The Rise And Fall Of Ridge Racer (RIIIIIIDGE RACERRRRR… Remember That One?)
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- / bransfield
Ridge Racer was once a beloved, bar-raising series synonymous with arcade perfection on PlayStation. These days? Ridge Racer is no more. What happened? Where did it go? And will it ever come back?
I don’t have all the answers, but I can certainly look back at the Ridge Racer titles and throw my thoughts out there. So I did. In this video. Ridge Racer Type 4 is still amazing, at least.
---
Check out the rest of the channel: / @bransfiiiield
Please do like, share and subscribe if you enjoy. Don’t if you don’t, it’s all good.
---
Music: various Ridge Racer OSTs
---
FOOTAGE SOURCES:
Ridge Racer 2 and Rave Racer footage from arronmunroe: • Ridge Racer 2 arcade 6... / • Rave Racer arcade 60fps
Ridge Racer Revolution footage from AmigaOmega: • PS1 Longplay - Ridge R...
Rage Racer footage from Mumbling Brit: • Rage Racer - A Deep Di...
R4 Ridge Racer Type 4 footage from NeoGamer - The Video Game Archive: • R4: Ridge Racer Type 4...
NegCon clip from Rerez • NeGcon PlayStation Con... (via Kotaku AUS: www.kotaku.com.au/2016/04/tha...)
JogCon clip from RetroRecommendations • Namco's JogCon Control... (via Kotaku AUS: www.kotaku.com.au/2016/04/tha...)
Ridge Racer 64 footage from LongPlayArchive: • Longplay of Ridge Race...
Ridge Racer V footage from Louis B: • Ridge Racer V (PS2) - ...
Ridge Racer 6 footage from Red Venom Corp: • Ridge Racer 6 (Xbox Se...
Ridge Racer 7 footage from Benedict: • RIDGE RACER 7 | PS3 Ga...
MotorStorm footage from Gall Anonim: • Motorstorm HD [ PS3 ga...
Need For Speed: Most Wanted footage from AddictionToGaming: • Need For Speed: Most W...
R: Racing Evolution footage from 김춘삼: • R: Racing Evolution Wa...
Ridge Racer DS footage from EightBitHD: • Ridge Racer DS Gamepla...
Ridge Racer PSP footage from edzvision: • Ridge Racer - PSP - Si...
Ridge Racer 2 PSP footage from TekMerc Gaming: • Ridge Racer 2 (PSP): P... / • Ridge Racer 2 (PSP): P...
Ridge Racer 3DS footage from Little Akiba Games: • Ridge Racer 3D - Basic...
Bandai Namco logo changes from @Velvetpainter: / 1443800646436622338
Ridge Racer Vita footage from Iruda Yoon Production: • Ridge Racer(PS Vita) A...
Ridge Racer Unbounded footage from theMGamez: • Ridge Racer Unbounded ...
0:00 Galaxintro
0:48 Wow, what a start!
6:58 Losing grip
12:18 Spun off, spun out
14:15 The handheld hopes
19:16 Game over
25:54 Patreon thanks and BYEEEEE - Hry
FYI: Ridge Racer 2 PSP is available now on the playstation stor for PS5 and PS4 in 4K for around 8 quid. I've already put tens of hours into it.
Thanks for the heads up! Will purchase asap!
Ultimately, I think you could do a video on the death of the arcade racer in general!
THEY'RE COMING BACK LARRY
Have you played Cruisn' Blast?
@@RacerC45i have indeed
IT'S STILL ALIVE
IT NEVER LEFT
The PSP version was one of the best games for the console and as a launch title, it showcased the console capabilities excellently.
Ridge Racer is fun Arcade race and one of the stample original from Namco series, with amazing racing action with such a beautiful musics, also Ridge Racer always released as beginning console for PS1-PS2-PS3-PSP-and even Vita
I really wished they made returns...
Yes I wish Franschise GOAT racing games from Bandai Namco name Ridge Racer is Return, And release in Next gen consoles PS4 and PS5
I've never understood why they never released a Ridge Racer VR. VR is screaming out for a proper arcade racer.
EXACTLY! It would be so cheap and quick to make too. Online multiplayer option would be a blast. We need that, and WipeOut VR back.
the problem is that realism is all the rage these days, when joe schmo loads up the game and it isnt just gran turismo with slightly different mechanics they'll refund
I'd instantly get ridge racer VR!
Wipeout Omega Collection PSVR is basically what we're asking for. Sadly it's only available on PS4 and PSVR.
Wipeout on PSVR is amazing, the thought of Ridge Racer given the VR treatment 🤤
Rage Racer was my first PSX Game, fond memories. It took me months to realise you could change tracks.
Ridge Racer on 3DS was great. The 3D effect worked out so well with such a fast arcade racer. still play that game from time to time.
RR7 was the best game on PS3, it's immense in all factors. There's a few of us RR enthusiasts out here that give a bit of a dim view to Type 4's bloat and smooth grooves - give me a few tracks, rave music and quick gameplay. Nice vid though, deffo longing here for future RR games - genuinely didn't buy a PS4 or 5 because no Ridge at launch.
I never liked Type 4. The racing was simply less intense with there only being one opponent on screen for most the time. Give me revolution and rage any day.
Amen to that!
I like all RR except for 5.
And as much as I liked 7, Type4 is just my favorite, you call it bloat, I call it car Pokemon.
I will also always be mad at games for not trying something like the Team stories again. It is like collecting endings on fighting games.
R7 is the best Ridge Racer, gameplay wise. I prefer R4 for its presentation, heart and soul, and how they pushed the hardware to its limit on the PS1. Plus, those peripherals: the JogCon . Peak Namco.
@@gipgap4Agreed, it didn’t have the urgency and intensity of the arcade based entries. I feel it panders more to the unskilled casual gamer.
Unbounded was developed in Finland.
And i'm not proud of it.
Since even before the release of Ridge Racer V, Namco's "Ridge Racer - team" was reported to be extremely tired making those games. Namco itself said so.
Team did make R:Racing Evolution just to take break off the series.
Perhaps they should had sticked with RR Type 4 -concept, when making any more sequels to series.
It's hard to imagine how that game could ever be surpassed, when it comes to home console arcade racers.
Huh, that's interesting because RRV, 6, & 7 were 3 of my favorite entries in the series. It felt like they were getting burned out on making them by the time RR for the PS Vita and RR Unbounded were released.
When those came out, I was thinking, "whoa, what the hell is this?? 2 bad games for RR, huh? Is everything okay with these people? They seem be losing interest in making these games or something".
Where did you read that the Ridge Racer Team were losing interest in making new RR games?
@@TheDr502 They (Namco) spoke about it after RRV and the reason to make R:Racing was that team was tired and tried to do something fresh isntead.
I used to work on the full car/huge screen version at Southsea arcades Portsmouth when I was a teenager. 😁
I remember that cab. Was a sight to behold back then. Used to work at Clarence Pier myself.
Oh man I remember it well. You had the huge Galaxians 3 room too right?
The one with the MX5?
Ridge Racer is a great game and Type 4 is the best one on home consoles, I think the series can only punch up so far and the best version is Ridge Racer for PSP. It was my most played ridge experience and that's saying a lot after I played pretty much all of them outside of N64 to that point. It's a series that's always good in short bursts and the PSP hit the sweet spot with it's autosave and resume feature built in by the console, grinding the campaign was short and sweet and the rewards plenty for us arcade lovers. There wasn't a day I didn't play this one when it came out, the game disc and console literally had to die to break the spell and the soundtrack pumping in my ears is near and dear to my heart
So, RR Type 4 was an albatross around the neck of developers.
And Ridge Racer 2 PSP was some how really good.
"Do you remember-"
Brother, I'm 100%ing Type4 again after years, while listening to you lmao.
I miss the old Ridge Racer. I got them all -Revolution, Rage Racer, etc. I replayed the original few months ago and I still got the reflexes.
Katsuhiro Harada: Where is VF6?
Also Katsuhiro Harada: I think it would be very difficult to reboot Ridge Racer.
This is one of the reasons why I hate Harada and Namco. The staff who developed Ridge Racer (Kohta Takahashi, Taku Inoue) and some indie developers (A Grumpy Fox, ViJuDa) are anxiously awaiting New Ridge Racer. Someone is tired of waiting for the new Ridge Racer to come out for a long time, so they are developing a spiritual sequel called 'Midnight Challenge'. For god's sake, Ridge Racer's rival, Cruis'n, Hot Wheels racing game, LEGO racing game, F-Zero, and even Top Gear (Top Racer in Japan), Crazy Taxi are back. Also, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage has been updated. If OutRun and Shutokou Battle are back but Ridge Racer still isn't, I won't buy a Namco game. There was OutRun 2 at British Racing Greats 2023, and Lizardcube tweeted about OutRun, Rumors are spreading in Japan that Genki is making a new Shutokou Battle. Recently, Namco is said to be holding a Ridge Racer event, but it is doubtful whether they will revive Ridge Racer. Because Namco is discontinuing development of several games and focusing on boring anime games. I feel sorry for Bugbear, who almost went bankrupt because of Namco. As someone who enjoyed FlatOut as a kid, I was worried about Bugbear and hated Namco. It seems like the Daytona USA rival right now is Cruis'n, not Ridge Racer. In 2016, Cruis'n and Daytona USA were announced as arcade games, but Ridge Racer was announced as a mobile game. I would rather sell the Ridge Racer to SEGA or Sumo Digital or Raw Thrills or Milestone S.r.l.
Break up the wall of text and I might read it. Ever heard of sentences?
Ridge Racer V has some of the best control and feel of any arcade racer. The pinnacle of the series in that regard.
I loved R5 such a feel good game
Exactly. Turn off the annoying voice during race and it becomes the ultimate arcade racer, the sounds, some music - exquisite. The most underrated racing game. Everybody loved it when PS2 was brand new, now everyone trashes it.
@@hitpeppens2932 It's too bad, really. I found it to be much more fun than RR Type 4.
@@hitpeppens2932 The ultimate arcade racer to me is OutRun Coast 2 Coast - that game is just sooooo much fun.
Awesome video dude, loved it, nice to see another Sheffield guy doing the YT thing too, big ups!
RRT4 is one of the best PS1 games ever made and probably my favourite racing game of all time.. the look, the vibe, the structure, the soundtrack.. all of it
Don't think I've actually ever "stopped playing it" since it came out, _maybe_ a few years in the early 2010s
No idea why Namco stepped away from that narrative format in future titles
You really know your stuff; great summary of a classic series. Have a sub 👍
One of the original RR5 composer Kohta Takahashi spoked about why RR5 is what it is. Because RR4 splitted fanbase to a half. One ppl love the game Type 4, another hate. So Namco decided to bring back RR to it's roots.
I'm surprised that Forza Horizon hasn't ripped it off. They could do a 'Forza Drift' expansion set in Tokyo with Ridge Racer's arcade physics but in an open world environment.
lovely video. im playing and enjoying ridger racer 2 at the moment. i’ll try type 4 soon!
I’d say Ridge Racer 6 is my favorite because it took the gameplay of Ridge Racer PSP and gave it amazing progression with the Universe Xplorer. Ridge Racer 7 meanwhile had awful progression and the soundtrack just didn’t have as much soul as previous games. As for the worst Ridge Racer? Yeah, I have to call out Rage Racer. It arrived on the console in the end of 96, when it already had games like WipEout 2097 and Jet Moto. Worse still, Americans didn’t get it until spring of 97, and Europeans summer. You know what that means? The first V-Rally and NFS 2 were rolling in. Toca, F1 97, Jet Moto 2, and Test Drive 4 were just around the corner when some people were getting Rage Racer. Even so, Rage Racer was painfully lazy compared to things other racing game devs were making, and it wasn’t even as good as the previous two Ridge Racers. It felt, sounded, and looked worse, all while between sandwiched between actually revolutionary racing games.
I think that recycling the same tracks in many of the Ridge Racer releases was a major fail. They should have at least added a variety of new tracks to make the games different.Though it was still a fun series to play. Especially the later entries.
Never forget playing it on ps1 it blew my mind
The 1994 ridge racer on ps1 and ridge racer revolution ps1 1995 are mu favorites
Ridge Racer Arcade was massive in the 90s because every RR arcade I went on the steering wheel was either broken or the some buttons didn't. But I was a Sega Rally fan more
Thanks to emulators, we can enjoy these games at ridiculously high resolutions compared to their original release. I wasn't aware of RR2 for PSP. Time to fire up PPSSPP.
It's amazing, has all the classic tracks and soundtracks
Ridge racer 5 is still broken on PCSX2 tho
Great video, Bransfield.
I'm a big Ridge Racer fan and I enjoyed this even if it is sad to see the franchise die.
If only we could get a Ridge Racer Collection for all the latest consoles.
I'd be happy with that to be able to play these games as again on the Switch.
But for now I still have a PSP just for the PSP Ridge Racer games which are still great fun to play.
I feel like Ridge Racer Type 4 was where the franchised peaked because it was the last time Namco tried making a Ridge Racer game as a full, complete package. After Type 4, It seemed like Namco was more interested in making Ridge Racer games as tech demos for new consoles instead of a full/complete games. They felt rushed and bare bones so they could make each new console launch.
As a fan of the franchise all of them were very fun to play, but I did miss what Type 4 brought to the table I played 5, 7, and the PSP version.
I’m here now in 2024 just because I seen the header ridge racer
Old school nostalgia at 43
And how much money I have wasted on this brand over the years 😢
I'm glad I got to experience most of the best games of the series. Only one i missed out on was T4.
The original, Rage, V, and the PSP versions were all amazing and I have fond memories of all of them ❤
Also, as a kid, owning Rage and knowing it was made by Namco, I actually thought it was a spin-off. The more gritty look yet familiar handling only emphasised that feeling for me.
RR was always going to be limited by the driving dynamic. It no doubt peaked with Type 4, from the intro film to the fact they pushed the PS1 to the limit. Some great video gaming memories with this game.
deep research and entertaining tone, tnx a lot
Great video - for me the memories of playing it in arcade will always be special like Daytona or outrun nothing will ever be better for me
Every ridge racer game I've played ranked:
(Best to last)
1. R4: Ridge racer type 4
2. Ridge racer 6
3. Ridge racer 7
4. Ridge racer 3D
5. Ridge racer 2 (PSP)
6. Ridge racer V
7. Ridge racer 64
8. Rage racer
9. Ridge racer revolution
10. Ridge racer
In my opinion, it was just the audience
It was aging. It was harder to get the younger age joining on when there was so much difference to choose from.
Hey ridge racer still lives as long as ace combat still lives.... since in canon the games are linked
i wish there was a law that demanded any new console to have a ridge racer game at launch.
Rrt4 demo is one of my most cherished childhood memories
15:07 Haaaa, Red Dwarf reference
For me there are 2 Ridge Racers that stand out.
Ridge Racer Type 4 story, fun and diverse tracks, crazy looking cars.
Ridge Racer 6, crazy amount of races and a lot of cars with (for the time) great graphics.
Special mention to Rage Racer...my only gripe being not enough races for how much you had to grind for cars and upgrades...
That transition from arcade RR and PS1 was great!
I wonder if largely being a launch-era franchise after the PS1 hurt the series. Comes out of the gate lookin spiffy with new hardware only to not really release anything substantial for years and years. Definitely didn't help that systems like the DS, 3DS and Vita got such phoned in entries. Felt like the series was just going through the motions in most entries after 5 and even 5 was mostly just a tech demo. But when you force a franchise to be a launch title you end up having far lower scope, budget and dev time so ig it was inevitable.
R4 is so beloved because it is the one time a Ridge game got to be built off of a pre-existing strong foundation for console first and a console the company had tons of experience with.
Also just a shame thinking of all the arcade franchises that bled themselves dry with needless annual releases. I wonder if arcades would have lasted a few more years in the west without constant revisions and sequels that didn't feel meaningful.
They also had the full Ridge Racer with the Eunos Roadster in London’s Trocadero and until recently Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Played both of them. And then a few years later bought the car.
Ridge Racer type 4 is one of the best racing games
The amount of content in 6 (which admittedly was my first Ridge Racer) was amazing. I love it to death, so my only complaint is how short the overview for 6 and 7 were. Type 4 is fine (naturally played the entire series by now) but I've always disliked the notion as if it's the only title worth playing.
I have a boxed R4 replete with JogCon and Ridge Racer Hi Spec disc! Agree the controller is not at all bad. Mad to see a series I grew up with and lived and breathed, presented in such a retrospective!
Bought and played all the PS1 games to death - Especially the original (so happy when I finally beat the black car) was phenomenal. Also bought a PSP for some great RR fun..
I completely forgot about Ridge Racer. I used to play this in my university arcade in the fall of 1995 constantly. I left after that one semester and completely forgot about it. I was a pc gamer and never got a ps1. I didn't really play any racers until 15ish years later with GT5 on the ps3. I love old arcades but I'd guess it wouldn't hold up well and is such a big cab I wonder how many are still around.
Stick your ridge racer disc in your cd player😊
Stick any music cd in your playstation after ridge racer has loaded
@@BransfiiiieldYou could trick two PlayStations into link up with just one disc too! Edit: in RR Revolution anyway
@@DuckAlertBeats yep - used to do that with Doom and Bushido Blade too
I got RR3D not a launch but after a year or two of 3DS life and it's still the best Racing Game on the system imo, Mario Kart 7 is closely second but the thing with RR3D is that is more easily to pick up and play for me that MK7 even though RR3D could have benefited from an online mode MK7 does have.
Yooooo Meadowhall mentioned! I remember that MX5 there too haha. That arcade was amazing!
Me too! We used to get told off for bowling too hard,tangling the strings on bowlingo 😂 was a solid arcade back in the day.
I remember seeing the Ridge Racer full arcade model in Meadowhall as well and regret never trying it! This series triggers such fond memories for me; especially the PS1 versions!
Ridge Racer 1, was my first PS1 game together with a PS1 console, for christmas!!!
Seem Ridge Racer and Ace combat share the same fate.
Both born in Arcade, rise in PS, and fall in XBOX, and peaked at the magic number "4".
Both have its "not too scifi design" and "not too realistic physics" but brings hell lots of fun.
Sadly one survived another didn't.
Those first two games are some of the best games Ive ever played. Ridge Racer is in my personal top 10.
R4 was a masterpiece even the small detail that the final race finishes right as the new year arrives (in game) was such a cool detail.. and now to see Unbounded here pretending to be an RR game is sacrilegious.
All the Ridge Racers are favourites of mine.
Unbounded was not a Ridge Racer game at all though.
I still call it the "Orange" Ridge Racer because it's just too Orange 🍊 😂
It wasn't too bad a game though tbh but it just wasn't Ridge Racer.
It's about time we got a Ridge Racer collection or some sort of remake.
Brilliant video. Excellent journalism - reminds me of a modern day Stuart Campbell but without being a bit of a twat.
11/10, would watch again, A+++++
I remember those games. I killed Cruis'n World after school in the Arcade when I was a kid. Those games were Awesome. Such Nostalgia. 😎👍💯
A fiver a go? WTH, I used to play Ridge Racer in a pub in Birmingham city centre for a pound a go. Going back decades ago now. The PS1 did ok with Ridge Racer games and had at least 4 of them to play. Back then arcade perfect console conversions were rare, PS1 was a huge accomplishment for Sony.
A fiver a go for the full sized car version
My all time favourite arcade racer is always gonna be Outrun 2, but I love Ridge Racer, Rage Racer and SEGA Rally.
Shame we get less arcade and rally racers these days, there's a noticeable gap that needs to be filled.
This was a fun look at a series, sad that the series just ceases to be now! Heres hoping a possible game comes out for it something in the future!
I played the PSP ridge race on PS5 during 2023 and it was a fun and somewhat relaxing game.
Still playing RR on the PSP to this day. Amazing game 16:20
Forgot how much i loved ridge racer! That first game being the first playstation game i played on launch day will be a memory i keep forever 😊 was mind-blowing
Its about time bandai namco released a ridge racer collection for consoles/pc , just up rez the graphics and you have a winner! Failing that sony should get all the playstation ridge racer games and get them on the ps plus service, ridge racer 2 is on there and is superb.
Oh yeah, I remembeh. It was quite fun and had interesting design and cool music. Too bad they weren't able to make it evolve. I'm sure it could be a game that would find its place on today's market.
I remember playing this at my neighbor house back in the day on the ps1
Also the races in GTA San Andreas kind of salute the Ridge Racer gameplay as the hotring racers handled similar to the cars in those games.
Ridge racer on a pizza hut ps1 demo disc was so awesome
Oh man, how the mighty have fallen...
Pretty sad, really.
R4 was peak, epic soundtrack, epic career, what they should have done is build on that formula, maybe added car customisation?
I imported a PS1 from Japan with Ridge Racer in 1994. It was exactly what you needed to show off the next gen capabilities of the console. Everyone who came over was amazed by it.
But... racing games are kinda boring at home if you can't race against a friend. And they especially suck when played with a joypad.
There seems to be an interesting connection between the fall of Ridge Racer and the decline of arcade racers. Heck, it seems like racing games in general have seen a large decline in both quantity & quality since the early 2010s.
The Ridge Race Arcade Cabinet instantly dated every other racing game at the time. Especially the outrun and chase HQ sprite based racing games. Polygons! After this game landed everything was about polygons.
RR on the Gamecube was my favorite! Maybe it was the pressure sensative triggers on the Gamecube making acceleration and breaking feel better or maybe it was extra Pac-in game Pacman VS!!!
Love type 4 ❤ I still play it with the wheel control pad
Well spoken, dude!
There's not much arcade-y or any racing games out on legit offer minus Mario Kart 8 and the upcoming 9 so now's a good time to this Ridge Racer to come back. Probably a launch title on the Switch 2.
Personally, I see Ridge Racer 2 on PSP as more of an update to the first game rather than a full-on sequel - the fact it uses the same menu, UI, commentator etc. just further cements it. I can understand the middling reviews at the time - paying full price for an update doesn't seem fair, especially if you've already bought the first game. But it doesn't take away from the fact that it's still the same excellent game, just with more content. And of course, if you've never played RR on PSP before, then there's absolutely no doubt - just get the second one, don't bother with the first.
Exactly, the best course of action is to simply ignore that the first PSP game ever existed.
Ridge Racer PSP sounds like Asphalt (back when it wasn't a mobile game). I'll definitely be on the lookout for a physical copy of either one of those.
Ridge Racer 3D for the Nintendo 3DS is still on of my all-time favorite Ridge Racer games in the series!
How did I end up one warp pipe in and out on the other in the world of Ridge Racer? Got my feet sweat and wrist racer DS through the DS emulator I played the sample of it after that I bought Ridge Racer 7 for the Playstation 3 and beat it. Finally I bought Unbound for PC. By the time I play this game I realize I remember Ridge Racer pretty much died at the year of 2012 along with Mitsubishi Eclipse.
19:03 It's Bamco.
15:38 nope, not just you. Always had that experience on Ridge Racer 6 online
Ridge racer on the xbox was surprisingly good
Dude I thought I knew Ridge Racer but wow there was so much ki just didn't know about your Ridge video shits all over mine lol
I remember the one at medowhall! Man that had to be one of the best arcades in the UK
I gave up on trying to find the name of the playstation demo disk game where you could see rain droplets on the windshield while racers drove on the wrong side of the road.
I so badly wish they made a new RR. Probably easier to wish for snow on Venus...
If the released an HD remake of Type 4 I'd be happy. Also, shout out to Kimora Lovelace who sang all the vocals on Type 4's soundtrack
the rubberbanding in the 3ds Ridge Racer killed the game for me.. seriously it's worse than getting blueshelled in Mariokart just because you're the better driver. CPU cars can just suddenly appear behind you and zoomed pass you even though you are in your fastest and cleanest lap.
Oh wow I remember that full sized Ridge Racer at the Meadowhall arcade. The price kept me away from it too!
For me the series peaked with the arcades from the early to mid 90s
A lot of those games look beautiful…
Missed a lot.
Still playing today the PSP's masterpieces! 🚗💨
A remaster in Switch Will be amazing!
Well there’s also the arcade 1up release of ridge with the wheel controls… that sincerely makes it worth it just because of that wheel controls. But good luck finding that one under a G
Find memories of Ridge Racer Type 4 still play it from time to time
Great video, for me RRV has the best gameplay by far in not just the series but maybe out of all arcade racers. I almost hate seeing RR gameplay being compared to the likes of Burnout, which are fun as action games, but are incredibly barebone in term of driving.
I agree on Burnout, I'll say it's less of a comparison and more to show where the audience's attention had gone by that point in time.