/vr/ - Retro Games

I cannot stress enough how amazing the boss intros from Tokyo Xtreme Racer Zero are. Just watch the first thirty seconds of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_29aaeCR-Wc

So you've got the 13 Devils, right? They attack you in three sets of three, and then you battle the Four Kings before Speed King is literally resurrected just to see if you're worthy of meeting the Zodiacs.
The first two drivers in each set are introduced with an extreme overhead Dutch angle, which zooms in on and captures their car on a freeze-frame. You hear a industrial kick drum and what sounds like a bell ringing.
The third driver is different; the camera does a dizzying 720 degree turn around their car before freezing near the grill, and then flashing two more freeze frames around the side skirt and rear bumper before lifting. You hear the same thing as above, along with a wind whooshing sound.
The Four Kings switch this up. The camera isn't stationary, but it moves at a slower pace than the car to disorient you as it switches angles. The music is changed to a more psychedelic jingle as well.
Somehow, you beat them, and Speed King appears. He's got a song specific to him, and after the camera warps all around his vehicle, you're actually given a full uninterrupted second to admire his car as it drives, something different from the other racers. The screen freezes, but the colors go negative. In the original JP release, two big kanji characters fill the screen. It's either go big or go home... Or start the race near those big pillars and abuse his AI so he knocks into them ^_^
While the Zodiacs are the same as the 13 Devils in terms of intros, the final rival isn't. Considering you get no info about him, it's just straight up terrifying when he appears, and it's just a Dutch angle on his car set to no music at all. Then those headlights flash (the game's motif for starting a duel) and you're given no time to react before he inevitably zooms past you.

What a fucking game.