As a newcomer: Where should I start?

[Lumanator]

I was thinking of starting with Import Tuner Challenge, but considering how I somehow couldn't play it on my PC without it crashing frequently, what better place should I start?

[BallFondler]

Realistically you should start from the first TXR game on the dreamcast with the Flycast emulator.

Personally, i think you should get PCSX2 and get yourself TXR: Zero or TXR3 to get into the franchise.

Also for ITC you need to change a few settings on xenia to make it past the black screen to make it run

[ruphus]

Be sure to get the patch if you're playing 3. It fixes a bug that makes the game unbeatable.

As of my experience, I weirdly started from Kaido Racer (TXR Drift "1.5"), and then continued to Street Supremacy and Wangan Midnight.

[Scribble]

Import Tuner Challenge isn't a bad place to start with, personally I don't think there's any "wrong" games to start with, even the pre-TXR titles are pretty good (except for the GBA title, that one wasn't made by Genki), Shutokou Battle R and Kattobi Tune are a personal favourite of mine.

Generally, most people started with Zero or 3, but I have a friend who got into TXR through the GBA game as a kid so lol

[Man's Best Friend]

My personal opinion is to at least sample them in release order. My reasoning is that you should experience the evolution of the series if just a little.

[AutisticPinoy989]

You can start playing the Japanese versions of Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Import Tuner Challenge. The English versions were butchered and the Japanese version of Import Tuner Challenge has a marijuana air freshner if you want to hang it inside your car for fun. If you have a hard time with Xenia, I suggest getting a modded Xbox 360 to play Shutokou Battle X.

[ThunderTHR]

My recommendation to most is to usually start with the very first TXR on the Dreamcast, as its far and away the most /linear/ of the series, along with having the shortest roster of rivals, at around just over 140. Its an easy way for most to get a taste of what the series would offer on a smaller palate.

Import Tuner Challenge despite its mixed reputation is one that I'd consider to probably be another recommendation if you're trying to get into TXR, as its the one game in the series that really 'guides' you on figuring out what to do, including it /actually telling you in game how to meet the wanderer requirements in order to challenge them/.

If all you care about however is PEAK TXR, where they really were firing on all cylinders, the PlayStation 2 games are where its at. Zero, 3, and Drift 2 are all for the most part universally loved by TXR fans, including myself.

[That cat from Oured]

Like everyone said, it's best recommended to either play in release order (playing the first TXR on the Dreamcast) to experience how the series evolved and stuff getting fleshed out from each game, or to play the peak of the series (TXR0, TXR3). You might wanna get TXR3's patch since it fixes TWO specific wanderer requirements (monetary) thanks to Crave's mishap in converting yen to dollars when they localized the game.

Import Tuner Challenge / Shutokou Battle X isn't too shabby to start in, as that game helps you familiarize yourself with the Wanderers being given hints in PA's on how they can be battled. I might recommend getting a JP copy since the export copy's pretty much flawed, even running kind of like utter ♥♥♥♥ compared to the JP version, and it has some stuff missing from the export like what Pinoy said.

That being said, you can give the Kaido spinoffs a shot if you liked the mainline games, TXRD2 / KB3's one of the best there is paired with the mainlines Zero & 3.

To be honest, I actually first played TXR through Street Supremacy / SB: Zone of Control, it's a fun spin-off even if it was a bit different than the mainline titles.