R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (released in Europe as Ridge Racer Type 4) is the fourth console main-series installment in the Ridge Racer series, released in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation. It is the fourth and final Ridge Racer game for the platform, which would then be succeeded by Ridge Racer V for the Sony PlayStation 2.
Gameplay[]
Ridge Racer Type 4, like the Ridge Racer games it follows, features arcade-style drift racing across various race courses set against different locales.
Real Racing Roots '99[]
Ridge Racer Type 4 follows in Rage Racer's footsteps by offering a grand prix-style game mode that serves as its main form of game progression. Dubbed Real Racing Roots '99, it is an eight-race event divided into three sections that tours players through the different courses included in the game.
| No. | Course | Qualifying position |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Heat | ||
| 1 | Helter Skelter | 3rd |
| 2 | Wonderhill | |
| 2nd Heat | ||
| 1 | Edge of the Earth | 2nd |
| 2 | Out of Blue | |
| Final GP | ||
| 1 | Phantomile | 1st |
| 2 | Brightest Nite | |
| 3 | Heaven and Hell | |
| 4 | Shooting Hoops | |
By completing the Grand Prix at least once, all eight courses become available in both normal and reverse directions for Multiplayer and Time Attack game modes.
Machines[]
While Rage Racer allows cars' handling types to be adjusted on a four-tier scale between drift and grip, Ridge Racer Type 4 offers cars that have been preassigned to be either one of these handling types and cannot be changed. Drift cars behave closer to cars from previous franchises, where corners can be taken by powersliding around them. Grip cars, on the other hand, require players to significantly lose speed by stepping on the brakes to take on tighter turns.
Racing teams[]
Unique to Ridge Racer Type 4 are racing teams, which dictates the Grand Prix's difficulty level. This is explained in-game as different tuning styles between teams, where some prioritize speed while others prioritize ease of use.
Four fictional racing teams are introduced in the game, each one managed by a different character who briefs the player between races. All team managers have their own backstories.
- R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy - This French team has a new owner, Sophie Chevalier, replacing her ill grandfather this season. Ideal for beginners, cars are easier to control than those of the other racing teams. It is notable for its unusual headquarters which is a building inside a garage.
- Pac Racing Club - The newest entry into the Real Racing Roots championship, this Japanese team led by Shinji Yazaki tunes their cars to a normal standard making them the more moderate of the four teams available and ideal for intermediate-level players.
- Racing Team Solvalou - This elite Italian team lead by the charismatic Enki Gilbert is currently dominating the Real Racing Roots championship. Their cars are widely regarded as the fastest in the game, making them decently hard.
- Dig Racing Team - A former front-running team lead by Robert Chrisman, this American organization has recently fallen on hard times after the team's director cut back on funding. This team features cars with "expert" tuning, and they are the hardest team to drive for in the game.
Game modes[]
- Grand Prix: The main career-based grand prix mode.
- Time Trial: Players race around a course as fast as they can to achieve the fastest lap times.
- Extra Trial: A set of 16 duels against each car manufacturer's most powerful car. Winning these duels nets players the car they dueled sporting the livery of the racing team they represented during the race.
Courses[]
Ridge Racer Type 4 is unique among other titles in the Ridge Racer franchise in that its courses are set in fictionalized versions of real-world locations, compared to the completely fictional settings of other Ridge Racer games. It still, however, offers three pairs of courses that share portions of roads, as has been done in prior titles.
- Three courses are set in Yokohama, Japan:
- Helter Skelter is a course set within a city and is known for the construction area in its first half.
- Out of Blue is set along the coast of an ocean as well as a seaport. It shares its starting point and final third with Helter Skelter.
- Phantomile is set in a more urban and populated area of the city and features large scale models of Pac-Man and other Namco IPs. Although situated in Yokohama, it does not share any roads with Helter Skelter and Out of Blue.
- Two courses are set in Fukuoka, Japan:
- Wonderhill is a course that takes players across a dam, through various rocky hills, and along a grassy meadow.
- Heaven and Hell passes by a flower garden and an observatory, and shares its left half with Wonderhill.
- Two courses are set in New York, USA:
- Edge of the Earth takes players through an airport and features various skyscrapers and a shopping complex.
- Brightest Nite brings players to a rendition of Namco Ltd.'s Wonder Eggs 2 amusement park and features a characteristic long jump in its second half. It shares the airport with Edge of the Earth.
- One course, Shooting Hoops, is set in Los Angeles, USA, and serves as the game's oval course. Always raced in six laps, it features wide roads and corners, requiring precision to master and speed to beat.
Vehicles[]
Ridge Racer Type 4 offers 44 unique vehicles from four fictional car manufacturers: Assoluto, Lizard, Terrazi, and Age Solo. Like in Rage Racer, vehicles are offered in various stages; however, all Assoluto and Lizard cars are drift types, while all Terrazi and Age Solo cars are grip types. The table below shows all the cars that appear in the game.
| No. | Stage | Manufacturer | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assoluto | Lizard | Terrazi | Age Solo | ||
| 1 | Stage 1 | Promessa | Bonfire | Amibitious | Prophetie |
| 2 | Stage 2 | Promessa | Bonfire | Ambitious | Prophetie |
| 3 | Bisonte | Detector | Troop | Dirigeant | |
| 4 | Regalo | Wisdom | Rumor | Bataille | |
| 5 | Fatalita | Officer | Wildboar | Megere | |
| 6 | Stage 3 | Promessa | Bonfire | Ambitious | Prophetie |
| 7 | Bisonte | Detector | Troop | Dirigeant | |
| 8 | Regalo | Wisdom | Rumor | Bataille | |
| 9 | Fatalita | Officer | Wildboar | Megere | |
| 10 | Rondine | Colleague | Capital | Antilope | |
| 11 | Cavaliere | Comrade | Cowboy | Averse | |
| 12 | Infinito | Ignition | Starlight | Licorne | |
| 13 | Stage 4 | Promessa | Bonfire | Ambitious | Prophetie |
| 14 | Bisonte | Detector | Troop | Dirigeant | |
| 15 | Regalo | Wisdom | Rumor | Bataille | |
| 16 | Fatalita | Officer | Wildboar | Megere | |
| 17 | Aquila | Tamer | Decision | Espion | |
| 18 | Estasi | Cataract | Terrific | Sorciere | |
| 19 | Squalo | Reckless | Destroyer | Supernova | |
| 20 | Vulcano | Nightmare | Utopia | Ecureuil | |
Although only 44 unique vehicles are offered in the game, some vehicles are available across multiple stages, and each racing team decorates each vehicle with a different livery. This brings the total number of vehicles in the game to 320, the largest number of unlockable vehicles in any Ridge Racer game.
Unlocking[]
Unique to Ridge Racer Type 4 is the way in which vehicles are unlocked as the player progresses. Vehicles are unlocked by the player at certain points of the Grand Prix for use in the current heat, and these vehicles are dictated by the player's performance in the previous heat. As such, players may not choose to upgrade specific cars to higher stages, as could be done in Rage Racer.
A detailed description of how vehicles are unlocked is outlined in the table below. Note that car numbers follow the game's numbering system shown in the car list above.
| Requirement | Car no. obtained |
|---|---|
| 1st Heat | |
| Initial car | #1 |
| 2nd Heat | |
| Place 3rd in both races of the 1st Heat | #2 |
| Place 2nd in one race and 3rd in the other race of the 1st Heat (order irrelevant) | #2 |
| Place 2nd in both races of the 1st Heat | #3 |
| Place 1st in one race and 3rd in the other race of the 1st Heat (order irrelevant) | #3 |
| Place 1st in one race and 2nd in the other race of the 1st Heat (order irrelevant) | #4 |
| Place 1st in both races of the 1st Heat | #5 |
| Final GP, races 1–3 | |
| Place 2nd in both races of the 2nd Heat | (previous car number) + 4 |
| Place 1st in one race and 2nd in the other race of the 2nd Heat | (previous car number) + 5 |
| Place 1st in both races of the 2nd Heat | (previous car number) + 6 |
| Place 1st in both races of the 2nd Heat, beating the required race time in both races | (previous car number) + 7 |
| Final GP, race 4 | |
| Place 1st in all three preceding races of the Final GP | (previous car number) + 7 |
Note that the "required race time in both races" described in the table above is dependent on the course and racing team. More information can be found here.
The #20 cars offered by each manufacturer, although listed as Stage 4 cars, cannot be obtained through the Grand Prix mode. Instead, they are obtained by racing against these cars in duels through the Extra Trial mode, unlocked after completing the Grand Prix at least once. The courses for the Extra Trials are shown below.
| Manufacturer | Racing team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMM | PRC | RTS | DRT | |
| Assoluto | Helter Skelter | Phantomile | Brightest Nite | Heaven and Hell |
| Lizard | Helter Skelter | Phantomile | Edge of the Earth | Wonderhill |
| Terrazi | Helter Skelter | Shooting Hoops | Edge of the Earth | Heaven and Hell |
| Age Solo | Out of Blue | Phantomile | Edge of the Earth | Heaven and Hell |
Once the player has unlocked all 320 cars in the game, a special 321st car becomes available: the Pac-Man car. An additional BGM track, Eat 'em Up!, also becomes available.
Trophies[]
After completing the Grand Prix, the player will be awarded a trophy depending on the racing team joined and car type used.
| Trophy | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
  |
Pac-Man Trophy | Complete all races under any racing team using any car type |
  |
Mappy Trophy | Place first in every race under R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy using drift cars |
  |
Wagyan Trophy | Place first in every race under R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy using grip cars |
  |
Klonoa Trophy | Place first in every race under Pac Racing Club using drift cars |
  |
Valkryie Trophy | Place first in every race under Pac Racing Club using grip cars |
  |
Xevious Trophy | Place first in every race under Racing Team Solvalou using drift cars |
  |
Bosconian Trophy | Place first in every race under Racing Team Solvalou using grip cars |
  |
Dragon Trophy | Place first in every race under Dig Racing Team using drift cars |
  |
Tower of Druaga Trophy | Place first in every race under Dig Racing Team using grip cars |
Music[]
Ridge Racer Type 4 features 14 BGM tracks that are playable in-game. All tracks are composed by the Namco Sound Team headed by Hiroshi Okubo, who had previously composed songs for Rage Racer alongside Tetsukazu Nakanishi.
Additionally, once all 320 + 1 cars in the game have been unlocked, an extra 15th BGM track, Eat 'em Up! by Hiroshi Okubo, is also unlocked.
| No. | Title | Composer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearl Blue Soul | Hiroshi Okubo |
| 2 | Naked Glow | Kohta Takahashi |
| 3 | Your Vibe | Asuka Sakai |
| 4 | Lucid Rhythms | Tetsukazu Nakanishi |
| 5 | Thru | Koji Nakagawa |
| 6 | Silhouette Dance | Asuka Sakai |
| 7 | Burnin' Rubber | Hiroshi Okubo |
| 8 | Revlimit Funk | Kohta Takahashi |
| 9 | Quiet Curves | Hiroshi Okubo, Asuka Sakai |
| 10 | Motor Species | Tetsukazu Nakanishi |
| 11 | The Objective | Koji Nakagawa |
| 12 | Move Me | Kohta Takahashi |
| 13 | The Ride | Kohta Takahashi |
| 14 | Movin' in Circles | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) |
| 15 | Eat 'em Up! | Hiroshi Okubo |
For the first time in the Ridge Racer series, 12 of the 14 BGM tracks are assigned to different courses when playing under different racing teams. Below is a table showing these BGM assignments.
| Course | Racing team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MMM | PRC | RTS | DRT | |
| Helter Skelter | Pearl Blue Soul | Pearl Blue Soul | Pearl Blue Soul | Pearl Blue Soul |
| Wonderhill | Naked Glow | Naked Glow | Revlimit Funk | Naked Glow |
| Edge of the Earth | Burnin' Rubber | Your Vibe | Naked Glow | The Objective |
| Out of Blue | Quiet Curves | Lucid Rhythms | Lucid Rhythms | Lucid Rhythms |
| Phantomile | Motor Species | Motor Species | Motor Species | Motor Species |
| Brightest Nite | Your Vibe | The Objective | The Objective | Revlimit Funk |
| Heaven and Hell | Move Me | The Ride | The Ride | Move Me |
| Shooting Hoops | Movin' in Circles | Movin' in Circles | Movin' in Circles | Movin' in Circles |
R4 / RIDGE RACER TYPE 4 / DIRECT AUDIO[]
In 1999, a soundtrack album titled R4 / RIDGE RACER TYPE 4 / DIRECT AUDIO was released, featuring the BGM tracks available during races, as well as other songs heard in various different points in the game.[1]
| No. | Title | Composer | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urban Fragments | Kohta Takahashi, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | intro sequence BGM |
| 2 | Turn the Page | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | Real Racing Roots '99 intro BGM |
| 3 | On Your Way | Hiroshi Okubo | car manufacturer & racing team selection screen, car selection screen |
| 4 | Garage Talk | Asuka Sakai | dialogue cutscene BGM |
| 5 | Spiral Ahead | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | course selection screen BGM |
| 6 | Pearl Blue Soul | Hiroshi Okubo | |
| 7 | Naked Glow | Kohta Takahashi | |
| 8 | Your Vibe | Asuka Sakai | |
| 9 | Lucid Rhythms | Tetsukazu Nakanishi | |
| 10 | Thru | Koji Nakagawa | |
| 11 | Silhouette Dance | Asuka Sakai | |
| 12 | Burnin' Rubber | Hiroshi Okubo | |
| 13 | Revlimit Funk | Kohta Takahashi | |
| 14 | Quiet Curves | Hiroshi Okubo, Asuka Sakai | |
| 15 | Motor Species | Tetsukazu Nakanishi | |
| 16 | The Objective | Koji Nakagawa | |
| 17 | Move Me | Kohta Takahashi | |
| 18 | The Ride | Kohta Takahashi | |
| 19 | Movin' in Circles | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | |
| 20 | The Parade | Asuka Sakai | BGM played upon winning the Grand Prix |
| 21 | Epilogue | Asuka Sakai | BGM played during final scrolling text cutscene |
| 22 | Ridge Racer -One More Win- | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | credits BGM |
| 23 | Ready to Roll | Hiroshi Okubo | car unlock BGM |
| 24 | Party's Over | Hiroshi Okubo, Kimara Lovelace (vocals) | game over BGM |
| 25 | Eat 'em Up! | Hiroshi Okubo | Pac-Man BGM |
Reception[]
The game was critically acclaimed and a commercial success in Japan, the UK and the United States, with aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic giving a score of 88.16% and 88 of 100, respectively. [2][3] The game was mainly praised for the very impressive effects and graphics (even some think that R4 surpasses the first Gran Turismo), design of tracks, enjoyable soundtrack, intuitive controls and progressive difficult level. Minor criticism was directed to the high amount of cars to unlock, where the most are just slightly modified versions of the main cars.
Rerelease[]
On 21 March 2023, Ridge Racer Type 4 was rereleased on the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and can be purchased either on its own for $9.99 or as part of a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription. This marks the second Ridge Racer release for these consoles, following the rerelease of Ridge Racers 2 in a similar fashion the previous year. It also makes it the third title in the series to be playable on eighth and ninth generations of consoles.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- While in the car selection screen, pressing L1 and R1 steers the front wheels.
- While in the sticker editing screen, holding L1 and pressing the D-pad jumps between buttons.
- Pressing Triangle during demonstration and replay scenes toggles a motion blur effect. This also works in the Music Player in Options.
- After completing a time trial, pressing Square and Triangle reveals a password that allows players to submit rankings on Namco Japan's website. New entries to the rankings were closed on 31 August 2001.
- The announcer in Time Trials may either praise or criticize the player depending on the split times for a section. If the player is faster than the previous split time, the announcer may flatter the player and say "Sweet! You really ripped through that section!"; whereas if the player is slower, he may roast and berate the player and say "My grandma drives faster than that! Get with the program!".
- Special edition box sets of Ridge Racer Type 4 were packaged with the Namco Jogcon controller designed specifically for use with the game. The portable PocketStation device could also be utilized in the game to trade cars with other players.
- The game includes a bonus disc containing a new version of the original Ridge Racer called Ridge Racer Turbo (known in Europe as Ridge Racer Hi-Spec Demo) which runs at 60 frames per second with shading utilized on the car models, similar to Ridge Racer Type 4. The original 30-fps version of the game is also included as a means to compare with the 60-fps version.
- Story-wise, although never referred to in-game, the events of the game is set 50 years after the inaugural Real Racing Roots season established by Louis รge in 1949.
- This is the only game in the series were Reiko Nagase is actually seen in-game doing her duties as race queen, as she is often seen as the flag girl (not to be confused with each team's respective grid girls) during the start of every race in Grand Prix mode.
- Because of the complicated branching-tree arrangement of cars unlocked in the game, it will take players at least 112 runs of the grand prix (7 runs for each car manufacturer × 4 car manufacturers × 4 racing teams) plus one run for each Extra Trial for each car manufacturer and racing team to unlock all 320 cars in the game. This requires players to participate in a minimum of 912 races.
- The US commercial for the game featured the song I Can't Drive 55 by Sammy Hagar. [4]
References[]
| Ridge Racer series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arcade games | Ridge Racer ยท 2 ยท Rave Racer ยท Pocket Racer ยท V: Arcade Battle | |
| Console and handheld games | Ridge Racer ยท Revolution ยท Rage Racer ยท Type 4 ยท 64 (DS) ยท V ยท Ridge Racer (PSP) (2) ยท 6 ยท 7 ยท 3D ยท Unbounded (Driftopia) ยท Ridge Racer (PlayStation Vita) | |
| Mobile games | Ridge Racer ยท Mobile ยท Drift ยท Accelerated ยท Slipstream ยท Draw & Drift | |
| Related games | SimDrive ยท Ace Driver (Victory Lap ยท 3: Final Turn) ยท Dirt Dash ยท R: Racing Evolution ยท Critical Velocity ยท Pachi-Slot | |
| Universe and people | Ridge City ยท Ridge State ยท Shatter Bay ยท Real Racing Roots ยท UFRA ยท Reiko Nagase ยท Enki Gilbert ยท Shinji Yazaki ยท Sophie Cavalier ยท Robert Chrisman ยท Ai Fukami ยท Rena Hayami ยท Gina Cavalli ยท Stephan Garnier ยท Kara Shindo | |
| Game mechanics | Drifting ยท Grand Prix ยท Slipstream ยท Nitrous ยท Car Classes ยท Customization ยท Special Machine ยท Rocket Start | |