GRAN TURISMO 3: TOKYO R246 GUIDE by Jamie Stafford/Wolf Feather feather7@ix.netcom.com Version: FINAL Initial version completed: January 1, 2001 FINAL version completed: May 8, 2002 ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== JOIN THE FEATHERGUIDES E-MAIL LIST: To be the first to know when my new and updated guides are released, join the FeatherGuides E-mail List. Go to http://www.coollist.com/group.cgi?l=featherguides for information about the list and to subscribe for free. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Introduction Circuit Details Sample Lap Times Thanks Contact ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ==================================== PERMISSIONS This driving guide may only be posted on: FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, Games Domain, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, gamesover.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, RedCoupe, InsidePS2Games.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, gamespot.com, ps2domain.net, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, ps2replay.com, cheatingplanet.com, neoseeker.com, RobsGaming.com, ps2fantasy.com, gamespot.com, and vgstrategies.com. Please contact me for permission to post elsewhere on the Internet. Permission is granted to download and print one copy for personal use. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== INTRODUCTION At racing venues outside the United States, most corners and many straightaways are given names. Often, these are named for famous racers, racing-related or race-sponsor companies, and even other famous race circuits. For a sampling of such courses with named corners and straightaways, please see my guides for EA Sports' F1-based games (F1 2000, F1 Championship Season 2000, and F1 2001), my GT3: Cote d'Azur and GT3: Laguna Seca Guides, and my three guides for Le Mans 24 Hours (the general guide, and the race-specific guides for Le Mans 2000 and Petit Le Mans). Tokyo R246 is a circuit based on actual roads in Tokyo, Japan. As many know, one of Japan's greatest media exports is anime (Japanese animation: Sailor Moon, Princess Mononoke, Bubblegum Crisis, Vampire Princess Miyu OAV and TV Series, Robotech/Macross, Akira, and many thousands more - see the recent Anime Encyclopedia by Helen McCarthy and Jonathan Clements for an excellent reference on anime dating back to 1917), so I thought it would be interesting to name sections of the Tokyo R246 circuit after anime characters. This is admittedly a highly-subjective effort. Certainly, many (most???) diehard anime fans are likely to quibble with what I have presented here and curse me profusely in a wide variety of languages for having 'forgotten' a vast array of anime characters, and that is perfectly fine (so long as it is done politely!!!). While this guide can potentially help players learn to better drive this circuit, my true focus with this guide is simply to put forth one possible vision of how the circuit's sections could be named. ==================================== CIRCUIT DETAILS The fun Tokyo R246 circuit combines fast speeds (over 200MPH/320KPH on the Pit Straight) with tricky technical corners; plus, the circuit features a four-lane Pit Straight and a 1-1/2-lane narrow section. In a way, this circuit recalls Ridge Racer V, especially on the Pit Straight approaching the first turn... except that Ai Fukami is obviously not featured in GT3 :-( Extreme care must be taken when entering Pit Lane, which narrows significantly upon entry. Plan on a little over two hours to complete the Endurance Race at this venue. Pit Straight (A-ko Straight): This is not a true straightaway, as there are two gentle bends along A-ko Straight which can be taken flat-out, although care must still be taken to keep from bouncing off the barriers. High- power cars tuned correctly can achieve speeds in excess of 200MPH/320KPH before reaching the nasty braking zone for the even nastier first turn of the circuit. The Pit Straight is given this name because of the high speeds which can be gained here, similar to the title character and tomboyish heroine of the Project A-ko series. Turn 1 (B-ko): Every hero(ine) needs a nemesis, provided in the Project A-ko series by B-ko. Similarly, the slow, right- hand perpendicular Turn 1 is very much the nemesis of the high-speed A-ko Straight. There is only about a meter of swing-out room if you take B-ko too wide and too fast, and a nasty barrier prevents shortcutting the corner. Perhaps the only thing in the Project A-ko series which is nastier than this perpendicular corner is B-ko's monokini-style battle suit in the original (and definitely best) installment of the series. Straightaway (Seita Straight): Named for one of the main characters of the excellent but sad Grave of the Fireflies, this is a short straightaway, emblematic of the lives of the main characters of this classic anime film. Turn 2 (Lupin): Named for the title character of the Lupin III series, this left-hand perpendicular corner can be taken faster than B-ko if the approach is made from the extreme right of Seita Straight. Turn 3 (Thirds): Once Lupin has been cleared, Thirds can be taken flat-out as it bends gently to the right toward the stadium. Without giving away who or what they are, the Thirds are from the OAV/film Armitage III. Straightaway (Tatsuya): On the left side of this straightaway (near the entry to the following corner) is a stadium. While I have no idea which sports are played in this stadium, this straightaway is named after the baseball-playing character of Touch who is troubled by the death of his popular twin baseball-star brother; after all, Tatsuya may play in this stadium one day!!! Turn 4 (Go Mifune Curve): This sweeping right-hand hairpin will require light or moderate braking on entry and throughout the corner, depending on the car's horsepower output. Go Mifune is the Japanese name of the title character of the series known in the States as Speed Racer. While braking will be required by all but the lowest-powered cars, this is still a rather Speed-y corner. Turn 5 (Sawa Bend): At about 135 degrees, this left-hand corner requires stronger braking than the Go Mifune Curve. 100MPH/160KPH is still possible here, but only with a flawless racing line and appropriate braking on entry; using an F1 car allows for faster cornering here, which would make this an extremely useful place to pass. Sawa is the schoolgirl assassin with exploding-bullet guns from the gloriously-violent Kite OAV, but this corner unfortunately does not include her famous panty shot from one of the available Kite posters :-( Straightaway (Totoro Straight - Part I): Totoro (from the film My Neighbor Totoro) is very close to nature, as is this tree-lined straightaway. Turns 6-7 (Ranma Chicane): This tight right-left chicane can be taken flat-out only with a highly agile car (such as an F1 vehicle) and a pristine racing line. Beware the barrier on exit if you fail to hold a solid racing line. This is an extremely fast chicane, much like the gender changes for the title character of the Ranma 1/2 series and films. Straightaway (Totoro Straight - Part II): The tree-lined straightaway continues up to San. Note that Part II is NOT parallel with Part I; exiting Ranma Chicane will cause racers to drive a line angled slightly to the left of the original plane of racing. Mononoke Complex: This is NOT a long-lost psychological condition discovered by Freud!!! This section is named for three characters from Mononoke-Hime, released in the States by Disney as Princess Mononoke. Turn 8 (San): Breaking out of the tree-lined Totoro Straight - Part II, this is a sunny, blind, right-hand corner on approach; if taken too tightly, you will definitely bang the car at the apex. Moderate or severe braking will be required on entry. You should definitely edge to the left on exit to adequately set up the approach for Ashitaka, forming a double-apex U-shape formation. San is the quasi-heroine of Mononoke-Hime, the highest grossing Japanese film ever in Japan, and second among all films only to Titanic. Straightaway (Moro Straight): Named after the towering Wolf 'parent' of San, this short straightaway is a challenging bridge between San and Ashitaka, both on the circuit and in the film. Turn 9 (Ashitaka): This right-hand corner is semi-blind, the initial barrier hiding the fact that the course narrows by half on exit; veer hard to the left to avoid the second barrier, but keep off the left-side barrier. Ashitaka is the expelled, skilled warrior who falls in love with San in Mononoke-Hime. Senshi Complex: Turns 10 and 11 are named for two Senshi from the Sailor Moon series. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Neptune both use water as their Element of Influence, so they are chosen here due to the river just to the left of this portion of the circuit; the river can best be seen from Tita Chute and Ryo-Oh-Ki. The circuit narrows greatly here, widening at Vision. Turn 10 (Mercury): Very quickly after clearing Ashitaka, Mercury is a gentle left-hand bend which may require slight braking for high-powered cars to keep off the barriers in this extremely narrow section of the circuit. Straightaway (Bubbles): This super-short straightaway between Mercury and Neptune is NOT named after one of the Powerpuff Girls, but after Mercury Bubbles, the first Senshi Attack used by Sailor Mercury in the Sailor Moon series. Turn 11 (Neptune): This gentle right-hand bend will also likely require slight braking to keep from bouncing off the barriers in this extremely narrow section of the circuit. Straightaway (Tita Chute): This is an extremely brief straightaway, almost too short to really be considered a straightaway. Young Captain Tita is the main character of the anime OAV Plastic Little, known affectionately for its tasteful attention to female anatomy (bath scene: boingy- boingy) and its rather intriguing world. Turn 12 (Ryo-Oh-Ki): This left-hand corner, also within the very narrow section of the circuit, will definitely require moderate braking by all but the lowest-powered cars to keep from bouncing off the barriers. On approach, this corner does not seem at all unusual, much like the loveable Ryo-Oh- Ki from the Tenchi Muyo! series and films. Fortunately, this corner will not grow up into a spacecraft!!!!! Straightaway (Knight Sabers Shoot): This short straightaway is named after the famous four hardsuited heroines of the Bubblegum Crisis universe (which comprises the original Bubblegum Crisis from the 1980s, the following series Bubblegum Crash, and the 1990s updated rehash Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040). Turn 13 (Vision): At last, the circuit widens greatly here for this corner, providing fast cars a chance to safely pass slower vehicles. Vision is a long, tight, right-hand, acute- angle, semi-blind corner. Extreme care must be taken not to bang the left-side barrier on exit as the circuit narrows again (but not to the extreme of the section from the exit of Ashitaka to the entry of Vision). Strong power is required on exit to gain maximum speed along A-ko Straight and pass several slower cars. Just like Ryo-Oh-Ki, Vision does not seem difficult at all on approach, but its appearance quickly changes once you are actually cornering; this is just like the lead secondary character of Bubblegum Crisis Episode 7, 'Double Vision' (from the original Bubblegum Crisis series). Double vision truly IS needed here in a race, both to keep an eye on any car(s) immediately in front of you, as well as to keep in mind which car(s) might be just around the edge of the inner (right-side) barrier. ==================================== SAMPLE LAP TIMES These are a few lap times for Tokyo R246. These times are based upon one or two hot laps during Qualifying at this venue, and thus do NOT reflect actual race lap times, which will likely be 1-3 seconds faster per lap. Acura RSX Type-S 200 HP 2:12.685 Alto Works Suzuki Sports Limited 220 HP 2:00.090 Aston Martin V8 Vantage 542 HP 1:58.122 Audi TT 1.8T Quattro 221 HP 2:14.789 Chevrolet Corvette C5R 592 HP 1:39.684 F090/S 711 HP 1:22.965 F687/S 927 HP 1:22.849 Gillet Vertigo Race Car 419 HP 1:42.265 Lister Storm V12 Race Car 593 HP 1:42.561 Lotus Esprit Ross 30 349 HP 2:00.497 Mazda 787B 964 HP 1:27.435 Mine's GT-R-N1 V-spec 591 HP 1:48.841 Mini Cooper 1.3i 61 HP 2:35.248 Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car 567 HP 1:40.285 Pagani Zonda C12 376 HP 1:51.758 Pagani Zonda C12S 527 HP 1:50.572 Pagani Zonda Race Car 1199 HP 1:29.207 Panoz Esperante GTR-1 986 HP 1:37.543 Renault Clio Sport Race Car 285 HP 1:55.472 Tickford Falcon XR8 Race Car 599 HP 1:43.999 Toyota Celica TRO Sports M 405 HP 1:56.470 Toyota Vitz RS 1.5(J) 230 HP 2:03.911 ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== THANKS A big arigatou to DaZee (from the GameFAQs message board for Gran Turismo 3) for correcting my statement on the reality status of the Tokyo R246 circuit. Domo arigatou gozaimasu!!! ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== CONTACT INFORMATION For questions, rants, raves, comments of appreciation, etc., please contact me at: FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail address. To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, please visit FeatherGuides (http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/). The latest version will always be posted at FeatherGuides, while other Web sites may lag behind by several days in their regularly-scheduled posting updates. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================