Reiko Nagase

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Reiko Nagase (永瀬麗子) is a fictional character, a CGI race queen featured in the Ridge Racer series of videogames, as one of the girls holding cards before the start of each race, and appearing in the FMV cutscenes, most of which have been directed by Kei Yoshimizu from Keica inc.[1]

Contents

[edit] Profile

Taken from Ridge Racer 6[2], as her profiles tend to have minor differences between games. Originally her birthdate was set in February 14, 1975[3] , but it hasn't been mentioned in recent appearances, probably to avoid aging her.

  • Name: Reiko Nagase
  • Birthplace: Tokyo
  • Date of birth: February 14th 1975
  • Height: 165cm
  • Weight: 48kg
  • B/W/H: 85/58/86cm
  • Feet Size: 23cm
  • Blood Type: A
  • Skills: Swimming
  • Hobbies: Driving, making soufflé
  • Favorite foods: Minestrone, potato chips
  • Favorite games: Pac-Man, Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy
  • On days off: Driving with her sister, scuba diving
  • Dream for the future: being an astronaut, of course!

[edit] Overview

Reiko Nagase, as seen in Ridge Racer 6
Reiko Nagase, as seen in Ridge Racer 6

An unnamed girl resembling Reiko first appeared in the real-time arcade intro for 1995's Rave Racer, but she was officially reintroduced (and named) a year later in Rage Racer[4][5]. Whether the Rave Racer girl is supposed to be Reiko is unknown, but Reiko's Ridge Racer 6 outfit bears a resemblance to the Rave Racer one.

In 1998's R4: Ridge Racer Type 4, she was given more prominence, as the opening animation, which used a Kimara Lovelace song, was a short story starring her[6], and introduced a redesign to her 3D model by Kei Yoshimizu[7]. This is when Namco started giving more exposure to the character, heavily using her image to promote the game.[8][9]

Due to her newfound popularity she went to make many appearances in games outside of the Ridge Racer series (see list below), most of them featuring her white and red outfit from the R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 promotional artwork.[10] In the year 2000 she also appeared in the Nintendo-developed Ridge Racer 64, but notably they reused older Reiko artwork on it.

While still appearing in other games, Namco decided to replace Reiko in 2000's Ridge Racer V with newcomer Ai Fukami (深水 藍)[11]. In 2001, Namco created an image girl for their Namco Sports line named Hitomi Yoshino (吉乃ひとみ)[12], and while the Ridge Racer series doesn't belongs to that line she was featured in a Ridge Racer trailer shown in the 2002 edition of the E3[13].

Since her popularity with fans still was strong[14], Namco decided to bring back Reiko Nagase for 2004's Ridge Racers[15]. Featuring a revamped 3D model for the introductory animation, again by Kei Yoshimizu[16], said model has also been used for her subsequent appearances, in the intros for Ridge Racer 6 (2005), Ridge Racer 7 (2006) and Ridge Racers 2 (also 2006).

She is prominently featured in the Ridge Racer pachislot to be released in 2008[17], along with a PlayStation 2 version[18].

She has been featured in many products licensed by Namco[19], including the first and sixth wave of Namco Gals gashapon.[20]

A character named Kei Nagase, with a notable resemblance to Reiko, plays a role in Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. In Ace Combat 2's details (where she is available to be chosen as your wingman), it is stated she is Reiko's sister.

An vague and unsourced article in the short lived Incite Video Gaming magazine[21] revealed that Reiko Nagase was modelled after Kei Yoshimizu, but he has denied it since then, and there is no visible resemblance[22].

[edit] Appearances

[edit] References

  1. ^ Keica inc. website
  2. ^ Ridge Racer 6 official website
  3. ^ Happy Birthday Reiko at IGN
  4. ^ Ridge Racer Retro Special at Club Skill
  5. ^ All About Reiko at 1up.com
  6. ^ R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 official website
  7. ^ Lo Magazine #8 interview
  8. ^ R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 desktop calendar 1999
  9. ^ Reiko Nagase 2000 calendar
  10. ^ R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 promotional wallpapers
  11. ^ Press release for Ai Fukami
  12. ^ Press release for Hitomi Yoshino
  13. ^ GameWatch coverage of the E3 2002
  14. ^ RR7 Team Speaks at 1up
  15. ^ Ridge Racers promotional wallpapers
  16. ^ Lo Magazine #8 interview
  17. ^ Ridge Racer pachislot press release
  18. ^ Ridge Racer pachislot article at Gamewatch
  19. ^ Namco licensed products - Ridge Racer section
  20. ^ Namco licensed products - general section
  21. ^ Virtual Women blog
  22. ^ Asiagraph 2007 guest list
  23. ^ Smash Court 2 official website
  24. ^ PS2: Demos to Die For at IGN