Forza Motorsport 3, the racing classic of 2009, is still held very close to every gamer’s heart, and yesterday was a flood-gate kind of thing, with the official Forza Motorsport account tweeting to its followers about their favorite memories. Drifting sessions, legendary tracks-the replies paint the picture that this game was an experience rather than a mere grid-based one-two.
What really made FM3 special? Track names, perhaps. Camino Viejo de Montserrat, Amalfi Coast, Fujimi Kaido, these words still bring a smile to an old player’s face. One of the commenters, Duffman D, stated: “the great tracks like Amalfi Coast & Camino Viejo de Montserrat, eh? Along with the sound of VTEC engine.” And from memory, v1ct0r1u5 reminded us of New York Times Square.
Then there were the cars-the DTM cars, for example, ran quite a few votes. MiB94 Virtual Photography lamented: “Oh man, those DTM cars… I wish we could get them back in the game ðŸ˜ðŸ˜.” Liamzy spoke of drag-tuning his Datsun 510, scraping for every last bit of that extra 1 mph in those online lobbies.
And of course, the multiplayer: Cat and Mouse, drifting for hours, goofing off in the warehouses-just sheer fun goofing off with mates, according to Chris Smith and Jesse (2jzJesse). For somebody like BodaZen, however, it was all about the grind: “When I 100% this game, took a long time but enjoyed racing with the Xbox 360 wheel.”
But the memories weren’t all good. Some never got to play the full game; MiB94 is stuck with just the demo-a tragedy that still hurts to this day. Others like BobKnarly curse that FM3 isn’t backward compatible now, just because it is frozen in time.
A very big question would definitely be that of why now. Straight-up Krishnan (krishnnan) asked if the nostalgia meant backward compatibility could become a real possibility, whilst BusierDonkey wasn’t so sure: license nightmare, and the series focusing more on recent installments. Still, the thought just might gain credence if FM3 content actually splashes on the current Forza Motorsport’s 20th Anniversary events.
There is something to this: Forza Motorsport 3 of course was more than a game. It was those late-night racing sessions, making friends through the game lobby, and the thrill of laying down that perfect lap. The magic of that will never be replaced by any sequel for those who experienced it.
If anyone amongst you still has an old 360 lying around, maybe it is time for dusting off that copy. For some memories do not fade away, and these replies prove it.
