Excitebike 64 is the next big release coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, via the Nintendo 64 app.
Excitebike 64 was quite the diversion to Nintendo’s usual formula, and given how forgotten this game and the franchise it comes from has turned out, it genuinely fits the description of a hidden gem.
While the first few Excitebike games were produced by Nintendo, for its first 3D outing, they hired Left Field Productions, a California based studio who had become known at that point for their NBA Courtside games. What Left Field did was shift the perspective from Excitebike’s vertical isometric perspective, to a back view perspective, that allowed the studio to create full 3D polygonal courses, but also let you see your rider.
Excitebike 64 turned out to be very similar to its Nintendo 64 racing brethren, 1080° Snowboarding and Wave Race 64. The shift in perspective and gameplay enabled Left Field to make Excitebike even more arcadey than before. It became one of those Nintendo 64 games that justified your purchase of the system, with its four player split screen multiplayer.
Excitebike 64 also added in several modes, a track editor, the original Excitebike game, and even a 3D version of that original Excitebike. And yes, you could save those tracks for a total of 16 tracks per Memory Pak.
We don’t know if this version of Excitebike 64 will let you share your tracks online, but there’s a huge possibility that it could. That’s because Nintendo revealed this rerelease will have online multiplayer.
While Excitebike 64 definitely has its fans, it also arrived quite late to the Nintendo 64’s lifetime, well after the release of the Dreamcast and close to the release of the PlayStation 2. So it’s highly likely that even gamers old enough to remember this game let it pass by. If you’re one of those gamers, but you do have fond memories of the Nintendo 64’s other racers, here’s your chance to give it that second chance.
Interestingly enough, Nintendo may have done something different with this release. Their new trailer for this Nintendo Switch release shows the original US Excitebike 64 box cover, and it still includes the original BMX licensees.
To elaborate that’s Bell and Shoei helmets, THOR (AKA Torsten Hallman Original Racewear), and bike manufacturers Scott USA and FMF. So does this mean the original licensed bikes and equipment will be in the game too? To be fair, it may not have been that pricey for Nintendo to get these licenses, or at least permission.
Excitebike 64 releases on the Nintendo Switch Nintendo 64 app on August 20, 2023. You can watch the trailer below.
