Gaming

Remembering classic games: Ridge Racer (1993)

Brightly coloured 3D polygons, silky smooth motion and… tyre-torturing slides

Mike ChannellPublished: 24 Mar 2023  External link to Top Gear Magazine Subscription – 5 issues for £5Skip 1 photos in the image carousel and continue reading

Careening into arcades in 1993, Ridge Racer had everything: brightly coloured 3D polygons, silky smooth motion and at least one bona fide ridge on which to race. Usually found parked cheek by jowl with Sega’s Daytona USA machine, these two spectacular racing games vied for your precious pocket money throughout the Nineties.

Of the two, Ridge Racer was arguably the more shallow experience, with a more simplistic handling model and, at least in this first incarnation, no multiplayer. If you were a 10-year-old who could barely reach the pedals in the arcade cabinet though, this meant it was far easier to pick up and play. A mere stab of the brake pedal and yank of the wheel would initiate an enormous, tyre-torturing slide. The only bigger drift is continental drift.

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While there was only a single circuit to master in this first game, with a couple of layouts, the track was a highly compressed roadtrip that took in a densely packed metropolis, a dramatic canyon suspension bridge and an idyllic beachside resort.

Two years later, the PlayStation release of the game was a respectable conversion, earning Ridge a whole new legion of fans. It probably helped that the notoriously awful Sega Saturn version of Daytona, which arrived around the same time, was about as faithful as a Love Island contestant.

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