The Charming Aesthetic Of Namco Games 

90s to Early 2000s Namco stuffs were an aesthetic. You could argue that they crafted a hell of a vibe that's memorable to this day. It always reminds me how much I love Ridge Racer's aesthetics from 1-4, and a lot of other racing titles' OSTs

Jin's Tekken 8 ending is a throwback to classic Namco aesthetic.

i call it sega blue sky. It's this turbo charged feeling of nostalgia for ambient jungle music and that timeless n64-ps2 low poly aesthetic. If you gamed a lot during those days, you probably think about living in one of those worlds a lot.

"It's a place I would love to be in." I think that phrase perfectly sums up the way Namco's vistas make you feel. I've always wanted to visit RR7's Ridge State, especially Rave City. The little lore snippets in that game also make it feel alive.

I remember playing so many Namco games in the arcades from Alpine Racer, Point Blank, and Time Crisis to Tekken, Soul Calibur, and even Mr. Driller. They were a staple of my early childhood. Then later I got a PS2 and realized just how many of their games I could reexperience. They made the transition to consoles without losing any of their arcade sensibilities. In the arcades it's all about style. Your attract modes, music, and cabinet art had to compete against dozens of other machines for the player's attention, so you always had to go all-out. They were a bastion of quality too. You always knew you were in for an insane experience when you played a Namco game. I often long for the days when the four horseman of great video games: Namco, Capcom, Konami, and Square were firing on all cylinders in the late 90s and early oughts.

I was playing Tekken 8 the other day at a friends place, and i almost cried tears of joy at the sheer beauty of it. The stages, the character designs, the music - the overall aesthetic. You really have to hand it to the artistry of the Japanese people/culture. They just know how to hit the right notes when it comes to these types of things.

The late 90s/ early 00s aesthetic in video games was so awesome and unique. What an amazing time we experienced back then. And finally someone who gives Tekken 4 some well deserved love. This game is so underrated!

after all these years I still think Ridge racer type 4 have one of the coolest UI and menus

Namco "suffered" the most the shift from 2000s to 2010s gaming with the merge with Bandai. Now it produces only identical high-profitable tie-ins on big anime franchises...

I had a crush on Nagase Reiko from Ridge Racer Type 4 26 years ago 😅

Namco's aesthetic was such a vibe back then, made you feel like you were a part of it whenever you played their games. Such an escape! Rage Racer and R4 had a huge impact on me, on top of Tekken 1-4, Tekken Tag, Time Crisis 1 & 2, and even the first two Ridge Racer games. I still go back and listen to the R4 soundtrack from time to time, even imported the actual CD.

The peak aesthetic theme was Tekken 4. It nailed a specific tone down

I'll always love the sleekness of Ridge Racer and its smooth DnB/Jungle music. It's like... mind-freeing.

The music in soul edge, ace combat series, and Klonoa earned a chef’s kiss. Namco’s composers were untouchable.

Just replayed R4 again on PSN and bruh i felt 7 again!!!! I love that soundtrack so much

I'm 30 so I literally grew up during this time and agree with everything you said. For me 2000-2010 was 7 to 17. So basically from the time my memory started forming I was immersed in this aesthetic and the sounds. I feel like today's gaming era doesn't even have a definitive sound or vibe or anything. This entire style of music(which everyone seems to still love including Gen Z) never gets put in games anymore. Acid jazz(ridge racer), jungle dnb(TEKKEN, Donkey Kong),, electric hip hop(The Bouncer), etc., dance and jazz(MvC2) It worked so well with gaming it felt like the blueprint to follow and then they just dropped it.

So without further ado but before we get started 😂

GOATed video man, i absolutely love the way that Namco did with their game design and soundtracks. MotoGP 3, 4 and Ace Combat series are my personal favorites.

I was raised on Tekken, Soul Blade and Ridge Racer. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, especially as a musician. Thank you for covering this. It’s definitely something I wish I could share with others that weren’t there. Even though it’s something that made me an “outcast” in school, I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

I love how DrumnBass and Acid Fusion became "vaporwave" for modern gamers 😅

Not sure why the algo put this in my feed but I enjoyed it. Subbed.

Namco during this time was just dripping in style. It just felt different playing their games. Ace Combat 4 & 5, R Racing Evolution, Tales of Legendia. Things just felt different. The worlds immersed you. Love the video man

Wow what an excellent video. Really threw me back to the early 2000s. I agree with the tekken 4 ambiance and the airport stage; the intro music as well. Super nostalgic.

Namco of that time meant: DnB, pretty people, and sleek designs. R4, AceCom 2, all that good good.

It was always a rather soothing experience to play a Namco game. They had amazing aesthetics, and the soundtracks will go deep into your soul.

Great video! I recommend Namco's Xenosaga games too, they very much fit this aesthetic!

Namco is one of my favorite developers. Thanks for this video. This video really takes me back to happier times.

Thank you so much for this amazing video that perfectly captures how I feel about Namco's gorgeous aesthetic. It was thanks to the audio-visual excellence that influenced me so strongly that I started to create my own music and art, inspired by Namco's arcade era of the 90s-2000s. And as a huge fan of the RR series from beginning to end, I literally live for it and play anything from this series + other Namco titles very often. Thank you to the talented people from the Namco, for a wonderful childhood and titles that have not left me until now.❤✨

I still play the R4 soundtrack when I'm speeding on the interstate at night. It's one of the few soundtracks with variety but it's cohesive and complete all the way through. I highly recommend buying or downloading it.

Man, the art style of Xenosaga Episode I is one of my favorites if not my favorite. I mean as far as background art goes, Final Fantasies IX and VII are probably peak for me. Character art styles though, probably Xenosaga Episode I.

So happy for you that this video is blowing up! loved your early y2k video

First time on this channel. You should definitely cover the Namco Museums. Vol 1 is my favorite with that absolute mood of a Museum music. And all the little fun facts, and things you can look at. So cool

This video brilliantly captures the evolution, innovation and nostalgia of a gaming pioneer!!! Well done!!

"It's Ridge Racer! Riiiiiiiiiiiiidge Racer! Remember that one?" - Kazuo "Kaz" Hirai

One case of Namco style leading me to a rabbit hole would be their Golgo 13 arcade game, a Silent Scope/Point Blank mix based off a very old yet internationally unknown manga. The cool way the game looked led me to not only try it out but also check out the manga and anime. There's also the Technic Drive and Gynotai games, fully original and obscure but absolutely made to be as Y2K as possible in the 90s

What a great video. Absolutely adore the vibe and would love to see more in this direction

Great video! Lots of great info and you hit the right spot when you describe the vibe this kind of aesthetic has. It really does feel liminal at times. Also it's very cool that there are more ways to talk about aesthetics. Back in the day of Tekken 4 there were no such terms as "liminal", or at least it was not used in a way it's used now. But now you can say it and I can understand almost exactly what you mean. It's like there was always a sort of emotion but people just didn't have a name for it.

You know, I used to associate Namco with new hardware. They were there at the console launches. Ridge Racer showed off the PS1. Ridge Racer 5 was launched on the PS2. RR6 was on the 360 and 7 the PS3. Even some handhelds got in. Remember the "Riiiiidge Racer!" meme? The game was there, lookin great on the PSP's launch. But we haven't gotten any new Ridge Racers in a while. I think the last one to release was on the Vita and the game wasn't all that great. A shame because I really liked the Vita, it deserved better than what it got.

Great video lad definitely subscribing after this and I look forward to your future projects!

A few years ago, I went down a long and euphoric rabbit hole of Namco arcade games from the 80s up to the early 2000s. I became obsessed with Namco games and still am to this day.

Not a huge fighting game fan but tekken 3 and 4 had unrivaled aesthetics and each one for very different reasons. Especially 4 had a vibe that many didnt really like but to me just the Ost alone is a 10/10. The Ps1 and Ps2 gave so much to gaming that even to this day, many trying to emulate/take ideas from. Imo those were the golden years in creativity in gaming. Nowadays there are still great games but not even close to the numbers that we had back then. If your childhood was around that time i'm sure it still resonates when you hear an old Ost or see a clip.

I loved ridge racer 4. Wow this really brought me back to a great time

Great video, great channel. Reminds me a bit of Thorhighheels when he was just starting out.

I played through japanese version of Ace Combat 3 gaining multiple endings not understanding a single word just for its aesthetics alone. Combination of design, music and gameplay created such synergy I could not find in any Ace Combat game since then.

such a perfect video, thankyou so much, im in love with this aesthetic, in my channel i'm doing videos about albums ai covers and others stuffs, but the entire interface of the videos and everything i do on these new videos, is all in this aesthetic and atmospheric, i love a lot this type of aesthetic, gives me a lot of notalgia...

I really love the still illustrations of characters in story mode in tekken 4 to 6 They’re so expressive and well styled

Ridge racer on the ps1 was my first game on the system. I played it for months before we got a memory card

Love this video & analysis - subbed for more!

good shit and grats bro, great video. love to see it

this review made me feel old as all hell...man we had some good games when i was a kid...used to see all these games on shelf in blockbuster on friday. Thought gaming would be this good forever .

Reiko Nagase was a beauty. They really need to bring her back.

As a Namco lifer this video was heartwarming! You explained my love for this company perfectly. Don't sleep on Ace Combat particularly The Japanese version of AC3.

I absolutely love going to the arcade in the early 2000s. It was at that time when oversized arcade machines of Tekken or Soul Calibur were like the centerpiece of every arcade. I used to get nervous playing those games. Once you drop your coin into a Soul Calibur game, you hear that loud sword clashing sound and then people would crowd over you 😂

Late 90s to mid 2000s was the pinnacle of the Namco style. Tekken, Ridge Racer, Soul Calibur, and, personal favorite, the first Dead to Rights, though to a lesser extent. Lots of shine, lots of style, lots of over the topness. There's also a sense of camp to it, but in a good way. Not "so bad, it's good", though that can be a factor, but so over the top, it's delightful. I mean, how many other video games can you play as a boxing kangaroo or giant panda?

It is because of Namco that my father and I decided on getting a PlayStation for Christmas in 1995!!! You have to understand that nobody else that I knew, and nobody else that they knew, had a PlayStation, nor did any anybody know what it even was in my neck of the woods at the time of its release?! My father and I went to the beach earlier that summer, and in the arcade where my father spent like $1500 on playing games that weekend, two games took up most of our time: Ridge Racer & Tekken!!! Around that November, just around the time stores started sending everybody sales catalogs, a Toys “R” Us sales catalog came in the mail and within that sales catalog featured the Sega Saturn as well as the Sony PlayStation and with the Sega Saturn at a retail MSRP of $399.99 for just the console itself, and the PlayStation for $349.99 with your choice of either Tekken or Ridge racer, it was an obvious no-brainer, which one we decided on!!! The rest is history- (however, my 11-year-old imagination always wanted that Sega Saturn also… unfortunately never had one..)

Getting them views up! Keep the hard work up. Thanks for blessing us with content.

Wow this took me back omg thank you for this i hope you do a video about the saturn and dreamcast

i remember ace combat 3 having this relaxing feeling too. if you can try to play the japanese version

The Ridge Racer spinoff "R: Racing Evolution" might deserve full highlight. Yeah it is similar to it's parent franchise but the atmosphere is impeccable which makes it stand out even more in my eyes.

You hooked me with the year 2004 video but you truly got me with this one. Thanks for helping to identify so many of these aesthetics i love and truly truly miss.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again: give me 80s, 90s and early 00s and I'm gravy. That's all I need. The best tri-period of creative entertainment. Don't @ me.

NAMCO is located in Yokohama, Japan, and it is said that it is the good scenery there that inspires the aesthetics of the staff. 23:23NAMCO rarely seems to abuse rock 'n' roll. 12:44Watching post-match replays in R4 has become almost a ritual.

I just discovered your channel and I’m obsessed with your content! Your work in your video essay is amazing! You gained a sub from me! 😊

I hit the notification bell as your content is actually that good :D

when u talk abou tekken i screemed omg, tekken 4 is so nostalgic and perfect and will be forever on my heart i listen to the soundtracks even nowadays

Wow... everyone agrees and feels the SAME WAY I have been feeling about this particular aesthetic and era! I'm so glad. And this also confirms that this era really is substantial

In 2020 I finally decided to play through at least one campaign of R4 after having played it back in '99 and preferring Gran Turismo over it at the time because GT was different from the rest. I'm glad I did. I adore the OST so much, and the style it has stood out from GT's own sense of style, as well as R4's more arcade-y feel being something I realized that I do enjoy just as much as I like the Simulation/Simcade-types. Or rather, I rediscovered my appreciation for arcade racers through that once again. Also, the Tekken 4 Section is especially neat for me as I actually have a weird soft spot for it, weird and borked changes to the game mechanics and all that. Indeed, the Rooftop and Airport BGMs are amazing.

Something that really helps the namco look is the tech. Some ps1 games feel like the wheels are about to fall off. But even on ridge racer one the game feels solid. It only gets better when it meets the namco house style.

I'm 20 minutes in and I yet have to hear the name of one of the artists that created what you descrive 10 thousands times as the charming aesthetic of Namco. I opened this video expecting to learn something about the artists, their inspirations, the workaround they compromised with on limited hardware, instead this is just a compilation of gameplay footage

Ridge Racer Type 4 is _peak_ Namco I love *everything* about it - _such_ a fkn vibe

I feel t4 and t6 was the peak of these styles. Another aesthetic i love is the lets go jungle island of spice look and feel.

Great video. Timely too as I've been watching both Tekken 8 videos and frutiger aero videos lately.

Man, I’m so blessed to have been born in 92’ … Living through the 90s into the early 2000s as the world evolved was such an amazing experience, so sad nothing will be that special ever again.

Great video man. Would love to see something on Sega AM2, more specifically OutRun2 SP. Keep up the good work.

Nostalgic Vibes all over and over again... 2000 Era of games has a very special place in my heart and soul during my childhood days... Tekken 4 and 5 are my favourite Tekken games of the Franchise. ☯️ By the way Tekken 4 had the best story and atmosphere no doubt. Also my favourite Tekken Intros of the series are 4 and 5. Especially Tekken 4, developers did a lot of things incredibly right, most storylines were incredibly cool and the atmosphere and seriousness was just on a another level. I don't think most would disagree that Tekken 4 had a great"everything-except-the-fighting" to it. Great and Epic soundtracks, unique character designs, good individual stories, and an interesting main Mishima arc revival. The thing is that it's still a fighting game and no matter how great everything else is, if the fighting bit is flawed it'll overshadow the positives. Tekken 4 is sourly the most unique and underrated (mostly because of the choices that hindered the competitive scene) but it is my favorite Tekken to date, because of the very seriousness Vibes of the Story aspects perspective. The seriousness atmosphere of Tekken 4 it's on another level in my opinion.The soundtrack is what gets me the most next to the game's atmosphere. With soundtracks like: Fetus(Prologue), Authentic Sky, Unihabited(Mall Area) Didgerhythm(Jungle Area) Touch and Go(Airport Area) and Kitsch(Beach Area) and The Inner Shrine(Hon-Maru Temple) and others soundtracks, For me Tekken 4 remains even in these days the most Unique Tekken game of the series. 🤷🏻‍♂️☯️

I’ve never played any of the Ridge Racer games, but about 2-3 years ago I randomly happened to find the ending credits song to RR6 and I still listen to it til this day. 😭💘🎶

you got a new subscriber just from the title card alone, small recommendation, look into having an animated y2k graphic border around your videos, similar to what Rebel Taxi does. Y2K is a very visual medium so it could give a really good flare to this style of video

Awesome video! 😎

soulcalibur is namco lmao

The 90s and early 2000s had another mindset than today - technology was evolving so rapidly that it felt to wake up in a new world every morning and it was amazing. We had the feeling that tomorrow will be better than today, that it's actually worth keep going on. Nothing like today, where only a handful of people can afford basic things like housing, food, social live and don't have to have 5 jobs to pay the bills.

Here before a million. 🎉

Fun Fact about Alpine Racer 3: You can unlock Klonoa as a secret playable character by getting a 100% score on any slalom run. Oh yeah, and Klonoa 2 rocks any day of the week.

Here before 100,000 views. You've got a lot of potential, my man!

For me Namco hit the spot with Ace Combat 3! Set in the future with a bright cyberpunk aesthetic mixed with something like frutiger aero in the UI, Airplane designs, cities. The music also matched the theme with electronic, techno and DnB! Ace combat 3 is pure 90’s and 00’s Namco!!!

Namco games was my introduction to the medium. I was just a little toddler when I played Ridge Racer, then Tekken and Ace Combat. Proud to say I’ve enjoyed the ride growing up on those games. Ace Combat 7 was my favorite game of 2019, and eagerly awaiting the next entry, having so much fun with Tekken 8 right now, still wishing hoping for the return of Ridge Racer. I could also say I wish Namco would localize the Idolmaster series but that’ll probably never happen sadly despite it’s cult fandom here in the west.

Noooo I was going to do a video about this first. Nice vid

R Racing Evolution is my favorite Namco game. I still play it often. It needs an updated visuals re-release. I'm sure it'll be a new obsession for Gen Alpha.

Most ps2 games have this vibe but Namco Games def hold a special place in my heart. The worlds these guys have created are filled with such relaxing atmosphere that's so difficult to describe what is. It's fun, energetic and oozes with personality. Even JPEGMAFIA sampled Ridge Racer 4 on BALD and somehow managed to recreate that same feeling in a song.

Absolutely enjoying playing Rage Racer & Ridge Racer Type 4 but more because of the soundtracks in each game: "Silver Stream" in Rage Racer & "Move Me" on Type 4. Would just pick a circuit - I remember this one circuit at Rage where there's a long straight & at the end of it, a sharp turn with the background of the sea to the left - play Silver Stream over & over. Didn't get a chance to play the Alpine Racer, but indeed Melina is hot...although Reiko Nagase is my top choice. Thank you for making this video. It was nice trip down on memory lane.

LMFAO she put her thumb out and the car kept going XD

Ace Combat 5 just gives me this relaxing nostalgic feeling. Ironic for a war game about the history and the past.

Bad ass! Namco has to be one rival of Sega, Nintendo, Capcom and Konami that pushed forward and always surprised me. Soul Edge in the arcade (Soul Blade on PS) was so incredible at that time and just showed how much love Namco could spread into a console port. Nostalgic as fuck. Thanks, man. We all love something Namco, for sure. I love that it began with 300k and two mechanical ride horses. Made my Friday.

artistic direction were nuts on these

I live and breathe the 90s& 00s aesthetic. It's been my happy place in these dark times. Heck, I got Hoodie Jin as my pfp need I say more 😅

I remember an arcade game called Winning Run by Namco. That was awesome way back when.

Loved this video buddy

Great video. T4 isn't particularly appreciated when it comes to competitive play, but I love to see it get the love it deserves for its visuals and atmosphere.

To be honest, I miss the old Namco. At that time, Namco's IP was properly utilized. It's sad to see Namco focusing on boring Anime games now. In particular, I am really angry when I see Namco is trying to erase Ridge Racer's history and Harada asks SEGA where the VF6 is, but they ignore it, saying they can't make Ridge Racer. I was also angry that Galaga Revenge, the Galaxian 40th anniversary game, was a mobile game. If Burnout and OutRun are back but Ridge Racer still isn't, Namco must be prepared to be criticized. Because Ridge Racer's rival, Cruis'n, Hot Wheels racing game, LEGO racing game, F-Zero, and even Top Gear (Top Racer in Japan), Crazy Taxi are back.

When It comes to Namco Tekken, Pac-Man and Ridge Racer are my favorite games they make. Tekken 8 shows that Namco is still going strong. I hope Namco makes a new Ridge Racer game for the PlayStation 5. Cool video. ^_^

Great showcase You missed out on Ridge Racer V. It's the earliest PS2 games that really harnessed the power of PS2 AS WELL AS had an unparalleled style of its own. Sex is good, but have you seen the Menus in RRV?!