Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Ridge Racer V delivers the signature arcade-style thrills that fans of the series have come to expect. You’ll slip behind the wheel of one of 18 high-powered cars, each with its own handling characteristics, and tackle 14 vividly designed tracks. Whether you’re drifting around hairpin turns at breakneck speed or weaving your way through crowded straightaways, the game’s physics lean toward accessible over realistic, ensuring newcomers and veterans alike can pick up and play instantly.

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The game offers multiple modes to extend replay value: a full “Grand Prix” season where you compete for championship glory, single-track Time Attack challenges to shave off precious seconds, head-to-head duels against AI opponents, and ghost-car races to test your mettle against your own best lap. The inclusion of a ghost car mechanic is particularly addictive, as you can see exactly where you’re losing time and refine your racing lines with surgical precision. Combine this with extensive paint-job customization—letting you tweak everything from base coat to racing stripes—and Ridge Racer V keeps you coming back for both performance and style gains.

The on-track experience is complemented by a robust replay system. After each race, you can review your run from any angle, zooming in on missed apexes or savoring perfect drifts. This not only adds a cinematic flourish but also provides a valuable tool for refining your technique. The overall package is balanced: it doesn’t overwhelm with overly complex tuning options, yet it still offers enough depth to reward repeated playthroughs and experimentation.

Graphics

From the moment the starting lights flicker green, Ridge Racer V shines as an arcade racer built on a polished engine. Lighting and reflection effects are baked into each level, bringing shimmering cityscapes and neon-drenched tunnels to life. Cars gleam under trackside floodlights, and environmental details—such as neon signs, billboards, and distant skyline vistas—accentuate the sense of speed and scale.

The visual fidelity remains impressively consistent even when you push the game to its limits. High-speed drifts and collisions don’t cause noticeable frame drops, and the transition between lighting zones—day to night, tunnel to open highway—feels seamless. Texture work on car bodies, from carbon-fiber hoods to metallic flake paint jobs, demonstrates careful attention to detail. And thanks to the built-in reflection engine, you’ll see every neon glow mirrored off polished fenders in real time.

Replays look just as stunning as live races. You can pan around tracks, track rivals as they close in, or freeze-frame on your signature drift for a dramatic screenshot. The camera tools let you capture the ride from multiple perspectives, making replay viewing both a practical tool and a visually engaging feature. For arcade racers of this era, Ridge Racer V sets a high standard for graphical flair without sacrificing performance.

Story

True to its arcade roots, Ridge Racer V doesn’t hinge on a complex narrative or branching dialogue trees. Instead, its “story” unfolds as you progress through the Grand Prix season—advancing from local hotspots to international circuits, each track introducing new rivals and small celebratory cut-ins on the podium. It’s light on lore, but the structure provides a clear goal: conquer the championship, unlock new circuits, and earn bragging rights.

Behind the wheel, you’re an anonymous speed demon, but the game sprinkles in touches of personality through brief driver profiles and pit-lane banter. Championships are punctuated by stylized cutaways of your pit crew celebrating or looking on anxiously, injecting just enough narrative flavor to heighten the stakes. Though this isn’t a story-driven racer, the progression loop keeps momentum high and stakes clear without distracting from the core racing action.

The real narrative thrust comes from the soundtrack itself: a pulse-pounding mix of electronic beats and driving rock tracks that underscore every drift and dash to the finish line. Each song is carefully chosen to match the pace of the track, reinforcing the game’s overarching theme of fantasy-fueled, high-octane racing. In a sense, the music and race unlocks become the story—an escalating soundtrack accompanying your ascent through the ranks.

Overall Experience

Ridge Racer V delivers an exhilarating arcade racing package that’s both accessible and deep enough to reward skillful play. The combination of 14 diverse tracks, 18 customizable cars, and multiple race modes creates a robust offering that will occupy your attention for hours on end. Whether you’re chasing lap times in Time Attack, battling rival AI in the Grand Prix, or simply enjoying the drift-heavy action, the game never feels repetitive.

From a technical standpoint, the title runs smoothly even when the on-screen action reaches fever pitch. The responsive controls and forgiving drift mechanics mean that spectacular near-misses and over-the-limit drifts feel organic rather than frustrating. Multiplayer options—both split-screen and online—only amplify the fun, as you test your skills against human competitors or challenge friends to beat your ghost car best.

Ultimately, Ridge Racer V stands out as a quintessential arcade racer of its generation. It discards pretense of realism in favor of pure, unadulterated racing thrills. The vibrant track environments, dynamic lighting, and infectious soundtrack ensure that each session is not only a test of reflexes but also a sensory treat. For anyone seeking fantasy-fuelled speed and polished presentation, Ridge Racer V remains a compelling pick.

Retro Replay Score

7.4/10