(Thanks to Sloan Wang for the tip!)
Not long ago we ran a story about a game being tested out in Taiwan by the name of Fast Beat Battle Rider. To sum it up, it’s an arcade motorcycle racing game that falls on the technical side of the spectrum, i.e. more like an InitialD or MaxiTune type game with many options for customization, characters, story, realistic locations and driving physics etc. The game has been developed by a company by the name of Saint Fun, which is not a household name among arcades but for one of their few original video efforts so far, the brief videos below show that its wanting to contend with some bigger names out there. I’m not sure of the odds on this coming out West but as mentioned in the previous post about this, more Taiwanese companies are showing up at trade shows like IAAPA and are not resistant to selling their product overseas as the games include English translations.
These are brief clips, and get more brief as you progress. The first video is part of the attract mode and shows the opening CG sequence. After that is a quick shot of the character customization followed by a 6 second clip of the game action. The main thing I get out of the last clip that I wasn’t expecting exactly are the physics, such as the bike shaking as it passes between two vehicles or the girl’s ponytails blowing in the wind. It’s too bad that its not a bit longer to get a better idea of what might set the game apart aside from the visuals but since it seems to be about showing off what it looks like, watch it in 720p at least.
UPDATE: Thanks to 60Hz in the comments who pointed out this longer clip of the game itself
One place I am sure this game will show up at is the GTI Taipei show in May, which I am actually looking into attending, although no promises quite yet.
found this clip on youtube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuHr5rnb47E
still short but a bit more in-game footage
Looks like Nirin, cool.
I’m loving the customization and driving physics, but at least in the clips posted I’m not seeing much “battle” in the game so far, despite the promising title. Perhaps that will show up in a later build or later in the tracks?
I’ve seen this awhile back at the Tilt arcade in the Southland Mall located in Hayward, CA. They had 4 cabinets linked and I was really impressed by the overall design of the cabinet. There are a sequence of lights (probably LEDs) behind the driver’s chair and marquee that changes colors. I didn’t get to play it but the graphics and gameplay look really similar to Initial D and Maxtune.
Welcome to TAIWAN
SAINT-FUN will host PRIVATE SHOW at Grand Hyatt Taipei (No.2 Song Shou Road, Taipei ) on FRIDAY, 10th of May, 2013, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, with a lavish buffet.
http://www.saintfun.com.tw/news_english.html