Kanjozoku Review (PC): NFS:U but Inspired by Japanese Illegal Street Racing

Kanjozoku reminds me a lot of Need For Speed Underground, having a bunch of 90s and 2000s JDM cars that you can tune however you want, then use them on the Osaka streets. In addition, this game has online races and online car meets and hotspots, but more on that later.

When you open Kanjozoku, you have a straightforward menu, where in the middle, you can see the car that you selected together with your character of choice. In the top left corner, you are able to see your name and the car's name, while on the bottom corner, you have things like cars shop, tuning, paint shop, or settings.

In the car selection menu, we have a total of 19 options to use, with different options for the same car. For example, you can have the classic Integra DC2 or the AWD one. The cheapest car is a Honda Civic EF, while the most expensive one is the legendary Nissan Skyline GTR34 (as in GT-R R34). From a visual standpoint, the vehicles look alright even though they are not made in the most realistic way, like in a Forza game. However, this is not the point because Kanjozoku is more of an arcade game.

In the tuning menu, you are free to modify as much as you want, from body parts to engines, wheels, or suspension. For example, when you enter the body category, you can change the paint job, front/rear bumper, hood, side skirts, headlights, exhaust types, and even neon lights under the car. Moving on to the engine tuning, you have two possibilities: upgrading it with things like a new turbocharger, engine block/head, and fuel system, or replacing the whole power unit with more powerful ones.

The suspension menu is a fun and interesting one because you can change things like the radius of the wheels, front/rear camber, height, or spacers. As a result, you can create some of the unique and weirdest cars to really express your creativity. Kanjozoku is extremely impressive from this standpoint, and they are not many games that let you do as many modifications as this one. Plus, if you ever get bored with your creation, you can always sell it to buy a new car.

Now, all that is left is to take your car on one of the three tracks available, or you can drive right on the streets of Osaka. When you hit the tracks, you will feel exactly like in those drift challenges from the first NFS Underground game, creating this beautiful nostalgic feeling.

The other option, as we said, is to go on the streets, where you have lots of exploring because the city map is impressively extensive. Here you can have fun on your own just driving around enjoying your JDM beauty, or you can go to specific spots on the map where you have certain online race options like time attack, minimum speed, do not crash, avoid traffic, and many others.

Another fun addition is that you can get chased by the police, and you must drive well to get away from them. Otherwise, you will get arrested, resulting in spending money on speeding tickets instead of new parts for your JDM. In contrast, you can earn more money if the police are chasing you for a longer time.

As a whole, Kanjozoku is an absolute bargain, being one of the cheapest racing games. It is excellent for having fun with your friends and creating your own "Tokyo Drift" movie when you are bored of all the intense racing simulators. Plus, it has a lot of similarities with NFS Underground.