Hello there, it is time again for the next instalment of Retro Revival, discussing classic games that have been brought back to life, via modern platforms. These can be HD Remasters, emulated ports and games that are included in collections. For this entry, I will be covering the legendary arcade racing game Ridge Racer, developed by Namco and released on the System 22 hardware in 1993. Now available through Hamster’s Arcade Archives and Arcade Archives 2 series.
Disclaimer: the games discussed in this feature have been purchased by me, so the opinions presented within are my own. There has been no sponsorship of the content within this feature. Links to the different versions available will be provided at the bottom of this feature, where possible.
So with the introductions out of the way, let’s get started. I will be discussing the general gameplay experience for the game, alongside some details about the game and personal thoughts in it. Please note, I will be discussing the Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game for this feature, but there is also an Arcade Archives 1 version of the game available.
About the game
Ridge Racer is a full 3d racing game, based upon the popular Japanese style of high speed mountain racing, with a focus on drifting. Take on the Ridge Racer street course across a vibrant cityscape, battling it out with other cars in thrilling high speed races. In this title, there is only one course, with four different variations tied to the difficulty of the racing. The difficulty settings are Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Time Trial (shown as T.T.).
At default settings, the Novice race has two laps with a maximum speed of 160KMH (100MPH) for the player car. In the Intermediate and Advanced races, the maximum speed for the car will be 200KMH (125MPH) across three laps. In the T.T. Time Trial, the player can reach a maximum speed of 220KMH (137MPH), racing three laps against a single opponent car. The first three races feature 12 opponents that must be overtaken to reach that 1st place position.
The course that players race on has two set layouts, with the Novice and Intermediate races taking place across the shorter track. Then there are Advanced and Time Trial, which use the longer more challenging track layout. Over the course of a race, there will also be transition points, which will change the look of areas, adding night time scenes and mist to the mountain side. This can change if the player alters the number of laps in the game settings.
Before jumping into the race, the player will be able to select their transmission offering both Manual and Automatic gear shifting. The Automatic gear shift is recommended for those who want to jump straight into the action, but for those looking for a challenge Manual transmission is recommended. If the SD version of Ridge Racer has been chosen, the gears will be simple up and down, but in the DX version, there is a more realistic gear switch system.
During a race the player will need to keep an eye on the time, as there is a timer which will tick down during a race. The only way to increase this is by passing the checkpoints, but be careful as mistakes will make it harder to get to the goal before the time expires. As an additional challenge, the player can attempt to beat the preset records for fastest lap, as well as fastest total time across all laps. If the player finishes first, a special scene will play out for the “Winning Run”.
As this is an Arcade Archives release, there are special bonuses that have been added for players. These consist of full control over the dip switches for the game, allowing the player to change the number of laps for the races and timer difficulty. If the player changes the number of laps, the number of opponent racers will increase to make up for it. These settings give players a chance to get more out of their gameplay experience.
Away from the standard arcade experience, there are extra online challenge modes available, letting players challenge players across the world. These modes are Caravan, High Score and exclusive to the Arcade Archives 2 line is Time Attack. In Caravan, players have 5 minutes to cover as much ground as possible, accumulating Milage points. In High Score, players must the best time they can for their chosen difficulty setting.
Finally there is the new mode, Time Attack, which is a brand new endurance challenge that will push player skills to the limit. In this mode, the player must clear all four races as fast as possible, going through each of them back to back. The player will get a time for each race successfully passed, recording their best times on a personal time split. If the player is able to get to the end of all races, or they time out, the time will be recorded in the rankings.
All three of these modes have online rankings, allowing players to compete for dominance across the globe. Last to cover is the quality of life improvements to the game, including the ability to save/load the game freely and rewind to fix mistakes. Then there are the screen filter settings, which can apply various CRT style effects, emulating the look of the old CRT monitors. All of these additions make this the definitive way to experience Ridge Racer on modern platforms.
Personal Thoughts
Ridge Racer came a year after the breakout title from SEGA, Virtua Racing, creating a game that was on par if not better than its competitor. Utilizing the System 22 arcade hardware, Ridge Racer featured advanced texture mapping for graphics, advanced view distance and special shading. This made it stand out among other titles in arcades, with both standard cabinets alongside highly detailed Deluxe machines that had a full seat and gear shift.
Then in 1994 Ridge Racer was one of the Launch titles for the Sony PlayStation, ushering a new era of arcade and 3D games in the home market, alongside SEGA. The success of Ridge Racer in arcades and on the PlayStation, resulted in several sequels across numerous platforms over the following years. The PlayStation was where I first experienced Ridge Racer, with it becoming part of the reason I loved that little grey box.
The soundtrack, effects and general presentation of the game are something that makes it feel special and unique. Then there is the gameplay itself, which is just pedal to the metal, high speed fun that is as satisfying as it is fun. I have a deep appreciation for this release, as it was one of the reasons I love arcade style racing games as much as I do. The sense of speed, the music and the overall feel just take me back to the 90s every time I booted it up.
Now, it has been over 30 years since Ridge Racer was released as a launch title, with Hamster and their Arcade Archives series doing it all again. When the Nintendo Switch 2 launched, that same day, Ridge Racer came back to modern platforms and I was there to get it. I had not played the original arcade release, so I was excited to get into it and I was not disappointed with my experience. Both on the big screen and in handheld mode, this is an amazing experience.
I was convinced that Namco had forgotten the original Ridge Racer, and to be frank I was convinced that the series had been abandoned entirely. This is just a little step forward, hoping that the series may get more titles in the future. If this is through additional Arcade Archives releases, or a whole new game, I just hope that this game and series get more love. With Hamster going into the 3D space with Arcade Archives, there are so many games we could see in the future.
If you have enjoyed this feature, then please stick around and see what else catches your eye. I cover a wide range of games in reviews, get special previews and put out regular features. I have Lost Gems covering forgotten games, more Retro Revival features and the occasional Gaming Oddities piece, where I cover weird and wacky titles. So stay a while and have a look around. Links to the game are below.
Link to Nintendo Switch 2 version (HERE)
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 4 version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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