Racing games were never my thing. Unless the game was an entry from the Mario Kart series or was at an arcade, I would rarely find myself willingly sitting down to play a racing game, especially by myself. The amount of praise that I've heard for both the Ridge Racer franchise as a whole and Ridge Racer Type 4 in particular sparked my curiosity, though, and so I was eager to give that game a shot. From the moment I booted the game up for the first time, I was greeted by one of the coolest video game openings of all time, and while it did take months for me to actually have the chance to really sink my teeth into the game, the imagery of Reiko Nagase and those cars being set to the song "Urban Fragments" was burned into my brain. That two minute opening cutscene alone made me know that this game was something special, and now that I've been playing it, I've also been thinking about it constantly.
Among other things, Ridge Racer Type 4 is a game that many people associate with its phenomenal music, and it fully deserves all the praise that it gets. This game's fun, energetic, and optimistic soundtrack is a melting pot of several genres including funk, acid jazz, and D&B, and this eclectic mix not only matched the thrills of the game's high-speed races, but it also worked beautifully alongside the game's stylish UI to evoke a consistent atmosphere of levelheadedness and confidence that I absolutely loved. Speaking of which, the driving in Ridge Racer Type 4 feels great, as its physics and controls were arcade-y enough for you to be able to pick the game up and immediately have a good time with it while still being realistic enough to make refining your skills in drifting and turning feel immensely rewarding. Racing against a friend in two-player mode is already a lot of fun, but I also got a lot of enjoyment out of the time attack and extra trial modes, as it always feels satisfying to shave off even one millisecond from your previous record.
The main bulk of this game's single player content can be found in its Grand Prix mode, and I was really surprised to see how even that was filled with tons of charm and personality. The tournaments themselves have a great sense of progression to them, as being able to earn the trust of your team partners while also unlocking new cars depending on your performance made me want to do better for more reason than to just win. Not only was it interesting to see what racing meant to each of the team's characters, but the mix-&-match element to the Grand Prix's difficulty and car manufacturers made for some great replay value. Ridge Racer Type 4 is also one of the best looking games on the original PlayStation, and while that is kind of a given due to how this game was released towards the end of the console's lifespan, the detailed car models and backgrounds still dazzled me while also retaining a bit of the PS1's charming blockiness. I was really surprised by just how much I loved Ridge Racer Type 4, and not only am I excited to keep playing it, but I also want to broaden my horizons with the racing game genre, with the Burnout, Midnight Club, and Need for Speed franchises looking especially intriguing.
Among other things, Ridge Racer Type 4 is a game that many people associate with its phenomenal music, and it fully deserves all the praise that it gets. This game's fun, energetic, and optimistic soundtrack is a melting pot of several genres including funk, acid jazz, and D&B, and this eclectic mix not only matched the thrills of the game's high-speed races, but it also worked beautifully alongside the game's stylish UI to evoke a consistent atmosphere of levelheadedness and confidence that I absolutely loved. Speaking of which, the driving in Ridge Racer Type 4 feels great, as its physics and controls were arcade-y enough for you to be able to pick the game up and immediately have a good time with it while still being realistic enough to make refining your skills in drifting and turning feel immensely rewarding. Racing against a friend in two-player mode is already a lot of fun, but I also got a lot of enjoyment out of the time attack and extra trial modes, as it always feels satisfying to shave off even one millisecond from your previous record.
The main bulk of this game's single player content can be found in its Grand Prix mode, and I was really surprised to see how even that was filled with tons of charm and personality. The tournaments themselves have a great sense of progression to them, as being able to earn the trust of your team partners while also unlocking new cars depending on your performance made me want to do better for more reason than to just win. Not only was it interesting to see what racing meant to each of the team's characters, but the mix-&-match element to the Grand Prix's difficulty and car manufacturers made for some great replay value. Ridge Racer Type 4 is also one of the best looking games on the original PlayStation, and while that is kind of a given due to how this game was released towards the end of the console's lifespan, the detailed car models and backgrounds still dazzled me while also retaining a bit of the PS1's charming blockiness. I was really surprised by just how much I loved Ridge Racer Type 4, and not only am I excited to keep playing it, but I also want to broaden my horizons with the racing game genre, with the Burnout, Midnight Club, and Need for Speed franchises looking especially intriguing.