Excitebike

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Excitebike
Arcade system
Nintendo VS. System

Excitebike

launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System later that year, becoming one of the best-selling games
on the console. It is the first game in the Excite series.

Designed and directed by

accelerating
from a walk to a run, rather than move at a constant speed.

Excitebike was a critical and commercial success. It spawned several sequels and has been re-released multiple times onto other Nintendo platforms, such the Wii and Wii U Virtual Consoles, and Nintendo Switch Online.

Gameplay

The player jumps high above the computer racers.

Excitebike is a

racing game in which the player takes control of a motocross racer. The two gameplay modes are Selection A as a solo race run, and Selection B against computer-controlled opponents. The objective of the game is to finish in third place or higher in a preliminary race to qualify for the Excitebike championship race.[4] The A button accelerates the bike, and the B button activates a turbo boost that enhances the bike's speed, but overheats the engine if it is used for too long, forcing an immobile cooldown period.[5] The engine's temperature can be reset by driving over arrows located along the course.[4] The player can use the directional pad to shift between lanes, and to shift the racer's balance midair after a jump.[5] Landing squarely on both wheels allows the racer to maintain momentum, but an uneven landing will result in a loss of speed or a crash.[4] Design Mode allows players to create tracks using 19 types of hurdles,[6] with options to save and load created tracks for the Famicom Data Recorder tape drive, which was unreleased outside Japan.[7]

Other releases

Vs. Excitebike

There are two enhanced versions, both titled Vs. Excitebike.

The first version was released on

arcades
in 1984, after the Famicom release. It is similar to its Famicom Disk System counterpart, though this version lacks the Design option, has three difficulty levels, and has other minor differences.

The second was released for the Famicom Disk System peripheral in 1988. The graphics and core gameplay are still the same, and the FDS version has several distinctive features that the NES and arcade versions lack:

  • "Vs. Excite" mode puts two players competing against each other. The options include the maximum number of rounds to play, the track, and the number of laps.
  • The music is completely different; none of the songs from the original game are present, and it has a gameplay theme. The music is composed by Soyo Oka.[8]
  • The "Original Excite" mode is based on the main mode of the arcade version, with minor differences such as a different color palette.
  • Its writable disk format can save created tracks.

Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium

Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium,

Koopa Troopas
. The concept was unchanged except for a "SUPER" mode where the player has unlimited turbo, and coins spread across the courses to increase top speed.

Re-releases

Excitebike can be unlocked in Excitebike 64, which was released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. It is also one of several unlockable NES games in Animal Crossing for the GameCube, released in 2001. The Nintendo 64 version restores the Save and Load functionality in Design mode, though it is limited to saving one custom track on the Game Pak, while the Animal Crossing version can be transferred to the Game Boy Advance by using a link cable. Excitebike was also released for the Game Boy Advance in the form of e-Reader cards, and later as a Game Pak for the Classic NES Series.

Excitebike was added to the European

Super NES to be released for the 3DS on a tech demo called Classic Games at E3 2010.[13][14] It allows the player to save up to 32 custom created tracks that can be played in either 2D or 3D.[15]

Excitebike is one of the 30 games available on the NES Classic Edition, released by Nintendo on November 11, 2016.[16] Excitebike was released on the Nintendo Switch in the Nintendo eShop on September 21, 2018, by Hamster Corporation as part of the Arcade Archives series.[17]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed VS. Excitebike on its January 15, 1985, issue as the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

arcade system game of 1985, below Nintendo's Hogan's Alley.[31]

The game has received generally positive reviews.

GamesRadar ranked it as the 12th best game on the NES Classic Edition, saying that it has aged well with "a great sense of speed while driving and an excellent sense of balance while jumping and landing".[33] Game Informer ranked the game 44 on its top 100 games of all time.[34]

Kotaku editor Jason Schreier ranked it as the worst game on the NES Classic Edition, calling it "a truly awful video game" but with no explanation.[35]

Legacy

The

accelerate from a walk to a run, rather than move at a constant speed like in earlier platformers.[39]

Excitebike spawned several sequels, including Excitebike 64 (2000), Excite Truck (2006), Excitebots: Trick Racing (2009), and the WiiWare game Excitebike: World Rally (2009). An Excitebike-themed track is downloadable content in Mario Kart 8 and is available by default in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.[7] A group of Excitebike racers cameo as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: エキサイトバイク, Hepburn: Ekisaitobaiku
  2. ^ Japanese: エキサイトバイク ぶんぶんマリオバトルスタジアム, Hepburn: Ekisaito Baiku: Bunbun Mario Batoru Sutajiamu

References

  1. ^ "Excitebike (Registration Number PA0000254906)". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  2. ISBN 978-4990251215
    .
  3. ISBN 978-4990251215
    .
  4. ^ a b c Nintendo 1985, pp. 5–9.
  5. ^ a b Nintendo 1985, pp. 3–4.
  6. ^ Nintendo 1985, pp. 9–12.
  7. ^
    ISBN 9781526737809
    .
  8. ^ Oka, Soyo (March 2011). Greening, Chris (ed.). "Game Music :: Interview with Soyo Oka (March 2011)" (Interview). Interviewed by Chris Greening, Dave Harris. Trans. & local. Ben Schweitzer, Shota Nakama. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Three new releases for Virtual Console". N-Sider.com. March 19, 2007. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  10. ^ "Excitebike". www.nintendo.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  11. ^ "3D Classics Excitebike". Nintendo of Europe. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  12. ^ "3D Classics Excitebike". Nintendo of America. Retrieved August 10, 2011.
  13. ^ Stephen Totilo (June 18, 2010). "Mega Man 2, Yoshi's Island Among Teased 3DS Sorta-Remakes". Kotaku.com. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  14. ^ Craig Harris (June 15, 2010). "E3 2010: Classic NES in 3D! - Nintendo 3DS Feature at IGN". Ds.ign.com. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  15. ^ "3D Classics Excitebike Will Be Free in North America - News". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  16. ^ Paul, Ian (July 14, 2016). "Nintendo's releasing a miniature NES console packed with 30 classic games". Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  17. ^ Lane, Gavin (March 13, 2020). "Guide: Every Arcade Archives Game On Nintendo Switch, Plus Our Top Picks". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  18. 1up. Archived from the original
    on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  19. AllGame. Archived from the original
    on November 14, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  20. ^ a b Miller, Skyler. "Excitebike - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  21. EMAP
    . pp. 134–5.
  22. ^ "Complete Games Guide" (PDF). Computer and Video Games (Complete Guide to Consoles): 46–77. October 16, 1989.
  23. ^ Gerstmann, Jeff (April 6, 2004). "Classic NES Series: Excitebike". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 10, 2004. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  24. ^ Harris, Craig (June 4, 2004). "Classic NES Series: Excitebike". IGN. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  25. ^ a b Birnbaum, Mark (March 21, 2007). "Excitebike Review". IGN. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  26. ^ "Classic NES Series: Excitebike". Metacritic. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  27. Computer Gamer
    . No. 6. pp. 18–9. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  28. ^ Lewin, Gene (June 15, 1985). "Gene's Gudgements" (PDF). Play Meter. Vol. 11, no. 11. pp. 38–9.
  29. ^ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 - テーブル型TVゲーム機 (Table Videos)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 252. Amusement Press, Inc. January 15, 1985. p. 27.
  30. ^ "RePlay: The Players' Choice". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 3. December 1985. p. 4.
  31. ^ "1985 Operator Survey: This Poll Says Go Gettum!". RePlay. Vol. 11, no. 2. November 1985. pp. 91–102 (94).
  32. ^ "Top 100 NES Games". ign.com. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  33. ^ Trinske, Connor (December 19, 2016). "The Best (And Worst) Games on the NES Classic Edition". Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  34. ^ Cork, Jeff. "Game Informer's Top 100 Games Of All Time (Circa Issue 100)". Game Informer. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  35. ^ Schreier, Jason (November 10, 2016). "All 30 NES Classic Games, Ranked". Kotaku. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  36. 1UP.com. Archived
    from the original on January 5, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
  37. ISBN 978-1-4766-4176-8
    .
  38. Nintendo Channel
    . Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  39. ISBN 978-1-317-50381-1
    .

Bibliography

External links

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