9.8 /10 1 Votes
Initial release date 16 July 1995 Genre Racing video game | 4.9/5 Emuparadise Sound 1x C352 @ 16.384 MHz Publisher Namco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Composer(s) Shinji HosoeAyako SasoNobuyoshi SanoTakayuki Aihara Cabinet Upright (single-monitor), Sitdown (single-monitor and multi-monitor), Ridge Racer upgrade kit CPU 1x Motorola 68020 @ 24.576 MHz,2x Texas Instruments TMS32025 @ 49.152 MHz Similar Ridge Racer games, Namco games, Racing video games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rave Racer (レイブレーサー, Reibu Rēsā) is an arcade racing game that was released by Namco on 16 July 1995. It runs on Namco System 22 hardware, and could be played by two people per cabinet for up to eight players total when up to four of them were linked together. It is the third (and last, until Ridge Racer V: Arcade Battle in 2000) arcade title in the Ridge Racer series and the follow-up to Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer 2
Rave Racer added three new tracks to the original one, twelve new songs to the original five, force feedback steering and improved car and racetrack graphics. The way the tracks were designed also allowed multiple routes to be chosen around the courses, but some of them took more time than others to complete a full lap of the track.
Its graphics were highly advanced for its time. It was the first game to feature high resolution 3D texture mapping, a feature which was not boasted by consoles until the Dreamcast over three years later. Rave Racer ran at a high 640x480 resolution and full 60 frames per second.
A Microsoft Windows version was originally under development for NEC's PowerVR graphics processor, and was demonstrated in early 1996. However the game was cancelled, thus no games in the Ridge Racer series were released for PCs until Unbounded in 2012.
There was never a home release. The game's two exclusive tracks were later included in the Ridge Racer PSP game in 2004, including some of its soundtrack in either original or remixed form.
Reception
A critic for Next Generation remarked that while the game makes few changes from its predecessors, those changes are important enough to make it a dramatic improvement. He found the more accurate and responsive control particularly pleasing, saying it allows players to pull off more impressive maneuvers and race without having to compensate for the controls. He also praised the fast-paced music and graphical touches. Concluding that "despite only four courses, one of which is a rehash, this racer kicks", he gave it four out of five stars.