Ridge Racer Soundtrack [part 3] Speedster + Rhythm Shift Video

Ridge Racer (???????, Rijji Resa?) is a racing game created by Namco. It was released in 1993 on the Namco System 22 arcade system board. It is the first title in the Ridge Racer series.

Ridge Racer was ported to the PlayStation in Japan in 1994 and in the United States and Europe in 1995 as a launch title. It was also included in the NamCollection for the PlayStation 2 in 2005, released exclusively in Japan.

Ridge Racer was very innovative for its time, introducing minor car sim elements intertwined with the gameplay. The player could choose from the options of Course Select, Transmission, Car Select, Sound Select, Start, and Options. Course Select allowed the player to choose a course, each of varying difficulty, and choose between the two modes of a Race (against 11 other cars) and Time Trial (against one other car). The Course Select screen also displays data about the course's shape and difficulty.

The Transmission menu allowed the player to select the between Automatic or Manual transmission. Automatic transmission (AT) permits less experienced players easier turns and drifts, while manual transmission (MT) restricts the AI from assisting but allows more experienced players to gain faster track times.

Car Select introduces the selectable vehicles for racing. The mode also served as a gallery, serving the player with multiple views by rotating the camera with the L1 and R1 triggers on the PlayStation controller. Sound Select allowed the player to change between 1 of six background music tracks, while the Options menu allowed button configuration and the lap records to be viewed.

Extras could be earned near the completion of the game, such as extra tracks and bonus cars that often possessed higher statistics. Additionally experienced players were able to execute a special "mirror track" race by rotating the inverse direction in a current race and taking advantage of a glitch. However, the extra tracks lack one checkpoint and therefore the player is at a much higher risk of running out of time, making the game extremely difficult.

An interesting bonus for the original PlayStation version released in 1995 involved allowing the player to listen to music through the PlayStation by removing the game disc and inserting a music CD. This was done after the loading screen. However, players could not switch tracks, and the music was started on a random track.

The audio-tracks on the Ridge Racer game CD can be played in a standard CD-audio player, as game CD was mastered in Mixed Mode CD format.