History YMMV / RidgeRacer

** Bonus points for the soundtrack of ''[=3D=]'': it is a continuous GenreRoulette, with music ranging from electronic rock ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gsz1GezYFs Psychokinesis]]) to progressive house ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-FYtcrBE4 Phantasize]]), drum and bass ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRVR5FcuYOA Napalm Sled]]), IDM ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7rJwXjEUU Nitro Right Now]]), hard rock ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAqm5nFVmM Burn Up The Road]]), hardcore techno ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkMFl0wJkk My Crazy Chainsaw]]), dance punk ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuqpkLibgas Rolling Glider]]), industrial ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7zmxEY2mHY Aberration]]), power metal ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvG-zHi6hQ Angel Halo]]) and freaking death metal ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_aykQwmwUY Venomous]]) and black metal ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vYHMxd3FiM Heat Shadows]]) Everyone will find their kind of song in this soundtrack.

** Bonus points for the soundtrack of ''[=3D=]'': it is a continuous GenreRoulette, with music ranging from electronic rock ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gsz1GezYFs Psychokinesis]]), progressive house ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-FYtcrBE4 Phantasize]]), drum and bass ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRVR5FcuYOA Napalm Sled]]), IDM ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj7rJwXjEUU Nitro Right Now]]), hard rock ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSAqm5nFVmM Burn Up The Road]]), hardcore techno ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkMFl0wJkk My Crazy Chainsaw]]), dance punk ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuqpkLibgas Rolling Glider]]), industrial ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7zmxEY2mHY Aberration]]), power metal ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POvG-zHi6hQ Angel Halo]]) and freaking death metal ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_aykQwmwUY Venomous]]). Everyone will find their kind of song in this soundtrack.

* [[{{Awesome/VideoGameLevels}} Crowning Level Of Awesome]]: You can pretty much go with any racetrack of the series, but the best example to this trope is ''Oceanfront Cruise Way'' in ''3D'' and ''Vita''. [[SceneryPorn A jaw-dropping urban scenery]], with [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome an epic techno-industrial background song]] called [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7zmxEY2mHY "Aberration"]] make this one of the best levels in racing games history.

* OlderThanTheyThink: ''Unbounded'' wasn't the first time a Ridge Racer game was made by a western company. That goes back to the NintendoSixtyFour days with Ridge Racer 64.[[hottip:*: The game was developed by Nintendo's NST division, located in Redmond, Washington]]

** However, fans will nod their heads in agreement with the PS Vita Ridge Racer. Does it keep the series' gameplay? Yeah, sure, but so what? It's basically an overpriced demo that makes you buy everything else as DLC, some of which is content back from ''7''.

* AwesomeMusic: the soundtrack of the series ranges from techno to house, trance and hard rock. Some of the artists are: Hiroshi Okubo, Shinji "Sampling Masters MEGA" Hosoe, Ayako "Sampling Masters AYA" Saso, Asuka Sakai and Yuu "U" Miyake. In Ridge Racer Type 4, also, the appearance of the New Yorker artist Kimara Lovelace, which her vocals can be heard on most of the songs in the game (Urban Fragments (Intro song), Movin' In Circles, One More Win (Ending theme)), just makes it even better. In a nutshell, the series' OST is utterly amazing. Period.

** If you want to compare Ridge Racer's soundtrack to real life music, here are some examples: Music/{{Pendulum}}, Music/{{Orbital}}, Music/TheProdigy, Music/{{Rammstein}}, Camo & Krooked, Mord Fustang, Music/{{Deadmau5}}, Tiesto, Music/AphexTwin, Dragonette, Danko Jones, Netsky, The Crystal Method, Music/TheChemicalBrothers, Music/{{Underworld}}, Music/{{BT}}, Music/{{Disturbed}}, Music/{{Skrillex}}, Music/NineInchNails, Music/MyChemicalRomance. All of these bands could have done the soundtrack to the series if Namco didn't have a music team or had the GrandTheftAutoEffect.

* NightmareFuel: The Soldat Crinale, especially in the first few games. Its nickname (Devil) doesn't help either.

* BaseBreaker: ''Unbounded''. One half of the {{Fandom}} believes that BugBear's interpretation of Ridge Racer has basically killed the series as a whole, with ''Unbounded'' being decried by most of its critics as a mash-up of several other arcade racers (the destruction of SplitSecond, the combativeness of {{Burnout}}, an art style similar to ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}'') without having any of the series' traditional aspects (save for the drifting, but even the weighty-ness of it is different from the older games) that made the series popular. On the other hand, most of the {{Fandom}} believe ''Unbounded'' as a breath of fresh air for the series (except for the recent portable releases, the last console game was ''Ridge Racer 7''; a ''launch title'' for the PS3), with some really solid racing mechanics (least they ripped off the best arcade racers) and a good track creator, among other good things people have to say for ''Unbounded''.

* MemeticMutation: Kaz Hirai's impassioned plea to get gamers to care about the [=PlayStation=] Network rerelease of the [=PS1=] port of ''Ridge Racer''. Which, amusingly, [[{{Vaporware}} hasn't happened yet.]]

* CoolCar: the Special cars in all games. Some of them are pimped out hot-rods, others are little speedsters, others are F1 car look-a-likes, others are antigravity racers, others are tremendously weird, others are rocket cars , but, let's just say it, these cars are absolutely epic. There are also the Kamata Angelus, the Angel car, which is very fast and easy to handle, posing a big threat even to the more experienced players, and the (badass) Soldat Crinale, the Devil car, which is the fastest car in the game, but handles like the road's made of ice.

** If you want to compare Ridge Racer's soundtrack to real life music, here are some examples: Music/{{Pendulum}}, {{Orbital}}, TheProdigy, {{Rammstein}}, Camo & Krooked, Mord Fustang, {{Deadmau5}}, Tiesto, AphexTwin, Dragonette, Danko Jones, Netsky, The Crystal Method, Music/TheChemicalBrothers, {{Underworld}}, {{BT}}, {{Disturbed}}, {{Skrillex}}, NineInchNails, MyChemicalRomance. All of these bands could have done the soundtrack to the series if Namco didn't have a music team or had the GrandTheftAutoEffect.

* BaseBreaker: ''Unbounded''. One half of the {{Fandom}} believes that BugBear's interpretation of Ridge Racer has basically killed the series as a whole, with ''Unbounded'' being decried by most of its critics as a mash-up of several other arcade racers (the destruction of SplitSecond, the combativeness of {{Burnout}}, an art style similar to ''VideoGame/{{Blur}}'') without having any of the series' traditional aspects (save for the drifting, but even the weighty-ness of it is different from the older games) that made the series popular. On the other hand, most of the {{Fandom}} believe ''Unbounded'' as a breath of fresh air for the series (except for the recent portable releases, the last console game was ''Ridge Racer 7''; a ''launch title'' for the PS3), with some really solid racing mechanics (least they ripped off the best arcade racers) and a good track creator, among other good things people have to say for ''Unbounded''.

* BaseBreaker: ''Unbounded''. One half of the {{Fandom}} believes that BugBear's interpretation of Ridge Racer has basically killed the series as a whole, with ''Unbounded'' being decried by most of its critics as a mash-up of several other arcade racers (the destruction of SplitSecond, the combativeness of {{Burnout}}, an art style similar to {{Blur}}) without having any of the series' traditional aspects (save for the drifting, but even the weighty-ness of it is different from the older games) that made the series popular. On the other hand, most of the {{Fandom}} believe ''Unbounded'' as a breath of fresh air for the series (except for the recent portable releases, the last console game was ''Ridge Racer 7''; a ''launch title'' for the PS3), with some really solid racing mechanics (least they ripped off the best arcade racers) and a good track creator, among other good things people have to say for ''Unbounded''.

* AwesomeMusic: the soundtrack of the series ranges from techno to house, trance and hard rock. Some of the artists are: Hiroshi Okubo, Shinji "Sampling Masters MEGA" Hosoe, Ayako "Sampling Masters AYA" Saso, Asuka Sakai and Yuu "U" Miyake. In Ridge Racer Type 4, also, the appearance of the New Yorker artist Kimara Lovelace, which her vocals can be heard on most of the songs in the game (Urban Fragments (Intro song), Movin' In Circles, One More Win (Ending theme)), just makes it even better. In a nutshell, the series' OST is utterly amazing. Period.

* SoCoolItsAwesome: Rare arcade cabinets had you sitting in a real Porsche playing the game on a large screen through the windshield.

* MemeticMutation: Kaz Hirai's impassioned plea to get gamers to care about the [=PlayStation=] Network rerelease of the [=PS1=] port of ''Ridge Racer''. Which, amusingly, [[{{Vaporware}} hasn't happened yet.]]

* BaseBraker: ''Unbounded''. One half of the {{Fandom}} believes that BugBear's interpretation of Ridge Racer has basically killed the series as a whole, with ''Unbounded'' being decried by most of its critics as a mash-up of several other arcade racers (the destruction of SplitSecond, the combativeness of {{Burnout}}, an art style similar to {{Blur}}) without having any of the series' traditional aspects (save for the drifting, but even the weighty-ness of it is different from the older games) that made the series popular. On the other hand, most of the {{Fandom}} believe ''Unbounded'' as a breath of fresh air for the series (except for the recent portable releases, the last console game was ''Ridge Racer 7''; a ''launch title'' for the PS3), with some really solid racing mechanics (least they ripped off the best arcade racers) and a good track creator, among other good things people have to say for ''Unbounded''.