Ridge Racer

The long and short of it is that Ridge Racer is a rollercoaster experience. As a prominent PSP launch title Ridge Racer is a clearly polished and very pretty game - it has a great high-energy soundtrack, stunning graphical fidelity considering the hardware, a lot of tracks that are reused and reshuffled to get the most out of them. A lot of important elements are pointing to the game being a great high-octane arcade racer but taken in its totality Ridge Racer is a pretty contradictory little game with an odd albeit unique experience to offer.

The defining aspect of the game is of course found in its gameplay, and more specifically in its drifting system. The game offers a lot of vehicles to choose from and they're all grouped into 3 drift system classes but the distinctions are nearly meaningless and all fall pray to the same 'problem'. Drifting i very simple to perform - You streer into a chosen direction, press the brake button and Your care enters a drifting state. And it's very much a distinct 'state' and not just an organic interaction of the game's driving mechanics - Ridge Racer's drift state turns the whole game into a rollercoaster ride. That's because when the car's in a drift state it's also aggressively stuck to race track to the point where no actual steering is required. One just needs to enter this state once, wiggle from one side to another on straightaways and lazily react to turns and that's how You beat the entire game. And drifting is seemingly the only way to fill the nitrous meter that's practically required to win races so as far I'm concerned that's the intended way to play the game.

Is the game aware of what it's doing? Yes and no. The game is obviously presented as a racing game with lap counts, position trackers, car specs, automatic or manual transmission choices. Parts of it also suggest it's a skill-based racing game with meticulously tracked times of each lap and an energetic commentator reacting to the player's feats. Other UI elements suggest otherwise though like the soft digital menu outside of races or a persistent counter of miles driven saved on your profile. The latter is how the game is designed in its gameplay too. In fact it is when You get rid of the 'hardcore' elements from the in-game screen by pressing SELECT that the game becomes a very enjoyable experience - taking full advantage of the wonderful scenery and environments of the game's numerous maps. When You get rid of placements, times, guages and just watch your car go fast through winding tracks with zero effort - that's when Ridge Racer reveals its true nature.

There's a funny thing that happens when You launch the game. The very first thing You see is always a fully playable version of New Rally-X, an 80s Namco arcade game about driving a car through a maze. Only after You press START the main game boots with its title card flashing all the previous Ridge Racer logos in quick succession. Why is it there? I think that's because Ridge Racer 2004 is a romantic nostalgia-driven game about the fantasy of racing games. With the opening arcade game, a reference to all the previous releases, recognizable maps and returning vehicles, the game is acting as a stroll through memory lane, providing an experience that lacks any sort of challenge but instead offers a feeling of high-speed flow-state mastery.

The problem of course is that said mastery is a lie, it's a ridiculously artificial and contrived result of aggressive rubberbanding. It might empower a player that does exactly what the game is trying to help with and thus doesn't notice the help at all but it's a very frail illusion that's easy to break. And when You see through that illusion what's left is still a unique relaxing experience but without any soul as there's no meaningful control left. Just a rollercoaster in motion through the series' most iconic landmarks.