History Main / RacingGhost

* ''VideoGame/FZero'' has these in the typical time trial fashion, but ''F-Zero GX'' takes it one step further. [[spoiler: The very end of story mode has Captain Falcon race against The Creators of the universe and they are essentially the developers with their best records recorded. That's right, the fate of the entire universe rides on beating someone's best time in a time trial race, but it doesn't mean that [[NintendoHard it won't give you troubles.]] ]]

In any case, ghosts provide an easy visual way to gauge one's performance without checking the clock.

* The ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series has a variant of this in Ghost Battle mode, where you can pick a player's past run of the mode to race against (and up to three starting in ''Maximum Tune 6''). The game simulates an actual race by having the "ghost" vehicle be tangible, unlike most instances of this trope, meaning that the player still has to block the ghost from passing them and learn to carefully pass it without leaving themselves vulnerable to an upcoming hazard (such as traffic, barriers, or sharp turns). The ghost is also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard nearly impossible to push and if by chance you manage to force it into a crash, it will just snap back onto its route like nothing happened]]. Winning races in Ghost Battle rewards you with [[CosmeticAward cosmetic decorations for your vehicle]].

* The ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series has a variant of this in Ghost Battle mode, where you can pick a player's past run of the mode to race against (and up to three starting in ''Maximum Tune 6''). The game simulates an actual race by having the "ghost" vehicle be tangible, unlike most instances of this trope, meaning that the player still has to block the ghost from passing them and learn to carefully pass it without leaving themselves vulnerable to an upcoming hazard (such as traffic, barriers, or sharp turns). The ghost is also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard nearly impossible to push and if by chance you manage to force it into a crash, it will just snap back onto its route like nothing happened]].

* The ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series has a variant of this in Ghost Battle mode, where you can pick a player's past run of the mode to race against (and up to three starting in ''Maximum Tune 6''). The game simulates an actual race by having the "ghost" vehicle be tangible, unlike most instances of this trope, meaning that the player still has to block the ghost from passing them and learn to carefully passs it without leaving themselves vulnerable to an upcoming hazard (such as traffic, barriers, or sharp turns). The ghost is also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard nearly impossible to push and if by chance you manage to force it into a crash, it will just snap back onto its route like nothing happened]].

* The ''VideoGame/WanganMidnight Maximum Tune'' series has a variant of this in Ghost Battle mode, where you can pick a player's past run of the mode to race against (and up to three starting in ''Maximum Tuen 6'). The game simulates an actual race by having the "ghost" vehicle be tangible, unlike most instances of this trope, meaning that the player still has to block the ghost from passing them and learn to carefully passs it without leaving themselves vulnerable to an upcoming hazard (such as traffic, barriers, or sharp turns). The ghost is also [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard nearly impossible to push and if by chance you manage to force it into a crash, it will just snap back onto its route like nothing happened]].

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' uses this, with ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart7 7]]'' in particular taking the concept pretty far. Every track has multiple staff ghosts (each unlocked after beating the last). If left in sleep mode, the 3DS will download ghosts from random players. There's an option to play against 7 ghosts at once. The [[VideoGame/MarioKartWii Wii version]] also allows downloads but have fewer ghosts per track at a time.

* At the beginning of the ''Film/SpeedRacer'' movie, Speed races against his brother's time, and it's represented as a RacingGhost.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' uses this, with ''[[VideoGame/MarioKart7 7]]'' in particular taking the concept pretty far. Every track has multiple staff ghosts (each unlocked after beating the last). If left in sleep mode, the 3DS will download ghosts from random players. There's an option to play against 7 ghosts at once. The [[VideoGame/MarioKartWii Wii version]] also allowed downloads but had fewer ghosts per track at a time.

* ''VideoGames/SonicGenerations'' is a platforming example. A challenge type common to every main stage is the Doppelganger Race, which involves beating a ghost version of Sonic through its respective stage. Simply beating the ghost is enough to pass, though of course the S Rank times are much stricter.

In racing games, you sometimes have the option of competing against yourself in Time Trial mode, not just by the final time, but by racing against a hollow "ghost" recording of a previous run. This might be your own run, your friend's, or even a stranger's downloaded from the web.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' uses this, with the 7th game in particular taking the concept pretty far. Every track has multiple staff ghosts (each unlocked after beating the last). If left in sleep mode, the 3DS will download ghosts from random players. There's an option to play against 7 ghosts at once. The Wii version also allowed downloads but had less ghosts per track at a time.

* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge''

* ''Videogame/CrashTeamRacing''
* Some ''VideoGame/NeedForSpeed'' games have this.

** ''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'': In Free Run mode, where you can race an unlimited number of laps for good time, a star will follow the rout of your fastest lap in the current session.

[[caption-width-right:350:Not what we meant by Film/GhostRider.]]

* In the ''TrackMania'' series, all opponents are always intangible ghosts: Your only enemy is the track itself.

[[quoteright:240:[[VideoGame/MarioKartSuperCircuit http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marioghostkart_3490.png]]]]

* ''SonicAndSegaAllStarsRacing'' has fairly manageable staff ghosts to race, as well as much more difficult "Sumo Ghosts" from top online players.

* ''VideoGame/KirbyAirRide'': In Free Run mode, where you can race an unlimited number of laps for good time, a star will follow the rout of your fastest lap in the current session.
* The Gourmet Race in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar''. Instead of a transparent Kirby replaying your fastest run, a flashing star is used as the ghost.

[[quoteright:240:[[VideoGame/MarioKart http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/marioghostkart_3490.png]]]]

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' [[https://xkcd.com/1580/ #1580]] suggests using this as a travel planning aid, then unnervingly applies it to more mundane situations.

* ''VideoGame/{{F-Zero}}'' has these in the typical time trial fashion, but ''F-Zero GX'' takes it one step further. [[spoiler: The very end of story mode has Captain Falcon race against The Creators of the universe and they are essentially the developers with their best records recorded. That's right, the fate of the entire universe rides on beating someone's best time in a time trial race, but it doesn't mean that [[NintendoHard it won't give you troubles.]] ]]

* ''DiddyKongRacing'' (both versions) has a set of ghosts for each course as driven by T.T., a stopwatch character. Beating all of the ghosts unlocks him as a playable character.
* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}} Air Ride'': In Free Run mode, where you can race an unlimited number of laps for good time, a star will follow the rout of your fastest lap in the current session.

* Some ''NeedForSpeed'' games have this.