Retro racing game Ridge Racer ported to Game Boy Advance by fan
A classic arcade racer received a portable port that is a technical marvel on an unlikely platform.
Ridge Racer, the classic 1993 arcade racing game, has been ported to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance (GBA). The port is an interesting attempt to retain the spirit of the high-energy racer, and it largely succeeds (albeit with some caveats).
The port retains the essentials of Ridge Racer, primarily its fast-paced and frenetic atmosphere and (most importantly) polygonal tracks and cars. While the GBA had a handful of fully 3D games, most struggled to run even at choppy framerates and often leaned heavily on 2D assets and sprites. However, this port of Ridge Racer runs at a steady 30 frames per second (as shown by the demo video).
Compromises for playability
To get to that framerate, the developer (Gustavo Valiente) had to make several compromises. The cars are barebones solid-colored polygonal models with no textures or bitmapped images. The game's draw distance is minimal, creating abundant pop-in. The UI lacks some elements, such as race position, various camera views, and lap times.
However, these sacrifices are likely worth the improved performance and smooth gameplay. The draw distance is good enough to allow for ample reaction to curves in the track. Also, Valiente was able to keep the announcer's voice to give it that authentic Ridge Racer feel.
Overall, the port is quite impressive considering the hardware for which it was made. The demo is not yet available for users to play, but it appears to be in active development. You can check on the project through Valiente's itch.io developer page here.
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