10 Loading Screens So Good You Forgot You Were Waiting To Play

Back in the 90s, Namco secured a patent on a method that helped avoid "unnecessary wastage of time" in video games. More specifically, the patent gave Namco the license on making their loading screens less boring, and one of the best examples of the company's exploitation of this came via Ridge Racer.

The first Ridge Racer was ported to the PlayStation as a launch title in 1994 and has since gone on to spawn numerous arcade and home console releases in the franchise. The game was noted for having superior drifting mechanics and arcade-like gameplay, which worked well in multiplayer mode.

When you find yourself on a loading screen in Ridge Racer, the game keeps going, but not the game you threw into your PS1. Namco's classic Galaxian fills the screen, leaving the player there to shoot the insectoid alien ships while the PlayStation does its work in the background.

The system was known for having long loading times, as it was one of the first consoles to utilize CD-ROMs instead of cartridges. If a player managed to kill off all of the aliens in Galaxian before the loading screen disappeared, they were rewarded with an in-game bonus, which made paying attention to the load screen a helpful tool in playing the game.