Thirty years after the Nintendo 64 launched, one of its forgotten racing games deserves a fresh look — and a new home on the Switch 2.
Wave Race 64 arrived just over a month after the console hit stores. It was the second entry in the franchise, following the original Game Boy game from 1992. But it felt like a whole new kind of game, one that treated water as the main character rather than a simple setting.
The Water Is the Star
Games like Cobra Triangle and Eliminator Boat Duel had already let players steer boats on the NES. But Wave Race 64 slowed things down and added courses where water moved in ways that asphalt, mud, and sand never could.
The game was built to show off the Nintendo 64’s water effects while setting itself apart from other games on the market, including 1996’s arcade racer Aqua Jet. Liquid finally had weight in 3D.
“Wave Race 64 became available to play on Switch Online on Aug. 16, 2022, for those of us with the Expansion Pack.”
Eight Courses, Three Modes
Wave Race 64 gives players three single-player modes: Championship, Time Trials, and Stunt Mode. There are only eight unique courses, but players can try mirrored versions of them on the Reverse difficulty setting by finishing the Normal, Hard, and Expert settings.
The races reward paying attention to colored buoys. Pass them on the wrong side and you lose any speed boost you’ve built up. Miss too often or stay outside the course boundaries for too long, and you’re out.
Championship races are punishing but satisfying. The water pushes you forward, so tight turns don’t work the way you’d expect. Choppy waves and obstacles like the posts in Drake Lake can reorient you at the worst moment, sending you off course.
A split-screen, 2P Vs. mode works like a match race in Super Mario Kart, letting players compete directly for bragging rights. Only courses unlocked in Championship are available in any other modes, which gives players an incentive to get good at competing against the AI.
What Happened Next
Nintendo kept the franchise alive on later hardware. Wave Race: Blue Storm was one of the best GameCube launch titles, though some critics and players felt it looked too much like its predecessor.
A Wii version was apparently planned, using motion controls. It never came to pass. Later hardware like the Wii U and Switch might have brought the same vision back with more processing power.
The Case for a Switch 2 Remake
The original game became available on Switch Online on Aug. 16, 2022, for players with the Expansion Pack. But the piece argues for more — a full remake on the most powerful hardware Nintendo has ever produced.
Wave Race 64 captured the hearts of an entire generation of players. Its water physics and buoy-based design made it stand out in 1996, and the core of the game remains solid enough to justify a fresh version.
The piece draws on personal memories of playing the game by the hour, renting consoles at the local video store. That warmth is part of the pitch for bringing it back.
Wave Race 64 helped put the Nintendo 64 on the map. Thirty years later, the time feels right for an overdue update to the franchise.
KEY FACTS
– Launch: Nintendo 64 — Sept. 29, 1996
– Wave Race 64 release: Just over a month later
– Courses: 8 unique, plus mirrored Reverse versions
– Switch Online availability: Aug. 16, 2022
– Expansion Pack required: Yes
The game’s water physics and buoy-based design still hold up. A Switch 2 remake would let a new generation of players learn those same lessons the writer learned as a teenager, renting by the hour.
See the video the story is built around at Polygon.
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