Ridge Racer 64

"A great racer for the N64"

If there's one genre that N64 has too much of, it would have to be racing games. Seriously, the system is like a warehouse full of them. Problem is, the majority of these racers fall into the categories of being garbage or mediocre. Thankfully, this is not the case with Ridge Racer 64.

Namco's flagship racing series has been a winner for the PlayStation for a very long time and Nintendo thought it would be a wise decision to have a special version for their 64-bit console. While Namco had absolutely nothing to do with the development of RR64, they did supply Nintendo Software Technology (the developers of RR64) with the Ridge Racer code. The end result is a great game as Namco would be proud of NST.

In RR64 you'll progress through the Grand Prix mode in stages that consist of three (sometimes less) races. In order to unlock the next stage you must come in 1st place in each race. Thankfully you're given the option to tackle the races in any order you like. All the tracks from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution are here and four all new tracks have also been included for your racing pleasure.

The arcade-style racing that RR veterans have come to know and love has returned as drifting is the way to take tight turns as opposed to slowing down with the brakes. RR64 even allows players to emulate other RR games by letting you choose which style of drifts from the classic RR, RR Revolution or the new RR64 style. You can even set the collision detection to the RR64 type or RR Revolution type. Nifty features indeed. If all this sounds a little too complex for the newbies, fear not. You can practice all you want in the Time Attack mode which can be set for infinite laps around any of the available courses. This is a great way for the newcomers to master drifting.

RR64 has new method for unlocking cars that hasn't been in any other RR game; the Car Attack mode. Once you've completed the first stage you'll unlock this slick mode. In Car Attack mode you must race against a single CPU car and defeat it to earn the right to own that car.

RR64 has some of the most exotic car models ever to grace a racing game. You'll drive three wheelers, genuine race mobiles and if you can find it, you'll even unlock the very cool Caddy Car. The extremly fast 13th Racing Kid from the original RR is here as well as all the cars from RR Revolution, including the White Angel. Each car is graded on Speed, Acceleration, Handling, and Grip. If you're diligent enough, you'll unlock the car on the game's cover, the Ultra 64, which has perfect stats.

Visually, RR64 is an impressive game. You'll marvel at the bridges, waterfalls, and mountains that you pass as you're racing. The game manages to keep a rock solid framerate in the single player mode even with 11 CPU racers on the track. When you power-up the four player mode, however, the framerate tends to drop a bit and the visuals are reduced a tad. Thankfully though the game remains very playable in four player mode.

RR64 does feature some nice tunes like Cruise Control, Manual Overdrive, and Speed Nation, but the overall soundtrack can't hold a candle to the other RR games. However, what's here does work.

Ridge Racer 64 is a great racing game and it's probably one of the most underrated games on the N64. This is a real shame because its a cheap buy and proves that the N64 can do racing games right. Anyone who hasn't played a RR game should give RR64 a try. At $19.99 you may as well pick it up.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/01, Updated 05/29/01