This game is everything I hoped Ridge Racer 1 would be in terms of handling, tracks, visuals, and sound. It was a bit of a golden goose in my series collection, I'm guessing it sold quite poorly considering how uncommon these have been in retro stores or even online listings. Kind of like a "forgotten entry", relegated to series retrospectives from youtubers who aren't interested or wiki fodder for those interested in how Type 4 got it's name considering the it's often the 5th or 6th game listed. If you are looking for a really old Ridge Racer to play for fun, this is what you're looking for.

Firstly, the style here is just top notch. I'm not much of a fan of series mainstay songs like Rare Hero and Rotterdam Nation, but tracks from this game like Drive U 2 Dancing, Over The Highway, and especially Lords of Techno are absolute bangers. They channel the raw intensity and dance energy of Experience-era Prodigy fantastically, and I feel this is one of the most overlooked soundtracks in the series along with Rave Racer. The visuals also capture the early Playstation look just like the first game but much better emulate effects like the darkness of night and changing time of day.

This game also features the "one track that changes" feature of Ridge Racer OG, but the execution here is much cleaner and more interesting. Each of the three difficulties now has its own segments of track exclusive to it, and each one both challenges the driver in increasing intensity but also balances the readability much better than the advanced section of the original city course.

The real draw of this version of Ridge Racer is the handling model, and I'm bold enough to say this is when the series proper came into form gameplay-wise. The controls are much more precise and predictable than the first entry. Collisions are a bit more forgiving, with some side-swipes not causing the same speed-death as previously. This in combination with the easier-to-read track design makes for a much cleaner and more fun experience.

I didn't really expect to have this much to say about such a short and feature-trim game. But if you're able to play this one it's much more worthwhile than the first Ridge Racer. It's even got multiplayer apparently! Haven't tried it yet. It's also how I learned the PS1 has a console link cable.

Cant remember if it was this or the OG Ridge Racer but I remember going to Toys R Us every day after school, they had one PS set up with one controller and the only game they had to play was Ridge Racer. And that shit had a line of kids a mile long every fucking afternoon, because a PS cost $800 at that time and only the fucking richie rich kids could afford one.

Pretty sure it was the first PS game id ever seen, and it looked AMAZING. Played like shit but that didnt matter, because early PS games all played like shit.

basically an extension of the original ridge racer on psx with a new track and some new vehicle customization features. thankfully the novice/intermediate/expert courses each have modified layouts compared to novice/intermediate sharing a course in the original, with some pretty claustrophobic turns added as the difficulty is ratcheted up. unfortunately these narrow turns present a new issue the original never really suffered from: the AI cars frequently bunch up and completely stymie player efforts, and it's not made any better by the fact that hitting another car will result in it not only getting pushed forward but also oddly rotating to the side, which results in it sitting lengthwise across the road. the spinout mechanic now also feels much more difficult to control now, meaning that the brake+gas combo I described in my previous review now feels like the only option for tight turns. while these components make the game more difficult than the first (and often more frustrating), I did appreciate the turns requiring a bit more finesse in terms of gear choice. in the original I rarely ever had to shift out of 6th, whereas here some particularly tight U-turns and narrow corridors had me slotting down to 4th if things were dire or 5th if I could get my line right. in that sense, it's a solid iteration on the first: increase the difficulty, require smarter use of the mechanics, and add some extra bits and bobbles here and there. not a particularly inspired sequel, but enjoyable for fans of the original.

this game is really really weird, it's basically just the psx version of ridge racer but with new music and a new track/map thingy.
it has the same bullshit as the original which is
kinda sad

also the AI in this game fucking sucks. they'll either have the worst rubber banding and will huddle up in groups as an effort to block you, or have cars like the white angel and 13th racing kid where they will literally outpace you unless you block them yourself
but I do like how the game recognizes blocking as an actual mechanic, with the announcer shouting "get ready to block!" at the right times

and that's another thing I love about this game. the announcer is so fucking wacky
if you let a car overtake you he'll literally say "haha! you're too slow" and some other wacky quotes like "taking your time, aren't you? what's wrong, engine trouble?" it's really funny and i wish more games had cool announcers like these

either way it's basically just a ridge racer ROM hack. not bad but they could have added a lot more content