ExciteBike was one of the Nintendo console’s most beloved games, and a favorite of mine too. I killed many hours with this bad boy, and for good reason….it was full of great features! Racing on a motorcycle! Design your own tracks! Put 100 jumps in a row! This was one awesome game for those three reasons, and why it’s so fondly remembered. That and the fact that you could wreck others by coming down the track with your rear wheel in their front wheel and watch them tumble over and over down the track. With the possibility of using any combination of 19 different obstacles to design your track with, it had great replay value just in designing new courses to race.
I was introduced to this game at my cousin’s house shortly after I got my Nintendo. I was instantly hooked and we spent several hours that night playing it. I never actually owned the game, but several of my friends did, and a copy of it was at my house more often than not through the magic of swapping games with a friend for a period of time. This game still holds its own in the “fun factor” today against such newer and more complicated games.
I could spend more time playing this title than I could modern titles today. Just designing courses loaded with obstacles and then racing against friends provided endless fun for us. Many a Saturday afternoon was spent on a virtual dirt bike in my house, and I’m feeling pretty nostalgic for it right now.
I love the Excite series. One of the most painful casualties of the Wii Shop Channel closing was that it had a sequel/update to this game, and it was sooooo much fun.
I’ve also really liked the other ones like Excite Truck and Excitebots. Nintendo really should bring these back on the Switch.