Wave Race 64 - Wikipedia

Wave Race 64 is a racing game in which players race on Jet Skis in different weather conditions and on a variety of courses. The game features three single- ... WaveRace64 FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch 1996videogame 1996videogameWaveRace64Developer(s)NintendoEADPublisher(s)NintendoDirector(s) KatsuyaEguchi ShinyaTakahashi Producer(s)ShigeruMiyamotoProgrammer(s)KeizoOhtaComposer(s)KazumiTotakaSeriesWaveRacePlatform(s)Nintendo64,iQuePlayerReleaseNintendo64JP:September27,1996NA:November4,1996PAL:April29,1997iQuePlayerCHN:November2003Genre(s)RacingMode(s)Single-player,multiplayer WaveRace64[a]isaracingvideogamedevelopedbyNintendoEADandpublishedbyNintendo.ItwasreleasedfortheNintendo64in1996andisafollow-uptothe1992GameBoytitleWaveRace.MostofthegameinvolvestheplayerracingonaJetSkionavarietyofcourseswhilesuccessfullymanoeuvringthevehiclearoundvariousbuoys.Amultiplayermodewheretwoplayerscancompeteagainsteachotheronachosencourseisalsoincluded.ThegamesupportstheControllerPak,whichallowsplayerstotransfersaveddatafromonegamecartridgetoanother. Originallyreferredtoas"F-Zeroonwater",thegamewasintendedtofeaturehigh-speedboatswithtransformingcapabilities,butthesewereultimatelyreplacedwithJetSkisasproducerShigeruMiyamotofeltthatthegamewouldnotbedifferentiatedenoughfromothertitlesonothersystems.WaveRace64receivedacclaimfromcritics,whopraisedthegame'ssatisfyingcontrolsanddynamicwateryenvironments.ThegameiscreditedforhelpingNintendoeffectivelymakeitsparadigmaticleapfromthe16-bit2DgraphicsoftheSuperNintendoEntertainmentSystemtotheNintendo64's3Dcapabilities.Itwasre-releasedfortheWiiandWiiU'sVirtualConsolein2007and2016,respectively.Asequel,WaveRace:BlueStorm,wasreleasedin2001. Contents 1Gameplay 2Developmentandrelease 3Reception 4Legacy 5Notes 6References 7Externallinks Gameplay[edit] TheplayerracesanopponentontheSunnyBeachcourse.ThearrowsatthebottomrightcornerofthescreenindicatetheJetSki'scurrentpower. WaveRace64isaracinggameinwhichplayersraceonJetSkisindifferentweatherconditionsandonavarietyofcourses.Thegamefeaturesthreesingle-playermodes(Championship,TimeTrials,andStuntMode)aswellasamultiplayermodeforcompetitiveplay.[1]IntheChampionshipmode,theplayermustraceopponentsthroughaseriesofcoursesandwinthefirstplace.[2]Uptofourlevelsofdifficultycanbechosen:Normal,Hard,ExpertandReverse,thelatterbeingExpertwiththetracksorientedbackwards.[2]Hard,Expert,andReversemustbeunlockedbycompletinganearlierdifficulty.[3]Thedifficultyalsodeterminesthenumberofcoursesplayed:sixinNormal,seveninHard,andeightinExpert/Reverse.[3]Whentheplayercompletesacourse,pointsareawardedbasedontheranktheyfinished.Iftherequiredquantityisnotmet,theplayerwillbedisqualifiedandthegamewillbeover.[2] Whileracingopponents,theplayermustsuccessfullymanoeuvretheJetSkiaroundvariousbuoys.Therearetwotypesofbuoys:redcolored,whichmustbepassedontherightside,andyellowbuoys,whichmustbepassedontheleftside.[3]Eachtimeabuoyiscorrectlypassed,apowerarrowinthegame'sHUDwilllight,allowingtheplayer'sJetSkitogainspeed.[3]Uptofivepowerarrowscanbelitinordertoobtainmaximumpower.Therefore,maintainingthisprocesswillallowtheplayertomaintainahighspeed.Failuretocorrectlypassasinglebuoywillresultinthelossofalltheplayer'saccumulatedpower(thoughthepowerarrowscanbelitagainonebyone)andmissingfivebuoysoverthecourseofaracewillresultindisqualification.[3]Leavingthecoursearealimitedbypinkbuoysformorethanfivesecondswillalsoresultindisqualification.[3] InTimeTrials,theplayercanfreelyraceonacoursetoperformthebesttimes,whicharerecordedinthegame'sdata.IntheStuntMode,theplayermustearnpointsbyexecutingstuntsandpassingthroughrings.[3]Thepointsdependuponhowmanyringstheplayerpassesthroughwithoutmissing,aswellastheclassofstuntthathasbeenperformed.[2]Themultiplayermodeusesahorizontalsplit-screenandallowstwoplayerstocompeteagainsteachotheronachosencourse.[1]OnlythecoursesthathavebeenunlockedintheChampionshipmodecanbeplayedintheTimeTrials,Stunt,andmultiplayermodes.[3]Thegameoffersfourpersonalizedracersforplayerstoselectfrom,eachhavingtheirownstrengthsandweaknesses.[2]ANintendo64ControllerPakcanbeusedtotransfersaveddatafromonegamecartridgetoanother.[4] Developmentandrelease[edit] WaveRace64wasdevelopedbyNintendoEADandproducedbyShigeruMiyamotoasoneofthefirstNintendo64games.[5]Itisafollow-uptothe1992GameBoytitleWaveRace.[6]DevelopmentofthegamewasledbyShinyaTakahashi,whohadbeenworkingwithNintendosince1989.[7]Takahashi,alongwithYoshiakiKoizumi,whoworkedwithMiyamotoonSuperMario64,iscreditedforhelpingthecompanyeffectivelymakeitsparadigmaticleapfromthe16-bit2DgraphicsoftheSuperNintendoEntertainmentSystemtotheNintendo64's3Dcapabilities.[7]Sincethegame'sengineersonlyhadexperiencewiththe2DgraphicsofearlierNintendoconsoles,Takahashihadtoguidethemthroughthefirststagesofdevelopment.[7]WhileexperimentingwiththeNintendo64'sSiliconGraphicstechnology,oneoftheprogrammerscreatedatechdemothatservedasanexampleofthegame'swaveprogramming.ThetechdemocaughttheattentionofMiyamoto,andsoontheteambegantofigureoutawaytocreate"somethingfun"fromit.[7] Originally,thegamewasreferredtoas"F-Zeroonwater"andwouldfeaturehigh-speedboats,asshowninfootagefromthe1995NintendoShoshinkaishow.[8]Theseboatswereexpectedtohavetransformingcapabilities,allowingplayerstoswitchfromastablecatamaran-styleformtoamorestreamlinedcanoe-styleversion.[5]However,theboatswereultimatelyreplacedwithJetSkis.AccordingtoMiyamoto:"Boatslookedprettygoodattheshow,butIdidn'tthinkthatWaveRace64wouldbeuniquefromsimilargamesonothersystemsifweusedboats.JetSkiscanshowmanymaneuversthatworkwellintherealisticwaterofWaveRace64".[9]TheuseofJetSkiswassuggestedbyRare'sTimStamper.[10]ThegameusestheNintendo64'salphablendingfeaturetomakethewatersimultaneouslytransparentandreflective.[11]Thegamewaspromotedwithamarketingcampaignthatcost$4million.[12] WaveRace64wasfirstreleasedinJapaninSeptember1996onan8-MBcartridge.[13][14]IntheUnitedStates,WaveRace64wasreleasedasthethirdNintendo64gameonNovember4,1996,[12]featuringvoicechangesandrenamedlevels.[15]ItwasthefirstracinggamedevelopedfortheNintendo64andthefirsttousetheNintendo64'shardwarecapabilitiesto"createabelievableandengagingwaterenvironmentunmatchedbypreviousgames",IGNnoted.[15]IntheUnitedKingdom,thegamewasreleasedinApril1997,shortlyafterthelaunchoftheNintendo64.[16]LikeSuperMario64,WaveRace64wasre-issuedinJapaninJuly1997asWaveRace64ShindōPakTaiōVersion(ウエーブレース64振動パック対応バージョン,"WaveRace64:RumblePak-CompatibleVersion").ThisversiontakesadvantageoftheNintendo64RumblePakandaddsghostfunctionstothegame'stimetrialmode.Somemusicandsoundeffectswerealteredaswell.[17] Reception[edit] ReceptionAggregatescoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic92/100[18]ReviewscoresPublicationScoreAllGame[19]CVG[20]Edge9/10[14]EGM9.3/10[21]EPDaily100%[22]GameInformer9/10[23]GameSpot8.6/10[24]IGN9.7/10[1]N64Magazine90%[2]NextGeneration[25] WaveRace64wasacriticalandcommercialsuccess,sellingmorethan154,000unitsinJapanbyDecember1996andmorethanonemillionunitsintheUnitedStatesbyDecember1997.[18][13][26]AsofDecember2007,thegamehadsold1.95millioncopiesintheUnitedStates.[27]Atthetimeofitsrelease,somereviewersconsideredittobeoneofthegreatestracinggamesofalltimeonahomeconsole.[1][24][22]GameProdescribedWaveRace64asa"phenomenallyfun"racinggamethatcaptivatesplayerswithitsdeepandchallenginggameplay,[28]whileNextGenerationregardeditasoneofthefirstqualitytitlesreleasedfortheNintendo64,alongwithSuperMario64andPilotwings64.[25] Graphically,WaveRace64waspraisedforitsfluidanimations,realisticphysics,cleanwaters,andtexturedpolygons.[21][24][28]IGN'sDougPerrycommented:"Thewayinwhichjetskiscutintotheocean'ssurface,liftofframps,bounceintoandoffoncomingwaves,orslideonicysurfacesisnotonlybelievableandengaging,butsimplyunparalleled".[1]WritingforTheElectricPlayground,VictorLucashighlightedthegame'sdistinctenvironments,sayingthateachcourseoffersplayerssomethingtogetexcitedabout.Healsogavehighmarkstothegame'ssatisfyingsoundeffects,particularlywhenplayerssubmergeunderthewaves,butfeltthemusicwasshallow.[22]GameProagreed,describingthemusicasjuvenileandtheannouncer'svoiceasirritating.[28]Incontrast,AllGame'sJontiDaviesfeltthatthegame's"cheesy"and"distinctly'80stheme"soundtrackcombinedwiththeannouncer's"hyperexcitedcries"givesthegamealightandarcadefeel.[19] N64MagazinejournalistsdescribedWaveRace64as"oneofthedeepestracinggames"theyhadplayed,statingthatthegame'sdynamicwaves"constantlytestsandre-tests"theplayer'scontrolandthatthebuoyssystemoffers"tacticaldecisionsaboutwhethertospendtimetakingawidecornerordashstraightontocatchtheleaderbeforeit'stoolate".[2]Similarly,GameInformerremarkedthatthewavescanstrikeplayersoneveryturnandthat"onemistakecanmeanthedifferencebetweenvictoryanddefeat".[23]Edgehighlypraisedthegame'sbelievablewateryenvironmentsandsatisfyingcontrols,statingthateachofthegame'sfourcraftsfeaturedifferenthandlingcharacteristics,whichisaccentuatedbythewaytheyinteractwiththewater.Althoughthemagazinecriticizedthegame'slackofcourses,notingthatmostofthemcanbeseeninaday'splay,itultimatelyconcludedthatWaveRace64"isaperfectexampleofhowNintendo'sapproachtogamedesignstillremainsmarkedlydifferentfromalmosteveryothervideogamescompanyintheworld".[14] Thecontrolsweregenerallypraised,[1][24][14]althoughToddMowattofElectronicGamingMonthly(EGM)notedthatgettingusedtothemcantakesometime.[21]GlennRubensteinofGameSpotalsopraisedthecontrols,statingthatWaveRace64"makesthebestuseyet"oftheNintendo64analogstick.Althoughhehighlightedthemultiplayermodeforofferinga"fairlygoodcompetition",hecriticizeditssmallsplit-screenplayareasfordetractingfromthedrama.[24]AlexHuhtalaofCVGfeltthatthegamewastooshort,butadmittedthatthemultiplayerandstuntmodesgivethegamelongevity.[20]InMarch1997,EGMeditorsnamedWaveRace64theirSportsGameoftheYearandarunner-upfortheirNintendo64GameoftheYearaward(behindSuperMario64),citingtherealisticphysicsandvarietyoftracks.[29] Legacy[edit] AfteritsreleaseontheNintendo64,WaveRace64hasbeenincludedinseveraltoplists.In1997,EGMrankedthegame68thonitslistof100BestGamesofAllTime.[30]In1999,NextGenerationrankedit20thonasimilarlist,commentingthat"nexttoMario64,noothergameintheNintendo64'slaunchlibrarydemonstratedmoreclearlythepowerofthenewsystem".[31]IGNeditorsrankedit33rdontheir2003listofTop100GamesofAllTime,[32]and37thonanotherlistpublishedin2005.[33]TheyremarkedthatWaveRace64"incorporatedwaterphysicsintoracingunlikeanygamebeforeit,oranysince.Thesimpleconceptofracingonjetskiswascomplicatedbychangingwavepatterns,swells,andrisingtides,andNintendoaddeditstrademarkdepthtobroadenanddeepentheuniqueracer".[33]In2006,NintendoPowerplacedWaveRace64at127thinits"Top200"gameslist.[34]Asequel,WaveRace:BlueStorm,wasreleasedin2001.[35] WaveRace64wasreleasedinChinafortheiQuePlayerconsolein2003.[36]A1-hourdemoofthegamewasalsoincludedwiththeconsole.[37]OnAugust6,2007,thegamewasreleasedontheWii'sVirtualConsole.[38]UnliketheNintendo64version,theVirtualConsolereleasedoesnotfeatureKawasakibannersduetoexpiredlicensingdeals.[38]ThesewerereplacedbyWiiandNintendoDSadvertisements.[38]WhenthegamewasreleasedontheWiiU'sVirtualConsolein2016,theKawasakibannerswererestored.[39]TheVirtualConsoleversionsofthegameweregenerallyverywellreceived,withreviewersconsideringthegametobejustasmuchfunasitwasontheNintendo64.[38][40][39] CodemastersproducerGuyWildaycitedWaveRace64asakeyinfluenceinthedesignoftheir1998racinggameColinMcRaeRally.AccordingtoWilday,WaveRace64is"afineexampleofagamewithrealisticphysicsandanincrediblywellbalancedcontrolsystem.Thegameiseasytopickupandplaybutitisonlyafterplayingitforsometimethatyoustarttounderstandtheadditionalnuancesofthecontrols.Initiallyit'sjustaboutgoingleftorright,butlateryoustarttousetheweightoftheridertofine-tunethemovementofthejetskiinthecornersandoverthewaves.Ilovedthefactthatthisgamewaseasilyaccessiblebuthadthatgreaterdepthformorehardcoreplayers—thiswasakeydesigngoalfor[ColinMcRaeRally]".[41] Notes[edit] ^Japanese:ウエーブレース64,Hepburn:UēbuRēsuRokujūyon References[edit] ^abcdefPerry,Doug(November15,1996)."WaveRace64".IGN.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonOctober15,2016.RetrievedJune28,2017. ^abcdefgNicholson,Zy(May1997)."WaveRace64".N64Magazine.No. 2.FuturePublishing.pp. 28–39. ^abcdefgh"GameModes".WaveRace64(Instructionbooklet).Redmond,Washington:NintendoofAmerica.1996.pp. 8–16.NUS-NWRE-USA. ^"UsingtheNintendo64ControllerPak".WaveRace64(Instructionbooklet).Redmond,Washington:NintendoofAmerica.1996.pp. 18–19.NUS-NWRE-USA. ^ab"ShigeruMiyamotoRelatedProjects".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 171.EMAP.February1996.p. 20. ^"What'sNextforShigeruMiyamoto?".NextGeneration.No. 26.ImagineMedia.February1997.p. 144.ShigeruMiyamoto:Well,youcantellthatWaveRace64isacompletelydifferentgamefromtheoriginalGameBoyversion. ^abcdPeckham,Matt(February6,2017)."ShinyaTakahashiIsthe'Conductor'TakingNintendointotheFuture".Time.com.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJuly1,2017.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^"WhatnextfromShigeruMiyamoto?HowaboutaWaveRacethen!".Maximum:TheVideoGameMagazine.No. 3.EMAP.January1996.p. 108. ^"MiyamotoSpeaks".NintendoPower.No. 89.NintendoofAmerica.October1996.pp. 64–67. ^"HowRareRuledTheN64".RetroGamer.No. 153.ImaginePublishing.April2016.pp. 76–85. ^"NGAlphas:WaveRace64".NextGeneration.No. 23.ImagineMedia.November1996.pp. 155–156. ^ab"Beefed-upNintendogetsbackintothevideogamefray".TheBaltimoreSun.September28,1996.p. 54.RetrievedSeptember18,2021–viaNewspapers.com. ^ab"WaveRace64KawasakiJetSki".Garaph.info.December23,1996.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMarch3,2016.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^abcd"WaveRace64".Edge.No. 39.FuturePublishing.December1996.pp. 66–68. ^ab"WaveRace64HitstheStands".IGN.November4,1996.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJuly3,2017.RetrievedJuly2,2017. ^"Nintendo64:GamesComingSoon".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 184.EMAP.March1997.p. 62. ^"RumblePakBringsBuzztoWaveRace,Mario64".IGN.July31,1997.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJuly3,2017.RetrievedJuly1,2017. ^ab"WaveRace64forNintendo64".Metacritic.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonSeptember14,2016.RetrievedJune28,2017. ^abDavies,Jonti."WaveRace64-Review".AllGame.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonNovember14,2014.RetrievedNovember14,2014. ^abHuhtala,Alex(June1997)."WaveRace64".ComputerandVideoGames.No. 187.EMAP.pp. 58–59. ^abc"TeamEGMBoxScores:Waverace[sic]64".ElectronicGamingMonthly.No. 88.ZiffDavis.November1996.p. 277. ^abcLucas,Victor(November29,1996)."WaveRace64".TheElectricPlayground.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJanuary6,2002.RetrievedJanuary6,2002. ^ab"WaveRace64".GameInformer.November1,1996.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJanuary14,2001.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^abcdeRubenstein,Glenn(December1,1996)."WaveRace64Review".GameSpot.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJune28,2017.RetrievedJune28,2017. ^ab"RealSwell".NextGeneration.No. 25.ImagineMedia.January1997.p. 168. ^"DiddyMakesNintendoProud".GameSpot.December9,1997.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonFebruary26,2000. ^"USPlatinumVideogameChart".TheMagicBox.December27,2007.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJanuary1,2016.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^abcHendrix,Air(December1996)."WaveRace64".GamePro.No. 99.GameProMedia.p. 110. ^"TheBestof'96".ElectronicGamingMonthly.No. 92.ZiffDavis.March1997.pp. 84–90. ^"100BestGamesofAllTime".ElectronicGamingMonthly.No. 100.ZiffDavis.November1997.p. 116.Note:Contrarytothetitle,theintroductiontothearticleexplicitlystatesthatthelistcoversconsolevideogamesonly,meaningPCgamesandarcadegameswerenoteligible. ^"Top50GamesofAllTime".NextGeneration.No. 50.ImagineMedia.February1999.p. 78. ^"Top100GamesofAllTime".IGN.2003.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonFebruary2,2017.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^ab"Top100GamesofAllTime".IGN.2005.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMarch3,2016.RetrievedJuly5,2017. ^"NPTop200".NintendoPower.No. 200.NintendoofAmerica.February2006.pp. 58–66. ^MirabellaIII,Fran(November16,2001)."WaveRace:BlueStorm".IGN.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonSeptember12,2012.RetrievedJuly6,2017. ^"iQue-WaveRace".iQue.com.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMay7,2017.RetrievedJuly6,2017. ^Calvert,Justin(November13,2003)."NintendoiQuePlayerspotted".GameSpot.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonApril10,2014.RetrievedJuly6,2017. ^abcdThomas,LucasM.(August7,2007)."WaveRace64Review".IGN.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonMarch7,2014.RetrievedJuly2,2017. ^abFrear,Dave(January6,2016)."Review:WaveRace64".NintendoLife.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJanuary13,2017.RetrievedJuly6,2017. ^McFerran,Damien(August7,2007)."Review:WaveRace64".NintendoLife.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonJanuary30,2016.RetrievedJuly6,2017. ^"TheMakingOf:ColinMcRaeRally".Edge.Futureplc.February5,2010.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonOctober12,2013. Externallinks[edit] Videogamesportal Officialwebsite(inJapanese) Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wave_Race_64&oldid=1055189977" Categories:1996videogamesIQuegamesNintendo64gamesNintendoEntertainmentAnalysisandDevelopmentgamesPersonalwatercraftracingvideogamesVideogamesdevelopedinJapanVideogamesproducedbyShigeruMiyamotoVideogamesscoredbyKazumiTotakaVirtualConsolegamesforWiiVirtualConsolegamesforWiiUHiddencategories:ArticlescontainingJapanese-languagetextArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionmatchesWikidataUsemdydatesfromFebruary2019ArticlesusingInfoboxvideogameusinglocallydefinedparametersArticlesusingWikidatainfoboxeswithlocallydefinedimagesArticlesusingVideogamereviewstemplateinsingleplatformmodeGoodarticlesArticleswithJapanese-languagesources(ja) Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk Variants expanded collapsed Views ReadEditViewhistory More expanded collapsed Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages CatalàΕλληνικάEspañolFrançaisItalianoمصرىPortuguêsSvenska Editlinks