Once you have inserted your coin into the cabinet of Namco's 1994 racing arcade game, Ridge Racer 2, you shall have six seconds to choose between Automatic Transmission, and Manual Transmission; if you select the former, the gear shifter and clutch pedal shall get disabled, but if you select the latter, they won't. You can also use the gear shifter to choose one of six songs to hear from the C352 during the game - and their names are identical to those of the original (but they've been remixed). You'll then have six seconds to choose from one of the four modes: Novice (two laps, maximum speed of 180 km/h) Advanced and Expert (three laps, maximum speed 200 km/h) and Time Trial (three laps, maximum speed 220 km/h); the amount of time you start out with again depends upon which mode you've chosen, and have been reduced by three seconds from that of the original (as shown below).
| Mode | Seconds |
|---|---|
| Novice | 63 (1:03) |
| Advanced | 56 |
| Expert | 49 |
| Time Trial | 44 |
Once your car (determined by player number) appears upon the screen, the camera will zoom in on it and change to a first-person view of a woman who is wearing a Namco swimsuit and holding a sign with the text "1 min" on it; an electronic sign will then count down from "3" to "0", as that aforementioned woman runs to get out of the way. You will now have to step on the gas pedal, to accelerate your car (your currently-selected gear will also get displayed in the bottom-left corner of the screen, and your current RPM and speed in km/h in the bottom-right corner), as you pass seven barriers on that right side of the track - and you'll now have to turn to the left, as you pass under a second bridge with another sign which has the text "CHECK POINT" on it. You'll then have to turn to the right (as you pass under a giant television that has a game of Galaxian (1979) on its screen), then pass a third sign which has an arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "120R" on it (as you go into a tunnel); you'll now pass seven black-and-yellow striped barriers, on that right side of the track (which can be run over by your car, just for fun), along with ten more regular barriers with two construction trucks (which have electronic signs displaying arrows pointing to the left on them) behind them, on the left side of the track. You will then have to turn to the right, as you pass a fourth sign (which has another arrow pointing to the curved right and the text of "80R" on it) upon the left side of the track then come out of the tunnel and pass seventeen chevrons (which are pointing to the right), a white helicopter, and a billboard for Cyber Sled (1993), on that left side of the track - and, you will then have to turn to the left as you pass a fifth sign (which has an arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "70R" on it) upon the left side of the track, then pass over a bridge and turn to the left again, as you pass a sixth sign which has a second arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "120R" on it upon the left side of the track. You will then have to turn to the right as you pass four lamp-posts (the third of which has a seventh sign with a third arrow pointing to the curved right and the text of "80R" on it), and a second billboard for the Attack of the Zolgear (1994), on the left side of the track, then turn to the right again as you pass an eighth sign (that has a fourth arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "80R" on it upon the right side of the track); you shall then have to turn to the left as you pass fifteen palm trees on both sides of the track along with ten restaurants, a third billboard for Air Combat (1992), and twenty-one more chevrons (which are pointing to the left) upon the right side of the track. You will then have to turn to the right, as you pass under a third bridge with a ninth sign which has the text of "CHECK POINT" upon it then pass a beach hotel and a fourth billboard for Air Combat on the right side of the track, along with a third electronic sign displaying the text "TIME EXTENDED" on the left side of the track, a tenth red sign which has an arrow pointing in a U-turn and the text "40R" on it, on the right side of the track and seventeen more chevrons (which are, again, pointing to the right) on the left side of the track - and you shall then have to turn to the left, as you'll pass an eleventh (back to blue) sign, which has a third arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "100R" on it on the left side of the track, then pass three gas stations (again, one's called "The Garage Starblade", while another is called "Pac-Man" and has a roadside cafe named "Cafe Dragoon") upon both sides of the track and a fifth billboard for Ridge Racer (1993) on the left side of the track. You will now have to turn to the left as you pass two more billboards for Air Combat and Cyber Sled, on both sides of the track, as well as a twelfth sign which has a fourth arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "100R" on it on the left side of the track as you go into a second tunnel; once you have driven out of it, you shall have to turn to the right as you'll pass four more regular barriers and a thirteenth sign (which has a fourth arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "80R" on it), as well as twenty-five more chevrons (which are once again pointing to the right), on the left side of the track. You'll now have to turn it to the right again as you pass five more regular barriers and a fourteenth sign (which has a fifth arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "140R" on it), on the left side of the track, then pass under the aforementioned second bridge (which you may remember has a sign with the text "CHECK POINT" on it) to complete a full lap of the track - and your time will now get extended again (by 30 seconds if you are playing in "Novice" mode, 24 in "Advanced" or "Expert" mode, and 23 in the "Time Trial" mode). Once you have come out of that second tunnel on your second lap, the sky will have darkened; once you are about to complete three (or two, if you are playing the "Novice" mode), laps of the track, the sign upon the aforementioned second bridge will again say "FINISH" (instead of "CHECK POINT"). Once you have passed under it the screen will fade out, then fade back in to a cutscene of your car driving around the track for a fourth (or third) time - and the camera then cut to a shot of the aforementioned television above the first tunnel, displaying the text of "RESULT" on the left side of its screen with your race position (from 1st to 13th) under it along with your lap times upon its right side and your total time at its bottom. Once it fades out, the screen will fade back in to a shot of all eight cars lined up on a beach in race position order; the text "GAME OVER" shall then appear on screen, and if your total time was less than 3'42"730, the game will go into "best-time" mode so you should again enter your initials upon the game's best-time table with pride. Once you've done so, the game will go back into attract mode.
However, if you're playing in "Time Trial" mode, you will have to turn to the left once you have come out of that second tunnel, and pass six more regular barriers, with two more construction trucks (which have electronic signs displaying arrows pointing to the right and the left on them) behind them on both sides of the track, then turn to the left, as you pass a fourteenth sign which has a fifth arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "20R" on it, on the left side of the track; you shall now have to turn to the right, as you pass a fifteenth (red) sign which has a fifth arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "20R" on it, along with nine more chevrons (which are, yet again, pointing to the right), on that left side of the track. You will then have to turn to the right again as you pass seventeen more chevrons (which are, for a fifth time, pointing to the right), on the left side of the track, then pass under a third bridge, with a sixteenth sign, that has the text "CHECK POINT" on it - and you will then have to turn to the left, as you pass a sixth electronic sign displaying the text of "TIME EXTENDED" on the left side of the track, along with seventeen more chevrons (which are again pointing to the left) on the right side of the track. You shall then have to turn to the right as you pass a seventeenth (red) sign which has another arrow pointing in a U-turn and the text "80R" on it, fifty-seven more chevrons (which are for a sixth time pointing to the right), and two more billboards for Air Combat and Ridge Racer upon the left side of the track then turn to the right as you pass twenty-one more chevrons (which are, for a seventh time, pointing to the right) upon the left side of the track; you will then have to turn to the right again as you pass thirteen more chevrons (which are, for an eighth time, pointing to the right) on the left side of the track. You will then have to turn to the left, as you pass an eighteenth (back to blue) sign, which has a sixth arrow pointing to the curved left and the text "20R" on it on the left side of the track along with twenty-five more chevrons (which are, once again, pointing to the left) upon the right side of the track - and you will then find yourself back on that main route (but the fourteenth sign that has the fifth arrow pointing to the curved right and the text "140R" on it will now be the nineteenth, and its arrow will also be the sixth pointing to the curved right instead of the fifth, just like it was back in that original game).