Ridge racer type 4 was one of only 2 games in the Ridge racer series I actually liked and played extensively – the first being Rage racer. Believe it or not it was not the allure of short haired, big eyed, mini skirt donning Reiko Nagase that hooked me. But a mix of the cool game play and kick ass soundtracks. Seeing as I’ve mentioned Reiko, I may as well re-cap the short ‘n sweet intro to R4 for those who don’t remember it: Reiko waking up in a hot sweat, turning up her stereo, walking to work, stumbling in a tunnel as her heel breaks and then hitching a ride off of an anonymous man in a really fast car. Gotta love that her!

Then there was the theme song: with a well produced dance beat, a decent vocal, a little Japanesey mid section and the full song clocking in at under 2 minutes – it was more than enough for me to love. The whole of Ridge racer type 4’s soundtrack was pretty top notch. But I couldn’t sing along to any of the other songs, which is why “Urban fragments” ranked out on top.

Listen: Urban fragments

Performed by Kimara Lovelace
R4: Ridge racer type 4 OST
© 1998 Namco