"Not the best racer on the system, but back when it was the only game in town..."

It's kind of hard to slam a game like this in hindsight. Compared to other DS racers available at the time of this writing, Ridge Racer's best claim to fame is its graphical presentation (which is a refined version of the N64 title Ridge Racer 64), and it's most noteworthy flaw is its controls. Surpassed by superior fare (namely Mario Kart DS and Aspahlt 2), Ridge Racer is just not one to be remembered.

Worst of all is the crap the game received upon release just because it was on the DS: the then-pending PSP version of Ridge Racer was getting all the oohs and ahhs from the graphics-are-everything crowd, and its superior driving physics were far ahead of the DS release.

So what went wrong with the DS one, and how does it stand, both then and now?

For starters, a little info on the Ridge Racer series. Conceived in the early to mid 1990s, Ridge Racer was an arcade racing game with the goal being to beat your rivals and finish first. Sporting impressive 3D graphics that have aged better than most 3D games (though about as well as any other 3D game from the era), Ridge Racer became a flagship title (and later series) for the then-new kid on the block, the Sony Playstation.

Fast forward almost a decade: Nintendo has unveiled its new portable system, the dual screened wonder, while Sony is gearing up its Portable Playstation. No one could have known that the DS would eventually take the world by storm; how could anyone see that a Sony Playstation product NOT succeed? (Note - this was before the PS3 and PSP gained their status of joke by most of the industry) Namco did the best thing they could have done in the situation of unknowns: they put a Ridge Racer on the PSP, and one on the DS. The PSP one would be a glorious revamp of most prior games (as well as being the basis for Ridge Racer XB360 less than a year later), while the DS got a revamp of the N64 game Ridge Racer 64.

The significance of where Ridge Racer DS came from cannot be ignored: the N64's analog controller was key in many games for the system, and as Ridge Racer DS, Super Mario 64 DS, and Rayman DS proved, digital controls (and for that matter, most touch screen controls) don't replicate analog controls all that well. So where you should have a fair ammount of control over your cars, you actually veer off to a given side the instant you press a direction. Even the touch screen steering wheel suffers from "digital" controls: moving left is like pressing left on the d-pad.

Granted, the game's difficulty is tweakable, but given how hard some of the races can get, this is insane. It doesn't help the fact that the physics are from an era where tapping another car or wall doesn't send you flying, but stops you dead in your tracks.

Audio is there, and some very nice voice overs are heard while driving. The music is forgettable, but they do tend to match the area you are racing in. Speaking of graphics, the locations are quite lovely, despite all the PSP-version hype floating around to this day. Certainly not up to Planet Earth quality, but very nice none the less. One cute touch that keeps appearing in the game is the after-image of the tail lights of other cars that move through the air. Usually cool, these effects can distract you long enough to cause you to crash.

There are several unlockables in-game, including some Namco and Nintendo themed cars. These are fun to play with, but most control worse than the default "single race" car. There are some with better control, but it does take practice.

Multiplayer is there, but I do not recall seeing single card anywhere. Doesn't matte too much, though; hard to convince others to play when superior games are out there.

Which brings up another point: should you even look at this when better games are out there? I found a used version for US$9.99, and it's not that bad for the price. The two best racers on the DS that I have played extensively are Mario Kart DS (US$34.99) and Asphalt 2 (US$19.99). For the price, Ridge Racer DS is definately worth a look, though you have to remember that this IS a launch game we are talking about here.

All said and done, not a horrid racer. But far from the greatness that the series once held in the minds of most gamers...

Score: 6 of 10

+ Best Features: Graphics, cars, classic-Ridge Racer arcade feel
- Worst Features: Music, controls, touch screen controls, better racers on the market, obviously a launch game
* If You Liked: Mario Kart DS, Aspahlt 2 (DS), Ridge Racer (DS), Midnight Club 3 Dub Remix (Xbox)
* Guilty Pleasure: More of a guilty pleasure with Ridge Racer in general: the infamous "Ridge Racer" fiasco at Sony's E3 2006, where at a demonstration of the PSX version of Ridge Racer in HD, a Sony spokesman shouted "Ridge Racer!!!" to try to get the crowd into it. No one bought his efforts...
- (Ugly) Realty: I know they just merged with Bandai a year or so ago, but what happened to Namco/Namco Bandai and their support of the DS in the US? Xenosaga DS and Tales of the Tempest were both great games that never even got a breath into being brought over here...

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/20/07, Updated 11/20/07

Game Release: Ridge Racer DS (US, 12/07/04)