Update [Mon 17th Jun, 2024 09:45 BST]: The documentary is now live.
Original Story [Tue 11th Jun, 2024 12:30 BST]: Back in the '90s, a battle was raging in arcades all over the world. On one side, there was Namco, which had shaken things up with its 3D racers such as Driver's Eyes (1991) and the seminal Ridge Racer (1993). On the other was Sega, which had seen success in the '90s with OutRun, Super Hang-On, Power Drift and Super Monaco GP before launching Virtua Racing and Daytona USA.
With Ridge Racer and Daytona USA going toe-to-toe in arcades and (eventually) living rooms thanks to their respective PS1 and Saturn conversions, there was a lot of hype surrounding Sega's next entry in the 3D racing genre. That would be 1994's Sega Rally Championship, a title which would push the company's AM3 arcade division to its limits.
Directed by Kenji Sasaki (who worked on Ridge Racer at Namco) and produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Sega Rally has gone down in history as one of the most appealing recreations of the sport in digital form. Sega was so dedicated to getting the "feel" of rallying that members of the team attended real-life rally events for research purposes. The game was ported to the Saturn with great success and remains one of the console's best titles.
If you're keen to learn more about the creation of this iconic game, then we've got good news for you – PandaMonium has produced a four-hour documentary which digs deep into its genesis, incorporating archive footage, newly translated interviews, magazine articles and brand-new discussions around the making of this racing classic.
The documentary is available to watch now if you're one of PandaMonium's Patreon supporters, but it goes live to the general public on June 15th.