Cruis'n USA is one of my all time favorite racing games despite some obvious glaring issues and shortcomings that the Nintendo 64 version had versus the original arcade game, in addition to other shortcomings that are just naturally part of the game itself regardless of platform.
What I always enjoyed about Cruis'n USA (and the Cruis'n series in general) is that it doesn't take itself seriously and goes all-in in the concept of being an arcade game with unrealistic features (i.e. being able to drive a school bus and being able to keep up pace and compete with exotic sport cars like Ferraris).
I also thought that the premise of the game was always fun and interesting: you literally have to cruise across the USA through different states starting in the west coast and ending the process on the east coast. Levels feature landmarks that pertain to their location. Graphics are nowhere near as good as the arcade version and in a way are somewhat disappointing but this is after all an early life cycle Nintendo 64 port game. Soundtrack was good and I enjoyed being able to switch tracks while driving.
The high score for this review stems more from a personal experience of what the game meant for me at the time and just how much fun I had with the concept and premise all while exploring the new Nintendo 64 hardware which was able to bring us these types of arcade ports that, while far from perfect, delivered a good experience for console users at home.
What I always enjoyed about Cruis'n USA (and the Cruis'n series in general) is that it doesn't take itself seriously and goes all-in in the concept of being an arcade game with unrealistic features (i.e. being able to drive a school bus and being able to keep up pace and compete with exotic sport cars like Ferraris).
I also thought that the premise of the game was always fun and interesting: you literally have to cruise across the USA through different states starting in the west coast and ending the process on the east coast. Levels feature landmarks that pertain to their location. Graphics are nowhere near as good as the arcade version and in a way are somewhat disappointing but this is after all an early life cycle Nintendo 64 port game. Soundtrack was good and I enjoyed being able to switch tracks while driving.
The high score for this review stems more from a personal experience of what the game meant for me at the time and just how much fun I had with the concept and premise all while exploring the new Nintendo 64 hardware which was able to bring us these types of arcade ports that, while far from perfect, delivered a good experience for console users at home.