Ridge Racer was a massive hit in the arcades — if you were like me back then, I had trouble getting to any seaside locations where this game’s cabinet was located with steering wheel, gear stick and throttle thrown into the mix. I had to wait patiently for the Playstation to launch in the UK in 1995 and be thankful that the home conversion of this game was one of the launch titles — and in my opinion, the one to get.
Graphically for a racing game on a home console or computer, nothing had come close to this title at the time. I remember having a 21” Toshiba TV and just sitting there after a race watching in awe the replay in front of me showing the race from multiple camera angles whilst playing one of many thumping soundtracks through the stereo speakers this particular TV was blessed with. This game was responsible for me falling completely in love with the Playstation and saw me purchase every Ridge Racer sequel the franchise threw at the console thereafter. I also managed to secure a NeGcon controller designed specially for racing games that helped enormously with taking bends at ninety degrees at speed.
To me, Ridge Racer is the daddy of all racing games.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Chris Wilkins
Author