Home of four Ridge Racer titles, the first PlayStation offered a unique arcade racing series. Here's a look back at the them all, with a special focus on Rage Racer and Ridge Racer Type 4.
With or without you
There wouldn't have been a PlayStation without Namco and there wouldn't have been a home invasion by Namco without the PlayStation. Sony's decision to team up with Namco for their first console launch was a brilliant one; it would secure them popular arcade titles and go straight up against the Sega Saturn. Namco and Sega competed in the arcades for modern 3D titles of their time; Daytona USA vs. Ridge Racer, Virtua Fighter vs. Tekken and Virtua Cop vs. Time Crisis to name some of the major titles.
As obscure as the whole "arcade" phenomena may seem to the young people of today, they actually meant something back in 1994. They meant a huge deal in fact. Bringing arcade titles to home consoles was important, and bringing the new 3D games over was revolutionary. Sega easily made their Saturn launch picks from the long line-up of in-house titles. Sony, on the other hand, had to team up with a third-party developer and so the friendship with Namco began.
As obscure as the whole "arcade" phenomena may seem to the young people of today, they actually meant something back in 1994. They meant a huge deal in fact. Bringing arcade titles to home consoles was important, and bringing the new 3D games over was revolutionary. Sega easily made their Saturn launch picks from the long line-up of in-house titles. Sony, on the other hand, had to team up with a third-party developer and so the friendship with Namco began.
Anybody interested in gaming history knows the story of 1994 too well; Sony launched it's PlayStation a $100 cheaper than Sega did with it's Saturn. The Saturn hardware was complex and clumsy to develop for and so Sega messed up their console versions of their star titles, Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, with bad framerate and graphics. Sony with their new PlayStation, more technically aimed at 3D and built with Namco arcade hardware in mind, succeeded in bringing great ports of Ridge Racer and Tekken for launch.
One could argue that Namco simply was a copy-cat of many of Sega's most famous arcade titles, and indeed it was partially true. However, Namco prepared themselves smarter for the home releases and managed the transition from arcade to consoles better than Sega. Ironically, in hindsight, considering Sega innovated and dominated the 3D graphics race for years before and after.
This arcade port success gave Sony the lead, and Sega had lost that moment in time to win the battle and gain the consumers trust. Though Sega later ported Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2 in excellent fashion from the arcade, the sales race was lost. Sega had won the battle in the arcades, with Daytona USA far outselling Ridge Racer, but at home Ridge Racer was the king.
This arcade port success gave Sony the lead, and Sega had lost that moment in time to win the battle and gain the consumers trust. Though Sega later ported Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter 2 in excellent fashion from the arcade, the sales race was lost. Sega had won the battle in the arcades, with Daytona USA far outselling Ridge Racer, but at home Ridge Racer was the king.
Sony and Namco had put the 3D arcade smash hits in your home. An early warning of the arcade scene's death, but that's a story for another time.
In this "Looking back" post, I'll focus on my two favourite Ridge Racer titles, namely Rage Racer and Ridge Racer Type 4. The third and fourth release of the series on the PS1. First though, lets take a look at the series up until those two fantastic entries.
It began with racing on ridges
The franchise has always been centred around street racing in the fictional "Ridge City", focusing on drifting for cornering. It's a pure arcade racing experience with little focus on realism. Taking corners is all about letting the gas go and then pressing it again at the right moment, making the car loosen grip and drift through a corner. Advanced players progress and learn how to slightly hit the brake to loosen grip in a far more controlled fashion. The cars vary in there amount of grip, some require a lot of drifting, while others turn sharper and don't loose grip as easily.
Learning to drift is key to all Ridge Racer titles and learning every corner on each racetrack by heart. When to start a drift, when to hit that sweet spot for the apex in a corner and when to straighten up and speed forward on the following straight. It's a ballet in a auto-mobile environment, risk versus reward; the faster and tighter you pass through a corner the better, but hitting walls results in a brutal punishment by halting your speed.
You could argue and say simulator racing games are far more technical and advanced, but then you've missed the point of quality arcade racers like Ridge Racer or Daytona USA. They might not be realistic, but they're equally as challenging and difficult to master as simulators.
The arcade drifting mechanics is something we see in modern releases like the Burnout and the Need For Speed series. With a key difference; they're far more forgiving in their drifting mechanics and when you screw up. They miss that crucial high risk high reward temptation, which is key to the fun of mastering a classic arcade racer.
Learning to drift is key to all Ridge Racer titles and learning every corner on each racetrack by heart. When to start a drift, when to hit that sweet spot for the apex in a corner and when to straighten up and speed forward on the following straight. It's a ballet in a auto-mobile environment, risk versus reward; the faster and tighter you pass through a corner the better, but hitting walls results in a brutal punishment by halting your speed.
You could argue and say simulator racing games are far more technical and advanced, but then you've missed the point of quality arcade racers like Ridge Racer or Daytona USA. They might not be realistic, but they're equally as challenging and difficult to master as simulators.
The arcade drifting mechanics is something we see in modern releases like the Burnout and the Need For Speed series. With a key difference; they're far more forgiving in their drifting mechanics and when you screw up. They miss that crucial high risk high reward temptation, which is key to the fun of mastering a classic arcade racer.
What's worse is that after Ridge Racer V, the series turned towards a set path through a corner once a drift was initiated, and the corners became too easy of a task to successfully pull off. You'd always get through the corner, regardless of how you entered it. The old RR titles, however, don't have this forgiving aid as modern arcade racers do, thus their learning curve is steeper and each corner begs for new approaches to master. There are no boosts or other fancy stuff here, just skill.
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The beginning of a franchise
Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer 2 and Ridge Racer Revolution are the first three entries in the franchise and are difficult to set apart at first glance. They're released in a short time span of 1993-95, upgrading on the original formula only slightly for each release.
The first game featured a laughable, but iconic, total number of one and a half race track! Requiring you to race at higher difficulty levels and with various cars to progress. RR2, an arcade upgrade of RR1, added a rear view mirror and an extra track. It is often referred to as the best version of RR1 and a more direct competitor to Daytona USA.
As seen above, a visit I had to Tokyo gave me understanding of where the urban environments for Ridge Racer were taken from. It's almost like a part of the track itself; arriving in this huge city on the elevated highways that wind themselves in between skyscrapers making their way down to ground level.
The common denominator for these three first titles are; sunny racetracks with an urban, Tokyo-looking start area, beaches, palms and a seaside town. Complete with a cheesy and cheerful Japanese techno soundtrack, a stupid, over-the-top race commentator and, of course, a bikini babe starting the race. All shown in vibrant, popping colours iconic for these early 3D arcade titles.
RR Revolution introduced the rear view mirror from RR2 for PS1 owners and three, brand new, racetracks with changing daylight. RRR was what the home version of RR1 should've been; more racetracks and options for players at home with more time on their hands than in a busy arcade.
The first game featured a laughable, but iconic, total number of one and a half race track! Requiring you to race at higher difficulty levels and with various cars to progress. RR2, an arcade upgrade of RR1, added a rear view mirror and an extra track. It is often referred to as the best version of RR1 and a more direct competitor to Daytona USA.
As seen above, a visit I had to Tokyo gave me understanding of where the urban environments for Ridge Racer were taken from. It's almost like a part of the track itself; arriving in this huge city on the elevated highways that wind themselves in between skyscrapers making their way down to ground level.
The common denominator for these three first titles are; sunny racetracks with an urban, Tokyo-looking start area, beaches, palms and a seaside town. Complete with a cheesy and cheerful Japanese techno soundtrack, a stupid, over-the-top race commentator and, of course, a bikini babe starting the race. All shown in vibrant, popping colours iconic for these early 3D arcade titles.
RR Revolution introduced the rear view mirror from RR2 for PS1 owners and three, brand new, racetracks with changing daylight. RRR was what the home version of RR1 should've been; more racetracks and options for players at home with more time on their hands than in a busy arcade.
RRR dared to focus even further on the hardcore RR fans, and gave them the same formula, albeit with trickier racetracks. As such, the title alienated newcomers somewhat.
Looking back, RRR was a solid sequel for fans and is kind of overlooked, often referred to like an add-on. Scraping beneath the top layer, however, and you realise it's a chunkier and better package than the first game offered, with a lot more replay value.
Looking back, RRR was a solid sequel for fans and is kind of overlooked, often referred to like an add-on. Scraping beneath the top layer, however, and you realise it's a chunkier and better package than the first game offered, with a lot more replay value.
More cars, three racetracks and slightly cleaner graphics, RRR compliments the first game perfectly and should be played if you were on the fence about it back in the day. It's much more of an evolution than revolution, but I guess the latter sounded better in a title!
Rave Racer was the next entry and an arcade exclusive. It featured wider racetracks with various routes to choose while racing. What's a key note here, is the visual change in art direction. A darker and moodier visual style with a more realistic tone, while retaining some of the light-hearted and colourful vibe of the previous titles.
It was the first RR title to feature an intro sequence and it featured, what became the franchises most famous mascot, the female character Reiko Nagase as a racing host.
Rave Racer sadly never received a home release, though at one point did have a cancelled PC port. It ran on superior arcade hardware compared to RR 1&2 and would've been difficult for the PS1 to match graphically.
As such, it marks the point where RR splits from it's arcade heritage into home console focused versions, ending the RR arcade focus for many years. Reflecting, in hindsight, how the market was going to gradually shift away from arcades to peoples homes.
Then the road rage began
Rage Racer continued the darker tone that Rave Racer had introduced, but dialled it up significantly. Gone are the colourful racetracks, tropical vibe, playful techno music and energetic announcer and, in replacement, was a realistic and gritty look, with a pumping and rougher accompanying soundtrack.
At first glance, the square looking car models and grainy textures look almost rough, but beneath lies a memorable and original racer that visually grows on you. Rage marked the beginning of the franchise taking a distance from it's arcade heritage and taking a form of it's own identity built solely for a home version in mind, complete with a proper single player campaign.
What I love about Rage is that it's one of the few racers with an actual atmosphere and a mood to it. The campaign is introduced by an almost RPG-like intro, with scrolling text and a dark mood to it's context, explaining the back story with a sepia coloured race rolling in the background. It's probably the only racer ever giving a vibe of eerie loneliness and dark emotion. This feeling is further enhanced by detailed, complex and long racetracks, all set in cloudy, dark and moody lighting.
From the stone cobbled streets of a old European styled town on your first right hand turn, after the huge and intimidating Triumph Arc look-alike at the start line straight. All the way to the steep and winding curves of a coastal mountain route. Each and every racetrack has some of the best designed and distinct looking layouts I've seen in any racer, before and since.
You can tell that the developers put a hell of a lot of work into the three main racetracks. There's a lakeside, a woodland, a lighthouse and a San Francisco styled hill with a tram, coming to mind as memorable places I've raced past numerous times. Not forgetting the bendy and intimidating yellow tinted tunnels. The fourth, and last track, is a simple oval. However, thanks to the dark look of visuals, the changing daylight and the sheer speed of cars, this oval becomes an intimidating and almost scary experience to race.
"What I love about Rage Racer is that it's one of the few racers with an actual atmosphere and a mood to it."
You can tell that the developers put a hell of a lot of work into the three main racetracks. There's a lakeside, a woodland, a lighthouse and a San Francisco styled hill with a tram, coming to mind as memorable places I've raced past numerous times. Not forgetting the bendy and intimidating yellow tinted tunnels. The fourth, and last track, is a simple oval. However, thanks to the dark look of visuals, the changing daylight and the sheer speed of cars, this oval becomes an intimidating and almost scary experience to race.
I love how the three main racetracks all share the same start area, in typical RR fashion, yet branch out at the first tunnel after the huge waterfall into separate and unique layouts. Each requiring various skills and cars that suit them.
Even better, is the changing daylight, first seen in RRR, where a daytime race can end at night and vice versa. Orange tinted sunsets and starry night skies all give a new look to the same locations. Sure. it's not dynamic and obviously scripted, but it helps give variation.
For the first time in the series, and a nod towards realism, Rage Racer introduces car upgrades. These are divided in three upgrades for each car. In addition to improving speed, handling and acceleration, every upgrade neatly changes model of the car into something meaner and faster looking.
Each upgrade gets you excited about how the car will look and behave. Rage even allows you to alter the grip of tires resulting in a deeper layer of tactics to winning. The upgrade system was sadly was removed in R4, a huge disappointment and loss in my opinion.
Car choices in Rage are more crucial than before; one racetrack requires a car with fast acceleration as it had steep hills, while another racetrack with tight corners requires a manoeuvrable car with superior grip. These choices are cleverly reflected in every race, as the best opponent for each of them would be driving the car best suited for that particular racetrack. Giving a subtle hint at what car to buy if you're having trouble winning!
Car choices in Rage are more crucial than before; one racetrack requires a car with fast acceleration as it had steep hills, while another racetrack with tight corners requires a manoeuvrable car with superior grip. These choices are cleverly reflected in every race, as the best opponent for each of them would be driving the car best suited for that particular racetrack. Giving a subtle hint at what car to buy if you're having trouble winning!
Each cup in the main championship mode toys around aggressive titles, further heightening the gritty and dangerous feel of the racing. From Fury GP to Agitation GP and so on. Even the female announcer tries to get your temper up by spotting out special rival opponents, shouting out quotes like; "Teach this sucker a lesson!" or "There he is! Take him!".
Although there's a fairly small amount of cars and a tiny selection of racetracks, thus making the cups repetitive, I still regard this game fondly as a true classic for the PS1 and one of it's best racers.
Although there's a fairly small amount of cars and a tiny selection of racetracks, thus making the cups repetitive, I still regard this game fondly as a true classic for the PS1 and one of it's best racers.
It's one of the very few racing games that gives me a feeling of atmosphere and from time to time I still replay it to relive that tension of danger that it cleverly builds.
The fourth type
From Rage Racer in 1997 it took two years for R4 to emerge in 1999. It might not sound like much nowadays, but back then it was a long hiatus and landscape of games changed rapidly. In between Rage and R4, a significant release had hit the PS1; Gran Turismo. The effect of this ground breaking racer was monumental.
It sent every developer back to the drawing board with an idea of focusing on realistic racers with real life cars. No longer was it acceptable to release a racer with a few racetracks and a couple of cars in it, the market wanted cars in the hundreds and the realistic visuals GT had introduced, especially the shiny and detailed car models. Racers had to look and play real.
For the third time we see a clear shift towards something new in the racing genre, within the same console generation. First we had the importance of porting cutting edge arcade 3D titles. Then we saw the slow change into more home console focused main modes, no longer relying on the quick and short arcade experiences.
For the third time we see a clear shift towards something new in the racing genre, within the same console generation. First we had the importance of porting cutting edge arcade 3D titles. Then we saw the slow change into more home console focused main modes, no longer relying on the quick and short arcade experiences.
Lastly, we see the Gran Turismo change towards large scale campaigns, realism and tons of cars, tailored for hours of lifespan, built entirely for the home market. Removed from the boundaries of arcade rules and limitations.
The RR franchise followed this last trend with R4 and shifted it's development focus, yet at the same time almost went backwards in form of a more pure and back to basics arcade handling model in contrast to Rage.
The series changed it's style, focus and approach once again, becoming greatly inspired by Gran Turismo. R4 offered hundreds of cars, eight racetracks, impressive replays with shiny bodywork on the cars and arguably the best graphics the PS1 ever delivered. The lighting and shadows in R4 were simply stunning and unrivalled even compared to the two GT games on the system.
While R4 retained the more realistic looking approach that Rage started, it re-introduced more colours again. Only this time with a less vibrant, but more subtle and realistic palette, further heightened by excellent shadow effects.
Each and every track has a distinct and different skyline colour, setting them apart. Two and two racetracks share their starting area, except two unique stand alone racetracks. Although the realtime daylight changes from Rage were gone, the excellent lighting and shadows made up for it by miles. I'll say it again; R4 is one of the best looking PS1 games ever made.
What I've always been impressed by in the RR series on PS1, considering the technical limitations of the system, are the fantastic draw distances. In most PS1 racers the race track is drawn right in front of you, but not so in the RR games. Especially in Rage and R4 you see the road winding for miles into the distance. Sometimes you even see parts of the track that are much further on, in a section crossing over on a bridge or underneath in a tunnel. Details like these give the series a en excellent quality in track design, almost unrivalled since.
"The series changed it's style, focus and approach once again, becoming greatly inspired by Gran Turismo."
Each and every track has a distinct and different skyline colour, setting them apart. Two and two racetracks share their starting area, except two unique stand alone racetracks. Although the realtime daylight changes from Rage were gone, the excellent lighting and shadows made up for it by miles. I'll say it again; R4 is one of the best looking PS1 games ever made.
What I've always been impressed by in the RR series on PS1, considering the technical limitations of the system, are the fantastic draw distances. In most PS1 racers the race track is drawn right in front of you, but not so in the RR games. Especially in Rage and R4 you see the road winding for miles into the distance. Sometimes you even see parts of the track that are much further on, in a section crossing over on a bridge or underneath in a tunnel. Details like these give the series a en excellent quality in track design, almost unrivalled since.
R4 featured a story in it's championship mode, and invented it's own little Racing Roots '99 league. You choose a team to race for and winning races gives the team more money to get better cars. As mentioned earlier, the tuning was sadly removed, in favour for this team setup and predetermined cars at your disposal. There is no car shop in R4, and sadly missed.
Racing through one season of the league is a cool experience, nevertheless; you gradually start to feel that you could win the championship towards the end. The magical last race comes to mind, set on New Years Eve, exploding with fireworks into the year 2000 combined with uplifting music. Each race team has a unique story in it's season, and it changes based on your wins and losses.
A fantastic experience first time around for each team, but spoiled by having to repeat seasons over to obtain all the cars. They should've focused on longer seasons with upgrades and cars to buy, avoiding the repetitive car collecting nature it ends up as. We're left with a simpler, yet a newcomer friendly approach both in campaign design and gameplay.
A fantastic experience first time around for each team, but spoiled by having to repeat seasons over to obtain all the cars. They should've focused on longer seasons with upgrades and cars to buy, avoiding the repetitive car collecting nature it ends up as. We're left with a simpler, yet a newcomer friendly approach both in campaign design and gameplay.
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| R4's race host girl, the lovely Reiko Nagase |
Although R4 looked more realistic, not only graphically, but in the movement of the vehicles too, there is no doubt that this is classic RR in the handling and not a simulator approach. Two car manufactures are grip cars; let off the gas to get more grip and turn harder. The other two manufactures are drift cars; let off the gas to drift and slide though the corner.
The problem here is in the back to basics simplicity of the handling versus Rage Racer's unforgiving approach, while at the same time not having any racetracks that reflect the challenge of the previous titles in the franchise. An easy and friendly entry to the series for new players, but too easy for veterans.
I love the design and aesthetics of R4. From the fantastic CGI work of the intro to the slick menus. The design and artwork is clean, minimalist and stylish. The music sounds less cheesy and more mature. The RR games have since kept this modern design and it has suited the franchise well.
Ridge Racer and beyond
There you have it, my two favourite games in the Ridge Racer series; the aggressive and dark Rage Racer and the stylish and clean Ridge Racer Type 4. Both are great in their own unique way, content wise, as well as aesthetically. It's strange to think they're two games sequentially in a series!
Are there any of the later RR games I need mention? Well, the last in the 32/64-bit fifth gen is worth a mention, review here, Ridge Racer 64. A strange but solid side-step, focusing on replicating the first RR and RRR, while at the same time taking notes from R4. On the surface it's a little odd release, but a rewarding, challenging and large package to dive into for RR fans!
After the PS1 days I must admit not following the series too closely, my interest shifted to simulators and Gran Turismo sequels. However, Ridge Racer V still demands my attention on the PlayStation 2, I need to sit down and play it properly. It's a massively overlooked launch title that is up there with Rage and R4 in quality. With some of the best depth in drifting mechanics of the series, excellent Ridge City track vibes and sleek presentation.
Edit: Later, I revisited RRV and reviewed it! Check it out here.
From a Ridge Racer perspective, the PlayStation Portable launch felt like a rendezvous with the PS1 launch, by having Ridge Racer and a wipEout as launch titles. I enjoyed RR on the PSP a lot, focusing on all the PS1 era RR, although it only featured a selection of racetracks.
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| On my to-do list, I missed out on RRV in the transition from PS1 to PS2 |
The better release being the second one. It has every single track from RR, RRR, Rave, Rage and R4 in it's own updated graphics style. An incredible package when it comes to content but these PSP titles mark the shift to the simple, predetermined, drift path through corners and the pointless boost focus.
Gone is the precision of learning each corner and attacking the apex correctly to drift out in way that lets you speed away on the straight after. An hour into modern RR titles, post RRV, and you've mastered it mechanically and thus each race feels the same. It's sad to see this change into simplicity, making newcomers feel welcome but short lasting appeal of repetitive and shallow gameplay.
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| Both my PSP Ridge Racer games, RR2 has all the racetracks from the PS1 era. |
The series expanded further with it's simple drift and boost mechanics into Ridge Racer 6, Ridge Racer 7 and Ridge Racer on the PS Vita, even releasing titles on mobiles too. Then, ending in the misunderstood, spin-off, Ridge Racer Unbounded and even more mobile releases. A sad ending to a fantastic series.
I feel the series needs to get back the original depth of arcade drifting, accompanied by a story driven singleplayer and the "quality over quantity" racetrack designs. Located in and around the fictional Ridge City, it should be about learning the mechanics and racetracks, not just speeding with boosts.
At this point in time I'd be happy with just ports of all the PS1/PS2 and arcade RRs, just give us something Namco!
At this point in time I'd be happy with just ports of all the PS1/PS2 and arcade RRs, just give us something Namco!