R: Racing is amazing. I love the plot. Rena Hayami is just as hot as Reiko Nagase. Game really has balance all the way while lots of variety. It has even rally courses. With the brake assist on, game is pure arcade racing game, but you can also play it more like simulation type of game. Presentation is second to none, Visually it does everything rigth. Soundtrack is one of my fafourites. Game handles really well. It has entertaining content and replay value. May be critics played jagged PS2 -version. NGC -version deserves 96% score.
i bought this game for my gamecube back in the day and just never understood the bad reviews. granted i'm the type of person who loves the ridge racer series to death but also loves a good sim racer and it seems the only reason critics were hard on this game was cause it wasn't really a ridge racer game but most of the other criticisms make no sense to me. the graphics, particularly on the gamecube and xbox, are some the best of any racer of that console generation and still look good today, and the gameplay and variety of tracks/vehicles is quite solid. 'mainstream' video game critics just make zero sense to me sometimes.
What I've found over the past 6 years, is that a title failing to live up to an unrealistic expectation somehow makes it bad in some folk's eyes. I don't get it :) Agree with everything you said, great comment!
@@spicydorito5900 i dunno about that - the gran turismo series was already well-established and lauded by the point R came out. the only thing i can figure is the marketing just didn't hit right and the association with ridge racer threw people off or something. maybe it would have done better if they had just removed any ridge racer connections and changed the title but, who knows.
I thought this game was just a fever dream from my childhood, i couldnt remember the name of it, and no one I've talked to knows this game. Thanks for the memories.
Interesting thing about this game that may be more relevant now than it was on this game's release date is that the entire thing is played from the perspective of a strong-willed, self-motivated female protagonist who captures success via her own skill
If only people actually cared about actual strong female characters. The facts are they only care about “strong female characters” if they fit a specific political agenda... aka are extreme leftwing, men hating cunts who want to murder unborn babies
I actually didnt mind this game. One of the very few racers with a story mode. others being Pro Race Driver, Zero4Champ series, Racing Lagoon, Final Lap, NFS the Run and a few others..
I'm kind of surprised at how much love some of these 6th generation quasi-sims receive from folks. It seems many others also grew up enjoying racers other than Gran Turismo and Forza, which is pretty rad :)
Yeah some reviewers and "critics" have always been cancerous, bias and/or ignorant, which results in alot of solid games getting undeservingly sidelined for no just reason. Making unnecessary comparisons and other poor judgments. Can we just enjoy a game for what it is instead of what it isn't?
"Crítics" only play the games for 10 min at least, then they came with all that "genious" reviews that all they "knowledge" and "experience" can give to them...lol
The testers were expecting a new Ridge Racer at that time and were extremely disappointed because R Racing was different. Unfortunately, they overlooked what a gem they had in their console. Therefore, the game was rated so bad and has gone down commercial.
Love this series!!! Keep them coming. Saw this game the other day at my local retro store for about 4 bucks. May have to go back and pick it up after your thoughts.
it is a nice, fun departure from the usual RR games. i have the limited run double pack on the gcube. it includes pacman vs which is really fun as well.
This is the reason why Reviewers like this ruin games like this, honestly I adore this game and I wished Namco gave this little game a chance. Always base your judgement on YOUR opinion and not others, because you might miss out on Gems like this game.
That pressure meter would also be used on Evolution GT, a racing game from Milestone. And some of the user interface from this game seems to come from another Namco racing franchise at that time, MotoGP. Just look at the font they use for time limit or lap times. Or those logos on the event challenge mode.
Thanks a lot for this review. It’s very well made. I just discovered your channel and for the last few hours I’ve been watching a lot of videos. Subscribed right away! R Racing was a game I’ve been thinking about getting for a long time but reviews were not really positive and I felt like I was better off without it. I’m a big ridge racer fan and I’m a huge sim fan. I’ve grown up between the likes of Ridge Racer and Gran Turismo and after watching your review I felt like I NEEDED that game! I just bought a copy on eBay for a few euros (it was very cheap even CIB) and can’t wait to play it when I’ll get it this week. Thanks to you I’ll finally get to play it and I think I’ll enjoy it at least as much as you did. Great work anyway! Awesome videos. Every series has something fresh to bring. I’ll try and catch up every other videos you made. Keep up the good work.
I'm really enjoying the new style of your channel with all the 5 games, underrated and etc. The new style is really refreshing compared with the "just plain reviews" of before, even though in essence they are still more or less the same style. Kudos, man. And R:Racing Evolution is an amazing game. Unfortunately few people were able to appreciate it. I really wanted more games to have a rich and interesting history like R. I request Enthusia for a next underrated video, is another oddball sim racing game in the age of Gran Turismos and Forzas. Oh, and Automodelista too to complete the asian trilogy (Namco, Konami and Capcom), hehe.
Thank you. I don't know if you listen to the podcast or not, but there was some grumbles when I announced the old reviews were ceasing :) I think i made the right choice. A few others have mentioned Enthusia so I'll have to give that one a try. Was Group S Challenge any good?
what? pressure bar. That feature does exists in corvette evolution gt which is released in 2006, 2 years after this game. And the intense pit crew radio reminds me to grid series from 2008. dude, i didnt know this game ever existed. And this game is from 2003
Oh yeah, maybe have an older mature Rena owning her own team and having you as a driver on it. And to ad to it, but not overwhelm the experience, have you decide the character's gender. Each character would have different challenges and aspirations and we see how they interact with other drivers and the world in general. Oh And bring Gina back as a supporting character in some way and we hear some stories of her rivalry/friendship with Rena.
Still remembers doing this. During that race when I was asked to lose, I made my own challenge to put pressure on every pilot and making sure they all wipe out. I may have gotten 2nd for the boss but I had my fun before its back to normal doing clean races.
Friend of mine used to have this on Gamecube. This is also the very game that I was introduced to the forgotten Viper: The Competition Coupe, AKA: The Racing variant of my Favourite Viper: The GTS-R Concept.
I don't understand why reviewers thought the handling was bad - it's one of the game's biggest strengths. I think the realism lies somewhere between Gran Turismo 3/4 and Enthusia. Maybe their confusion derived from the presentation - the chase cam is pretty bad (twitchy and too close), and there's no bonnet/roof/interior cam. Maybe they didn't turn off the driver aids either. The underlying handling model definitely is far better than GT - you can lock up your brakes, and weight transfer works correctly. You can do a 360 on a straight in R by doing a scandinavian flick with the handbrake, and this just doesn't work in GT3/4 at all. Fun fact: the lead handling programmer for Enthusia has worked on GT since 5 prologue, so that's perhaps where the jump in handling quality came from between 4 and 5.
I picked up R:Racing Evolution a while back. I rented it many years ago, and found it completely not to my liking. I hated Sim-style racers back then, and R:RE wasn't arcade-y enough for me. But I love going back to games that I disliked back in the day. There's been so many games and genres that I've developed a love for over time, despite not digging it back in the day. R:RE was like that for me. What seemed super-sim and serious to me then, is now semi-sim and quirky. The controls are closer to the realistic racers we see now, but not so much that it'll put off arcade purists - like myself. I also thought the graphics were garbage back in the day, but in retrospect it's held up really well. Probably because of the super-smooth frame rate. I moved a little while back, and I haven't hooked up my OG Xbox yet. It looks like I'm going to have to now and dive back in to R:Racing Evolution :)
I REALLY wanted to like this game, but felt it suffered from the same stiff handling characteristics as Ridge Racer V. It also didn't help that the chase view is so tight to the car that it felt unnatural to me to drive. While the game has its merits, it just doesn't hold up against Forza, F355 Challenge, Gran Turismo 3, LeMans 24 Hours or WRC. Gran Prix Challenge, WRC, SHOX, and Test Drive Unlimited are my picks for underrated racing goodness.
This and Toca Race Driver 3 were my favorite racing games growing up. The only things missing from this game is damage and open wheel cars but overall this is a great game.
now what if this game was looked at by Bandai Namco and suddenly it was announced to be Remastered/Remaked on the PS4 as an exclusive or better yet a next gen sequel comeback?
Awesome review! You did convince me to get it, haha! I don't have that much time to fuss around with GT3 or 4, so this alternative sounds perfect! Thanks!
I personally think Mario Kart 64 is so overrated. I do get that that was the first 3D Mario Kart but it's IMO the worst Mario Kart. I think that the GBA system is a bit underrated as well as the 6th Gen Consoles in general.
The 6th gen was the best gaming generation imo. I've never met anyone who refutes that, but then again, it isn't a topic that I've ever seen discussed on youtube. All consoles from that gen were brilliant.
I can't reall speak for the game since I'm not into simulation racing games and I don't know what the factors are for a good one, however, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment looking at the game footage. I think the game gives its own unique flavor to the simulation racing genre and I wish many more people could've played it back in the day. I've got an unrelated question: Have you played or do you plan on playing Rayman 2: Revolution? In case you don't know what the game is, it's a remake for Rayman 2: The Great Escape released for the PS2 that offers plenty of noticable changes to the Rayman 2 formula such as a free-roaming hub world, slightly altered level design, and even extra bosses. I hear the game get mentioned in nearly every Rayman 2 review including NitroRad's, but I almost never see any specific reviews of that version of the game. I think the game deserves its own review since it's different enough to warrent one.
Yeah, I think the footage shows everything here is extremely smooth, and it is. As for Rayman 2, I own it on PSX and N64 but really haven't put much time into it. Would love the Dreamcast version, and of course the later ports. Ubi-soft sure milked the hell out of that game ;)
Is seriously underrated. It had the bad luck of being compared to Gran turismo wich was the king at the time. But R is a thing on it's own, the story, character desings, the original tracks, like the dual rally course, something we not saw on other racing games of the era, the music, etc. Is true that the controls weren't that smooth, but weren't that bad either. I only wished that the devs putted some of the cars on Ridge racer as a trowhback to the famous series of Namco, and to see them being driven in a more realistic way. To me, the game was 8 out 10. P.S: the guy from the ambulance is named Stephan Garnier. 😁 P.S 2: now we need a new Ridge racer with Rena, Gina, Reiko and Ai, including all the tracks and cars from the series hisrory.
In college through some trades I got a Gamecube with a copy of this game, really cool my first sim racer so I struggled a little with it but then I finally traded the cube for a PS2 which was my objective all along, but never look for this game as I thought it was a Gamecube exclusive, so might as well hunt a copy of it and finish it.
The audio and car selection are the two biggest let-downs in this game for me. Like so many other games, it fails to get the sound of an American V8 right - if anything Toad's engine from Mario Kart 64 was closer! I didn't think much of most of the cars but was glad to see the Detomaso Pantera, Dodge Charger and Saleen S7 in there. The music was alright but not a patch on the Ridge Racers before Type 4. Good to see some sim physics added to a game that doesn't take itself too seriously though - that side of it offers good re-playability.
to me, R seems like a game that was setting out to subtly teach players who are new to sim-racing how to drive 'properly' in them, while offering plenty of assistance to help players get to that level of understanding. besides the handling assist options in general: the Pressure system encourages drafting with the driver ahead until the player finds (or, in this case, forces) an opening after taking a corner, most courses have baked-in streaks of darkened asphalt at the entrance of major corners that suggest where to brake (surely not an original idea), and the comments from the pit chief about cornering + the RP awards for taking corners & making passes 'perfectly' are clear positive-reinforcement systems.
I tried this game this year and really wanted to like it. The aesthetics, the music and the general feel are all amazing but something about the gameplay feels very lacking. I don't need much from a racing game, I still play random PS1 Touge racers today but something about this game just felt bad. I beat the entire story but eventually I realized I wasn't enjoying the driving at all, it felt pointless like I was driving toys. The verisimilitude wasn't there even though I really, really wanted to like it.
I've been playing this game on emulator, and I've been enjoying it for the most part. My main gripes is that I feel that the story is not the main focus, but it's instead the event challenge, as you do need to grind a whole hell of a lot to unlock them AND tune a car to even compete. The event mode is also annoying in that the "level" of the challenge is most of the time an outright lie when it's talking about class of vehicle. Many challenges allows (and in turn forces you) to take higher grade vehicles, even for the gold medal. The other is the course list which is really anemic and drags down the whole game in my opinion. It's disappointing that it's only the oval at Motegi and not the main course and its variant. A couple more courses would have made it a much more engaging game rather than monotonous, and even could have extended the story of the game which I also felt is rather short. It is a shame that this never got a sequel and the eventual death of ridge racer in general. I feel stories in racing games is something under utilized, another favorite of mine being Test Drive 2002. Though with hope they'll pull the series out of the grave like they did with Ace Combat a couple years ago and Klonoa in June of this year, and if that works out maybe R:Racing will got another chance.
Best sim of its era, cause best physics and style. No big content, but all is pure gold, well crafted like Namco arcade game. Play it with a force feedback wheel.
R: Racing Evolution is a magnificent game. I finished it this year (2019) Controls are good combination of arcade and simulation, graphics are brilliant, models are very good and game provides nice challenge. Only bad thing is, when you try to unlock everything, it becomes extremely repetitive.
I haven't watched F1 in a couple of years. But here is some trivia for you, I was actually at the first race Vettel scored points. The 2007 US Grand Prix. My favorite driver, Massa, finished third.
+implantgames xbox was the more powerful hardware so I think I'll stick with that for multi plats. did you know though that the gamecube version in the usa and I think Europe shipped with Pac-man VS as a bonus?
cool. thanks for clearing that one up. I guess I'll have a physical Gamecube NTSC version and the Xbox version digitally built in on Modded Xbox. Screw the PS2 version.
Completely. I had a PS2 and this game and I hated it. I was a Namco racing game fan and this game felt like a betrayal. Didn't got farther than 5 races I think before reselling it. Here I am, 21 years later (lol ) playing it on Emulator and finding it amazing. Driving can be very hard and precise but when it works, it's beautiful ! It's more of a sim than Gran Turismo ever was (I play with ABS TSC and brake assist totally off and the cars are ..difficult. ) ! The reviews are r*tard*d : the "journalists" were already incompetent hacks back then but we didn't know it, now after the gamergate and other internet drama we are fully aware than VG journos are useless buffoons when they're not directly sold out to game company X or Y. ps: there is one thing that is terrible in this game, and it's something that is in ALL namco racing games ; the chase camera SUCKS.
Why does nobody ever talk about the motorcycle game in this series, for PS2 and pro’lly X-Box. I didn’t get an X until 2017, when I came across a pristine Halo Special Edition, clear green one with a perfect controller, for $80. So, my library for it isn’t half my PS2...
there's also a library of cars that you've unlocked from the story mode or other races, it gives a sense of replayability as you can replay chapters with another car to unlock it too :)
This game have a similar to Forza Motorsport Xbox although the it is available in Gamecube and Ps2, but the graphic in Xbox its excellent have very realism, if Toca Race Driver is a beginning for gamers taste the racing games R Racing Evo and TOCA may be are gems, it's good.
I love this game This makes me wanna get the other Ridge Racer games and experience them I wanna try and get this game to 100% complete lol Also, this game only reminds me of Ridge Racer than GT, speaking of which, this game has ALOT more soul than GT GT is just a boring sim racing game, while R:RE is a unique simcade with alot more soul than GT I just feel like this deserves more appreciation than the overrated GT franchise
1:48 damn this reminds me of a movie about an ambulance and a character that died. 11:30 I also thought it was pretty good the game deals with some of racing politics. Is there any other game that does that? Most big name racing games don't have meaningful player characters.
i might give it a try,i love simcades and sims,but i dont really like story stuff in racing games,id rather have a career mode that you make the story in,i find these stories corny
I'd say yes. This one's also a game developed by Namco and their games do have some relationship. Whether it be good music, gameplay, graphics or storytelling. Also, this game's a Ridge Racer spin-off.
No. Looks like he's using the directional buttons instead of the stick. If you turn off the driving aids, and turn up the sensitivity, then as long as you tune your car well (you can actually change roll bar settings while driving in practice), its quite good. The engine physics/sounds do let the die down a little though.
r racing is definitely underrated. they could have did a better job, half way they got lazy and rushed the story and cutscenes. but why did they pour money into making 7 ridge racers which were terrible games, when they could have made a bunch of r racing games instead. That i dont understand. they need to scrap ridge racer and work on r racing.
Interesting perspective haha. I enjoy both series, and racing games in general, so I don't have a preference either way. Though it does seem there are/were some talented folks at Namco with a real eye for simulations. It's a shame they never got to make a sequel.
This review proved potentially 2 things : 1) The reviewers back then were frigging lazy and narrow-minded. They were unable to see anything from Namco beyond Arcade racing, and they were not willing to think "outside the box" and learn the way of playing a "sim" racer. AND/OR 2) The Dual Shock pad was a very bad controller for this game which really affected the score. However, Gran Turismo did exist for the PS2 so perhaps this aspect isn't true. So, in short... This is a good game released in the wrong era.
You spoiled way too much of the story mode. I didn't even know this had a story, so to have every story beat discussed here kind of kills it for me. I was just curious about the gameplay when I clicked on this video, to be honest. I think you could've mentioned that it had a lengthy story mode without getting into the details?
I think the only game I could really get comfortable playing with no aids and a manual transmission, with a controller, was Forza 2 way back when. I don't believe the original Xbox ever got a proper force feedback racing wheel.
R: Racing is amazing. I love the plot. Rena Hayami is just as hot as Reiko Nagase. Game really has balance all the way while lots of variety. It has even rally courses. With the brake assist on, game is pure arcade racing game, but you can also play it more like simulation type of game. Presentation is second to none, Visually it does everything rigth. Soundtrack is one of my fafourites. Game handles really well. It has entertaining content and replay value. May be critics played jagged PS2 -version. NGC -version deserves 96% score.
the soundtrack is one of namco's best
@@gandalf0987one of the best ever songs alongside all the soundtracks from Nijigasaki High School Idol Club.
i bought this game for my gamecube back in the day and just never understood the bad reviews. granted i'm the type of person who loves the ridge racer series to death but also loves a good sim racer and it seems the only reason critics were hard on this game was cause it wasn't really a ridge racer game but most of the other criticisms make no sense to me. the graphics, particularly on the gamecube and xbox, are some the best of any racer of that console generation and still look good today, and the gameplay and variety of tracks/vehicles is quite solid. 'mainstream' video game critics just make zero sense to me sometimes.
What I've found over the past 6 years, is that a title failing to live up to an unrealistic expectation somehow makes it bad in some folk's eyes. I don't get it :) Agree with everything you said, great comment!
Gen z probably wasn't ready for serious realistic racing in that time,if they make a sequel they probably would have a BIG hit
@@spicydorito5900 i dunno about that - the gran turismo series was already well-established and lauded by the point R came out. the only thing i can figure is the marketing just didn't hit right and the association with ridge racer threw people off or something. maybe it would have done better if they had just removed any ridge racer connections and changed the title but, who knows.
also @@implantgames i miss your stuff, man! hope you're well and we get another upload one of these days. ✌️
I thought this game was just a fever dream from my childhood, i couldnt remember the name of it, and no one I've talked to knows this game. Thanks for the memories.
This is what got me into racing games
I never forgot it and I've not played it in over a decade
Interesting thing about this game that may be more relevant now than it was on this game's release date is that the entire thing is played from the perspective of a strong-willed, self-motivated female protagonist who captures success via her own skill
All that is well and good if we aren't distracted by the gratuitous boob close ups
Yeah but she-sexualized so feminists no-no
Yup I found this game when was young and it was the only racing game I ever played and finished all the way through.
If only people actually cared about actual strong female characters. The facts are they only care about “strong female characters” if they fit a specific political agenda... aka are extreme leftwing, men hating cunts who want to murder unborn babies
@@kevinmiller990this is approven hundred percent.
I'd love to see another racing game with an ace combat-esque story and radio chatter like this one someday
Absolutely. A game with an Ace Combat-esque story and superb music is a must buy in my book. If you're into Ace Combat of course.
@@Aykun_Surprisingly, even Setsuna Yuki still loved playing R: RACING EVOLUTION despite its slightly behind F1 23 in terms of overall game package.
W comment section, one of my favorite childhood PS2 games, great soundtrack along with gameplay. Thank for letting me relive the memories.
I actually didnt mind this game. One of the very few racers with a story mode. others being Pro Race Driver, Zero4Champ series, Racing Lagoon, Final Lap, NFS the Run and a few others..
I'm kind of surprised at how much love some of these 6th generation quasi-sims receive from folks. It seems many others also grew up enjoying racers other than Gran Turismo and Forza, which is pretty rad :)
@@implantgames I grew up playing Grand Turismo too and when I got the chance to play R: Racing, I totally fell for it.
This was absolutely nostalgic to look back to, and I loved how you reviewed each aspect of it :)
Thanks man!
Even in 2024, R: Racing Evolution is as amazing as 2020s PS5 racing games,@@implantgames
Yeah some reviewers and "critics" have always been cancerous, bias and/or ignorant, which results in alot of solid games getting undeservingly sidelined for no just reason. Making unnecessary comparisons and other poor judgments. Can we just enjoy a game for what it is instead of what it isn't?
Never trust critics man. Same guy give every COD games 10/10 even though they're mostly more of the same
"Crítics" only play the games for 10 min at least, then they came with all that "genious" reviews that all they "knowledge" and "experience" can give to them...lol
I had this game when I was really young for the PS2 and I gotta say this game just might got me started into loving racing games.
Another nice touch you forgot to mention is that the in-game chatter is inspired by Ace Combat and delivered and visualizied in the same way.
Oh thanks for covering this Kris, I LOVE the Ridge Racer series! Up there with Sega Rally, GT, and Outrun as my favorites :)
Awesome, glad I'm not the only fan!
Had this game sitting on the shelf for years. You convinced me to at least check it out.
The testers were expecting a new Ridge Racer at that time and were extremely disappointed because R Racing was different. Unfortunately, they overlooked what a gem they had in their console. Therefore, the game was rated so bad and has gone down commercial.
Love this series!!! Keep them coming. Saw this game the other day at my local retro store for about 4 bucks. May have to go back and pick it up after your thoughts.
I won't stop anytime soon :) I'd say it an easy buy at $4. I lucked out and paid 99 cents haha :)
Just picked it up. Got R: racing evolution, Group S Challenge, and Driver Parallel lines for xbox. Gonna check them out later tonight.
it is a nice, fun departure from the usual RR games. i have the limited run double pack on the gcube. it includes pacman vs which is really fun as well.
This is the reason why Reviewers like this ruin games like this, honestly I adore this game and I wished Namco gave this little game a chance.
Always base your judgement on YOUR opinion and not others, because you might miss out on Gems like this game.
That pressure meter would also be used on Evolution GT, a racing game from Milestone. And some of the user interface from this game seems to come from another Namco racing franchise at that time, MotoGP. Just look at the font they use for time limit or lap times. Or those logos on the event challenge mode.
Thanks a lot for this review. It’s very well made. I just discovered your channel and for the last few hours I’ve been watching a lot of videos. Subscribed right away!
R Racing was a game I’ve been thinking about getting for a long time but reviews were not really positive and I felt like I was better off without it. I’m a big ridge racer fan and I’m a huge sim fan. I’ve grown up between the likes of Ridge Racer and Gran Turismo and after watching your review I felt like I NEEDED that game!
I just bought a copy on eBay for a few euros (it was very cheap even CIB) and can’t wait to play it when I’ll get it this week. Thanks to you I’ll finally get to play it and I think I’ll enjoy it at least as much as you did. Great work anyway! Awesome videos. Every series has something fresh to bring. I’ll try and catch up every other videos you made. Keep up the good work.
I'm really enjoying the new style of your channel with all the 5 games, underrated and etc. The new style is really refreshing compared with the "just plain reviews" of before, even though in essence they are still more or less the same style. Kudos, man. And R:Racing Evolution is an amazing game. Unfortunately few people were able to appreciate it. I really wanted more games to have a rich and interesting history like R. I request Enthusia for a next underrated video, is another oddball sim racing game in the age of Gran Turismos and Forzas. Oh, and Automodelista too to complete the asian trilogy (Namco, Konami and Capcom), hehe.
Thank you. I don't know if you listen to the podcast or not, but there was some grumbles when I announced the old reviews were ceasing :) I think i made the right choice. A few others have mentioned Enthusia so I'll have to give that one a try. Was Group S Challenge any good?
what? pressure bar. That feature does exists in corvette evolution gt which is released in 2006, 2 years after this game. And the intense pit crew radio reminds me to grid series from 2008. dude, i didnt know this game ever existed. And this game is from 2003
Haha, I hope you give it a shot :)
Love your underrated series ! Keep 'em comming!
You got it!
I admire the amount of work you put into this.
Namco need to remake or reboot this game on next-gen console.
Oh yeah, maybe have an older mature Rena owning her own team and having you as a driver on it. And to ad to it, but not overwhelm the experience, have you decide the character's gender.
Each character would have different challenges and aspirations and we see how they interact with other drivers and the world in general. Oh And bring Gina back as a supporting character in some way and we hear some stories of her rivalry/friendship with Rena.
Still remembers doing this. During that race when I was asked to lose, I made my own challenge to put pressure on every pilot and making sure they all wipe out. I may have gotten 2nd for the boss but I had my fun before its back to normal doing clean races.
After a really long searching, today I got my copy for the Xbox. Thank you for reviewing this game, because that was the reason why I grab it.
I hope you enjoy the game as much as I do :)
I found it on Xbox for 5 bucks
Friend of mine used to have this on Gamecube. This is also the very game that I was introduced to the forgotten Viper: The Competition Coupe, AKA: The Racing variant of my Favourite Viper: The GTS-R Concept.
Good video ^^
I have not played this game in so long it was fun and loved the opening theme so much picked it up.
I don't understand why reviewers thought the handling was bad - it's one of the game's biggest strengths. I think the realism lies somewhere between Gran Turismo 3/4 and Enthusia. Maybe their confusion derived from the presentation - the chase cam is pretty bad (twitchy and too close), and there's no bonnet/roof/interior cam. Maybe they didn't turn off the driver aids either.
The underlying handling model definitely is far better than GT - you can lock up your brakes, and weight transfer works correctly. You can do a 360 on a straight in R by doing a scandinavian flick with the handbrake, and this just doesn't work in GT3/4 at all.
Fun fact: the lead handling programmer for Enthusia has worked on GT since 5 prologue, so that's perhaps where the jump in handling quality came from between 4 and 5.
Fantastic! I loved the Pressure Bar. Rarely I had so much fun playing versus the AI.
4:33 *cough cough* Valtteri, it's James
*cough cough* Multi-21 Seb
you should make a video about Enthusia ;)
Yes agreed.
Is Enthusia any good?
implantgames
No idea thats why i watch videos to find out.
implantgames yeah ;)
YES!!
One of the best game review I've seen. Kudos!
I picked up R:Racing Evolution a while back. I rented it many years ago, and found it completely not to my liking. I hated Sim-style racers back then, and R:RE wasn't arcade-y enough for me. But I love going back to games that I disliked back in the day. There's been so many games and genres that I've developed a love for over time, despite not digging it back in the day. R:RE was like that for me. What seemed super-sim and serious to me then, is now semi-sim and quirky. The controls are closer to the realistic racers we see now, but not so much that it'll put off arcade purists - like myself. I also thought the graphics were garbage back in the day, but in retrospect it's held up really well. Probably because of the super-smooth frame rate. I moved a little while back, and I haven't hooked up my OG Xbox yet. It looks like I'm going to have to now and dive back in to R:Racing Evolution :)
I bought this back in the day as well and never put more than an hour into it. No idea why either. I guess it has gotten better with age :D
When I first played this game I had no idea that this game is apart of the ridge racer series
I REALLY wanted to like this game, but felt it suffered from the same stiff handling characteristics as Ridge Racer V. It also didn't help that the chase view is so tight to the car that it felt unnatural to me to drive. While the game has its merits, it just doesn't hold up against Forza, F355 Challenge, Gran Turismo 3, LeMans 24 Hours or WRC.
Gran Prix Challenge, WRC, SHOX, and Test Drive Unlimited are my picks for underrated racing goodness.
Oh man, Test Drive Le Mans on the DC/PS2 is so damn good, controls still feel as great as ever. Thanks for the rest of the suggestions!
This and Toca Race Driver 3 were my favorite racing games growing up. The only things missing from this game is damage and open wheel cars but overall this is a great game.
FUN FACT - Suzuka & Phillip Island are assets from MotoGp3, another NAMCO racing game, it's quite a shame they didn't get a few more real racetracks.
Nice video! Seems like a decent enough game. I bought it about ten years ago but still haven't played it. The size of my backlog often scares me.
now what if this game was looked at by Bandai Namco and suddenly it was announced to be Remastered/Remaked on the PS4 as an exclusive or better yet a next gen sequel comeback?
Do racing games still do well outside of Forza and Gran Turismo?
R: RACING EVOLUTION in terms of storyline somehow is way more engaging than even F1 23.
I loved this game back when. The GameCube controller was perfect for steering and pedal graduation
Awesome review! You did convince me to get it, haha! I don't have that much time to fuss around with GT3 or 4, so this alternative sounds perfect! Thanks!
I personally think Mario Kart 64 is so overrated. I do get that that was the first 3D Mario Kart but it's IMO the worst Mario Kart. I think that the GBA system is a bit underrated as well as the 6th Gen Consoles in general.
I don't think I could make a video concluding Mario Kart 64 is overrated :D I'd be eaten alive...
implantgames xD
The 6th gen was the best gaming generation imo. I've never met anyone who refutes that, but then again, it isn't a topic that I've ever seen discussed on youtube. All consoles from that gen were brilliant.
Great Review. I've got a bunch of games in a lot and I was thinking if I shold keep this one or not.
Can we talk about how iconic the OST is...dayum RRT4 was my fav until R:Racing appears
I can't reall speak for the game since I'm not into simulation racing games and I don't know what the factors are for a good one, however, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment looking at the game footage. I think the game gives its own unique flavor to the simulation racing genre and I wish many more people could've played it back in the day.
I've got an unrelated question: Have you played or do you plan on playing Rayman 2: Revolution? In case you don't know what the game is, it's a remake for Rayman 2: The Great Escape released for the PS2 that offers plenty of noticable changes to the Rayman 2 formula such as a free-roaming hub world, slightly altered level design, and even extra bosses. I hear the game get mentioned in nearly every Rayman 2 review including NitroRad's, but I almost never see any specific reviews of that version of the game. I think the game deserves its own review since it's different enough to warrent one.
Yeah, I think the footage shows everything here is extremely smooth, and it is. As for Rayman 2, I own it on PSX and N64 but really haven't put much time into it. Would love the Dreamcast version, and of course the later ports. Ubi-soft sure milked the hell out of that game ;)
Is seriously underrated. It had the bad luck of being compared to Gran turismo wich was the king at the time.
But R is a thing on it's own, the story, character desings, the original tracks, like the dual rally course, something we not saw on other racing games of the era, the music, etc. Is true that the controls weren't that smooth, but weren't that bad either.
I only wished that the devs putted some of the cars on Ridge racer as a trowhback to the famous series of Namco, and to see them being driven in a more realistic way.
To me, the game was 8 out 10.
P.S: the guy from the ambulance is named Stephan Garnier. 😁
P.S 2: now we need a new Ridge racer with Rena, Gina, Reiko and Ai, including all the tracks and cars from the series hisrory.
In college through some trades I got a Gamecube with a copy of this game, really cool my first sim racer so I struggled a little with it but then I finally traded the cube for a PS2 which was my objective all along, but never look for this game as I thought it was a Gamecube exclusive, so might as well hunt a copy of it and finish it.
The audio and car selection are the two biggest let-downs in this game for me. Like so many other games, it fails to get the sound of an American V8 right - if anything Toad's engine from Mario Kart 64 was closer! I didn't think much of most of the cars but was glad to see the Detomaso Pantera, Dodge Charger and Saleen S7 in there. The music was alright but not a patch on the Ridge Racers before Type 4. Good to see some sim physics added to a game that doesn't take itself too seriously though - that side of it offers good re-playability.
I believe the Yokohama track appears in the Grand Turismo games.
I'm gonna find it. And pick it up. Thanks for the check up :D
Now namco has published Project Cars
Thomas John Solidum Funny enough. But there is no in-game racing music.
to me, R seems like a game that was setting out to subtly teach players who are new to sim-racing how to drive 'properly' in them, while offering plenty of assistance to help players get to that level of understanding.
besides the handling assist options in general: the Pressure system encourages drafting with the driver ahead until the player finds (or, in this case, forces) an opening after taking a corner, most courses have baked-in streaks of darkened asphalt at the entrance of major corners that suggest where to brake (surely not an original idea), and the comments from the pit chief about cornering + the RP awards for taking corners & making passes 'perfectly' are clear positive-reinforcement systems.
Thanks for the video review, now thinking if getting this
I still love this game actually starting playing it again a couple days ago. Wish I got another game. Hell I'll take a ride racer 8 at this point
I tried this game this year and really wanted to like it. The aesthetics, the music and the general feel are all amazing but something about the gameplay feels very lacking. I don't need much from a racing game, I still play random PS1 Touge racers today but something about this game just felt bad. I beat the entire story but eventually I realized I wasn't enjoying the driving at all, it felt pointless like I was driving toys.
The verisimilitude wasn't there even though I really, really wanted to like it.
I've been playing this game on emulator, and I've been enjoying it for the most part. My main gripes is that I feel that the story is not the main focus, but it's instead the event challenge, as you do need to grind a whole hell of a lot to unlock them AND tune a car to even compete. The event mode is also annoying in that the "level" of the challenge is most of the time an outright lie when it's talking about class of vehicle. Many challenges allows (and in turn forces you) to take higher grade vehicles, even for the gold medal. The other is the course list which is really anemic and drags down the whole game in my opinion. It's disappointing that it's only the oval at Motegi and not the main course and its variant. A couple more courses would have made it a much more engaging game rather than monotonous, and even could have extended the story of the game which I also felt is rather short. It is a shame that this never got a sequel and the eventual death of ridge racer in general. I feel stories in racing games is something under utilized, another favorite of mine being Test Drive 2002. Though with hope they'll pull the series out of the grave like they did with Ace Combat a couple years ago and Klonoa in June of this year, and if that works out maybe R:Racing will got another chance.
Best sim of its era, cause best physics and style. No big content, but all is pure gold, well crafted like Namco arcade game.
Play it with a force feedback wheel.
It's sad the tame didn't catch on because a racing game with an actual story and a female protagonist is really cool
4:34 the low score of the game is probably because they've skipped this scene
I loved R Racing back in the day:)
I love R:Racing in the present.
I enjoyed that came back in the day, played it on the GameCube. Will probably look for it on the og Xbox.
Just got this in 2024 😂 good little game.
Man I wish I could've finished the story but sadly my Gamecube copy got stolen after I lent it to a friend
Time to go visit your friend?
implantgames It was stolen from his place
R: Racing Evolution is a magnificent game. I finished it this year (2019) Controls are good combination of arcade and simulation, graphics are brilliant, models are very good and game provides nice challenge. Only bad thing is, when you try to unlock everything, it becomes extremely repetitive.
Favorite current F1 driver, Kris? I've been a Vettel fan since 2009.
I haven't watched F1 in a couple of years. But here is some trivia for you, I was actually at the first race Vettel scored points. The 2007 US Grand Prix. My favorite driver, Massa, finished third.
+implantgames That's awesome man! Never been to a grand prix, but I would love to go.
thanks for the great review. any notable differences between all versions?
Also does the gamecube and ps2 versions run at a constant 60fps framerate?
I do not own the PS2 or GameCube versions :( Reviews indicate the all run the same, but I'm honestly not sure.
+implantgames xbox was the more powerful hardware so I think I'll stick with that for multi plats.
did you know though that the gamecube version in the usa and I think Europe shipped with Pac-man VS as a bonus?
i owned the gamecube version and it's basically identical to the xbox version
cool. thanks for clearing that one up. I guess I'll have a physical Gamecube NTSC version and the Xbox version digitally built in on Modded Xbox. Screw the PS2 version.
Completely.
I had a PS2 and this game and I hated it. I was a Namco racing game fan and this game felt like a betrayal. Didn't got farther than 5 races I think before reselling it.
Here I am, 21 years later (lol ) playing it on Emulator and finding it amazing. Driving can be very hard and precise but when it works, it's beautiful ! It's more of a sim than Gran Turismo ever was (I play with ABS TSC and brake assist totally off and the cars are ..difficult. ) !
The reviews are r*tard*d : the "journalists" were already incompetent hacks back then but we didn't know it, now after the gamergate and other internet drama we are fully aware than VG journos are useless buffoons when they're not directly sold out to game company X or Y.
ps: there is one thing that is terrible in this game, and it's something that is in ALL namco racing games ; the chase camera SUCKS.
Ah yes, the racing game with Ace combat style chatter and cutscenes, no seriously the cutscenes look like they're lifted straight from the unsung war
Why does nobody ever talk about the motorcycle game in this series, for PS2 and pro’lly X-Box. I didn’t get an X until 2017, when I came across a pristine Halo Special Edition, clear green one with a perfect controller, for $80. So, my library for it isn’t half my PS2...
there's also a library of cars that you've unlocked from the story mode or other races, it gives a sense of replayability as you can replay chapters with another car to unlock it too :)
You get a Pantera in the game, that's hardcore.
Haha, indeed :) Just saw a Pantera at a local car show yesterday too...
how many cars are there exactly?
Nothing wrong with this game an underrated gem for sure
I loved the game but was bad at it lol. I never got past the time trial race in the story mode to even become a racer
The shower scene is my favorite
I have the original Japanese version that is unplayable. The controls are so broken that the car can't negotiate corners.
This game have a similar to Forza Motorsport Xbox although the it is available in Gamecube and Ps2, but the graphic in Xbox its excellent have very realism, if Toca Race Driver is a beginning for gamers taste the racing games R Racing Evo and TOCA may be are gems, it's good.
Guess I'm one of the few who only gonna buy the game for the dialogues that was taken right off of Ace Combat 5's development line?
I got it for the music and style. Also ordered the OST, it's crazy good. (Oh and I do like Ace Combat so that's a plus)
This game had the best plot of it Era other than nsf most wanted
One of the best games in its generation, but...I dont know, the world wwasnt prepared for this jewel.
Awesome video! 💯
I love this game
This makes me wanna get the other Ridge Racer games and experience them
I wanna try and get this game to 100% complete lol
Also, this game only reminds me of Ridge Racer than GT, speaking of which, this game has ALOT more soul than GT
GT is just a boring sim racing game, while R:RE is a unique simcade with alot more soul than GT
I just feel like this deserves more appreciation than the overrated GT franchise
So, it's like Ace Combat except it's racecars.
1:48 damn this reminds me of a movie about an ambulance and a character that died.
11:30 I also thought it was pretty good the game deals with some of racing politics. Is there any other game that does that? Most big name racing games don't have meaningful player characters.
SMS choice was wrong.
Rather than creating PC3, reviving this franchise would be much more better.
i might give it a try,i love simcades and sims,but i dont really like story stuff in racing games,id rather have a career mode that you make the story in,i find these stories corny
Is this supposed to be like Ace Combat for cars?
I'd say yes. This one's also a game developed by Namco and their games do have some relationship. Whether it be good music, gameplay, graphics or storytelling. Also, this game's a Ridge Racer spin-off.
a good game .. even if i like forza motors....
Is the steering in the game as bad as it looks?
No. Looks like he's using the directional buttons instead of the stick.
If you turn off the driving aids, and turn up the sensitivity, then as long as you tune your car well (you can actually change roll bar settings while driving in practice), its quite good. The engine physics/sounds do let the die down a little though.
The perfect example of why gaming journalists are completely useless.
basically...yes kinda.
R-Racing is better than Gran Turismo! PERIOD
Gina x Reina is my Yuri OTP
r racing is definitely underrated. they could have did a better job, half way they got lazy and rushed the story and cutscenes. but why did they pour money into making 7 ridge racers which were terrible games, when they could have made a bunch of r racing games instead. That i dont understand. they need to scrap ridge racer and work on r racing.
Interesting perspective haha. I enjoy both series, and racing games in general, so I don't have a preference either way. Though it does seem there are/were some talented folks at Namco with a real eye for simulations. It's a shame they never got to make a sequel.
R Racing is GranTurismo killer, Similar to TOCA Race Driver series.
0.1/10
This review proved potentially 2 things :
1) The reviewers back then were frigging lazy and narrow-minded. They were unable to see anything from Namco beyond Arcade racing, and they were not willing to think "outside the box" and learn the way of playing a "sim" racer.
AND/OR
2) The Dual Shock pad was a very bad controller for this game which really affected the score. However, Gran Turismo did exist for the PS2 so perhaps this aspect isn't true.
So, in short... This is a good game released in the wrong era.
You spoiled way too much of the story mode. I didn't even know this had a story, so to have every story beat discussed here kind of kills it for me. I was just curious about the gameplay when I clicked on this video, to be honest.
I think you could've mentioned that it had a lengthy story mode without getting into the details?
you played a racing "sim" with a automatic transmission, traction and abs?
wat
I think the only game I could really get comfortable playing with no aids and a manual transmission, with a controller, was Forza 2 way back when. I don't believe the original Xbox ever got a proper force feedback racing wheel.