[SPE]

The only bad Ridge Racers are the poor iPhone port (looks OK, apocalyptic handling) and the outright abomination that was Ridge Racer DS.

I was pleasantly surprised with how Ridge Racer 3D turned out, after all the pre-release media and previews made it look appalling. It's a decent entry, albeit a little rough around the edges.

Likewise, I was even more surprised with the Vita game. It's genuinely a top tier Ridge Racer, with only the recycling of courses a real issue. Once the free Gold Pass and the cheap Silver Pass are taken into consideration, the drip feed DLC structure is not a deal break at all, despite initial doubts that the game would be like the iPhone version and its price gouging DLC.

[Jtwo]

What is with all the positivity? You guys are gonna make me buy a vita I'd you keep this up.

[DoctorWho]

Finally picked this up. Two things:

1. Where should I begin? I'm not too sure.
2. In total I have 6 courses and 10 cars. Am I missing anything? Anymore free courses and tracks coming down the pipe?

[yyr]

Have you played Ridge before? If not, run Spot Races until you get the hang of drifting... if you're familiar with it already, run Ghost Battles against low-level opponents on the "opposing team" (according to Team Vision). All the while, use the CR you earn to start unlocking things on the Upgrade Grid.

[whitehawk]

The only bad Ridge Racers are the poor iPhone port (looks OK, apocalyptic handling) and the outright abomination that was Ridge Racer DS. I was pleasantly surprised with how Ridge Racer 3D turned out, after all the pre-release media and previews made it look appalling. It's a decent entry, albeit a little rough around the edges. Likewise, I was even more surprised with the Vita game. It's genuinely a top tier Ridge Racer, with only the recycling of courses a real issue. Once the free Gold Pass and the cheap Silver Pass are taken into consideration, the drip feed DLC structure is not a deal break at all, despite initial doubts that the game would be like the iPhone version and its price gouging DLC.

Am I the only one that thought Ridge Racer for iOS wasn't that bad? Although one day they decided to give it retina visuals in an update, and it killed the framerate. And there was no way to downgrade :(

[DoctorWho]

Have you played Ridge before? If not, run Spot Races until you get the hang of drifting... if you're familiar with it already, run Ghost Battles against low-level opponents on the "opposing team" (according to Team Vision). All the while, use the CR you earn to start unlocking things on the Upgrade Grid.

Thanks. I've played Ridge Racer before so the drifting wasn't much of an issue. I kept finishing in 8th place on Spot Race though. I guess I need to upgrade these cars more before I can compete.

[Pylon_Trooper]

Yeah, I don't honestly get where all this "Ridge Racer has been on the decline since forever" thing is coming from. Is it because of the iPhone version? It seems that all the western market wants in their arcade racers is "destruction! explosions! carnage!" and if your game doesn't have at least one of these things they'll call it "outdated", even the next DiRT is heading in that direction. Can't we have our racing games with upbeat music, blue skies and a festival-like atmosphere anymore?

Hear hear. If you'll permit me to link this particular love letter to Ridge I wrote a while back, it sums up in all sorts of flowery, gushing praise why I love RR in particular. Like WipEout, there's just something delicious about the pristine worlds that we course through in Ridge.

[twinturbo2]

I tried to play this online and got my ass kicked despite playing against level one players. WTF am I doing wrong?

[Wazzim]

Try to drift as little as possible.

[twinturbo2]

Try to drift as little as possible.

In a game like this? That's like asking me to do brain surgery.

[Wonko_C]

Hear hear. If you'll permit me to link this particular love letter to Ridge I wrote a while back, it sums up in all sorts of flowery, gushing praise why I love RR in particular. Like WipEout, there's just something delicious about the pristine worlds that we course through in Ridge.

Brofist.jpg. You managed to capture in words my exact feelings when playing Ridge Racer. A bit sad to know very few of us around the world actually "get" this series.

[sechsterangriff]

Can anyone tell me where exactly do I have to stop and smell the roses? :P

[Doctor Hades]

Does anyone know why the third DLC course hasn't been released in Europe yet? I noticed the US got it last week and we didn't so I was hoping it'd turn up this week. It hasn't either. I guess it must be tough for SCEE to translate that track into dozens of different languages... oh, hang on...

[Wonko_C]

Can anyone tell me where exactly do I have to stop and smell the roses? :P

Harborline 765. There's an opening on the right side of the track (left if reverse) that takes you to a small park. It's easy to miss because you're taking corners at high speed, just go inside and fool around for a bit, then finish the race, you'll get the trophy then. (I was actually wondering if going into the park gave you a trophy in this game since I know about this spot from RR7 or 6, it was surprisingly funny when I found out it did.)

[yyr]

In a game like this? That's like asking me to do brain surgery.

It's actually not far from the truth. Drifting is necessary to get around tight corners as quickly as possible, but in all other places you'll want to try to avoid it...as you lose speed when drifting. When you're just starting out, you'll barely earn any Nitrous anyway, so focus on learning the courses and drifting only when you have to.

[AgentOtaku]

Yeah...

I think i'm done with this

Basically been playing a lot more RR PSP and while I was initially indifferent to what Namco had done with this, I've slowly become more and more disgusted with it.

Gonna buy RR7 now via PSN and eventually Type-4 when PSX support gets added to Vita. Then, I should be set and forget this ever existed

Peace out fellas

[nofi]

Does anyone know why the third DLC course hasn't been released in Europe yet? I noticed the US got it last week and we didn't so I was hoping it'd turn up this week. It hasn't either. I guess it must be tough for SCEE to translate that track into dozens of different languages... oh, hang on...

EU seems to get the courses a week later, for some reason.

[mangaroo]

We didn't get it this week though..

[Brigandier]

Yeah... I think i'm done with this Basically been playing a lot more RR PSP and while I was initially indifferent to what Namco had done with this, I've slowly become more and more disgusted with it. Gonna buy RR7 now via PSN and eventually Type-4 when PSX support gets added to Vita. Then, I should be set and forget this ever existed Peace out fellas

Yea I'm just about done with it too really losing interest with the lack of content, I picked up RR7 few days ago it's got so much content if you feel like having a race add me on psn True_Weltall, Anyone who fancies a race on RR7 add me.

[PSY・S]

Wish RR7 was on the PS Store. My disk drive died so I can only play DD games for now.

[Wonko_C]

RR7 3D License Version is on the American store, it's the full game and works without 3D too. It's $20

[AgentOtaku]

Wish RR7 was on the PS Store. My disk drive died so I can only play DD games for now.

Yeah, PSN version is the one I'm playin'

$19.99

Just search Ridge Racer 7

[isamu]

Glad to know some of you guys have come to your senses and realized how much a great game RR7 really is, and why RRPSP is such a better handheld game than RR Vita. I will jump on RR7 with you guys soon but I gotta get a new Yamaha receiver that can pass 1080p through HDMI.

[Jtwo]

Weren't rr6 and rr7 very very very similar? I have rr6 (no ps3) and have it played it to death like all the other rr games ive payed.. Just curious after hearing everyone talk about it..

[Doctor Hades]

I've played RR6 and RR7. RR6 ran at 60 fps @ 720p on the 360 but RR7 on the PS3 runs at 60 fps @ 1080p and has extra tracks, cars, music, better presentation and more modes. Think of it as RR6: Special Edition. They are essentially the same but if you have the choice of one or the other, RR7 is the one to go for IMO.

[Brigandier]

I felt no sense of speed playing RR6 on 360 felt like I was going backwards sometimes it just felt really weird to me, RR7 however I feel like the cars are fast.

[OSHAN]

RR7 was awesome, and still looks fantastic today. Definitely pick it up if you're an RR fan.

[brain_stew]

I've played RR6 and RR7. RR6 ran at 60 fps @ 720p on the 360 but RR7 on the PS3 runs at 60 fps @ 1080p and has extra tracks, cars, music, better presentation and more modes. Think of it as RR6: Special Edition. They are essentially the same but if you have the choice of one or the other, RR7 is the one to go for IMO.

Don't forget the colour changes throughout. A Ridge Racet game just feels so much better when the courses are full of vibrant colours and neon lights.

[PSY・S]

RR7 3D License Version is on the American store, it's the full game and works without 3D too. It's $20

Yeah, PSN version is the one I'm playin' $19.99 Just search Ridge Racer 7

Really? I saw it and wanted to get it but didn't because I thought it was 3D only. Searched online and couldn't find any info on that. Will download it soon then.

[yyr]

I felt no sense of speed playing RR6 on 360 felt like I was going backwards sometimes it just felt really weird to me, RR7 however I feel like the cars are fast.

The sense of speed felt the same to me, but RR7 gets you to the faster races more quickly if you're just playing the campaign.

Weren't rr6 and rr7 very very very similar? I have rr6 (no ps3) and have it played it to death like all the other rr games ive payed.. Just curious after hearing everyone talk about it..

The main differences, I'd say, are as follows:

1) Car customization options. You are able to mess with your engine, your handling, and several other options to tweak your ride. It's not as complex as Gran Turismo or anything; you basically just pick from a few menu options. It's interesting and it works. This is the main thing that makes RR7 worth playing even if you played a lot of RR6. These options can be used in Online Battles as well (or you can lock out customizations and just play with stock machines).
2) The RR7 campaign is shorter but has less filler. RR6's was good because it forced you to get a lot of experience on all of the different courses, but let's face it... there was quite a bit of filler.
3) A few new courses (not as interesting as RR6's imo but still decent) and the revival of the original RR short course (named Seaside Route 765 here).
4) Some graphical differences, mostly in the color palette and lighting. I think the taillights are a bit obnoxious but I got used to it and don't particularly care any more. You'll also notice some added details in RR6's courses. It looks to me like RR6 had better anti-aliasing, but the lack of it in RR7 just makes things look sharper...it's all a matter of preference as to which one looks "better," IMHO. You can also play in native 1080p, which is nice. Unfortunately, there are a couple of dropped frames if you're drifting over reflective water on a screen full of opponents, but that's the only hitch there is. Overall, RR7's graphics are underrated and underappreciated.

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's worth buying a PS3 just to play RR7, but... the House of the Dead 4 port is coming out next week...just saying...

[AgentOtaku]

Shit, House of the Dead port is this week?

I'm gonna be in Italy =/

[robox]

vita and rr received today.
damn you guys for being so positive about this game.
bumpin' off skyward sword for tonight.

[yyr]

Just going to throw this out there... I've been "randomly selected" as Spotlight VIP for, I'd say, all but three days since I got the game. I don't think it's very random at all; I think it's much more likely to give it to you if you go to Team Vision around the time its day begins.

I've been checking at around 1-2AM Eastern (USA) time. It almost always gives me the 1,000 CR. I don't even have 100 VP yet and I'm about finished unlocking the Upgrade Grid. Many nights when I'm short on time now, I just log in, collect my CR, unlock a few boxes then power off...heh.

[metsallica]

Is it me, or is the newest music DLC broken? Says it can't be downloaded to Vita.

[KeiichiInafune]

Yeah I'm getting the same thing.

[CecilMcW00t]

I had to download the new DLC on PS3, and then transfer to Vita from there to get it to work.

[robox]

so... i'm 3.5 hours into the game and already have crinale and angeleus??
with support of course.
i would never be able to do without flex nitrous

also, i cant' tell the difference between any of the cars. since the behaviour is customizable. only number of transmission gears as far as i can tell.

[Jonnyram]

also, i cant' tell the difference between any of the cars. since the behaviour is customizable. only number of transmission gears as far as i can tell.

They have different handling. Like how you start drifts, how they handle during the drift, etc.

[snap0212]

So I thought I'd play this game a bit more but I'm really not sure what I'm doing. I'm okay with just being able to race but I must know if there's something I'm missing. I usually only drive a few races and get about 100(?) credits per race that I can spend on upgrades afterwards. Is there anything else to this game or is this really everything?

I know I can download ghost data but is there any way to get more credits with races or something like that? Downloading ghost data isn't really fun because the ghost data I'm downloading was uploaded by people who have cars that are way faster than mine – there's absolutely no way for me to win any race.

[twinturbo2]

Two questions. One, will there be additional tracks and cars beyond this month? And two, will ghost races help me level up faster and unlock speed parts faster?

[geebee]

Does anyone have any wallpapers/art assets of both angel and devil versions of Reiko's Ridge Racer Vita main menu backgrounds?

[Tiduz]

Two questions. One, will there be additional tracks and cars beyond this month? And two, will ghost races help me level up faster and unlock speed parts faster?

there is a pacman themed car coming

[twinturbo2]

there is a pacman themed car coming

It's a start, but I want more. The perfect situation is all the cars and tracks from RR7, and all the cars and tracks from the PSP RR games.

That's probably not going to happen, though. Might as well take what I can get.

[whitehawk]

I don't care about new cars. I just want new tracks.

[pickle]

Hear hear. If you'll permit me to link this particular love letter to Ridge I wrote a while back, it sums up in all sorts of flowery, gushing praise why I love RR in particular. Like WipEout, there's just something delicious about the pristine worlds that we course through in Ridge.

brilliant.

[eggybob]

Is Europe going to get the third track in the gold pack?

[Psy-Phi]

Got the game last week, finished both Devil/Archangel races today, thanks to some awesome support ghosts. Those are the kinds of races I recall from RRR on the PS1, but I wasn't ready at level 4 to try and block the Devil & Angel cars. Loved it though.

Wish there was more of that. Now that I finished with that, I doubt I'll play much more after 4 hours....every race I've done online ends up desynchronizing mid way through. The first time it happened I thought I was just doing awesome...then I noticed it said 1/1.

[melman101]

Anyone know if we are going to get the Silver pass sometime soon? They said April, but we only got two more Tuesday's left in April. Here is to hoping we got some content today.

Did I mention: I love this game.

[melman101]

Well I guess my wish came true. I got the silver pass. But they only released Music content. Come on; I need my next three tracks :-)

[SmokyDave]

Is Europe going to get the third track in the gold pack?

Yeah, what's up with that? We're missing a car too. Getting a bit peeved with all the ghosts that say 'you do not have this car / track'. Bad form, man.

I can't beat the Crinale either. Sigh.