Gran Turismo turns 15 years old today, so we’ve decided to look at our favourite memories from one of the best driving games there has ever been.
by Adrian Collins and Oisin Collins (no relation, in case you’re wondering)
There’s a special event today to celebrate 15 years of Gran Turismo, one of the most iconic driving games ever made, and despite the fact that it’s now the equivalent of a moody teenager who walks around the house with its headphones in all day, we still love it.
The feel
Probably the single most important feature of the game that would shape future racing simulators was the feel of Gran Turismo. The driving felt real. Like, really real. You couldn’t throw your car into a corner and hope for a good rebound off the crash barrier. You needed to drive with skill and care in order to find the best lines and staying out of the sand trap was a game in itself.
Another great thing that really separated Gran Turismo from anything else was the tuning. By tuning your car you could get those extra few seconds you needed to win a race. It also introduced a generation of gamers into the more technical aspect of cars and we’re pretty sure that there isn’t a boy racer out there who didn’t grow up with the game.
The cars
The cars in Gran Turismo were unlike anything we had ever seen before in a racing game. Instead of the old arcade style racing games that allowed you to mince your car into a wall without any repercussions, Gran Turismo made us learn how to drive each car or face the consequences of being overtaken.
At the time, the graphics were top bloody notch (have a gander below, and don’t laugh) and the game allowed you to own and drive your favourite licenced cars.
Then and now
There were a few absolutely beastly cars that we all picked first; Dodge Viper, Honda Prelude, Nissan Skyline and Subaru Impreza ring a bell; and then there was the one car we all loved to hate, known as the Mazda Demio. Why was it loathed so much? Mainly because of… the licences.
The licences
Either we were really rubbish at driving, or it was really difficult to get the licences. You started off just using a Mazda Demio to drive in a straight line, and we thought we were the kings of the race track, even though we hated the car. We were wrong.
By the time we got to B-7 there were tears, broken controllers, and we had convinced ourselves that we would be invincible if we just had one of those chairs with the pedals and steering wheel built in.
The impossible circuits
There were a few iconic circuits that we have to say that we still remember to this day, like Autumn Ring and Red Rock Valley Speedway, but there’s no doubting that Trial Mountain Circuit is probably the track that we remember most, mainly because we knew every turn inside out due to the fact that we were constantly failing our licence tests on it.
Emerging from the tunnel and into the road which was flanked by a mountain (which starts around 2:35 in this video) meant there was no room for error, and caused many a JOE to burst into a fit of rage as we spun out of control. Oh how many hours were lost to that first mountainous bend.
The garage
The garage was (and still is) another superb feature of Gran Turismo. Instead of having to choose between your favourite cars you could simply leave it in your garage with the knowledge that it would still be there when you came back – unless of course your younger brother logs into your profile and sells it for something stupid… not that we’re still bitter about it 15 years on, ahem.
Another really cool feature was the fact that you could sell the cars you collected in the garage for more credits. Well, you never got much for your credit, but 5Cr was better in your virtual pocket than a Demio in your virtual garage. This also made us want to play the game even more. You had to work hard to get the best cars in the career and you could sell whatever you needed to get them.
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