Mark Plays… Rage Racer (レイジレーサー) (PSone)

I take a look at the third part of the Ridge Racer series called ‘Rage Racer’. A game by Namco released in 1996-1997 for the original PlayStation. A game quite different from the first two releases of Ridge Racer where it’s not just simply racing but it is possible to advance, get more experience and basically experience a racing career. You can earn money and you get to upgrade your car and/or buy different ones.

You race within 5 racing classes on four different tracks in this game – quite a bit different from the first two Ridge Racers and at the same time they look and feel familiar, especially the start/finish is similar.

The car manufacturers found in the game are Gnade (Germany), Age (France), Lizard (USA) and Absoluto (Italy). All types and makes have different features and behaviours.

The prologue movie on the game disc is different between American/EU release and the Japanese release. The Music in the game is quite distinct different from the first two releases.

This game came before the last Ridge Racer game released on the original Playstation called Ridge Racer Type IV. Here’s a complete list of the ridge racer games on all the platforms they came out for.

The Arcade games are:
-Ridge Racer (7 October 1993), Namco System 22.
-Ridge Racer Full Scale (1994), Namco System 22
-Ridge Racer 2 (16 June 1994) Namco System 22
-Rave Racer (16 July 1995), Namco System 22
-Pocket Racer (1996), Namco System 11
-Ridge Racer V: Arcade Battle (2000), Namco System 246.

The console games are:
-Ridge Racer (1994 – Japan, 1995 – USA/EU), for PlayStation, similar to the arcade with an optional 3rd person view (Launch Game). Début of 13th Racing (“Devil” car).
-Ridge Racer Revolution (1995 – Japan, 1996 – USA/EU), for PlayStation. 13th Racing Kid and White Angel made their grand début in this game, challenging you in the game’s Time Trial mode. Soundtrack was taken from the Ridge Racer 2 arcade game.
-Rage Racer (1996 – Japan, 1997 – USA/EU), for PlayStation. This game marked the début of the retries rule and customization aspects.
-R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998 – Japan, 1999 – USA/EU), for PlayStation, following the -Rage Racer formula, but instead of customization, there are four racing teams to choose from.
-Ridge Racer Turbo (1998 – Japan, 1999 – USA/EU), for PlayStation. (known in Europe as Ridge Racer Hi-Spec Demo) A new version of the original game which featured a reduced number of game modes but run at 60fps and featured gouraud shading which had been absent from the original. Was given away as a bonus with R4: Ridge Racer Type 4.
-Ridge Racer 64 (2000), for Nintendo 64, features tracks from Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer 2 and its very own set of desert tracks (“Renegade”) exclusive to the N64. (not released in Japan)
-Ridge Racer V (2000), for PlayStation 2 (Launch Game) – Allows slight customisation, R4-style Grand Prix races are present rather than the original’s free-form structure.
-R: Racing Evolution (2003), for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube – the spin-off title in the series to feature licensed cars from vehicle manufacturers.
-Critical Velocity (2005), for PlayStation 2 – formerly known as Rune Chaser. Plot-based spin-off game featuring Ridge Racer cars (only released in Japan).
-Ridge Racer 6 (2005), for Xbox 360 (Launch Game).
-Ridge Racer 7 (2006), for PlayStation 3 (Launch Game) – Allowed complete customization of vehicles from body kits to engine parts and paint jobs.
-Ridge Racer Unbounded (2012), for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360. (not released in Japan)

The games on the handheld systems:
-Ridge Racer DS (2004 – USA, 2005 – EU), for Nintendo DS, a port of Ridge Racer 64 with the additional feature of being able to steer by using the touch screen. (not released in Japan)
-Ridge Racers (2004 – Japan, 2005 – USA/EU), for PlayStation Portable (Launch Game), mixed new vehicles with tracks from the previous games.
-Ridge Racers 2 (2006), for PlayStation Portable followed the same formula as its predecessor with tracks featured in previous games of the series.
-Ridge Racer 3D (2011), for Nintendo 3DS (Launch Game).[18]
-Ridge Racer Vita (2011), for PlayStation Vita (Launch Game), first crossover game in the series.

Cell phone/mobile phone games:
-Ridge Racer (2005), for J2ME
-Ridge Racers Mobile (2007)
-Ridge Racer Accelerated (2009), for iOS
-Ridge Racer Drift (2010)

The list was sourced from Wikipedia. And I must say I own quite a few of these 😛

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