The Best PlayStation Game Every Year 1994 - 2024

31. 1994 - Ridge Racer

With the original PlayStation launching on December 3rd 1994 in Japan, there’s really only a handful of games to pick from. The console’s launch line-up was a pretty underwhelming bag save for a couple of titles but it’s Namco's Ridge Racer that’s easily the most memorable.

And not just because of that time Kaz Hirai went “RIIIIIDGE RACERRR” at E3.

Of course the PlayStation launched two years ahead of the N64 and managed to get out in front of the Sega Saturn sales-wise with a more competitive price tag. Now it needed at least one game to prove it was the superior console. Ridge Racer felt like it was dragged and dropped from the arcade into the home in a way that seemed impossible back in 1994. The minor concessions of framerate and less background detail didn’t matter when players could jump into such a fast and gratifying 3D title.

But more than just being a solid port, Ridge Racer was a triumph of design and is recognised as the first game to use 3D texture mapping. 

It was a pretty small package, lacking any multiplayer mode and not much in the way of a difficulty curve but, as a statement of intent, Ridge Racer was a worthy addition to Sony’s launch line-up. It was a declaration that the PlayStation was laying down the road to the future and then drifting along in it in style.