Series That Shaped The PlayStation - Ridge Racer

Written by Tom Clare in Features and Opinions, Tuesday 9 September, 2008

As a console that would ultimately sell over 100 million units, it's perhaps understandable that a great many games contributed to the success of the PlayStation. Ridge Racer has a special place in the hearts of many gamers as it provided a link to the halcyon days of arcade gaming whilst also showing near-effortless technical proficiency and a glorious sense of speed. So what better place to start on my trek of the PlayStation's most defining series than a look at a one that was there from the beginning?

Ridge Racer (1995) – 8/10

If ever a game was created with the term ‘arcade-perfect’ in mind it was Ridge Racer. Sure, the tag had been bestowed upon many games beforehand, but few went as far as Namco’s flagship racer in recreating the atmosphere of a coin-op.

Short of planting the pedals and cabinet in your room, the original Ridge Racer featured everything an arcade racing game should have – near-perfect handling; incredible speed and smoothness; and vibrant, pristine 3D visuals unlike anything previously available on consoles. All the more remarkable was the fact that it was a launch title for the PlayStation format. It even allowed gamers to play a quick game of Namco’s classic Galaga shoot ‘em up while it loaded.

All of this was able to deflect attention from the games frailties – for instance the fact that there was only really one circuit and no split-screen two-player mode. Nevertheless nobody minded much in 1995 and despite its short stay, RR was able to make the powerslide its own, whilst the bright beaches and spiralling tunnels would quickly became synonymous with the series.

Ridge Racer Revolution (1996) – 7/10

A few months later Ridge Racer Revolution followed. It was not so much a ‘revolution’ as a gentle evolution of its predecessor; touching up the graphics and offering three variants of an excellent new track. It was the least ambitious of the PSOne Ridge Racer’s offering no new modes and the exact same set of cars, but it was still a big success with fans who were eager for more of what the first game had delivered.

Whilst still proving to be tremendous fun, RRR still lacked the longevity that the more simulation-orientated racers of its time (TOCA: Touring Cars, Formula 1) were offering, though it remained easily ahead of its arcade imitators in the gameplay stakes, with a slight stepforward in the multiplayer side of things where players could do battle via a link-cable, two TVs and two consoles.

Rage Racer (1997) – 9/10

A year on and Rage Racer arrived on the scene having had something of a face-lift. Gone were the sunny facades of old and in their place gritty, realistic urban locales. The checkpoint timer was all but removed from the equation and for the first time money was awarded for placing in the top three. Was RR abandoning its arcade roots?

Critically, Rage Racer was revered though the gaming public was evidently cautious; the first instalment of the Ridge series not to be based on an actual arcade game, many took the visual redesign and sim-elements to meaning Ridge Racer had abandoned its fun-filled origins, perhaps resulting in it being the least successful of the 4 PSOne outings for the series and the only not to reach ‘Platinum’ status.

This is a shame, as it featured easily the most responsive, accurate handling of all the RR’s and without question the best circuit design. The dense cityscapes were dominated by epic, steep inclines and rollercoaster-like descents as the player rocketed past skyscrapers, waterfalls and a harbour all in the space of a breathtaking minute. With 5 speed classes and 4 tracks, Rage Racer offered greater lasting power than its predecessors, whilst the upgrades available for purchase affected the cars visually as well as in terms of their performance.

However, Gran Turismo arrived in 1998, and with twice as many tracks as Rage Racer and nearly 300 hundred more cars, it appeared Ridge Racer’s best days were in the past despite it offering what was still easily the best arcade road-racing experience on the PlayStation. For the first time in the three years of the PlayStation, fans would not be greeted with a new RR in 1998 – Namco were busily working on a solution to the near-impossible problem of how to topple the mighty GT.

Ridge Racer Type 4 (1999) – 10/10

Whether Namco truly did make a Gran Turismo-beater is a subject of much debate and ultimately, due to RRT4’s strengths being channelled into different areas, it’s hard to give a definitive answer. What they did manage however was to make the most comprehensive Ridge Racer experience.

It’s questionable whether it plays as well as Rage Racer on pure handling characteristics alone, as it seems R4’s is just a touch heavier and the powerslides less impressive, though in all other areas R4 was given an upgrade of mighty proportions, giving it a new glossy look and genuine bulk that meant its days as a short-but-sweet racer were well and truly behind it. Before there had been just 17 cars, now there were 320 variants. The 4 tracks Rage Racer offered had now swelled to 8 and the two-player mode fans had craved since the beginning was finally delivered – complete with A.I. opponents!

It’s quite possibly the most stylishly presented game of its generation. The stunning opening FMV sets the tone and is duly matched by the ultra-sleek menus and showroom-esque looks at the cars you had acquired, shamelessly basking in its own visual splendour. In game it was nothing short of incredible; as ever the speed and fluidity of the action was superb, whilst the visual style was pitched somewhere in-between the vibrant early games and the moody Rage Racer. The levels of detail set it apart – the nighttime tracks in particular offered some incredible sights; a giant plane taking off directly overhead, the crest of a jump revealing a city lit up against the darkness below, and even a fireworks display to welcome in the new millennium on the final course. The replays revealed the shiny looking cars that were a match for those seen in Gran Turismo, and to put the icing on the cake, it even featured snazzy taillight blurring effects just to further impress upon us all how fast the game was.

The story mode that developed differently depending on your race performances offered considerable replay value, whilst the array of unlockable extras guaranteed weeks worth of play. Throughout the generation, the series A.I. had remained somewhat suspect and the collisions were routinely naff, but then, it just wouldn’t have been Ridge Racer with realistic nonsense like ‘crash damage’. Each instalment of the series remains a joy to play purely as a consequence of Namco getting the formula right straight away, though it took some bullying from Gran Turismo for them to extract everything from the formula, meaning (in PSOne terms at least) the series went out on a high.

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