• Platform: Playstation 1
• Developer: Namco
• Genre: Racing
• Year: 1999

Up until this year, the only racing games I'd put any kind of real dedication towards were kart-racer type games. I've never been able to get into more realistic driving games like Forza or Gran Turismo. Earlier this year, however, I got my hands on the original Ridge Racer for Ps1, and it was my go-to game for a little while. It's a pretty small game, as it's just the one race track with some changes on harder difficulties. Despite the low amount of content, I drove the hell out of that one track. Ridge Racer is an arcade game at its core. It's designed to be picked up and played, then hook you into dedicating more time (and quarters) towards achieving first place and learning how to drive the course as efficiently as possible.

Last week I made the jump from classic Ridge Racer to Ridge Racer Type 4, and my god is it a jump.

The gameplay maintains its tight controls from the previous games, while adding a variety of vehicles, tracks, and even a storyline. The upgrade in the graphics department is quite noticeable. The original game had hardly any lighting, and everything very much resembled an early Ps1 launch title. Ridge Racer Type 4 looks like Namco had a few years to truly figure out what the playstation had under the hood, and gain more experience with 3D game development. The lighting is impressive for the 32-bit hardware, and the polygon count for each car is like, more than 10!

The soundtrack, while very much of its era, kicks so much ass. It's a techno-y d&b soundtrack, containing some pretty chill tracks alongside the bangers.

It takes a bit to get accustomed to what the game expects from you control-wise, but it's super satisfying to pull off once you figure out the feel for it. Racing in RRT4 is very drift based. Twists and turns require a great deal of timing and tapping the gas pedal at the right times. I actually find myself using the D-pad over analog stick controls, as it feels more precise and the buttons are just quicker to press. Different vehicles handle differently as well. In my first playthrough I went with the French auto maker, which aren't super drifty but are pretty lightweight and nimble. In my second playthrough I went with the American auto maker, which feels heavier and is pretty easy to drift with.

From what I've read online, this game has 320 cars that can be unlocked throughout the game! Unlocking all of them supposedly unlocks some kind of pac-man themed car, alongside a pac-man music track. I had no idea that this game had so many unlockables. There are also different trophies to unlock depending on the type of car and which team you choose at the beginning. I'm not sure how to unlock the cars just yet. I usually got new cars as I played through the grand prix, so I'm assuming that new cars are unlocked through challenges and race performance.

Besides the tight driving mechanics, the story is another driving force behind this game. Before starting the grand prix, you select your car and your team. Choosing your team is essentially choosing the story you want to follow. For my first playthrough, I chose the Pac Racing Club (PRC), which is lead by Shinji Yazaki. Between every race, you have a sort of personalized cutscene with the team manager. By personalized cutscene, I mean that some things that are said by the manager are determined by your performance in the previous races.

While the stories aren't super groundbreaking RPG-level plotlines, they're a nice extra thing to give reason to your sick drifts and to provide motivation towards flawless victory. You sort of grow an attachment to the characters. They scold you or praise you depending on your performance, while encouraging you along the way (at least in the case of Shinji).

I don't want to go into any spoilers with the characters, but they do reveal more about themselves. As you progress through the races, you learn more about your managers past, and/or current hurdles. Their stories can be pretty motivating. I found myself in a couple races thinking, "I can't let my guy Shinji down!"

Ridge Racer Type 4 is an awesome game. It lured me in with the killer soundtrack, and kept me hooked with the satisfying driving and surprisingly engaging story. With the amount of unlockable cars there are, I've truly got my work cut out for me with this game!

[October 3, 2021]