Gamers Month ver. 2 - It's Ridge Racer! RIIIIIIDGE RACER (Type 4)

Quick. Name your favorite racing game. Thought of it? Good. Is it R4? If so, you are awesome. If not, SHAME ON YOU.



Publisher: Namco
Developer: Namco
Platforms: Playstation
Release Date: 1998 (Japan) 1999 (US/EU)

YouTube Video

The first of the Ridge Racer titles to be released exclusively for consoles, dropping the series' arcade minded origins, R4 would build upon its predecessor Race Racer and go on to set a defining trend for the series as a whole. R4 introduced the concept of two different handling systems, the series' infamous Drift mechanic would be joined by a tighter Grip driving style tuned more towards more realistic handling.




In addition, the games central Grand Prix was playable across four different racing teams: The down-on-their-luck American team (Dig) lead by Robert Chrisman, the newcomer Japanese team (Pac Racing) lead by Shinji Yazaki, the champion Italian team (Solvalou) lead by Enki Gilbert, and the under-new-management French team (Mappy) lead by Sophie Chevalier. The team names, obviously, are all referrences to past Namco titles.

Once you chose a team (all of whom corresponded to a different difficulty setting, Easy, Normal, Hard and Expert) you were to pick from four manufacturers. There was the French/Grip tuned Age Solo, American/Drift degisned Lizard, Italian/Drift designed Assoluto, and finally the Japanese/Grip designed Terrazi vehicles.

The Real Racing Roots '99 tour, set in the same year as the games stateside release, would be split across three heats and eight races concluding with the 'Shooting Hoops' high speed race on New Years eve. With the completion of each heat the player is given an upgraded vehicle depending on their performance with a possible combination of 320 vehicles depending on your choice of team/manufacturer, and the secret Pac Man car for obtaining all of them.



Also new to the series was a changing of the minds behind the series' music. The old Namco Sound Team members who had worked on the previous three titles, Shinji Hosoe (SampingMastersMEGA), Ayako Saso (SampingMastersAYA), Nobuyoshi Sano (sanodg) and Takayuki Aihara (J99), would be swapped out for a new team underneath Hiroshi Okubo.

This new sound team would go on to produce what remains the finest soundtrack in the series' history with offerings such as 'The Ride' by Kouta 'FUCKIN' Takahashi, the Shooting Hoops track 'Movin' in Circles' by Hiroshi Okubo, the extremely soothing 'Lucid Rhythms' from Tetsukazu Nakanishi, and the entrancing 'Silhouette Dance' by Asuka Sakai.

[The two Namco teams, both new and old, would later come together to create the excellent soundtracks to Ridger Racers (PSP), Ridge Racer 6 (360) and Ridge Racer 7 (PS3).]

Overall, R4 makes for a very quick and easy experience, essentially defining all that is fun about arcade-style racers. The replay value stretches on until just about forever, with the game only requiring an hour or two per playthrough. The in-game stories behind the team owners is simple and well-thought out enough to make you smile, but the games real shining point comes from the many ways it can be played through, alongside the soundtrack that never stops giving.




There have been many racing games over the years but none have been as complete from top to bottom as R4 has. It is still to this day, my favorite game. Yeah I went there. Eat your heart out Gran Turismo (and the Cardigans).

Jam it back in, in the dark.