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Ridge Racer 64: 25th anniversary

Ridge Racer 64 brought Namco's arcade/PlayStation racing series to a Nintendo console for the first time. Releasing between R4 and Ridge Racer V, it includes tracks from the original Ridge Racer arcade game as well as the PlayStation sequel, Ridge Racer Revolution. (I never played either, though I did enjoy Rad Racer and Cruis'n USA as a child.) It's a fun game, if you like old-fashioned arcade-style racing.

The racing formula found in many other games holds here: you choose one of four cars, its color, automatic or manual transmission, then a track to race on against computer-controlled cars. Cars are rated on four stats: speed, handling, acceleration, and grip. You can also play multiplayer (up to 4) with split screen. Courses are arranged as three sets of three. The three starting tracks are a cityscape (the short track from the original arcade game), mountains and valleys (the easy track from Ridge Racer Revolution), and a new track called Renegade set in the desert of the American southwest.

If you place first in these three tracks, you unlock three medium tracks, which reuse the same settings. The short Ridge Racer track simply repeats with one more lap. The medium versions of Revolution and Renegade use longer, more difficult routes. Once you beat them, you unlock the final tracks: the long track from Ridge Racer, the expert track from Ridge Racer Revolution, and the expert version of Renegade. The routes are even longer now. If you watch closely, you can see exactly where the tracks diverge, with, say, a detour sign as you leave the easy route. I like that aspect of the game, as it fits well with the realistic nature of the simulation. Finally, if you can get first in the expert tracks, you'll be rewarded with mirrored versions of the tracks to try.

Racing is straightforward: there are no weapons or health meters. If you collide with an object or another vehicle, you lose speed but you don't wipe out like in some other racing games. The car you bump never loses speed, so it's always disadvantageous to hit them. On the medium and expert tracks, drifting through sharp turns is a necessity. The L and R buttons are not used; instead, you let up on the accelerator, then re-engage to begin the drift. While drifting, you need to steer the back wheels to keep the car from spinning around backwards. This imitates actual physics, but it's confusing at first if you're used to Mario Kart. It's possible to do a complete 360! It didn't take me too long to get used to the drifting, and once I did I was able to beat the medium tracks.

Before each race, you can choose one of several music tracks using the d-pad. I enjoyed the music. You get a little boost at the start if you engage the accelerator about half a second before the race begins. Pressing C↑ changes between first-person view and two angles of third-person views. In the options menu, you can change the drifting mechanics to the way it worked in either the original Ridge Racer or Ridge Racer Revolution. There's a standard time-attack mode in which you race against your ghost data. There's also a "car attack" mode in which you unlock powerful new cars by outracing them in a 1-on-1 match. This adds extra replay value to an otherwise minimal game.

And that's it! This is basically an arcade game. The graphics look good, especially if you have nostalgia for 90's 3D. It doesn't seem fair to compare it to, say, Mario Kart 64 or F-Zero X. When I was a kid, games like Ridge Racer 64 were strictly for renting, not buying. There just isn't enough there to justify $60 when you could purchase those other racing games instead. I've gotten the gold on the first six tracks so far. I may yet come back to it for a few more races. If I do, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, just as I did while playing, but I'm not going to sink many hours into it. I'd recommend this game to arcade racing fans, and I'm glad Nintendo added it to the Switch Online Expansion Pack.

Grade: B

Linked Review
"This experience has no power-ups to collect or money to earn, but it offers a blistering, fast, arcade-style racing experience that requires precision driving and quick reflexes."
— Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the N64 Library, 3.5/5


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