The thing I like most about this game is the 97 events option in replay mode. It recreates the entire F1 season from that year, it is a complete virtual registry of the 1997 F1 World Championship.
They should do this with modern F1 games. They could release it as a DLC a year after each game's launch. The only problem is that they probably won't do it because they release a game every year and want people to buy the new game.
honestly it's a crime no other motorsport games don't do this too, hugely missed opportunity esp for new fans getting introduced to the sport through the games
1997 was a classic F1 season! One crazy statistic was that although Villeneuve and Schumacher fought for the title, they didn't stand on the podium together for the whole season. Mental stuff!
even after this era. Man I remember some tracks in Forza 4 even looked nothing like the real tracks and same with the Grid and TOCA games. Thank god for laser scanning. Nothing more annoying than knowing a track, but then not knowing it because of how inaccurate a games version of it is.
Amazing video - but 2:19 had me in stitches… “realistic toggleable retirements” *car repeatedly flies into wall in background* Thank you for the awesome memories!
The Geoff Crammond games can pull off the failures as they happened that year in some of the mods. The 97 mod for GP4 has a performance file for each round that makes it so the cars are likely to retire during the races that they retired in, rather than being a certainty. So for Hungary for instance you could win the race as Damon but it was still very likely the car would develop a throttle issue.
@@jacekatalakis8316 that game only had one talent file per driver, not one for each year. Hence the reason Eddie Irvine is so terrible at Ferrari when he nearly won the title.
I'm a dev who has worked on many many racing games and I'm pretty sure it's mainly because of this game. I put so many hours into this. So many aspects were ground breaking back then. Huge kudos to the devs.
This wasn't only my introduction into F1, this was also the first game I ever owned, together with Super Mario 64. As a kid, I was too dumb to really understand the game, but I loved it. This game is also the reason why the Ferrari F310B is still my favorite F1 car of all time. It just looked so cool.
@@cameronmilledge2751 I don't have many memories from the 90s, despite being born in '93, but this is definitely one of them! I remember how my dad spent AGES in the fucking menu! He was as new to gaming as I was, so he wanted to make sure to get everything right, hahaha.
For a while it was possible to download a mod of the Ferrari F310b and skins from other teams for Assetto Corsa, but alas it appears to be behind a paywall now.
I've been saying literally since F1 2011 that they should release the current F1 season, and a random season from the past to make it actually worth buying those games yearly. Cuz frankly I hated the whole yearly $60 just for roster updates nature of sports games. Still do tbh but the classic cars of some F1 games soften the blow. Not much though. I still haven't finished my season in F1 2017 LMFAO
@@deangelis777 Yeah look nobody I’ve ever met obtained Assetto with the sole purpose of playing singleplayer. Bit of an effort to set up a lobby and organise people to have the right mods for whatever you’re trying to race with but worth imo for the budget and accessibility.
Great review. On the challenge mode, there was a Ubisoft game ‘Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2’ (the sequel to F1 Racing Simulation) that was also based on the 1997 season (albeit without an FIA license) and released in 1998 and that also had a challenge mode where you were placed into different scenarios. I remember there was one where you were Eddie Irvine and had to hold up the field while Schumacher escaped. It also had a “historic” mode where you could race some 1930s cars around a pseudo-Nurburgring called “Green Hell” in the game.
Had a Playstation. The F1 97 game was amazing, obviously you had to add imagination but that was a good thing! This game has surprised me as to how dynamic it was, great video. What about a video covering F1 Challenge 99-02, for me the first decent PC sim of the modern era.
So many memories with this game and its sequel especially. I actually kind of learned my first bits of English from this game. I never understood what the spotter actually said but I understood what it meant. Only later, after I learned English in school I came to realize what it actually was. And one small detail I always loved is, that you actually have to lift of the throttle for yellow flags or you will get a warning. No other F1 game ever has had this feature.
Wow, proper nostalgia here! I remember playing this and loving it, my top 3 F1 games are F1 World Grand Prix N64, Super Monaco Grand Prix 1 and 2 on the Megadrive and the best F1 game I've ever played and still is to this day Formula One Championship Edition on the PlayStation 3. Great video Sir 👌
I remember this game! It was my first realistic racing game in an era when Sports Car GT was all the rage on PC. I put so many hours into it. I played it again a few years ago and it totally does not stand up against more modern racing games. Another tip: if you changed the name of Driver Williams to Driver Pyrite you got a gold car, Driver Chrome gave you a silver car, Driver Museum unlocked a 3D car viewer, and Driver Vacation unlocked a fantasy track located on a tropical island.
THIS GAME WAS MY CHILDHOOD! 5:09 - Irvine had joined Ferrari from Jordan, he then moved to Jaguar after leaving Ferrari. 6:45 - Panis broke his legs at the Canadian GP, Jarno Trulli got drafted in from Minardi(4th at the German GP, was in the running for a podium(even led the race) at Austria until his engine blew), his seat was taken by Brazilian Tarso Maques. Diniz spent the whole season at Arrows. 10:49 - Nope, full season driver :p 11:32 - Villeneuve had copyrighted his name and appearance prior, this they couldn't put him in the game. Both PS1 and N64 games got around that with the name editor(to also enter cheat codes) :D 13:58 - YAY IT'S GONE, PRAISE THE LORD! :D 16:00 - Simply telecommunications, both fixed and mobile, it still exists :) 16:33 - It seems like they got the flag wrong, looks more like the Dutch flag, wrong shade of blue. 17:13 - Fun fact: It should've been at Estoril in Portugal, but the track operators there didn't finish the track modifications in time. Also, the Jerez event already became famous a day earlier when the top three in qualifying posted the same time! 40:50 - The "scenario" mode was one of my favourites, also in the sequel. It was never done as well after these games in my opinion. 51:21 - The contact itself seemed rather... tame(yet it apparently damaged MSC's car enough to not simply strand in the gravel trap with understeer while apparently the battery in Villeneuve's sidepod got loose), but the gesture itself was poor. It didn't seem like much, but the movement(and contact of course) towards the side of Villeneuve's car was there. And of course MSC had some history with poor moves, so maybe this was also the drop that led the barrel to overflow... I am upset to this day that neither PS1 nor N64 game included the MasterCard Lola team. I loved the livery(once I found out they had existed). The PS1 game included Estoril even though it got replaced at season finale by Jerez, but the Lola team was only mentioned in the game's booklet. Funnily enough, you remembered that Trulli took his spot when you got to him :D
Jacques wasnt included in a lot of games at that time I think its because he held the rights to his name as a either a trademark or copyright .... something like that
In this game, there is a very wholesome easter egg where, when you beat a 1:23:00 at Imola, the ghost will be replaced by a car with the classic Marlboro livery, representing the one and only Ayrton Senna.
A real highlight was the bonus hidden Hawaii track, a short, tight and twisty yet fast circuit up and down some cool bridges and through an active volcano!!!
The game that started it all for me. Really advanced for the time, I particularly loved the season challenge and real 97 events modifier. I still like to run the #5 in sim racing today as I remember small me would pick Schumacher's #5 Ferrari often back then (I liked the red car haha).
Funny that in the first “Challenge” you do where you pass as many cars with your Bridgestone tires as possible- the car you’re driving actually has Goodyear tires (you can see the logo when you lock the front tires up). My dad bought this game for me when I was in first or second grade- I didn’t even know what formula 1 was. I think he bought it more for his own satisfaction of knowing that his son had an F1 game. Even though he never played video games, I absolutely loved this game and it was one of the few that I had. I remember Brazil being my favorite track and that two of my favorite parts of the game were A: the intro music, and B: being able to hear the exhaust notes of the other cars off in the distance during the races. Also, the fact that you could break the wheels/axles off of the cars was absolutely mind boggling to me. It’s funny how many memories come back to me watching this video, being that I was 6-7 years old and now 29. I had no idea what F1 was, and didn’t really “know” what it was until I was in about 7th grade when it fascinated me. Now being able to look at this and see how relative this game would’ve been at the time, and to me as a child it was just my favorite game to play without knowing how linear the game was to reality. Surprisingly I still have my N64 and this game. Oddly enough, I get to see Ralph Schumacher’s Jordan and Gerhard Berger’s Benetton from this game, every year in real life at the annual summer vintage race weekend at Road America. Granted, they now run them with Judd V10 engines in them, it really is a step back in time and very nostalgic. Great video, thank you.
Whilst it is true this game was graphically stunning. F1 97 was a far better experience, better atmosphere, better physics in that you can push hard and you’re rewarded with laptime, modelled the T wings too. It has nice details too Tear off strips, white labels on the tyres, and driver form is real world accurate. Except for Nakano at suzuka. The game came out before that event so i guess they assumed he’d be quick there.
Spot on. I remember playing this game back in the day, and thinking it looked a blocky mess. Colours, and shapes looked off. F1 97 was significantly better, because of it's innovation. This game looked like a cheap knockoff
remember buying this game and playing it alot, but you left out the bonus track that you could unlock if you win the championship and the team you can unlock with the silver car and the gold car. Congrats on a gret video
My parents bought it in for me in 1998 and I still play it now! So happy to see all the comments on here - great to know so many others rate this game and appreciate its class and quality as much as I do. One of the best Formula 1 games of all time. PS. How did you get a pit stop of 7.96 secs? My pit stops always take around 11.5! Is it because of the emulator this is running off?
It's amazing how quickly those games evolved over years. In a 10 year window you went from games like Super Monaco GP to F1 World Grand Prix to a game like F1 2000. From the next decade on the steps were much more.. evolutionary. Compare F1 2010 to F1 2022, for example. F1WGP is one game ive always wanted to play in the N64 (I was a Playstation boy), and it's good to relive some of the memories! Also: - Norberto Fontana had a pivotal role in the championship decider, he followed orders from Todt to block Villeneuve with the promise to earn Ferrari's favour. His career ended there and then. - The Petronas were 100% Ferrari engines, no difference at all. The Petronas thing was just branding. Also, lovely how some folks here are amazed to see a car with both Petronas and Red Bull on the livery (and Ferrari engines!) - Naming Villeneuve as "yourself" in the F1 game was the standard procedure back in those games hahaha
Minor annoyance for an F1 anorak is that from the on-board camera, even the cars who are supposed to be on Bridgestone tyres (like the Prost) are running Goodyears.
I played that game as a kid. The only Formula 1 driver I knew of during that time was Michael Schumacher. It was a pretty realistic game for the time but I enjoyed playing it.
Found this and monaco grand prix a few years back and dont regret it at all. Great review and because of your reviews I found nascar racing and sports car gt.
Wow this brings back memories, F1 World Grand Prix was the first ‘proper’ racing game that I owned. I have to say that it played a part in getting me interested in and passionate about motorsport - from the cockpit view, to the realistic (at the time!) damage setting options to the basic setup changes you could make. The gameplay was really immersive too, I remember sitting on it for hours with my N64 controller when I was 11 years old - the sound effects (especially the drone of the replays 😂) I remember to this day. A nostalgic gem of a game! 🏎
I used to play this on the N64 despite only getting one towards the end of its life cycle and having newer F1 games on PS one. So many great little details in this game which made it more immersive.
I love this game. I injured my leg in a bike accident when I was a kid, and while I was stuck at home, my dad rented this for me. I liked it so much, that he bought it for me for my birthday that year. To this day, that iconic opening cinematic brings me joy.
I had this game on PS1. I loved it Jacques was the “ Young Canadian” and Murray Walker was commentator repeating all his quotes every lap lol I had a Mad Catz? Steering wheel and used the buttons on the wheel for throttle and braking. Lots of fun almost 30 years ago
The Scottish engineer getting more and more angry as you took a ‘racing line’ over the chicanes is my most abiding memory of this game - ‘they’ve given you a warning flag’ 😂
Used to play this as a kid in England with my friends. I was surprised you didn't showcase the fictional/secret Hawaii track at the end of the video! On fond memory is that my friends and I dubbed the Clark chicane on the old Hockenheim track as the "Let's See That Again Corner" as we would fly towards it at 200mph and skip right over resulting in some fun moments.
I never got the chance to play this game as a kid, but I did watch a friend try it out at their house during a birthday party. I recall there's even a hidden track in this game that's pure Sega Arcade-style craziness that I wish could've been shown off here for the fun of it. With that said, I absolutely adored F1 '97 for the PS1 and logged many, many hours on that game.
I absolutely loved this game back in the day. I remember starting a season one Friday evening after school and playing all the way through to 6am on the Saturday morning. Great times.
Glad i found this video. This was my childhood game. it was amazing. And the only nintendo game my parents bought new for me. I was 10 years old then and was a huge Schumacher fan just like dad. I also saves my "allowance" to buy a wheel and pedals to play it. It was actually the very first game i used my dialup 56k modem on the family pc to find out about the "cheats" to use the silver and gold car and drive the secret racetrack. I was surprised forgetting the old bus-stop at spa. :D
As a young kid in America my exposure to F1 was very limited. But somehow I still had this game. Compared to the NASCAR games (I was a fan of that) this game blew my mind. I actually felt like I was racing F1 and racing in the rain was so exciting of a concept to me. What a great game.
You mention having individual cars for each team. This is easier to fit on the cart than it might first appear as the cars are just co-ordinates. It's the ad textures that take up the space which is why these are a bit sparse. Great video! I hope you review more of these mainstream F1 games in the future.
N64 not great for realistic racing games over all, but this was a remarkably smooth game at the time. There was something a bit toy like about the N64 (my mates were a bit sniffy) so sadly this game probably didn't reach the audience it should have done
Those cars had so cool and iconic liveries. Benetton and Williams are great. Jordan, Prost and the first Red Bull... i mean Sauber. Tyrrell with the extreme rear view mirrors. May be controversial in look, but iconic nontheless. Then the legendary Silver Arrows. And Ferrari is out of the question anyway. Now i get nostalgic.
I remember not being jealous of the graphics vs F1 97, but jealous of the smoothness of them. I found the handling too arcadey, but some of the options very cool. Thanks for the refresher. A stunning game overall in many respects and wonderful video. Likely its best.
Have to strongly disagree with your assessment of Stewart Grand Prix. Starting the team from scratch to winning a Grand Prix in their third season shows that the team was a great success, to the point that they were bought out by Ford and ran as Jaguar. Far from the failure you painted them as. Of course the team is now Red Bull Racing, and the success continues.
I loved this game! I wish I knew what happened to the wheel I had for my N64, by modern standards it was a terrible wheel but to teenage me it was amazing! I particularly loved the scenarios where you had to recreate moments from the season - I cried when Damon came second in Hungary in 97, and felt such satisfaction when I was able to win the race as him against “Williams driver” 😂
I don't know how many wheels there were for the N64, but I still have mine. It's archaic compared to modern wheels, but back then, it was so immersive, lol.
On top off all the reasons you mentioned the one thing I love is you can start a single race and pick your starting grid slot…… such a small feature yet only it adds tons of longevity on its on…… only features I felt it lacked was either a 4 player mode or at least a few cars to race against in 2 players mode and would have loved more then the one fantasy track as much as that fantasy Hawaii track rules
That actually looks pretty decent for 25 years ago. Some great extra features as well. The jerky movement of the cars makes it difficult to watch sometimes though.
It looks a lot better than it REALLY does on an N64. He's playing on an emulator with the res massively increased. Gives a very false impression of what the game was actually like.
This was one of the first two games I ever owned (the other was Pokemon Yellow). Super nostalgic to me, and I ended up starting to watch the F1 that same year.
No John Newhouse? Disappointed, but this was a fantastic game really that captured what it was for the 97 season. It wasn't that JV won the title, it was more he held on to his own image/likeness rights. He'd eventually show up in Grand Prix 4 however. Also worth noting that custom name is how you input the game's various cheat codes too, the gold/silver drivers and unlocks too. That and oh man, the Jordan. I can't decide which I like more, the snake or hornet one though
Thanks so much for this video. Loved this game, it got me into F1. The thing I remember most was how much of an accomplishment it felt to chip 3/10s of a second off of the lead of a car in front of you in a lap Definitely not an arcade-like game.
Great video. I didn't appreciate this game on release. I think the choppy framerate and twitchy control put me off. I had a PC at the time so spent more time with racers on that.
Well, for a racing expert and enthusiast, to say to 97 jerez incident was both JV and Schumacher fault, it's pretty crazy, and frankly disappointing... Young Schumi was straight a dirty driver. Period. He was successful in pulling that stunt on Hill in 94
