Nintendo Flashback: Cruis’n USA

Nintendo Flashback: Cruis’n USA

Nintendo 64
Available Through Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console
1000 Wii Points
Racing

Cruis’n USA was the very first Nintendo 64 game that I owned and so it certainly holds a special place in my heart. This is a fun game to look back upon and remember my first N64 memories that I had with this title. I always had a great time whether I would be cruis’n the USA by myself or with a few friends, though it certainly was good with friends. I remember nights staying up late to unlock the additional vehicles and just race a good race. I had one night where a friend and I had played it non-stop for hours and unlocked a majority of the content. And it takes a good 20 minutes to cruise the entire USA to unlock just one piece of the content. So doing that multiple times with multiple cars took us awhile and it was worth it so that we could see what was next and to set new record times.

Cruis’n USA – Iowa Gameplay Video

Now – this is the first time playing the game since first owning it about 15 years ago. First of all, I can’t believe it has now been that many years. But secondly, how it seems with most games, it was the music that first brought back the most memories. So, of course, I was singing along with the menu music right away. When I dove into my first few races and changed the music tracks it was so fun to be reminded of all of those wonderful songs. Now, I don’t mean wonderful as in a good thing, but in this case I mean wonderful as in a uniquely mesmerizing way where the music is really bad, but really fun to race to. Actually, the music really is “perfect” for the type of game that it’s in, and it brings back all those great memories from long ago.

Cruis’n USA – Washington D.C. Gameplay Video

The racing is pretty much how I remembered it and I still seem to spin-out a lot, but I still have my favorite tracks that I continue to win. This brings up one of the other memories about the game which is the girl in the short purple skirt who dances while presenting you with your first place trophy. Fun memories!

Cruis’n USA – Redwood Forest Gameplay Video

I’m not sure that it’s among my favorite in arcade racers, but for me it’s still a classic and always will be. I would still recommend it as a decent arcade racer to purchase on the Nintendo Wii’s virtual console for anyone who is a fan of racing titles. I’m having a great time with this flashback and with cruis’n each one of these tracks in the USA!