Retro to Modern Arcade Racing Ep. 1: SEGA Rally 2, Classic & New Games, Hacks, Ports & Blue Skies!

Best Arcade Racing Games 2025: Retro 2 Modern Episode One. SEGA Indie Recommendations | Old, New, Hacked & Blue Blue Skies Series!

** GIVEAWAY IS FINISHED - congrats to @Sweetroll_EXE

As arcade racing fans, we get our fix multiple ways: Old Stuff, New Stuff, Hacked stuff, vibey Blue Blue Skies stuff. Here are 6 Top Best Arcade Racing games - and racing adjacent games. Awesome retro arcade racing, modern indie racers, SEGA classics, ROM hacks & ports to dig into.

00:27 GIVEAWAY DETAILS
01:03 Side By Side Special 2000
04:04 Driftline Peaks
07:07 Star Garden: The Trial
10:03 Rally Arcade Classics
12:41 SEGA Rally 2 25th Anniversary Repack
16:32 OutRun GB

MUSIC:
Star Garden "Qteku - Welcome to Star Garden... for Main Menu"
SEGA TouringCar Championship "Intence"


SIDE BY SIDE SPECIAL 2000:

Tough arcade racer is a PSX release of Taito's Side By Side & Side By Side 2 arcade games, with 19 cars & 10 tracks.
Emulation analog woes fixed via RetroArch NegCon config - essential for brutal courses with narrow sections, hairpin turns, varied surfaces.
Challenging Drift mechanics and wild tracks. Easy racing recommendation - a PlayStation great. Dive into this 90s-era vibe arcade port!


DRIFTLINE PEAKS:
LINK: itch.io https://short-url.org/1dW34

Underrated indie arcade racer demo on itch.io - free Time Trial mode, 2 tracks ( one with a night variant), 12 cars. PlayStation-style look reminiscent of Side By Side Special & Togue Max series; drifting has immense promise.
Needs work a bit of work, and Dev is still tweaking physics.
Try the free demo! Top modern retro arcade racing 2025 pick!


STAR GARDEN THE TRIAL:
LINK Steam Demo: https://short-url.org/1dW3R
LINK ** Kickstarter: https://short-url.org/1dW4g

Kickstarter-backed fusion: Sonic Adventure Chao Garden + Kirby's Air Ride. Not pure arcade racer, but cross-appeal with future racing elements coming. Raise Lumi's that transform to stars for hoverboard rides. Demo contains Lumi Garden teaser & CosmicClash Mode. Promised racing segments, similar to Kirby Air Ride, are the most exciting upcoming additions. Y2K aesthetic: Glorious Dreamcast/GameCube mash-up, legit looks & character designs. Devs: Bring on races! Indie gem for nostalgic arcade racing fans 2025.


RALLY ARCADE CLASSICS:
LINK: Steam: https://short-url.org/19nO1

Promising indie from NETK2GAMES - acquired-taste visually (90s CGI-looking textures/shaders, odd car details, average sound/pace-notes. Clear & readable in-race, though.
Gameplay shines: Slow start, ramps after license tests and buying cars. Divine drifting - cars slide joyfully on courses. Wish for longer tracks (most under 1 min); game is begging for extended rallies. Well-designed for repeat play, gold trophies fun to get.
Precision & Chase Update OUT NOW: Online friends/leaderboards, improved lighting/performance, manual gears. Killer arcade rally driving!
Digging it. Recommend to all; find it on Steam.
** GIVEAWAY ** Find the 3 hidden ARC logos, first to comment with correct timestamps wins a free Steam Key! Good luck!


SEGA RALLY 2 25TH ANNIVERSARY REPACK:
LINK: FREE https://short-url.org/19nOq

Epic comeback story! Arcade SEGA Rally 2 is AWESOME; home ports (Dreamcast/PC) disappointing, with inconsistent frames/controls, visual cuts. OldNewPixel has released the SEGA RALLY 2 25TH ANNIVERSARY REPACK - with help from Silent & AuToMaNiAk005 - and it is now the definitive home port. 1.5 and 1.6 Update: Vast improvements: Full controller/rumble support, any resolution, solid 60fps. ReShade fixes dull colours. Flawless widescreen support too.
Stellar package - immense work! Try now, link below. Best SEGA Rally hack for retro arcade racing 2025.


OUTRUN GB:
LINK: https://short-url.org/1dWnH
LINK: EGVroom ALL GAMES: https://short-url.org/19o6e

EGVroom's Game Boy Color racers (Hoonigans, Nitro, Hero GP) were all awesome. OutRun GB is a FREE, full release: Feels like OutRun. Vibes bang-on. Faithful recreations of all 15 arcade stages, on-point colours & brilliant chiptune music by SLOOPYGOOP. Adorable Testarossa sprite.
Decent challenge, smooth scrolling, tight controls - so good that any crash is your fault. Play in a browser/emulator, on a retro handheld/real GBC or Analogue Pocket. Support EGVroom by buying his other games! Top system best racers. Play now & bask in SEGA Blue Blue Skies! Ultimate retro OutRun hack/port 2025.

Found recommendations? Do you HAVE recommendations? Comment below!

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