is a 1999 racing simulation

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...

for arcades. It was developed for the Sega Naomi Multiboard

arcade system board An arcade video game is an arcade game that takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. All arcade video games are coin-opera ...

and was later ported to the

Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...

and

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home video game consoles under the names ''F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa'' and respectively for both American and European releases. The only model of car featured in the game is the Ferrari F355 Challenge model. Unlike Sega's other arcade racers like '' Out Run'' titles, ''F355 Challenge'' aimed to be realistic. The game was considered the most accurate simulation of the F355 possible up until that time. Some versions of the

arcade cabinet An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...

are noteworthy for having three screens, allowing the player to look through the side windows as they would in a real

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

. The cabinet itself is composed of four NAOMI units: one for each of the three screens and one to sync them all. The game also allows the player to use an

automatic transmission An automatic transmission (AT) or automatic gearbox is a multi-speed transmission (mechanics), transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. The 1904 ...

or paddle-shift the gears. It also uses a real-time "Magic Weather" system similar to '' Shenmue''.

Gameplay

The 1999 arcade version of the game includes six circuits: * Motegi (Oval Circuit) * Suzuka (Short Configuration) *

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

(1998 configuration) * Sugo * Suzuka (Full Configuration) *

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In addition, the home console versions of the game include five extra unlockable circuits: *

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* Sepang * Fiorano (real life track used by Ferrari to test their cars) All these circuits can be unlocked by either finishing in certain positions in a certain race or championship, driving over a certain cumulative distance in the game, or by entering a password in a revealable password entry screen. These tracks were also included in the ''F355 Challenge 2: International Course Edition'' arcade machine, released in 2001. The Dreamcast home version has link cable play for direct competition, but by January 2006, the online servers and website for ''F355 Challenge'' were offline until November 2023 when online component was restored.

Development

The game was announced at E3 2000. Yu Suzuki is a keen Ferrari enthusiast who allegedly used data from his own Ferrari 355 at certain tracks to implement in the game during its development. The game features an original soundtrack featuring Genki Hitomi and Minoru Niihara that mimics the style of 1980s

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/ heavy metal which is integrated into a radio station format during gameplay (some music was later reused for another AM2 game, '' Shenmue''). The radio DJ and the announcer are played by Alan J (Alan John Peppler), an American DJ who works at the Japanese radio station Bay FM.

Reception

''Passione Rossa'' received "generally favorable reviews", while ''Ferrari F355 Challenge'' received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. Dan Elektro of ''

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''s December 2000 issue said of the former, "There will be no in-between when it comes to ''F355 Challenge'' – you'll either immerse yourself in truly mastering one of the world's most powerful sports cars, or you'll find this about as much fun as taking your driver's test. If you accept its inherent challenges, ''F355'' will deliver the real deal." 23 issues later, Kilo Watt said of the latter, "What the game lacks in the bells and whistles department, it makes up for in its insane depth. Ferrari fans who enjoy strict racing simulations, have a lot of patience, and enjoy using the control pad versus a racing wheel will get the most out of ''F355 Challenge''." John Gaudiosi of '' NextGen'' praised the former's realistic driving physics, AI, the addition of assist programs for inexperienced players, and graphics, but noted the absence of online multiplayer despite the game featuring two-player option. In Japan, ''

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'' gave it a score of 29 out of 40 for the same console version, and 27 out of 40 for the latter one. Also in Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed the arcade version in their January 1, 2000 issue as the seventh most-successful dedicated arcade game of the past year. The same arcade version won the award for Coin-op of the Year at the ''

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'' Awards 2000, while ''Passione Rossa'' was a runner-up for ''

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''s annual "Best Driving Game" award, which went to '' Test Drive Le Mans''. During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...

nominated ''Passione Rossa'' for the " Console Racing" award, which ultimately went to '' SSX''.

Notes

References

External links