Fortunately this does not occur in every race, nor do the terrible episodes of frame drop occur with frequency. Furthermore, like any arcade racer, you scrub off too much speed when you graze the walls. You can easily lose 30 mph or more even gently hitting the curb. For damage fans, look elsewhere. If you're driving 170 mph and collide with an 18 wheeler traveling down the road at 40 mph, you just bounce back and are ready to keep pressing on.
Damage is non-existent.
There are no difficulty settings in Tokyo Xtreme Racer. The game naturally gets more difficult as you progress. The early races are easy to the point of being boring. But the tide quickly turns as the competition heats up and beats you with no problem. With a few upgrades, the game becomes relatively easy again.