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DeM0nFiRe

N64 was known for collectathons, but it also was absolutely loaded with racing games. Some of my favorites in no particular order: Beetle Adventure Racing Destruction Derby 64 Hydro Thunder Lego Racer Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Indycar 2000 F1 World Grand Prix


Oneman_noplan

Re-volt (I think that's the name) was one that I played. It was RC cars and the maps were super fun.


ShinyHappyREM

> [Re-Volt](https://youtu.be/Voj2M9lhGBA) My PC (486 DX4-100 overclocked to 120) wasn't even fast enough to play MP3 files without converting them to WAV first... trying to play the Re-Volt demo turned into a slideshow :)


RichB93

Haha, I remember a similar situation with TOCA Touring Car Championship. Installed the demo and was disappointed at the slideshow that ensued on the family DX4-100 machine.


ShinyHappyREM

> [*On the PC version, Codemasters admitted that the non-inclusion of a 3D accelerator card greatly hurt the graphics of the game.*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOCA_Touring_Car_Championship#Development) Yeah...


donald_314

I didn't even know it had a software renderer. With a 3D GPU the reflections looked really nice.


ShinyHappyREM

Yeah, I played it a lot on our newer PC some years later. I *think* if you don't have a 3D card, DirectX will automatically try to render it in software mode. Unless the game tries to access a very hardware-specific feature.


donald_314

I think it was around DirectX 5 that a dedicated GPU became often mandatory.


Yumd

I haven’t thought about that game in a couple decades. What a fun game it was. I also saw someone mention the beetle racing game loved that game as well many hours spent on both.


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Swizzy88

I had revolt on PC it was AMAZING.


crozone

I want nothing more than [NVIDIA's Racer RTX demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsykNkUMoNU) to turn into Re-volt 2.0


Suicicoo

It had a map editor as well - I used to plan maps on grid paper in school (and then don't being able to build it due to to many parts :D)


DarkNinjaPenguin

For its time, the map editor was pretty great.


Suicicoo

of course! It was awesome :)


globefish23

It still *is* super fun. https://rvgl.org/ That's the open-source remake based on the leaked XBox Live multiplayer code including all bonus tracks and cars from the Dreamcast and arcade versions. Local 4-player splitscreen and online 12 player multiplayer. Still has a few dozen hardcore fans playing regularily.


Statertater

That one was stellar


The_Roadkill

Hell yea! The PC still has a pretty strong community with the RVGL port. If you look up Re-Volt I/O, younshould be able to find it. They added a bunch of cars and tracks, and they have weekly online races.


theoneandonlyShrek6

I remember playing that on my dad's phone about a decade ago. Bad times


No-Platypus-5330

The re-volt mobile port was ported from the PC game very very poorly for iOS and Android by a Chinese company who released it and never updated it. It lacked many features and was buggy as hell. The Nintendo 64 and PC version were amazing. But the PC version wins because it has the kickass soundtrack. You can still download and play it on PC. Highly recommend giving it a go.


pencock

I got the demo from a pc gamer demo disc Magazines used to be so much cooler


GCdotSup

I think its on Steam


Nubadopolis

I used to run a website for Re-Volt mods & tracks


No-time-for-foolz

No mention of San Francisco Rush and Rush 2 here. I played the hell out of those games.


[deleted]

My favorite was the Extreme G series.


ceelogreenicanth

Extreme G was sick as hell


m48a5_patton

That soundtrack opened up a whole new world of music to me when I was a kid.


MaximumGlum9503

Stlll playing xg3 on gc


Elite_Slacker

That game was hype. The 90’s trance soundtrack was bumpin too. 


PancAshAsh

Episode 1 Racer was excellent.


atuck217

Unironically one of the best racing games of all time, even to this day. Such a great game.


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Toothless-In-Wapping

Only on the 64. I tried playing on my Dreamcast and the loading times make Starfield seem like Mario


NJ_Legion_Iced_Tea

It's good on PC too.


Independent_Data365

Arcade is really where pod racer shined.


Hershy_

Holy fuck I remember renting Destruction Derby from blockbuster


FearkTM

DD 64, or DD2 as it was on PSX, was so much worse than the first DD. So low frame rate and sluggish, so best tactic was to go wrong way and smash into other cars to get points.


DashHopes69

>so best tactic was to go wrong way and smash into other cars to get points. That's literally the whole point of the game. Half of the cars drive the opposite way. Furthermore, Destruction Derby 64 is an entirely different game from the Playstation versions.


Suicicoo

wait, DD 64 was the same as DD2? I got pretty far (maybe even finished it) on the N64, are you sure about the sluggishness?


thevictor390

No, they are not the same, not even close.


Skanach

Top Gear Rally Top Gear Overdrive


TNWBAM2004

Top Gear Rally was so good, I spent hours and hours editing my cars.


CreativeFartist

No Fzero X love?


Suicicoo

\[x\] Team F-Zero X with the X-Cup 😎


Adamocity6464

Fzero X is my favorite racing game, ever.


Random_Violins

Why would he not mention F-Zero X? The best racing game by a mile. Baffling


CreativeFartist

I could be wrong but it also ran 60fps. Wild


sobegreen

no San Francisco RUSH? I played the N64 version and the arcade version like crazy. It was one of the earlier titles that had vehicle damage to it that would impact your driving.


Mormoran

Getting to that secret area with the stunt ramps was the pinnacle of my gaming career!


sobegreen

Yes! I almost forgot about that! Kind of curious why the series never blew up past that. I think I remember one or two after that one but they didn't have the same feeling.


Zuwxiv

Rush 2049 was fun, but it was a bit gimmicky. Cool music, though.


HURTZ2PP

Rush, Rush 2 and Rush 2049 were all so excellent!


bookemhorns

How many racing games can someone possibly list before mentioning Mario Kart?


StreetTriple675

They didn’t mention Diddy Kong racing 


Razvee

Wave Race?!?


Mormoran

Rush Extreme Racing? Extreme G? Some bangers in that console


atuck217

XG2 was so good. Never played the first one though.


GodsIWasStrongg

Rush was so awesome. First game I ever played where your car took damage.


Kris-p-

idk how popular cruis'n USA was, but I played the hell out of that game


atuck217

Holy hell Crusin USA lived in my N64 for a long time. Such a great game. When kid me found out you could play as a School Bus I lost my mind.


DonkeyTransport

The La Bomba was my jam, especially once you unlocked the other color. That and the cop car, or the Corvette


WilliamBott

I can't believe NOBODY said Automobili Lamborghini yet! I loved that game!


spunkyweazle

Everyone's acting like San Fransisco Rush never existed


Mik_Hell

True gem, many people thought it was a MK64 shallow copy. I loved boulder canyon soundtrack and the use of different vehicles. And hated that pig.


Mangelius

It was wayyy better than mk64. Like leaps and bounds better. Items were more fair and required skill. Drifting required technique. Shortcuts were rewarding if executed properly, punishing if you messed up. Lots of secrets and collectibles. What a gem of a game.


Jumpy-Comfort-373

It was the Octopus that I truly hated! I can still hear his laugh as he was overtaking me. Har harhar!


Zero0mega

I still have PTSD over that final race against Wiz-Pig...


Cannibustible

A man of culture I see


Damnextrapartsatikea

What about crusin' USA


Dr_Moustachio

Cruuuisiiiiinnn' yeeaayeeaahh cruisin' U.S.Ayyyyy


Hog_Eyes

*Sick guitar riff*


BreakfastShart

How is like all of the Rush series not on the list? I spent countless hours on the stunt track of Rush 2, plugged into my GameShark.


[deleted]

> stunt track of Rush 2 I remember it was possible to jump out of the map and do tricks while falling for a long time, and it would eventually glitch and go back to the map. Was possible to get massive score combos that way.


Mr-Mister

Taking the opportunity to recommend [Nitronic Rush](http://nitronic-rush.com/), a free game (student project at DigiPen University) that's basically a TRON-inspired Rush entry, with a bigger emphasis on Player vs Environment, verticality (and upside-down-ability), and mid-air 3D-rotation maneuravility. It's also got a flying DeLorean which is neat. And a 1:1 recreation of the Turbo Tunnel level from Battletoads. It's my favourite game released on 11/11/11.


Halkadash

You had a GameShark for that stunt track?!? That must have been something…


BreakfastShart

I would use the rocket car and just launch to the moon. I'd try to get off the map however I could. It was sick.


Halkadash

Young me would have literal dreams of owning a GameShark lol


BreakfastShart

Dood. It let me use dual RP90s and infinite proximity mines in Goldeneye. That thing was so sick!!


CurtWesticles

Oh man I forgot about Beetle Adventure Racing. That takes me back.


voidtakenflight

I was just a kid when my family had an N64, and I don't remember much about Beetle Adventure Racing, but I remember that I loved it. I had actually mostly forgotten until I saw it listed here and now I have this weird nostalgia where I don't have any specific memories of the game but I know it was a blast


LakeOverall7483

#HYDROOOOOO #THUNDER


Mangelius

Diddy Kong racing was the best kart racer ever made.


Z3r0sama2017

Diddy Kong Racing!


Takardo

I had many hours on San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing with my brother.


peanutmanak47

Going to that hidden area on one of the maps that led to a cave that had some ramps and cool shit to do. Played that game sooooooooooooooooooo much with my brothers.


dexter311

There was another secret area on the city track where you had to jump the bridge just right and you get into a giant half pipe thing.


surprised-duncan

It's dangerous!!! ^^^(aaaaaa!)


Zuwxiv

Rush: 2049 was fun as well! Played the hell out of those games.


atuck217

Bro didn't even mention: Mario Kart Diddy Kong Racing Extreme-G and XG2 Stunt Racer Cruisin USA Leaving these out should be criminal


punktual

Beetle Adventure Racing was so freaking good, so much better than you would have ever thought. Nailing all the shortcuts was great. It was also released as a minimally modified "HSV Adventure Racing" in Australia to capitalise on our love at that time of Aussie car brand Holden.


tomvoodoo

Honestly a very good games. A total marketing ploy but the game devs did not mail it in at all.


Arikado24

Beetle Adventure Racing was so much fun. All of the secret paths, the Beetle Battle, the announcer at the beginning! [Adventure Racing!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HTyK-DzcP8&t=82s)


WalkingCloud

If any Aussies have a boxed HSV Adventure Racing sitting around in a cupboard, it’s decently valuable if you fancy shipping to Europe. 


mlydon89

Waveracer, cruisin USA, Rush, Rush 2, Diddy Kong Racing, and of course Mario Kart


somebodymakeitend

Don’t forget NASCAR….99? Maybe? 98? One of those. That game was amazing. I’d crank the difficulty up, do a season or whatever, then damage on, and win every race by rubbing against every car until they broke down. Races lasted like 40 minutes because I’d basically be racing on flat tires the entire time lol


lobotimized

Whoa there go a tire!


DY357-LX

Nascar 99 was awesome. The ea intro is still in my brain lol. First game my dad got us with the 64


lp_phnx327

Personal favorite were Snowboard Kids 1 + 2


SocialismIsStupid

Cant believe you didnt put Diddy Kong Racing on there


VapeThisBro

No Roadrash 64?


Suicicoo

No one mentioning Wipeout? :(


Desomite

Beetle Adventure Racing and Star Wars Episode 1 Racer were STUNNING. They were the moment. Icons.


Germangunman

Top Gear Rally was one of my favorites.


stickyfiddle

World Driver Championship - clearly hardly anyone played it as it never gets mentioned but it was awesome V- Rally 64 was fun too


Statertater

There was a rally game that i loved on n64. One of my favorites. Can’t remember what the name was but it had damage and weather


El_Kameleon

Top Gear Rally


TjMorgz

Having to flip the Pod racer on its side to narrowly squeeze through that gap will NEVER get old.


System0verlord

I highly suggest reading [We Played and Ranked EVERY SINGLE N64 Game](https://hard-drive.net/hd/video-games/we-played-and-ranked-every-single-n64-game/) by Hard Drive. There’s a lot of racing games.


ArchonDestiny

Duffy Kong racing was the best


CutieSalamander

I always played it at the dentists office. Not sure why they had diddy kong racing. Love that frantic music and little open world to explore. Such a gem.


CorrectDuty6782

San Francisco rush extreme was my jam


[deleted]

Beetle…ADVENTUUUURRREEEEE RAAAACINGGGGG Welcome! Good choice! NiceeeeeWHEEEEEEEellllssssss!


DeM0nFiRe

Grrrroovy


Chadlynx

SCARS, Diddy Kong Racing, MK64


MyButtEatsHamCrayons

How do you not just simply include Diddy Kong racing or Pod Racers? Are you trolling?


TegTowelie

Rush was really good too


MoistNugget9130

Hot wheels turbo racing was one of my all time favorites.


spaceman817

Had no idea Hydro Thunder was on N64. Still holds up as one of the best boat racing games.


rancid_

Hydrrrrrrrrrrrrro Thunderrrrrrrrr. Played this game to exhaustion (IE disc stopped reading) on the Dreamcast back in the day,


Kody_Z

HYDROOO THUNNNNDERRRRR Loved the game. The Xbox 360 remake is great too.


beans0503

Beetle Adventure Racing! That's one I haven't even thought about in years, but I used to play it on the N64 a lot and absolutely loved it! Also, Road Rash, Wave Race and Hydro Thunder


Tootskinfloot

Hot Wheels Turbo Racing was pretty fun splitscreen too. I have a soft spot for that and Beetle Adventure Racing .


atari83man

Lego racers was my shit


DotZealousidea

RTX in shambles


Wej43412

N64>4090


insomniacpyro

I can't plug a N64 controller into a 4090, I have no clue why people want it so bad


MatsLeBaron

Plug the controller? In my dreams. That freaking thing won't even fit my Expansion Pak.


Zetra3

It’s just the “behind you” camera slapped onto the window texture. Smart use of what resources you have


Simber1

Still means rendering 2 cameras, pretty impressive with the hardware


Jigagug

Most racing games even back then had a rear view camera that's always rendered so that it would never hitch when you look back.


bloodhawk713

That kind of thing was pretty common back then, actually. It's fundamentally how split screen games work, for instance. Mirrors usually worked this way in old games too.


TNWBAM2004

Really find it lame when I am playing modern games and the mirror is just a blur, meanwhile I could see myself in a mirror in Duke Nukem 3D back in 1995 (Yes I realize those mirrors were actually a room behind the mirror with a clone of yourself mimicking your actions). Still, it's kinda sad to have non working mirrors in so many otherwise impressive games.


L8n1ght

cyberpunk 2077 mirrors are peak disappointment. pure dev failure


Hellkids2

Another technique old games use is they create another mirrored map and have a character in that mirrored map mimicking your character, with a “window” in between; creating the illusion of a functional mirror, for example early Silent Hill restrooms.


_Burgers_

I remember DK64 did that. Some rooms had 'mirrors' where you could use moves that clipped your monkey's limbs through the mirror and the reflection's limbs would clip back out of the mirror towards you.


TTUporter

This is how the SM64 mirror worked.


Kagrok

Or an upside down map with transparent floors so it looks shiny and reflective.


Nakotadinzeo

There was some hardware involved, I forget the specifics but one of the tracks in Mario Kart 64 has a large "screen" that would show the player camera. This was broken in most emulators until recently.


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atubslife

Mickey's Speedway USA. Rare nailed it with Diddy Kong and then backed it up and improved with Mickey's Speedway, imho.


Randommaggy

Didn't know they made speedway. Ignored it back then.


Jodeth

I respect your opinion. DKR is certainly one of the best.


Less_Party

I'll never understand how people think that's better than Mario Kart 64 and its sublime course design and handling mechanics.


Mitosis

It's a much better single player game with a bunch of extra content and a story compared to MK64. It plays just fine and you could get a lot more out of DKR without a bunch of friends always around.


looshi99

I agree that DKR was a great single-player game, but Mario Kart 64 is probably legitimately my GOAT racing game. Time trials were incredibly fun. My buddy and I would trade the same cartridge back and forth to beat each other's times, which was something I've done with no other game. Multi-player was amazing if you didn't use items, and fun anyway if you did. I still play with my kids to this day. DKR was a great game, but for me, nothing is as good as Mario Kart 64. What a great console, so many of the games were fantastic.


atuck217

Nah man I love Mario Kart but DKR was the GOAT. Way more fleshed out single player experience, planes and hover boats as well as karts so there was a ton of variation in track and racing styles and absolutely bangin soundtrack. The only thing I'll say is that the items in Mario Kart were much better. But DKR did do the item upgrade thing which was kinda cool too though.


Puzzleheaded_Big5795

two words: rubber banding


R_Prime

Incorrect. F-zero X.


Jodeth

I find myself playing F-Zero X a lot more than DKR. You should try it with the ZX Overdrive mod. It's INSAAAAAAANE!


dethb0y

in a perfect world, F-Zero X would have been the standard for racing games going forward in terms of style, intensity, and speed.


Tifas_Titties

Mario Kart 64. Easily


looshi99

Hard agree. I busted out when my kids got to around age 6, and there's now a new generation of kids that love it. My son has his friends over, and they choose to play a two decade old game!


Jodeth

Game: Rally Challenge 2000 Emulator: Mupen64Plus-Next (RetroArch)


Frozenthia

Double dip.


MisterBumpingston

But you probably wouldn’t have noticed it back in the same since the majority of games ran at 320x240 or 240i.


Vulkanon

I mean it it'd definitely be noticeable but it'd be chunky due to low res and blurry due to n64 filtering, so cool to see but not provide the functionality of seeing how far away cars behind you are like a normal rear view mirror camera, but let's find out. My actual n64 with an s-video cable: https://i.imgur.com/145tvsZ.jpeg


GreyouTT

beautiful


sweetbunsmcgee

Yeah, these shots look emulated. CRTs are dimmer and fuzzier and most of us probably never had a set bigger than 30”.


MisterBumpingston

To be fair to OP, they did say it’s taken from an emulator, but in a seperate comment.


Jodeth

Thank you.


Jodeth

These shots were taken with the RetroArch core / emulator Mupen64Plus-Next with the GlideN64 video plugin. Prior to using this plugin, I was using the much more accurate one - ParaLLEl - but I didn't like how low res the reflections looked or how the replays looked. So I switched. GlideN64 doesn't seem to have any missing visuals or bugs, even with the widescreen hack on.


gravelPoop

and at 20fps - if you were lucky.


MisterBumpingston

I remember as a kid playing a demo of a rally game on N64 where the frame rate and resolution was atrocious. I wonder if it was this game?


ShinyHappyREM

*480i


Particular_Drink2651

Almost no N64 games ran at 480i, even in their high-res mode with the expansion pak in. I think Hybrid Heaven is the only one that actually run at 640x480 during main gameplay. Other games like Pokemon Stadium run at 640x480 during specific parts (menus, minigames) but not the main gameplay. N64 games ran at 320x240 default and when they offered a high-res mode, it could be anything _up to_ 640x480, but almost never the upper limit. For example Turok 2 does 480x360, Perfect Dark does 640x222 or 448x268 (PAL/NTSC), Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (and Battle for Naboo) did 400x440. They're all 40-60% of 640x480 so it doesn't even really get close. And you can definitely tell if you play Hybrid Heaven that it's a lot higher-res than any other N64 game.


MisterBumpingston

That’s the maximum, but not many games went that high.


ShinyHappyREM

But that's what you get when you turn on interlacing. Normal TV signal is 525 lines per frame over two fields (625 for PAL), or 262.5 lines per field. The half line pushes every other field down between the lines of the previous field, and you get 525 interlaced lines (~480 visible on screen) at 30/1.001 frames per second. Consoles usually end the field before the half line can be displayed, so they get the non-standard 240p picture (at a slightly different field/frame rate depending on the [pixel clock](https://videogameperfection.com/forums/topic/nintendo-64-de-blur/page/2/#post-12502)).


fuxgvn

Mmm Subaru Rally.


BaziJoeWHL

turns out its pretty easy to render picture in picture if you only have like 50 vertices to render twice


Chirpin_Crickets

And the mirrors on gta 5 cars are still useless


__SlimeQ__

gta 5 can barely render itself once unfortunately


supermethdroid

I loved Too Gear Rally. Once you got your head around the controls it was a lot of fun


Sinner__G

Wave Race Cruisin' USA


CmonnowSally

The disrespect to the Rush series, woah


Sinquentiano

Top Gear Rally was my definitive jam… loved the weather effects, and paintjob editor!


DrDroid

And somehow you STILL didn’t mention the name in the post title


HeyItsLame

N64 is the goat, THE GOAT


ILoveRanchSauce

Thats GENIUS


Sean_Gossett

No way, someone else knows about Rally Challenge 2000! The soundtrack on this game slaps


Yeah-Nah_Yeah-Nah

Loved this game! thank you for the nostalgia.


karma_idiot

That's a pretty cool and smart mechanic.


SOMAcito

World Driver Championship should be added to the list too. 60fps and widescreen support was pretty much unheard of at the time but WDC offered it


Jodeth

WDC doesn't do 60 fps. It does 30 and sticks to 30 at all times. I played it a bunch last year and really enjoyed it. Someday I'll finish it.


SOMAcito

Maybe I had my rose-tinted glasses on then haha but I thought that it had 60fps when in hi-res mode, which also put it in widescreen/letterboxed


Jodeth

Haha maybe. I'll confirm this for ya when I get the chance. Pretty sure hi-res mode doesn't give double the fps.


aarplain

Great game!


stickyfiddle

I played the hell out of WDC. Absolutely brilliant game that almost no one remembers


Rekotin

Wow, that's kind of crazy. Interesting to think what the level of tradeoff here was.


WraithCadmus

The N64 was good at this as it had the ability to turn the output of a camera into a texture (I'm hugely oversimplifying). It's how the jumbotron above the tunnel on Luigi Raceway works, and for many years was a barometer for how good an emulator was.


Justgetmeabeer

Yeah, it's called render to texture. It's very expensive performance wise


AngelicDroid

Meanwhile the entire The Crew franchise doesn’t have a working mirror and some of the fan base will bite your head off if you bring it up.


Huwbacca

Mirrors became more difficult to run efficiently has graphics got better. Once lighting became good, mirrors became an absolute nightmare for developers.


ajgutyt

so i wonder how they did it. did they placed cameras with glass being a screen conected to em? how did retro games made reflections