first look: ridge racer type 4

2024/11/09

in my continuous obsession over games released during and around the turn of the millennium, it was only natural that eventually i'd end up checking out RIDGE RACER TYPE 4 -- the playstation racer that by all means is designed to be "The Y2K Game" possibly more than any other "The Y2K Game"s.

TYPE 4 is, obviously, the fourth iteration of namco's ridge racer, the cutting-edge 3D arcade racer that showed audiences everywhere the capabilities of sony's playstation. although sony hadn't even developed it, it was their number-one marketing ploy in the earliest pre-resident-evil pre-final-fantasy 1995 cd-rom warfare days of the PS1. literally the number one, like the serial number on the spine for ridge racer marks it as 00001. and so even if other games sold more or gained more popularity or impacted the industry further, ridge racer is definitively The playstation game, in turn demonstrating the importance of namco to any game library.

advancements and optimisations in PS1 development allowed for subsequent ridge racer games to improve on each other, but the folks at namco went the extra step and gave subsequent console entries their own distinct aesthetics - the original game was a colorful, upbeat and eye-catching arcade-ass arcade game and REVOLUTION expanded on that, while RAGE RACER brings a grittier feel with more intense music, distinctly european architecture and a muted color palette. this culminated in TYPE 4, an enhancement of everything before it and a fashionable overhaul of overall aesthetics.

on the technical side, ridge racer type 4 is advanced and packs loads more game substance, but to match such mastery of the playstation's tech is an air of Sophistication, a balance between the maturity and excitement of previous entries befitting of the new millennium. this refreshing feeling breathes through every piece of the game's assets, from the UI design to the graphics to the unmatched soundtrack, so it's no wonder that to this day this is one of the most beloved arcade racers ever made.

and like, buddy, i suck at racing games. i'm not accustomed to anything that isn't mariokart or mariokart adjacent, but lately i've checked out more arcade racers out of necessity for capturing footage, mainly sega's iconic ones for when i made the SONIC video. a lot of the time these games don't click with me, i find them too difficult and never manage to get far, and i felt like it'd be the same with ridge racer but this is far from the same.

i have a history with TYPE 4, even just a little bit, starting with when i -- don't laugh -- got the playstation mini in 2018 and played it on there. at the time i found it hard and didn't play it much, which i can kinda say the same for with a lot of the games included on that thing, but it introduced me to a type of stylishness i wouldn't have seen firsthand otherwise. my perception of PS1 car games was clunkiness and chunkiness and big cubes and limitations but here was one that left a tangible impact on me, one i could then only fail to articulate, but it wasn't enough to hook the riley of 6 years ago.

revisiting it years later i've got a totally different, more informed, and more appreciative perspective; i Know of namco's importance to the PS1, i Know that ridge racer is one of the most important racing series out there, and i Know that type 4 is a masterpiece. it's proven to me by how much i loved playing it this time round, that i got super into it and wanted to keep going, that even when i stopped i wanted to go back and play more, that i thoroughly enjoyed an arcade racer for the first time.

and there's a bunch of reasons for that -- the gameplay is finely honed and just driving is satisfying, but attributing this to just the controls and course layouts would be dishonest. ridge racer type 4 is the kinda game you can't just look at, you need to play it and feel it in action to know the true extent of its beloved aesthetics. ridge racer type 4 is not just its soundtrack, or its graphics or its UI, it's a harmonic medley of game design.

that said, there's an underlayer to the raw Vibe on display, a refreshing coldness past its positive yellow cover. as mentioned, R4 is "The Y2K Game", with everything that may imply from its surface-level fashion to its high-tech optimism to the paranoia lurking beneath. what R4 tells us is not to linger, not to ruminate on the past, but to break free and look forward, speeding ahead, minding you don't hit any walls on the way.

i mean i'm probably reading too much into it but there is a genuine, raw feeling i get from these environments, like it's not a sunset but a new morning. the cool blue tones overlaying the whole game, the chill of a new winter morning, the new year looming ahead, it's a level of optimism more real and more personal than the over-the-top DAYTONAAA type of positivity. this is just what i'm getting out of it, but it's always important to know we have a future ahead of us and there's always a new morning and there's always ONE MORE WIN ITS RIDGE RAAAACEEEER