In this way, it makes sense that Ridge Racer became such a common launch game. With four Ridge Racer games releasing for the PlayStation in as many years, these rules were firmly underlined. Every entry is meant to meet these criteria when you pick up a Ridge Racer game, it should include these three things. Overall, Ridge Racer laid down three defining traits or “rules” for the series: visceral arcade racing, dazzling visuals and fantastic original music. The first Ridge Racer immediately defined everything about the eventual series: high-speed arcade racing where you drift around corners to keep your speed up a vibrant, realistic look with car models and tracks that were entirely fictional tracks set on mountain roads and other natural Outrun– and Daytona USA-esque backdrops instead of closed circuits and bangin’ techno soundtracks. It was another way that Ridge Racer showed off the PSX, supporting an exclusive peripheral that you couldn’t find on any other console.
![ridge racer unbounded ranks ridge racer unbounded ranks](https://i.psnprofiles.com/guides/616/250998.jpg)
The neGcon was a weird but supposedly wicked motion controller designed for racing games, imitating analog-stick controls in racing games by letting you twist each half of the pad in opposite directions. Ridge Racer was also the first game to support the neGcon, a controller released by Namco around the same time. Ridge Racer also saw an updated version and two sequels on the PlayStation, as well as an expanded port on the Nintendo 64 which, bizarrely, released five years later in 2000.
![ridge racer unbounded ranks ridge racer unbounded ranks](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LDSpq1hX9N8/maxresdefault.jpg)
Though it was released in arcades in 1993, the faithful PSX port was a huge success and has been credited with the console’s early lead over the Sega Saturn.
RIDGE RACER UNBOUNDED RANKS SERIES
The original Ridge Racer was both the first entry in the series and its first launch title, releasing alongside the PlayStation in 1994 (Japan) and 1995 (everywhere else). Of the 22 games in the series – some of them being ports or updates of other entries – eight were also launch titles, so we’re here to investigate exactly what makes this iconic arcade racer so well-suited to the next-generation transition. Namco’s Ridge Racer series has a real knack for launching alongside new consoles.