If you have played “Ridge Racer”, you must know her – Reiko Nagase, the virtual track goddess wearing a racing suit, smiling and waving. She first appeared in the arcade version of “Rave Racer” in 1995. She was not officially named until “Ridge Racer Type 4” in 1998, and quickly became one of Namco’s most representative game characters. She was the earliest virtual idol, even earlier than Miku!
However, at the same time as she became popular, in 1998, the American gaming magazine “Incite Video Gaming” launched a shocking rumor – this sexy “Namco Girl” was actually created based on the face of the male designer himself!
The magazine even wrote in a very provocative tone:“That’s not a woman, that’s a man, baby!”Then added: “The truth about Reiko Nagase will shock the entire gaming industry!” – and claimed in the text that Reiko’s creator and Namco game designerKei YoshimizuSince I couldn’t find a female model, I simply “shaved, trimmed my eyebrows, and scanned my face” as a reference for character modeling. This sensational style is completely typical of gaming magazines in the 1990s!
This ridiculous story was later reprinted by many publications, even quoted by “EDGE” magazine, and now it is even quotedIncluded in Nagase Reiko’s Wikipedia English articleinside. then,“Is she a tomboy?”The urban legend has been spreading in the United States for more than 20 years!
However, the truth is actually not that exaggerated. The person who was responsible for character design at that timeYu Shui GuiHe personally came forward to clarify: “This rumor came from a misunderstanding in an interview! When the reporter asked me if I used a certain female model as a reference, I answered “No specific model”; he then asked if it was all based on imagination, and I said “I used my own face as a reference” – but I meant it was anatomical as a reference, not directly scanning my face.”
To put it simply, he just uses his own face as an auxiliary reference for proportion and structure, just like looking in the mirror to draw a portrait in art class. The face of Reiko Nagase is completely fictitious and does not have any actual character prototype.
So this“Reiko Nagase is a tomboy”Rumor, but another game meme caused by language barrier! For us gaming guys, her smile is still the same and her figure is still the same, but with a little more historical aroma of gossip…