Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec Without Buying Any Cars

The Setup

In 2001, Playstation Magazine began hyping Polyphony Digital's highly anticipated Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. At an impressionable 14 years old, having only experienced a few racing games such as Top Gear 3000 on the SNES and Wave Race and Star Wars Episode I: Racer on the N64, I was enthralled by this new, next-generation leap in gaming.

I spent my birthday money (that was a thing back then) on a copy of the game and the Versus Books strategy guide on release day in July 2000. My father was mildly impressed by the graphics, but mocked me for "driving with my thumbs instead of a real steering wheel in a real car" and otherwise took no interest in the game. Note to present and future fathers out there: try to take some interest in what your child is doing. This could have been an amazing bonding experience, but alas.

This game taught me a lot about cars, maintenance, car parts, economics, physics, and it even taught me how to drive. I was never and will never be a race car driver, but the lessons learned in this, The Real Driving Simulator, have always been clearly applicable to common, everyday road driving to me.

I played this game a lot, but to my surprise while looking through my backlog earlier this year, I realized that I had never finished it. Beating Gran Turismo 3, as defined by speedrun.com, involves completing all the Beginner and Amateur league races.

So in 2023, I set out to accomplish just that. With one catch. I was not going to purchase any cars during the playthrough.

Spoiler: it turns out that it's impossible to beat GT3 without buying any cars, but you can beat it purchasing only one car.

The Planning

Since we can't buy any cars, and the game doesn't start you with one, we have to win one. The very first step is to enter the License Center and win your B License with gold trophies on every test. This might be the most challenging part of the game for a newcomer, but it will teach you how to race and is truly the only way to actually begin a no-buy run of the game. This step earns you your very first car, a Mazda MX-5 Miata LS.

Beyond the first license car, we're going to have to win a bunch of cars for all the various restricted races in the game. We'll need something with FF, FR, MR, 4WD, turbo, naturally aspirated, a car from the 80s, and several particular makes or models for certain races. Looking through prize car lists online, I determined that I could probably win one of every car needed to complete the game... little did I know at the time, one crucial piece of my information was incorrect.

1. Use the license-won Miata and complete as many races as it can, focusing on the Beginner NA and FR challenges to win a Honda CR-X and Nissan Silvia 1800 respectively.
2. Use the CR-X on the Beginner FF challenge to win a Toyota Vitz.
3. Use the Silvia until we can't compete further, the ultimate goal here being the Amateur 80s Sports Car Cup to win a Nismo Skyline.
4. Use the Nismo to complete the Amateur 4WD races and win a Lancer Evolution.
5. Use the Evo to complete the Beginner and Amateur Evolution Meeting races to win an Evo Rally Car.
6. Use the new rally car to win a Ford Focus Rally Car (our first American car) and Xsara rally car (a great FF vehicle).
7. Use the Focus to win a few races, including the American-only ones.
8. Use the Xsara to dominate the remaining FF races and win a Spoon Civic Type R.
9. Use the Civic Type R to win the Type R races and an NSX.
   
10. Use the NSX to win the MR races.
    
11. Use the Vitz to complete the Vitz races and win a Toyota Altezza LM Race Car.
12. Use the Altezza to complete the Altezza-only races, Amateur German Touring Car Race (win a VW Beetle), and Amateur American Championship (win an Audi Quattro).
13. Use the Beetle and Quattro to win their respective restricted races.
14. Complete the Passage to Colosseo 2 hr Endurance to win a Mercedes CLK Touring Car.
    
15. Polish off the remaining series races in Beginner and Amateur.
    

The Humble Miata Beginnings

I hopped in the free Miata and completed the Beginner League Sunday Cup and Clubman Cups. These races are pretty easy and serve to warm up the player to the game.

After earning some cash here, I chose to upgrade the Miata with a racing chip and NA Tune-up 1 before taking on the Beginner League FR Challenge, Spider/Roadster Cup, and NA Race of NA Sports. That final NA race had a really challenging MR-S S Edition car so I upgraded to a sport muffler and NA Tune-up 2. Fortunately, the FR Challenge scored us a nice Nissan Silvia 1800, which is our next "main" car.

Earning a Vitz and Spending Some Time With Silvia

At this point I decided to hop in the Honda CR-X we won at the Beginner NA Challenge and take on the Beginner FF Challenge. It's not too difficult and I won a pink Toyota Vitz that comes into play much later...

Afterward, I swapped to the Silvia and started working toward the next major milestone in this run: the Nismo Skyline. I raced through the Beginner 80’s Sports Car Cup, then upgraded to Stage 2 turbo, exhaust, racing chip, and sport tires. In retrospect the sport tires were a waste and I should have just saved up for medium racing tires.

Next, I completed race 1 of the Race of Turbo Sports with the Silvia. I struggled with race 2 of the Race of Turbo Sports so I hopped in the RX-7 we won in the Beginner 80’s Sports Car Cup (it has a higher stock top speed than the Silvia) to complete this one. Back in the Silvia, race 3 of the Race of Turbo Sports is where I got stuck (the 3000GT was just way too fast) so I upgraded to hard racing tires and got all the transmission and suspension upgrades.

At one point I needed a break from the Silvia struggle, so I hoped in the Mira we won earlier, added a Stage 2 turbo and racing chip, and completed the Lightweight Cup Challenge.

Back in the Silvia, I had to obtain my A License in order to complete the Amateur 80’s Sports Car Cup. It was tough but doable with the Silvia running a Stage 3 turbo. Now we have a Nismo R32!

Becoming Drift King

With the Nismo, I went back to Beginner League and completed the 4WD Challenge to win a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. With the Evo, I completed the Beginner and Amateur Evolution Meeting races to win a Lancer Evo Rally Car.

After a quick detour to obtain my Rally License, it was time to take the Evo Rally Car off-road. The rally racing and drifting in this game are remarkably fun. I completed the Smokey Mountain Rally (with a Stage 2 turbo, the only thing you can upgrade) to win a Ford Focus Rally Car, which allowed me to take on the Beginner and Amateur Stars and Stripes races. The Focus Rally Car is actually really awesome and fully good enough to clean up many Turbo, 4WD, or Beginner (and some Amateur) series races if you want to!

At this point I used the Focus Rally Car to decimate the Amateur Japanese Championship, most the Amateur Race of Turbo Sports, recognizing that I might need a higher top speed vehicle for Test Course. Still in the Focus Rally Car, I tackled the Special Stage Route 5 Wet II to win an Impreza Rally Car Prototype, which I immediately used to polish off the Amateur League Boxer Spirit races.

While I was rallying, I snagged the Xsara, a solid FF car from Special Stage Route 5 Wet.

FF and MR

I found the Xsara to be one of the best FF cars in the game, so I used it to complete the Beginner and Amateur FF Challenges as well as the Professional FF Challenge in order to win the Spoon Civic Type R.

The Civic can be used in the Beginner and Amateur Type R Meetings; I had to carefully replay the final race here to ensure that I won the NSX at the end, which I used to knock out the Beginner and Amateur MR Challenges as well as the Amateur Race for NA Sports.

Where's That Confounded Altezza?

During planning I noticed the need for a Toyota Altezza for the Beginner and Amateur Altezza Championships. There's only one way to win a prize car eligible for those races and that's from the Professional Vitz Race. But first we should get used to the Vitz by knocking out the Beginner Vitz Races. Both of these are series races with five tracks each.

I hopped in the pink Vitz we won earlier from the Beginner FF Challenge in our nifty Honda CR-X installed every possible modification: full suspension, brakes, exhaust, port polish, racing chip, the biggest turbo available, racing intercooler, full racing transmission, the best clutch, flywheel, and driveshaft, weight reduction, and, critically important, hard racing tires.

The Beginner series is quite easy but it was also time well spent learning the Vitz. The Professional series is a different beast: five races with ten laps each. The AI is simply faster than us here; I was barely holding on when I gleefully realized that my opponents would pit in for new tires at least once per race. This is quite literally the only way I was able to win the last two races in the series. My strategy was to not pit at all, thanks to my hard racing tires, so I would eventually emerge victorious (albeit barely on the Special Stage Route 11 Reverse course).

I saved before the final race in the series and re-ran it until winning the Altezza LM Race Car (which fortunately happened on my second try).

Now THIS is (Pod) Racing

The Altezza LM Race Car is not only useful for smashing through the Beginner and Amateur Altezza Champtionships; it's overall a remarkable race car. I also used the Altezza to polish off the Amateur FR and Turbo races and the FR races (which are surprisingly challenging; the AI was only 3-4 seconds behind me).

Still in the Altezza, I tackled the Amateur American Championship next, making sure to save and retry the last race as needed; we need to win the Audi Quattro.

Next I decided I may as well keep going and win the Amateur European Championship. The Altezza does the job flawlessly.

The Amateur German Touring Car Race came next. Once again I made sure to save and retry the last race because I needed to win the Battle Cup Car.

Next I took a quick detour by upgrading the new Quattro and taking on the Beginner and Amateur Tourist Trophy races.

We also recently win a Beetle Cup Car, so it was a perfect opportunity to knock out the Beginner Beetle Cup races.

Next I hopped back in the Nismo from earlier, upgraded it some more, and entered the Amateur Race of Red Emblem, a Nissan-specific event that posed little challenge to to trusty Nismo.

At this point only two more cars were needed to complete the game: a Mercedes for the Legend of Silver Arrow races, and a fast race car for the remaining series races in Beginner and Amateur.

Getting a Mercedes

In the planning phase, I determined through a few different prize car lists that it was possible to win a Mercedes CLK Touring Car from the Passage to Colosseo 2 hr Endurance race. Unfortunately, my information was incorrect.

Prior to starting this two hour race, I researched it a little further in order to determine what my opponents might be driving and what kind of tires I might want to choose. To my surprise, I started finding posts about the prize cars for this race, and that the CLK Touring Car wasn't one of them!

It turns out we cannot win a Mercedes anywhere; we have to buy one to complete the Legend of Silver Arrow races! So this suddenly became a one-buy run rather than a no-buy run.

I caved and purchased a CLK55 from the dealership, upgraded its engine and tires, and stormed through both sets of Legend of Silver Arrow races.

The Final Stretch

I mentioned earlier that we might need a fast race car to complete the remaining long series races in Beginner and Amateur. However, it turns out the Altezza LM Race Car fits the bill rather well.

Racing through the Beginner GT World Championship was a breeze in the Altezza (or any other race car, for that matter). Winning this championship yields the first ending video and credits!

Onward to the Amateur series races. The Amateur GT World Championship came next. This one is more difficult due to opponents driving proper race cars, but they tend to pit once per race so using medium tires enabled me to hold out and win several seconds ahead of the pack.

Amateur Gran Turismo All Stars came next. This is also 10-race series and I found it significantly more challenging than the Amateur GT World Championship. At this point the game started to feel like a bit of a grind. Tire wear, fast opponent race cars (looking at you, Viper GTS-R Team Oreca), and unpredictable opponent pitting behavior started to task my patience and focus.

Next I took on the Japanese GT Car Championship. None of my opponents ever pitted during this 10-race series, so installing hard racing tires provided a path to victory.

Finally, it was time for the ultimate showdown: the Amateur Dream Car Championship! Opponents are fast but they tend to pit at the beginning of the final lap, so I found myself struggling to keep up, then suddenly winning 20 seconds ahead of the pack.

Review

This game is a rare 5/5 for me. It represents a dramatic generational leap in graphics, sound, and overall player experience that we just don't see anymore. The racing physics and gameplay loop are fun and addicting. The campaign mode is also a gold standard: it's not linear, the player has plenty of options, and there is encouragement (and requirement) to use different makes, models, and types of cars to proceed through the game. It doesn't solely focus on super cars and hyper cars as soon as possible. The rally mode is perhaps the finest rally racing of any game, ever. GT3 is just great all around.

This "no-buy" challenge turned out to be a failure, but I don't feel too bad about having to buy one car since the game forced my hand. Playing the game this way proved to be a fun puzzle trying to figure out how to obtain all the particular makes and models needed to progress through the various races.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Demo: It's Really Hard!

I just spent 58 minutes constantly whaling on the Lagombi monster in the "easy" mission of the Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate demo on Wii U. It finally died during my third attempt.

At first it seems an impossible feat. Lagombi can dish out tons of damage, but that is not the biggest threat here. The demo gives 20 minutes to complete the mission: defeat Lagombi. You're liable to need every minute of it.

Choose the sword and shield, or some other fast gear. The larger, more powerful weapons are so slow you probably won't make it in time. Grab the electricity trap from the blue chest on your way north out of camp. Run (hold the R button with weapons sheathed) until you reach Lagombi (follow your mini-map to locate him).

As soon as you find Lagombi, plant your electricity trap and approach the monster. He will aggress and you can begin battle. Attack his head whenever possible, but his rear is a huge target and it's better than nothing. Attack ruthlessly, but dodge whenever he telegraphs an attack. If you can, line him up so he gets stuck in your electricity trap momentarily.

Pay attention to the subtle details and you may notice Lagombi wearing down: he will begin to salivate, move slower, and limp as he moves. Eventually Lagombi will start to collapse for a few seconds after his attacks. After a while of this Lagombi will probably try to run away for some food. Sheath your weapon and run after him. He's way faster than you, but he will stop at the next area, allowing you to catch up easily. Keep chasing and attacking.

I found Lagombi died suddenly, looking little worse for the wear. He must have found some food somewhere because his stamina had returned, but suddenly and anticlimactically he fell for good and I got mission complete!

Farming Lives in Super Mario 3D World

Super Mario 3D World is a fantastic game, but later levels - especially flying or moving levels with multiple players - can be rather punishing. At some point you may find yourself needing to go back to an earlier world and farm some extra lives because your gaming partner(s) keep dying and losing all your lives.

The absolute best place to do this is underground in World 1-2. All you need is to be a "big" character (just take a mushroom power-up) and go down the first pipe in the level. Butt-stomp the first breakable block you find in the floor and you'll find a green koopa wandering about between some other blocks. Hop on it and steal its shell. Go over to the right side of the room and you'll find a tiny tunnel that leads out to the next room. Stand just inside the tunnel, then throw the shell at the wall so it will bounce back and forth rapidly in the narrow tunnel. Make sure to jump as you throw it. It's pretty easy to time so your character lands on the shell.

This will kick of a chain reaction of you landing on the shell which sends it careening into the wall and back, where you'll land on it again and it flies off into the wall again. At this point you can put the controller down and watch as you rack up 1-UPs essentially for free! You can grab over 100 lives in less than a minute using this technique, and it doesn't even really feel like cheating. It's just making strategic use of the gameplay mechanics.

Hit up this video for a visual sample of this trick in action:

Anniversary of SimCity

The original SimCity game was released in October 1989*, making this its 25th anniversary. Birthdays and anniversaries are always good times to reflect on the subject at hand.

My introduction to SimCity was on my Super Nintendo Entertainment System in or around 1993. At the ripe age of six years old, I had learned to read well enough that I no longer struggled with stairs in Dragon Warrior, but most of the terminology used in SimCity was brand new to me. The concepts of Industrial, Commercial (try getting a six year old to pronounce that with no coaching), and Residential zones - not to mention the special buildings like power plants, seaports, and stadiums - opened my young eyes to the real world via this city simulation. Not only was it (and still is) fun, but SimCity has always been a highly educational experience. Consider the systemic growth of the player's mind as he discovers more of the simulation's rules and how they interact to form highly dynamic emergent systems. This game design concept is way beyond most entertainment titles of the time.

To this day I credit SimCity and its creator, Will Wright, for helping develop so much of my early understanding of the world around me.

*Alas, SimCity for Mac was actually released in February 1989 so this post is several months late. But the ubiquitous IBM/PC version was released in October of the same year, at least.

P. S. For those interested, the SNES version is possibly the best of the original SimCity. It boasts the strongest (redesigned) graphics and most memorable music (I can still hear it in my mind - so peaceful!) of the original SimCity ports. I believe there is a Wii Virtual Console version of the title available, if it hasn't been taken down (I hate it when download-only software is pulled from the store).

How to Get a Cheap Wii U System

The least expensive way to get some Wii U gear is to go pre-owned. The 8GB consoles are about $200 now. The larger 32GB consoles are about $275. The extra $75 is most certainly not worth it. If you're considering a used 32GB console, just buy a used 8GB system and pick up a good USB external hard drive to expand the console's storage. You can easily get a 1TB hard drive for about $60; this is far larger than 32GB and more space than you'll probably ever use on Wii U. I picked up an 8GB console and an extra controller for $190 after tax and haggling with the shop owner. Make sure to take the system out of the box and inspect it though. You don't want a cracked, scratched GamePad or yellowed plastic (yuck).

Note that both 8GB and 32GB consoles are so small you won't be able to download many full-size AAA games (zero on the smaller console, probably 3-4 on the 32GB machine) without picking up some external storage. If you buy retail discs only (no downloads except smaller indie titles) you probably won't need more storage than the bare 8GB console anyway.

If you're looking for a new console, the Premium 32GB set (currently $300) that comes with Nintendo Land is not my first choice, though the game is fun and the black console is really nice. The Basic 8GB set ($250) is an okay choice when paired with an external hard drive, but if you're buying new, you may as well buy a bundle:

• Wait for an undoubtedly-upcoming Super Smash Brothers bundle. I'm sure it will be a good deal.
• The Mario Kart bundle is the best deal Nintendo has had on Wii U so far: $330 nets you a 32GB Wii U plus a second controller and a copy of Mario Kart 8 and Nintendo Land. Unfortunately these sold out right away back in June and it doesn't look like Nintendo is shipping any more of them.
• The Zelda bundle has risen to $350 and comes with a 32GB console (the GamePad has custom Zelda-themed designs on it) and Wind Waker HD, but this set doesn't seem like the best value unless you're a huge Zelda fan.
• Older bundles with extra Mario or Luigi games are all round $300 and probably less desirable.

Once again, these bundles come with the 32GB console which can likely only hold 3-4 full-size AAA downloads so you might need an external hard drive eventually. I'm in the same boat with my 8GB console, though I plan to buy full-size AAA games on disc. If my available 2.7GB storage ever fills up with indie and virtual console games (unlikely, as my NES and SNES still work fine) I will look to spend less than $40 on an external hard drive, probably in the 120GB - 300GB range.

One Year In: Xbox One or Playstation 4?

It's been about a year since the Xbox One and Playstation 4 came out; so which one did I get? Neither one, so far. Which one am I eyeballing? Neither one in particular. Both consoles have failed to produce critical mass of titles which interest me. The Last of Us Remastered looks awesome, but I'm not spending $450 to play a slightly prettier version of a game I've already played (and thoroughly enjoyed). The Xbox One has Forza Horizon 2 which looks pretty cool, but I'm not that social so it probably wouldn't be fun unless my few friends joined in. Otherwise, nothing out now looks that interesting.

Looking into the future, From Software's Bloodborne seems really promising. It's a PS4 exclusive that I'll be keeping an eye on. The Xbox One doesn't have any exclusives at all I'm looking forward to at this time. In terms of console exclusives, the next-gen market is largely stagnant.

Multiplatform titles are starting to come out, albeit slowly and the previous-gen versions are still available so there's no compelling reason to upgrade. The fatal flaw of Xbox One/PS4 is they are simply not powerful enough. Neither one can reliably output 1080p (without an upscaler) at 60 frames per second. The graphical jump from 360 to One and PS3 to PS4 isn't all that earth-shattering; the least they could have given us is full HD at a reasonable framerate. But this generation's consoles are too weak for even that, let alone other improvements. Here's hoping developers can innovate on gameplay, at least.

Since most next-generation games appear to be multiplatform so far, I'll be sticking with the PC until further notice. PC and Wii U seems to be the gaming combo of choice at this point in 2014.

Bayonetta 2 Demo

Bayonetta by Platinum Games, in the likely event you haven't played it, is one of the strongest character action games to date, particularly in terms of gameplay. The combat is silky smooth and discourages mindless button mashing in rather ingenious ways. The dodging mechanic, however, is the key that ranks Bayonetta among the best. It is entirely possible to play this entire game without taking any damage, based purely on player skill. Over time you develop as a Bayonetta player and develop a skill set that only makes the game better and better. The dramatic change from new to experienced in Bayonetta is a thing of beauty. It really speaks to the caliber of gameplay Platinum developed here. If you like the way that sounds, check out Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, also by Platinum Games.

As officially announced at E3, Nintendo ultimately stepped up to fund development of Bayonetta 2 for their Wii U console. This week we have been treated to a free download of the Bayonetta 2 demo on the Wii U. This is probably the Wii U title I'm most excited about, so I downloaded the demo immediately upon setting up my recently-acquired Wii U.

The demo runs through about 10 minutes of gameplay, including a very dynamic moving stage and two boss battles. The art, style, music, and overall feel of the gameplay are so far unchanged from the original Bayonetta game. The level design is bold, dynamic, and bosses are massive in scale (as are Bayonetta's finisher moves). The brief demo did not touch on any items, weapons, or other equipment whatsoever, which is a bit of a disappointment. At this point it seems Platinum did not mess with their formula, but it's too soon to say for certain. Hopefully in the full version we will see Platinum take some risks and innovate in a few areas while keeping the overall feel of the original title's crisp gameplay intact.

Bayonetta 2 will be available for purchase October 24, 2014. The digital download of 2 is available for $49.99 while the retail disc version ships with both Bayonetta 1 and 2 for $59.99.