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This is GTV!
Always on the Inside Track!
What you are watching is the sport of Keirin!
Literally translated, Keirin means “racing cycle.”
Invented in Japan in the early 20th Century, Keirin is a variation of traditional Track
Cycle Racing, that tests the ability of cyclists on a 1.5 kilometer course at various speeds
behind a motorized pace cycle, which by the final lap leaves the track allowing racers
to reach full speed.
Prize money is offered to the top racers in each competition.
The money is tallied up over the course of a season.
That amount determines a racer’s ranking, while the top earner is given the title of
“King.”
The sport became popularized nationwide in 1948, when the Japanese government legalized
gambling racing sports, which also included horse, speedboat and motorcycle racing.
Other sport betting is illegal.
Casinos and other games are chance are also forbidden.
With the boost in popularity, Keirin developed formalized rules and a proper league in the
1950s.
Today the sport pulls in an average of 5 million spectators to live events each year, with
600 billion yen in bets places annually.
That’s about $5 Billion US.
The sport was not too well known outside of Japan until the Year 2000, when Keirin style
cycling was included in the Olympics for the first time, and has been featured in every
successive Olympiad.
With such a popular sport, it was only natural that Keirin Superstars would emerge.
If Baseball had Sadaharu Oh and Pro Wrestling had Antonio Inoki, then who would be the biggest
name in the world of Keirin?
The answer is this man: Koichi Nakano.
In his hey day, the 1970s and 80s, he was the winningest racer of that era, taking the
title of prize money king each year between 1976 and 1989, except 82 where he just missed
it!
Internationally, Koichi Nakano won 10 consecutive gold medals in the Keirin division of the
World Track Championships during that amazing run as well.
With is fame on the Keirin circuit, Koichi Nakano crossed over into mainstream media.
Both during and after his career, Koichi appeared as an analyst for Keirin events and other
sports programs, some talk shows, a few TV dramas and, I actually can’t believe it,
released a few records as well!
Peak 70s, to say the least.
In 1992, Koichi Nakako formally retired, at the age of 37, where his media presence grew
further as he could focus on that full time.
It wouldn’t be long until he, like oh-so-many before, affixed his name to a video game,
Setting a short lived trend in motion!
Keirin video games.
After a quick time out, get your helmet and let’s ride!
On November 18, 1994, Koichi Nakano’s Kanshuu Keirin-O was released for the Super Famicom
by Coconuts Japan.
Kanshuu means supervised by and Keirin-O means simply Keirin King, as each top prize money
earner was referred to as “King.”
So let’s pop this game into the ol’ Super Famicom and see how it goes!
Well… this is not the kind of game you’d expect.
Yes is a Keirin game, a Keirin training simulator!
Since no one in 1994 outside of Japan knew or cared about Keirin, I’d place this game
ahead of every RPG on the “never to be released outside of Japan” list.
The massive wall of Japanese text also earns this game a spot on the “never to be fan
translated” list, too.
So what is it all about?
The game is ‘Supervised by” Koichi Nakano.
As such he “consulted” with the designers about the element of training and of the sport,
to ensure its authenticity.
You don’t actually get to play as Koichi Nakano, only that you will always be safe
in the knowledge that he oversaw all of this.
To what degree, is never said.
Anyway, you create your own character, including name and hometown then start training for
upcoming races, then eventually enter those competitions and win money.
You start on April 1st, 1994 and begin to train for the upcoming Keirin season.
You can choose to hit the gym, work hard to increase your power and stamina, getting your
bike up to speed, and then maintaining it.
It’s basically a lot of A button mashing.
A few activities are automatic and you just watch it!
As you train, your coach will pop up and tell you to work harder or that you are doing good
job.
Is that Koichi Nakano?
Without the glasses, I can’t tell…
You can also visit the doctor.
He offers medical advice and you can also give you painkillers or tape you up if your
hurting, as well as giving you a physical every now and then
You can also upgrade your bike, check your upcoming races, or just take a day off!
Actions takes up most of your day and after you have trained or visited the doctor, the
day is over.
One of the frustrating parts of this game is that to get the next day to happen, you
must return home, rather than simply returning and waking up the next day automatically!
Eventually, the time comes when you can actually race.
Usually about once every two weeks.
The day before the race, you are not allowed to train, and can only check your physical
condition, and get a look at the racetrack.
On race day, you are given a lane, and get a quick look at the competition.
During the races all you can do is watch!
The race just goes on and on while you sit there and do nothing!
It’s pretty long and after the first time, you won’t want to sit through that all over
again.
The game does offer a “digest” version of the race that just shows the so-called
“exciting” parts.
You pick up your winnings and go back to training for the next race.
And basically that’s it, repeated over and over until you reach the rank of S, and become
the King of Keirin or realize you can’t cut it and retire.
Or just turn off the game.
There is also a variation of the game called “Party Mode” where you can skip all the
training stuff and just race.
Just watch the race…
You would think that would be the end of Keirin’s flirtation with video games but wrong-o!
The next year saw the release of Super Keirin!
This game was made by I-Max, a different company.
And it too is not actually a racing game!
It’s a full fledged RPG!
Basically your character trains and practices to become the King of Keirin!
The story is actually kid of cute!
You have a girlfriend in the game and an arch-nemesis you have to compete against, he might even
steal your girl if you aren’t careful.
If you think of each race as some kind of battle, I’d go as far to say that Super
Keirin is a nifty little RPG!
As far as the bike racing element goes however, you do visit actual Keirin arenas all over
Japan and can interact with over 400 actual athletes, whose real names are mentioned in
the game, even if their likenesses really aren’t.
There is also a party mode where you can just have the races without the story.
You know just watch the races, not play them.
You know, what is the deal with just watching the races?
I guess that has to be from the fact that most people experience Keirin as a passive
activity where most are in it just to place bets and win money, while very few have any
dreams of becoming a big star.
The opposite of Soccer or Baseball, that’s for sure.
For what it’s worth, there was one more Super Famicom game to feature Keirin.
A game called Ippatsu Gyakuten, Which is a real gambling game, based on all 4 kinds of
racing sports you can legally bet on in Japan.
Interesting, but nothing too special, and of course lots of endless menus and watching
races rather than partaking in them.
There was one game that did actually let you race.
Just one.
In 1998, to commemorate the 50th year of organized Keirin, the game “Super Keirin, Big Thanks,
Dream With Keirin 50 Years” was released for the Sega Saturn, by Aspect.
You know, the makers of Sonic 2 for Game Gear.
Of course it goes without saying that the game was released only in Japan, but more
than that, the game was never formally put on sale and instead was given away for free
at select Keirin events that year.
That makes Super Keirin one of the rarest video games around!
Even though there is a mode that lets you train over and over again, or just lets you
watch the race, you can actually, finally compete for once and race your bike!
It actually is kind of fun, and not that bad of a game.
At least in this head to head mode.
Following this, the Keirin fad for home TV games faded away.
There were no other games released of this style that I could ever recall in the 21st
century, though Keiba, or horse racing is still just a strong as ever.
Keirin games still pop up now and then, but only for pachinko, slot and medal games, which
make sense as the reason most people watch the sport in the first place is to gamble.
One of the more recent examples is Girl’s Keirin.
A slot based game where you… work out… and train all day to prepare for your big
race later on!
I guess just one of those things that makes Japan, Japan.
From the gambling aspect, to the one-off hit singles, to games that aren’t really games,
to having the faith that a game developer can throw anything against the wall and hopes
it will stick, Keirin is what it is.
A part of the culture that is just there.
And as such, people will make some yen off it, if they can!
And in the end, there’s nothing wrong with that!