Initial D Special Stage / 4K PS2 emulator PCSX2 / RTX 2080ti
17Initial D Special Stage (イニシャルD スペシャル ステージ) was released on June 26, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 and was re-released on February 26, 2004 under the "PlayStation 2 the Best" label. Initial D Special Stage is based on Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.2 with additional Japanese voices for the first time and contains many features exclusive to this game. Initial D Special Stage is also the first home-console Initial D game published by Sega.
Initial D Special Stage contains a story mode that allows the player to reenact racing scenes from the Initial D manga series (up to Vol. 25 at the time of publication), as well as several new courses then not seen in the arcade versions of the game. In one of these courses, Shomaru went on to appear in Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.3/Street Stage. Real Myogi was later added back in Initial D Arcade Stage 4/Extreme Stage. Momiji Line would not return until Initial D Arcade Stage 8 Infinity. Bunta's Challenge is noticeably absent in the game. Additional features including replays for saved time-attack records and Iketani's car introduction.
Due to PlayStation 2's hardware limitations, the graphics of the game was downgraded from its arcade counterpart. The game is compatible with Logitech's Driving Force wheel series and other wheel controllers made for PlayStation 2. Sega also balanced all the cars in game due to the overpowering Integra DC2 from Initial D Arcade Stage Ver.2.