Burnout Paradise! (Also Takedown and Revenge) Flatout Ultimate Carnage, Wreckfest Wipeout omega collection, Ballistic NG (and 2097, 3, both PSP games) Ridge Racer 4, 5 ,6, 7 (and PSP games) Rallisport Challenge 2 Project Gotham racing series Answer from nismology5 on reddit.com
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The Outerhaven
theouterhaven.net › home › my favorite arcade racing games from the late ’90s to early 2000s
My Favorite Arcade Racing Games from the Late ’90s to Early 2000s | The Outerhaven
November 6, 2025 - A tribute to classic arcade racing games like Ridge Racer, Daytona USA, and OutRun 2006. Discover the titles that defined the genre—and why they still matter.
Discussions

What are the must-play arcade racers?
Probably still the best controller driving feel in arcade racing, and they did it with a dpad. I bought a Mister primarily for this game and it was worth it. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEdmZ5P0jA Out Run 2006 - PC version recently received a major fan patch. WICKED game Ridge Racer ... More on resetera.com
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March 30, 2025
PS5 is lacking in good arcade racing games | GTPlanet
Having said that, the indie scene has given us some great arcade racers. They may have unlicensed cars and smaller in scope but no less fun to play. My only gripe is a lot of them seem to go the pixellated nostalgia route or a top down view. Lots of people like that but it would be nice to have a retro feeling game with modern graphics. IMO Driveclub on PS4 is one of the best ... More on gtplanet.net
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January 13, 2024
Whats the best sit down driving arcade? Opinions? | Museum of the Game® & International Arcade Museum® Forums
Initial D and Wangan Maximum Tune as well as the Ferrari 355 Challenge game (the one seater with 3 monitors) are the best arcade racers. I love racing games and will take almost anything over a cruisn game (usa i have a warm spot for) and a lot of the other carbon copy racers. More on forums.arcade-museum.com
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December 6, 2009
Arcade-style racing games - Video Games - Retro Game Boards
Racing games that take place in “realistic” environments, but don’t necessarily follow real-life physics and take on a more arcade-style whimsical approach. Some of my favorite series of such games would have to include: OutRun Burnout Midnight Club FlatOut Top Gear Rush Cruis’n Asphalt More on retrogameboards.com
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1
June 21, 2022
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Steam
store.steampowered.com › curator › 9174759-Best-of-driving-games › list › 1508
Arcade Racing games - Steam
These racing games do not care about realism, instead they care 100% about fun. Setting their own rules and boundaries which gives this list the most amount of variation.
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M&P Amusement
mpamusement.com › collections › driving-games
Arcade Racing Games & Driving Games | M&P Amusement
Buyers looking for a piece of nostalgia can find old-time favorites like Daytona USA 2 and Cruis'n World. Don’t forget to also check out more recent games like Mario Kart GP DX, featuring familiar characters and cutting-edge technology.
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Betson Enterprises
betson.com › home › amusement game types › arcade racing games
Racing Arcade Games for Sale | Commercial Driving Simulators
Ready to rev up your space? Explore our full lineup of arcade racing games from top brands like Raw Thrills, SEGA, LAI Games, and UNIS.
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ResetEra
resetera.com › discussion › gaming forum
What are the must-play arcade racers? | ResetEra
March 30, 2025 - Crazy Taxi 2 - 3 Daytona USA 1HD - 2 F-Zero X - GX/AX F355 Challenge (more on the sim-y side, though) Fast RMX Forza Horizon 3 - 4 - 5 Initial D Arcade Stage Mario Kart 8 DX Metropolis Street Racer OutRun 3D - 2006 C2C Project Gotham Racing 3 - 4 SCUD Race Sega Rally 1 - 2 Super Hang-On Virtua Racing (Switch SEGA AGES) Wave Race 64 - Blue Storm ... Midnight club 3 : Dub edition ...
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GTPlanet
gtplanet.net › home › forums › games › console & pc gaming
PS5 is lacking in good arcade racing games | GTPlanet
January 13, 2024 - My only gripe is a lot of them seem to go the pixellated nostalgia route or a top down view. Lots of people like that but it would be nice to have a retro feeling game with modern graphics. IMO Driveclub on PS4 is one of the best arcade racer ...
Find elsewhere
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Arcade Museum
forums.arcade-museum.com › arcade and amusement machines › general arcade and videogame discussions
Whats the best sit down driving arcade? Opinions? | Museum of the Game® & International Arcade Museum® Forums
December 6, 2009 - Initial D and Wangan Maximum Tune as well as the Ferrari 355 Challenge game (the one seater with 3 monitors) are the best arcade racers. I love racing games and will take almost anything over a cruisn game (usa i have a warm spot for) and a lot of the other carbon copy racers.
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Retro Game Boards
retrogameboards.com › video games
Arcade-style racing games - Video Games - Retro Game Boards
June 21, 2022 - Racing games that take place in “realistic” environments, but don’t necessarily follow real-life physics and take on a more arcade-style whimsical approach. Some of my favorite series of such games would have to include: OutRun Burnout Midnight Club FlatOut Top Gear Rush Cruis’n Asphalt
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VGChartz
gamrconnect.vgchartz.com › thread › 245648 › ranking-arcade-racing-games-that-i-played-mostly-sega-that-use-cabinet-arcade-machines
Ranking Arcade racing Games that I played (mostly Sega) That use Cabinet Arcade Machines
January 3, 2022 - The Nuts & Bolts Add a total of 25 games to your collection. ... 1)Scud Racer Plus( nagoshi best game), 2)Sega Rally 2, 3)San Francisco Rush 4)Mario GP 2 and Out Run 2
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Quora
quora.com › What-is-the-best-arcade-racing-game
What is the best arcade racing game? - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): Well, which title is best is a subjective term, but I’m sure many could agree on certain arcade racing games that are among the best. As others have noted, Sega’s Daytona series seems to take the cake in terms of votes for which racing game is best, but I can think of many ...
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/racinggames › list of arcade racing game reccomendations
r/racinggames on Reddit: List of Arcade Racing Game Reccomendations
October 16, 2023 -

I know the list looks a little wild right now, but I'm sure I also missed quite a few. I will do a restructuring on a later point of time, when more games have joinded the list. As of now, I've not played all of the titles. I created the list because I wanted a place to go to for when I feel like playing a good arcade racer without having to look to much. I added a lot of games that I haven't played yet, but are considered as good or even classics (like the Motorstorm or Midnight Club series). So please feel free to comment more reccomendations or contribute to the list via GitHub.

Classic

  • The Need for Speed Series:

    • Most Wanted Black Edition (2005)

      • Pepega Edition - modded version of the game, adding more content

      • Most Wanted Online Reborn (Discord) - online multiplayer mod

    • Carbon

      • Carbon Battle Royale - enhances the game and changes it's progression

    • Pro Street

      • Pepega Edition - modded version, adding more content

    • NFS (2015), Payback, Heat with the UNITE mod

    • NFS III: Hot Pursuit

    • NFS: High Stakes

    • NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered

    • NFS Hot Pursuit 2 (PS2) - PS2 has the best Graphics

    • Underground

    • Underground 2

    • World (community server)

  • Track Mania

    • Track Mania United Forever (use this installer to bypass the graphic issues)

      • TM Nations Forever - Free but still great version of TMUF, but only contains Stadium

    • Track Mania 2 (Canyon, Valley, Stadium, Lagoon)

      • Alternatively (and for Consoles): Track Mania Turbo (TM2 is still better in my opinion)

  • Midnight Club

    • Midnight Club: Los Angeles (Console)Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition (Console)

  • Forza Horizon 1 & 2 (XBOX 360)

  • Juiced 1 & 2

  • nail'd

  • Motorstorm Series (PS3) - Watch this video on how to get them running fine

    • Motorstorm

    • Motorstorm Apocalypse

    • MotorStorm Pacific Rift

  • Exite Truck (Wii)

  • Exitebots: Trick Racing (Wii)

  • Auto Modellista (PAL Version) - The PAL version has better handeling, but the US version has more tracks (with a lot worse handeling), use PS2 or Game Cube edition for best emulation experience

  • Ridge Racer Series

    • Ridge Racer: Type 4 (PSX)

    • Ridge Racer 5 & 7 (PS2 & PS3)

  • Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller - also includes the content from Crazy Taxi 1 & 2

  • Project Gotham Racing 4 (XBOX360)

Fun-Racer

  • Mario Kart - Pretty much all the entries are a recommendation, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the expansion packs offers the most

    • CTGP Revolution - for Mario Kart Wii (if you got a Wii at home, the best way to play it online)

    • CTGP Deluxe - for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (still in development)

  • Blur

  • Crash Team Racing (PSX)

    • Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled (Remake)

Outrunners

  • Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

  • Horizon Chase Turbo

  • Slipstream

Antigravity Racer

  • Wipeout Omega Collection (PS4)

  • F-Zero GX (Gamecube)

  • RedOut: Enhanced Edition & 2

  • Fast Racing Neo (Wii U)/ Fast RMX (Switch)

Combat Racing

  • Burnout Series

    • Paradise Remastered

    • 3 Takedown - PS2 version for better emulation experience

    • Revenge - There are a few differences between PS2/ XBOX and the XBOX 360 versions (decide yourself)

  • Wreckfest

  • Twisted Metal Black (PS2)

  • Flatout Ultimate Carnage

Indies

  • Distance

  • Hotshot Racing

  • art of rally

  • Inertial Drift

  • Neodash

  • Buck Up And Drive!

More than just racing

  • GTA V FiveM - multiplayer on customized dedicated servers

  • Trailmakers

  • Defunct

Controversial Recommendations

  • NFS Undercover

    • Play with the Roformed mod

  • SRS - Street Racing Syndicate

Top answer
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5
Your list is solid. Here are a few additions of my own: Midnight Club 2: arguably the most important and influential of the whole series. This game was old school hard, and it had a chaotic and dynamic feeling to the races with the AI taking different paths and with the frequent crashes against traffic that was so much better than anything that came before Fzero-X: a little miracle of a game that should always be played before GX. Technically it's a miracle game: a 60 fps game with 30 vehicles on track flowing with the tightest controls, all running on the N64 that was notorious for its games reaching 20fps on a good day. It is also introduced one of the best designed risk reward gameplay systems in any arcade racer (the boost feeding of your energy which makes the ship explode if depleted). This game tends to be overlooked nowadays because the analog steering was calibrated for the very specific range of the N64 controller, this means that people playing the game today via emulation will tend to face a game with way twitchier controls than the original had. It is worth it to invest time in configuring some sort of custom analog curve for your controller of choice so that you get smoother steering like the original N64 version offered. Split/Second: I never played it, but it's firmly on my list of arcade racers to play one day given how unique it seems to be. Crash Time Series: very niche arcade racing series that should be on the list just due to its uniqueness. Wave Race 64 and Wave Race Blue Storm: still the 2 best water based racing games ever made, so they should also be in. Mashed: Drive to Survive (or any other version): super underrated vehicular combat game. It's a micromachines clone with great weapons and physics based game play. It's an amazing rare good racing local multiplayer game, due to the shared screen nature of the gameplay. Flatout 1 and 2: These 2 games are a lot more important to play than Flatout Ultimate Carnage which is a sub par sequel. Race Driver GRID (2008, not the remakes): The game that introduced the flashback feature today common in so many games. Also the first arcade game to do convincing AI that makes mistakes. Also has one of the best cockpit views in an arcade racing game ever as well as an incentive to use it (it bumps up your earnings in career mode because it is considered added difficulty). Need For Speed - The Run: Not a fan favorite but arguably one of the most innovative and unique games in the franchise, must play if you ask me. Driver San Francisco: Must play for the car switching mechanic alone. Also a racing game with a story that doesn't suck? And great handling? Count me in. Road Redemption: Is maybe not a mustplay for everyone, but it is a hilarious clone of the classic "Road Rash". Just too many laughs per mile to skip over. Dirt 2: Deserves to be in there representing the criminally under developed offroad arcade racing genre.
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Im surprised you didn't include NFS2. NFS Porsche is also great - but not as arcadey. You could also add Distance here, it's basically trackmania where track has moving traps like lasers and you can fly for short amount of time (and rotate middle air freely). You can find it on steam.
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Gameroom Goodies
gameroomgoodies.com › home › arcade driving games
Arcade Driving Games – Gameroom Goodies
Best selling · Alphabetically, A-Z · Alphabetically, Z-A · Price, low to high · Price, high to low · Date, old to new · Date, new to old · Compare · View as List Grid · Close · Compare · Previous Next · Raw Thrills · Cruis’n Blast Arcade Game by Raw Thrills ·
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AtariAge Forums
forums.atariage.com › modern consoles › modern gaming discussion
best arcade style racer on xbox? - Modern Gaming Discussion - AtariAge Forums
April 8, 2005 - I want the closest thing to ridge racer I can get.. ive heard that Auto Modellista and R: Racing Evolution both suck.. and those were the two that looked arcadey enough to enjoy. Ive got all of the decent Rally type games out there, really into those and dont mind getting into details like in Col...
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F1® Arcade
f1arcade.com › uk › london
F1® Racing Experience & Activity Bar London | F1® Arcade
Sure, it's a place to add your name and photograph so they will be seen in game, but the Arcade Hub does so much more. You can also use the Arcade Hub to track the Arcadians you've won through racing, earnt through loyalty or purchased in bundles, and book racing for Challenger. ... For the best place to watch F1® in London, look no further than F1® Arcade.
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Steam
store.steampowered.com › curator › 43796656-Arcade-Racing-Haven
Steam Curator: Arcade Racing Haven
You want to find good Arcade Racers to play? Well not only will it include just Arcade Racers, but Vehicular Combat Racing games as well! I will try to be as informative as possible when I give out suggestions.
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VOGONS
vogons.org › viewtopic.php
Looking for some arcade styled racing games \ VOGONS
The Test Drive series prior to Unlimited probably could be considered, though they got really technically janky since Distinctive split from it ~1990 (to make NFS), so YMMV. Other arcade-inspired racers try to go for the SEGA Daytona and Namco Ridge Racer formula, so the Screamer games and ...
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Complex
complex.com › sports › a › kevin-wong › best-racing-arcade-cabinet-games
The Best Arcade Racing Games That Ate Your Allowance as a...
November 16, 2013 - The highest grossing arcade game of 1983, Pole Position placed you in the role of a Formula 1 race car driver on Fuji Speedway, a real racetrack which lies in the foothills of Japan's Mt. Fuji. It looks primitive today, but Pole Position is quintessential car racing, reminding us of how far game development has come, and how far it still has to go. Every Air Jordan 11 Releasing for Its 30th Anniversary · Brigade's Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Is Its Best to Date
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Nintendo Life
nintendolife.com › games › browse
Best Arcade Racing Games - Nintendo Life
All Games · Daytona USA 2: Battle on the Edge Arcade · SEGA / SEGA-AM2 · Jun 1998 (JPN) Sep 1998 (NA) Oct 1998 (UK/EU) Pocket Racer Arcade · Namco · 1996 (JPN) Rave Racer Arcade · Namco · 1995 (JPN) 1995 (UK/EU) 1995 (NA) Ridge Racer 2 Arcade · Namco · 1994 (JPN) 1994 (UK/EU) 1994 ...