The debate on which is the best of the two classic water racing games from the Nintendo 64 era, Wave Race 64 and Wave Race: Blue Storm, has been raging for years. From game sales and online forums to fan-made polls, everyone seems to have a strong opinion on which game reigns supreme. With both games having a massive fanbase, it’s no wonder why this topic has resurfaced yet again in popular discussion. Today we will take a look at what makes each game stand out and why they have caused this heated debate to come back into mainstream discussion.
Feature Set
The core feature set for both games is essentially similar. Players race around various tracks across different environments in jet skis where they navigate around obstacles, perform tricks, and reach checkpoints before their opponents. While Wave Race featured five courses with four different difficulties each, Wave Race Blue Storm added three bonus courses unlocked through special conditions as well as time trial mode. Additionally, players could choose between seven racers with differently designed jet skis based on stats like speed and grip.
Wave Race was notable for its use of advanced water effects with real-time reflections of the surroundings on wave surfaces while featuring detailed textures and lighting effects. Meanwhile Blue Storm made use of more sophisticated wave physics as well as new tricks such as endangering opponents by splashing them with waves or creating turbulences that disrupt their speed.
Reaction
In terms of critical reception both games scored very favorably among critics with an average score of around 92%. In terms of sales however Wave Race: Blue Storm sold far better than its predecessor with nearly 3 million copies compared to Wave Races about 1 million copies worldwide. This can likely be attributed to the fact that it was released at a later point when console sales were still growing whereas Wave Race was