Daytona USA 2
| Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge Sega Racing Classic 2 (2023 release) | |
|---|---|
Japanese arcade flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Sega AM2 |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Director(s) | Makoto Osaki |
| Producer(s) | Toshihiro Nagoshi |
| Designer(s) | Naotake Nishimura |
| Composer(s) | Fumio Ito Takenobu Mitsuyoshi Dennis St. James |
| Platform(s) | Arcade |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Arcade system | Sega Model 3 |
Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge (known simply as Daytona USA 2 in Japan, and Sega Racing Classic 2 in a 2023 release because of licencing issues with NASCAR Holdings, Inc.) is an arcade racing game released by Sega in 1998 as a follow-up to the extremely successful Daytona USA. The game featured vastly superior graphics, utilizing the Sega Model 3 hardware. The majority of Daytona USA 2 cabinets were released as deluxe models (with far fewer Twin Cabinets), which could be linked together for up to sixteen players. A notable change from the original is the ability to select a car and corresponding driver, each with varying capabilities for varying levels of player experience. Just like before, the game has three courses – Forest Dome: a beginner course with 8 laps with a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km), Joypolis Amusement Park; an advanced course with 4 laps with a distance of 2.5 miles (4.0 km), and Virtua City; an expert course with 2 laps with a distance of 5 miles (8.0 km). The 'time lap' mode also returns, and is accessed in the same manner – by holding down start at the transmission select screen. Like the original game, mirrored versions of the tracks can also be played by holding down the Start button when selecting the course. It is recommended, however, that the player has had mastery of the course beforehand. By request, an arcade operator could put the game on Grand Prix or Endurance mode to increase the number of laps in a game. Finishing a race in the top 3 in any course allows the player to view an "ending" and see the game credits. An addition to the game was the "slingshot", corresponding to advanced NASCAR drafting techniques.
Originally, Daytona USA 2 was not released on home video game consoles, but was planned to be ported to Sega's Dreamcast following its launch as reported by contemporary game magazines. The project was quietly cancelled and a special version of the original game, titled Daytona USA 2001, took its place as a substitute entry for the platform.
25 years after the original release of the game, Daytona USA 2 was eventually published for PlayStation, Xbox and Microsoft Windows home gaming platforms via the "Arcade" mode of Like a Dragon Gaiden (Power Edition) and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii under the name, Sega Racing Classic 2 because NASCAR Holdings, Inc. did not licence the Daytona brand because of their affiliation with iRacing.