Ridge Racer: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"[[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|It's Ridge Racer!]] [[Memetic Mutation|Riiiiiidge Racer!]]"''|Sony Computer Entertainment president '''Kaz Hirai''' at [[E 3E3]] 2006}}

'''''Ridge Racer''''' is a series of racing games created by Namco and initially released in arcades in 1993. They found greater popularity on the PlayStation, where the first ''Ridge Racer'' game was announced as a launch title, owing much of its success to its emphasis on fast-paced racing over super-realism. Each game has multiple tracks that take place in the same city, with the same start/finish line but different vantage points. So far, seven official games have been released on PlayStation consoles (except for ''Ridge Racer 64'', which was a Nintendo 64 game, and ''Ridge Racer 6'', an Xbox 360-only title), with side-games and remakes on the PSP and Nintendo DS. An eighth game, dubbed ''Ridge Racer Unbounded'', was released in 2012 and developed by Bugbear Entertainment (developers of the first two ''Flatout'' games).

There are currently 7 main titles in the series and many portable versions and spinoffs. It's become a tradition for a new [[Play StationPlayStation]] console to have a new ''[[Ridge Racer]]'' game as a [[Launch Title]], and the [[Nintendo 3DS|3DS]], [[DS]] and [[Xbox 360]] were launched with one as well.

* Ridge Racer (1994 - Japan, 1995 - USA/EU), for arcades and the [[Play StationPlayStation]].

* Ridge Racer Revolution (1995 - Japan, 1996 - USA/EU), for [[Play StationPlayStation]].

* Rage Racer (1996 - Japan, 1997 - USA/EU), for [[Play StationPlayStation]]

* R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998 - Japan, 1999 - USA/EU), for [[Play StationPlayStation]].

* Ridge Racer V (2000), for [[Play StationPlayStation 2]].

* R: Racing Evolution (2003 - Japan, 2004 USA/EU), for [[Play StationPlayStation 2]], [[Game Cube]] and Xbox.

* Ridge Racer[[Market-Based Title|(s)]] (PSP) (2004 - Japan, 2005 - USA/EU), for [[Play StationPlayStation]] Portable, mixed new vehicles with tracks from the previous games.

* Ridge Racer[[Market-Based Title|(s)]] 2 (PSP) (2006), for [[Play StationPlayStation Portable]]

* Ridge Racer 7 (2006), for [[Play StationPlayStation]] 3 (Launch Game) - Allowed complete customization of vehicles from body kits to engine parts and paint jobs. One of the few [[Play Station 3]] games to run at 1080p and 60 FPS<ref>Even ''[[Wipeout]] HD'', which claims it can, cheats by adjusting the resolution when things get too hectic.</ref>

* Ridge Racer Unbounded (2012), for Xbox 360, [[Play StationPlayStation]] 3, PC

* Ridiculously unrealistic, dramatic drifting, to the point where turning is almost automatic and the brake button is rendered obsolete. The main draw of the series, and what separates it from other racing games.

** Later games added a nitrous boost (which is charged by drifting quickly) and slipstreaming (implemented as an almost literal [[Rubber Band AI]] that also benefits you).

** The tracks are also littered with [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to other games. Pay close attention in ''Ridge Racer V'' and ''64'', for example, and you'll see the logos of the factions from ''[[Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere]]''.

[[Category:Play StationPlayStation Portable]]

[[Category:Play StationPlayStation]]

[[Category:Play StationPlayStation 2]]

[[Category:Play StationPlayStation 3]]

[[Category:PlayNamco Station VitaBandai]]

[[Category:RidgeMobile RacerPhone Game]]