is the third title in the Ridge Racer series of racing games on the PlayStation. Developed and published by Namco, it was released in Japan on December 3, 1996, with releases in the U.S. and Europe following in 1997. It was the first game in the series to feature a CGI animated introduction, and introduced a new "mascot", Reiko Nagase. Though the game sold well, with praise from reviewers for its graphics and gameplay, it received criticism for its crash mechanics, relatively drab visual style and shortage of tracks. Overall Rage Racer was considered too similar to its predecessors, and as such its impact was limited. Gameplay Visually the game takes graphical cues from Rave Racer, Ridge Racer's arcade successor, with a more realistic and darker color scheme. The game utilises a credits system, the first in the series, whereby the player tries to earn credits by winning races, which can be used to buy and upgrade cars. Cars from four manufacturers can be purchased, each favoring a different attribute (e.g., handling, acceleration, speed). All manufacturers offer a 'standard' car and a 'secret' car, which is locked until the top racing class has been reached. Rage Racer also offers a truck as an unlockable vehicle. All of the 'standard' cars can be upgraded, in several stages of increasing cost. The racing is separated into five numbered classes, named 'Class 1' through to 'Class 5'. The player has three attempts to place in the top three of each class's events, before progressing to the next class. When the player has completed the five 'Normal GP' events, the 'Extra GP' is unlocked. This allows the player to race the same classes on reversed courses. As well as unlocking the Extra GP, the player receives 999,999,999 e.g. in Normal GP - more than enough to purchase all of the cars and upgrade them to Grade 5. Development In an interview with the Namco development team, Nobuhisa Mikoda (Rage Racer game designer and project director) admitted that the game was "somewhat off series and aimed to pursue enjoyment in shift controlling". Rage Racer's introduction introduced "mascot girl" Reiko Nagase. Composed by Tetsukazu Nakanishi and Hiroshi Okubo, it marked the beginning of Namco's new primary sound team after their former members began working with other companies doing production on games such as Street Fighter EX (1996) and Driving Emotion Type-S (2000). The former had previously