R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

Last updated
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4
Ridge Racer Type 4.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Namco
Publisher(s) Namco [lower-alpha 1]
Producer(s) Shigeru Yokoyama
Programmer(s) Masatoshi Kobayashi
Artist(s) Kazutoki Kono
Composer(s) Kohta Takahashi
Hiroshi Okubo
Asuka Sakai
Series Ridge Racer
Platform(s) PlayStation
Release
  • JP: 3 December 1998
  • EU: 16 April 1999
  • NA: 4 May 1999 [1]
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 [lower-alpha 2] , released without the 'R4' prefix in PAL territories, is a 1998 racing video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the fourth home title in the Ridge Racer series after Rage Racer (1996) and was initially released on December 3, 1998 in Japan, with global releases following in 1999.

Contents

Maintaining the arcade-style gameplay of its predecessors, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 introduces a new Grand Prix, named Real Racing Roots '99, consisting of four teams that the player may join, with associated sponsorships that can also be chosen, each offering different effects to the driving. Additionally, every team also has its own story mode, accompanied with a manager that interacts with the player during the season. The number of car models has been expanded to over three hundred.

It received a highly positive reception with praise going to its presentation, art, driving, and soundtrack, though some criticism went to its cars' overly light drifting compared to earlier titles in the series. Considered by some as one of the greatest PlayStation titles, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 was later re-released on the PlayStation Network in 2011, in 2023 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and came pre-loaded on the PlayStation Classic in 2018. [2] It was followed by Ridge Racer V in 2000, which moved the series on to next generation hardware.

Gameplay

A typical race in progress, taking place at the Helter Skelter circuit, featuring the player driving the Terrazi Ambitious as part of the Pac Racing Club attempting to overtake the Lizard Bonfire of Dig Racing Team. Ridge Racer Type 4 gameplay.png
A typical race in progress, taking place at the Helter Skelter circuit, featuring the player driving the Terrazi Ambitious as part of the Pac Racing Club attempting to overtake the Lizard Bonfire of Dig Racing Team.

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is an arcade-style racing game with a strong emphasis on powersliding around corners. Vehicles use one of two styles of powersliding depending on the make of car they select: Drift and Grip. Drift cars require players to tap the brake once while turning to break into a smooth powerslide while Grip cars requires players to alternate between brakes and gas while turning to powerslide. [3]

Vehicles are earned by playing through the game's Grand Prix mode. Players select one of four teams; R.C Micro Mouse Mappy (France), Pac Racing Club (Japan), Racing Team Solvalou (Italy), and Dig Racing Team (United States), who each have varying difficulties, and one of four manufacturers; Age Solo (France), Lizard (United States), Assoluto (Italy), and Terrazi (Japan), which determines the style of car and powerslide type the player will use. In each race, the player must attempt to reach a qualifying position, with later stages requiring players to place in higher positions to qualify. Depending on the qualifying position in each race, players will be awarded a new vehicle, or an upgrade to their current one, based on their team and manufacturer, with better cars earned for reaching consistently higher positions (i.e. the best cars are earned by placing 1st in each match while the least impressive cars are earned by just clearing the minimum qualifying positions). There are a total of 320 vehicles earned by racing with every combination of team, manufacturer and qualifying position. If the players unlock all 320 cars, they will unlock an additional one modelled after Pac-Man, for a total of 321 vehicles. [3]

The game also features Time Attack mode, in which players can attempt to get the fastest time on each course, and VS. Battle, a split-screen mode for two players (the first to appear in the home console series) and an undocumented PlayStation Link Cable mode, allowing four players to play simultaneously. Players can also create their own car decors and participate in Extra Trials against powerful prototype cars. The game is also compatible with the JogCon peripheral and the PocketStation device, which allows players to trade cars with friends. [3] [4]

Development

The project for R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 began in May 1997. All the 33 staff members had also worked previously on the original Ridge Racer. [5] The game was also the first Ridge Racer on the PlayStation to use Gouraud shading on polygons. Developmental staff members commented that much "waste" was removed in order to make Gouraud shading and high polygon counts possible. Similarly to the critically acclaimed Gran Turismo at the time, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 made use of SCE's Performance Analyser devkit. [5] The team initially didn't expect to achieve all graphical advances but eventually succeeded in doing them, and even added additional features during development. Ace Combat 2 was used by the art director for inspiration regarding the sky effects in the game. [5] The opening movie, featuring series mascot Reiko Nagase, took over six months to make including planning. [5]

Music

Hiroshi Okubo served as the sound director and lead composer of the game's soundtrack, with Kohta Takahashi and Asuka Sakai also contributing several tracks, and Tetsukazu Nakanishi and Koji Nakagawa contributing two tracks each. Whereas previous games had music inspired by rave and hardcore, R4 instead explores music styles encompassing funk, breakbeat, acid jazz, UK garage, progressive house, and neo soul. [6] Okubo himself described R4's music as "more mature, more fashionable" compared to the past. [5]

Okubo had previously composed additional tracks for Ridge Racer Revolution with Nobuhide Isayama and the whole soundtrack of Rage Racer with Nakanishi, both of which roughly retain the original's rave sound. A handful of tracks in the game, including the theme song "Ridge Racer (One More Win)", feature vocals by American singer Kimara Lovelace. Okubo first discovered her at a club event in Nishi-Azabu in May 1998; he was impressed by her powerful voice, and felt she fitted the game direction's keywords of "urban" and "cool". [7]

The music was design to correspond with the game's human drama, so the composers aimed to evoke emotions of sadness and tension in their tracks. Both Takahashi and Sakai previously did not have much knowledge or interest in club music; initial tracks they composed for the game were frequently rejected by Okubo for not fitting into the club sound or being "game like". Takahashi described him as "the gatekeeper to club sound hell", [8] while Okubo took piano parts from one of Sakai's tracks and reworked it into "Quiet Curves", [7] much to her annoyance. [9] Nakagawa, who was working on the soundtrack for Techno Drive at the time, was asked by Okubo to contribute due to his experience with composing techno music, while Nakanishi was involved towards the end of the project. [10]

A soundtrack for the game, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Direct Audio was released by Media Factory on January 27, 1999. [6] On March 21, 2019, SuperSweep released R4: The 20th Anniv. Sounds, consisting of two CDs: the first includes new remixes by a variety of artists, and the second including a remastered version of the original soundtrack. [11]

Release

A peripheral, the JogCon, was released alongside the game, packaged in special editions. The device features a steering wheel type device in the middle of the controller to provide accurate control. R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 was also released with a bonus disc containing a High-Spec version of the original Ridge Racer, running at 60 frames per second like its arcade counterpart. The disc also contains demos for LiberoGrande , Tales of Destiny, Tekken 3, and Klonoa. [12]

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [13]

Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot [21] and Next Generation gave positive reviews to the game. [23]

Keith Stuart of Official UK PlayStation Magazine in its preview gave a strongly positive reception to the game design such as light and shadow effects. [5] He also added in comparison to other racers: "Not everyone enjoyed the obsessive intricacy and detail of Gran Turismo, but many found sub-arcade fare like Motorhead lacking in substance. With R4's combination of immediate gameplay and real depth, players get the best of both worlds." [5]

In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 35 out of 40. [17]

Retrospective

James O'Neill of Push Square noted it as the best of the PS1 Ridge Racer games. [26] Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer said in 2018 that "R4 remains a high mark for the series and no entry has quite topped it yet." In 2023, Time Extension ranked the game first on their "Best Ridge Racer Games" list. [27] Polygon and GamesRadar have ranked the game among the best PS1 games. [28] [29] Den of Geek included the game on their list of "20 PlayStation One Games That Were Way Ahead of Their Time" for getting the balance of "arcadey" and "realistic" right, also noting it as one of the best-looking PS1 titles. [30]

Commercial

It was a commercial success in Japan, and various European territories. [31] It was the 18th best-selling video game in Japan in 1998, having been on the market for under a month before the year end. [32] The game sold a total of 759,527 units in Japan [33] and 297,564 units in the United States, [34] for a total of 1,057,091 units sold in Japan and the United States.

Notes

  1. ↑ Published in North America by Namco Hometek and in Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.
  2. ↑ Japanese: リッジレーサータイプ4, Hepburn: Rijji Rēsā Taipu Fō

Related Research Articles

Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic racing simulations and more fantastical arcade-style racing games. Kart racing games emerged in the 1990s as a popular sub-genre of the latter. Racing games may also fall under the category of sports video games.

Ridge Racer is a racing video game series developed and published for arcade systems and home game consoles by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco. The first game, Ridge Racer (1993), was originally released in arcades for the Namco System 22 hardware, later ported to the PlayStation one year later as a launch title. It was met with several sequels and spin-off games for multiple platforms, the latest being the mobile game Ridge Racer Draw & Drift (2016) and the latest mainline game, developed in-house, was Ridge Racer 7 (2006). Gameplay involves the player racing against computer-controlled opponents to be the first to finish in a race. Drifting is a core aspect of the series and is used to keep speed while turning corners; Ridge Racer pioneered the real-life technique in video games. The series is considered influential to the racing game genre.

<i>Ridge Racer Revolution</i> 1995 video game

Ridge Racer Revolution is a racing video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation in 1995. It is the sequel to the PlayStation version of Ridge Racer. Like the original Ridge Racer, the player races computer-controlled cars with the objective of winning a series of races, and supports Namco's NeGcon controller. Ridge Racer Revolution adds two hidden cars, and two-player support via the PlayStation Link cable, and took roughly the same time to develop as the first. The intention was to increase the depth and add features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NeGcon</span> Video game controller manufactured by Namco

The NeGcon, stylized as neGcon, is a motion-based game controller manufactured in 1995 by Namco for the PlayStation. One of the first third-party peripherals for the system, the controller is connected by a swivel joint, allowing the player to twist the halves relative to each other. The controller also replaces the "symbol" buttons on the original PlayStation controller with two "A" and "B" buttons, as well as "I" and "II" buttons that allowed for analogue control. A black variant was released exclusively in Japan.

<i>Ridge Racer 2</i> 1994 racing video game

Ridge Racer 2 is a 1994 arcade racing game developed by Namco for their System 22 hardware. Ridge Racer 2 is more of an updated version of Ridge Racer, than an actual sequel: the main change is the ability to play with up to eight human players. Otherwise it has trivial changes including the addition of an in-race rear-view mirror and a remixed soundtrack.

<i>Ridge Racer V</i> 2000 video game

Ridge Racer V is a 2000 racing game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2 as a launch game for that platform, and later followed by a home-to-arcade port subtitled Arcade Battle. Ridge Racer V is the fifth main title of the Ridge Racer series following R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 and the only one to be released on PlayStation 2.

<i>Rave Racer</i> 1995 racing video game

Rave Racer is a 1995 arcade racing video game from Namco. It is the third title in the Ridge Racer series and the follow-up to Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer 2. Rave Racer runs on Namco System 22 hardware, and could be played by two people per cabinet for up to eight players total when up to four of them were linked together. Compared to Ridge Racer 2, Rave Racer adds two new tracks as well as the ability to play the original two, various handling changes, force feedback steering, and improved car and racetrack graphics. Rave Racer was a critical and commercial success; it would be the last major arcade Ridge Racer title as Namco would continue the series on home consoles with Rage Racer (1996) and R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998).

<i>Rage Racer</i> 1996 video game

Rage Racer is the third title in the Ridge Racer series of racing games on the PlayStation following Ridge Racer Revolution (1995), and fifth overall title in the series. Developed and published by Namco, it was released in Japan on December 3, 1996, with releases elsewhere following in 1997. It was the first game in the series to feature a CGI animated introduction, and introduced a new "mascot", Reiko Nagase.

<i>Ridge Racer 6</i> 2005 racing video game

Ridge Racer 6 is a 2005 racing game by Namco released. It was the sixth console game in the Ridge Racer series following Ridge Racer V (2000), but unlike the previous mainline entries, which were released for PlayStation consoles, this entry was released exclusively as a launch title for the Xbox 360.

<i>Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere</i> 1999 video game

Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere is a combat flight simulation video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. The third game in the Ace Combat franchise, it was released in Japan on May 27th, 1999 and in Europe and North America by January 21st, and March 7th 2000, respectively. Players fly fighter aircraft and must complete a variety of mission objectives, such as destroying squadrons of enemy planes or protecting a base from an invading unit.

Yuu Miyake is a Japanese composer and sound engineer who formerly worked at Bandai Namco Entertainment. His most known work surfaced with Katamari Damacy soundtracks, on which he served as a sound director. Other notable works include various tracks in the Tekken and Ridge Racer series.

<i>Ridge Racer 7</i> 2006 racing video game

Ridge Racer 7 is a 2006 arcade-style racing video game developed and published by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation 3 as a launch title. The seventh installment in the Ridge Racer series for consoles, Ridge Racer 7 is essentially the PlayStation exclusive version of the Xbox 360 exclusive Ridge Racer 6, but with more content.

<i>Ridge Racer</i> (2004 video game) 2004 video game

Ridge Racer, released in Japan as Ridge Racers, is an arcade racing video game developed by Namco for the PlayStation Portable. It is named after the eponymous Ridge Racer video game series to which it belongs. The game was released in Japan on 11 December 2004, in North America on 24 March 2005, and in Europe and Australia on 1 September as a launch title. Available in the game is a fully playable version of the Namco arcade game New Rally-X.

<i>Ridge Racer</i> (1993 video game) 1993 racing video game

Ridge Racer is a 1993 racing video game developed and published by Namco, and the first title in what would become the Ridge Racer series. It was released initially on the Namco System 22 arcade system board and ported to the PlayStation home console in 1994. Ridge Racer was notable for being the first arcade video game with 3D texture-mapped graphics, with its System 22 hardware capable of texture mapping and Gouraud shading.

<i>Ridge Racer 2</i> (2006 video game) 2006 racing video game published by Namco and SCEE

Ridge Racer 2, released in Japan as Ridge Racers 2, is an arcade-style racing game developed by Namco Bandai Games for the PlayStation Portable hand-held console, marking the 14th release in the Ridge Racer series and also the sequel to the PSP launch title Ridge Racer. It saw release in Japan on 14 September 2006, followed by its 13 October European launch and 19 October release in Australia. The original North American release was cancelled. On 20 December 2022, Ridge Racer 2 was made available worldwide to download on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 as part of the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription service, and from 15 August 2023 as a standalone purchasable title. This marks the first time the game was released in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pac-Man (character)</span> Video game character

Pac-Man is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the video game franchise of the same name. Created by Toru Iwatani, he first appeared in the arcade game Pac-Man (1980), and has since appeared in more than 30 licensed sequels and spin-offs for multiple platforms, and spawning mass amounts of merchandise in his image, including two television series and a hit single by Buckner & Garcia. He is the official mascot of Bandai Namco Entertainment. Pac-Man's most common antagonists are the Ghost Gang — Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde that are determined to defeat him to accomplish their goals, which change throughout the series. Pac-Man also has a voracious appetite, being able to consume vast amounts of food in a short timespan, and can eat his enemies by consuming large "Power Pellets".

Shinji Hosoe, also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring Ridge Racer, Street Fighter EX and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production and publishing company SuperSweep, alongside long time collaborator Ayako Saso.

<i>Ridge Racer 3D</i> 2011 racing video game

Ridge Racer 3D is a 2011 arcade-style racing video game for the Nintendo 3DS, published and developed by Namco Bandai Games. It was the first Ridge Racer series title on a Nintendo platform since Ridge Racer DS (2004) and as usual for the series revolves around cars racing around high speed tracks while drifting. The game received positive reviews and was a commercial success.

<i>Techno Drive</i> 1998 video game by Namco

Techno Drive is a 1998 driving simulator arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. It is known for its unique graphical interface that uses fluorescent colors choices and flat shading. Players control a racecar throughout a variety of different minigames, each testing their skill and reaction time. Minigames include drifting along corners, avoiding collision with other vehicles, and driving with a bowl of liquid attached to the rear of the car. The game was designed for the Namco System 12, an arcade board based on raw PlayStation hardware.

Kohta Takahashi is a Japanese composer. He is best known for his work on Namco games, including multiple Ridge Racer and Klonoa titles, as well as Ace Combat 2 and the console version of Tekken 5.

References

  1. ↑ "psx.ign.com: R4: Ridge Racer Type 4". 2001-03-03. Archived from the original on 2001-03-03. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  2. ↑ "Announcing PlayStation Classic's Full Lineup of 20 Games". PlayStation.Blog. 29 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 リッジレーサータイプ４オフィシャルガイドブーク (in Japanese). アスペクト. 7 January 1999. ISBN   9784757203075.
  4. ↑ Namco Official Guide Book R4 (in Japanese). 3 December 1998. 4907892080072.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "First Look: Ridge Racer Type 4". Official UK PlayStation Magazine . No. 42 (published February 1999). 1999. pp. 38–41.
  6. 1 2 Greening, Chris (August 1, 2012). "Ridge Racer Type 4 Direct Audio". VGMO.
  7. 1 2 R4 / RIDGE RACER TYPE 4 / DIRECT AUDIO (CD) (in Japanese). January 27, 1999.
  8. ↑ Greening, Chris (June 15, 2011). "Kohta Takahashi Interview: Cutting-Edge Namco Scores". VGMO.
  9. ↑ Greening, Chris (June 8, 2010). "Asuka Sakai Interview: What Constitutes Game Music?". VGMO.
  10. ↑ "ナムコ「リッジレーサーズ」 サウンドチーム大集合(前編)". GAME Watch (in Japanese). December 22, 2004.
  11. ↑ Kotowski, Don (June 25, 2019). "R4 -THE 20TH ANNIV. SOUNDS-". VGMO.
  12. ↑ "More on R4's Bonus Disc". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
  13. 1 2 "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 for PlayStation Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  14. ↑ Mark Kanarick. "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on 15 November 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  15. ↑ Edge staff (February 1999). "R4 - Ridge Racer Type 4". Edge . No. 68. Future plc. pp. 74–75. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  16. ↑ Sushi-X; Ricciardi, John; Davison, John; Hager, Dean (June 1999). "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 119. Ziff Davis. p. 135.
  17. 1 2 "R4 -リッジレーサー タイプ4- [PS]". Famitsu (in Japanese). Enterbrain . Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  18. ↑ "[R4] Ridge Racer Type 4". Game Informer . No. 73. FuncoLand. May 1999.
  19. ↑ Dan Elektro (1999). "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". GamePro . IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 February 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  20. ↑ Sean Johnson (June 1999). "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Review". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. 1 2 Jeff Gerstmann (17 December 1998). "Ridge Racer Type 4 Review". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Craig Harris (5 May 1999). "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4". IGN . Ziff Davis. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  23. 1 2 "[R4:] Ridge Racer Type 4". Next Generation . No. 55. Imagine Media. July 1999. pp. 90–91. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  24. ↑ Keith Stuart (May 1999). "Ridge Racer Type 4". Official UK PlayStation Magazine . No. 45. Future plc. pp. 80–84. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  25. ↑ Mark MacDonald (May 1999). "R4: Ridge Racer Type 4". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . Vol. 2, no. 8. Ziff Davis. pp. 80–81. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  26. ↑ O'Neill, James (4 December 2018). "Ridge Racer Type 4 Review (PS1)". Push Square . Hookshot Media. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  27. ↑ McFerran, Damien (16 February 2023). "Best Ridge Racer Games - Every Ridge Racer, Ranked". Time Extension. Hookshot Media. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  28. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (30 November 2018). "The 20 best PlayStation 1 games". Polygon . Vox Media . Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  29. ↑ Thorpe, Nick; West, Josh; Retro Gamer Team (26 June 2022). "The 25 best PS1 games of all time". GamesRadar+ . Future plc . Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  30. ↑ Byrd, Matthew (13 August 2022). "20 PlayStation One Games That Were Way Ahead of Their Time". Den of Geek . DoG Tech LLC. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  31. ↑ "Game Charts". Official UK PlayStation Magazine. No. 46. Future plc. June 1999. p. 124. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  32. ↑ "１９９８年 テレビゲームソフト 年間売上 ＴＯＰ１００". 2022-01-25. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  33. ↑ "PlayStation". Game Data Library. Famitsu . Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  34. ↑ "PlayStation US Sales from 1995-2003". Game Pilgrimage. NPD Group . Retrieved 18 October 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.