"Underrated and hated on by far too many people, RR DS is a great, fast, and fun racer."

Ridge Racer DS... to be honest, this is my first Ridge Racer game. I never got around to playing RR for the N64 or any other RR game, so I'm pleasantly surprised at the inherent quality of the series now that I've finally gotten to try it out. Many reviewers have major problems with Ridge Racer DS, such as the controls, or the collision detection - but in my opinion, these are exaggerated and only very minor flaws. It comes down to this: Ridge Racer DS is a really great racer. It could have been better - more tracks and more variation in them would have been nice - but it's still great.

NOTE: This review is, once again, written by someone who never played Ridge Racer for N64. Ridge Racer DS is essentially a direct port of the N64 game, with a few new cars, new music, and improved multiplayer, so keep that in mind if you have the original.

Graphics: 8/10

Ridge Racer DS really shines in the graphics department in my opinion. Unfortunately, the tracks themselves are not as detailed as some other racers (such as Asphalt: Urban GT). However, what is there looks nice - palm trees, helicopters, buildings, bridges, waterfalls, mountains, etc. all look great.

Now if you've seen some screenshots, you may be asking me what the hell I'm on about. Yes, the game looks absolutely horrible in screenshots - pixellated and blurry, like something the GBA could easily pull off. However, when you actually get the game in your hands those pictures are whisked out of your mind immediately and you are treated to a nice-looking handheld racer. In fact, I am going to get killed for saying this, but when looking at videos of Ridge Racers (the PSP game - it's an inevitable comparison), in terms of graphics... it's absolutely beautiful, but it's basically RR DS with some finer details, refined to perfection. This is even more easily noticeable when you're playing both in the third person viewpoint. The difference is really not that great in my opinion, and this is definitely not something that's going to be the case every time you compare a DS game to a PSP game, so it's something that the DS version can truly be proud of. (Of course, there are various factors to that, such as the fact that the much more pixellated textures blur together at high speeds and that the DS's screen is much smaller than PSP... but regardless of that the end result is great.)

Why an eight out of ten, then? Simply because this game isn't using the DS's hardware to the fullest. According to Nintendo, the DS is capable of more than the N64 - and looking at Super Mario 64 DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters in morph ball mode, I believe it. However, this is a straight port, with no graphical improvements. While it looks as good as the N64 game, it should be able to look vastly improved, as Super Mario 64 DS does from its N64 counterpart. And for this reason, while it looks great, it ends up falling short of what the DS can do.

Of course, anyone who bought a DS knows that in any game, the graphics aren't the most important factor at all. And so, we move on to...

Gameplay: 8/10

This is another area where Ridge Racer DS excels. The racing is fast and fun and just done right. It's difficult to explain exactly what goes into a great arcade-style racer like Ridge Racer, but whatever Namco has done worked out great.

I'll start off with the tracks. There are a total of 20 tracks - however, they are all disappointingly set in 3 locales. (However, the last two tracks, supposedly under the "Ridge Racer" locale, are actually completely different - so that brings the total up to 4.) The three locales are titled Ridge Racer, Revolution, and Renegade. The tracks are of varying difficulties - Novice, Intermediate, and Expert. There are also two Expert tracks set in the Ridge Racer locale, but as I said they're really nothing like any of the 3 locales and a pleasant surprise. Thankfully though, this wasn't just a cheap cop-out to increase the number of tracks: the AI isn't the only thing that changes, the tracks are actually different, with the same backgrounds. However, the track selection could still be improved - a few of the courses are basically the same as the previous difficulty level, except with a new segment added in. They're still fun to race and a lot more challenging due to the far more aggressive opponents, but it would be far more exciting to race on all new tracks. The game also has an incredible multiplayer mode - more on that under Replayability.

There are many cars, but unfortunately none of them are real cars. Not much is offered in terms of customization - there's just a slider to adjust your car to any color you'd like, which is nice. The cars are rated under four categories: Acceleration, Speed, Handling, and Grip. Overall it works nicely. Once you've unlocked a good number of cars there's always something for every person's driving tastes.

The races themselves are very arcade-like. In Grand Prix mode, you have a timer, and there are 12 racers. You have to try and get first place in each track to advance ahead. Also, you get more time every time you pass a checkpoint. If you run out of time, then you lose automatically, but you really shouldn't ever do that except in the very last two courses. Car Attack mode works the same way, except you only have one opponent, and you must race that car. The first time you beat the car, you unlock it and it's added to your collection. And finally, Time Attack is just that - it's only you and the timer, and you simply try to get the best time to beat your previous records. Outside of the Single Player option, there's a Quick Race mode, but this mode is simply the very first track, on the easiest difficulty, on the very first car, with the default color and automatic transmission. Unlike a certain other DS racer, whenever you select Quick Race you will ALWAYS get the same race and there's no way to change it. However, it's not really a big deal since just going into Grand Prix does the exact same thing and doesn't take long.

The only major flaw in the gameplay is the collision detection, but this is something that I found blown completely out of proportion by many reviewers. Sometimes if you're a tiny bit to the left or right of a car, the game will think you hit the car. The collision detection should have been fixed in the port, but unfortunately it wasn't. Still, it's not all that big of a deal - you just have to give cars more space. Also, another reviewer on this site mentioned that a computer-controlled car can simply pass through your own car. This is not the case, actually. Numerous times a computer-controlled car has rammed into me, slowing the rival down but giving me a nice speed boost. None of the cars take any external or internal damage while you're racing, so you don't have to worry about bashing into the walls.

Of course, even if a game has great gameplay, you need to be able to control it. Many have found this to be a major issue with the DS, as it lacks the analog stick that has been standard on every console that has a focus on 3D gaming. So, is Ridge Racer DS playable? We move on to...

Controls: 7/10

This is another issue that, in my opinion, has been completely exaggerated by many reviewers. The only explanations I can think of are that either reviewers are far too picky, or that I am just more flexible than most. Either way, I personally did not have a problem with the controls in this game. They're broken down into Easy Mode, Hard Mode, and Expert Mode.

Easy Mode uses the D-Pad - and, oddly enough, it is my favorite control mode. Drifting is easiest with the D-Pad (hold the direction you want to turn in, let go of the accelerator for about two seconds, and then push the accelerator again), and it's precise enough to allow you to get through. I've gotten first place on every track using the D-Pad and I'm no gaming master. However, this mode is better in the first person view than in the third person view. It seems to me like it's far more difficult to control my far in the third person view, mainly because you can't see exactly what direction you're going as well as you can in the first person.

Hard Mode uses the stylus - surprisingly, I actually prefer this over the thumb strap. The center of the screen lets you go straight ahead, and tapping on the right or left side turns you in that direction. You don't set the center yourself, which might sound like a bad idea, but it works well if you don't plan on holding the stylus against the screen the whole time. I hate that. This mode doesn't work as well with the thumb strap, but even using the thumb strap I prefer it to the final mode.

Expert Mode is intended for use with the thumb strap. This is by far my least favorite mode. Incidentally, IGN said in their review: "This is truly the way to play Ridge Racer". I couldn't disagree with them more. The thumb strap control is absolutely horrid in my opinion. The main problem I have is that it's impossible to adjust the sensitivity, meaning that you absolutely MUST drag your thumb to the edge of the screen in order to turn the car as sharply as possible. Even worse, you set the center - meaning that if you tap a tad bit to the right or left of center, you won't be able to turn as sharply as possible on some turns. I suppose that with a little work, this control scheme could be great for some people. Perhaps you could drop your thumb on the center of the screen at the beginning of the race, and then never pick it up. I suppose that would work okay, but the sensitivity is still a problem. The touch screen could be used very well to control these games, but clearly Nintendo hasn't learned from their attempts to simulate analog control in Super Mario 64 DS: the sensitivity is key.

However, all of my complaints with Expert Mode really don't make all that much difference, since it's not required to use - in fact, the default mode is Easy Mode, my favorite. So why a 7/10? Even though I like using the D-Pad, there's no denying that a racer controls better with an analog stick. And Expert Mode could have easily solved that problem, but Nintendo left out the option to adjust sensitivity. It's a missed opportunity, and it hurts the overall fun of this otherwise great game. Still, the game is by no means unplayable and in fact it works just fine with the D-Pad. We've been playing racers on our D-Pads before analog sticks were around, and this game is no exception.

Sound: 6/10

Sound is a mixed bag here. Personally, I like most of the tracks that play while you're racing (you can choose them anyways at the start of a race, but they're not changeable in the middle of a race), and there's a hidden track that will please any Nintendo fan. The sound of the car is okay as well (I don't really pay much attention to that). However, there's really no outside noise besides that - when you pass by a waterfall or the ocean, you can't hear any water. It would be nice to have some more sound coming from the environments themselves, not just your car and your music.

The worst part of the sound - and the reason why it gets a 6 - is the damn announcer. It's nice to have an announcer, and the sound quality is good, but damn, you will get PISSED of that moron fast. Let me share just some of the brilliant things he has to tell you:

"Commence attack!"
"He's pulling away!"
"Don't let him get away!"
"You're in the lead!"
"You've got him in your sights!"
"It's the final lap - make it your best!"
"It's the last stretch - keep going!"

Now, that may not seem that bad... but realize this: you're going to be fighting for first place very often due to the very aggressive AI in this game, and you are going to be hearing those first five phrases all time time in the more difficult races. And when you're battling with someone and he gets away and you here that blasted announcer say "Don't let him get away!" for the millionth time... it's not nice. And the last two phrases happen in every single race, no matter what you place.

Perhaps the worst sound sample of all is thankfully not one that plays during the actual races. When you open your DS and awaken it from sleep mode while playing RR DS, you get the wonderful chance to hear the announcer yell "ALL RIGHT!!"... at first it's hilarious, but it soon gets to be a pain. Then again, I suppose I am sort of exaggerating this problem... after all, you can always turn him off in the options.

Now that we've gone over four major components to make a game likable - graphics, gameplay, controls, and sound - we now go ahead and see just how long this game can be played and liked for. And so we move on to...

Replayability: 10/10

This is, by far, the best aspect of Ridge Racer DS. Even after you beat each track, it's still great fun to go back through and play any of them over again. While the game is frustrating, it's surprisingly fulfilling to just go back to even the Novice courses and get an easy first. It's incredibly fun, too. Time Attack is fun to try and beat your previous times, too - and there's not much frustration involved in comparison to the other two modes, since there's no aggressive AI there to... how should I put this... "kick your ass" and "take your name".

And now, the best thing about Ridge Racer DS... the multiplayer. This section is incredible. With just one game card, you and up to 5 friends (a total of 6 racers, obviously) can race on any track the host has unlocked. You're limited to the first six cars, but they offer a good variety and there's something in them for most driving styles. Also, you can still customize your color and automatic/manual transmission. If you have less than 6 players, you can have optional AI players fill in the gaps, and you can choose how many you want - but once again, no more than 6 total racers including humans and AI. Still, even with that limitation, the multiplayer is fantastically fun. It seems to me like this game was practically made for multiplayer.

Of course, whenever you read anything about Ridge Racer DS, there's the inevitable comparison to the other racing game available for DS during the "launch window". It's not all that clear either: looking at the two major online gaming sites, IGN gave Ridge Racer a much higher score, but GameSpot gave the nod to Asphalt. And so we face the question...

Asphalt: Urban GT or Ridge Racer DS?

To be honest, this is a very tough question, and it depends on what your focus is on.

I personally like Ridge Racer much better than Asphalt due to the improved multiplayer capabilities. Asphalt's single player is far larger and more expansive, with real cars - and more of them, more varied tracks, actual traffic in your way, and boosting involved. However, Asphalt's racing sometimes lacks that sense of speed that I find in Ridge Racer. Still, Asphalt is probably better if you're focusing on single player.

On the other hand, if you're focusing on multiplayer, Ridge Racer is the definite buy. Even if you did manage to play Asphalt multiplayer - which requires a game card for every player - it probably wouldn't be as fun as Ridge Racer, because it just seems like RR DS was made for multiplayer. It's incredibly fun. For this reason, I picked RR over Asphalt, and after getting to try out Asphalt, I eventually decided that I made the right choice.

So to sum it all up... for a meaty, expansive, customizable single player mode, get Asphalt. But for a hugely fun, fast, arcadey multiplayer mode, get Ridge Racer.

OVERALL: 8/10

This game is hated on by many sources, but IMO a lot of the hate is unnecessary. This game is not one of the best racers ever, but it is definitely a great one, and IMO the best on the DS at the time. In my opinion, it is the best multiplayer game on the DS as well at the moment, along with the Hunters demo that comes with every DS. The controls could use some fixing (especially Expert Mode), the collision detection is a minor nuisance, and the graphics and sound could be improved, but overall it's really a great game. Definitely worth picking up, especially during the late-2004 early-2005 game drought our baby DS is suffering.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/05