PSP · Classic Vidya Review
Ridge Racer 2
Completed 17 May 2026
Hall of Fame
Still Holds Up
Cover Art
Ending Screen
- Like the screenshots say, this play-through was only a Basic/Pro/EX Tour run. I did not go for completions of the MAX tours.
- A little background (someone please write in and correct me if this is wrong): While this game is called Ridge Racer 2, it is not a sequel. It is the 2004 “Ridge Racer” game for PSP, but with some new content added. If you have played this, you have also played all of the 2004 Ridge Racer.
- I have sorta bounced off various Ridge Racer games over the years, but this one was appealing because it seemed like a way to experience most of the stuff (or the best stuff?) from most earlier games all at once; would recommend as anyone’s first Ridge Racer game, it doesn’t have any prerequisites and isn’t hard to pick up and play
- As importantly, it has tons of the great MUSIC from several RR installments. This is THE thing Ridge Racer is famous for, do not miss out on it when playing.
- RR Races are sorted by Class, where the lower the class number the slower the cars are. I really like how this is NOT structured like e.g. Mario Kart, where slower == easier. There are lower-class circuits all the way up through the EX tour, and some of them are the hardest ones. As the philosopher-king James May loves to point out, all cars are at their most fun when they are at the ragged edge, and slower cars are at the ragged edge more of the time, so they are the most fun.
- This installment also changed the game mechanics slightly as far as the drift system and how to build up boost. It does not match Ridge Racer 1-5 (this system may even be the one still used today? Not exactly sure on that). In any case, it feels great. Lots of people who work on these games also worked on Initial D simulators such as actual licensed games or Sega’s racing cabinets, and it really shows. If you want to imagine the feeling of what it could be like to play a video game version of Initial D, Ridge Racer is your answer.
- Overall this is a “still holds up today” rec. Obviously it’s on a fairly-current console compared to everything else on this site; I don’t think moderns will have any issue with it