“R4 -Ridge Racer Type 4-” celebrates its 25th anniversary. It is a unique racing game with a story mode, and is the last of the original PS “Ridge Racer” series[What day is it today? ]| Famitsu.com for the latest information on games and entertainment

A masterpiece racing game from the original PS era

On December 3, 1998, the racing game “R4 -Ridge Racer Type 4-” was released. Today marks the 25th anniversary of its release.

“R4 -Ridge Racer Type 4-” (“R4 RIDGE RACER TYPE 4”) is the masterpiece “ridge racerThis is the fourth work in the series.

The series is promised to be released on “December 3rd”, the release date of the PlayStation itself, and “Ridge Racer”, “ridge racer revolution』、『rage racer”, this work was released on December 3, 1998, as expected by game fans.

Since it was a highly rated work in the series, I think some people may have played it in the Classics Catalog for premium members of PlayStation Plus, which was added from March 21, 2023. Fans are grateful that the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and PlayStation 5 (PS5) versions of the software were released on the same day.

　『R4What really impressed me about “ was that even though it was a racing game, it had a story. Nowadays, some works incorporate story elements into the campaign mode, but at the time it was extremely rare and had a considerable impact.

Players become exclusive drivers and aim for victory by contracting with their favorite one of the four racing teams, and each team has its own unique characteristics that make it interesting. Among them, I remember that the poor team “DIG RACING TEAM (DRT)” was extremely poor, with the performance of their machines being among the worst due to lack of funds. The stories that were inserted in between the scenes were quite touching and really inspired the players to take on the race. I think there are many players who still remember it.

The story includes “ace combatIt seems that Kazusato Kono, the brand director of the series and currently of Bandai Namco Aces, was also involved, and some fans must have smiled at the post just before it was released on PS+.

Although the models featured were fictitious designs, each manufacturer was unique in that it had a distinct personality. There was a wide variety of cars on display, including classic racing cars, futuristic machines, three-wheeled cars, and compact cars. Some of them even modeled after Pac-Man. Of course, the familiar “Devil Car” from the “Ridge Racer” series also appears. The unrealistic and overwhelming power was shocking.

The graphics were of the highest standard for a PlayStation, and I was mesmerized by the expressions of car bodies, road surfaces, and light and shadow. I’m sure many people were surprised to see the course change, showing different faces depending on the time of day. The opening movie, which was popular at the time, also has a lot of power, and the song with vocals is cool. “Reiko Nagase”, who served as the race queen from “Rage Racer”, also appears as an image character.

Speaking of the “Ridge Racer” series, I can’t forget the greatness of the songs. As usual, “R4” included a lot of high-quality BGM that incorporated the trends of the time. I remember that the club music-like songs strangely matched the racing scenes, and really made the intense battles even more exciting.

If you want to play this game now, it would be best to play the PS4 & PS5 versions as mentioned above. It is recommended because the graphics have been up-rendered and new features have been added such as rewind, quick save, and custom video filters.

Released on PSP,ridge racers 2” also has PS4 and PS5 versions like “R4”, so you might want to try playing those as well. 2023 will also be the 30th anniversary of the first “Ridge Racer” appearing in game centers, so don’t miss this opportunity.

What day has it been so far?