PlayStation PortableThough released in both Japanese and European territories, this second portable Ridge Racer game was never given a North American release.
Ridge Racer 2 is not to be confused with the arcade cabinet Ridge Racer 2, which was released in 1994 and was basically just a slightly updated Ridge Racer.
Content
Ridge Racer 2 is essentially an expansion of the first Ridge Racer for PSP. It includes the same 12 courses as Ridge Racer for PSP does, but also includes 9 more, for a grand total of 21 courses. (And as before, each course can be raced in reverse) Many new music tracks are added as well, some of them ripped from previous titles while others are all-new remixes.
Most of the courses in Ridge Racer 2 are remasters of courses in previous installments in the series, with the selection focusing primarily on Ridge Racer Revolution, Rave Racer, Rage Racer, and Ridge Racer Type 4.
Game Structure
The player is given many race cups to complete, each cup consisting of a few races using some combination of the 21 courses in either normal or reverse. As the player finishes enough races, the player progresses to higher and higher speed classes until finally the game is complete.
There is also a free play option where you choose in advance how many minutes you want to play. The game then chooses courses and a number of races that roughly totals the amount of time you specified. Unfortunately, using this option does not make any progress through the game.
Gameplay Style
Like with Ridge Racer for PSP, Ridge Racer 2 uses the same, forgiving drift system wherein while drifting, your car is pulled along corners by itself. While drifting at high speeds, you earn nitros, which can be depleted for a temporary speed boost. Winning races is largely a matter of choosing when to use your nitros and, of course, avoiding bumping into opponents and walls. One must also try not to drift for too long at a time, as the longer you drift, the more momentum is lost.
iOS versions
Ridge Racer Accelerated for iPhone and iPad is essentially a port of this very game, albeit with almost half of the courses left out. However, the iPad version has online time trial leaderboards, which the PSP version does not have.
