Hi guys.
Being a die hard fan of the Ridge Racer series overall, it always bothered me that I never got around to investing a lot of time into the original arcade game. In fact I've only played it in the arcade a grand total of ONE time in the arcade, and ironically, it was when the game FIRST got released here in the United States(sometime mid 1993).
Since then I'd go on to ignore the first game and even its console counterparts, and it wasn't until Rage Racer came out, that I became a huge RR whore. I went onto to master Rage, Type 4, RRV, the PSP versions, RR6 and RR7, but not the original(or even Rave).
Fast forward nearly some 20 odd years later, thanks to hap and the other people that helped me here, I have been enjoying all the old RR games in MAME, and decided to finally tackle the grandaddy of them all....RR1. After 2 straight days and many hours of frustrating play, I finally did it. I completed the original Ridge Racer arcade for the first time ever, and came in 1st place on all three tracks, while using a wheel, pedals and shifter.
I have to tell ya, the difficulty on this game is a LULU!!! After being used to the way the console incarnations of the game handles, playing the original arcade RR1 was a wake up call! I've discovered just how difficult it is compared to the PS1. Playing the arcade game the way it is meant to be played in the arcade, with a wheel, pedals and in my case, manual transmission with an actual 6 speed H-gated gear shifter, is quite a different animal to playing it with a gamepad on PSX.
I mean, this game is already a challenge to come in 1st place especially in the 3rd Expert course using a gamepad and auto transmission, but with a wheel and manual trans it's a nightmare(but with a rewarding payoff). The AI in the game so SOOOOOO cheesy lol. They will LITERALLY bump you and mess you up on the track, and cause you to lose *several* places! I can say without a doubt that not having a rear view mirror in the original game is a HUGE disadvantage! Sometimes this happens in very unfair ways...you could be going on about your business and racing on the track almost flawlessly, and out of nowhere the AI, since you don't see them coming, will come and bump you after the guy says "Heeeey.....somebody's on your tail!" , causing you to hit the rails. Very very very frustrating!
The other thing is, the car behavior, in particular the drifting physics, is different to the PSX version. You cannot simply let off the gas and get back on it and expect the car to slide sideways like in the PS1 version. The car in the arcade is MUCH grippier and in order to slide you must let go of the gas and then finesse the car around the corner with the wheel. Sliding is different than on PS1 and nowhere near as "slippery". Takes a while to get used to it.
So...I would like to know if anyone here has ever completed the ORIGINAL arcade Ridge Racer...either *in* the arcade, or at home but played like it's meant to be played on the actual cabinet(wheel, pedals, shifter)? Meaning, you've come in 1st place in all three tracks. How tough or easy was it? I'm going to tackle part 2 and Rave and see how their difficulty fairs in comparison. At least they have rear view mirrors 
Thanks to all the MAME devs who makes it possible to enjoy the old classic arcade racers   
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The tale of Ridge Racer 1....the one that started it all...
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