There is no way that I am about to jump online with Mario Kart 7 tonight. Why you ask? Well embarrassment for one, and I usually like to finish the single player game first to get a feel for the tracks. Oh yeah, and I don’t want to get smoked ever single race. In celebration of the launch of Mario Kart 7, this week Nintentunes will visit the wide world of racers on Nintendo consoles. If you’re expecting a surplus of Mario Kart music, you may be disappointed however. What will this weeks Nintentunes include? You’ll just have to click through to find out!
NES – Rad Racer
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g50isAvVlns[/youtube]
For a while, Rad Racer was the best racing game on the NES. Heck, many people still consider it to be the best. The music from composer Nobuo Uematsu was top notch, the game could be played in 3D, you could race a Ferrari, and the game was featured in The Wizard! I doubt Square will ever return to the Rad Racer franchise, but going back to the NES games is still pretty great.
SNES – Stunt Race FX
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6Y3zjucq4&feature=related[/youtube]
Stunt Race FX has a long history at Nintendo starting surprisingly with Star Fox. You see, Nintendo had been tinkering with the Super FX chip that was used to create polygonal 3D games on the 16-bit console with Dylan Cuthbert of Argonaut Software (now at Q-Games). After the development of Star Fox, Nintendo used the technology to create the 3D racer that was once known as FX Trax. After the development of the game a few of the employees working on the title joined Nintendo such as Giles Goddard and Colin Reed. Each have since left Nintendo, one to start his own game company and the other to join Microsoft, respectively.
N64 – Lego Racers
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvUum1rNk4&feature=related[/youtube]
High Voltage has produced its fair share of licensed products in the past, but unlike many other licensed games, most of the products in the High Voltage profile are quality products. Take Lego Racers for example. It didn’t do anything ground breaking on a gameplay standpoint, but everything it did it did well, right down to the pretty amazing soundtrack. One of the best features of Lego Racers is the ability to customize the carts and drivers using Lego bricks that can be collected by completing circuits.
Gamecube – Wave Race: Blue Storm
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWjOM9XpLD4&feature=related[/youtube]
Wave Race: Blue Storm was a launch title for the Nintendo Gamecube when it was released in 2001. At the time, no other title had water effects quite as beautiful as the Wave Race did. The game was pretty difficult compared to Wave Race 64, but I will take Blue Storm any day just because of the fantastic weather and physics effects. Aside from Super Smash Bros. Melee, Wave Race: Blue Storm is the only Gamecube launch title that I still revisit with any regularity.
Wii – Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBKO8SvHYi0&feature=related[/youtube]
While Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is not a good game by any stretch of the imagination, it was a fun weekend while it lasted. I think had the game included bongo support like it was originally intended to, the game would have been much better for it. As it is however, the game just doesn’t do it for me.
