Wave Race: Blue Storm

Overview

Wave Race: Blue Storm is a third-person personal watercraft racing game developed by Nintendo Software Technology Corporation and published by Nintendo for the GameCube as a launch title for all regions (in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in Europe on May 3, 2002).

The third installment of the Wave Race series and a sequel to the 1996 N64 game Wave Race 64, Blue Storm improves the graphical fidelity and water physics of the original while adding variable weather conditions for each course, several new riders to choose from (some of whom are from 1080° Snowboarding) for eight-rider races, and four-player split-screen multiplayer.

Gameplay

After the player chooses a character they start racing in one of the several locations of the game. In every course there are buoys of two colours: red and yellow. Red buoys have to be passed on the right and yellow on the left. For every buoy passed correctly the player’s turbo meter builds up; once this meter is full the player can press the Z button to receive boost for a short period of time. Another way to receive boost is by performing stunts. If a buoy is missed the player loses the turbo and missing five of them results in disqualification. There are also boundaries in each course, staying outside of them for five seconds or longer also leads to disqualification.

Every race consists of three laps and there are various shortcuts in every course. During the races (depending on the weather condition) there will be rain and high waves, which can make the race more difficult. The game also makes heavy use of the L and R triggers of the GameCube controller to make sharp turns without losing any speed. The B button is used to crouch and lessen the effect of turbulence and the A button is used for acceleration. The controls take a long time to master, making the game more complicated to casual players.

Characters & Watercraft

Like Wave Race 64, players choose from a number of riders, each with their own unique stats (including speed and maneuverability). Players can opt to fine-tune certain aspects of their watercraft with two sliding meters, one for speed distribution (between Acceleration and Top Speed) and one for turn sensitivity (between Slip and Grip).

Most characters previously appeared in either Wave Race 64 or 1080° Snowboarding, with some new faces. All riders have their own designated crew chiefs that offer them advice while they race (which are absent in multiplayer modes).

From Wave Race 64

• Ryota Hayami, wearing red/black by default, is an all-rounder with high top speed and good maneuverability, despite having poor acceleration and stuntwork.

• Ayumi Stewart, wearing pink/white by default, is an all-rounder with no real advantages or disadvantages.

• David Mariner, wearing green/black by default, is geared toward expert players, as he has the highest maximum speed and excellent stability during collisions, at the cost of having the slowest acceleration and the worst maneuvering and stuntwork.

From 1080° Snowboarding

• Akari Hayami, wearing pink/blue by default, is geared towards beginner players, as she has the fastest acceleration and great stuntwork, at the cost of having the lowest maximum speed, the worst stability during collisions, and poor manueverability.

• Ricky Winterborn, wearing blue/teal by default, is geared towards beginner players, as he has fast acceleration and the best stuntwork, at the cost of low maximum speed and poor stability during collisions.

• Rob Haywood, wearing blue/white by default, is geared towards expert players, as he has excellent maximum speed and the most stability during collisions, at the cost of having slow acceleration, and poor maneuvering and stuntwork.

Original Characters

• Nigel Carver, wearing yellow/black by default, is an all-rounder with the best maneuverability and good stuntwork, despite having a low maximum speed and poor stability on collisions.

• Serena del Mar, wearing white/red by default, is an all-rounder with excellent maneuverability and good acceleration, despite having poor stability on collisions.

Base Stats

Courses

Like Wave Race 64, the game includes three circuits for Championship mode, with the later circuits being unlockable, adding an additional course, changing the goal condition, and changing the course layout. In addition, the game includes a bonus circuit, Dolphin Park, which is used for the "Exhibition" race (which must be completed to unlock the main circuits).

• Lost Temple Lagoon
• Southern Island
• Aspen Lake
• Ocean City Harbor
• Arctic Bay
• La Razza Canal (Hard/Expert only)
• Strongwater Keep (Expert only)

Arctic Bay, La Razza Canal, and Strongwater Keep are unlocked for other modes once they are cleared in Championship mode. In addition, each course has multiple weather conditions that are unlocked for other modes once they are cleared with that weather condition active.

Unlike Wave Race 64, all circuits are available in Stunt Mode, and players can now freely roam in them with Free Roam Mode. Dolphin Park is not available in Time Attack mode

Water Conditions

New to the series are weather conditions, with all seven Championship courses having five of them (some of which is unlocked from the start):

• Sunny
• Cloudy
• Light Showers
• Rainy
• Stormy

More rainy weather leads to higher and more intense waves, sometimes changing the course layout due to a higher water level. Sometimes the weather itself changes throughout the race.

Game Modes

• Championship: Player competes against seven computer player on various courses. There are four circuits: Exhibition, Normal, Hard and Expert. Each circuit consists of seven days and the player is free to choose which course he wants to play. At the end of each race the player is awarded with points based on the position he or she finished in, they need a total of points to beat each course and advance to the next day; if this total is not reached, they have to restart the circuit. The player with most points at the end of the circuit wins.
• Time Attack: Like in most racing games the objective is not to win, but to finish as fast as possible. Ghost data can also be saved so the player can race against his or her own ghost in the form of a small yellow helicopter. The player is free to choose the course and weather type on the course select screen, but only courses unlocked in the championship mode, Dolphin Park is not available.
• Stunt Mode: The goal here is to score as many points as possible by doing stunts; there are three levels of difficulty: Normal, Hard and Expert. Courses are divided into various blocks each with a checkpoint in every course, the player must reach the checkpoint in the time limit and if they don’t they are disqualified. This mode requires precise watercraft control and technique.
• Multiplayer: Up to four players, it can be played like a normal race or stunt mode.
• Free Roam: The player can roam freely through any course with no time limit or buoys.
• Options: To change various settings and view records.