For many gamers who grew up in the ‘90s, Namco’s Ridge Racer represented the start of a new generation. The speedy racer hit arcades in 1993, generating a huge buzz due to featuring texture-mapped polygons. This leap in technology gave us a glimpse into the future of console gaming, with Ridge Racer quickly announced as a PlayStation launch title. Spearheaded as a system showcase, the two became synonymous for quite some time, used to show off the console’s 3D capabilities. The conversion wasn’t perfect – mostly due to Namco’s System 22 board being more advanced – but Sony couldn’t have picked a better flagship title.
In the thirty years that have passed, the arcade original has never seen a console release until now, first announced for Switch 2 before being confirmed for all formats. It’s definitely very cool to see such a landmark title return, but not everything is as it may seem. The PlayStation version was bolstered by additional content, such as a choice of vehicles, multiple camera views, a mirror mode, time trial challenges, the Galaxian loading mini-game, and a few playful secrets. As this is the arcade version, none of those extras are present. Indeed, this is very much a ‘back to basics’ experience – a single car to skilfully manoeuvre around a single track, viewed from the cockpit only. You may be thinking that it sounds akin to a tech demo, but no – Ridge Racer remains a classic, being just as fresh and inviting as it was in 1993.
Ridge Racer’s one and only racetrack showcases excellent design, full of tight bends, straights for overtaking, ramps to launch off, a starting grid to tear away from, and a finishing line to speed across. Checkpoints are perfectly spaced – on harder difficulties you may even whizz through one with barely a second left – and the backdrops are full of colour and pizzaz, from the underground tunnel opening to the sandy shoreline. Advanced mode adds an additional stretch of road, and while it isn’t much to look at due to its construction site setting, it does add more tight turns to perfect. This brings us onto the drifting model, which is as basic as can be due to being the first of its kind, but also quite satisfying. Simply tap the brake to start drifting and then straighten up after sliding around one of the track’s many turns – usually overtaking a rival in the process.
The whole shebang is presented with confidence and overly ‘90s energy, including an easily excitable announcer, and a memorable rave/hardcore soundtrack with a pre-race track selection. There’s also a great use of colour throughout, from the brightly coloured ergo easily visible rival vehicles to the transitions from day to night – which are still reasonably impressive, and together with the podium crowds and flyby helicopters, help to create a rich racing atmosphere.
As anyone who owned the PlayStation original will doubtlessly testify, Ridge Racer is effortlessly playable. It’s very easy to ‘get into the zone’ – especially on the harder difficulties, where colliding with rivals and veering off course can be costly. These mistakes can sometimes feel out of your control, especially with rivals being more aggressive on the harder settings, but when you’re successfully drifting around corners and overtaking without trading paint, it’s a very satisfying and moreish experience.
Although it only features a single track and no unlockables, there is a bit to work through here including three difficulty levels which see the speed limit increased and more laps added, along with aforementioned tougher opponents. There’s a Time Trial mode too, pitting you against a single rival. Developer Hamster has included both the Japanese and English versions, along with their DX editions – which added a H-shifter and a clutch. They’ve also added a five minute Caravan Mode with online leaderboards, a tricky Time Attack mode based around beating the whole game (on every difficulty) in the fastest time possible, and a single credit High-Score mode with various difficulties. Of course, the PlayStation/Xbox versions have trophy/achievement lists to focus on, which certainly helps with the replay value in an experience such as this.
If you’re old enough to remember Ridge Racer being the pinnacle of cutting-edge tech, then the chance to be reacquainted shouldn’t be missed. What was once the ultimate arcade game is now the ultimate nostalgia trip. Sure it’s dated, but not in a way that’ll cause inconvenience; everything here is perfectly functional. The boldly coloured sights, the sound of screeching tyres and overhead helicopters, the satisfaction of skilfully sliding around corners – it’s all very delightful, and a good example of how sometimes less can mean more.
Hamster’s Arcade Archives 2 Ridge Racer is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and Switch 2. Original game by Namco. Arcade Archives RIDGE RACER is also available on PS4 and Switch, missing the Time Attack mode.