It’s time for the next Nintendo Switch Online title. Ridge Racer definitely works as a serviceable racing game even if it is one that you will probably not remember for very long. Nothing against the game itself of course but there just isn’t a lot to it. I imagine it was probably super addicting back in the day though and will still hold up with the multiplayer mode. One thing I do miss about the older racing titles like this are all the fun colors and designs.

The game has the main grand prix mode and you can also play the races on their own. Each Grand Prix is 3 levels long but the levels quickly start repeating as you go through them. Interestingly the levels don’t automatically advance like in most games so you have to physically choose the next level each time. Not a big deal but it’s definitely very noticeable. The levels can also be rather difficult to win at times because the computers really put up a good fight. You’ll have a huge lead and then they just appear by your side like nothing happened.

Then you’ve also got the opposite scenario where you start the race and they immediately leave you in the dust. In those cases it isn’t even close as their gap widens and widens with each passing second. My main car was the Pac-Man car so it was pretty slow but the acceleration was absolutely top tier. I usually like to have a high speed but I knew this was the car I needed because of the design. How do you say no to that right? There aren’t a whole lot of cars to choose from but I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them are unlockable or something like that. That would make a lot of sense.

Like I mentioned before, the graphics are really good. It reminds me of an old PC car game I used to play back in the day. The colors are striking and there is a lot of variety in how you can change the colors of the car you used. I like this level of customization and it’s actually better than some modern car games so that is definitely worth noting. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side but you can’t win them all.

The controls are smooth and that is definitely crucial for a racing game like this. When you crash or make a bad turn, you immediately feel like it was your own fault and so the game doesn’t just generate a ton of the blame there or anything like that. You can always brake for the turns to play it safe or you can really master your vehicle and just go in guns blazing. You can drift by double tapping the brake button but it is definitely hard to control. For the most part as long as you drive careful then you should win the first pair of tournaments. After that you have to really focus on not making any mistakes at all or you end up paying for it. That is of course easier said than done

It will probably help if you pick a car that has top tier handling and such but that comes at the expense of speed and I never like playing a slow car. This is true for any game, I’d much rather crash and burn out early than end up slowly turtling my way to the finish line. The slow cars wouldn’t be in the game if they were completely useless of course but even then they would have to make an absolutely terrific argument for me to even consider them. That’s just not the way that I roll.

Overall, Ridge Racer 64 is a good game. It doesn’t have a ton of bells and whistles or anything like that. There aren’t many modes at all so what you see is what you get. Just being a good game is enough at the end of the day though. I had a fun time playing through it and look forward to seeing what Nintendo brings to the table next time. There are still a whole lot of options I’m sure and then maybe they can eventually throw the Gamecube console into the mix. I think it’s about time for that personally. If you have the Switch Online then there is no reason not to try this game out. Race through it a bit and enjoy the nostalgia.

Overall 6/10