Wave Race 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996) - Japanese Version

Product Specs

Description

The history behind Wave Race 64 is a little strange. The game originally debuted on videotape at the annual Shoshinkai show in Japan in November 1995. The version shown at the show featured boats and not jet skis -- somewhat like F-Zero on water. The boats had retractable "wings," races took place along rivers, and there were huge jumps in the game. Well, at the annual E3 show in May 1996, Nintendo had a surprise for us: The game now had jet skis and took place in the open ocean, which caused quite a stir among the gaming population. So Wave Race 64 is a 3D racing game featuring jet skis. The action takes place from a behind-the-jet-ski view. The game features random wave effects that are calculated in real-time. And the waves actually affect the gameplay rather than just serving as eye-candy. Hydro action comes in four options: Championship, which pits one player against three computer riders across a racing circuit; Time Attack, which lets you race solo for the best possible time; Score Attack, which gives you the opportunity to pull off stunts for points; and Two-Player VS, which is a one-on-one battle for supremacy. The Japanese and American versions do differ in one noticeable area. Obviously, nearly all the text is in Japanese. But, interestingly, the announcer speaks English even in the Japanese version (the training course, Dolphin Park, being the exception). The announcer did change a little, with the addition and removal of some phrases, from the Japanese to the American version, however. Additionally, there are a few outside vendor advertisements in the Japanese version that have been removed in the American version.