(Originally posted on January, 2017)
(1996, Nintendo 64)
While the Nintendo 64 had some faults, the system's launch period during Fall '96 was still the best of times. Enough of the small, expensive selection of games made a huge enough impact to temporarily blind me from the already deep and more wallet friendly catalogs available on the Saturn and Playstation. Mario 64 didn't invent the 3D platformer, but finally convinced people that that were diving into an artificial world and did so most amazingly. Pilot Wings 64's take on the skies felt both like a leisurely vacation and an intense training session at a military or aeronautics facility. Before you could get sick of playing those two games to death, Wave Race 64 came along and further impressed. Its mastery of the water made it just as much of a showcase title as the others. Not just looking pretty, it offered another unique glimpse into all the emerging freedom and promise 3D gaming had to offer...
Besides wowing players, Wave Race threw other developers for a loop. Even with more powerful hardware and years to catch up, the water racers that followed couldn't achieve anywhere near the dynamism and interactivity found in Wave Race 64's living lakes, bays and oceans. What made the game unlike any other racer at the time was that more than just the opponents and course layout, the eternally morphing entity that is the water itself has to be accounted for. In the overcast, almost tangibly chilly Marine Fortress level, a bothersome 6 foot high cape usually has to be ridden around. However, for those brave enough, it can narrowly be flown over by a bold leap off a suddenly emerging wave. During the opening Sunny Beach course, mines which would otherwise have to be delicately avoided can sometimes be momentarily engulfed by a fortunate swell of water. In the final stage, the pretty yet volatile Southern Island, the entire sea level changes with each lap, opening up new routes, shortcuts and hazards. In between big events like those, just the feel of getting a foot higher on a small wave or skimming off the choppy waters in a blinding orange beach sunset or foggy lake is just plain fun, with or without the extra tactile feedback of the rumble pak.
Now a permanent fixture of my library, 20 years back I made due by renting it a couple times while saving my precious dollars for Mario Kart 64. Like Pilot Wings, even with possession of the game fleeting, I found myself more inclined to relax doing a bunch of nothing instead of mastering all the challenges. It's all too easy to enter the tiny paradise that is Dolphin Park intending to warm up for the 8 course expert circuit...only to spend a whole play session catching the momentum of the waves, flipping and rolling off ramps, speeding through arches and of course...chasing that Dolphin. When you finally play the main circuit, time and trick modes, there's plenty of serious business to take into account such as customizable attributes, calculating the consequences of over steering, slowing down to remain inbounds (which increases your max speed) and even altering the rider's weight distribution as they ride their Kawasaki Jet-Skis. This isn't done by merely steering left to right like before, but from the delicate placement of how the (then) cutting edge analog stick is positioned.
Despite the choppy frame rate and draw distances that favor players with better memory than eyesight, the game managed to impress greater than the jet racers on Sega and Namco's more powerful arcade hardware...just by how astonishing and believable the water was and still is. Before the dithering and pop-up can burn your eyes, it quickly gets splashed away by all the invigorating aquatic chaos of nature. The music heavily borders on cheesy, but is packed with a sufficient amount of tracks conveying an exciting optimism that make the entire package believable. The earnest cohesiveness is what really makes it work, blasting you with an almost magical, tearfully happy opening, then extending all the way down to the tiny jingles full of promise and ecstatic announcers. The best track in the game is "4th Prize," romantically stirring thoughts of walking along a sunset beach. A most pleasant consolation for barely avoiding a game over.
As one of the early cornerstones of the N64 library, the game pops in my head just as quickly as Ocarina of Time and Banjo Kazooie when someone mentions the system. You don't have to be particularly interested in the extreme sports racer genre to experience the joy of shredding through the water. It easily transcends genre preferences by being so fun just to pick up and play. Even better, you no longer need a summer job to enjoy one of the childhood Nintendo 64 classics you might not have bought. Wave Race 64 is still amazing and can now be yours to own, all for the small price of an overdue Blockbuster rental back in the 90s.
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