The original arcade version of Ridge Racer is coming to Switch 2, marking its first ever release on a home system.
Hamster Corporation, which has been releasing retro arcade games under its Arcade Archives series for the past decade, is launching a new series called Arcade Archives 2.
The first game in this new series is Ridge Racer, which will be coming to Switch 2 on the same day the console releases, June 5.
Although Ridge Racer was ported to the Sony PlayStation in December 1994, it was a somewhat visually downgraded port of the original 1993 arcade release.
As such, this Switch 2 port marks the first time the original arcade version has been made available on home systems.
To date there have been 354 games released in the Arcade Archives series, with a further 108 released in a separate series called ACA Neo Geo.
Virtually all of these games have been sprite-based titles, meaning the polygonal Ridge Racer marks a notable change in direction for Hamster Corporation, hence the new Arcade Archives 2 series.
While it’s not yet been confirmed if all Arcade Archives 2 titles will be based on polygonal releases, Hamster says they will at least differ from the original Arcade Archives series in that they’ll offer new features.
Each Arcade Archives game features Original Mode, High Score Mode (where you keep playing until you die) and Caravan Mode (where you have to get the highest score within a certain time).
Arcade Archives 2 games will also add Time Attack Mode (where you try to reach and defeat the final boss as quickly as possible) and Network Mode (where you can play online). However, Ridge Racer won’t have Network Mode because it’s a single-player release.
The game will also include VRR support, enabling a more accurate reproduction of the arcade version’s frame rate, as well as multiple save slots, a rewind feature and a Quick Start feature.
