Original Release: Nintendo, 1996, Nintendo 64
Other Releases: iQue (2003), Wii (2007), Wii U (2016)
A pioneering jet ski racer that really did wonders with water appearance and physics.
Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64, Nintendo, 1996)
Where to Buy: Amazon
How to Emulate: coming soon!
Review by: C. M0use
OK next up, Wave Race 64. I thought this one was a little slow and boring initially, but it’s grown on me. It definitely has a unique feel to it. It’s not really an adrenaline rush, except maybe in the later courses where the water gets really rough and you can catch some big air off the waves. You have to get used to the pace and the cornering especially. But once you do I think this game has the best cornering of any racing game.
The whole thing is also just really nice to look at, especially the water effects. That and the wave physics are pretty amazing just from a technical geeky standpoint. They really nailed the look and the “feel” of this game. It’s one of the few that I think actually looks better in high resolution now.
I have no idea how it stacks up to real jet-ski racing since I’ve never been on one, but even without that experience under your belt you can see the level of complexity here. The only thing that really bugs me is how it forces you to swerve to the left and right of the bouys in course, it just seems too limiting and forces you to throttle your speed. Oh, that and the sedated Yanni New Age/smooth jazz soundtrack. At least it looks really nice even if the music is lame.
The game won’t rock you out of your socks like an F-Zero X but it is a good experience, has fairly good multiplayer and could be pleasant if you want to fantasize about being in paradise now that the cold months are approaching us in the northern hemisphere.
Only issue is you’ve only got four Wave Racers and like eight tracks, plus a stunt course, so there’s not a tremendous amount of content here, but it’s fun and appealing enough that I think it’s actually worth it. It’s also got a whole different vibe and feel from most racing games so you won’t necessarily feel like you’re wasting your money if you’ve already invested in Mario Kart or F-Zero or one of the others.
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