I wish I got to play this game as a kid, but I could never find a copy. However, I did have a poster of Reiko I got from a magazine, which taught me at a very young age that I was extremely attracted to cute women with short hair.

That said, this game is legendary for good reason. It has top-tier aesthetics and music, and the gameplay's really great. It holds up quite well too, despite modern racers being much more complex mechanically and what not.

Marking it as complete when I only beat one GP (the Normal one) might be dumb but it is what it is.

I can say though, playing this made me sad that I can't play 7, which looks like the absolute peak of the franchise. My PS3's dumb and PC's CPU is too old to emulate it well enough...

The vibes
Graphics
Music
Aesthetics
10/10 best PS1 racing game. Okay ted talk over

i tried (and failed) to clear it in one sitting with a jogcon a few years back and i don't think my wrist has ever recovered. yeah, it looks, sounds and plays nice (to be a cop-out, it's smooth and refined), easily the best of the PS1 ridge racers despite not having any grossly distorted 909 kicks in the soundtrack (aya and megaten moved on to arika to make the best soundtracks in any tetris game, for the best tetris games).

but honestly ridge racer v is the better game mechanically (and RRV has grossly distorted 909 kicks in the soundtrack)

Gran turismo, if you ask me, is the definition of someone who dedicates their lives to cars. That’s probably why you like the games, unless you genuinely like them just to have fun. Ridge racer type 4 however, is the only game I know that when I play it, I can feel that it has a sex life. The music, the controls, the visuals, like the lead singer of prince once said: ‘I’m gonna party like it’s 1999’ and that’s exactly what I did.

In the Grand Prix mode you have the option to select which racing team you want to be a part of and which manufacturer you want for your car. The racing teams also double up as your difficulty options but that’s not all, they also have story. What I like about type 4 is that it doesn’t try to go for a really immersive story, all it really is is you driving for someone as your hear about their life and almost get closer to them. It almost makes you want to win and support them with everything possible. They’ll either applaud you for doing well in a race or criticise you for not performing up to standards. The different leads all feel full of life and are one of the best aspects of this mode. You also get the choice between drift cars or grip cars which changes the handling of how you drive. The tracks are also very similar throughout with different routes that appear as you return to them later. The Grand Prix mode is the best mode of the entire game and it really shows.

The music is just the chefs kiss of the entire game. Never have I gone into a game and been absolutely blown away by an absolutely stellar techno soundtrack. It was the 90’s so it does make some sense but oh man is it amazing. From the groovy saxophone of ‘Pearl blue soul’ to the more chilled and relaxed ‘move me’ there really is something for everyone in this soundtrack and it all works really well as you’re driving. It almost compliments each other excellently. And even the menu themes are an absolute bop.

There are a few other modes like time attack where you can use cars you’ve unlocked in the gran prix mode and even extra trial where you test your speed against a super fast opponent with any car you unlocked throughout the Grand Prix mode. You can even edit what your car looks like in the garage mode where you can check out the cars you’ve unlocked and play around with the customisation options.

So yes, ridge racer type 4 is my first proper racing game and…I feel it’s gonna be hard to top. There’s a reason I’ve given this game 5 stars and it’s because it was an absolute joy to play and it’s gonna really set my standards for other racing games. I am hoping to try the gran turismo games and maybe give the wipeout games a go if I can, as they are supposed to have a stellar soundtrack. But for now, ridge racer type 4 will probably hold the crown as my favourite racing game of all time.

Bopping soundtrack, excellent gameplay, great Grand Prix modes, stories were wonderful, and the pac-man car