Ridge Racer:
Year: 1993 (1995, PSX)
Platform: Arcade, PSX
Ridge Racer first appeared in arcades in 1993, and was released on the Playstation One in 1996. It was one of the flagship titles for the PSX when it first launched and quickly established a huge fanbase.
Thirteen cars were selectable with the "black car" being extremely elusive. All the tracks from the arcade version were retained, as well as mirrored. Unfortunately there was no two player mode which really did shorten the lifespan of the game.
This game holds a special place in my heart as it was the first game I played on the Playstation One. My father and I used to spend hours fanatically trying to beat each other's times. If there was a two player mode it really would have been addictive. A high resolution version of Ridge Racer was included as a bonus with Ridge Racer Type 4.
Ridge Racer
Ridge Racer Revolution
Year: 1994 (1996, PSX)
Platform: Arcade, PSX
Ridge Racer Revolution was known as Ridge Racer 2 in arcades, and featured more tracks and more cars. A two player link-up option was also included in the game as well as a rear-view mirror. This game was significantly better than its predecessor and fared very well in the arcades before making the transition to the Playstation One.
Ridge Racer Revolution
Rave Racer
Year: 1995
Platform: PSX
Rave Racer was exclusive to the arcades and is completely different to Rage Racer which was released on the Playstation One two years later.
Finding any information on this game is incredibly hard, as it never saw a release outside of the arcades. But some of the tracks from Rave Racer actually feature in Ridge Racer for the PSP. PALGN keeps its fingers crossed that one day, we will see a remake.
Rave Racer
Rage Racer:
Year: 1997
Platform: PSX
Rave Racer was exclusive to the arcades and Rage Racer was exclusive to the Playstation One - confused yet?
Rage Racer wasn't as big as its predecessors, and extremely similar to the previous two titles, so the game was not recieved as well as Namco had hoped. There is a grand prix mode in the game as well as a time trial mode. The biggest difference between this title and the previous two Ridge games is the tracks had elevation (hills), which added a bit to the variation of the game.
Rage Racer
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Year: 1999
Platform: PSX
This game was the biggest change for the Ridge series since its birth. Gran Turismo had just been released and Namco knew they needed to improve the game to succeed, and improve it they did.
The game featured 321 vehicles and Pocketstation support. Namco even developed a controller, the Jogcon, for use with the game. There is a two player split-screen mode and a Grand Prix mode. There were also eight tracks, four teams, four car manufacturers and brilliant graphics (at the time). For the first time, Dual Shock support was also included (And who will ever forget that spectacular light drag effect? - Ed.).
Ridge Racer 64
Year: 2000
Platform: Nintendo 64
While Namco were working on Ridge Racer 5 for the Playstation 2 they also developed Ridge Racer for the Nintendo 64. This was the first time that Ridge Racer appeared on the Nintendo 64, and Namco went all out for the occasion.
Ridge Racer 64 featured nine tracks, (more than ever before), 25 cars, four play modes and four player support. The game had a different look to the previous Ridge titles and it was really one of the best titles in the series.
Ridge Racer V
Year: 2000
Platform: Playstation 2
This was one of the busiest years for the Ridge series, with Namco making sure that Ridge Racer V was a launch title for the Playstation 2. This was one of the earliest shown games for the Playstation 2 and was the flagship launch title for the machine. Although Ridge Racer V was a great game, it soon tired and people counted the days until Gran Turismo 3.
Ridge Racer V
R: Racing Evolution
Year: 2003
Platform: Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube
The Ridge series appeared on three consoles at the same time, for the first time. R: Racing Evolution was a dramatic change for the series and featured licensed cars and fourteen tracks.
Aside from this there were also eight different modes, new AI, two player support and progressive scan support. As brilliant as it sounds the implementation wasn't as good as it could have been. The game ended far too quickly, the graphics were just above the quality of Ridge Racer V and the game play wasn't very addictive.
Ridge Racer DS
Year: 2005
Platform: Nintendo DS
Ridge Racer DS is essentially Ridge Racer 64 with a few modifications. Handling is done via the touch-screen panel and their are exclusive tracks and cars. The game is out now in Europe, and due in Australia in three weeks. It should be well worth picking up for any Ridge fan.
Ridge Racer DS
Ridge Racer
Year: 2005
Platform: PSP
Ridge Racer on the PSP has been built from the ground up and features exclusive cars, tracks and for the first time in the Ridge Racer series, Nitro.
The game is due out in Australia September 1st, 2005 and looks like one of the best Ridge Racer titles released for a long time.
Ridge Racer PSP
Ridge Racer Mobile
Year: 2005
Platform: Mobile Phones
Imagine the original Ridge Racer but on a mobile phone and you have what this game is going to be. Namco are releasing a mobile version of Ridge Racer that is basically the same as the version released on the PSX ten years ago. How far technology has come!
That's it for Franchise Mode #8: Ridge Racer. Keep an eye on PALGN as we commence our PSP coverage and bring you our Ridge Racer PSP preview.
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