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- Ridge Racer 64
Ridge Racer 64
- November 24, 2000 14:47 PM PST
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It's been a long time coming, but now N64 racers can finally get their hands on the game that created the racing genre on the PlayStation, with Nintendo's own Ridge Racer 64. It's an all-out arcade race to the finish - but unfortunately, the finish happened a few years back.
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Ridge Racer '94
When Ridge Racer debuted for the Japanese PlayStation way back in 1994 gamers lapped it up like warm milk. Competing against Sega's Daytona, Ridge Racer offered more action and crazy physics, and gamers loved it. There had never been anything like it. Since then there have been a number of Ridge Racers, from Ridge Racer Revolution to Rage Racer to Ridge Racer Type 4, each with great improvements over the original.
Now, six years later, Nintendo brings Ridge Racer to the Fun Machine, but without the improvements to the ancient racing engine contained in the newer PSX Ridges. RR64 has all the bouncing, sliding, and action of the original classic, which is all just old hat. The new cars, new tracks, and somewhat improved graphics can't get this game beyond its quirky and outdated controls. Unfortunately, this new Ridge Racer doesn't even look like last year's model; it looks like the racing games of yesteryear.
Battle of the Ridge
Ridge Racer 64 controls in much the same way as its spiritual predecessor, the original PSX Ridge Racer. For some unknown reason, Nintendo chose to bring over the original, with all its massive collision problems and "what-planet-is-this-on?" physics, rather than the much more balanced and realistic Ridge Racer Type 4. Why is it that, when a car sideswipes you from behind, it gains a huge speed boost? How come when you do the same thing, you lose most of your speed and go careening toward an invisible, sticky wall on the side of the track? Powersliding is essential to winning this game, but doing it is hit-or-miss prospect, and you'll spend as much time scraping the oddly adhesive walls as you will racing for gold.
Of course, Ridge Racer 64 is no exception to the general rules of N64 presentation: relatively speedy and bland graphics, and sound that's nothing to scream home about. The graphics in RR64 look smoother than the original Ridge Racer, but RR Type 4 looked much more complex and interesting. RR64's sound is fine, with some intriguing music, but the Will Ferrell sound-alike announcer quickly annoys.
No Racing Revolution
Ridge Racer 64 is a decent game for people who must have every Ridge Racer known to man, but last year's Ridge Racer Type 4 was much better. In the supersaturated world of N64 racing, RR64 barely manages to keep up.
