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Started playing Ridge Racer V again. What a timeless classic
- Thread starter isamu
- Start date
Patrick Bateman
Member
I remember watching the Ridge Racer V - Intro on launch and thinking "WOAAA, CGI looks amazing!!" :lol
But nothing will top the Ridge Racer Type 4 intro, music, video, animation, everything is top notch.
But nothing will top the Ridge Racer Type 4 intro, music, video, animation, everything is top notch.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
If it's going to be the only way to play 'em at home without getting the arcade cabinets, then so be it.isamu said:U and me both
Spectral Glider
Member
Loved the original, didn't like Revolution at all, and really liked Rage. Never played R4 for some reason, probably because I was in my GT obsessed mode at that time. Got RRV in a bundle when I ordered my PS2 from Amazon and enjoyed it. Something about the graphics and atmosphere that just always blended really well for me. Loved the Paris tune, my favorite. Hated that friggen announcer though. Haven't played any since, I should probably pick up 7.
JustAnotherOtaku
Member
Jagernaut said:
Yup, US, JPN and HK only.
Pretty sure it's completely OOP in the UK. I've never seen it about recently anyway. Playasia have the Greatest Hits version of the English language Asian version for ~$24/£16 though:
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bl-49-en-70-3huk.html
The Lamonster
Member
I've been having tons of fun with RR7. There's no other racing series that captures the simple yet perfected gameplay of this one. I'm really hoping they're working on #8.The Lamonster said:
The Lamonster said:
The thing about RR7, is the way Namco refined the gameplay ever so slightly from part 6. The additional tweaks they made to the Nitrous system made a HUUUGE difference to the gameplay. The strategy you need to win races was taken up a few notches as a result! No longer could you conduct minor drifts back and forth on a straight section in order to gain a full nitrous bar. In 7, you are FORCED to know exactly when to engage your nos. Otherwise the other people on the track with eat you alive! It is VERY deep and involved!
I have tried to convey this message to many of you over the past few years. But a lot of you did not give Ridge Racer 7 a chance and simply brushed it off as a wanna be Ridge Racer with nos thrown in as a gimmick, or as RR6 with a fresh coat of paint. Nothing could be further from the truth gentlemen. RR7 is the **pinnacle** of arcade racing games! I mean it. Get to know the nitrous system, and study it. You will gain a new found appreciation for part 7 that you never had before.
Online in a Ridge Racer game. In a game called Ridge Racer 7.....that alone......that A+L+O+N+E places it head and shoulders above the previous single player games by a country fucking MILE!!!!
Like I said before, I was forced to stop playing it because my addiction was literally becoming unhealthy and I refused to touch any other game...at ALL, during my RR7 phase. It was ugly, guys. I'm not kidding. You think the people playing WOW were hooked....pffft.
Crazymoogle
Member
I mostly agree with isamu on this, although I will say that the RR7 ranking system has been broken for a few years due to an exploit Namco never bothered to patch...
The Lamonster
Member
My only gripe is the PS3 controller. I played #6 on the 360 and it was fine...but now I'm using the feather-light PS3 controller and I hate that my pinkies have nothing to grasp. It's like it's made for a toddler. But this complaint is for another thread, I guess.
Cerebral Assassin
Member
JustAnotherOtaku said:
Nah, still available on Amazon.co.uk, only the Platinnum version though.
Strummerjones
Member
Good to see some RR discussion going on, I absolutely love this series, the whole aesthetic of Ridge Racer is to me the epitome of what arcade games should be about.
I wish I'd got RRV earlier in the PS2 lifecycle (I deliberately missed the launch due to the piss-poor lineup), but the overwhelming negativity towards the game put me off. It was only later towards the end of the PS2 that I actually got hold of a copy and found it was in fact a solid game that was just technically dated, and overly difficult (I found that even early on you pretty much had to drive perfect races to ever win, even more so than the other RR games).
Ditto for RR6, which I thankfully took a chance on not longer after getting a 360 despite it similarly getting lukewarm reviews. Once you get the faster cars and insane rollercoaster tracks it's fantastic, and I have to go back and finish the game off one day (done about 80% of the races - there's a lot of races ahead!). Despite my better judgement I've just got a PS3 as well now, so is RR7 worth getting even if you've played 6 to death?
I should really check out the System 22 games in Mame again; Vivanonno is brilliant, but the RR games will never work perfectly in it due to it not emulating parts of the machine properly (for example, it's impossible to ever get a perfect start as far as I know). I also keep meaning to play Pocket Racer and see if there's anything more to it than a port back of RRR.
I wish I'd got RRV earlier in the PS2 lifecycle (I deliberately missed the launch due to the piss-poor lineup), but the overwhelming negativity towards the game put me off. It was only later towards the end of the PS2 that I actually got hold of a copy and found it was in fact a solid game that was just technically dated, and overly difficult (I found that even early on you pretty much had to drive perfect races to ever win, even more so than the other RR games).
Ditto for RR6, which I thankfully took a chance on not longer after getting a 360 despite it similarly getting lukewarm reviews. Once you get the faster cars and insane rollercoaster tracks it's fantastic, and I have to go back and finish the game off one day (done about 80% of the races - there's a lot of races ahead!). Despite my better judgement I've just got a PS3 as well now, so is RR7 worth getting even if you've played 6 to death?
I should really check out the System 22 games in Mame again; Vivanonno is brilliant, but the RR games will never work perfectly in it due to it not emulating parts of the machine properly (for example, it's impossible to ever get a perfect start as far as I know). I also keep meaning to play Pocket Racer and see if there's anything more to it than a port back of RRR.
Strummerjones said:
A resounding yes!
I don't think any of the S22 games run that well in AMEN, unfortunately
I love Viva Nonno! I swear if it supprted force feedback I'd be on it EVERY day! Rave Racer is criminally underrated, and holds up better than Rage and Type 4 does, due to clean textures and 60fps. I lve Rage and Type 4 but 30fps is a real eyesore
Iron_Scimitar
Banned
Not only is the gameplay awesome and addicting, those animated icons/menus is something that i REALLY enjoying seeing. Such a modern and cool aesthetic.
Strummerjones
Member
isamu said:I don't think any of the S22 games run that well in AMEN, unfortunately
Actually I loaded up the latest 64 bit mame on Win 7 64 bit, and it's cruelly close for me now. The attract mode of RR1 is 100% for most of the time, only dropping to 80% momentarily when the cars go across the bridge. In game it's a different story, averaging to only about 80% speed, but with plenty of extended bits where it hits 100. That's on my now ageing Core 2 Quad Q6600 overclocked to 3ghz, so there must be affordable CPUs out there now that can play it. Maybe it's upgrade time..
isamu said:Rave Racer is criminally underrated, and holds up better than Rage and Type 4 does, due to clean textures and 60fps. I lve Rage and Type 4 but 30fps is a real eyesore
Yeah, it's an intriguing game that blew me away when I first saw it in Vivanonno. One thing that's interesting for me is the transition of the aesthetic from the gorgeous Sega-esque blue skies of the original to the tortured greys and sickly neon yellow of Rage Racer, and Rave Racer is the peculiar missing link in that regard.
I wish there was more info out there on the development of the series (has there ever even been an indepth Edge/Retro Gamer feature on the games?), as there are so many odd and wonderful things about Ridge Racer; I'd love to know the intentions behind a lot of it. Who the hell thought up the painfully gauche mid '90s angst angle they bundled into Rage Racer, and why the hell didn't they port Rave Racer instead? More pertinently - how did they come up with the basic locked-in drift mechanic? Was it actually inspired by the likes of Rally X's impossible car movements, or just technical limitations of hardware at the time, or what?
Strummerjones said:
OK I'm gonna have to give it another gander if that's the case.
Excellent observation. I too was taken aback by the difference in color palette and overall tone going from Rave to Rage. Would love to read the decision behind that.
Oh man Strummerjones, you hit the head right on the nail bro! I couldn't agree with you more.
Strummerjones....Can you imagine if Namco made something like a 2hr documentary on Blu-Ray talking ONLY about the history and design of the entire Ridge Racer series from beginning to end, and packaged it in a special deluxe edition of Ridge Racer 8? I would fucking DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It would be not only the best documentary in existence, but the best show ever PERIOD!!! I'd buy at MINIMUM a zillion copies!
Let's hope Namco decides to do something like in a future RR game
the androgyne
Member
How much of arcade Rave Racer was in Rage Racer? I remember being blown away by Rave Racer in the arcades but only saw it a few times, then when Rage Racer came out, i didn't think it had any connection.... now i'm reading Wikipedia, it says some of Rage came from Rave? What?
Strummerjones
Member
the androgyne said:
Well, that's the odd thing; the two games are very different, there are NO tracks or even car designs shared between the two of them. The connection is how the game looks. Ridge Racer is all bright pastel colours, then Rave Racer has a much more subdued palette and altogether more realistic look to it. This was then taken to its logical conclusion in Rage Racer where everything is dark and grimy and cold. I think also there are pieces of background architecture that appear in both games too, but I might be misremembering.
It's also interesting how different in gameplay the two games are, Rave Racer has a new slipstreaming mechanic where you can boost your speed by keeping behind other cars that was left out of Rage Racer. There are also sort of "trap" areas in Rave Racer where you can mess up and fall off the edge of the track and have to drive back the long way, another idea abandoned after this iteration of the series.
The biggest Rave Racer mystery for me is what happens if you knock over all the traffic cones after winning a race! I've never managed it, and I can't think what it can realistically award you with. Another credit? Some kind of unlock?
mrklaw said:
eh? what're you talkin' about? isn't that how rr is supposed to be played? just with nitrous added. by default, nitrous builds when you slide, then i just use it during the straights. just barely not enough? slide a bit on the slight bend or chicane and top it up and away i go.
it was awesome at the angel/devil event the end of the rr7, where it was pretty much alternating slide, nitrous, slide, nitrous. that pretty much required perfection, because if you're caught on straights without nitrous, you've pretty much lost. <3 route 765.
i can't wrap my head around reverse charge nitrous though: build nitrous while drifting in nitrous. but it turns out it enables the top tier technique for time trials: snaking. the first time i downloaded the ghost time trial data.... mariokart'd
Crazymoogle
Member
r - b - x said:
RR7 is clearly the most accessible of the nitro-enabled games in the series, too; you may start off with regular nitro but you can earn different types which are all pretty effective in the campaign.
Reverse Charge is a giant pain in the ass, but you need it to beat some of the challenges (not part of the campaign, for those who are wondering...) I actually used it to beat the Angelus challenge (which is still clearly the hardest race in the game), but it's basically just repeating a track over and over again to learn every nitro trigger point.
I preferred a no-nitro Ridge too, but RR7 really is well done.
And sort of vaguely related to what Strummer is talking about; play RR6 for a few minutes and then try RR7...the lighting shift is huge. It goes from dark and depressing (RR6) to vibrant "you've just bought an HDTV" (RR7) on almost every track. Makes you wonder what the lighting team was thinking of when RR6 was in development.
I have never understood Ridge Racer. Ive attempted to play them but have always been turned off by the main race mode where you aren't actually racing.. you are just passing cars going much slower than you. I never felt as if I was actually competing with the AI..
Then there was the super simple corner system.. ugh
Just not a fan I guess..
Then there was the super simple corner system.. ugh
Just not a fan I guess..
Strummerjones
Member
Atomski said:
Well, to be honest you could apply that criticism to 99% of all racing games as very few have any meaningful competitive AI. I think its somewhat ironic a criticism in Ridge Racer's case in that the series has some of the hardest one-on-one races I can think of, where you have to be constantly watching your rear view mirror to keep out the likes of the Devil/Angel car, because if you make a single mistake you're basically fucked as they're much faster than you. Incredibly tense stuff.
Embarrassingly I didn't realise there were buttons for different levels of boost in Ridge Racer 6 until I practically completed the basic map layout, meaining I beat that bastard hard gold limousine just using single nitros. Try finding a race as close fought and exciting as that in Gran Turismo!
Best game in the series BY FAR.
Taking the gameplay of RAVE RACER, RRV evolves it a bit more putting things back on order after the dumbed down RR4. It's a difficult game where you have to time every single drift and where strategy plays a huge role.
Even though people bashed it because the jaggies, I still believe it looks impressive for a 00 game. Hi-poly count, cool circuit designs and an awesome lineup of cars. Couple that with the awesome soundtrack (never left my ipod/MD) and you have a winner.
Long live RRV and Isamu the King.
Taking the gameplay of RAVE RACER, RRV evolves it a bit more putting things back on order after the dumbed down RR4. It's a difficult game where you have to time every single drift and where strategy plays a huge role.
Even though people bashed it because the jaggies, I still believe it looks impressive for a 00 game. Hi-poly count, cool circuit designs and an awesome lineup of cars. Couple that with the awesome soundtrack (never left my ipod/MD) and you have a winner.
Long live RRV and Isamu the King.
DidntKnowJack
Member
I've been away for awhile, so I missed this thread when it was originally posted. Love love LOVE the RR series. But I was always under the assumption that everyone hated V. (Personally for me, aside from RR 64, I've never met a Ridge Racer I didn't like.) So I'm surprised to see so many people talking it about it so favorably. I played the crap out of it when I got my PS2, April 2001. That, and SSX. This thread makes me want to pop it in again. It's been years.
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
DidntKnowJack said:
I think the biggest knock against R5 was that it was so different from R4, particularly in terms of mechanics. I almost thought R5 felt like a sim, by comparison (which I know it's nowhere near, but still.) But I do remember having that a-ha moment like a year after I originally got the game, where I realized how it played and loved the shit out of it.
All this R5 talk makes me want to rebuy the game. And watching videos of it on Youtube has me really excited to d oso.
Vorg
Banned
Crazymoogle said:
I agree the lighting is better in RR7. However, the tracks themselves had background elements removed and the cars look much better in RR6. Also, the game seemed to run at a lower framerate than RR6 back then. Loved both games though, but I feel RR7's campaign is much better structured and less grindy.
Crazymoogle said:
Wait wait wait. How is RR6 dark and depressing? The colors are beautifully vibrant across most of the tracks. Are you talking abput colors, or just the lighting? The lighting is flat, which I think actually works with the old Ridge aesthetic.
Granted RR6 looks unusually fabulous on my personal set, since I have a 720p native DLP, so it's running at native resolution.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Patrick Bateman said:
No RR will ever top RR4, specially the music. IMO.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
gkryhewy said:
I kinda agree, but some of the special races against the best cars were quite hard.
Even so, was so damn fun.
Crazymoogle
Member
gkryhewy said:
Hard to describe unless you have both systems. It's definitely a lighting decision; they went from sunset/evening/overcast to bright/sunny...if you flip between the two games you'll see what I mean. I didn't think RR6 was bad at all, but when I check RR7, well, the latter is the winner, no contest.
gkryhewy said:
Crazymoogle said:
I'm sorry gkryhewy but Crazy is right. I too, have a similar display to yours....720p native DLP Display on a 11" front projection screen.
But you have to really play them both back to back or side by side via split screen to really appreciate what he's referring to. RR6 *DOES* look pretty good. But some tracks are bland looking in the lighting department such as Southbay Docks and Airport Loop. Where as the RR7 versions pop out at you and is more colorful and pleasing to the eye. Crossbay Tunnel is another example. Big difference there as well. The RR7 version destroys the 6 version. It's one of the most beautifully looking tracks I have ever seen in my entire fucking life!
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Thanks to this thread, I rebought Ridge Racer V. Holy shit. It's awesome. There's so much technique to driving properly that I really didn't expect to find.
Of course, this makes me want to reconsider Ridge Racer 7 now... the problem I had with Ridge Racers and Ridge Racer 6 was that drifting felt so automatic. I forget which reviewer it was, but someone referred to RR6 as the cheese pizza of racing games, and that's a pretty apt description since the game really lacked any sort of flair or technique to the driving. Does Ridge Racer 7 really have that panache and skillful driving back? If it does, I'll give it a shot. Oh yeah, and is it more challenging than 6? Cuz that was annoyingly easy the entire time outside of the duels...
Of course, this makes me want to reconsider Ridge Racer 7 now... the problem I had with Ridge Racers and Ridge Racer 6 was that drifting felt so automatic. I forget which reviewer it was, but someone referred to RR6 as the cheese pizza of racing games, and that's a pretty apt description since the game really lacked any sort of flair or technique to the driving. Does Ridge Racer 7 really have that panache and skillful driving back? If it does, I'll give it a shot. Oh yeah, and is it more challenging than 6? Cuz that was annoyingly easy the entire time outside of the duels...
Chacranajxy said:
Chacranajxy that is awesome man. Welcome to the club
You will love RRV even more as you go along and upgrade your cars.RR7 is a MUST BUY dude! It's not as long and tedious as 6, and it offers the perfect amount and level of challenge. The new NOS systems and different plugins make it very unique and in a class of its own. And don't get me started on how addicting the online is.
Haters who say Ridge Racer has been shit since RRType 4 don't know what the hell they're talking about, and their lack of time invested in getting to know RR7 shows in their ignorant comments.
luka said:
In all honesty, it's a very difficult question to answer. I still love Rage Racer because of the memories and it was the first one I ever sank my teeth in. Logged over 400 hours total into that bitch. Plus it has my favorite announcer of all the Ridge Racers. I would *MARRY* that announcer, her voice is so hot and fits the game like a glove!
With that being said, Ridge Racer V is an impeccable single player game, and is the best one from a handling, physics, and drifting mechanic point of view.
RR Type 4 oozes style and presentation. I particularly love the track designs as well and of course the music in second to none.
RR 6 was the 1st one that had me excited the most because of the announcement of online play. That game allowed me to meet so many awesome like-minded RR fans and I became good friends with a lot of cool people on Xbox Live because of RR 6.
However, at the end of the day, absolutely NO Ridge Racer game has hooked and sucked me in the way Ridge Racer 7 has. Scoff at the simplistic handling and the addition of Nitrous all you want. But there is no denying that once you get to know the game, you will realize just how deep the gameplay really is. It has the MOST depth of any Ridge Racer game, period!! I cannot emphasize this enough! The different NOS types and plugins require you to strategize your gameplan if you intend to win. The track designs play a HUGE role in the game, because you have to know exactly where and when to fire off your nos, and which corner dictates firing a single, double or triple nos.
Most new players are unaware of this aspect of the game, hence the reason why, when they get their asses handed to them online and wonder why the other players are so much faster than them, they write the game off as a gimmick and claim that the NOS does more harm than good....nothing could be further from the truth.
As God as my witness, I know people....and not just one or two, I'm talking a whole FORUM full of people, that have been playing RR7 SINCE IT CAME OUT and have never stopped playing it!!!!!!! They are that dedicated to the game. If you guys think I am hardcore, I am NOTHING compared to the guys here:
http://community.us.playstation.com/community/games/racing/ridge_racer_7_(ps3)?view=discussions
The first 25 people you see listed on the front page of that forum, have been playing RR 7 since the day it came out, and ALL of them have at least....at LEAST 5000 online 1st place wins! Some of them have over 10,000!!! That is the kind of addiction Ridge Racer 7 is capable of delivering.
That is why I've always called it the "WOW of racing games".
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Argh, Isamu, you rat bastard. Because of you, I rebought RR7. It's sitting here right now, and I'm really hoping you're right about it...