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RTTP: Ridge Racer Type-4, still incredible today
- Thread starter Dreamboum
- Start date
By far the best Ridge Racer, and maybe the best arcade racer ever made. Incredible sense of style, and its insane what they were able to pull off with the PS1 hardware.
Yeah it is. Man that game had everything.
It was a great mix of gran tourismo meets ridge racer.
Plus one of the only games were I actually thought the artistic over all theme was actually well done. The menus and character images were all fantastic.
I am so sad the franchise never kept with that direction.
It was a great mix of gran tourismo meets ridge racer.
Plus one of the only games were I actually thought the artistic over all theme was actually well done. The menus and character images were all fantastic.
I am so sad the franchise never kept with that direction.
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I never got the hype for this game. Graphics and music were phenomenal but everything else is a step back from previous installments. Drifts are seriously toned down, you run tons of low rank slow races, it's a chore to unlock all the cars and most of them are boring. It's a lot less arcadey than the previous ones and that was a disappointment as far as I'm concerned.
But it came with a 60fps Ridge Racer 1 redux disc which is absolutely effing brilliant!
But it came with a 60fps Ridge Racer 1 redux disc which is absolutely effing brilliant!
RR8 was leaked on a Namco employee's LinkedIn as a Switch exclusive back in February, I'm sure it'll show up as a surprise announcement in a Nintendo Direct at some point.
Essential PS1. It really defined just how "cool" the system was during that era, the system had a vibe that only the PS2 ever got close to replicating. My teenage self had never experienced anything like Type 4 when it came out and frankly I'm struggling to think of any games since that have achieved that mood and clarity of vision.
OP
OP
as someone who's driven on his share of tokyo elevated highways, this has the same effect on me as hyper-real ghibli depictions of japanese apartments. in many ways it's crude, but it's so perfectly observed. i think of type 4 every time i go into a tunnel!
absolute masterpiece. would love a remaster.
That's a really good way to express the feeling the feeling of these tracks. Aptly put.
Add me to the list of Type 4 admirers. I can only repeat what was stated many times: Timeless presentation, good track design, innovative story mode and a sensational soundtrack. One of the best in gaming and certainly the very best that (only) features house music. I can listen to it front to back, at home or even better when driving, whether it's summer or winter.
To add another detail that wasn't mentioned: The back lights that leave a little trail in the dark. So good.
Two questions:
1) I have the game on my Vita as a regular PSone classic (German account). Does this mean it's running at 25 fps and the game is supposed to be faster? It did feel kinda slow both on Playstation and Vita.
2) Has anyone of the artists featured on the soundtrack released albums that are close in style to the OST? I'd love to discover new music that is just as good.
To add another detail that wasn't mentioned: The back lights that leave a little trail in the dark. So good.
Two questions:
1) I have the game on my Vita as a regular PSone classic (German account). Does this mean it's running at 25 fps and the game is supposed to be faster? It did feel kinda slow both on Playstation and Vita.
2) Has anyone of the artists featured on the soundtrack released albums that are close in style to the OST? I'd love to discover new music that is just as good.
PAL PSone classics are all in 50hz, so yes it does run slower than a US or JP version.
Nah, that honor goes to Ridge Racers 2 PSP. Best tracks and almost best handling in the entire series. Type 4 is still the shit though.
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Sigh. Yet another dose of love & nostalgia for the weakest entry in the Ridge Racer series.
It's not like Type 4 didn't have its pros. Everything mentioned in the OP--the art style and overall visual presentation, the unique soundtrack, the course design--is fantastic, and the attempt at a storyline in an arcade-style racer actually coming out pretty awesome is an amazing achievement. But everyone singing R4's praises always seem to gloss over the gameplay itself:
- Drift mechanics were significantly dumbed down compared to all other entries in the series, before AND after. Drifts require almost no skill to perform, so the satisfaction is gone, at least IMO.
- The number of AI opponents was reduced to 7, the fewest in the entire series, making races less exciting and requiring less skill.
- Because of the simple drift mechanics and fewer opponents, the level of challenge in R4 is very low compared to all other Ridge Racer games.
- There are lots of cars to unlock...in theory. Most of the 300+ cars are duplicates, just with different top speeds. And to unlock quite a few of them, you have to intentionally come in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, which isn't fun.
- Since unlocking cars is a boring and mostly pointless grind, and winning the Grand Prix is super easy, there's not actually much to do once you've breezed through the GP with each team once. The other titles in the series (with the possible exception of the first) all lasted much longer for me, in large part because they were all much more challenging.
It's a shame, because everything about the presentation is top-notch, and the course design is as good as ever. Maybe I'd have appreciated it more if I'd never played the others, or if I wasn't good enough at the others to enjoy them. But as it is, at least in my opinion...everything about R4 is great, except it's just not a very good game.
If they actually do decide to remake R4 rather than give us as proper Ridge Racer 8--and I hope they don't--I hope they just combine RR6/7's engine and physics with R4's presentation, then add more opponents and add an optional harder difficulty setting. That would be a good middle ground that series veterans and skilled players could also enjoy.
Not a chance (see above), but honestly I feel like it's tough to actually choose a best entry when so much about the series is consistently good. I would argue that RR6 is a strong contender. 100% 60fps, still looks good today, first RR with online play, challenging campaign that goes on forever, plus has more new courses than any other entry in the series...and, they're ALL wonderfully-designed and fun to drive! RR7 is basically an expanded RR6, but due to the graphic issues (aliasing, frame drops) and its few new courses being mediocre, I enjoyed it a bit less than 6.
Ridge Racers 2 on PSP was also pretty great.
It's not like Type 4 didn't have its pros. Everything mentioned in the OP--the art style and overall visual presentation, the unique soundtrack, the course design--is fantastic, and the attempt at a storyline in an arcade-style racer actually coming out pretty awesome is an amazing achievement. But everyone singing R4's praises always seem to gloss over the gameplay itself:
- Drift mechanics were significantly dumbed down compared to all other entries in the series, before AND after. Drifts require almost no skill to perform, so the satisfaction is gone, at least IMO.
- The number of AI opponents was reduced to 7, the fewest in the entire series, making races less exciting and requiring less skill.
- Because of the simple drift mechanics and fewer opponents, the level of challenge in R4 is very low compared to all other Ridge Racer games.
- There are lots of cars to unlock...in theory. Most of the 300+ cars are duplicates, just with different top speeds. And to unlock quite a few of them, you have to intentionally come in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th, which isn't fun.
- Since unlocking cars is a boring and mostly pointless grind, and winning the Grand Prix is super easy, there's not actually much to do once you've breezed through the GP with each team once. The other titles in the series (with the possible exception of the first) all lasted much longer for me, in large part because they were all much more challenging.
It's a shame, because everything about the presentation is top-notch, and the course design is as good as ever. Maybe I'd have appreciated it more if I'd never played the others, or if I wasn't good enough at the others to enjoy them. But as it is, at least in my opinion...everything about R4 is great, except it's just not a very good game.
If they actually do decide to remake R4 rather than give us as proper Ridge Racer 8--and I hope they don't--I hope they just combine RR6/7's engine and physics with R4's presentation, then add more opponents and add an optional harder difficulty setting. That would be a good middle ground that series veterans and skilled players could also enjoy.
Not a chance (see above), but honestly I feel like it's tough to actually choose a best entry when so much about the series is consistently good. I would argue that RR6 is a strong contender. 100% 60fps, still looks good today, first RR with online play, challenging campaign that goes on forever, plus has more new courses than any other entry in the series...and, they're ALL wonderfully-designed and fun to drive! RR7 is basically an expanded RR6, but due to the graphic issues (aliasing, frame drops) and its few new courses being mediocre, I enjoyed it a bit less than 6.
Ridge Racers 2 on PSP was also pretty great.
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I remember putting this game on often just to have the attract mode replays loop alongside the soundtrack. Loved the nighttime atmosphere.Its style.
I love this track so much, always had this on playing ridge racers on PSP
Love everything about this game. The cars,stages,music, and the aesthetic from the menus are so good.
My fav track.
My fav track.
I can never understand why people love this game so much and claim to be a fan of the series. It's one of the low points in the entire series and is a perfect example of flash over substance. Great graphics and music with some of the worst game play and track designs in the series. The tracks are easy, too wide, and lack the need of any skill. The power sliding was simplified which makes those other factors even worse. This was by far the easiest Ridge Racer game to play through and the quickest with how brain dead and bad the game play was.
NeGcon is superior.
NeGcon is superior.
I agree that the car unlock system is trash and if I actually cared to try and unlock them all it would be extremely tedious, but making it easier to drift was definitely a plus for me. I don't play RR for super challenging white-knuckle racing, for me the least fun parts of the later entries are the end-game races where the CPU cars are so difficult that you have to either play perfectly or have them constantly rear end you the entire race. R4 is certainly challenging enough for the average player anyway, I definitely wasn't breezing through every race without even trying.
Certainly Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer Revolution and Rage Racer's drift system was difficult but they went far too much the other way in making it easy. It was over compensation to the point where it really didn't take any skill at all. It's by far the easiest game in the series and the only game in the series that I played through from beginning to end without losing a race once and always getting in first place.
I loved R4 back in the day. I still have the soundtrack on my computer. It was the only Ridge Racer game I got into for whatever reason.
edit: Can't speak to how "authentic" it is to the rest of the Ridge Racer games / difficulty. For someone wanting a tougher racing game, maybe it was a bummer. But for a kid like me who was only casually into racing games, I found the enjoyment of the world and the gameplay to be satisfying, even if the game was never super challenging.
edit: Can't speak to how "authentic" it is to the rest of the Ridge Racer games / difficulty. For someone wanting a tougher racing game, maybe it was a bummer. But for a kid like me who was only casually into racing games, I found the enjoyment of the world and the gameplay to be satisfying, even if the game was never super challenging.
Coincidentally...that is *exactly* why I play and enjoy the entire Ridge Racer series.
This is why I suggest that, if R4 is remade, that harder difficulty options be added. This would allow series vets to enjoy the game, as well as those that enjoyed the level of difficulty the game previously had.
Possibly, there could also be two sets of drift physics. The default one would be the simplified model used in R4, but experts could set it to something more similar to what was used in all other Ridge games.
The NeGcon is possibly the greatest controller ever made for driving games, outside of an actual steering wheel setup. I was really sad that I could no longer use it with Ridge Racer 6, but...there's no way to connect that to an Xbox 360, I guess!
Still my favorite racing game of all time. I must have put hundreds of hours into it. Come on Namco, give us a remake.
One of my favorite games! I love it. It's also one of the best looking games on PS1 for sure! And that f****** soundtrack... Always gives me instant nostalgia and warps me straight back to 1998
For years I had that strange habit of playing through the whole game at least once a year on new year's eve and try to align the ingame fireworks of the last track with the exact time of midnight (new year's) and the starting of the actual fireworks outside. I knew approximately how long the last laps would take me, so I waited to start the lap that amount of time before midnight. It's was actually pretty fun and intense, because I only played it once a year on exactly that day and didn't want to lose the last race and fuck up the alignment!
For years I had that strange habit of playing through the whole game at least once a year on new year's eve and try to align the ingame fireworks of the last track with the exact time of midnight (new year's) and the starting of the actual fireworks outside. I knew approximately how long the last laps would take me, so I waited to start the lap that amount of time before midnight. It's was actually pretty fun and intense, because I only played it once a year on exactly that day and didn't want to lose the last race and fuck up the alignment!
That's what's up. I still to this day bump this song when I drive. The R4 soundtrack was something truly special.
Didn't Bandai Namco had a poll not too long ago asking what everyone's favorite game for a potential remake was, and Ridge Racer Type 4 came out on top?
YEAH It's a new record!
Okay, it's the final lap, keep your cool!
Loved the announcer for this game.
Okay, it's the final lap, keep your cool!
Loved the announcer for this game.
RR4 was Namco at their peak. Awesome style, and graphics that pushed the PS1. Tekken 3 was another game like that and Ace Combat 3, the JP ver, had an awesome presentation as well.
Its just that the way they padded unlocks didn't feel right, deliberately getting second place and all.
Its just that the way they padded unlocks didn't feel right, deliberately getting second place and all.
Not exactly official, but:
This is running at 1080p with an emulator plugin that removes (or in some cases at least reduces) the warping textures and lack of polygon precision that the PS1 suffered from (the 60fps is just some frame interpolation the user added). Running the game like this you could legitimately believe that it was an early PS1 or Dreamcast game.
I like Ridge Racer, Rage Racer, and R4, so I don't have the right claim I'm fan of the series now? Some of you guys need to swallow some of that fucking pride and just admit that some folks like R4 and you don't and that's okay.
I don't need to flash the "Right to be fan" card to enjoy the games of this series because some of us also happen to like R4. That's some GameFAQs level embarrassing shit.
I don't need to flash the "Right to be fan" card to enjoy the games of this series because some of us also happen to like R4. That's some GameFAQs level embarrassing shit.
Jogcon was trash.
Negcon however, it was a beast. I am still using Namco's arcade stick to this day with Brook, but the Negcon I've sold off long ago sadly.
Negcon however, it was a beast. I am still using Namco's arcade stick to this day with Brook, but the Negcon I've sold off long ago sadly.
The car unlock system was weird though. I did like the tracks and music. The music and the aesthetic theme of the menus where probably the things I remember the most of this game and of course that announcer.
It was nice playing as struggling dead last team which expectations were extremely low only to win the championship with the upset.
It was nice playing as struggling dead last team which expectations were extremely low only to win the championship with the upset.
I love everything about this game apart from the actual gameplay. Would love a remaster but with a different handling model.
Am not even sure what my favourite version of Ridge Racer handling is, I loved the original with how you could gain speed off a drift if you caught it well enough. The PSP games were also great.
Rage Racer might even be in with a shout, loved the track design there.
(Wow, new keyboard = all the typos!)
Am not even sure what my favourite version of Ridge Racer handling is, I loved the original with how you could gain speed off a drift if you caught it well enough. The PSP games were also great.
Rage Racer might even be in with a shout, loved the track design there.
(Wow, new keyboard = all the typos!)
I absolutely love RRT4's audio-visual identity.
It's an incredible design package, from menus to overall aesthetics to the amazing soundtrack.
Ultimately I probably had more fun with the 60fps classic RR included, but I can't blame RRT4 for trying to change.
Wtf
It's an incredible design package, from menus to overall aesthetics to the amazing soundtrack.
Ultimately I probably had more fun with the 60fps classic RR included, but I can't blame RRT4 for trying to change.
Wtf
I play through it every year multiple times, fantastic game to play and finish in one sitting listening to that great soundtrack. How come you were able to use that car in the last race, by just about qualifying each time?
Edit: I also make all my GT sport cars look like R4 cars...
Edit: I also make all my GT sport cars look like R4 cars...
What "real ones?"
The entire Ridge Racer series has used fictional cars since its inception. Rage Racer was the first title to introduce fictional manufacturers, and they've been used since. These are part of the series' identity. Why should they spend money on something they clearly don't need?
yeah it makes sense cause it's all part of a fictional world but i've always find it weird, especially considering how silly these names actually are.
It's like they wanted to put italian names but know nothing about the language so literally throwing random italian words (which is something Japan likes to do for other things like football clubs: "Kawasaki Frontale" or "Shonan Bellmare")
Assoluto Regalo or Assoluto Vulcano means nothing. lol
I get that car manufacturers also do this sometimes, but usually these names sound cool.
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