It is finally here, the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenge Series that I have been looking forward to since I heard about it, ooh, four weeks ago?
Yes, it is finally time for my favourite motoring nation to take centre stage, as Japan and the whole JDM thing come to the fore in Forza Horizon 5’s challenges for Series 17 – Summer.
I have long been a massive fan of the whole drifting scene, and so hope to see a lot of that over the course of this Series. So, let’s dive into the Japanese Automotive Series – Summer in Forza Horizon 5 and see what’s in store, shall we?
Part 1: #Forzathon Weekly Challenge – Sky’s the Limit
Time for one of my favourite cars first up, so the series is off to a good start!
A Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II, the R34 model number, is the subject of this week’s challenge. If you don’t have one (and why would you not?) it will set you back a mere 63,000 credits from the Autoshow. Just make sure it is in Bayside Blue, okay?
Chapter 1 – Bayside Blue
Get in your (hopefully) blue R34 and go for a spin. Easy way to start.
Chapter 2 – Too Fast
But hopefully not too furious, eh?
For this step, we need to earn nine stars at Speed Zones in the car. I have tuned mine a tad, and the share code is: 222237205.
This is S2 class, and pretty flipping fast! The Speed Zone on the highway, Trebol, is probably the easiest – the only problem is that three stars is 260mph, which this little Skyline won’t do.
Chapter 3 – Race to Victory
Now we have to win a Road Race. No problem with this tune!
Pick your favourite and let ‘er rip.
Although be a bit careful putting the power down out of the bends…
Chapter 4 – High Horse
Go out and drive five miles in the Skyline. At 230mph, it shouldn’t take long and your best bet is a trip down the highway to see you right.
And that’s it. Enjoy 5 points towards the weekly cars and 160 FP.
Part 2: Challenges
Well, we are spoiled for choice here, aren’t we? We have the usual fun stuff, The Trial, some racing and some PR stuntery, and then to put the cherry on the top, not one but two Eventlabs. Be still my beating heart.
Still, let’s see what’s up this week.
The Trial – Sprint Series
You must know the score by now – find some racers off of the interwebs, hope they don’t think they are playing Super Dodgem Simulator 3000, and then try to win a series of races against unbeatable driverbots.
The limitation this week is a Japanese car tuned to A Class 800, and with the race being road races on tarmac, I went with an old fave, the Toyota Supra GR. My share code is: 984217186.
Winning the best out of two races will get us a nice Toyota Trueno which may come in handy for drifting duty later!
Eventlab 1 – VUKKUU Presents Tokyo Project : Circuit.
The best part of the week is here, when I can cross these of and never think about them again.
The restriction for this Ventlab and the following one is a Japanese car tuned to B-Class 700. I went with a stock Subaru Impreza, the Sti from 2008. There’s no point spending money on a race where we are the only competitor, you know?
This is a reasonable event, but it is very easy to miss a turn as the course doesn’t really flow.
Winning in this event will get us a Super Wheelspin.
Eventlab 2 – Papi Gamer7597 Presents Mizu Pass
Another one? Ah well, it is the same restriction as before, and so the same car – that Stock Impreza from 2008.
This is a terrible course, any attempt to actually pick up speed and enjoy yourself is swiftly punished by falling off. I think it is meant to be a representation of a Hakkone from Japan, but they are famous for not having big stupid plants growing up through the middle of them…
The reward this time is a song, Dusky – Ingrid is a Hybrid. Like a Prius?
Weekly PR Stunt – Showcase Remix – A Twist of Freight.
We have to repeat the train race again, and this time we need to use a Silvia Spec-R. Luckily, the car is tuned quite nicely and will grip and go, so this is a fun race in the dark.
Another Super Wheelspin is up for grabs.
Weekly PR Stunt – Speed Trap
Take a Japanese car, tune it to S2 Class 998, and try to go past a camera at more than 180 mph. Off road…
I went with a Nissan GT-R Black Edition, and the share code is: 870206076. With more than 1000 bhp it’s a bit of a handful, but approaching downhill from the north is your best bet. Try to smooth out the turns as much as you can to keep the speed up.
Another Super Wheelspin is yours for being fast.
Weekly PR Stunt – Drift Zone – Arbolada
This is more like it! An S2 Class 998 Japanese car and the noble art of drifting, with a target of 150,000 points. I went with the same car as above, as amazingly off-road tyres drift really well.
Another Super Wheelspin will be yours for shredding your tyres.
Seasonal Championship – Mazda of the Streets
Take any Mazda you like, tune it up to B Class 700, and then go racing at night in a Midnight Club style. Something fast and grippy then I think!
I chose a Mazda Miata from 1994, and the share code is: 133412220.
For winning best two out of three in a convoy, or the whole thing solo, you too can walk away with a lovely Mitsubishi Lancer MR from 2004.
Seasonal Championship – Very Imprezzed
What a cunning play on words, eh? We need to use a Japanese Modern Rally Car tuned to a maximum of B Class 700. Then do a little light off road racing.
I went with an Evo VIII MR, and the share code is: 141172186.
For coming out on top, a nice car is awarded – The Nissan GT-R! When I win the lottery…
Part 3: Other Challenges
The Treasure hunt is back this week, as is the usual photo challenge.
Treasure Hunt – Star of Arion
“Take your Starion for a ride and speed past the traffic” reads the clue. It translates into getting five near miss skills in your Starion, which is a piece of cake on the highway.
I’ll show you where the chest is to be found below. It contains 100 FP.
Photo Challenge – #HEARMEROAR
Take any Toyota or Lexus to Ek’Balam, and take a photograph of it with the Stone Lanterns there. I will post my best effort below, along with the location.
Doing this will get us a Tiger Roar Horn.
Part 4: Hot Wheels Events
If you have reached Elite rank in the Hot Wheels expansion, you will have access to a couple of extra events. If you haven’t reached that rank, why not?
Weekly PR Stunt – Supersonic Spiral
For this speed zone, we need an S2 Class Japanese car, and we need to hit more than 170 mph average through the zone. I used my Skyline from the weekly car challenge to do this.
For completing, we will get a Super Wheelspin. For a change.
Weekly Championship – Can’yon Do
For this championship, it’s all about the B Class 700, and the Japanese cars. B Class isn’t the fastest, but I went with an Evo VIII, the same one as before.It handled things well. Share Code – 141172186.
We will win a Honda Civic from 1974 for our troubles – a car nearly as old as me!
As the Japanese scene kicks off and Forza Horizon 5 rolls through Series 17, a whole ton of cars and points are up for offer. As well as the challenges above, the best way to supplement your free car-ness is by taking in the Monthly Rivals Events, this time seeing you in need of clean, fast, laps around the Plaza Circuit and the Tierra Prospera in an EV. 4pts are in place for the completion of each. Just hit the relevant tile in-game and you’ll be whisked to the event needed.
So, those cars. Series 17 as a whole runs with the Nissan GTR ‘20 for 80pts and the classic Subaru 22B for 160pts. You’ll need to complete a good couple of week’s worth of challenges in order to afford those, so make sure you continue coming back through Autumn, Winter and Spring of Series 17.
There are cars hidden behind season specific points though too. Summer (where we are now) has the Nissan Z ‘23 for 20pts and the Toyota AT38 for 40pts. And once we move into Autumn, expect to find the Toyota MR2 ‘95 and Subaru Legacy RS on offer, whilst Winter will push the Galant VR-4 and Toyota AT37 to your garage. The series will finish in Spring with the opportunity to nab the Sports 800 ‘65 and Nissan Sentra. Not too shabby eh?
After that is Series 18 and the Horizon Wilds Takeover. It’ll be time to head back to the Stunt Park!
As always, if you are interested in completing the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges for Series 17 – Summer – or to just enjoy the game for what it is – you’ll need a copy of the brilliant Forza Horizon 5 in your digital library. It’s available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC, all via the Xbox Store, for a cash outlay or through an Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Drop into the comments and let us know if the cars listed have helped you out this week. We’d love to know if they are helping you out.
