Released during the heyday of the PlayStation, Ridge Racer Type 4 marked a distinct change of style for the series, eschewing the primary colours and rave music for pastel hues and a chilled atmosphere. Considering the arcade heritage, it was a significant change of pace which made the game stand out in a market of simulators and brash, knockabout racers.
Taking Ridge Racer as a template, Namco refined the handling to make power sliding more predictable and easy to instigate, over the difficult and unpredictable original. With the control in place, sublime and complex circuits were created to make use of their new engine that was capable of a dramatically increased draw distance. Unlike more rooted track design of the time, Type 4 had long straights, banked curves, multi-tiered loops and vast scenery that stretched far into the distance.
Underpinning the entire game was a new style and atmosphere, that continued the artistic design that Namco had installed into every Ridge Racer. Type 4 used a soft art palette and subdued music to create a different tone of racing game, where driving was about enjoying the feeling of movement through a relaxed environment, rather than attacking for position or being aggressive. The circuit design reflected this shift, where courses set at night were bathed in warm neon from street lights and daytime circuits were glowing orange from the setting sun. No circuit was completely cold or hostile, with even the final Los Angeles inspired track being set on New Year’s Eve, with a firework display overhead.
To complement the increased scope and complexity of these environments, Namco were one of the first developers to use Gouraud shading, which gave the warm lighting and colour a presence that was not previously possible on such humble hardware.
With such a dramatic change in pace and atmosphere, the usual Japanese techno and European drum and bass music had to be toned down, and be substituted with a far more delicate and beautiful soundtrack. Combining acid jazz, electronic ambiance and Japanese pop, Type 4’s music is an eclectic mix but a perfect companion piece for the new style and design. Drifting through a sedate circuit such as Brightest Nite with the track Lucid Rhythms playing, is an experience that cannot be recreated in any other racing game. The music reflects the soul that is evident throughout every part of Namco’s opus.
Ridge Racer Type 4 signalled the finale of the Namco racing game anthology on PlayStation. Afterwards, the series made the awkward jump to the PlayStation 2, with varying degrees of success in later instalments. Before the confused sequels, Namco were self-assured in their decisions and took the brave steps of changing some fundamentals of the Ridge Racer series. They turned the most beautiful and hyperactive racing game of the mid 1990’s, into one of the most relaxing and hypotonic racing games ever made.
As time drifts by, the open roads, hazy skies, tail lights and chilled music still resonate as strongly as they did back in 1998. It’s astonishing to think that a fast paced racing game can be changed so dramatically by turning the dial down, and focusing on enjoying the drive, rather than the speed in which you can reach the destination.
No racing game has taken that feeling to its heart and put it so eloquently than Type 4.