When Rocket League launched, every vehicle had its own unique stats, and with very few exceptions, almost every car that was added to the game for the first two years followed this trend.

On July 5th, 2017, Psyonix released Version 1.35, the 2nd Anniversary Update, which included the first wave of "Car Standardization Changes", converting 18 cars to each conform to one of five "types", named Octane, Dominus, Plank, Breakout, and Hybrid.

On September 28th, 2017, Version 1.37, the Autumn Update converted the remaining vehicles. While community outcry forced the Batmobile to be an exception--causing it to stand alone as its own sixth "type"--every vehicle in the game now conformed to one of the standardized presets that had been created in version 1.35.

To be fair, this change theoretically did a lot of good for Psyonix. It's easier for them to release new cars without worrying over disrupting the game's balance. Likewise, more serious players can know right away if they'll likely enjoy how the car handles simply based on which preset it will be.

And let's be honest: Most of the players who cared about car stats were already using the Octane, Dominus, Batmobile, or Breakout anyway.

But what about us who didn't?

Car diversity was one of the things I loved about this game, and I'm certain I'm not alone in that. Likewise, I've heard players lament over how the Takumi simply isn't the same, or how the Merc isn't what it once was.

I brought up my hours and status as a recent Grand Champ not to brag, but because I simply want to be clear that what I'm about to claim is not coming from a lack of experience: to this very day I continue to believe that there was genuine potential for some of the old, unique cars to become true forces to be reckoned with.

Just yesterday I booted up an old version of the game--a version from before cars were fully standardized. I wanted to try the Masamune again, to see if it really was everything I remembered it to be.

It was. Oh, how it was.

There is so much talk about how the difference between Champs, Grand Champs, and Pros is the consistency and speed at which they can play. Their recoveries, their reactions, their positioning; top level players practically drive literal circles around lesser skilled opponents.

With that in mind--with speed being so important--I can't help but look at the old Masamune's ability to turn on a dime compared to anything in the game today and wonder just what it could have done in the right hands.

As the night went on, being unable to go online, I played a few 4v1 matches against bots, and while--as the following clip mentions--I fully realize that driving circles around bots isn't anything terribly difficult. Yet that didn't change that I still couldn't help but feel so at home with the car, as if I had finally found what I had been missing for this past year.

I know I can't possibly be the only one. Maybe not the Masamune, but I know there must be those of you out there that have a car they miss, that you wish you could play again in ranked, that you feel could have had so much potential if only it had been given just a little more time for a top tier player to prove it's viability.

I've bounced from car to car to car to car over the past year, trying to find something I could call a main, yet never able to find anything I truly loved. And I think I know why:

I am a Masamune main. I always have been.

It's not that I don't have a main. It's that my main doesn't exist any more.

And Psyonix, if you're reading this, please, don't get me wrong: in many ways, your game is still incredible, amazing, and a blast to play.

But for some of us, it's been nearly a year since we've been able to play the game the way we want--since we've been able to play the Rocket League we loved.

And to be honest?

I hate to say it.

But that kinda sucks.