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[GigaBowser]

First time dusting off my Switch since BOTW because I wanted to dive back into the WaveRace portable experience for the first time since the Gameboy and have not yet procured my Steam Deck.

Anyway, this is one of the best games ever created. Nintendo at their peak. They have never made a game this good since.

I still have yet to play a JetSki or moto water based game that frankly comes even close. The interaction between the JetSki and the water is like some kind of magic trick.

How Nintendo accomplished this in 1996 is insane and the tech almost seems alien compared to anything else at the time it was so advanced.

The racing in this game is still phenomenal (especially on Expert) and it may look crude but it's somehow incredibly beautiful.

Talk about a missed opportunity to remake the game with online.

 

[Markio128]

It was a staggering game for its time and I played the hell out of it, like I did with most Ninty games on the 64. Pilot wings 64 is another absolute gem.

 

[Antwix]

I still have a memory sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power as a kid and thinking how games could ever get better looking than this.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I spent hours in practice mode when I was a kid performing barrel rolls and backflips.

 

[Markio128]

I still have a memory sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power as a kid and thinking how games could ever get better looking than this.

I used to sit on the loo reading the instruction manuals back in the day. I really miss a good manual - and a decent gaming mag.

 

[GigaBowser]

I still have a memory sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power as a kid and thinking how games could ever get better looking than this.

I never thought it looked all that good in still pics but when I saw it in motion I was like

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

I still have a memory sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power as a kid and thinking how games could ever get better looking than this.

The opposite happened to me... I thought the Nintendo 64 would have graphics like the Matrix awakens game.

I think my imagination and expectation was ahead of my time.

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

Pilotwings, Wave Race 64, Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Star Fox, F Zero, Mario Kart, and the big one Zelda

Was a great time for Nintendo. The first 3d generation was very exciting. This was pretty revolutionary stuff.

 

[93xfan]

Pilotwings, Wave Race 64, Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Star Fox, F Zero, Mario Kart, and the big one Zelda

Was a great time for Nintendo. The first 3d generation was very exciting. This was pretty revolutionary stuff.

Yeah, the first 3D generation was a great time. Gamers didn’t know what to expect and what the limits were. Developers were trying some really out there ideas with many of them working.

Also, check out Jumping Flash 2 if you get a chance. An amazing, fun, and bizarre 1st person platformer that really stood out as well.

 

[Deerock71]

I spent hours in practice mode when I was a kid performing barrel rolls and backflips.

 

[Deerock71]

Just played a bit on NSO and yeah, it's as fun as I remembered.

 

[freefornow]

Anyway, this is one of the best games ever created. Nintendo at their peak. They have never made a game this good since.

It was, and still is, an absolute gem.

Thought this had potential as a spiritual successor, but............................Kinect!!

 

[Alex Anderson]

Loved this and Excitebike 64

 

[RCU005]

I still have a memory sitting on the toilet reading Nintendo Power as a kid and thinking how games could ever get better looking than this.

This happened to me with Ocarina of Time. Then with Final Fantasy 8, I just couldn't even fathom how graphics could improve more than that. LOL!

Now, we complain about everything.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Pilotwings, Wave Race 64, Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Star Fox, F Zero, Mario Kart, and the big one Zelda

Was a great time for Nintendo. The first 3d generation was very exciting. This was pretty revolutionary stuff.

I love all these games.

 

[VeganElduderino]

First time dusting off my Switch since BOTW because I wanted to dive back into the WaveRace portable experience for the first time since the Gameboy and have not yet procured my Steam Deck.

Anyway, this is one of the best games ever created. Nintendo at their peak. They have never made a game this good since.

I still have yet to play a JetSki or moto water based game that frankly comes even close. The interaction between the JetSki and the water is like some kind of magic trick.

How Nintendo accomplished this in 1996 is insane and the tech almost seems alien compared to anything else at the time it was so advanced.

The racing in this game is still phenomenal (especially on Expert) and it may look crude but it's somehow incredibly beautiful.

Talk about a missed opportunity to remake the game with online.

just looking at that gif i can hear the music

 

[VeganElduderino]

i remember doing sea doo back when i was a kid and thinking about Wave race 64 , and when it finally came out it was such a great game and it still is today !

 

[JRW]

Loved Wave Race 64 and was all hyped for Wave Race Bluestorm on Gamecube but it just didn't feel the same including having less impressive water physics than the 64 version.

And if you haven't played Splashdown on PS2 it's another ridiculously fun water racer, I'm actually having trouble deciding which I liked better, Put a ton of hours in both games.

 

[radewagon]

I had a Playstation but my cousins had an N64. I used to enjoy going over to their house to check out what was new on the console. I remember being blown away by Goldeneye. I cannot say the same for Wave Race 64. I remember thinking it looked kind of meh and that it wasn't much fun to play. I know the game has its fans, but I just never understood why people adored it so much. It's a fine game, but nothing special IMO.

 

[GigaBowser]

I had a Playstation but my cousins had an N64. I used to enjoy going over to their house to check out what was new on the console. I remember being blown away by Goldeneye. I cannot say the same for Wave Race 64. I remember thinking it looked kind of meh and that it wasn't much fun to play. I know the game has its fans, but I just never understood why people adored it so much. It's a fine game, but nothing special IMO.

It's a very difficult game for newcomers. My friends who played every so often didn't like it. My other friends who played all the time with me loved it. Simplistic controls but very, very difficult to master.

You get the game when you're Dan Mariner finishing first in every race on Expert.

 

[Red Dolphin]

Something random I've noticed is the opening intro sequence is quite dynamic. Obviously they swap out the jet ski riders which is well known, but occassionally you'll see the riders falls off their jet skis or not exactly follow the intended path for the sequence. I assume this is not "intentional".

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

This happened to me with Ocarina of Time. Then with Final Fantasy 8, I just couldn't even fathom how graphics could improve more than that. LOL!

Now, we complain about everything.

Seeing kakariko village for the first time in Zelda was magic!

 

[Porcile]

The presentation is super nostalgic. The late 90s was a great time for Japanese-made entertainment.

 

[GnomeChimpsky]

I used to sit on the loo reading the instruction manuals back in the day. I really miss a good manual - and a decent gaming mag.

Toilet visits just aren't what they used to be...

 

[Shtef]

MVG did a great video about water effect in wave race

 

[Physiognomonics]

Yes, it's still very fun to play. It's also a game that was ideal for N64 hardware.

 

[Filben]

Still playing the championship mode completely once a year. Amazing game!

 

[SmokedMeat]

I really miss decent jet ski games. I remember Splashdown from Rainbow Studios being good, as well as their ATV racing game.

 

[jigglet]

I remember after how impressive 64 was, I was expecting Blue Wave to be mind blowing. Unfortunately it just looked good.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Fantastic game. We need a modern one yesterday! I think there was some indie jet ski game that came out a few years ago that was actually decent. I can't remember its name. I might have also dreamed it.

 

[NikuNashi]

Pilotwings, Wave Race 64, Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, Star Fox, F Zero, Mario Kart, and the big one Zelda

Was a great time for Nintendo. The first 3d generation was very exciting. This was pretty revolutionary stuff.

Add Diddy Kong Racing, Turok and of course the goat Goldeneye. First gen 3d was an exciting time.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Ah yes, back when videogames looked like videogames. Great art design and technical advancements that were there because they helped the gameplay (that water and those waves!) instesd of just wanting to chase the "realistic look" meme.

Add Diddy Kong Racing, Turok and of course the goat Goldeneye. First gen 3d was an exciting time.

And Jet Force Gemini too! This game deserves more love.

 

[BlackTron]

Toilet visits just aren't what they used to be...

Everyone these days does all their reading on devices with cameras that you don't want to get any germs on. Might not be enough to stop all people but it def stopped me lol.

 

[Markio128]

Ah yes, back when videogames looked like videogames. Great art design and technical advancements that were there because they helped the gameplay (that water and those waves!) instesd of just wanting to chase the "realistic look" meme.


And Jet Force Gemini too! This game deserves more love.

Even the next tier of N64 games, like Blast Corps, Silicon Valley and Body Harvest were pretty awesome in my opinion.

 

[RoboFu]

This game lied to me all those years ago. .

This game along with pilot wings 64 was a hint at what.. then.. new 3D gaming would be. Games with wonderful virtual worlds filled with fun physics simulation gameplay. Little did I know that we wouldn’t really continue that until many many years later.

 

[drganon]

Tried it out for the first time last week, it was pretty fun.

 

[Markio128]

Back on topic, I’d love a new Wave Race, probably more than a new Mario Kart - perhaps on the same level as a new F-Zero. Online racing and leaderboards would be super fun because it was all about skill in those racers.

 

[Punished Miku]

Remains one of the best games ever made. Nothing like hitting a sharp turn greater than 90 degrees by having your craft slightly sink below the water to get the angle just right.

 

[lostinblue]

Anyway, this is one of the best games ever created. Nintendo at their peak. They have never made a game this good since.

I still have yet to play a JetSki or moto water based game that frankly comes even close. The interaction between the JetSki and the water is like some kind of magic trick.

How Nintendo accomplished this in 1996 is insane and the tech almost seems alien compared to anything else at the time it was so advanced.

The racing in this game is still phenomenal (especially on Expert) and it may look crude but it's somehow incredibly beautiful.

I don't get it. The game feels like a minigame/tech demo to me mixed with a high score thing.

It would be impossible to sell today as a new game and for more than 20 bucks. I feel. (might be wrong)

Nintendo was really good those years, but I can't see wave race like that.

 

[Markio128]

I don't get it. The game feels like a minigame/tech demo to me mixed with a high score thing.

It would be impossible to sell today as a new game and for more than 20 bucks. I feel. (might be wrong)

Nintendo was really good those years, but I can't see wave race like that.

 

[lostinblue]

Sorry. I mean no disrespect

 

[Bankai]

except for the framerate.. which is 20

 

[CeeJay]

I never thought it looked all that good in still pics but when I saw it in motion I was like

Yeah still looks amazing.

If you showed me this video and I had never heard of or played the game I would have bet my house that this was taken from a Sega AM2 arcade cab during their hayday in the early to mid 90s. As great as the game looks its the sublime way that it plays that is it's biggest triumph. The controls are superb and the way that the waves can be your worst enemy or best friend gave the game so much replayability, do you hit that wave straight on then turn sharply, turn before the wave or try to surf the wave around obstacle, try to jump it by using a turbo, try to get some air off the wave and then dive under the obstacle. So much depth to the gameplay with so many nice touches here and there such as the way that the tracks would develop and change during a race and open up new opportunities or expose new dangers. Nintendo absolutely nailed Waverace 64, easily the best water based racing game I have ever played to this day and still its probably not even in my top 5 games for that console.

 

[Himuro]

I have a copy right next to me. It's great but it has like 4 levels dude. There's much better racing games.

 

[Delt31]

I'm curious of the age for folks who aren't as impressed with this game like the OP b/c this game is an absolute gem that to this day STILL plays and looks amazing. It is an absolute masterpiece control, graphics, sound, etc. The only thing I can think of is people who are too young to remember when this game came out, not playing it at the time and saying the tech looks cool but what else?

So much more than that.

 

[Beer Baelly]

 

[Himuro]

I'm curious of the age for folks who aren't as impressed with this game like the OP b/c this game is an absolute gem that to this day STILL plays and looks amazing. It is an absolute masterpiece control, graphics, sound, etc. The only thing I can think of is people who are too young to remember when this game came out, not playing it at the time and saying the tech looks cool but what else?

So much more than that.

It's great. Don't get me wrong. But it also has like only four levels. Come on.

 

[SoggyBiscuit]

For a game released in 1996 it is incredibly impressive. The linked MVG video Shtef posted is also well worth a watch for a deeper dive (heh) on how Nintendo managed to make such convincing water/physics simulation. A classic!

 

[Metnut]

Wave Race has 9 courses.

 

[existensmaximum]

I can't think of any kind of graphics that have aged worse than N64 to be honest.