DF Retro Marathon: The Gran Turismo Saga - The Classic PS1/PS2 Era Revisited

Gran turismo 3 (and later 5) were the only instances I can remember playing with my father who always despised video games. But seeing those graphics and realism as a car enthusiast he was unable to step away from it and even came to my room from time to time asking me to play some rounds with him. This was so precious to me I will never ever forget those moments and I will love the gran turismo series for those moments alone for ever.

The Jump in Graphics from PS1 to PS2 really is staggering.

Gran Turismo 3's graphics blew people away back then. All the neighbourhood kids would come over after school just to watch the gameplay.

I worked on both Lemans 24 Hours and Grand Prix Challenge (Melbourne House)....when we managed to get a copy of GT3 (ran it on a tool with an elf file...good ol days) it was amazing...depressed us all at the same time too hah. on a side note, also worked on PGR3/4 (bizarre creations)...moving to PGR3 after grand prix challenge was crazy. we used to use 3500-4500 polys on PS2...suddenly 100k per car on Xbox360

What?! That BLEEM image looks incredible. It's like magic.

Gran Turismo 4 was insane. The amount of content available was mindblowing, such a cool game. Via pcsx2 emulator at 4k it still looks awesome as well

This is basically comfort food

For those concerned about these compilations not being new, John just recently visited the kings of retro content, My Life in Gaming, so we're basically guaranteed more DF Retro videos soon.

Me and my bro always used to say "squint your eyes and it looks real."

I still have all my original GT 4 Photos, I saved to a USB stick. Great game

We crammed into a tiny VW Golf (aka Rabbit) with 4 guys on our way to play Gran Turismo at a friend's house. I was in the passenger's seat being crushed by a massive CRT, wedged in between my lap, my face and the dashboard. Thanks to link mode, the bruises were totally worth it 👍

I remember GT6 screenshot to it to photography class and they mistaken it for IRL photo impressively considering it was when GT Sport was out for a while, and its rendered on last gen (at the time) that is the PS3! Additionally, screenshots taken in GT4 to GT7 will have its EXIF data filled like a real camera but with Polyphony Digital as the camera brand and the game's title as the model.

I also love how John films himself in this low-contrast 80s-like mode, complete with 80s jacket; John is just being brilliant, predictably. This was such a wonderful trip down memory lane

Wow, what a nostalgia trip! I remember playing on the PlayStation with an old friend of mine and we would take turns racing with a focus on trying to make the coolest looking replay-back - which we would always watch at the time lol.

Gran Turismo always reminds me of the time I was middle aged Japanese man hanging out at coffee shops, listening to smooth jazz, smoking a lot and washing my car every now and then.

Such fond memories of GT3 A-Spec and GT4.

In my opinion Gran Turismo 4 was peak of the Gran Turismo series, but also arguably the peak of any of the more 'casual' sim-cade racing games that has ever been released. Forza always tried to be Gran Turismo but never really competed at the same level yet caused a split and fued in their fan bases, almost like what Pepsi is to Coka-Cola. Other games like Enthusia and Project Gotham Racing came close for fun factor but lacked something GT4 always had. As an all-round package, Gran Turismo 4 will remain the king of racing games for me. Even now, since progressing into sims like Assetto Corsa, Gran Turismo 4 will always remain special to me.

Please do a part 3 soon, I would love a full breakdown of the GT HD, GT5 Prologue, GT5 and GT6 in the future!

My memories are attached to GT1 & 2. My uncle who is a big car guy, never liked video games - still doesn’t. But when he saw me first playing GT1…he was blown away. We would have race nights every week and eventually one of his friends got in on it. Then when GT2 released, it upped the ante even more. I know everyone usually loves GT3 more, but I think that’s an age thing.

I adore GT4, absolutely God Tier game. Near Perfect.