JDM Review: Japanese Drift Master Skids onto Xbox!

Japanese Drift Master: Between Sushi, Japan, and Hairpin Turns

Have you rushed to these pages to read our review of JDM: Japanese Drift Master because you've already heard about this title and perhaps you're curious to know more? Good, then start letting your imagination run wild and follow me: Japan, late night immersed in absolute silence. On the winding mountain roads near a town far from the noise and frenzy of the country's main metropolises, all is quiet... for now! Suddenly, the roar of a powerful engine begins to approach and becomes increasingly deafening. At some point, two headlights appear in the night, and from the center of a hairpin turn, an iconic Japanese car makes its thunderous entrance. This car, however, is not proceeding along the classic curve line; instead, its driver is literally defying the laws of physics, trying to control a skid that is aggressively attacking the asphalt, while the tires screech, begging for mercy.

We have just seen, in summary, one of the key situations you will experience playing JDM: Japanese Drift Master, which, for convenience, we will call by its acronym JDM. Developed by the Polish team Gaming Factory, JDM draws heavily from the Japanese culture of underground racing based on drifting (but not only) and is unashamedly inspired by Initial D, a manga by Suichi Shigeno that popularized (also thanks to an animated series) the adventures of Takumi, a delivery boy for his father's tofu shop who hides an incredible talent for driving. In JDM, we play as Touma, a Polish boy (and you'll find out why he has such an exotic name) who recently moved to Guntama, a fictional Japanese prefecture inspired by the almost homonymous and famous Gunma.

Between mountain and city streets, our protagonist will live an adventure narrated through manga-style panels where, in addition to being a sushi restaurant delivery boy, he will dedicate himself to his greatest passion: underground racing. The plot serves as a glue for all the main events we will face, managing to provide some interesting insights into interpersonal relationships that will not always go smoothly. The basis remains the climb through the ranks of underground racing, with an aftertaste that cannot but recall brands like Need For Speed and Fast&Furious. JDM is based on a free-roaming system with a large map where we can drive both to wander aimlessly and to reach various points of interest, which are primary and secondary missions, these with interesting plot variations and sushi delivery missions that allow us to replenish our finances. Naturally, there are also several circuits where we can train and try to improve our time attack, thus completing the picture of the game's offerings, along with scenic spots to photograph and speed cameras to record our top speed.

Japanese Drift Master: Arcade Driving for True Champions

The game structure is quite classic: you gain experience (even just by drifting aimlessly around the map), earn money, upgrade your car, and try to win new races, eventually reaching the point where you have to buy a new vehicle to continue the story, while you can fill your garage with all the cars of your dreams and use whichever one you want at any time to take a break from the plot and go for a relaxing drive. The available models are varied and include some of the most famous Japanese cars, such as Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, and Honda, but there are also unlicensed cars that you won't have trouble recognizing. The car park is not as exhaustive as in other titles, but the variety is good.

I should point out, however, that affording a new car is very expensive, and you'll have to think carefully about how to spend your money, because once you open your wallet, it will be a very long road back to the dealership: money is not easy to come by, and selling used cars brings very little into our pockets. You can also dedicate yourself to mechanical and aesthetic tuning, but here too it will be difficult to have enough money to indulge in compulsive purchases. Furthermore, while buying new brakes or similar is very useful for improving performance, changing seats, side skirts, spoilers, and more necessarily takes a back seat as a superfluous and unsustainable expense, to the disappointment of our "tuner" side.

As for the gameplay, we are looking at a blatantly arcade model, but not for that reason any less satisfying. On the contrary, the guys at Gaming Factory have put together a driving system that works really well and brings the joys of drifting to our Xbox in an commendable way. Mastering the curves of Japanese mountain passes is not for everyone and requires considerable sensitivity to manage throttle, brakes, steering, clutch, and His Majesty the handbrake. There's a driving school to help us, but it will take a lot of practice to control all the horsepower we'll have in the engine. The races to complete are of different types, and we'll have to win simple speed challenges and acceleration challenges, but drifting remains the most important part of what we'll have to do. Often it won't be about crossing the finish line first, but about bringing home the most points, and these will be awarded based on various factors such as the duration of the drift, its angle, the fluidity of the action, and so on. The result of all this is, as you will have already understood, a very well-calibrated driving system, and each car feels different from the others, showing great commitment from the developers.

Japanese Drift Master: Not All Drifts Go Well

Unfortunately, however, JDM: Japanese Drift Master is not without flaws that undermine its overall quality, starting with the graphics. Although some landscape views are commendable and the representation of typical Japanese mountain areas is evocative, the overall quality seems to have stopped at the previous console generation. Among other things, we can choose the "Performance" mode, which sacrifices some visual quality in favor of a higher frame rate, while preferring visual appeal significantly decreases the FPS, ruining the gaming experience, already lightened by the lack of car damage.

Although the map is large and evocative, everything feels extremely empty with the total absence of pedestrians and very few other cars on the road, with the result that the Guntama prefecture feels unconvincing: I have been fortunate enough to travel in the areas that inspire this location and can confirm from direct experience the light traffic, but this is really too much. Furthermore, secondary activities, such as sushi delivery, eventually become repetitive, and during all my tests, I was never able to connect to the online leaderboards to see my results compared to those of other players. The audio system is much better, with excellent rendering of engines and various effects, not to mention the presence of a rich and pleasant soundtrack divided into radio stations where you can listen to, among others, excellent J-Pop, rock, or eurobeat playlists. I also note that all texts are in Italian, which is always appreciated.

Furthermore, there are several bugs mainly related to car clipping with barriers and everything surrounding the roads, so much so that more than once I got stuck or had problems with camera behavior. The artificial intelligence itself is questionable, with opponents often exhibiting unrealistic behavior or being completely oblivious to our presence on the road. As is easy to understand, it is precisely in these situations that JDM clearly shows its low-budget DNA. The Gaming Factory team has demonstrated enormous attention in creating the driving model and representing the world of Japanese underground racing, but there are obvious limitations related to the budget and the fact that we are talking about a small studio. The result remains commendable, and JDM: Japanese Drift Master is a title absolutely recommended for those who love these atmospheres, provided that future patches could further improve the situation. In any case, if you love drifting, purchasing JDM: Japanese Drift Master is highly recommended, given that you can get it for the budget price of 34.99 euros, little more than a dinner at your favorite all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant!