Ridge Racer (video Game) - Gameplay

Gameplay

After launching the game, the player can choose a course, transmission (automatic or six-speed manual), car and sound. Each course has varying difficulty. There are two modes in the game: Race, which is played against 11 other cars; and Time Trial, in which only one opponent is given. During the race, the player can observe the racetrack from the first-person perspective (or from the third-person perspective for the PlayStation version).

The game consists of 4 race course modes, which are Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Time Trial. The Novice and the Intermediate consist of racing on the same circuit. The higher the difficulty level, the faster cars run. The game contains unlimited restarts, and the player can restart during a race at any time. After the players wins all the race modes, the player has to go to the Time Trial race mode which turns into a three-car battle. The player has to face the final boss—the Devil 13th Racing car (which is available only in the PlayStation version). This car is very fast and difficult to beat. To win, the player must learn the perfect racing line of the track. In the arcade version, after finishing the game, the winning player's score is saved in action-replay highlights.

As the player progresses through the game, extra courses will be given. The player will be racing on the same tracks but in reverse directions. The extra tracks lack one checkpoint and therefore the player is at a higher risk of running out of time, making the game more difficult. If the player obtains the Devil car before playing the extra courses, it can be used to race in all the courses including extra courses in order to complete the game.

A special 'mirror mode' version of the track can be played by turning the car around on the starting line and driving into the wall behind at top speed. The car will pass through the wall and the track will revert to the mirror of the normal track.

For the PlayStation version, once the game has loaded, all the CD is needed for afterwards is to play 6 instrumental music tracks. The box encourages the player to race along to their own audio CDs by simply replacing the disc at any time during gameplay. However, the game does not update to reflect the switch: No matter what disc is inserted, there will still be 6 tracks to choose from, corresponding the starting points of the 6 tracks on the game disc.

Because the game CD is mastered in Mixed Mode CD format, it can be played in an audio CD player/computer. Track 1 is used for data.