@@mrjohnnyk Dont forget the 6th Gen and 7th gen of consoles too as the peak of video games entirely. Lot's of different genre and mix-ups makes those era of video games fun to look back too from the Art style, Original Sound Track, and Gameplay.
The courses were designed in this particular manner to virtually eliminate pop in of the scenery. Here you can see Rage Racer packs the game with detail on all the car models and environments, far much more than Ridge Racer Revolution. So the tracks are carefully designed where you are rarely capable of seeing very far into the distance, all these steep drops and turns that hide it. Even the 'straights' are disguised by gentle curves, high barriers or elevation changes to minimise view distance. Makes the gameplay very challenging compared to the earlier Ridge Racer games or even the later Ridge Racer Type 4, which is obviously a bit more advanced and more elegant managing this issue. Good developers have employed tricks to hide hardware limitations for decades. Right up to recently in games like unskippable cut scenes as something loads in the background, or where your character is stuck in a lift as it moves and the scenery is loaded outside etc.
Well written, and great points. Best comment I've read in a good while about this game. Hardware limitations really did help to produce 4 really awesome circuits - their designs were fantastic for the time (and still hold up). The circuit design is a huge feature that makes this game stand out for me, and I'm still playing with the NegCon (and NTSC version @ 30 fps) on a modified 9000 series PS1, and in the first person view for precision driving! I must mention the ability to create a 15-colour 64x64 pixel team logo was a fantastic addition to this game. For pixel artists, it's a really fun feature for Namco to have included. The sound track, menu systems, and video introduction sequence makes for an awesome experience - from a game that was released all the way back in 1996 (3rd Dec, Japan). The main thing for most magazine publishers to write against this game at the time was the collision detection. Though, this should never be an issue for any good racing driver. Part of the objective of good racing, is to drive around the opponents vehicles.
@JSHuiting Ritaro Okamoto in the official Japanese guide book (released 27th Dec 1996) talks about his course modelling in a 4 page section titled 'Rage Racer Forum' at the back of the book. Of course, the whole thing is in Japanese, but I've done a translation and will post what it says next time I fire up my PC :)
Its a pretty tricky game to master, but when you get good at it in the faster cars, drifting around the corners with ease, its a really rewarding experience
Love Rage Racer to death. Arguably my favorite racing game from a nostalgic point of view. Not the best RR game of the whole series, but the one that brings back the most feels, if you know what I mean. The line from the announcer when she says..."Racers, start your engines, and lets get it on!"....is my phone ringtone.
I think a lot of PS1 and Sega Saturn seem to retain that 'arcade' feeling experience. Arcade's soul was embedded in a lot of games, like the tone, the graphics, sound design etc.
One of my favorite racing titles for the PS1. My favorite? Rage Racer R4. Amazing graphics, good storyline and the music really set up the mood. It really immerses you into the game
@Crazy Chris you are listening to it through a youtube video, it is probably compressed. And I imagine it was compressed on the game disc as well, we are far from CD quality. But never the less, it is a funny sound.
The indie devs are trying their hardest. Already some titles that might be what you’re looking for, depending on what like You liked WipEout? Play REDOUT You liked rally games? Play Art Of Rally You liked Ridge Racer? Play Hot Shot Racing You liked arcade cabinet racing games in the late 80s? Play 80s Overdrive
I always really enjoyed the hills in RR - but I did grow up in a hilly city (Sheffield, UK). Reminded me of going out on my bike. Loved every Ridge game on the PS1.
Just remembering the name my heart ached a little bit, how many memories of this game as a child. The past is sad and the future uncertain, the present is a lottery ;)
I played this game so much that I was able to beat the supercars with regular ones. The secret is using the Pick Up Truck because of its fast acceleration.
My only, ONLY, problem with this timeless classic was that at higher classes, it almost forces you to use manual transmission vehicles just cause they were the best stats. Have never finished this game as a result. Difficulty spike is pretty harsh.
You don’t need to anymore. Modern automatics have started to be better than manuals and that’s also translated into video games. Still I respect the choice as there’s nothing like feeling your car shift gear and your controller rumble in response in a racing sim
Look at that impossible racetracks with their beautiful landscapes, and I thought Need For Speed 2 and 3 hot pursuit had the most extreme tracks of all time!!!
This game...man it just hits in the feels! Takes me back to my child hood. Its weird though because i remember playing it far better than i probably do now haha! Excellent game
The old legitimate race car maxing out at 106mph, good stuff :-) The track and it's variants in this game are really inventive (plus a great way to get around PSX hardware limitations) - you don't see much like this these days.
Apparently the Devil Car in this game's universe is a Citroen 2CV according to a billboard. Also, will you teach that sucker a lesson already? This disembodied voice inside my head keeps saying to do it...
Is it weird as soon as I started watching this I remembered every single corner that was coming up even though it’s been many many years ago since playing this , this was up there with the best of the racing games if not thee best
my fuckin' childhood!..my father bought PlayStation when he was young.. i was 6 years old kid back then, i remember he let me play the easiest round circuit track lol
Loved this game as a kid but was terrible at it, played it at 5 years old and only managed to beat class 5. Nine years later I ended up revisiting the game & managed to complete class 6 & it seemed trivial in comparison lmao
Outta this whole series I'd say R4 was my favorite, then Ridge Racer 5. Though I never got to play this one. Wasn't there another one called Rave Racer too?
Also R Racing Evolution which expanded on the overtaking concepts in this and R4. It’s forgotten by most nowadays. It was the Ridge Racer teams take at the Gran Turismo style
Came to check one of my favorite games on ps1 to see if I might still actually enjoy it if I put it on the deck... Game holds it's own in terms of graphics, elevation, style. I'm hyped.
