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R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is the fourth game in the Ridge Racer series on the PlayStation. Unlike some of the other titles in the series, this game is made only for a home console, and does not have an arcade machine version. It is the final Ridge Racer series game released in the PlayStation console before Ridge Racer V released exclusively on PlayStation 2. There are 8 tracks (with reverse variants, for a total of 16 layouts) and 321 vehicles, all of which are fictional. This iteration was one of the first games on the PlayStation to feature gouraud shading on the polygons, giving the game a visual depth that was previously missing. It was also the first Ridge Racer game on the Sony system to feature a two-player split screen mode, and featured two different driving models.

On September 19, 2018, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced its inclusion of Type 4 into the PlayStation Classic video game console, which was released on December 3, 2018.[1]

Game features[]

Gameplay[]

The main mode of the game is "Grand Prix", where players take on the role of a racing driver new to the game's fictional "Real Racing Roots '99" Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is split into 4 stages - 2 qualifying races, 2 quarter-final races, 3 semi-finals and one Final race on New Year's Eve 1999 - between which the player receives either a new car or an upgrade to their current one, based on their performance in the stage. In order to unlock every one of the cars, the player must race with every racing team and every manufacturer, in every qualifying position possible, hence enhancing the longevity of the game.

R4 featured two models of handling; drift handling was the classic Ridge Racer handling where the player oversteers into the turn to slide the car around the corner, whereas grip handling is more realistic, employing the brake more and not utilising powerslides at all. There are a total of eight tracks to choose from.

Racing teams[]

There are four fictional racing teams available, each one managed by a different character who briefs the player between races. All the team managers have their own backstories.

  • Dig Racing Team - A former front-running team lead by Robert Chrisman, this American organization has recently fallen on hard times after the team's director cut back on funding. This team features cars with "expert" tuning, and they are the hardest team to drive for in the game.
  • R.C. Micro Mouse Mappy - This French team has a new owner, Sophie Chevalier, replacing her ill grandfather this season. Ideal for beginners, cars are easier to control than those of the other racing teams. It is notable for its unusual headquarters which is a building inside a garage.
  • Pac Racing Club - The newest entry into the Real Racing Roots '99 championship, this Japanese team lead by Shinji Yazaki tunes their cars to a normal standard making them the more moderate of the four teams available and ideal for intermediate-level players.
  • Racing Team Solvalou - This elite Italian team lead by the charismatic Enki Gilbert are currently dominating the Real Racing Roots '99 championship. Their cars are widely regarded as the fastest in the game, making them decently hard.

Cars[]

The game features four fictional car manufacturers:

  • Assoluto - An Italian manufacturer which designs cars with sleek, aerodynamic curves ideal for drifting. The Vulcano special machine levitates and hence can tackle corners with very little speed loss.
  • Lizard - an American machine company who creates outrageous, aggressive and dynamic designs with flamboyant drift handling. Their Nightmare supercar - alike to the "Devil 13" from previous games - boasts ferocious speed.
  • Terrazi - A Japanese manufacturer with stylish (and occasionaly surreal) yet minimalistic designs and cars which stick to the road. Their Utopia prototype is shaped like a rocket, boasts acceleration just like one and is therefore the fastest car in the game.
  • Age Solo - a French manufacturer which specialises in compact designs with grip handling. Their Ecureuil supercar is able to tackle corners at high speeds.

Each manufacturer features 11 unique cars but actually offer 20 cars in the game, some being upgrades of the same car. Cars are split into four stages: Stage 1 cars are used to race in the 1st Heat, Stage 2 in the 2nd Heat, Stage 3 in the first three races of the Final GP, and Stage 4 for the final race in the Final GP.

As the player progresses through the RRR Grand Prix, the cars they receive for the 2nd Heat and later are dictated by their performance with their previous car.

  • For the 1st Heat:
    • If the player places 3rd in both races, they get the same car they already had in Stage 1, but upgraded to Stage 2 (i.e., car #2).
    • If the player places 2nd in both races, they get the third best Stage 2 car (i.e., car #3).
    • If the player places 1st in one race and 2nd in the other, they get the second best Stage 2 car (i.e., car #4). The order in which these placements are obtained does not matter.
    • If the player places 1st in both races, they get the best Stage 2 car (i.e., car #5).
  • For the 2nd Heat:
    • If the player places 2nd in both races, they get the same car they already had in Stage 2, but upgraded to Stage 3. For example, if they enter the 2nd Heat with car #2, they receive car #6 for the Final GP.
    • If the player places 1st in one race and 2nd in the other, they get the car one level better than the Stage 3 equivalent of their Stage 2 car. For example, if they enter the 2nd Heat with car #2, they receive car #7 for the Final GP.
    • If the player places 2nd in the first course, and then, 1st place with the faster record than the standard in the next course, they get the car two levels better than the Stage 3 equivalent of their Stage 2 car. For example, if they enter the 2nd Heat with car #2, they receive car #8 for the Final GP.
    • If the player places 1st in both races, with the faster record than the standard on at least one course, they get the car three levels better than the Stage 3 equivalent of their Stage 2 car. For example, if they enter the 2nd Heat with car #2, they receive car #9 for the Final GP.
      • Simply finishing 1st on both race courses without any faster record will not earn player the top-tier, but the two-level-better car instead. Please refer to the link from rr-ken.net (新車投入の法則 (Rules for obtaining new cars)) for the standard race course completion times for each team.
  • After the first three races of the Final GP, the Stage 4 car received is the car with the same ordering as their Stage 3 car. For example, if the player enters the Final GP with car #6, they receive car #13 for Stage 4.

The 20th cars offered by each manufacturer, although listed as Stage 4 cars, cannot be obtained through the Grand Prix mode. Instead, they are obtained by racing against these cars in duels through the Extra Trial mode, unlocked after completing the Grand Prix at least once.

Shown below is a table listing all 80 cars offered by the four car manufacturers, ordered as they appear in the Garage. Note that each car is also offered in different liveries for each racing team, bringing the number of cars in the game to a grand total of 320. Car names in italics represent upgrades of cars that appear in the previous stage.

No. Stage Manufacturer
Assoluto Lizard Terrazi Age Solo
1 Stage 1 Promessa Bonfire Amibitious Prophetie
2 Stage 2 Promessa Bonfire Amibitious Prophetie
3 Bisonte Detector Troop Dirigeant
4 Regalo Wisdom Rumor Bataille
5 Fatalita Officer Wildboar Megere
6 Stage 3 Promessa Bonfire Amibitious Prophetie
7 Bisonte Detector Troop Dirigeant
8 Regalo Wisdom Rumor Bataille
9 Fatalita Officer Wildboar Megere
10 Rondine Colleague Capital Antilope
11 Cavaliere Comrade Cowboy Averse
12 Infinito Ignition Starlight Licorne
13 Stage 4 Promessa Bonfire Amibitious Prophetie
14 Bisonte Detector Troop Dirigeant
15 Regalo Wisdom Rumor Bataille
16 Fatalita Officer Wildboar Megere
17 Aquila Tamer Decision Espion
18 Estasi Cataract Terrific Sorciere
19 Squalo Reckless Destroyer Supernova
20 Vulcano Nightmare Utopia Ecureuil

Once the player has unlocked all 320 cars in the game, a special 321st car becomes available: the Pac-Man car. An additional BGM track, Eat 'em Up!, also becomes available.

Courses[]

The game has 8 courses, with 6 having a shared portion. The courses are:

1st Heat

2nd Heat

  • Edge of the Earth - in New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport).
  • Out of Blue - in Yokohama. The finish line straight is shared with Helter Skelter.

Final GP

  • Phantomile - in Yokohama. Some of the circuit's scenery is shared with Helter Skelter and Out of Blue.
  • Brightest Nite - in New York. The finish line section inside the airport is shared with Edge of the Earth.
  • Heaven and Hell - in Fukuoka. Half of the circuit route is shared with Wonderhill.
  • Shooting Hoops - in Los Angeles.

By completing the Grand Prix at least once, these courses become available in both normal and reverse directions for Multiplayer and Time Attack game modes.

Trophies[]

After completing the Grand Prix, the player will be awarded a trophy depending on the racing team joined and car type used.

Trophy Name Requirement
TROPHIES-00ALLCAR-PACMAN-0
Pac-Man Trophy Complete all races under any racing team using any car type
TROPHIES-01MMM-DRIFTCAR
Mappy Trophy Place first in every race under Micro Mouse Mappy using drift cars
TROPHIES-02MMM-GRIPCAR
Wagyan Trophy Place first in every race under Micro Mouse Mappy using grip cars
TROPHIES-03PRC-DRIFTCAR
Klonoa Trophy Place first in every race under Pac Racing Club using drift cars
TROPHIES-04PRC-GRIPCAR
Valkryie Trophy Place first in every race under Pac Racing Club using grip cars
TROPHIES-05RTS-DRIFTCAR
Xevious Trophy Place first in every race under Racing Team Solvalou using drift cars
TROPHIES-06RTS-GRIPCAR
Bosconian Trophy Place first in every race under Racing Team Solvalou using grip cars
TROPHIES-07DRT-DRIFTCAR
Dragon Trophy Place first in every race under Dig Racing Team using drift cars
TROPHIES-08DRT-GRIPCAR
Tower of Druaga Trophy Place first in every race under Dig Racing Team using grip cars

Other information[]

Rr4 reiko nagase

Ridge Racer series mascot girl Reiko Nagase, in her R4 look.

Special edition box sets of R4 were packaged with the Namco Jogcon controller designed specifically for use with the game. The portable PocketStation device could also be utilized in R4 to trade cars with friends.

Reiko Nagase[]

R4 featured a CGI animated intro with the Ridge Racer "mascot girl" Reiko Nagase, who first appeared in Ridge Racer, Ridge Racer 2, Ridge Racer Revolution, Rave Racer, Rage Racer set to an acid jazz piece called Urban Fragments by Hiroshi Okubo featuring vocals by Kimara Lovelace.

Ridge Racer Turbo/Hi-Spec Demo[]

The game includes a bonus disc containing a new version of the original Ridge Racer, called Ridge Racer Turbo (known in Europe as Ridge Racer Hi-Spec Demo). This game runs at 60 frames per second with shading utilized on the car models, as seen in R4. The original 30 frames per second version of the game is also included as a means to compare with the 60 frames per second version.

Reception[]

The game was critically acclaimed and a commercial success in Japan, the UK and the United States, with aggregate review websites GameRankings and Metacritic giving a score of 88.16% and 88 of 100, respectively. [2][3] The game was mainly praised for the very impressive effects and graphics (even some think that R4 surpasses the first Gran Turismo), design of tracks, enjoyable soundtrack, intuitive controls and progressive difficult level. Minor criticism was directed to the high amount of cars to unlock, where the most are just slightly modified versions of the main cars.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • While choosing the car, you can press L1 or R1 to steer the front wheels.
  • While editing stickers, hold L1 and press directions to jump between buttons.
  • Pressing triangle during demonstration and replay scenes toggles a motion blur effect. This also works in the Music Player in Options.
  • After you complete a time trial, you're asked to choose an option. Press Square and Triangle to reveal a password. This password is used to get rankings on Namco Japan's website. New entries to the rankings were closed on August 31, 2001.
  • The announcer in Time Trials may either praise or criticize the player depending on the split times for a section. If the player is faster than the previous split time, the announcer may flatter the player and say "Sweet! You really ripped through that section!" where if the player is slower, he may "roast" and berate the player and say "My grandma drives faster than that! Get with the program!".
  • The US commercial of Ridge Racer Type 4 featured the song: I can't drive 55 by Sammy Hagar.
  • Story-wise, although never referred to in-game, the events of the game is set 50 years after the inaugural Real Racing Roots season established by Louis Âge in 1949.
  • This is the only game in the series were Reiko Nagase is actually seen in-game doing her duties as race queen, as she is often seen as the flag girl (not to be confused with each team's respective grid girls) during the start of every race in Grand Prix mode.
Ridge Racer series
Arcade games Ridge Racer · 2 · Rave Racer · Pocket Racer · V: Arcade Battle
Console and handheld games Ridge Racer · Revolution · Rage Racer · Type 4 · 64 (DS) · V · Ridge Racer (PSP) (2) · 6 · 7 · 3D · Unbounded (Driftopia) · Ridge Racer (PlayStation Vita)
Mobile games Ridge Racer · Drift · Accelerated · Slipstream · Draw & Drift
Related games SimDrive · Ace Driver (Victory Lap · 3: Final Turn) · Dirt Dash · R: Racing Evolution · Critical Velocity · Pachi-Slot
Universe and people Ridge City · Ridge State · Shatter Bay · Real Racing Roots · UFRA · Reiko Nagase · Enki Gilbert · Shinji Yazaki · Sophie Cavalier · Robert Chrisman · Ai Fukami · Rena Hayami · Gina Cavalli · Stephan Garnier · Kara Shindo
Game mechanics Drifting · Grand Prix · Slipstream · Nitrous · Car Classes · Customization · Special Machine · Rocket Start



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