Excitebike
Encyclopedia
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
racing
Racing game
A racing video game is a genre of video games, either in the first-person or third-person perspective, in which the player partakes in a racing competition with any type of land, air, or sea vehicles. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to entirely fantastical settings...
video game franchise made by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. It first debuted as a game for the Famicom
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in Japan in 1984 and as a launch title
Launch title
A launch game, or launch title, is a video game released to consumers synchronously with the release of its respective video game console, meaning they are the only available games at the time of the console's launch. Several of these games are also packaged with the console...
for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in 1985. It is the first game of the Excite series, succeeded by its direct sequel Excitebike 64
Excitebike 64
is a video game published by Nintendo and developed by Left Field Productions. It was initally released in North America on April 30, 2000 for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is the second installment in the Excitebike series, but is the first 3D game in the series. It is the sequel to the...
, its spiritual successors Excite Truck
Excite Truck
is a video game published by Nintendo and developed by Monster Games for the Wii video game system. It features malleable environments and tilt-based controls. The game was one of the Wii launch titles in North America. It is a spiritual successor to the Excitebike series...
and Excitebots: Trick Racing
Excitebots: Trick Racing
Excitebots: Trick Racing is a racing video game published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It was developed by Monster Games, is the fourth game in the Excitebike series and is the sequel to Excite Truck. Excitebots was unveiled in a release list from Nintendo of America on February 26,...
, and the WiiWare
WiiWare
WiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
title Excitebike: World Rally
Excitebike: World Rally
Excitebike: World Rally received mixed to positive reviews, which the game hold's a score of 72% on Game Rankings and a score of 70/100 on Metacritic...
. 3D Classics: Excitebike, a 3D remake of the original game, was free for a limited time to promote the launch of the Nintendo eShop
Nintendo eShop
The Nintendo eShop is an online service for the Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming system. Launched on June 6, 2011 in North America and June 7, 2011 in Europe and Japan, the eShop was enabled by the release of a system update that added the functionality to the 3DS' Home Menu...
in June 2011, and has since been available for $5.99.
Gameplay
Whether the player chooses to race solo or against computer-assisted riders, they race against a certain time limit. The goal is to qualify for the Excitebike (the championship) race by coming in at third place or above in the challenge race (preliminary race). The times to beat are located on the stadium walls (for first place) and in the lower left corner (for third place). In any race, the best time is 8 seconds ahead of third place. When the player places first, then they get a message: "It's a new record!" Additional points are earned by beating the previously-set record time.The player controls the position of the red motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
with the Y-axis of the directional pad, and controls acceleration with the A and B buttons. Using B causes greater acceleration, but also increases the motorcycle's temperature shown as a bar at the bottom of the screen. When the temperature exceeds safe limits the bar becomes full, the player will be immobilized for several seconds while the bike cools down. Driving over an arrow will immediately reduce the bike's temperature.
The pitch of the motorcycle can be modified with the X-axis of the directional pad, left raises the front, while right lowers the front. In the air, this rotates the bike, but can also be used to create wheelies on the ground. The up and down arrows turn the handlebar left and right, respectively when the bike is on the ground.
At the start of the game, the player can choose one of five tracks in which to race.
Modes
ExciteBike has three modes of gameplay. In Selection A, the player races solo. In Selection B, CPU players join the player. They act as another obstacle; hitting one from the back will cause the player to fall off the bike, while any CPU riders hitting the player's rear wheel will cause them to fall off.In Design Mode, the player has the ability to build his or her own racing tracks. The player can choose hills and obstacles of various sizes and place them. The player can also choose where to finish the lap, and how many laps there are (up to nine). After it is finished, the player can race the track in either Selection A or Selection B.
The Japanese version of the game allowed saving the player-created tracks to cassette tape, requiring the Famicom Data Recorder
Famicom Data Recorder
Famicom Data Recorder HVC-008 is a compact cassette data interface for the Family Computer.-History:Manufactured by Matsushita/Panasonic for Nintendo, the Drive was released in 1984 only in Japan as an addition to the Family BASIC Keyboard to save data from BASIC programs created by users...
peripheral (basically the Famicom equivalent of the C-64's Datassette
Datassette
The Commodore 1530 Datasette , was Commodore's dedicated computer tape drive.It provided access to an inexpensive storage medium for Commodore's 8-bit home/personal computers, notably the PET, VIC-20, and C64...
). Since this peripheral was only available in Japan (intended for use with Nintendo's Family BASIC), track saving was effectively unavailable to American and European players even though there are "save" and "load" options present within the in-game menus of those versions (the game's English manual states that "Save and Load menu selections are not operable in this game; they have been programmed in for potential product developments.") These options were programmed out of the e-Reader version of the game.
Unlike Wrecking Crew
Wrecking Crew (video game)
is a action game developed and published by Nintendo. It was designed by Yoshio Sakamoto and released as a launch title for the Nintendo Entertainment System.-Gameplay:...
, Excitebike was never re-released for the Famicom Disk System in its original form. Subsequently, courses created within the version available on the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
release in all regions can actually be saved to the Wii's internal memory.
Vs. Excitebike
Excitebike was enhanced in two different versions, both titled Vs. Excitebike.The first version was released for arcades
Video arcade
An amusement arcade or video arcade is a venue where people play arcade games such as video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers , or coin-operated billiards or air hockey tables...
in 1984, some time after the Famicom release. The game was based around the VS. Unisystem unit. It is similar to its NES counterpart, though this version has the Design option gone and in the main game there are three difficulty levels (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced), and the levels are arranged in a different setup: there are seven tracks that must be played twice, the first time as a challenge race, and the second time as an Excitebike race. Whereas the challenge race has no CPU bikers as obstacles, in the Excitebike race mode they appear. Also the position qualify will rise to the 5th place, which means the player must clear the track in that position or higher to advance.
The second was released for the Famicom Disk System
Famicom Disk System
The was released on February 21, 1986 by Nintendo as a peripheral for the Family Computer console in Japan. It was a unit that used proprietary floppy disks for data storage. It was announced, but never released, for the North American Nintendo Entertainment System...
peripheral in 1988. While the graphics and core gameplay are still the same, there are several differences between this version, and both the original and its arcade namesake:
- The game features a versus mode known as "Vs. Excite", in which two players compete for winning. The options include maximum number for rounds for deciding a winner, the track in which the players will race on, and the number of laps for said track.
- The music is completely different; none of the songs from the original game are present in this version.
- The "Original Excite" mode is based on the main mode of the arcade version.
- Its rewritable disk format also allows the player to save created tracks.
Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium
is a video game for the SatellaviewSatellaview
The is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The...
(available only in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
), and a remake of this game. Unlike the original Excitebike, the human racers have been replaced by Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, Luigi
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
, Princess Peach
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
, Wario
Wario
is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario series. The character was designed as another antagonist to Mario , and first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy title Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins as the main antagonist and final boss...
, Toad
Toad (Mario)
Toad, known in Japan as , is a fictional character belonging to an anthropomorphic mushroom-like species of the same name in the Mario series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. A citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom, Toad is one of Princess Peach's most loyal attendants and is constantly working on her behalf...
, and some of Bowser
King Bowser
Bowser, also known as King Koopa, is a video game character and the primary antagonist of Nintendo's Mario series. In Japan, the character is known as and bears the title of ....
's Koopa Troopas. The concept of the game was unchanged except for a "SUPER" mode where the player has unlimited turbo, as well as the addition of coins. The coins are spread out on the courses and increase top speed.
Other ports and remakes
The original Excitebike has appeared on a number of gaming platforms since its debut in 1984.- A version of the game was released for the Japan-only NEC PC-8801NEC PC-8801The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
and Sharp X1Sharp X1The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
by Hudson SoftHudson Soft, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
in 1985. - Players can unlock the title on the Nintendo 64Nintendo 64The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
sequel game Excitebike 64Excitebike 64is a video game published by Nintendo and developed by Left Field Productions. It was initally released in North America on April 30, 2000 for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is the second installment in the Excitebike series, but is the first 3D game in the series. It is the sequel to the...
. - Players can unlock the title (one of several bonus NES games included) on the GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
game Animal CrossingAnimal CrossingThe Animal Crossing games have garnered positive response. The first three games are among the best-selling for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing has sold 2.321 million copies; Wild World 10.79 million; and City Folk 3.38 million...
. - In 2003, it was released as a five E-card set game, entitled Excitebike-e, for the now-discontinued e-Reader, a device for the Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
used for scanning special "e-Cards" to play games, obtain information, or unlock special content. - In 2004, it was released as part of the Game Boy Advance Classic NES SeriesClassic NES SeriesThe Classic NES Series in North America are a series of Game Boy Advance games that were originally released on the Nintendo Entertainment System emulated on the Game Boy Advance...
. This version is the first non-Japan version to allow the player to save their tracks, although this port only has one savable track. - The game was added to the European Virtual ConsoleVirtual consoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on February 16, 2007, the same day its spiritual successor, Excite Truck, was released there. The game was added to the North American Virtual ConsoleVirtual consoleA virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
on March 19, 2007. - The Nintendo DSi and 3DS includes an Excitebike visualizer that is used while playing music from your SD card on Nintendo DSi Sound or Nintendo 3DS Sound.
- Excitebike: World RallyExcitebike: World RallyExcitebike: World Rally received mixed to positive reviews, which the game hold's a score of 72% on Game Rankings and a score of 70/100 on Metacritic...
, a WiiWareWiiWareWiiWare is a service that allows Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications can only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii Shop Channel under the WiiWare section...
game, was released for download on November 9, 2009. - 3D Classics: Excitebike was released on the Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
as a launch title for the Nintendo eShop in AmericaAmericasThe Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the game was initially offered for free for a period but is now sold at £5.40 / €6.00 for European markets and $ 5.99 in the US. The game features 3D support and analog support. This release was featured amongst other games from the Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
and Super NES to be released for the 3DS on a tech demo called Classic Games at E3 2010. The game allows the player to save up to 32 custom created tracks that can be played in either 2D or 3D.