In the late 1990s scores of developers had to face the challenge of adapting some of their properties into the new realm of dimension, 3D. Few made the transition better than Nintendo. It was helped obviously by the fact that the games they were making were on their console, the Nintendo 64, but it does not make their output any less impressive. We’re talking about arguably some of the greatest games ever made. Games like the seminal Mario 64 and the groundbreaking Ocarina of Time; experiences that shaped the understanding of game design for decades after their release.
However one Nintendo property seems to be forgotten in that mix, one that is perhaps not at quite the same level of excellence but is enjoyable nonetheless. A game that is certainly one of my favourite titles of the system and one that many more people should try out. I’m talking about Excitebike 64. This is the 3D update of the Excitebike series and, compared to its contemporaries, it’s a polarizing cult classic. People who talk about it either seem to love it or hate it with all their might.
The first thing you’ll notice when you start your first race is the difficulty: even on novice, if you don’t know what you’re doing you’ll get wiped out. Mario Kart this is not, there is a almost a slight simulation feel. There is a heavy focus on the weight of the bike too – it’s stiff, hard to turn on a dime, and can crash into other racers with ease. There are subtle intricacies of drifting, braking, and jumping ramps that you must learn before you have any chance of beating the races. This can make the game hard for newcomers, but it makes it all the more rewarding when racing. Also, the tutorial does a great job of acclimating you to the techniques.
You’ll race through a variety of realistic tracks from across the world, with a healthy mix of outdoor tracks and indoor dirt arenas. In terms of the graphics for the time, these raceways look nothing short of excellent. There’s a wonderful variety in the look of each one and there seems to be a deep respect to real-world motocross in their design. While they do grow in complexity, I never felt like any of the tracks were unfair or poorly put together. You won’t run out of new places either; there are a total of 20 unique tracks unlockable in the career mode, all in different locales. That’s not even counting the track editor which allows you to make your own tracks and save them to a file, which is really easy to learn and endlessly fun to use.
Accompanying that is a collection of fictional racers all sponsored by legit dirt bike companies like Fox Racing. Realism is the key word when it comes to the whole presentation, and the riders are all wonderfully animated, making it feel like you’re in an actual dirt bike rally.
There’s an expected and slightly generic upbeat and high energy soundtrack that accompanies the races, but the real star of the tracks is the announcer. This guy will give beat by beat updates of everything that is happening in a race, much like you would hear on television, giving so much color and personality to the race. While he does not have a huge variety of voice lines, often what he says helps.
Excitebike 64 can be played single player or with up to four players via split screen. If you can, I would absolutely try and find some pals to blast through races with. This is some of the best local competitive multiplayer on the N64, and with such a huge collection of tracks to choose from and the editor, there’s endless replayability. Not to mention the soccer mode, in which two players are on field with two goals and must push a soccer ball with their bikes into the opposing goal, very similar to Rocket League. It’s absolute insanity and pretty tough, but it’s just so much fun that hours can be spent on just that side extra.
As you might have been able to guess, I love Excitebike 64. It’s arguably one of the greatest racing games of the early 2000s and is a game that deserves to be remembered with Nintendo’s other greats on the N64. It’s a prime example of an excellent transition from 2D to 3D and it still easily holds up today. It’s a shame that after this release, I don’t think the series has ever gotten the same amount of love or frequency of new titles, there hasn’t even been an official release for the last two Nintendo consoles.
If you still have your old N64 console and you’ve never had a chance to play Excitebike 64, I absolutely suggest trying to find a copy, especially if you’re a racing fan or motorcross fanatic. There are hours of good times and intense racing waiting to be had.
