Ace Driver, Namco’s next polygonal arcade racer after Ridge Racer, gets its first ever home release this week

Namco’s 1994 racing game Ace Driver is getting its first ever home release this week.

The game is the latest entry in the Arcade Archives series by Hamster Corporation, the Japan-based studio which specialises in re-releases of retro arcade and console games.

Ace Driver was originally released in August 1994, 10 months after the release of Namco’s Ridge Racer.

While it’s similar to Ridge Racer in that it features texture-mapped polygonal graphics and has players racing against opponents (sometimes in connected arcade cabinets), it wasn’t made by the same team.

As such, it isn’t considered a spin-off or sequel to Ridge Racer – rather, it’s a separate racing game altogether, albeit one that uses the same System 22 arcade hardware.

Indeed, Ace Driver was only the second System 22 game released by Namco, after Ridge Racer.

This is seventh in a steady stream of System 22 games become given the Arcade Archives treatment by Hamster. In the past year the studio has re-released Ridge Racer, Air Combat 22, Aqua Jet, Tokyo Wars, Rave Racer and Cyber Commando.

Ace Driver will be released on Thursday May 28, and will be released on Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S as an Arcade Archives 2 game, and Switch and PS4 as an Arcade Archives game.

Each Arcade Archives game features Original Mode, High Score Mode (where you keep playing until you get Game Over) and Caravan Mode (where you have to get the highest score within a certain time).

Arcade Archives 2 versions also add Time Attack Mode (where you try to beat the full game as quickly as possible) and Network Mode (where you can play online) when the game supports multiplayer.

Arcade Archives 2 versions also include multiple save slots, a rewind feature and VRR support enabling a “more accurate reproduction of the original arcade game’s experience”.