There's something oddly comforting about Ridge Racer Type 4. It's a title I missed for many years because I owned a Nintendo 64 as a kid rather than a Playstation. Racing titles also never really caught on for me growing up outside of spending insane hours on my dad's psp playing his copy of Midnight Club 3 Dub Edition, and also Sonic Rivals 2 which is a story for another day. Of course it's different nowadays since I've gotten into many phenomenal titles and series over the past decade or so like F-Zero and Wipeout, but I do regret not taking advantage of these games in their heyday whereas arcade racers have almost dropped off the map in the current landscape for more simulated, grounded ones, which can be pretty fun too but they just do not compare to many 5th and 6th gen entries. My PS Vita's been sitting here collecting dust, so I might as well make it useful and get creative with playing all the games the industry doesn't seem too into bringing back.

Unsurprisingly, Type 4 kicks ass. It would still be legendary based on the intro alone, but the gameplay itself is exhilarating and tight as hell too. It's the standard racing format of the time, but the way the game controls and feels just ripping and sliding around the courses just feels unparalleled. The Grand Prix set up is so simple yet genius in its progression of first settling into one of the vast array of vehicles available and then ramping up even further in difficulty to ask you to meet the standard of a Grand Prix winner. Despite being kinda ass at times with my cornering, I got so much enjoyment out of this mode and loved the mini stories in the background revolving around your success in the race and the interactions with the coach. There's a surprising amount of human drama here that added much to the experience and made winning feel even more at stake and necessary, which I can't say I feel too often in many titles.

The aesthetics of Type 4 are to die for. On top of the incredible FMV setting the optimistic and sublime tone effectively, the main menu oozes with so much personality and neon style. This game is loud, full of wonder, carefree, and dreamlike that I end up losing myself in its 90s feel despite never really growing up with this game or the context surrounding it. The soundtrack bangs and the sound design is downright magical, ripping and screeching wheels on the pavement with a racing heartbeat in ear and tearing up the roads just nearly crossing the finish line first in a photo finish. No racing game has hit as hard as this game for me outside of F-Zero GX.

Ridge Racer Type 4 is an adoring and loving letter to this beautiful genre that I can't believe I missed all these years, but it will definitely remain with me for many late afternoon and evening runs to come now. Masterpiece, they don't make them like they used to.