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Let's Talk About Ridge Racer.
- Thread starter Hideo Kojima Jr
- Start date
The PSP version was my go to game for it I loved it so much. I traded a copy of darkstalkers to my cousin for it. I ended up going to a shop to pick up the big box PSX copy, still have it to this day.
We definitely need a new RR. Miss that series. Loved ridge racer 5 at the launch of PS2. Still play it to this day from time to time.
R4 was my shit on PS1. Those light trails had me mesmerized, and it had a ton of shit to do in it.. plus the whole art style in the menus was so badass.
I've been checking out old-ass arcade sound chips and the early Ridge Racer OSTs are perfect showcases for how cool the C352 sounded. Some wacky tracks on those soundtracks, like this one randomly sampling Kraftwerk's Boing Boom Tschak (nobody tell Ralf HĂĽtter!) but they're fun soundtracks. The idea of having those games back is fun, but I'm not sure I'd trust them to make a good one nowadays.
Everywhere you look he's right oooon tiiiime~
20th anniversary next year. Let's have an HD remaster Namco. I'll buy five if Reiko's in it.
20th anniversary next year. Let's have an HD remaster Namco. I'll buy five if Reiko's in it.
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After making this thread I spent the whole damn evening playing the first three games on PS1 and I'm so glad I did, I had a great time. Also angel I think I finally got the reverse drifting around some of the S curves! Turns out it's way easier in the first game, but now I think I can apply it to Revolution too!
Yep. I played the heck out of that game. It was pretty dang challenging too, especially since the fastest cars were manual which forced the player to ditch automatic for shifting gears.
People trashing RR7? smh
It's RR6 with a better campaign, proper online, way better customization, real 1080p, and A++ lighting. RR6 is drab and dull by comparison. Arguing that RR7 is remixing RR6 is also a bit flawed since RR6 is taking the same content from RR PSP. PSP1, 2, RR6, RR7 and RRVita are all basically cut from the same cloth in different ways. They all also share the same controls, though I'll defend DS3 over the 360 stick for this game. I think the art content overstayed its welcome - by Vita you could tell they were just reissuing old stuff - but it was fun while it lasted.
Don't get me wrong, I think a PS4 era remake of Rage Racer would be incredible. But I do agree the franchise is dead until Namco has the guts to either build something fresh and non-MTX...or remake one of Rage/R4.
RRV has a special place in my heart because of Boom Boom Satellites (RIP, sigh...) and the ridiculous Pac-Man endurance race. but it's definitely the rough cloth inbetween RR4's sim controls and RR7's mainstream.
It's RR6 with a better campaign, proper online, way better customization, real 1080p, and A++ lighting. RR6 is drab and dull by comparison. Arguing that RR7 is remixing RR6 is also a bit flawed since RR6 is taking the same content from RR PSP. PSP1, 2, RR6, RR7 and RRVita are all basically cut from the same cloth in different ways. They all also share the same controls, though I'll defend DS3 over the 360 stick for this game. I think the art content overstayed its welcome - by Vita you could tell they were just reissuing old stuff - but it was fun while it lasted.
Don't get me wrong, I think a PS4 era remake of Rage Racer would be incredible. But I do agree the franchise is dead until Namco has the guts to either build something fresh and non-MTX...or remake one of Rage/R4.
RRV has a special place in my heart because of Boom Boom Satellites (RIP, sigh...) and the ridiculous Pac-Man endurance race. but it's definitely the rough cloth inbetween RR4's sim controls and RR7's mainstream.
Only played PSP games (loved them) and RR7 demo (best IQ on PS3 for years, due to real 1920*1080 @60fps)
I have only played first one on first PlayStation and I have very fond memories. I didn't have any access to guides or cheats back then so you can only imagine my face when I managed to kill all enemies in Galaxian-minigame. I don't think there are any other ways to unlock those extra cars. Challenging the black car was pain, but it was worth to get it myself.
The one for PS Vita (called just Ridge Racer). Very close to that there also was Ridge Racer 3D on 3DS.
Whoof the vita game has savages reviews. What was wrong with it?
It had a one-digit number of tracks, a very low amount of cars and sold everything else via DLC, yet was still asking for at least half of full price. Gameplay itself was fine.
Ridge Racer.. ah where do I begin? such a fantastic racing series with a lot of good entries under its belt, thats for sure, and a lot of memories for me too.
My first one was Revolution (RR2) way back, wasnt very good at it admittedly but i just loved its vibrancy (and Revo's tracks remain amongst my favourites in the entire series, if not amongst all racing games), and I also later on, then gotten RR:Type 4. Immediately, the menu style immediately struck to me, the gameplay was still good fun yet more nuanced, and the soundtrack, most especially Pearl Blue Soul, that opening sax has become permamently ingrained in my mind I tell you!
Once the PS2 came around, Ridge Racer V was amongst one of my first titles for the system and I loved the lavishly animated menus in that one even more, the tracks were great fun too and it has a really cool atmosphere to it, and sure it didnt have as many cars or as strongly cohesive of a soundtrack but it still fitted well together. but it would've been the last RR game i got for a few years until I got RR7 a few years after its release,
It took me a while until i got RR7 on the PS3, and looking back, i quickly regretted that i didnt get it on the PS3's launch alongside Full Auto 2 and Motorstorm since RR7 is also a bloody fantastic game as well. It had lots of content, interesting boost mechanics, a easy to learn yet tricky to master handling system and a sense of speed that few racers have managed to rival, even nearly eleven years after its release.
Later on, at the 3DS' launch, my first and only game for the system for months was Ridge Racer 3D, and since this was my first handheld ridge racer (hadnt gotten a PSP and I wasnt able to rey the PSP ridge racers or ridge racer vita until a few years after) i was in for a treat with all the returning tracks and plentiful content, along with a good car selection and some pretty rocking new music tracks as well, especially those from Rio Hamamoto. Tip of the iceberg for me was being able to play my favourite Ridge Racer Revolution track once more after 11-12 years since I last played it, and the moment i realised what track it was, i just couldnt help but smile.
I did also get Ridge Racer Unbounded, and while its actually not too bad of a game honestly, I personally wouldnt class it as a RR series game as it is so different to the rest of the games, its track creator was neat though.
Here's hoping that there'll be (if ever) a new Ridge Racer game on the hroizon, be it a remake or a new entry, I just want to play on a racing game with a complete disregard to realism once more :P
My first one was Revolution (RR2) way back, wasnt very good at it admittedly but i just loved its vibrancy (and Revo's tracks remain amongst my favourites in the entire series, if not amongst all racing games), and I also later on, then gotten RR:Type 4. Immediately, the menu style immediately struck to me, the gameplay was still good fun yet more nuanced, and the soundtrack, most especially Pearl Blue Soul, that opening sax has become permamently ingrained in my mind I tell you!
Once the PS2 came around, Ridge Racer V was amongst one of my first titles for the system and I loved the lavishly animated menus in that one even more, the tracks were great fun too and it has a really cool atmosphere to it, and sure it didnt have as many cars or as strongly cohesive of a soundtrack but it still fitted well together. but it would've been the last RR game i got for a few years until I got RR7 a few years after its release,
It took me a while until i got RR7 on the PS3, and looking back, i quickly regretted that i didnt get it on the PS3's launch alongside Full Auto 2 and Motorstorm since RR7 is also a bloody fantastic game as well. It had lots of content, interesting boost mechanics, a easy to learn yet tricky to master handling system and a sense of speed that few racers have managed to rival, even nearly eleven years after its release.
Later on, at the 3DS' launch, my first and only game for the system for months was Ridge Racer 3D, and since this was my first handheld ridge racer (hadnt gotten a PSP and I wasnt able to rey the PSP ridge racers or ridge racer vita until a few years after) i was in for a treat with all the returning tracks and plentiful content, along with a good car selection and some pretty rocking new music tracks as well, especially those from Rio Hamamoto. Tip of the iceberg for me was being able to play my favourite Ridge Racer Revolution track once more after 11-12 years since I last played it, and the moment i realised what track it was, i just couldnt help but smile.
I did also get Ridge Racer Unbounded, and while its actually not too bad of a game honestly, I personally wouldnt class it as a RR series game as it is so different to the rest of the games, its track creator was neat though.
Here's hoping that there'll be (if ever) a new Ridge Racer game on the hroizon, be it a remake or a new entry, I just want to play on a racing game with a complete disregard to realism once more :P
But there is the well-known theorem (known in the literature as "Yoshi's Racing Game Excellence Theorem") that a racing game's quality is exponential in the lowest, average and maximum speed. Therefore, boosts are of course an improvement.
Heh. I've had an interesting history with this series. First Ridge Racer was one of my first games on PS1, loved it of course. After that, I played Revolution on a demo disk but never bought it and didn't buy Rage Racer either for some reason. Then I got Type 4, which was brilliant.
After that, I didn't pick up the series again until 7, which I enjoyed but didn't love.
Until I got my Vita. Initially I bought the Vita native game - which I reviewed here - and really enjoyed it. As a game, it's fun, but as a price proposition it's an effing rip off.
But what made my Vita great was that I could replay type 4 through PS1 classics and could check out the PSP game which I played for the first time last year and thought it was brilliant.
I wish the others were on PSN, but I still have my PS2 hooked up so I suppose I can get to them one way or another.
After that, I didn't pick up the series again until 7, which I enjoyed but didn't love.
Until I got my Vita. Initially I bought the Vita native game - which I reviewed here - and really enjoyed it. As a game, it's fun, but as a price proposition it's an effing rip off.
But what made my Vita great was that I could replay type 4 through PS1 classics and could check out the PSP game which I played for the first time last year and thought it was brilliant.
I wish the others were on PSN, but I still have my PS2 hooked up so I suppose I can get to them one way or another.
Not only was R4 the king of style, but it brought meaningful elevation changes into the fray.
On top of the fantastic music and presentation, NAMCO threw in a 60 FPS edition of the original RR on a second disc.
Love like that doesn't exist anymore.
On top of the fantastic music and presentation, NAMCO threw in a 60 FPS edition of the original RR on a second disc.
Love like that doesn't exist anymore.
Ah man, Boom Boom Satellites...the best thing about RRV for me.
Ridge Racer fell off for me soon after that. Nothing came close to the whole experience of Type4. That game was magical. I lost interest when it was all about nitro boosting, and the rubber band cars were really starting to show their tail.
I still dream of my Type8 racing RPG - Real Roots Racing never dies.
I would say Rage Racer brought the elevation changes first of all, really affected the engines pull up some of the huge hills in that game.
I think Type 4 is my favourite though.
I for one liked Unbounded very much, albeit it was nothing like a Ridge Racer game. It was basically a new FlatOut in a urban setting and with a track editor, and was one of the most bonkers arcade racers last-gen. Why they put Ridge Racer on the box besides the obvious brand recognition beats me, but it was fun.
If they come out with Type 8, what would you guys want from it? I like Ridhe Racer 7, but I care for it's focus on timing nitro charging. I'd want it to focus on a more nuanced cornering/drifting.
Ridge Racer is a weird series for me because they've made so many of them and yet I only love 4 and 5. Ridge Racers on PSP was also very good, but it was basically a greatest hits game focused on 4 and 5.
I would be so happy to see Namco remake 4 or 5. If they did a Kickstarter for something like that I'd be all in.
I would be so happy to see Namco remake 4 or 5. If they did a Kickstarter for something like that I'd be all in.
Needs to be about pure driving and drifting skills. Kill that nitrous stuff.
And also needs to go back to the RRV drifting mechanic, no more of this semi-auto-drifting. RR6/7/PSP drifting is just too smooth and easy to pull off. Needs to be harder, more dangerous and riskier.
Ridge Racer is my favorite racing game franchise but i lost hope for another real RR game. Feels like Namco don't care anymore, i need my Ridge Racer fix, so much that i'm playing the mobile version which is pretty bad control wise but gets the job done, sort of...
I had the first game around PS1 launch and enjoyed the hell out of it. At the time with not many other 3d gaming going on it was amazing to see and despite being relatively short and sweet put hours and hours into it.
For whatever reason I never played any of the others around their prime. R4 was the next one to catch my eye but I was already on the GT train by then. I did finally pick it up and put in plenty of time on the vita, but it couldn't recreate the experience of the first for me. First one hasn't really been re-released in any form either but thankfully if you have custom firmware a PSP/Vita do a good job with it and also does well on a Pi3.
For whatever reason I never played any of the others around their prime. R4 was the next one to catch my eye but I was already on the GT train by then. I did finally pick it up and put in plenty of time on the vita, but it couldn't recreate the experience of the first for me. First one hasn't really been re-released in any form either but thankfully if you have custom firmware a PSP/Vita do a good job with it and also does well on a Pi3.
Ridge Racer Type 4 was amazing. I liked 6 and 7 even though 7 was basically the same game as 6. But I want the 4 aesthetic and soundtrack style back.
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Yeah I'm really having trouble getting into the nitrous-era RR games, but I finally dug into Rage Racer's career mode last night and that game is a damn blast.
I like a lot of RR games and yes that includes RR6. However, RR Unbound is NOT a RR game. At least not to me.
RR4 had backwards progression in where you wanted to finish 2nd or 3rd for rewards. Its not that good. I've always liked vanilla and Revolution better. Rage also. Volcano Vehicle is the bomb.
I skipped V but I did manage to play it for some time. It had the same drifting as Rave Racer which was inbetween classic RR and 6/7 etc. It felt good. Game should've been cleaned up for PS3.
I skipped V but I did manage to play it for some time. It had the same drifting as Rave Racer which was inbetween classic RR and 6/7 etc. It felt good. Game should've been cleaned up for PS3.
Loved Ridge Racer from RR1 -> Ridge Racer Type 4 (It was called Type 4 right?)
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the opponent AI/cars were on rails, right? Like, they raced the same line every time? It's something I never knew for years, and then I thought I remember someone telling me that back like 15 years ago in a thread of Gran Turismo vs. Ridge Racer, that RR opponents were on rails, while Gran Turismo opponents had driving AI. I don't know enough about the series to know if it was true or not.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the opponent AI/cars were on rails, right? Like, they raced the same line every time? It's something I never knew for years, and then I thought I remember someone telling me that back like 15 years ago in a thread of Gran Turismo vs. Ridge Racer, that RR opponents were on rails, while Gran Turismo opponents had driving AI. I don't know enough about the series to know if it was true or not.
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I've been in love with Ridge Racer since the first time I played it on playstation at the end of the nineties. From a technical pov the game was already outdated back then and very short on content, but the gameplay made up for that. Easy to pick up and play but hard to master. Unlocking that black car felt like a real accomplishment. It must have been groundbraking for gamers in 93/94 coming from 16bit sprite racers to Ridge Racer and its arcade like gameplay. And that soundtrack, holy shit! The music still sounds great to me. Maybe a bit too trippy to listen to regularly but perfect for a short gaming session.
The original game definitely left the most memorable impression on me. From the other games I've played, RR64 was the weakest IMO. RR Type4 has an amazing presentation and the series' best soundtrack. Also, the story mode was a really cool idea that made it stand out at that time. However, the car collectathon did not click with me and the "grip" cars felt off so I didn't spent that much time with it, despite rebuying it some years ago on my Vita.
The series gave us one of the best portable racers ever however: Ridge Racer 2 on the psp. It's like a Best Of Ridge Racer with many tracks, cars, songs and gameplay modes, all combined with great visuals.
Just beat this game last weekend and I totally agree with you. It's a super fun racer that would have been better off with a different name because it shares so few things with the Ridge Racer brand (great car designs, decent electronic music and drifting is um... kind of important). If you approach it like a Burnout game, you'll be pleased with Unbounded.
The original game definitely left the most memorable impression on me. From the other games I've played, RR64 was the weakest IMO. RR Type4 has an amazing presentation and the series' best soundtrack. Also, the story mode was a really cool idea that made it stand out at that time. However, the car collectathon did not click with me and the "grip" cars felt off so I didn't spent that much time with it, despite rebuying it some years ago on my Vita.
The series gave us one of the best portable racers ever however: Ridge Racer 2 on the psp. It's like a Best Of Ridge Racer with many tracks, cars, songs and gameplay modes, all combined with great visuals.
Just beat this game last weekend and I totally agree with you. It's a super fun racer that would have been better off with a different name because it shares so few things with the Ridge Racer brand (great car designs, decent electronic music and drifting is um... kind of important). If you approach it like a Burnout game, you'll be pleased with Unbounded.
If it doesnt come from Namco internally, it's not Ridge.
I remember when the PS2 was out in Japan only, I had access to a debug system through someone who worked for (a now defunct) UK developer doing a game on it. He was mad that I played Ridge 5 instead of builds of their game (which was terrible). All the reviews at the time just said "its standard Ridge", which was about the time I realised reviewers pretty much didnt know what they were talking about.
I remember when the PS2 was out in Japan only, I had access to a debug system through someone who worked for (a now defunct) UK developer doing a game on it. He was mad that I played Ridge 5 instead of builds of their game (which was terrible). All the reviews at the time just said "its standard Ridge", which was about the time I realised reviewers pretty much didnt know what they were talking about.
It was amazing in 1995. I walked into this gaming store, and they had some Playstation reps promoting the upcoming PS1. 2 very pretty women in PS garb. They invited me to sit down in front of RR, either with pad or wheel I forgot. But I had a 16-bit at home and this was something else. I was sold.