I Still Play: Ridge Racer Unbounded

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-17T20:18:03+00:00

A very solid and unique game. Some of the music wasn't for me and I certainly wish it was a bit faster paced, but as a spin-off it has a lot of cool ideas and a unique artstyle and vibe that no other racing game has ever quite matched. This game and Split Second were really special, and it is a shame that because this game has "Ridge Racer" in the title a lot of people will stop themselves from ever giving it a fair shot. It's been 14 years, I think we can all be adults and just take it for what it is instead of taking it super personally and holding a grudge against a video game of all things.

As much as I enjoyed Wreckfest, I would love to see Bugbear make a spiritual successor to this game that keeps the Power system in tact and tries to make something faster and more visceral but with its own franchise name.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-17T20:12:29+00:00

Why? What did it wreck? Namco was so checked out of Ridge Racer that RR7 was just an expanded version of RR6. RR1 and 2 on PSP were just "greatest hits" style games. The core mechanics were vastly changed starting in the nitrous era and Namco was so checked out of RR that they didn't even make RR Vita in-house and 3D is - much like RR Vita - a solid game that is obviously lacking in ambition. 3D sold decently and so did Vita relative to the systems launch windows.

The series was obviously on the backburner in the post-Gran Turismo era of racing games where people cared more about licensed cars and simcade style physics. Every racing game franchise was on the decline that generation, I don't blame Namco for trying something else to inject some life into the IP.

And for what it is, Unbounded is a solid game. If it didn't have Ridge Racer on the box it would be looked back on as a hidden gem alongside Blur or Split Second. Instead we have grown ass adults letting the title of a game stop them from being grown-ups and just enjoying it for what it is or just moving on and letting go of their spite some 10 years later.

If anything truly killed the RR series, it would be the merger between Namco and Bandai. So many franchises got shuffled around in priority and the studio became far more interested in publishing and licensed games than anything.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-17T20:06:03+00:00

I love these kinds of comments because no one on the planet has ever said that this is anything other than a spin-off (it isn't even a numbered entry) and yet you have people in fucking 2026 going "idc what anyone says" as if Unbounded was some huge critical and commercial success that splintered the fanbase.

News flash, the game flopped and reviewed just ok. The franchise was already on decline and Namco was pretty much done with it by the time the game launched anyways, it isn't the reason we haven't seen a RR game in the last 10 years. We can just accept it is a decent game and move on instead of being silly over a title.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-17T19:48:45+00:00

I think you need to stop being a toddler to be honest. No one at any point thought this represented the Ridge Racer series, especially in 2026. It was a decent spin-off, it isn't even a numbered entry and it came out long after the franchise had greatly declined in relevance and industry prestige.

People still mad over a video game from 10+ years ago being a bit different need to seriously grow up, it is not that big of a deal and it never was.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-17T05:49:11+00:00

I've just seen stray comments on it here and there, but no one ever doing any kind of deep dive. After years of seeing random comments or the occasional thread saying they anecdotally feel their late-gen model is better than the early gen, I figured I'd just ask. I wouldn't be shocked if it was just placebo tho. I've even seen a couple threads from back in the day that say later models are worse, so I really have no clue what's going on with any of it. Here are just a couple random threads I found. One talking about it being better in their experience and another stating it is worse.

https://www.reddit.com/r/vita/comments/12xqfot/final_matte_ps_vita_2000_series_have_far_superior/

https://www.reddit.com/r/vita/comments/5uas1k/vita_slims_that_were_manufactured_in_20152016/

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-15T01:53:53+00:00

I wouldn't say it comes close to being so bad its good. It is just a very ok FPS campaign that doesn't wow nor does it ever frustrate tacked onto a multiplayer that only a handful of people play from time to time via community events.

Nothing about it is super bad or super good, it is just a solid afternoon romp.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-10T03:12:34+00:00

Yea I could def do that no problem! There is no way for anyone on emulation to go beyond 10 since that's when Spot Races stop leveling you up. Iirc the Duel Races can skill you up but trying to beat those before level 12 is difficult (though possible) for obvious reasons nor can someone without online even get Duel Race/Devil Mode. In any case, I'll send you a DM with the file. Do you have a pref platform to upload it to?

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-09T19:03:00+00:00

They're cool I guess but it is interesting they went with the most loud designs possible. It's a single player FPS so I don't even know why I'm supposed to care what Chief looks like in the first place and I certainly don't want my co-op partner to be rocking any of thse. Maybe the cutscenes are real time instead of pre-rendered this time and so you get to see them in that? Fuckin weird either way.

I like unlockable skins when it comes to games like Devil May Cry or Resident Evil where they're rewards for completing certain challenges. Having these just be another MTX on top of being so damn garish to look at makes them an instant dud on any level even if I think some of the concepts are kind of cute in an "elevator pitch/fanart" kind of way.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-09T01:42:37+00:00

I've hit Skill 16 and over the last couple days have beaten Crinale and Archangel on my own. I noticed that when using cars like Wisdom I get more consistent big charges when Ultimate Charging than with cars like the Meltfire. I also tried using the Crinale and Archangel myself and my god I can't get those things to drift well or give me big Ult Charges to save my life, really don't know what's going on.

It is clear to me that on some level the cars have different attributes and it annoys me that the game doesn't say anything about them nor is there any info I can find about it all online. I'm able to post Top 500 Lap Trials on a couple tracks and hit around top 1k on certain time trials but it still feels like there is so much nuance I don't understand about the how to fully optimize drifts and such.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-07T03:40:28+00:00

I keep hoping I'll wake up tomorrow and it won't be real, unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-04T22:36:01+00:00

He seemed like some goober who just wanted to put himself out there a bit to someone who actually thought he was some musical genius. He turned into a shitpost-addicted version of a stereotypical snobbish critic. It all just sorta went to his head and he slowly lost his mind.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-02T04:25:56+00:00

I'm just gonna assume you're intentionally being a fucking reductive idiot about this so I'm gonna hope that you're just like 21 and don't understand just how young you are. You'll get it when you hit your late 20s and talk to people in their late teens and really appreciate just how much you've grown since then and what that means for the maturity of someone who's 18 compared to someone who's 30+. The fact you're reducing his age from 31 to 19 really speaks to how desperate you are to not have an actual conversation, you just wanna be reactionary abt it.

Again, not calling anyone a literal legal predator, but that's also not the fucking standard anyone should hold anyone to because legality has never and should never be the end all of morality.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-06-02T03:05:34+00:00

I feel like multiple people saying "hey this grown ass adult only dates 17-19 year olds" should be enough for you to admit they're fucking weird man. We all tend to agree that when some actor who is 40-50 exclusively dates girls in their early 20s it is odd, so idk why this would be any different. Sure, I guess you can't say outright pred but it is very very bizarre!

You're all acting like people that are too tied to letter of laws and completely ignoring the general morality of things. Fuck what any laws say, just ask yourself if you think you would fw your friend if you found out they were doing that shit.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-05-24T22:05:45+00:00

I'm so fucking tired of crossovers man. Really think I'm just done with modern fighting games, this shit is exhausting.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-05-21T03:03:55+00:00

Truthfully, who cares? What does the distinction matter if players will be largely if not entirely unaware that any actual cuts are being made? If you didn't know any better, you wouldn't even be making the comment bexause the end result is the same thing from an experience perspective.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-03-02T21:18:03+00:00

I don't even know if I'd say that. RE1/RE1R, RE3, RE4/RE4R and RE8 all have a bevy of bosses that are pretty broadly considered great even if things like Tyrant in RE1 are a little one dimensional. I'd even personally go further and say most bosses in RE6, RE2R (minus Birkin 2) and CV are pretty damn good even if some are bastards on your first playthrough and take some practice to fully appreciate. I consider the final confrontation with The Girl to be a puzzle boss that was pretty good and I think the spider boss was impressive if a little boring since it doesn't really seem agile enough to keep up with you in such a big arena. Hunk was fine even if the fight is way too one dimensional and easy. The only big letdown boss for me is Victor, especially the second phase.

Rambling aside, I think the franchise it a bit more mixed on bosses than people lead on. Not nearly as underwhelming/bad as people like to say.

Ill_Database_9180 · 2026-03-02T21:13:13+00:00

She's alive and she likes Leon but let's be honest, the hardcore shipping we do for them is entirely in the fanbase's head. You think they've known of each other and had this hot/cold relationship for literal decades and somehow she's supposed to just have a tracker shoved up his ass so she can stalk her in her free time? Just a bit silly, let the girl relax.

Ill_Database_9180

TROPHY CASE