Control:  
The cars in RR64 have a decidedly “floaty” feel to them; they don’t handle very realistically. They do, however, handle responsively, and because RR64 is an arcade racer the responsiveness is more important than realism. To enable handling that is responsive, and yet allows for good control in both gradual and extreme turns RR64 has two modes of turning. There is your normal steering, which will get you around most of the turns safely, and there is power sliding or “drifting”. When you enable a power-slide (let off of the gas for a second, and then apply it again after initializing a turn) you are able to make it around any turn you want. In fact, you can do full 360 degree donuts if you want. RR64’s “reverse power-slide” is awe-inspiring, you’re car seems surreal as it burns around a corner at full tilt!
The ability to switch between different types of power-sliding and collision recovery is helpful.

Sound:  
Though the N64 simply isn’t capable of producing the same quality of music as the PSX, NST still managed to cram in some decent sounding tracks. One real plus is the ability to choose which song you want to listen to as the Christmas tree lights up on the starting line. This way you aren’t stuck listening to a song that you don’t enjoy (unless of course you don’t like any of the songs offered). The engine sounds are good and seem individual to the car you are driving. However, the sounds when you hit objects sound a bit repetitive.

Gameplay:
RR64 is quite challenging, but the one player game is a little monotonous. This is due to the reuse of courses. As is the Ridge Racer tradition, RR64 has only a few tracks, and later courses are just longer versions of the first tracks. Though the method for achieving new cars is cool, you must beat a computer player driving the car before you can drive it.

Multiplayer:
Also, RR64 includes a multiplayer mode for up to four players! This is something even no other Ridge Racer game has (not even RR5 for the PS2). This mode brings out some competitive spirit between you and your friends, but it’s far from innovative. In this mode you basically race against your friends to finish line, but there’s a fair amount of bumping and bashing that goes on in order to get there.

OVERALL:
RR64 is a wonderful, well polished game. It’s a great representation of the quality of games that we can expect from NST. I would recommend that you rent before you buy if you are a bit skeptical, this is because of the low replay value.

 

The Lowdown on  Ridge Racer 64 Aesthetics: Awesome Control: Awesome Gameplay: Very Good Multiplayer: Very Good Sound: Very Good Innovation: 4/6 Lasting Appeal: 6/6 Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"