Genre: Racing
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

There is a real shock factor when beholding Wave Race 64-- "How in the world is the Nintendo 64 doing this?" The way the polygonal waves rise, crest, fall, and smash under, over, and all around the player's jet ski is beyond belief. The placid, reflective lake stage with its flocks of ducks flying around is a real highlight, as is the stormy industrial zone. The animations, especially when one of the riders wipes out, is incredible. The menu system looks somewhat basic, but taking back seat to the mind boggling in-race graphics is just fine.

The MIDI-esque soundtrack in this game is mostly upbeat and happy, lending lots of optimistic energy to the frenzied and dramatic races, including a very memorable theme song. At the same time, some of the tunes are also moody and have a strong rock vibe. There is an ever-present announcer who cajoles the player-- but who also serves a clever functional role, indicating to the player how he is doing, allowing him to keep his eyes on the action versus glancing at the HUD.

Wave Race 64 involves accelerating and turning-- that's it. And yet the gameplay feels deep, because the craft rotates when the analog stick is turned, allowing the player to constantly tweak the angle of reentry into the water, as the jet ski is continuously jounced into the air by the waves. The analog sensitivity is perfect-- making tiny adjustments is key to maintaining control. There are nine courses, but they somehow feel less than that, as they aren't particularly difficult to learn and master. The bouys are occasionally positioned in annoying areas, and sometimes the AI characters will crash into the player unexpectedly from off-screen, causing a costly spill. Also, the cups require sitting through seven, eight, or even nine races in a row, which is a bit too much.

Out of the entire Nintendo 64 launch window, Wave Race 64 is the most incredible graphical showcase of the bunch. It has wonderful art direction, an excellent soundtrack, carefully crafted controls, and really makes an impression overall. The downside is that it feels a little content light: this reviewer plowed through the entire three difficulties in a day, setting all of the best time trial data in the process, leaving only the side "stunt mode". Back in the day this was probably more of a rental than a buy, especially with how expensive Nintendo 64 games were.