(AfroGamers.com) A game I often think about are 1990s Cruis’n games from Williams. I knew Williams more from its titles being more arcade-y and typically published by Midway Games. Cruis’n USA and World. At that time Midway was doing very well with some cutting-edge arcade series like Area 51, Mortal Kombat, Cruis’n, Duke Nukem 3D, Killer Instinct, NBA Jam, NBA Hangtime, Gauntlet and Rampage—all titles that received the console treatment.
For It’s Time Cruis’n USA and Cruis’n World Were Fresh
There was a time when some racing games were either 2D affairs that played from the rear or shoulder view and didn’t look that impressive. Well, a couple stood out and were impressive racing titles in the 1990s but I’m certain players believed there could be more visually.
There were also racing games that played from first-person perspective. These were often in play places or arcades but they would have a lot of success on console. The first group of games kind of crossed over into the first-person view realm via titles like Cruis’n USA and Gran Turismo which improved graphics and made for a more involved experience as far as including modes and the something similar to the accuracy of arcade racing games.
Since we had a Nintendo 64 early on, our first experience with this generation of racing games was via Cruis’n USA. I would later check out Gran Turismo at a friend’s house but I just wasn’t a fan of the first one at the time. I believe it was more that I didn’t care to learn the controls which could tie into my belief that Cruis’n’s controls were simpler.
Simply put, I just enjoyed playing the Cruis’n games for 1994 and 1996. There’s a lot of preference there, I’ll admit. There was something about how colors popped in Nintendo 64 games but looked closer to realistic on PlayStation and I noticed this between Cruis’n World and Gran Turismo. Of course, I always felt Gran Turismo was closer to simulation even in 1997 while Cruis’n World was an arcade port. It was tailor-made for the Nintendo 64 which didn’t feature many simulation games in the West.
However, for that period the game was innovative as far as the flash and accuracy that was expected going forward and how these games should look aesthetically for that period.
Ultimately, It Was Another Racer
The thing about Cruis’n is that in the 90s, you had a couple of fighting games of varying popularity, a glut of action games—expected—and a bunch of racing games. Like sure, Cruis’n USA was innovative for the early 1990s but you also had the NASCAR series which was top notch and Daytona USA which hit the Sega Saturn a year later in 1995 and was in arcades the same year as Cruis’n USA.
This was during the Nintendo-Sega rivalry as well and I’d say Daytona USA was the better example of how arcade racers should’ve delivered going into the 2000s. As a matter of fact, Daytona USA 2001 topped Cruis’n Exotica. Mind you, the Cruis’n franchise was on a severe decline as the games released on Nintendo consoles.
What other titles came out in that time and took the wind out of Cruis’n sails? You had Ridge Racer, Need for Speed, the Rush franchise started around this time, F-Zero, Sega Rally released in 1994 and kicked off a series, Midtown Racing, Mario Kart became popular in the 1990s and 2000s as did Diddy Kong Racing.
Eventually, the Cruis’n franchise just seemed dated and not as fun as the other arcade racers and it wasn’t going to give the kart racers, vehicular combat and racing sims the business. It was just another racer that dropped on Nintendo consoles and it didn’t even serve as a whistle-wetter while waiting for the next Mario Kart.
The thing is if Nintendo had gotten the license from TV Games/Raw Thrills, the game would’ve been a strong franchise post-Cruis’n World. That’s down to the games doing well in the arcades—their natural environment—but not transitioning well to newer consoles. It’s odd because most of the arcade racers had decent or better ports.
With the kind of racers that are normally on Nintendo consoles, Cruis’n is pretty dated and in relation to racing games now, it holds it down enough in arcades or play places but it just didn’t get it done in the last two console ports. It just seems like Nintendo should handle the development for consoles but there’s often a quick turnaround between the arcade release and the console release—and Ninty takes its time with game development.
What do you remember of Cruis’n USA and Cruis’n World? Could you see it being a bigger series in the 2020s? What do you believe would be needed to achieve this? Let us know down below!
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.