Only ever played Cruis'n'USA and while it was not great... I loved it immensly. The idea of driving through the US was such a cool idea for me as an European kid. And USA had some really catchy tunes, mainly Deadwood Ride.
4:20 This is WRONG. Midway only published the game and had NO rights to Fast and Furious to begin with. RAW THRILLS made ALL the Fast and Furious games, and did NOT lose the license (in fact a new one is coming out soon at the time of this post). This game was actually developed by a company called Just Games Interactive, who Midway allowed to use the Cruisin' name. They just ripped out the "Fast and Furious" elements and quickly patched in Cruisin' stuff to ship it out quickly to make a quick buck. Raw Thrills technically has been making Cruisin' games for YEARS now, as the Fast and Furious games were made by many of the same staff as a blatant spirtual successor. ALL the game mechanics from Exotica on are carried over into those games, and into Blast as well. Eugene Jarvis, the CREATOR of Cruisin', is the FOUNDER of Raw Thrills.
I'll make a few minor corrections. Midway didn't "rip-off" the F&F arcade, they licensed the game from Raw Thrills, which as you note was founded by ex-Midway guys led by Cruis'n creator Eugene Jarvis after Midway dropped out of the arcade market. The reason the Wii version didn't have the F&F license was because Namco had already picked up the home console rights so Midway couldn't use it even if the game they were putting out was an otherwise rather faithful port of the rather popular arcade game (which really had little to do with the movies other than the name and the selection of cars being ones in the first two movies). So instead Midway gave the Wii version the title of what the game really is, the follow-up to the original Cruis'n trilogy, a title Raw Thrills didn't have the rights to as it was co-owned by Midway and Nintendo. And Just Games was only the company hired by Midway to handle the conversion, they didn't come up with the idea of porting the arcade game. As for Raw Thrills and the F&F license, they did lose it at one point, shortly after the second updated version of the arcade game came out. The first F&F arcade game was given an updated edition with F&F: Drift, which added more tracks set in Japan and replaced cars with ones from the Japanese set third movie, which came out around the same time. It was available both as new cabinets, and as an update to the first cabinet. They later did a second update, F&F: SuperCars, that added more tracks taken from their motorcycle game Super Bikes, introduced a whole new car line-up of the namesake supercars, and upgraded the graphics to high-def. However, not long after it was released, their F&F license expired, but instead of discontinuing the cabinet entirely as it was still in production, they just removed the F&F logos from the software and marquee, and titled it simply SuperCars. Later, when they made their next game in the series, instead of calling it SuperCars 2, they decided to see if they could go back to their roots and license the Cruis'n name from Nintendo, which had become sole owner of the trademarks after Midway shut down. Nintendo was willing to play along, and Cruis'n Blast is the result. (And a blast it is!). However, not forgetting that F&F basically made the company 20 years ago, and because the movies are still popular, they went and got a new license to make their new game, F&F Arcade. Of course, the movies have long moved away from being really about street racing with a side of petty crime and become action spy thrillers with cars used as weapons, and the new game sorta reflects that with a mission-based structure where the races aren't really about coming in first but about beating the goal time to complete the mission. As such, it's not really another Cruis'n game with just the F&F name stamped on it, but it clearly shares DNA with the Cruis'n series.
I must be the only person in the world who loves Cruis'n USA and has no issues with the issues many people say it has. It may be far from perfect, but let us remember that it was also the very first game in the series and it had to be made basically from scratch (at least according to some sources) for the N64 instead of simply being ported over from the arcade due to how different the architecture of the N64 ended up being from the architecture of the Ultra 64 project, which is what was used for the original arcade version of Cruis'n USA. World and Exotica on the N64 were better from a technical point of view in great part because by the time they were created, the developers actually knew what they were doing with the N64's hardware and architecture so the process was much more straight-forward.
Thank you for covering the Cruis'n Series! Just doesn't get enough love. The jank in these games is off the charts, and they are super fun to play. California speed is a good game too...but doesn't nail the Cruis'n vibe or feel. The true secret Cruis'n game is "Off Road Challenge" for the N64. Its made by the same people and I consider it part of the series as it feels and looks exactly the same as the N64 Cruis'n USA, World, Exotica trilogy. And Cruis'n on the wii...this game is a guilty pleasure...far better game than people give it credit for (as you noted).
I remember playing that FnF arcade game that later became Cruis'n on the Wii at a waterpark cabinet, and just like many arcade games I would play it just started living in my mind rent-free. Fast forward several years, and I got to play the Wii version indefinitely on a homebrewed console. Whenever I play it, I feel like I shouldn't be liking it because it does a crappy job at so many things, but at the same time I cannot put enough distance from and always want to come back to it, somehow. And, after recently starting to play Blast, I gotta say it doesn't feel too different from that title, despite the quality being way better when it comes to presentation. I really wonder why do people like Blast so much and hate Cruis'n Wii so much at the same time, they aren't all that different, aside from their polish.
As someone who never got into modern racing games, Cruis'n Blast was such a welcome surprise. I nearly completed it because of how much fun I was having.
I’ve loved the series ever since the Christmas of 2000 when I got exotica on my n64. So cool to see someone as passionate about it. Nostalgia at its finest.
A little piece of knowledge about Cruis'n Blast: its content actually comes from 2 of Raw Thrills' pre-existing arcade cabinet games: Cruis'n Blast, where the entire game got its name from, and Fast 'n Furious Super Bikes 3, the 3rd installment to another series of arcade games by Raw Thrills that was basically Cruis'n but focused on bikes. Cruis'n Blast on the Switch uses content from both games, as in: Death Valley, Madagascar, London, Rio and Singapore, from Cruis'n Blast, and in fact there is a whole arcade mode dedicated to those tracks; Nepal, Tanzania, Hollywood and Hong Kong from FnFSB3, the actual tracks from the original are mixed inside the several competitions and don't have a dedicated gamemode. (Actually I think in some tracks, parts from Tanzania and from Madagascar were actually merged together) And then there are all the remixes and stuff that take the existing tracks and rearrange their parts to produce a different-looking track, but the originals are all there.
I played super bikes 3 at a chuck e cheese not too long ago and that makes so much sense now!! The whole time I was l thinking "why does this game feel so familiar " haha
Long of order but only the first Super Bikes had the F&F name on it. And the tracks from that were reused in the second updated version of the first F&F arcade, subtitled SuperCars, appropriately enough.
I remember reading about these games in the old N64 magazines (namely Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World and California Speed). The reviewers always used to tear strips off the games and act like they were the worst things ever made. That's why I was so surprised when Cruis'n Blast came out, because not only was everyone really excited about it but everyone was talking about how much they loved the old games and how the old games were 'beloved classics'. Honestly, I still find it weird to hear Cruis'n USA being referred to as a classic. 😅 But yeah, it's really interesting to see this other perspective where the series is actually beloved and revered by the majority of gamers. And Cruis'n Blast looks like something that I'd probably love, so I'll have to track down a copy at some point. 👍
Glad to see love for Cruis’n blast. As a lifelong Cruis’n fan (USA in the arcade was the first racing game I ever played) I was so glad to see it back on Switch. I feel like it’s criminally underrated. It does silly, fast, over the top, arcade racing so well. I think most of the people who didn’t like it were expecting it to be more than that. But it was very true to what it should be: a crazy arcade racer.
Cruis'n Exotica doesn't work well on MAME, but considering it ran on the same Voodoo 2 powered board as Hydro Thunder, I wonder how it would fare in PCem.
honestly I just played through cruisn world on retroarch with a wheel and it felt pretty good. Maybe try the n64 port of exotica with a wheel. Throw a crt filter on there and you're good haha
I also grew up in California and once RUclips Premium became a thing I started listening to the soundtrack while driving around California and it's just amazing how well it fits. The default music for Monterey and San Diego especially gives off those foggy ocean day vibes. Tracks 3 and 8 were great for driving in the Bay Area, where people drive like maniacs on the winding freeways!
Nice vid. I only really played USA, World, and Exotica. I remember really liking World, but disliking Exotica. I was more into the San Francisco Rush series which I feel was much better. Too bad they didn't give that series as much love as Cruisin.
Played Cruis'n USA recently and back in the day, and the gameplay still decent and the trophy girl is still gorgeous. It doesn't have the best racing physics but the soundtrack and levels are memorable. If Cruis'n Blast is way better than USA or World, then the only thing that can top that is Cruis'n through time. Each level can be a decade, the 50s - 2020s.
Haha.. this is so nostalgic for me. Entering middle school, my best friend always got the newest games and consoles whenever he wanted. This was one of the first N64 games I watched him play and got obsessed and got it a couple months later. We thought it looked like a movie back then. 😂😂 What a throw back though.
I always felt like California Speed was a mix between Cruis’n and Rush. Tight steering and visuals closer to Rush, with the physics and linear level design of Cruis’n.
I think a big part of what made Cruisin' USA so great was the arcade cab. Even though it's been years since I even visited an arcade, I still remember the feeling of driving in that original cab. I was probably about 14 years-old when I played it in the arcade, I can still feel how great the physics and steering wheel felt together. The bus, the sports car were completely different feeling, but each felt so great to drive. I've never tried console ports, so it was interesting hearing your take.
All of them lose something in the console versions because they really were designed as sit-down arcade games and the play style and feel just work best in that environment. That said, the Switch version of Cruis'n Blast really is the best home port of the whole series.
Midway made all my favorite sports games, because realism or even following the rules of the sport in question weren't a factor in their design. NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, NHL Hitz, Cruisn', MLB Slugfest, Redcard they knew that games should be ridiculously silly and crazy and fun. Of course for that same reason I also adore Nintendo's sports games. It was also back when they weren't afraid to make Mortal Kombat games have absolutely ridiculous laughable stories and they were better for it.
Been playing California Speed recently and have to say the track designs are fantastic! However I do feel the handling is a bit iffy. Hitting walls also slows you down A LOT, which would be fine, if your car didn't seem to stick to the wall like a magnet!
There's another game that I'd kinda consider part of the Cruis'n series: Off-Road Challenge. It very much plays like a Cruis'n game only with trucks and buggies instead of cars.
It's really a shame that cruis'n blast got abandoned... They even talked about doing DLC, but as of this writing it's been well over a year since they've said anything at all about the game... It genuinely makes me sad, I had high hopes, but alas, guess you can't have everything....
It is a bummer. They could have easily shoved in some paid DLC levels and vehicles but I think things were starting to open back up after some time in the pandemic and Raw Thrills redirected their focus back to coin op arcades. I know Eugene mentioned the immense cost of porting to the switch, but surely I think it did halfway decent and was overall well received for an arcade style racer.
I’ve played about almost all these games. But Cruis’n World is the GOAT, it’s just so nostalgic but I do felt it was better than USA the cars and tracks were fun but the music slaps!!!
I played all the cruisn. But I’m old so I like cruisn world the best! I loved blast too. But Just the music in worlds the best in the series. My #1 is cruisn world, 2 exotica, 3 blast, 4 USA and dead last are crusin on Wii and velocity lol.
Having only played the Cruis'n Blast in the arcade I wasn't that impressed. The extreme rubber banding was a bit annoying, but the biggest issue was the lack of a manual gearshifter! True, in the older Cruis'n games you rarely changed gears after the start, but having that big ol' H shifter was just part of the feel for an arcade cabinet! Oh, and also I won first place and still had to insert more money. First place = free game is like _the thing_ for racing games in the arcade!
Good list. Only thing I'd change is swap Blast and Exotica's placements around. I miss how you could do flips not only over opponent vehicles, but also pedestrian vehicles in Exotica. In most racing games, if traffic is a thing, it's almost always an obstacle and nothing else. The flip in Exotica let you play around with traffic in a much more dynamic way, and I have no idea why it was cut in Blast. Not only that, but I find Blast's boost mechanic to be pretty lame. It's different from other racing games that use a boost meter, but different doesn't mean it's better, and I find the Blast boost to be pretty shallow mechanically. Finally, I'm still pretty annoyed that, in an interview, a guy at Raw Thrills promised the Switch port of Blast would be getting online MP in a patch, but it's still not in the game after all this time. Either it's taking them way too long to implement it, or he straight up lied about online. Either one leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and sours Blast a bit for me. It's still a really fun game, but it still feels lacking in some areas as a follow-up to Exotica.
Exotica is exotic, as generic this quote may be. But, there isn't another word to describe it, it's perfect to attach to it. Although World is more refined and well-known, Exotica has a charm with the bizarre vehicles and tracks that make it stand-out in the trilogy. I could tell it's underrated, for sure. N64 reviews at the time were pretty rough, but I don't agree with them. If you love the Cruis'n series, Exotica may get some love from you guys.
I would put Off Road Challenge in place of California Speed in this series. It is built on the same Midway V Unit hardware as both Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World and is effectively a verify similar game in style and is step brother's with the Cruis'n games. California Speed is very Cruis'n inspired no doubt but was developed by the Atari crew in California on different hardware. The arcade version is actually pretty enjoyable and has more memorable levels than the first two Cruis'n games, however, the console version was rushed and fell pretty flat. If you have the chance to play the arcade version, even through emulation, it's a huge difference between the console port. Which is a shame because Cruis'n World on N64 was a very good port compared to the arcade, so we know it was possible to bring a decent level of fidelity over.
I've not played Switch -version, so i can not comment that. But the Best by far, is California Speed (ARCADE -version). But that is not part of the series (N64 -version runs on RUSH-engine). -So my vote goes to Cruis'n World, when played on 4-player multiplayer (ARCADE). Off Road Challence is also very close to be part ot the Cruis'n Series...
Nintendo always co-owned the IP before & eventually became the outright owners of it once Midway went under...but yeah, the series should get represented in Smash. At least give us that Cruis'n Blast theme song ffs! on a side note, Cruis'n isn't even the only Nintendo owned IP that hasn't had any representation in Smash...it's joined by StarTropics, Geist, Odama, Zekkyo Senshi Sakeburein, and many WiiWare, DSiWare & Eshop titles ( and that's just what I remember off the top of my head )
Uhm... Yeah but California Speed is not part of the Cruis'n Series. It's clearly a totally different game. Just because it was made by Midway and includes racing it doesn't mean it is a "Cruis'n".
The Cruisin’ Wii game is a complete joke. You can tell that there was no effort or thought put into it. Just a quickly made cash grab game. I’d be embarrassed if I were one of the programmers.
I heard cruisn exotica on the 64 is really bad, especially compared to the arcade. People is its worde than cruisn world and usa. You ranked it pretty high. Is it really worth buying?
@Kapojos I think it's personal opinion on which one is best I think they are both equally as good. Either way if you enjoyed cruisn world I would say definitely get exotica
Fan of Exotica here, played almost my entire childhood. Exotica is not for everyone, i can tell you that. It's ugly, super-duper arcadey and sometimes cheap (the A.I. have a pretty fucked up rubberbanding). But, Exotica has personality, and it's tracks and vehicles are there to justify it's name. Well, those are the basics that make Exotica stand out in the trilogy, and it works. It's flawless? Not by a mile. But, it's fun. Although World is more refined and well known, Exotica is... Exotic. And I love that.
Ive played them all except for the gameboy version i love cruising world on 64 i got to play the 1st arcade one heaps but only cruising world on arcade 1 time it was awesome though
Actually Nintendo dont just published the franchise sometimes, she is he owner of the IP even the conception, for this reason you will only find this franchise in Nintendo consoles.
im 43 years old, but i have and still enjoy the Nintendo 64 cruis'n games, they are just fun silly racing games, lots of replay value. so i was excited to see a new cruis'n game was coming to the switch i was so disappointed in this game ! especially after knowing the cruis'n USA, Cruis'n world, and cruis'n exotica, those were all so fun and full loaded games. cruis'n blast SUCKS ! the tracks are the same 4 lame very short tracks, and its just way too small and empty of a game, especially after te 1st 3 games having wide varied unique tracks and dynamics to them, im so glad i only paid 13 bucks for this because it was not worth 20, 30, or 40 bucks new, this game is beyond disappointing, Nintendo needs to re-release the original 3 cruis'n games for switch. and no the music is not varied, its just the same generic techno pop-esq stuff.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Fun fact : the person who created raw thrills is the same guy who created the series
fuckin legend
Are you talking about Eugene Jarvis?
Yes and he also created the hit Defender way back!
This is right! Eugene Jarvis started Raw Thrills, so it’s still him.
I'm shocked
Wow. It’s nice to hear an old franchise brought back in a strong authentic way.
Only ever played Cruis'n'USA and while it was not great... I loved it immensly.
The idea of driving through the US was such a cool idea for me as an European kid.
And USA had some really catchy tunes, mainly Deadwood Ride.
you are wrong asshole
4:20 This is WRONG. Midway only published the game and had NO rights to Fast and Furious to begin with. RAW THRILLS made ALL the Fast and Furious games, and did NOT lose the license (in fact a new one is coming out soon at the time of this post). This game was actually developed by a company called Just Games Interactive, who Midway allowed to use the Cruisin' name. They just ripped out the "Fast and Furious" elements and quickly patched in Cruisin' stuff to ship it out quickly to make a quick buck.
Raw Thrills technically has been making Cruisin' games for YEARS now, as the Fast and Furious games were made by many of the same staff as a blatant spirtual successor. ALL the game mechanics from Exotica on are carried over into those games, and into Blast as well. Eugene Jarvis, the CREATOR of Cruisin', is the FOUNDER of Raw Thrills.
I'll make a few minor corrections. Midway didn't "rip-off" the F&F arcade, they licensed the game from Raw Thrills, which as you note was founded by ex-Midway guys led by Cruis'n creator Eugene Jarvis after Midway dropped out of the arcade market. The reason the Wii version didn't have the F&F license was because Namco had already picked up the home console rights so Midway couldn't use it even if the game they were putting out was an otherwise rather faithful port of the rather popular arcade game (which really had little to do with the movies other than the name and the selection of cars being ones in the first two movies). So instead Midway gave the Wii version the title of what the game really is, the follow-up to the original Cruis'n trilogy, a title Raw Thrills didn't have the rights to as it was co-owned by Midway and Nintendo. And Just Games was only the company hired by Midway to handle the conversion, they didn't come up with the idea of porting the arcade game.
As for Raw Thrills and the F&F license, they did lose it at one point, shortly after the second updated version of the arcade game came out. The first F&F arcade game was given an updated edition with F&F: Drift, which added more tracks set in Japan and replaced cars with ones from the Japanese set third movie, which came out around the same time. It was available both as new cabinets, and as an update to the first cabinet.
They later did a second update, F&F: SuperCars, that added more tracks taken from their motorcycle game Super Bikes, introduced a whole new car line-up of the namesake supercars, and upgraded the graphics to high-def. However, not long after it was released, their F&F license expired, but instead of discontinuing the cabinet entirely as it was still in production, they just removed the F&F logos from the software and marquee, and titled it simply SuperCars.
Later, when they made their next game in the series, instead of calling it SuperCars 2, they decided to see if they could go back to their roots and license the Cruis'n name from Nintendo, which had become sole owner of the trademarks after Midway shut down. Nintendo was willing to play along, and Cruis'n Blast is the result. (And a blast it is!).
However, not forgetting that F&F basically made the company 20 years ago, and because the movies are still popular, they went and got a new license to make their new game, F&F Arcade. Of course, the movies have long moved away from being really about street racing with a side of petty crime and become action spy thrillers with cars used as weapons, and the new game sorta reflects that with a mission-based structure where the races aren't really about coming in first but about beating the goal time to complete the mission. As such, it's not really another Cruis'n game with just the F&F name stamped on it, but it clearly shares DNA with the Cruis'n series.
I must be the only person in the world who loves Cruis'n USA and has no issues with the issues many people say it has. It may be far from perfect, but let us remember that it was also the very first game in the series and it had to be made basically from scratch (at least according to some sources) for the N64 instead of simply being ported over from the arcade due to how different the architecture of the N64 ended up being from the architecture of the Ultra 64 project, which is what was used for the original arcade version of Cruis'n USA. World and Exotica on the N64 were better from a technical point of view in great part because by the time they were created, the developers actually knew what they were doing with the N64's hardware and architecture so the process was much more straight-forward.
Thank you for covering the Cruis'n Series! Just doesn't get enough love. The jank in these games is off the charts, and they are super fun to play. California speed is a good game too...but doesn't nail the Cruis'n vibe or feel. The true secret Cruis'n game is "Off Road Challenge" for the N64. Its made by the same people and I consider it part of the series as it feels and looks exactly the same as the N64 Cruis'n USA, World, Exotica trilogy. And Cruis'n on the wii...this game is a guilty pleasure...far better game than people give it credit for (as you noted).
I remember playing that FnF arcade game that later became Cruis'n on the Wii at a waterpark cabinet, and just like many arcade games I would play it just started living in my mind rent-free.
Fast forward several years, and I got to play the Wii version indefinitely on a homebrewed console.
Whenever I play it, I feel like I shouldn't be liking it because it does a crappy job at so many things, but at the same time I cannot put enough distance from and always want to come back to it, somehow.
And, after recently starting to play Blast, I gotta say it doesn't feel too different from that title, despite the quality being way better when it comes to presentation.
I really wonder why do people like Blast so much and hate Cruis'n Wii so much at the same time, they aren't all that different, aside from their polish.
As someone who never got into modern racing games, Cruis'n Blast was such a welcome surprise. I nearly completed it because of how much fun I was having.
I hope your interview went well. All my best from Perú! great video!!
I’ve loved the series ever since the Christmas of 2000 when I got exotica on my n64. So cool to see someone as passionate about it. Nostalgia at its finest.
A little piece of knowledge about Cruis'n Blast: its content actually comes from 2 of Raw Thrills' pre-existing arcade cabinet games: Cruis'n Blast, where the entire game got its name from, and Fast 'n Furious Super Bikes 3, the 3rd installment to another series of arcade games by Raw Thrills that was basically Cruis'n but focused on bikes. Cruis'n Blast on the Switch uses content from both games, as in:
Death Valley, Madagascar, London, Rio and Singapore, from Cruis'n Blast, and in fact there is a whole arcade mode dedicated to those tracks;
Nepal, Tanzania, Hollywood and Hong Kong from FnFSB3, the actual tracks from the original are mixed inside the several competitions and don't have a dedicated gamemode.
(Actually I think in some tracks, parts from Tanzania and from Madagascar were actually merged together)
And then there are all the remixes and stuff that take the existing tracks and rearrange their parts to produce a different-looking track, but the originals are all there.
I played super bikes 3 at a chuck e cheese not too long ago and that makes so much sense now!! The whole time I was l thinking "why does this game feel so familiar " haha
those good times when you get a free play everytime when you get 1st place in super bikes 1 and 2
Long of order but only the first Super Bikes had the F&F name on it. And the tracks from that were reused in the second updated version of the first F&F arcade, subtitled SuperCars, appropriately enough.
Is no one gonna talk about the red and blue car on 14:25 😂
hahahahahaha
I‘ve only played Crusin The World and Usa (arcade verison) It‘s amazing
Cruis'n blasts intro song is ridiculousy good
Cruisn world is still the best
I remember reading about these games in the old N64 magazines (namely Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World and California Speed). The reviewers always used to tear strips off the games and act like they were the worst things ever made.
That's why I was so surprised when Cruis'n Blast came out, because not only was everyone really excited about it but everyone was talking about how much they loved the old games and how the old games were 'beloved classics'. Honestly, I still find it weird to hear Cruis'n USA being referred to as a classic. 😅
But yeah, it's really interesting to see this other perspective where the series is actually beloved and revered by the majority of gamers. And Cruis'n Blast looks like something that I'd probably love, so I'll have to track down a copy at some point. 👍
Im still waiting for a Switch Sequel...Love Cruisin Blast
So many memories playing some of these games at my local arcade. Classics. Cruis'n World's theme will pop up in my head every now and then.
Finally found this game.. I have fully unlocked that childhood memory of posting Cruisi’n World and arguments. 🤣 the 64 era was so dope
I would instantly be drawn to this awesome game series whenever and wherever I found an arcade cabinet as a kid.
Jonathan: "How many other games get this insane and are this much fun?"
Me: "The Burnout Series."
haha, well I ranked that as well!
I JUST noticed the wheel in the Cruis'n Exotica logo has a rim that looks like a 3
Glad to see love for Cruis’n blast. As a lifelong Cruis’n fan (USA in the arcade was the first racing game I ever played) I was so glad to see it back on Switch. I feel like it’s criminally underrated. It does silly, fast, over the top, arcade racing so well. I think most of the people who didn’t like it were expecting it to be more than that. But it was very true to what it should be: a crazy arcade racer.
Cruis'n Exotica doesn't work well on MAME, but considering it ran on the same Voodoo 2 powered board as Hydro Thunder, I wonder how it would fare in PCem.
honestly I just played through cruisn world on retroarch with a wheel and it felt pretty good. Maybe try the n64 port of exotica with a wheel. Throw a crt filter on there and you're good haha
Eugene Jarvis knows how to make games fun!
I also grew up in California and once RUclips Premium became a thing I started listening to the soundtrack while driving around California and it's just amazing how well it fits. The default music for Monterey and San Diego especially gives off those foggy ocean day vibes. Tracks 3 and 8 were great for driving in the Bay Area, where people drive like maniacs on the winding freeways!
You just unlocked my childhood mind. I did play Crusin USA and World. I did play California Speed. I love it despite I never step into California.
Nice vid. I only really played USA, World, and Exotica. I remember really liking World, but disliking Exotica. I was more into the San Francisco Rush series which I feel was much better. Too bad they didn't give that series as much love as Cruisin.
Yeah Rush 2049!!
@@BakkerSamuel N64 version with Expansion Pak!
There was also California speed too
Played Cruis'n USA recently and back in the day, and the gameplay still decent and the trophy girl is still gorgeous. It doesn't have the best racing physics but the soundtrack and levels are memorable.
If Cruis'n Blast is way better than USA or World, then the only thing that can top that is Cruis'n through time. Each level can be a decade, the 50s - 2020s.
Haha.. this is so nostalgic for me. Entering middle school, my best friend always got the newest games and consoles whenever he wanted. This was one of the first N64 games I watched him play and got obsessed and got it a couple months later. We thought it looked like a movie back then. 😂😂 What a throw back though.
OMG. The 90s nostalgia! I grew up playing some of these games!
California racing felt closer to the Rush series if anything. If you liked its gameplay i suggest rush 2
is correct
I always felt like California Speed was a mix between Cruis’n and Rush. Tight steering and visuals closer to Rush, with the physics and linear level design of Cruis’n.
I think a big part of what made Cruisin' USA so great was the arcade cab. Even though it's been years since I even visited an arcade, I still remember the feeling of driving in that original cab. I was probably about 14 years-old when I played it in the arcade, I can still feel how great the physics and steering wheel felt together. The bus, the sports car were completely different feeling, but each felt so great to drive. I've never tried console ports, so it was interesting hearing your take.
All of them lose something in the console versions because they really were designed as sit-down arcade games and the play style and feel just work best in that environment. That said, the Switch version of Cruis'n Blast really is the best home port of the whole series.
Midway made all my favorite sports games, because realism or even following the rules of the sport in question weren't a factor in their design. NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, NHL Hitz, Cruisn', MLB Slugfest, Redcard they knew that games should be ridiculously silly and crazy and fun. Of course for that same reason I also adore Nintendo's sports games. It was also back when they weren't afraid to make Mortal Kombat games have absolutely ridiculous laughable stories and they were better for it.
You forgot to mention that cruis'n exotica was also on Gameboy color which came out the same year as the N64 version
Yeah, I kept waiting for it in the video...never happened.
@@antiquecardboard he should have check it out before making the video
Thanks for this great video. I actually learned how to drive by playing Cruis n USA
I don't know if it's in the crusin series but I remember as a child driving under the ocean and it was one of the coolest experiences at the time
The cruis'n world intro music is so good.
Great video !!! Totally rad !!
The aspect ratio in the older games really grinds my gears
Sadly California Speed and Cruisn Exotica were never released in Europe for N64...
You can go to the moon in cruisn world...
The music of Crusin USA is....**Chef Kiss**
cruisin world music is so good!
You are right - for racers - Frame rates are most important !!!
Been playing California Speed recently and have to say the track designs are fantastic! However I do feel the handling is a bit iffy. Hitting walls also slows you down A LOT, which would be fine, if your car didn't seem to stick to the wall like a magnet!
There's another game that I'd kinda consider part of the Cruis'n series: Off-Road Challenge. It very much plays like a Cruis'n game only with trucks and buggies instead of cars.
2023 here, I have the use, world and exotica. I was play it the other day
Cruisin’ USA
In every arcade I’ve seen
Great video! Did you capture all the gameplay yourself? Want to do some similar videos of games I enjoyed
The Cruisn USA arcade game was a HUGE deal back then. It and Killer Instinct were supposed to represent what the "Ultra 64" was capable of
It's really a shame that cruis'n blast got abandoned... They even talked about doing DLC, but as of this writing it's been well over a year since they've said anything at all about the game...
It genuinely makes me sad, I had high hopes, but alas, guess you can't have everything....
It is a bummer. They could have easily shoved in some paid DLC levels and vehicles but I think things were starting to open back up after some time in the pandemic and Raw Thrills redirected their focus back to coin op arcades. I know Eugene mentioned the immense cost of porting to the switch, but surely I think it did halfway decent and was overall well received for an arcade style racer.
What about Cruis'n Exotica (GBC)?
Didn't even know blast existed just bought it
You got the n64 games stretched out🤢. They were designed for 4:3 format. They also look better on a crt or emulation with scanlines, in my opinion.
Also Crusin World > Crusin USA > Crusin Exotica
I’ve played about almost all these games. But Cruis’n World is the GOAT, it’s just so nostalgic but I do felt it was better than USA the cars and tracks were fun but the music slaps!!!
Every song in World is FIRE
The Cruisn/Fast and Furious are the first games i gravitate to anytime I visit an arcade. Super Bikes is usually the second games I play
I played all the cruisn. But I’m old so I like cruisn world the best! I loved blast too. But Just the music in worlds the best in the series. My #1 is cruisn world, 2 exotica, 3 blast, 4 USA and dead last are crusin on Wii and velocity lol.
Having only played the Cruis'n Blast in the arcade I wasn't that impressed. The extreme rubber banding was a bit annoying, but the biggest issue was the lack of a manual gearshifter! True, in the older Cruis'n games you rarely changed gears after the start, but having that big ol' H shifter was just part of the feel for an arcade cabinet!
Oh, and also I won first place and still had to insert more money. First place = free game is like _the thing_ for racing games in the arcade!
Excellent review 😃
We all came here to see crusin the world be #1
Good list. Only thing I'd change is swap Blast and Exotica's placements around. I miss how you could do flips not only over opponent vehicles, but also pedestrian vehicles in Exotica. In most racing games, if traffic is a thing, it's almost always an obstacle and nothing else. The flip in Exotica let you play around with traffic in a much more dynamic way, and I have no idea why it was cut in Blast. Not only that, but I find Blast's boost mechanic to be pretty lame. It's different from other racing games that use a boost meter, but different doesn't mean it's better, and I find the Blast boost to be pretty shallow mechanically. Finally, I'm still pretty annoyed that, in an interview, a guy at Raw Thrills promised the Switch port of Blast would be getting online MP in a patch, but it's still not in the game after all this time. Either it's taking them way too long to implement it, or he straight up lied about online. Either one leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and sours Blast a bit for me. It's still a really fun game, but it still feels lacking in some areas as a follow-up to Exotica.
Exotica is exotic, as generic this quote may be.
But, there isn't another word to describe it, it's perfect to attach to it.
Although World is more refined and well-known, Exotica has a charm with the bizarre vehicles and tracks that make it stand-out in the trilogy. I could tell it's underrated, for sure.
N64 reviews at the time were pretty rough, but I don't agree with them. If you love the Cruis'n series, Exotica may get some love from you guys.
USA I believe had a good sense of speed only when you unlock the other colors that boost your car's stats
I would put Off Road Challenge in place of California Speed in this series. It is built on the same Midway V Unit hardware as both Cruis'n USA and Cruis'n World and is effectively a verify similar game in style and is step brother's with the Cruis'n games. California Speed is very Cruis'n inspired no doubt but was developed by the Atari crew in California on different hardware. The arcade version is actually pretty enjoyable and has more memorable levels than the first two Cruis'n games, however, the console version was rushed and fell pretty flat. If you have the chance to play the arcade version, even through emulation, it's a huge difference between the console port. Which is a shame because Cruis'n World on N64 was a very good port compared to the arcade, so we know it was possible to bring a decent level of fidelity over.
Oh shit my interview! 😂😂😂
If i remember correctly, Cruis in the world had the moon as a bonus track
I remember Cruis'n.
Cruisin world the best cruisin game
Cruis'n exotica is amazing on the arcade, it's fun, the framerate is smooth, it's just better
I wish Crusin' Blast was multiplatform.
Looks absolutely sick.
2:02 I always thought California Speed was a Rush game series spin-off, not a Cruis'n game. Maybe it's a fusion of both series.
You should rank San Francisco Rush
I've not played Switch -version, so i can not comment that.
But the Best by far, is California Speed (ARCADE -version). But that is not part of the series (N64 -version runs on RUSH-engine).
-So my vote goes to Cruis'n World, when played on 4-player multiplayer (ARCADE).
Off Road Challence is also very close to be part ot the Cruis'n Series...
For me the best its: Cruis'n World, a lot of hours in multiplayer with my friends... Greats memories.
I wish Cruisin' USA had a Smokey Mountain/Gatlinburg Tennessee themed track, and something in Texas.
Im so shocked Sakurai didn't include this series as A Smash Bros Stage since it was made by Nintendo later on
Nintendo always co-owned the IP before & eventually became the outright owners of it once Midway went under...but yeah, the series should get represented in Smash. At least give us that Cruis'n Blast theme song ffs!
on a side note, Cruis'n isn't even the only Nintendo owned IP that hasn't had any representation in Smash...it's joined by StarTropics, Geist, Odama, Zekkyo Senshi Sakeburein, and many WiiWare, DSiWare & Eshop titles ( and that's just what I remember off the top of my head )
The first one looks like doom 90s with racing wheels.. Its all corridors.
❤️Cruis'n World❤️
Uhm... Yeah but California Speed is not part of the Cruis'n Series. It's clearly a totally different game. Just because it was made by Midway and includes racing it doesn't mean it is a "Cruis'n".
The sheer audacity of Cruisin' Velocity to have the word "velocity" in the title.
Cruisin World on N64 just hit different
The Cruisin’ Wii game is a complete joke. You can tell that there was no effort or thought put into it. Just a quickly made cash grab game. I’d be embarrassed if I were one of the programmers.
My favorite is Cruis'n USA
California Speed is very much a San Francisco RUSH spinoff, not Cruis'n, it even has similar physics where the car bobbles at every movement.
I heard cruisn exotica on the 64 is really bad, especially compared to the arcade. People is its worde than cruisn world and usa. You ranked it pretty high. Is it really worth buying?
Haven't played the arcade version so can't compare but I thought the n64 game was great,I can't understand why some people don't like it
@@ThePolicenaut nice! How this the game rank up with the other Cruis’n games on the n64? Is it better than Cruis’n World?
@Kapojos I think it's personal opinion on which one is best I think they are both equally as good.
Either way if you enjoyed cruisn world I would say definitely get exotica
Fan of Exotica here, played almost my entire childhood. Exotica is not for everyone, i can tell you that. It's ugly, super-duper arcadey and sometimes cheap (the A.I. have a pretty fucked up rubberbanding).
But, Exotica has personality, and it's tracks and vehicles are there to justify it's name. Well, those are the basics that make Exotica stand out in the trilogy, and it works. It's flawless? Not by a mile. But, it's fun.
Although World is more refined and well known, Exotica is... Exotic. And I love that.
I put Cruis'n Exotica on Gameboy Color even lower than Velocity
did you do a crazy taxi?
you didn't review cruisn exotica on the game boy color
The arcade versions of the Cruis'n will always be superior. Better graphics and zero censorship.
Ive played them all except for the gameboy version i love cruising world on 64 i got to play the 1st arcade one heaps but only cruising world on arcade 1 time it was awesome though
I don't think that the creator of Cruis N did California Speed.
California Speed is made by the San Francisco Rush makers I believe.
California Speed is a Rush spin off isn’t it? Probably should’ve been included in a Rush series worst to best.
Got it for $14 from Walmart in Canada!
Cruis’n USA was the game that I got with my N64 but cruis’n world is the best along side cruis’n blast
Actually Nintendo dont just published the franchise sometimes, she is he owner of the IP even the conception, for this reason you will only find this franchise in Nintendo consoles.
A Cruis' n Collection Remastered will be great.
wow, here in brazil have arcades with Cruis'n the faster and the furious version
Best: USA. Worst: Blast
Best:World Worst:Exocita
Bro u don't know nothing
Did you got the job for the interview?
No sadly, I did not get the job. Ended up getting something with SIE a few weeks later though
im 43 years old, but i have and still enjoy the Nintendo 64 cruis'n games, they are just fun silly racing games, lots of replay value. so i was excited to see a new cruis'n game was coming to the switch
i was so disappointed in this game ! especially after knowing the cruis'n USA, Cruis'n world, and cruis'n exotica, those were all so fun and full loaded games.
cruis'n blast SUCKS ! the tracks are the same 4 lame very short tracks, and its just way too small and empty of a game, especially after te 1st 3 games having wide varied unique tracks and dynamics to them, im so glad i only paid 13 bucks for this because it was not worth 20, 30, or 40 bucks new, this game is beyond disappointing, Nintendo needs to re-release the original 3 cruis'n games for switch. and no the music is not varied, its just the same generic techno pop-esq stuff.