In the Japanese language they spell it ゼニ which is how I'm accustom to seeing the word. In game they write it in English but I pay no attention to that. I'm too busy hitting the button to skip all the score screens and so on.
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Great job again Yakumo. I also had a java version of Ridge Racer on my Japanese phone; although it was a bit crap, the "controls" on the phone were terrible so the overall game was a fun diversion. You could at least get around the track. Seeing the state of mobile phone games in Japan when I got the phone in 2006 was a revelation; in the UK, phone gaming was really looked down upon at the time as something that would never take off, and there was very little worth the time - whereas in Japan it seemed huge.Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
Also, interesting to see the original PS1 RR and the Hi-Spec tech-demo side-by-side. The demo was very impressive technically; it still looks good today (here it came packaged free with the first edition of Ridge Racer Type 4).
Personally, I'm sad to see the current state of the Ridge Racer series. Like Virtua Fighter, it seems to represent a whole era of arcade gaming which has been left behind. Ridge Racer Type 4 is my favourite racing game of all time, and I've loved many of them (though as a series, it hasn't been consistent, with a few poor titles like Unbounded). A good Ridge Racer, like a good Armored Core, can sell me a console (it sold me the PSP and the 3DS).
Namco seem really determined to run it into the ground. The most recent, freemium game was apparently dreadful, Unbounded wasn't a true Ridge Racer game and the iPad one was also freemium trash. The 3DS was the last decent one, though I feel it was far too easy.
An interesting debate, though, is which one people like the most. I've seen some very passionate arguments over the years. Personally, I loved Type 4, but I know some people despised its muted colour palette and graphic design. Rage Racer for the PS1 was popular, then there's Rave Racer (aka the hipster choice, being the most obscure).Last edited by Asura; 13-09-2015, 12:09.Comment
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I've never seen the arcade version of Ridge Racer in the flesh. There must have been some in Blackpool in the mid 90s but I don't remember ever coming across one. Love the first game on PSX although it was a bit difficult adjusting to the controls after being introduced to the series with Rage Racer.
I wish they'd do away with the nitro boosting in the newer games. It was OK in the PSP version but it shouldn't have become standard.Comment
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It wasn't quite as big in the UK as it was in Japan, though I did see some cabs in the 90s. Daytona was the big arcade racer in the UK.Originally posted by Cepp View PostComment
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I do remember seeing lots of Daytona link up cabs even into the early/mid 2000s. Fun timesOriginally posted by Asura View Post
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Ugh, I'm still unhappy that Unbounded got to be a Ridge Racer game.
Firstly, putting aside the hideous name (the word, Namco, is Unbound - Unbounded sounds like something a child would say that you would correct, like biggerest or wroted), it demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of what Ridge Racer is.
The whole game was built on the premise of allowing the userbase to build tracks, Trackmania-style, so you would never run out of tracks to race on and be able to play new content every time you went online. That's fine for a generic racing game like Trackmania, nothing wrong with the underlying idea.
The problem is that Ridge Racer, as demonstrated by the original (and the selected high-quality titles in the series) isn't about 150 tracks and a fleet of cars. It's about a focused, high-quality experience with a relatively modest amount of content. Instead of 40 mediocre tracks, it's about 2-3 amazing ones and challenging you to get the best out of them. Type-4 and 6 understood this, as did the PSP ones.Comment
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Actually unbounded is a word and is the correct word to use to convey the message they were trying to get across I imagine i.e. it's ridge racer but with no limits.Comment
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Ridge Racer V is the greatest arcade racer eveeeeeeer!Comment
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A look online suggests that it is; I stand corrected. I find it hard to believe when "unbound" and "boundless" convey the same meaning.Originally posted by Brad View PostComment
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English is weird that's for sure!Comment
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I used to an the arcade Ridge Racer in Liverpool's Las Vegas arcade next to lime Street station. I was so good at it. Then came the PlayStation game. Again, mastered it to the millisecond. Now I'm bloody awful at the PlayStation version.
I always had a soft spot for Ridge Racer Revolution and I do love Rave Racer. RR4 was also excellent but to me it wasn't what Ridge Racer was about. It started to become serious. Great game but not what Ridge Racer was to me. Funny thing is I can't remember Ridge Racer 3. Was there one?Comment
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It had two, sort-of - Rave Racer and Rage Racer. Rave was arcade only, Rage was PS1 only, and they shared a lot of tracks etc but Rage wasn't explicitly a port.Originally posted by Yakumo View Post
Rave Racer remains arcade-only to this day, though some of the tracks have found their way into later games. It was very similar to the original game, just with a bit more content and a more muted colour scheme.Comment
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Rage Racer? Oh man, I have no recollection of this game at all. Rave Racer I know and love but Rage Racer? I'm going to have to look in to this one.Last edited by Yakumo; 14-09-2015, 03:33.Comment
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Rage Racer didn't share tracks with Rave Racer. Two totally different games.
Rage contain all of the cool upgrades and logo editing. Plus it forces manual gear use for faster times.Comment
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