Road Trip Adventure

Last updated
Road Trip Adventure (Road Trip)
Road Trip Adventure cover art.jpg
European version cover art
Developer(s) E-game
Publisher(s)
Designer(s) Etsuhiro Wada
Series Choro Q series
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
PlayStation 3
Release
  • JP: January 10, 2002
  • NA: October 26, 2002
  • EU: May 2003
  • AU: July 2003
PlayStation 3
  • EU: February 15, 2012
Genre(s) Racing / Adventure
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer

Road Trip Adventure, also known as Everywhere Road Trip or Choro Q HG 2 (often mislabeled as Road Trip: Arcade Edition [1] or simply Road Trip [2] ), is a racing adventure video game for the PlayStation 2 developed by E-game (but commonly credited to Takara). The game was released in 2002 in Japan by Takara, in North America by Conspiracy Entertainment, and in 2003 in Europe and other PAL regions by System 3 under their Play It label.

Contents

The game combines elements of open world racing and adventure games, and is widely considered to be the best of the Choro Q series due to its large seamless world which the player can freely explore. The game takes place in a world of anthropomorphic cars that interact like humans. As part of the PS2 Classics release, Road Trip Adventure was released on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 in Europe on February 15, 2012; however, it was not released on the American PlayStation Network.

Story

A typical snapshot of Adventure Mode gameplay. Road Trip Adventure.jpg
A typical snapshot of Adventure Mode gameplay.

When starting a new game in Adventure mode, the player can enter their name and preferences, as well as a name for the game's currency. Upon entering these details, a cutscene begins inside the office of President Forest, who has become weary of his role in office. He declares that he will hand over the presidency to the winner of the World Grand Prix, a seven race series for only the most elite and talented racers. The president's secretary leaves, ready to broadcast this news to the world.

Next, the player appears inside the Q’s Factory in Peach Town, a small town named after the surrounding peach farms. Each town's Q's Factory is where the player changes car parts they have collected and bought. The worker in the Q's Factory informs the player that he or she may become president, if lucky enough to win the World Grand Prix.

After these starting scenes, gameplay is almost entirely open-ended, loosely centered around the goal of winning the World Grand Prix and becoming president. To qualify for the World Grand Prix, the player must have two teammates and a Class Super A License, earned by finishing within the top 6 in every race of each license tier: C, B, and A, respectively. To acquire teammates, one can simply talk to other cars; if they can be recruited, they may ask the player to add them as a teammate, provided the player has previously won a race. Each race rewards the performance of the player's teammates, as well as the player’s. As a result, it is important for the player to equip their teammates with adequate parts for each race.

To measure a player's achievement, there are 100 "stamps" which they can earn, one of which is becoming president. Stamps involve activities ranging from mini-games to doing small favors for other cars, and upon earning all 100, the player is eligible for a special surprise. As an example, one of the 100 stamps requires completing the player's picture album. To take a picture, the player can visit any of the 100 Quick-Pic Shops, denoted by black marks on the mini-map; after taking a picture, the owner (always a pink Toyota Vitz) will inform the player of the next shop's location. Another important stamp entails collecting all 100 Choro Q coins hidden in the cities around the world (with the exception of Cloud Hill). One of the residents of My City trades various parts and objects for Choro Q coins, and many of these parts can give the player a distinct advantage in other tasks, including winning the World Grand Prix. Each city contains a bar, whose owner can give hints as to the whereabouts of nearby coins.

Additionally, a major recurring theme is populating "My City," the city which the player founds as the first resident. To build up My City, the player must talk to many different cars throughout the world and find those interested in starting a new life or building new homes or shops. As more and more residents move to My City, those residents' houses and shops appear throughout the city, each building being themed after the architectural style of its resident's hometown. Once complete, My City contains a school, fire department, police station, Q's Factory, Body Shop, Parts Shop, Paint Shop, parks, residential houses and more.

Gameplay

Economy

At the start of the game, the player is asked to specify a name for the currency used for the rest of the game. Money is central to Road Trip Adventure, as it is necessary to purchase most parts. To win money, one can race, advertise for various shops, sell parts to a resident of My City, or even play roulette. Five shops can provide a small above-car billboard to advertise with: the coffee shop in Peach Town (10 currency per km), a noodle restaurant in Fuji City (20 currency per km), a cake shop in Sandpolis (30 currency per km), a wool shop in White Mountain (40 currency per km), and a coconut shop in Papaya Island (50 currency per km). Each shop gives you a certain amount of money per kilometer driven while equipped with its respective advertisement sign. The player can also put one sign on each teammate.

Minigames

There are around 20 minigames in Road Trip Adventure. Completing them earns money, stamps and parts. These minigames include Soccer, Roulette, and Drag Races.

Locations

The following is a list of cities in Adventure Mode in the order in which they are typically first encountered. The world in Adventure Mode, with the exception of Cloud Hill, is cyclic, meaning that one can driving through all the cities consecutively and return to the original location of Peach Town.

CityDescriptionStreet styleRace tracks
Peach TownThemed after the archetypal small town, surrounded by countrysideTarmac, earth, grassPeach Raceway 1 and 2
Fuji CityJapanese-themed cityEarthNinja Temple Raceway, Temple Raceway
My CityThe player's own, which they advertise to gather diverse new residentsTarmacEndurance Run
SandpolisModeled after Las Vegas, largest city in the gameTarmac, earthDesert Raceway, Night Glow Raceway
Chestnut CanyonA Grand Canyon-esque town atop a hillRock, earthMiner 49er Raceway, Lava Run Raceway
Mushroom RoadA mushroom-themed town in a forest, smallest city in the gameEarth, mudRiver Raceway, Slick Track, Oval Raceway
White MountainA snowy town centered around a mountainSnow, earthSnow Mountain Raceway
Papaya IslandTropical island, reachable by driving through the oceanEarth, sandLagoon Raceway, Sunny Beach Raceway
Cloud HillA collection of floating islands in the sky, accessible only from a house on Papaya IslandTarmac, metalTin Raceway

Soundtrack

In the US and European versions, there are two radio stations to choose from. The Japanese version's radio feature is more extensive, featuring an additional station with voiced DJs.

The first station includes slight remixes of the following songs:

The second station consists of instrumental tracks, some of which are uncredited arrangements of songs composed by Michael Walthius. The game's overall music and sound are credited to Fumio Tanabe. [3]

Reception

Road Trip received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [2] The game was praised for its wide world to explore and great depth, but criticized for its sound. [1]

Related Research Articles

Mario Kart is a series of kart racing games and a spin-off Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.

<i>Chocobo Racing</i> 1999 racing video game

Chocobo Racing is a racing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation, A spin-off of the Final Fantasy series and part of the Chocobo spin-off series. It was released in Japan in March 1999, followed by North America and Europe in August and October, respectively. The game's star and namesake is the Chocobo, with other figures from the Final Fantasy series, such as Mog the Moogle, the Black Mage, and Cid being part of the cast. Most of the game's soundtrack is composed using songs from previous Final Fantasy titles. As a formulaic kart racer, Chocobo Racing is often compared to Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing.

Ridge Racer is a racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, Ridge Racer (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 hardware, later ported to the PlayStation two years later as a launch title. It was met with several sequels and spin-off games for multiple platforms, the latest being the mobile game Ridge Racer Draw & Drift (2016) with the latest mainline game being Ridge Racer 7 (2006). Gameplay involves the player racing against computer-controlled opponents to be the first to finish in a race. Drifting is a core aspect of the series, and is used to keep speed while turning corners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaia Online</span> Anime-centered social media and forum website

Gaia Online is an English-language, anime-themed social networking and forums-based website with Chibi-style animations. It was founded as go-gaia on February 18, 2003, by Derek Liu, Long Vo, Josh Gainsbrugh, and the name was changed to GaiaOnline.com in 2004 by its owner, Gaia Interactive. Gaia originally began as an anime linklist and eventually developed a small community, but following a statement by founder Derek Liu, the website moved towards social gaming and eventually became forum-based.

<i>Choro Q HG 4</i> 2003 video game

ChoroQ is a PlayStation 2 game published by Atlus in the US, Zoo Digital Publishing in PAL regions and Takara in Japan. It was developed by Barnhouse Effect. The game is marketed as a "Car-PG": a hybrid of driving and role-playing video games.

<i>Future GPX Cyber Formula</i> Japanese anime television series

Future GPX Cyber Formula is a Japanese futuristic motorsports anime television series produced by the advertising agency Asatsu-DK, the Tokyo-based entertainment producer VAP, and the animation studio Sunrise. The series originally aired between March 15 and December 20, 1991 on Nippon TV and was later followed by four OVA series respectively titled: Double One, Zero, Saga, and Sin. These OVAs are collectively known as Future GPX Cyber Formula 2. The series has also been adapted into multiple games, art-books, toys, audio dramas, and novels.

Barnhouse Effect Co., Ltd (株式会社バーンハウスエフェクト), or BHE, is a 1997 Japanese video game developer and CG production company based in Tokyo. Most of their work has been for Takara, notably Choro Q games for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choro-Q</span> Japanese toy line released in the US as Penny Racers

Choro-Q is a line of Japanese 3–4 cm pullback car toys produced by Takara. Known in North America as Penny Racers, they were introduced in late 1978 and have seen multiple revisions and successors since. Choro-Qs are stylized after real-world automobiles, with real rubber wheels and a pullback motor that makes them move. Each car has a coin slot at the back, where inserting a penny will make it perform a wheelie when the car is released.

<i>Need for Speed: Carbon</i> 2006 racing video game

Need for Speed: Carbon is a 2006 racing video game and the tenth installment in the Need for Speed series. Developed by EA Black Box, Rovio Mobile and published by Electronic Arts, it was released on October 31, 2006, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Xbox 360, GameCube, Windows, and Mac OS X, and on November 19, 2006 as a launch title for the Wii and in 2008 for arcade cabinets. The game sees players conducting illegal street races within the fictional city of Palmont City, with the game's main story taking place after the events of Need for Speed: Most Wanted and focusing on the player's character taking control of the city from various street-racing gangs. While the gameplay is similar to its predecessor, Carbon introduced a number of new features, including crews and racing wingmen, Touge-styled racing events, and greater customization options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning McQueen</span> Fictional character from Cars franchise

Lightning McQueen is a fictional anthropomorphic stock car and the main protagonist of the Pixar franchise Cars. He is primarily voiced by Owen Wilson. His appearances include the feature films Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3, as well as in the TV series Cars Toons and Cars on the Road. Lightning is also a playable character in each of the Cars video game installments. Lightning McQueen is the face of the Cars brand, and he is a popular mascot for Disney.

<i>Road Trip: The Arcade Edition</i> 2002 video game

Road Trip: The Arcade Edition, known as Gadget Racers in Europe and Choro Q! in Japan, is a racing video game released in 2002 by Takara. It is based mainly upon Road Trip Adventure, a predecessor, however was only sold for the GameCube. Allowing this, weapons were added to a more racing perspective to make it an arcade version. It involves toy cars known in as Choro-Q or Penny Racers.

<i>Gran Turismo 5 Prologue</i> 2007 video game

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a 2007 racing simulation video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the eighth overall installment in the Gran Turismo series. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a precursor to Gran Turismo 5, in celebration of the series' tenth anniversary.

<i>SimCity Creator</i> 2008 video game

SimCity Creator is a video game in the Sim game series by Electronic Arts. It was released for the Wii in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PlayStation Link Cable</span> Peripheral cable for the PlayStation console

The PlayStation Link Cable (SCPH-1040) is a peripheral cable for the 1st generation PlayStation console. Utilizing the serial I/O port found on the back of most PlayStation models, it allows for two consoles to be connected in order to play compatible multiplayer games on separate consoles. It was released in July 1995 in Japan for ¥2000, and during the 1995 Christmas shopping season in the United States.

<i>Grand Prix Simulator</i> 1987 video game

Grand Prix Simulator is a racing game developed by The Oliver Twins and published by Codemasters for the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit family. The ZX Spectrum conversion was done by Serge Dosang. The game was endorsed by Ayrton Senna's 1986 Formula One teammate Johnny Dumfries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tow Mater</span> Cars franchise fictional tow-truck character

Sir Tow Mater KG is an anthropomorphic tow truck of the Pixar Cars franchise. His appearances include the feature films Cars, Cars 2, and Cars 3, as well as in the TV series Cars Toons and Cars on the Road. Mater is also a playable character in each of the Cars video game installments. He is voiced by Larry the Cable Guy.

Quattro is a series of video game compilations released in the 1990s. They consisted of games developed by Codemasters. The NES versions were released as multicarts and were published by Camerica without a license by Nintendo.

<i>Asphalt 9: Legends</i> 2018 video game

Asphalt 9: Legends is a 2018 racing game developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft. Released on July 25, 2018, it's the fifteenth major game of Asphalt series. In comparison to previous entries, there are several new and improved features, such as a prestigious car lineup, new control schemes, including the autopilot mode called "TouchDrive", and race modes, and the reimplemented "shockwave nitro" from Asphalt 6: Adrenaline. The graphics are considered significantly improved compared to its 2013 predecessor, Asphalt 8: Airborne.

<i>F1 2021</i> (video game) 2021 video game

F1 2021 is the official video game of the 2021 Formula One and Formula 2 Championships developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the fourteenth title in the F1 series by Codemasters and the first in the series published by Electronic Arts under its EA Sports division since F1 Career Challenge in 2003, after Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts just a few months before the trailer was released.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Surette, Tim (November 20, 2002). "Road Trip: Arcade Edition [sic] - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Road Trip (2002) - Metacritic". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Choro-Q HG2 Staff". Game Developer Research Institute. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Martin (August 14, 2003). "Play It budget titles (Page 4)". Eurogamer . Gamer Network. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Road Trip Adventure". GamesMaster . Future plc. 2003.
  6. ↑ Meston, Zach (March 9, 2003). "GameSpy: Road Trip". GameSpy . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Road Trip Adventure". Official UK PlayStation 2 Magazine . Future plc. 2003.
  8. ↑ "Road Trip". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . Ziff Davis. October 2002. p. 150.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.