Ridge Racer

"Nostalgia alone cannot save this sinking ship..."

Okay, first of all, I have to admit that I am not exactly a racing game fan. On the contrary, I am pretty awful at realistic racers like the critically acclaimed "Gran Turismo" series - the controls just aren`t my cup of tea. However, I certainly do appreciate fun racers or arcade racers, with the prime example of the latter being Namco`s long-running Ridge Racer franchise. Easy to pick up and lots of fun to play, it practically is the kind of racer for everyone, with "Ridge Racer Type 4" and the first PSP part still being the titles to bring the spirit of the series to perfection. But if you look back to the roots of the series, then you will truly realize that Ridge Racer has come a long way ever since it first hit the arcades during the mid-90s...

Why? Well, put simply, the game has not aged all that well. There are some classics out there that really are timeless and still as good as on the day of their initial release. Sadly, "Ridge Racer" is not one of those games for one simple reason: it was not the gameplay that wowed gamers back then. It was the revolutionary 3D graphics that left audiences in awe. Never before had the gaming world seen "real" 3D as smooth and fast as in this game, and it seemed lightyears ahead of mode-7 graphics on the SNES or the first feeble attempts on the Atari Jaguar or the 3DO (Aircars or Cybermorph, anyone?), making for the first big systemseller that helped Sony to win the console war with their then-new PlayStation.

So, yeah, the graphics were nice for their time, no doubts there, but even for late PSX standards, they appeared to be horribly outdated with some choppy pop-ups and ugly, pixilated objects. That`s not necessarily a problem with classic games, but as I mentioned before, it`s not because of the visuals that "Ridge Racer" does not stand the test of time all too well: the core gameplay is the one glaring fault that sinks this ship.

So take a deep breath now, for I will reveal the shocking truth now: there is only ONE course throughout the entire game. Yes, you heard me right. There is one course for you to enjoy the Ridge Racer feel, and that`s it. Sure, there are a handful of variations of this one course (like a backwards-version...wow!), but that doesn`t change anything about this kind of behavior by the developers reeking of cheap rip-off. Even some 16-Bit racers had far more variety than "Ridge Racer", and not even the fact that it was the very first PSX game can be an excuse.

That`s just too bad, really, because the arcade-like driving really is quite some fun, albeit not on the same scale as later installments of the series. You can already feel the focus on drift-heavy gameplay, which is definitely a good thing in view of the sheer quality of its terrific sequels - at least the groundworks of the series` eventual success can already be found in this game.

So while the graphics are a pain to look at nowadays and the gameplay seems plain ridiculous, we`re left with the sound and music, and frankly, they are nothing exceptional. You have the typical roaring of the engines of your car, and they sound okay thanks to the CD as a medium for the game, and the soundtrack conveys the spirit of Ridge Racer nicely, but it really isn`t anything to write home about.

In the end, I can recommend the game to video game collectors only. If you want a good arcade racer, then you are better off with one of the newer versions of the series. "Ridge Racer" just doesn`t hold up anymore, as sad as it might sound for such a classic...but "classic" does not always equal "good".

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/07