The familiarity should be all too commonplace with those who have experienced the Initial D world previously—either through the manga, the later adapted anime, arcade stages, or either the PS2 or PSP versions. Whichever medium you chose to experience Initial D through, you should have, at least by now, the story in the foreground of thought. It doesn’t sway the slightest. Initial D Extreme Stage is no different than its predecessors. The objective: be the first down or up the mountain. Initial D Extreme Stage is only available in Japanese, and the only Japanese I’m able to speak is of a broken stereotype. The menus however, are quite easy to navigate.

The controls seem less lose when compared to the Playstation 2’s Extra Stage. I’ve noticed the ability to quite literally whip my car completely parallel while drifting. The racing, more so the cornering / drifting, appears to be done at a much faster pace. The abnormal rate of speed is slightly adolescent while viewing replays, but isn’t too noticeable during an easy victory or even a dogfight.

NOTE: I was and still am playing without a racing wheel.
NOTE: This game is best played in first person view. The physics are a bit skew when the camera is panned back and above the car.

The cars don’t take too kindly to tapping walls either. Extreme Stage doesn’t announce it, but there seems to be a slight acceleration penalty when colliding with a wall. Even a love tap against the outer guardrail will be the difference in who wins and who loses. If it’s a dogfight and you brush, your chances of winning are minimal. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t hit a railing or two throughout the race, it’s just not encouraged, obviously. I actually like what they’ve done here because this avoids the annoying wall-riders of previous versions.

Extreme Stage offers X amount of cars from over X amount of manufactures. The player also has the ability to gain points through winning (or losing) races in the "Legend of the Street" and "Time Attack" modes. With these newly acquired points, he or she will be able to upgrade their vehicle through purchase of new tuning and aero parts. Throughout the course of the game you’ll also be able to unlock new faces, clothes, and hairstyles for your avatar. These are simply obtained by winning races and won’t cost a credit as they are free.

The Japanese version is also the only version that allows for a strong competitive online community. If you do plan on importing a copy, be sure to avoid the Asia version if you're looking for online play. Believe it or not, there are more people in your country playing this than you might think.

As a fan of the series, I am more than satisfied with this latest edition to the series. I think that speaks more than if I wasn't a fan, because like most fanboys, I am unforgivably negative. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys racing games, but you have to take it for what it is. It isn't a sim, but at the same time it isn't an arcade racer. It's sort of found a nest on line dividing the two.