and beyond but one day I'll check them out.
Strange thing is, I'm not really much of a retro gamer even though I've been gaming since the eighties, but I absolutely love John's retro look back videos.
The quality of your work just keeps getting better and better!
It's amazing how fast and smooth the arcade version of Super Hang-On is.
Playing it on the 3DS is a dream!
The same could be said about any Sega arcade game made in the 1980s. The hardware was insanely powerful.
Doesn't John have the most satisfying and well-written openings everywhere? I know I'm in for a treat! I love his compilation presentations cuz it lets me go on a guided journey with a great helmsman.
Never played Road Rash but i think this was your best retro episode yet
Road rash was so awesome. A reboot would be so fun.
DF Retros are always such a delight. Love your work!
10 year old me will never, ever forget renting a 3DO from the local video store with my brother, sliding this disc into the drive and watching the opening cinematic fade into view as Rusty Cage starts. Soundgarden would go on to be my favorite band of all time and this game was not only a gateway into 32-bit gaming, it ignited a passion for music for me that continues to this day.
Rarely have i enjoyed a video as much as this, an unexpected Xmas present for the world made with such passion and finesse, absolutely awesome, thank you John. 👍
Long may these DF Retro videos continue! Another high quality retrospective by Linneman, thanks!
DF Retro is definitely the peak of your content, congrats on this one!
What an incredibly detailed and in-depth documentary… and the fact it’s about one of my all-time favourite games makes it an extra special Christmas present!
Road rash will forever be one of my favorite series. This video is so well done that I almost feel guilty watching it for free. Great job!
The twangy sound of the first two Megadrive games are iconic. They lose all the charm when updated to CD level quality.
Ps. Really great video. The ‘true’ hand move at 33:59 got me laughing hard.
I was just playing the Sega CD version the other night, and the Sega CD version is all licensed music the entire time - unlike the 3DO and PSX and Saturn versions.
@@rodmunch69It lost me when the licensed music came in. That thrash music style gets irritating fast.
@@rodmunch69It lost me when the licensed music came in. That thrash music style gets irritating fast. Ps. Great username 😂
@@lasersnake stick to Mario Kart, kiddo, that music is awesome, just like my username.
DF retros are by far your best work and everytime you all seem to up the ante! Keep up the great and amazing videos
Excellent video, bravo John. You definitely captured the essence of the 90s and early 2000s. Road Rash was a highlight for me during those times.
What an insane level of quality this overview was. Thanks for working so hard on this, DF.
I *love* John’s deep dives into the racing game genre.
This episode absolutely did cut the mustard. Awesome !! Thank you DF.❤
Even before starting watching the video, what I can say is that we need a great comeback from this series. It has more than enough space in the market if properly made.
I'll always remember Road Rash for introducing me to Soundgarden and high resolution graphics (640x480).
Great game, and great race win FMV
DF Retro with John is some of my absolute favorite content on the channel
I just finished this! This is an incredible piece of work. The b roll you shot is top notch. Your best yet. Well done!
DF Retro is the best thing on TH-cam ❤️ hoping to find more incredible retro shows like this out there!
Thanks for this epic work, John and DF. Road Rash II stands out for me in particular, representing some of my fondest Sega Genesis memories.
Long live to 3DO Road Rash! One of the very best games for the 3DO. Amazing video BTW John! Happy holidays to you and the DF crew :D
This level of detail for a series that exists only rattling in 90s kids heads for the last decade is phenomenal. Gratitude for the focus on Road Rash.
Putting soundgarden in your game soundtrack is a win regardless.
Road Rash needs to make a comeback! These games are fun AF!
i'm really enjoying this video, i never knew to this day why them E.A Game carts had that yellow tag, now i do, Fantastic video! Back to the Roots of Gaming! Thank you 🥰🥰🥰
incredible look back at this wonderful series! Was happy to see road redemption get a shout-out here also. it's great fun in splitscreen multiplayer, and just good fun in general. thanks for another entertaining masterwork, mr. linneman
DF, you are plucking at my heart strings with this amazing video. Road Rash is one of my most cherished video games of all time. Thank you so much for this. I wish to see a modern comeback of this franchise.
I rented many of these growing up but the most fun I had was Road Rash 3D on PS1, great series that needs a proper return
wow after a long time this is another well made DF retro video,kindly keep the good work....
Man, this brought back some memories. I remember being about 5 or 6 round at my uncles all the time playing the original Road Rash on his Mega Drive! What a game!
Is RTX Remix technically a spiritual successor to the MSU-MD concept? It's always fascinating learning about various things John brings up during his Retros. And this episode, the best one so far, is a fantastic way to cap of the year!
Thank you so much for doing this. Still to this day one of my favourite games . Love the passion you bring to your work
Another fantastic video, John! I’d love to see you cover the James Bond games; Tomorrow Never Dies (and the movie) are underrated and the same with The World is Not Enough and the early 2000 games, too!
Tomorrow Never Dies needs to rival E.T. as the worst vidgame of all-time. As a 007 Goldeneye 64 player, the gut punch that is TND is still felt to this day
@@xman777b This is true, but when EA got the license, I’m guessing the developer wanted to make a Syphon Filter like game and for what its worth, it’s really fun. As for Goldeneye, as iconic it will always be, Nightfire is a much better game and even Everything or Nothing, a 3rd person game, is a masterpiece and sucks those got blasted because, “It’s not Goldeneye”, when Perfect Dark surpassed Goldeneye on every level and Rare knocked it out of the Park. Sadly, Perfect Dark Zero was a letdown.
This is such a well made video, always love DF Retro specials like these.
Thanks John and everyone who worked on it, and a Happy New Year!
Great analysis! I spent many hours in my youth playing Road Rash 1 and 2 on the Mega Drive, absolutely loved those games and good to see the same sentiments are shared about RR3.
I really liked Road Rash 3D back in the day, the open world was like nothing else I had played at the time. Having grown up on the series from the genesis, it was really something, I liked the music too. Sad that it’s gone mostly forgotten. It wasn’t great, and I remember it feeling rough compared to other racing games, but still great in its own right.
I will never for the life of me be able to understand how this franchise has laid dormant for so long.
These videos are like confort food for me without any of the side effects. Thank you DF and John.
This video is a great little present on Boxing Day. I even pulled out my PlayStation, genesis and road rash.
East London has produced soo many top tier boxers, it makes sense why this holiday exists. Happy Boxing Day mate
I have goosebumps from that intro of bands that influenced Road Rash. This episode is Epic!
If this game was made now it would 100% be an open world game.
I loved roadrash on genesis -
What an amazing documentary
If it was made now - it would be terrible. A huge part of the charm of these older games was they were simplistic and ran on hardware that was challenged to run them - and to us players, it was an incredible miracle. Nowadays with the strong hardware that we have - it would just be some shallow open world borefest.
Strong boomer energy in here.
@@robbieburns3564 actually they'd ruin it by making it woke, and they'd only let you choose from electric scooters, and the point of the game would be to race to a park where you help pick up litter.
Yes and ruined. So sick of openworld games and their bloat
@@rodmunch69 sorry, I can't keep up; are electric scooters woke now?
Thank you for the in-depth throwback, John! I was introduced to this title on the Sega Genesis and went on to play countless hours on Win 95. It would be great to see Road Rash make a true spirited come back!
THIS is the kind of content I love the most and made me become a DF lover. Thanks for this John, best entertainment in my day.
Why can't we get a good remake, now that tech is advanced?😢
Have you tried The Road Redemption? Best modern take on Road Rash
Electronic Arts.
@@Tenpouinit's great except it's part roguelike and if you die enough times you have to go right back to the very start and try again. It's infuriating because it gets tough by about halfway.
Road redemption FTW
@@formulaic78 it's more roguelite, because you can unlock permanent upgrades. I usually don't like rogues but this they did it right. Played many hours of it and came off completely satisfied
I had some good times playing road rash 2 back in the day. Just goes to show how little of importance frame rates were
They were important. Just ask Madden fans enduring the SNES version.
And Super Thunderblade was a cruel joke.
But the play control in Road Rash was outstanding, and your sprite didn't skip all over the place.
Just imagine how great a 2D Road Rash on modern consoles at 120fps would be. If 15 fps can feel that good...
So nice you remembered the series!
A absolutely loved playing it on 3DO back then. The ost and video clips were amazing.
I do not remember to be honest if I loved mega drive versions that much:)
Road Rash 64 has a special place in my heart. My friend and I used cheat codes to unlock all tracks and bikes. We would choose the hardest tracks with the fastest bikes and chaos ensued for hours. I really liked the physics system, where your rider and bike go flying. One of my most cherished gaming memories. Oodles of fun.
EA -please give us a new Road Rash.
Nah, I'd rather have happy memories of playing this game than have EA 'remake' it. It would be a half assed game filled with microtransactions and a pay-to-win model.
The EA of today is absolutely nothing like it used to be back then
I love these deep dives. More please!
Nearly 2 hour DF retro? What an excellent Christmas thanks jon and crew
Incredible video. Fantastic work John, Coury and Audi
EA might be a huge, dull corporation of unimaginative, soul sucking business ghouls now, but I got a lot of respect for Trip Hawkins and his original vision for the company.
64 will always hold a special place in my heart
2 hours of Road Rash released right after Christmas Day? Hot damn.
Massive fan of the series. Excellent work. DF Retro always delivers.