R4: Ridge Racer Type 4[b] (Ridge Racer Type 4 in Europe) is a racing video game developed and published by Namco for the PlayStation. It is the fourth title in the Ridge Racer series after Rage Racer and the last to be released for the PlayStation. It was released on December 3, 1998 in Japan and further released the following year in Europe and North America. It was later re-released on the PlayStation Network in 2011, again in 2023 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and pre-loaded on the PlayStation Classic which was released on December 3, 2018.[2] It is the first Ridge Racer series game on the PlayStation to use Gouraud shading on polygons and was followed by Ridge Racer V in 2000.
| R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco[a] |
| Producer(s) | Shigeru Yokoyama |
| Programmer(s) | Masatoshi Kobayashi |
| Artist(s) | Kazutoki Kono |
| Composer(s) | Kohta Takahashi Hiroshi Okubo Asuka Sakai |
| Series | Ridge Racer |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Racing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Development
Music
Hiroshi Okubo served as the sound director and lead composer of the game's soundtrack, with Kohta Takahashi and Asuka Sakai also contributing several tracks, and Tetsukazu Nakanishi and Koji Nakagawa contributing two tracks each. Whereas previous games had music inspired by rave and hardcore, R4 instead explores music styles encompassing funk, breakbeat, acid jazz, UK garage, progressive house, and neo soul.[3] Okubo had previously composed additional tracks for Ridge Racer Revolution with Nobuhide Isayama and the whole soundtrack of Rage Racer with Nakanishi, both of which roughly retain the rave sound of the earlier games. A handful of tracks in the game, including the theme song "Ridge Racer (One More Win)", feature vocals by American singer Kimara Lovelace. Okubo first discovered her at a club event in Nishi-Azabu in May 1998; he was impressed by her powerful voice, and felt she fitted the game direction's keywords of "urban" and "cool".[4]
The music was design to correspond with the game's human drama, so the composers aimed to evoke emotions of sadness and tension in their tracks. Both Takahashi and Sakai previously did not have much knowledge or interest in club music; initial tracks they composed for the game were frequently rejected by Okubo for not fitting into the club sound or being "game like". Takahashi described him as "the gatekeeper to club sound hell",[5] while Okubo took piano parts from one of Sakai's tracks and reworked it into "Quiet Curves",[4] much to her annoyance.[6] Nakagawa, who was working on the soundtrack for Techno Drive at the time, was asked by Okubo to contribute due to his experience with composing techno music, while Nakanishi was involved towards the end of the project.[7]
A soundtrack for the game, R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 Direct Audio was released by Media Factory on January 27, 1999.[3] On March 21, 2019, SuperSweep released R4: The 20th Anniv. Sounds, consisting of two CDs: the first includes new remixes by a variety of artists, and the second including a remastered version of the original soundtrack.[8]
Gameplay
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 is an arcade-style racing game with a strong emphasis on powersliding around corners. Vehicles use one of two styles of powersliding depending on the make of car they select: Drift and Grip. Drift cars require players to tap the brake once while turning to break into a smooth powerslide while Grip cars requires players to alternate between brakes and gas while turning to powerslide.[9]
Vehicles are earned by playing through the game's Grand Prix mode. Players select one of four teams; R.C Micro Mouse Mappy (France), Pac Racing Club (Japan), Racing Team Solvalou (Italy), and Dig Racing Team (United States), who each have varying difficulties, and one of four manufacturers; Age Solo (France), Lizard (United States), Assoluto (Italy), and Terrazi (Japan), which determines the style of car and powerslide type the player will use. In each race, the player must attempt to reach a qualifying position, with later stages requiring players to place in higher positions to qualify. Depending on the qualifying position in each race, players will be awarded a new vehicle, or an upgrade to their current one, based on their team and manufacturer, with better cars earned for reaching consistently higher positions (i.e. the best cars are earned by placing 1st in each match while the least impressive cars are earned by just clearing the minimum qualifying positions). There are a total of 320 vehicles earned by racing with every combination of team, manufacturer and qualifying position. If the players unlock all 320 cars, they will unlock an additional one modelled after Pac-Man, for a total of 321 vehicles.[9]
The game also features Time Attack mode, in which players can attempt to get the fastest time on each course, and VS. Battle, a split-screen mode for two players (the first to appear in the home console series) and an undocumented PlayStation Link Cable mode, allowing four players to play simultaneously. Players can also create their own car decors and participate in Extra Trials against powerful prototype cars. The game is also compatible with the JogCon peripheral and the PocketStation device, which allows players to trade cars with friends.[9][10]
Release
A peripheral, the JogCon, was released alongside the game, packaged in special editions. The device features a steering wheel type device in the middle of the controller to provide accurate control.
Reception
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 88/100[11] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [12] |
| Edge | 8/10[13] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 8/9/9.5/8.5[14] |
| Famitsu | 35/40[15] |
| Game Informer | 8.25/10[16] |
| GamePro |  [17] |
| GameRevolution | B[18] |
| GameSpot | 8.7/10[19] |
| IGN | 9.4/10[20] |
| Next Generation | [21] |
| PlayStation Official Magazine – UK | 9/10[22] |
| Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine | [23] |
Contemporary
The game received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[11]
Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot[19] and Next Generation gave positive reviews to the game.[21] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 35 out of 40.[15]
Retrospective
James O'Neill of Push Square noted it as the best of the PS1 Ridge Racer games.[24] Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer said in 2018 that "R4 remains a high mark for the series and no entry has quite topped it yet." In 2023, Time Extension ranked the game first on their "Best Ridge Racer Games" list.[25] Polygon and GamesRadar have ranked the game among the best PS1 games.[26][27] Den of Geek included the game on their list of "20 PlayStation One Games That Were Way Ahead of Their Time" for getting the balance of "arcadey" and "realistic" right, also noting it as one of the best-looking PS1 titles.[28]
Sales
It was a commercial success in Japan, the United Kingdom,[29] and the United States.
The game sold 759,527 units in Japan[30] and 297,564 units in the United States,[31] for a total of 1,057,091 units sold in Japan and the United States.