Hi everybody, it's Uchida here.

I'm sure I have been writing the same thing every year in the Future Lab News since Wangan Maxi 1, but this year, once again, it's hay fever time.
The hay fever medicine has been getting better recently, but having to always wear a face mask during this season really gets me down...

Anyway, leaving that gloomy feeling aside for a minute...

What game mode do you all use when you play Wangan Maxi 3?

• "Story Mode", to experience the feel of the original comics?
• "Ghost Battle Mode", to kill off your friends' ghosts?
• "10 Outrun Mode", simply because you want to race?
• "Time Attack", to obsessively shave down your time?
• "VS Player Mode", to battle for real with the people at the arcade?

There are 5 game modes in Wangan Maxi 3, but as far as I can see at the arcades, not many people are playing "10 Outrun Mode".
So...I thought I'd tell you a little about "10 Outrun Mode" here today.

I'm sure a lot of you are thinking, "What is 10 Outrun Mode???"
You can play "10 Outrun Mode" by selecting the icon two from the right on the game mode selection screen.

The rules are simple.
After you start racing, rival cars will start to appear behind you.
The race begins when the rival cars overtake you!
You need to get past the "goal line", that is the green line in front of the rival cars.
The green line moves in sync with the rival cars, so you can't win without passing the rival cars. When you overtake a rival car and pass the green line, the next rival will appear.
If you can pass ten rivals within the time limit, you will win the game.

For more details about the rules, click here.

Speaking of 10 Outrun Mode...

In Wangan Maxi 2, there are 28 rival characters that appear in a fixed order, with 10 rivals appearing during each level.
This means that the first rival character changes with every game, but the order itself does not change, which makes the game play a bit repetitive.

So...in Wangan Maxi 3, we fixed this problem by changing the order that the rival characters appear during each level.

The order that the rival characters appear during each level is as follows:
We arranged the order of the characters to match the theme of the level.
Can you tell where each level is for the arrangement?

Level 1

1	Akio Asakura (Z31)
2	Kochan (FC3S)
3	Reina Akikawa (BNR32 / Gun Metal)
4	Harada (Z31)
5	Oki (FD3S)
6	Gatchan (Celsior)
7	Makoto Morishita (GC8)
8	Yamashita (Z32)
9	Rikako (S15)
10	Tatsuya Shima (Blackbird)

Level 2

1	Kochan (FC3S)
2	Harada (Z31)
3	Oki (FD3S)
4	Gatchan (Celsior)
5	Kazuo Ota (FD3S)
6	Makoto Morishita (Z32)
7	Keiichiro Aizawa (JZA80)
8	Kouichi Kijima (FC3S)
9	Masaki (FD3S)
10	Akio Asakura (Devil Z)

Level 3

1	Oki (FD3S)
2	Harada (Z31)
3	Rikako (S15)
4	Yuji (BCNR33)
5	Maki Kamiya (CP9A)
6	Makoto Morishita (Z32)
7	Keiichiro Aizawa (JZA80)
8	Tomoya (BNR32)
9	Reina Akikawa (BNR32 / White)
10	Akio Asakura (Devil Z)

Level 4

1	Harada (Z31)
2	Gatchan (Celsior)
3	Oki (FD3S)
4	Makoto Morishita (GC8)
5	Yamashita (Z32)
6	Eiji Kamiya (CP9A)
7	Keiichiro Aizawa (JZA80)
8	Kuroki (BCNR33)
9	Tatsuya Shima (Blackbird)
10	Akio Asakura (Devil Z)

Level 5

1	Yasuhiko Miki (BCNR33)
2	Teizuka (BCNR33)
3	Sonoda (BCNR33)
4	Motoki (BCNR33)
5	Gen Goto (BNR34)
6	Yamashita (Z32)
7	Gatchan (Celsior)
8	Hayashi (FC3S)
9	Kazuhiko Yamamoto (BNR34)
10	Kazuo Ota (FD3S)

Level 6

1	Harada (Z31)
2	Yamashita (Z32)
3	Makoto Morishita (Z32)
4	Rikako (S15)
5	Kouichi Hiramoto (BNR32)
6	Reina Akikawa (BNR32 / White)
7	RGO Yamanaka (BCNR33)
8	Kuroki (BCNR33)
9	Gen Goto (BNR34)
10	Akio Asakura (Devil Z)

Level 7

1	Rikako (S15)
2	RGO Yamanaka (BCNR33)
3	Kuroki (BCNR33)
4	Yasuhiko Miki (BCNR33)
5	Gen Goto (BNR34)
6	Yamashita (Z32)
7	Hayashi (FC3S)
8	Gatchan (Celsior)
9	Kazuhiko Yamamoto (BNR34)
10	Kazuo Ota (FD3S)

Level 8

1	RGO Yamanaka (BCNR33)
2	Teizuka (BCNR33)
3	Sonoda (BCNR33)
4	Motoki (BCNR33)
5	Kazuhiko Yamamoto (BNR34)
6	Gen Goto (BNR34)
7	Tomoya (BNR32)
8	Kouichi Hiramoto (BNR32)
9	Kuroki (BCNR33)
10	Reina Akikawa (BNR32 / White)

Level 9

1	RGO Yamanaka (BCNR33)
2	Makoto Morishita (Z32)
3	Keiichiro Aizawa (JZA80)
4	Tomoya (BNR32)
5	Kouichi Hiramoto (BNR32)
6	Kouichi Kijima (FC3S)
7	Masaki (FD3S)
8	Eiji Kamiya (CP9A)
9	Kuroki (BCNR33)
10	Tatsuya Shima (Blackbird)

Level 10

1	Tomoya (BNR32)
2	Keiichiro Aizawa (JZA80)
3	Kouichi Hiramoto (BNR32)
4	Kouichi Kijima (FC3S)
5	Masaki (FD3S)
6	Eiji Kamiya (CP9A)
7	Kuroki (BCNR33)
8	Reina Akikawa (BNR32 / White)
9	Tatsuya Shima (Blackbird)
10	Akio Asakura (Devil Z)

The rules for 10 Outrun Mode are a little different than those for the other modes that appear in the Wangan Maxi Series, but we think you'll enjoy giving it a try.

Well, that's all for today! See

(Original article in Japanese released on 3.26.2008)