An installment in the Ridge Racer series, it was released as a global launch title for the system, on 12 December 2004 in Japan and overseas in 2005.

Ridge Racer has been described as a 'compilation' of the series, featuring tracks, cars and remixed soundtrack from previous titles of the 1990s.

[4] Game modes are World Tour, Single race, Time Trial, and Wireless Battle, which supports up to 8 player multiplayer over the PSP's ad hoc Wi-Fi network capability.

The director, Kenya Kobayashi, said their goals were to "hit the sweet spot for fans" and "make the most of the hardware specifications".

[14] Its graphical ability and visuals were incredible on a portable device in 2004, and it was further praised for its gameplay, soundtrack (which also consisted of remixed tracks from older Ridge Racer titles) and multiplayer option.

PALGN praised the game's graphics and the gameplay and considered the best Ridge Racer title for PSP.