GENRE
	Racing
	DEVELOPER
	NSTC
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	CONTROLLER PAK
	yes
	RUMBLE PAK
	yes
	RAM PAK
	yes
	BUY NOW AT

Nintendo Software Technology (unoriginal name) has really done a great job with this game. In fact, not even Namco themselves could have developed as solid a product as NST did. I'm almost convinced that this game runs on a hybrid of the F-Zero X engine. It's insane to think that NST made this incredibly fast gaming engine from scratch.

However, much like the sexual performance of most North American males, this game is fast and exciting but it just doesn't last. I'm sorry Nintendo but three variations and three mirrored tracks doesn't constitute nine tracks in total. Much like 1080 Snowboarding, this game suffers from a lack of variety in its courses. Having said that though it's strange how I keep coming back to this game even after I've beaten it. This is a fact that I'm ashamed to admit considering my allegiance to the super racing sim-F1 WGP. But as far as an arcade racer goes, this is tops for the N64. Bar none.

visuals

Most of you know how seriously I take presentation. After all, the atmosphere and personality of the game is found just as much in the menus and front end as in the actual gameplay. As you can imagine, I've had the pleasure of playing some great N64 games. I can safely say that none of them have the polish, style, appeal, efficiency and just overall excellence. It's simple but incredibly well packaged. This is the classiest front end/menu package to ever grace the N64. Honestly.

So what about the in game graphics. Well, first of all, they are )#(*#$(#* fast!! WHHHHHHOOAOAOAO!!! This game rips!! Especially when you get into the upper tier of cars. To top it all off you get a disgusting amount of visual details in the game. These details feature a great working mirror, a stunning motion blur of head and tail lights, skid marks, smoke and just about everything that a healthy racer needs.

Now the cars aren't as well modeled as they should be and to be honest they kind of "float" like a turd in a pool. But these two detriments are the compromise for the hair raising speed of the game. Once again, this game is fast. Real fast. But unlike F-Zero X, there's actually some scenery for you to gauge how your sorry ass is hurtling through the thin mountain air.

Two major misses in this game visually is the lack of a hood viewpoint. There are only two exterior and one interior view in RR64. I wished that one of the exterior views was the "hood" view. Why? Because in every view that you get no matter how well positioned when travelling normally, when you begin your slide or drifts you can't see your forward direction. A "hood" view would have really solved this. Also, sometimes when you tap a car in a sideswipe fashion it sort of burps up in front of you in a jerky sort of way. In keeping with "jerky" the cars have a vibration quality to them when they are moving that seems to behave like the jagged polys of the PSX. This jibbly-jobbly movement does NOT work for me.

Now the cars aren't as well modeled as they should be and to be honest they kind of "float" like a turd in a pool. But these two detriments are the compromise for the hair raising speed of the game. Once again, this game is fast. Real fast. But unlike F-Zero X, there's actually some scenery for you to gauge how your sorry ass is hurtling through the thin mountain air.

By the way, the instant replay is brilliant. Utterly brilliant.

audio

A ripping techno track that sounds like euro-trash club tunes. Perfect for this game. Why? Because this type of music lends itself as an exciting and speedy atmosphere. It's also the music of choice in my car. The music as opposed to the sound effects really drive audio aura of speed in this game. There's less of an emphasis on the sound effects as they take the back seat to some wonderful slashing techno beats including one track that rips it up with the sound of tires screeching as part of the tune. The announcer chimes in with some typically corny lines but the audioscape is solid. It's cool that you get to pick your tune of choice before you rip off into the sunset. You also get the option of mono or stereo, this is important for those of you (like me) that have an old fart of a TV.

gameplay

In all honesty, I never played a Ridge Racer game before. This drift thing had me mystified. But once I saw drifting in action, hey, it looks like a bunch of Canadians driving to work in a snowstorm! Ontario's Highway 400 is probably where Namco got the idea. Of the three drift types that are available, I'd stick with the RR64 system developed by NST. I think Namco may be jealous of how well NST refined the system. When you pull a 360 through a shicane at top speed you're going to drop a pantload. Between the smoke and skidmarks, the 360 drift just looks so great.

The opposing AI is a little on the easy side. You usually end up catching the head of the pack by the end of the race. But this game isn't about super intelligent AI that responds like a short-German-F1 driver. It's about fun. Before each race you pick only a few things like your car, the track and the tune you want to hear and everything else is set for you, just add fun and stir for five minutes.

Because the graphics are fast you'd also assume that the gameplay is quick. You'd be right if you made that assumption dumb ass. You literally can't blink as you rip through these courses. You'll need super quick reflexes, and training like you were Rocky prepping for Drago in Rocky V (or was it IV?).

The amount of tracks is really disappointing as it limits the range of the gameplay. The best solution to resolve this WOULD have been a random track editor. Nothing special in terms of landscape but something random. That would have really kept you on your toes and kept the game in the GREAT class in my collection via improved depth. But the lack of track variety is a serious deficiency in this game. You will, however, find a certain degree of replay value from this title just because of the sheer quality of it.

This game is too short. In fact it's so short, it might as well be a PLAYSTATION game.

multiplayer

It's fast, it's fun. What the hell else do you want?

overall

I hate to say it but "too little, too late". I cannot believe that it took the entire life span of the N64 and a tripillion different arcade racers to get it right. The sad thing is that once again, only a first party developer can do it properly and this is a circumstance that will haunt Nintendo well into its life with the Dolphin. You've got to have quality 3rd party support in order to have a dynamic line up.

Lets face it, there isn't much else for you to buy out there for your 64 right now. So you might as well put some cash together and grab this game. It's got a lot you'll like. I really do wish it had a random track generator. That feature would have catapulted this game to Goldeneye quality. It is however, the best arcade racer for the system, so that has to be worth something folks. Check it out.

9.1/10