It's no secret that the Nintendo 64 launch lineup was disappointing, to say the least. Sure, Super Mario 64 is one of the most beloved and influential titles of all time, and Pilotwings 64 provided a decent amount of fun as well, but variety was desperately lacking. With only 2 titles available at time of release, and only a few more coming until the end of the year, it was pivotal to Nintendo that they released quality and diverse titles to entice consumers to take a chance on the system. It's worth mentioning that at this point, both the Playstation and the Sega Saturn had been on shelves for 2 years already, so it was extra important that the N64's next title was quality. And so it was; a few months later, a sequel to a 1992 Game Boy game called Wave Race would reach the console. And, following the naming convention of previous Nintendo titles on the system, this one was called Wave Race 64.

With the 5th generation of consoles being focused primarily on 3D graphics, it was inevitable that racing games would take the reins as a popular genre to develop. So to release Wave Race 64 as the first racer on the console-before Mario Kart 64, even-was a bold decision to say the least. It relies neither on convention nor brand appeal; most racing games at this time were of the car variety, and the first Wave Race wasn't particularly popular or notable enough to garner a returning fanbase. And its that context which makes WR64 all the more impressive. Highly focused on realistic water physics, Wave Race 64 does something that practically no games did at the time, and many still don't do today. The base mechanics of this game just makes it feel excellent to play. Most racing games put you up against AI controller opponents, but in this one, your main opponent feels like the environment, which is a really unique and interesting concept. Every wave, ebb and flow, crest and trough you encounter will affect your jetski differently, and your movement quickly becomes instinctive as you learn when to ride the wave and when to face it head on. The jetski moves and reacts just like how you'd expect it to, which is why the controls feel so intuitive. The game looks great, too; wave patterns and obstacles are easy to identify, and the game's overall colorful and vibrant palate give it the looks of an arcade racer while retaining the feel of a competitive one. Even for a late N64 title, WR64 would be impressive; that it was the 3rd release on the console is incredible.

The main gameplay mode of Wave Race 64 is racing, of course, formatted into a points-based championship. Here it introduces another interesting mechanic in the slalom-like buoys. Each course has a couple layouts of buoys, depending on difficulty level, which you must either pass by on the left or the right side in order to gain maximum speed. If you miss one, you'll lose your speed bonus, and if you miss too many, you'll be disqualified. This creates a situation where you're always on the lookout for buoys to intentionally miss, and see which shortcuts are worth losing speed for, which adds a bit of replayability and discovery to what is usually a relatively consistent genre. The difficulty curve here is pretty well balanced, too; races start out on calm waters with easy pathways, with conditions becoming more perilous as difficulty is increased. The main issue with this mode is the presence of other racers; no doubt it's meant to offer a challenge, but the game's collision physics are a bit wonky, and you'll often find that while you might be sent flying from your jetski after taking too sharp a turn, AI opponents can crash directly into you and keep going on their merry way. You can also sometimes get stuck on opponents or other obstacles, which can end up taking you places you don't want to go. Obstacles and buoys are a little inconsistent too; sometimes it feels like the same path which would have you narrowly avoid an obstacle one time would have you collide with it the next.

If Wave Race 64 does have a flaw, though, it's that there's just not enough of it to go around. The 8 race tracks are generally well designed and look great, but Mario Kart 64 would double that number of courses earlier the next year. Time trial mode and the stunt modes are fine, but they only really serve as diversions from tournament mode. Even multiplayer is lacking a bit, only offering two player support, as opposed to the four player support which would become the N64's bread and butter. Of course, a lot of these faults are due to the resources required for the wave physics and visuals, but it still feels a bit lacking on the content side. What is there, though, is surprisingly stellar, and although the playthrough time is short, it's a really fun game to master. It performs and controls great, and it remains one of the best aged titles from the N64 era. For the few short hours you get out of it, you're not likely to find a much better contemporary racing game than this.