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For the original or 2011 iteration, see Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer (PlayStation Vita).

Ridge Racers (marketed as Ridge Racer outside of Japan) is the first Ridge Racer game released for the Sony PlayStation Portable and marks the second Ridge Racer title on handheld consoles following Ridge Racer DS in 2000. It was released on 12 December 2004 in Japan, 22 March 2005 in the United States, and 1 September 2005 in Europe. A sequel, Ridge Racers 2, was released two years later.

Ridge_Racer_(PSP_Intro)

Ridge Racer (PSP Intro)

Gameplay[]

Mechanics[]

Ridge Racers serves as a remaster of previous titles in the Ridge Racer series, with courses and vehicles harkening back to games as far back as 1993's Ridge Racer. Like its predecessors, the main focus of the game is high-speed drift racing across twelve unique courses. Ten of these courses, in particular, are borrowed from the five console titles that came before it, as well as arcade title Rave Racer.

Introduced for the first time in the Ridge Racer series is nitrous boosting, a mechanic that allows players to temporarily gain a speed boost that allows their cars to go beyond their normal top speeds, which is ideal for overtaking. Machines are fitted with three nitrous tanks that are filled when drifting along corners while they are not in use, and only one nitrous tank can be used at a time. This would go on to be a defining feature in succeeding Ridge Racer games.

Also overhauled in this game are car specs, particularly when it comes to drifting. Whereas previous Ridge Racer games categorized cars into two main handling types (grip and drift cars), Ridge Racers introduces drift types, where machines fall into one of three categories:

  • Standard (STD), which provides a good balance between speed, drift angle and grip;
  • Mild (MLD), which allows easier entry into and exit from drifts at the cost of lower top speed;
  • and Dynamic (DYN), which boasts the highest top speeds at the cost of extended drift angle which requires more precise control to regain grip.

World Tours[]

Like many of its predecessors, Ridge Racers offers a grand prix-style game mode that serves as the main source of progression in the game in the form of World Tours.

The premise of Ridge Racers is set in the eponymous "Ridge Racer World Tour" in the year 2004, according to the series' timeline. It is set after a four-year hiatus following the Ridge City FM Grand Prix, with major revisions to the regulations, including the return of former competing manufacturers and the return of iconic tracks throughout the history of Ridge Racing.

The 46 World Tours available in the game incrementally introduces players to the world of Ridge Racer in the form of multi-race events across different locations and machine classes. Completion of the World Tours is also essential to unlocking the 24 (12 forward, 12 reverse) course configurations available in the game for play outside of World Tours mode.

Game modes[]

  • World Tours: The main career-based grand prix mode.
  • Single Race: A quick race mode around one course of the player's choosing.
  • Time Attack: A time trial mode where players race around a course as fast as they can to achieve the fastest lap times.
  • Wireless Battle: A wireless battle through players' local network.

Courses[]

As Ridge Racers serves as a compilation of courses from all Ridge Racer games released since 1993, 10 of the 12 courses included in the game all come from previous titles. Two new courses are also introduced in the game.

  • The two original courses from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer 2 appear in the game, which have been renamed to Seaside Route 765 and Ridge City Highway. It is worth noting that even though these courses are introduced as having come from Ridge Racer V as well, the other Ridge Racer V courses do not appear in this game.

Vehicles[]

Ridge Racers features a total of 13 unique vehicles from eight manufacturers, divided into seven machine classes. These manufacturers have all come from previous Ridge Racer titles.

Machines are offered in six main classes, each comprised of three machines offered in three performance tiers of increasing performance (Type-S, Type-R, Type-Z). Only the three Type-S models in Class 1 are made available at the beginning of the game, with the other machines unlocked by progressing through the World Tours mode. The different performance tiers are differentiated not only by their top speed but also their body designs and liveries, the livery's primary sponsor being included in the machine's name.

Machine Classes 1 to 3 feature a total of nine unique vehicles, with Classes 4 to 6 serving as upgraded versions of their respective classes.

A seventh Special Class is also available, featuring four cars that boast the highest performance among all the machines in the game with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. These machines are given a fourth Special (SPL) drift type, setting them apart from the machines from the first six classes.

In total, the game offers 58 different machines, all but one of which will be unlocked after completion of the World Tours mode. The fourth Special machine, the Namco New Rally-X, requires players to not only complete PRO Tour 18, but also obtain a score of 50,000 in the Rally-X minigame shown before the game's intro sequence. The minigame can also be played any time under the Options menu.

Below is a table showing all available cars in the game, including the names of each livery across the different performance types.

Machine Drift Type Performance Type
Type-S Type-R Type-Z
Class 1
Kamata Fiera STD Sky Kid Warpman Naviway
Age Prophetie MLD Toypop Phelios Grobda
Danver Bayonet DYN Good Luck Ordyne Bakutotsu
Class 2
Age Abeille STD Phelios Bakutotsu Ordyne
Gnade Esperanza MLD Nebulasray Galaxian Starluster
Assoluto Bisonte DYN Sheonite Bacura Andorgenesis
Class 3
Assoluto Fatalita STD Bacura Derota Gamp
Himmel EO MLD Starluster Galaga Gaplus
Soldat Raggio DYN Gamp Andorgenesis Gil&Ki
Class 4
Kamata Fiera STD Good Luck Phozon F/A Racing
Age Prophetie MLD Sky Kid Nebulasray Digdug
Danver Bayonet DYN 8 Quox's Baraduke
Class 5
Age Abeille STD Quox's Warpman Mappy
Gnade Esperanza MLD Galaxian Galaga Bosconian
Assoluto Bisonte DYN Toroid Gamp Solvalou
Class 6
Assoluto Fatalita STD Solvalou Grobda Andorgensis
Himmel EO MLD Nebulasray Bosconian Galaxian
Soldat Raggio DYN Bacura Hyper Knight Druaga
Special
Kamata Angelus SPL (MLD)
Soldat Crinale SPL (DYN)
Namco Pac-Man SPL (MLD)
Namco New Rally-X SPL (STD)

(NOTE: While the handling types of Special Machines are all labeled as SPL, they are marked according to similarities with certain drift types.)

Music[]

The music in the game is a collection of new songs and songs taken from previous Ridge Racer games, arranged across several discs. The Red and Blue Discs contain all-new songs put together specifically for the game while the two Classic Discs contains a collection of remastered songs from Ridge Racer titles. Lastly, the Remix Disc contains songs from past titles remixed by their original composers. Each track from the Red and Blue Discs is also uniquely assigned to one of the 12 courses in the game, which is automatically assigned when racing on them.

Title Composer Original game Course
DISC 1: Red Disc
Highride SamplingMasters MEGA Greenpeak Highlands
Warp Trooper SamplingMasters AYA Midtown Expressway
Bassrider Hiroshi Okubo Union Hill District
Pulse Phaze U Sunset Drive
Chrome Drive sanodg Lakeside Parkway
Synthetic Life Kohta Takahashi Downtown Rave City
DISC 2: Blue Disc
Disco Ball Hiroshi Okubo Seaside Route 765
Night Stream Kohta Takahashi Crimsonrock Pass
Light Groove Asuka Sakai Ridge City Highway
Vanishing Horizon J99 Crystal Coast Highway
Tunnel Visionary Tetsukazu Nakanishi Diablo Canyon Road
Tek Trek Hiroshi Okubo, Koji Nakagawa Silvercreek Dam
DISC 3: Remix Disc
Rotterdam Nation Remix SamplingMasters MEGA Ridge Racer, "Rotterdam Nation"
Speedster Remix SamplingMasters MEGA Ridge Racer, "Speedster"
Drive U 2 Dancing Remix SamplingMasters AYA Ridge Racer 2 / Ridge Racer Revolution, "Drive U 2 Dancing" โ€”
Rareheroes sanodg Ridge Racer, "Rare Hero"
Blue Topaz Remix J99 Rave Racer, "Blue Topaz"
Motor Species Remix Tetsukazu Nakanishi Ridge Racer Type 4, "Motor Species"
DISC 4: Classic Disc 1
Ridge Racer SamplingMasters MEGA Ridge Racer
Grip sanodg Ridge Racer 2 / Ridge Racer Revolution
Euphoria SamplingMasters AYA Rave Racer
Silver Stream Hiroshi Okubo Rage Racer
Naked Glow Kohta Takahashi Ridge Racer Type 4
Your Vibe Asuka Sakai Ridge Racer Type 4
DISC 5: Classic Disc 2
Move Me Kohta Takahashi Ridge Racer Type 4
Movin' in Circles Hiroshi Okubo Ridge Racer Type 4
Eat 'em Up! Hiroshi Okubo Ridge Racer Type 4
TuiTui U Ridge Racer V
Samurai Rocket Kohta Takahashi Ridge Racer V
Daredevil Kohta Takahashi Ridge Racer V

Ridge Racers Direct Audio[]

An album featuring the BGM tracks available in the game was released in 2005. Also included in the album are the music from the intro sequence (Ignition), select screen (Departure Lounge), World Tour introduction video (World Touring), and ending sequence (Beyond).

No. Title Composer
Disc 1
1 Ignition Hiroshi Okubo
2 Departure Lounge Hiroshi Okubo
3 World Touring Keiki Kobayashi
4 Highride SamplingMasters MEGA
5 Warp Trooper SamplingMasters AYA
6 Bassrider Hiroshi Okubo
7 Pulse Phaze U
8 Chrome Drive sanodg
9 Synthetic Life Kohta Takahashi
10 Disco Ball Hiroshi Okubo
11 Night Stream Kohta Takahashi
12 Light Groove Asuka Sakai
13 Vanishing Horizon J99
14 Tunnel Visionary Tetsukazu Nakanishi
15 Tek Trek Hiroshi Okubo, Koji Nakagawa
16 Beyond Junichi Nakatsuru
Disc 2
1 Rotterdam Nation Remix SamplingMasters MEGA
2 Speedster Remix SamplingMasters MEGA
3 Drive U 2 Dancing Remix SamplingMasters AYA
4 Rareheroes sanodg
5 Blue Topaz Remix J99
6 Motor Species Remix Tetsukazu Nakanishi
7 Ridge Racer SamplingMasters MEGA
8 Grip sanodg
9 Euphoria SamplingMasters AYA
10 Silver Stream Hiroshi Okubo
11 Naked Glow Kohta Takahashi
12 Your Vibe Asuka Sakai
13 Move Me Kohta Takahashi
14 Movin' in Circles Hiroshi Okubo
15 Eat 'em Up! Hiroshi Okubo
16 TuiTui U
17 Samurai Rocket Kohta Takahashi
18 Daredevil Kohta Takahashi

On 1 March 2024, these songs, including the music from Ridge Racers 2, were made available for purchase and streaming worldwide.[1]

Trivia[]

  • The design elements present in the heads-up display during races return almost exactly as they are in Ridge Racer 6, only with the elements rearranged.
  • The inclusion of courses from different games across the Ridge Racer franchise may imply that the locations depicted in these games are all situated in one larger location, possibly Ridge State (although Ridge State is only referred to by name in Ridge Racer 7). The only exception to this may be the courses from Ridge Racer Type 4, as these have explicitly been mentioned to be located in real-life locations.
  • After completing PRO Tour 18 (Thriller), the ending credits will reveal hints to cheats that can only be used in Single Race and Time Attack modes.
    • Mirrored course: Press SELECT before choosing a course.
    • Unlimited nitrous: Press SELECT before selecting "OK" on the race confirmation screen.
    • Note that the use of these cheats will not allow for ghost data to be saved, and any new lap time records will not be set.

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 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
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