365//365: Day 219 – Ridge Racer Type 4 (PSX) [PP]

While the Ridge Racer series spiraled into obscurity during its PS2 and 360/PS3 releases, the early years were kind to the series, as well as racing fans in general. Ridge Racer peaked with its fourth installment, Ridge Racer Type 4, a sleek racer that succeeds at every important factor. Vehicles control like a dream, whether the car classifications are drift or grip. The Ridge Racer series in general has always featured favorable mechanics, but Type 4 feels the most refined. The overall look compliments the controls well, as the detail and animation  across the board only trails Gran Turismo 2 in the “wow” factor. There’s a proper correlation between the speeds you reach and the speed the game scrolls through, so you’ll never feel like you’re going faster, or slower than you should be. The audio overall presents the typical vehicular bytes as well as some of the series strongest musical selections in the series. The only aspect to Type 4 that lags behind the pack is the thrown together, forced feeling of the “story” and “emotional” ties from the dialog of the Grand Prix mode. While it was an admirable attempt to infuse some sort of attachment to the main mode of the game, the execution skids off the road of success that the rest of the package drives down. Ignoring the meager attempts of a story coinciding with the Grand Prix mode, Ridge Racer Type 4 drives ahead of the pack of racing titles on the PSX, offering a finely tuned package of speed, sleek looks, tight tunes and a commanding control of vehicle you get behind the wheel of.

Although it has its jagged edges, Ridge Racer Type 4 is still a beauty on the Sony PlayStation.

Rating: 8.6