5 Classic Arcade Racers That Still Hold Up Today

March 15, 2026, 5:00pm

There’s something special about a good arcade racer. The developers toss aside the drive for realism and let players enjoy increased speed, thrills, and mayhem. While games like Forza Horizon 5 are holding the torch for modern fans, we’re far from the days of getting new arcade racing games every couple of months. Thankfully, most of those all-time greats are just as enjoyable these days as they were in the ’90s and ’00s. It might be tough to get your hands on a few of them, but if you can manage, you’re in for a treat.

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Here are five great arcade racers that still hold up today. This list is ordered by release date, so don’t read too much into the ranking.

5) Wipeout 2097

The Wipeout series is filled with awesome racers. That said, Wipeout 2097 is where everything peaked. It took the anti-grav racing introduced in the original and made it faster, more intense, and even deadlier. The cars handle like a dream, and Wipeout 2097 features one of the most pulse-pumping soundtracks of the late ’90s.

Granted, the new weapon system might not be for everyone, but it added a wrinkle that gave Wipeout 2097 an extra edge. There’s also a ton of content to play through, as you’ll unlock new races and racers by earning medals. Each car also has its own strengths and weaknesses, adding even more replayability for players looking for a challenge.

4) R4: Ridge Racer Type 4

The fourth Ridge Racer game lived up to the series hype, and then some. R4 puts a heavy emphasis on powersliding around corners, giving dedicated players a mechanic they’ll need to master if they want to take on the toughest challenges.

Like Wipeout 2097, there are plenty of reasons to stick with R4 over the long term. There are 321 different cars to unlock and four different teams to race with in Grand Prix mode. It also looked great for the time, with many reviewers agreeing that it perfectly bridged the gap between the realism of Gran Turismo and the more arcadey games that lacked technical prowess.

3) Burnout 3: Takedown

Burnout Paradise might be the better game, but nothing can top Burnout 3: Takedown‘s sense of speed and destruction. Sure, Paradise upped the stakes by taking the series to an open world; however, Takedown is where you go for pure carnage and epic races with your friends.

As a single-player game, Burnout 3 is solid, even great. When you add friends to the mix, it becomes one of the best games of all time. Slamming into your buddy to pick up a last-second win is a blast, and the fact that you could play with up to seven other players in Party Crash made Burnout 3 a must-play game. Heck, you don’t even need to care about racing games to love Burnout 3. That adrenaline rush of a good crash is more than enough to make anyone a fan.

2) Need for Speed Underground 2

The Need for Speed series is filled with fan-favorite games. Some might prefer Hot Pursuit or Most Wanted in this spot, but I think Underground 2 is that sweet spot between best-in-class gameplay and embracing the over-the-top car culture of the early 2000s. There’s technically an official Pimp My Ride adaptation, but Underground 2 is the game that gave fans that vibe, while also providing thrilling racing.

Underground 2‘s open world is filled with things to do. Dozens of side missions earn you new equipment to customize your cars. And yes, you’ll need more than one because there are several different race types, so having a few cars you can rotate through makes things easier. Underground 2 does lack the police presence that the NFS series is known for, but you won’t miss it.

1) OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast

Out Run is another classic series with several entries that could qualify for this list. That said, I’m going with OutRun 2006, which is the ninth game in the series’ history. Technically, it’s an updated version of OutRun 2, which was released in 2003, but this 2006 update also includes the Coast 2 Coast content. That added more single-player races and better multiplayer action.

The Coast 2 Coast career mode features several different mission types, including a Knockout mode, which had players trying to outlast the competition in a grueling elimination race. In online play, you can race against up to five other players. It wasn’t as bombastic as Burnout 3, but OutRun 2006 more than held its own in multiplayer. Plus, Coast 2 Coast was a great-looking game for the time, featuring 15 beautifully rendered cars to pick between. It’s not going to match up to games nowadays in pure fidelity, but it doesn’t get much better for a “classic” look.

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