#965 Le Mans 24 Hours (ARC) Hidden Cars (1/2): Porsche 917k playthrough.
0A playthrough of the hidden Porsche 917k car in Sega’s Le Mans 24 Hours for the Sega Model 3 arcade board.
During my break, I reached over 2000 subscribers in total. A HUGE thanks to everyone who's been watching, commenting on and sharing my videos; as we approach the 4th-year anniversary of this channel it really does mean a hell of a lot.
A bit of a break before we go back to fighting games, because why not. We're moving on to Model 3 and Naomi titles for a little bit, given that this felt like an appropriate time to do so, which includes the second time I'm recovering a game (the first being Sam Sho 64 which I did earlier this year), the conclusion of Sega's flagship fighting game series, as well as coverage of the entire of Tecmo's decent if polarising series.
So, firstly, this game is one of Sega’s arcade hidden gems. Maybe that’s a bit redundant, considering so many great games released on the Model 3 board (Daytona USA 2, Scud Race, Lost World and especially the criminally underrated SpikeOut) still lounge in semi-obscurity. Le Mans is pretty damn good arcade racer, based on the annual Le Mans 24 race, an endurance race which sees racers from all over the world compete in a 24-hour race. The game does its best to faithful to the concept of the event by being different from your average racer. For a start, while you can gain time from finishing a lap, you mostly gain it from overtaking other racers, and can even lose time from other racers passing you. Cars damage easily and so often end up needing servicing in the pit stop, and the race itself only ends after the “timer” at the top reaches 24 hours. You also get a time bonus when it reaches a quarter of 24 (at 6 hours, at 12 hours, etc). Lastly, if you do run out of time then you can simply continue by inserting another coin, which is a bit cheap for a racing game but I can understand why they did it here.
If the player is able to get through all 24 hours in-game (or just keeps continuing until the race eventually finishes), they’ll be treated to the extra course of the game, a staple of Sega’s 90s arcade games. Unlike their usual extra stages however, which were usually an additional course or some such, the extra stage in Le Mans actually sees the player face off against a boss car, the absolutely gorgeous Porsche 917k. It’s one of the absolute most iconic cars of Le Mans, securing Porsche their very first victories in the competition, and has been cemented as an incredibly iconic car due to its incredible performance and amazing sleek design. The sheer amount of time and effort that went into this obscure game is a testament to just how much Sega cared about their games in the 90s and early 2000s, with the Porsche 917k here even having its iconic Gulf Oil colours.
What’s more, the game even allows you to play as the car using a hidden code. On the car selection screen, hold the brake pedal, the start button, View Buttons 1 and 2, and hold the steering wheel all the way to the left. Accelerate and, viola, you have access to this amazing car yourself.
There’s where the fun ends for emulator-users however, as the Porsche here is near enough unplayable without a decent steering wheel. One of its greatest aspects in the right hands, its steering capabilities, is rendered near enough useless by the digital controls of this title when its being emulated. The car cannot turn while accelerating, instead skidding horrendously, and given that this game is horrendously turn heavy it makes a powerhouse of a car into something which, though not entirely useless, is damn difficult to control without analog input. It’s pretty difficult to control, but after a while you learn to get the hang of it somewhat. The only problem is attempting to accelerate after not quite finishing your turning, which will cause the Porsche to skid to a screeching stop, or sand banks, which the Porsche cannot deal with in the slightest. Even supercars have their limitations, I suppose.
Regardless of that however, the Porsche 917 here is a brilliant inclusion. I can think of very few racing games with a boss car in them, but that’s probably why I like it so much. An extra special, secret challenge for good players always makes for a great inclusion in an arcade title, and the Porsche here is a testament to that.
You may also notice that the soundtrack of this game is fucking brilliant, with a mix of classic catchy Sega tunes and House music from the era. He’s a link to the full OST for those who are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Merjl10aurw
Next time, the other hidden car in the game. And boy is it a weird one.