My thumbs hurt something fierce and my throat is hoarse from screaming at the TV. Yes, Gran Turismo 4 is out, and I think my neighbours are probably scared after hearing my frustration at the new set of license tests.

Gran Turismo is a Japanese game first and foremost; you can tell because of the proliferation of Nissan Skylines and Honda NSXs versus the relatively pitiful selection of Mustangs and Camaros. While the Japanese and North American releases are very similar, one area where they don’t quite match up is the music selection during the game intro. To pander to American audiences who apparently won’t buy a game unless it’s got a radio hit backing it, Sony of America have taken out the original theme song, “Moon Over The Castle,” out of the intros and have inserted other songs—everything from the Cardigans’ “My Favorite Game” in GT2 to Van Halen’s “Panama” in GT4.

Why anyone thought North American audiences wouldn’t go for “Moon Over The Castle,” though, I don’t know. Especially in later games, when the orchestral and operatic (!) preludes were added to the song, “Moon Over The Castle” evokes a feeling of heightened drama that fits perfectly with the visuals of the intro. And then, of course, there’s the cool instrumental rock behind the rest of it that just sounds like 200 miles per hour. If you’ve got the bandwidth, track down one of the Japanese intro movies to the Gran Turismo series; perhaps then you’ll come to see “Moon Over The Castle” as the rightful heir to the GT throne.