Zordix Is Bringing Aqua Moto Racing Utopia And Snow Moto Racing Freedom To Retail On Switch

Hope they're gonna be on "temporary discount" every other week like on 3DS !

I will need to see reviews for the games before I get excited. Though Nintendo are missing a trick with no new Wave race or Snowboarding 1080.

In the absence of Wave Race, this is very much appreciated.

This is pure greed. They are probably gonna charge full price for each when both is only worth 30 combined.

@FragRed Both been out for a while on other platforms. Reviews below.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/aqua-moto-racing-utopia

Anyone know if these are any good? I was interested in them on 3DS but the graphics were awful. Now they should be a bit cleaner on Switch but I'm still iffy as I already have Fast RMX and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe so this would have to be pretty fun to buy another racing game. It looks a little like a cheap simple indie game but I've also been craving a jet ski racing game since I finished with Blue Storm.

Ordered Aqua Moto Racing Utopia a week ago. Cant't wait

I have the 3DS games and my god they are bad. I've had some fun with them because of Download Play but most laughs are about how awful they are.

I am very surprised these games are reaching retail when games like Sonic Mania are not.

Also saw these listed on the EB Game site. They're two of the cheaper Switch games but still more expensive than titles like Lego Worlds, Sonic Forces and Rayman Legends Definitive Edition. I was more exited to see the listing for Axiom Verge Multiverse Edition which is the same price.

@Moon
I guess Sonic doesn't need "shelf visibility" : most people who would have bought it physical bought it digital.
(I said "most". Keep cool, people !)

Says it all really

I can only speak for Aqua Moto Utopia, but I'm afraid it's not too great. I bought into the early access, and though there's been improvements since then, the full release has some really stiff animation that totally kills the aesthetic, and really detracts from the racing on water thing. It looks pretty in stills, but in motion, it kinda falls apart. Controls are average, and just not as good as even WR: Blue Storm, let alone Wave Race 64. It's not terrible, but it was a big disappointment for me, personally.

A new Wave Race these ain't. Honestly, I'd be happier - if not giddy - with ports of Wave Race and/or Blue Storm than some meh filler.

I'm not saying these games are complete shovelware but they aren't the most robust of games. Sure I have them on 3ds and liked them as they filled my Waverace and 1080 urges but they are getting retail versions? Games like FastRMX and Sonic Mania which are more complete packages can't? I'm starting to see an alarming trend on switch emerge. Games like Has Been Heroes and Troll and I which are at best small indie, perhaps even borderline shovelware titles come to retail on Switch. I don't think this is healthy for the system.

@crackafreeze Man I remember that on GameCube. At the time the graphics blew me away with the water splashing on the screen, it's amazing how far technology has come as it looks terrible now.

i ll wait for WaveRace on Switch .......even if it takes a lifetime

Yeah, Snow Moto didn't get a very good rating either on Metacritic, lol.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/snow-moto-racing-freedom

That screenshot looks just like Wave Race

Back before digital only options plenty of garbage wound up on disc or cartridge. It lends legitimacy to the consumer where there should be none. "They wouldn't allow a company to put an awful game on their system" said every 80's, 90's, 00's, and 10's kid ever. We've all learned our lesson at some point. Thank goodness for the internet in general and review sites that attempt to guide us away from Vroom in the Night Sky, Mighty No 9, and Troll and I.

Another Nintendo substitute... How disappointing. No F-Zero? Get FAST Racing RMX. No Wave Race? Get this crap. Seriously Nintendo, just start making these games and we won't have to get this crap.

In the absence of Wave Race and 1080° I'd still hold off. Vector Unit's Beach Buggy Racing has already seen a port. If they bring Riptide: Renegade to Switch I'd be more interested.

I'll prob get these. They were both a pretty cheap price if I recall correctly.

It's shocking in this day and age with the advancements in the EASE of 3D development and physics that nobody can touch the inverse kinetic animation and physics of Wave Race 64 or even Diddy Kong Racing.

Seriously, Nintendo's very first attempt at a 3D racing game, Rare's first attempt back when they had NO training or knowledge of 3D development destroys modern competition - these Indie devs should be hanging their heads in shame.

we need a new Wave Race for the Switch

@Yasaal You make it sound as though FAST is a bad game...FAST is a most excellent game.

Vector Unit should release Hydro Thunder on the Switch. Nobody else these days can simulate water in a fun way like those people can.

@Hughesy Looks terrible now? Seriously? Even today, the lighting, water effects and physics hold up more than well enough to still make it a thoroughly enjoyable experience, even for more modern/younger gamers. I have this installed on my modded Wii and it looks just fine on a big HD plasma screen.

And more so considering that this is a non-HD game. Even the startup and loading screens still look nice and very polished.

I don't know how someone could consider this ugly, unless they consider everything that isn't HD ugly. Only then would it make some sense, albeit in a twisted and highly arbitrary way...

Just look at it:

This ship may have sailed for a 5.99 game to a retail release..........I do like the jet ski game. But will it finally have online added or local multiplayer? Not to mention, what kind of graphics upgrade will it get? Seriously these are games I will more than likely pick up in a bargain bin.

@Ventilator I would think 19.99 combined. In fact they should be on the same chip as a two in one release. This is a horrible idea unless they are adding some godly online options which I doubt.

@Indielink True. But it's not FZero. And no matter how great it is, I doubt it'll be able to ditch the 'F Zero' tag it's got stuck with.

@FragRed Yes! I've been dying for a new Wave Race or 1080 since the GameCube.

Looks decent.

Appreciate the physical release though, most definitely.

@ThanosReXXX Nah it looks terrible now, you must have nostalgia glasses on. Going from playing a game at 4K on PC to looking at that isn't great, for it's time it was great.

@Windy : Lets hope its a bundled budget release, as none of them is AAA games.

@Hughesy Nope, no nostalgia glasses: factual glasses, taking into account and consideration ALL factors, such as the aforementioned "not being HD", and if you see it for what it is, it is still a pretty decent game, and those physics are still top notch. I'd consider looking at it with nostalgia glasses to be when you only judge the game from (fond) memory, not when you're still playing it to this day, like I am.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it looks awesome or is still able to blow people away, because that is certainly not true, but it didn't go from revolutionary to ugly in three generations, it just settled at "still more than good enough to play and enjoy".

If you wanna be harsh and condemn it for not being HD (let alone 4K, which is even more ridiculous) then go right ahead. I'd rather stick to enjoying it, even on a decent sized, full HD plasma screen. Nothing about this game bothers me when playing it on there, other than wondering what an HD version could look like, but that still doesn't deter me from thoroughly enjoying it.

@ThanosReXXX Where the hell did I condemn it? And I didn't compare it to HD resolution. And I'm not comparing it from memory, I still have it on GameCube and played it 6 or so months ago, but there's also a thing called the internet where you can look at how it looks compared to today's games. The whole point was it once looked great, but compared to how games look now it's terrible, I honestly don't see how you can say otherwise, that's like saying Gran Turismo 3 looks great even against Forza 6... For it's time it was great, nowhere did I say it wasn't enjoyable, you're the one that turned this into something when all I said was I loved the game and it looked impressive for its time...

Both Wave Race and 1080° Snowboarding need new games but Nintendo doesn't care nor do they care about F-Zero. Wave Race Blue Storm and Mario Kart Double Dash were the two GameCube games I played the most.

@Hughesy "Where the hell did I condemn it"

Okay, no offense, but you don't have to take everything I said THAT literal. You brought up it looking horrible compared to modern games, AND you brought up 4K gaming. If you did not mean that to be interpreted as anything not being HD being bad, then you could have tried to make that a bit clearer...

As for the game itself: I play it on a modded Wii connected with high-end component cables, and then the game looks considerably better with a cleaner picture than on my GameCube, which I also still happen to have hooked up to my plasma screen, but with the standard connectors.

I'm wondering if we are possibly either having a miscommunication here, or you're being selective about your own comments, since now you're only focusing on the positive things you said about the game, which is obviously not all you said.

The fact is really simple: regardless of either of our opinions, the game still looks good (and I do mean good. Not awesome, not mind blowing, but still good) and it's still perfectly playable, in large part due to the physics being so good, so other than the SD aesthetics, which may or may not deter some people, this is still a good game.

And if you allow yourself to do so, once you've done a couple of races, you can be completely immersed in it again and forget all about those "iffy graphics" and that is what makes this such a good game. (much like 1080 Avalanche, another great arcade racer that still holds up today as well) Even retro reviews still give this game top marks, so that should tell you something.

And the most important part of what I was trying to convey is also something you seem to have missed: you keep comparing it, while I propose seeing it for what it is, and that is a non-HD game. People skipping a game that might very well be great fun to play just because it isn't HD is pretty short-sighted and stupid anyway...

So, it is rather unfair and harsh to say that it looks bad compared to newer games that have all kinds of benefits both software- and hardware wise, simply because that's not a realistic comparison. Older games could never stand up to modern techniques and visuals, if solely compared on those terms.

For a GameCube game, it still looks great, especially compared to other titles on the system, and it still holds up rather well, albeit when seen in the right frame of reference.

I also didn't say that you were comparing it from memory: I said that comparing it from memory is what I consider to be looking at things with nostalgia, because that is simply very often the case, and not just with games. And all I meant to say is that this is not something that I do (or did) in regards to Wave Race on the GameCube.

As for your "And I didn't compare it to HD resolution":

How about these statements?

"Going from playing a game at 4K on PC to looking at that isn't great"

"but there's also a thing called the internet where you can look at how it looks compared to today's games"

"The whole point was it once looked great, but compared to how games look now it's terrible"

Seems to me like you actually did compare it, and not just once...

Oh, and GT3 does indeed still look good. Not great but good still, especially for a PS2 game. And I can say that while not even remotely being a Sony fan, but I can set aside my own opinion and sentiments and judge things for what they are and do so in the right perspective, which means NOT judging it against Forza 6, because that would be ridiculous and useless, but simply on its own merits as a top-tier racing sim on the PS2...

And for frame of reference and to either confirm or change my own views on Wave Race Blue Storm, I just booted it up to have a quick look at it running in demo mode, and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I've found that I don't have to change anything I said previously. Looks perfectly fine to me. And I have several HD consoles as well, and a gaming PC, so I can do the comparison thing too, but I won't, because of the whole correct frame of reference thing and all that...

@Hughesy

P.S.

And those comparison videos are a really poor frame of reference: first of all, any and all YouTube videos are horribly compressed, never giving you more than a partial idea of what a game will actually look like on real hardware, and a lot of these videos, especially with older consoles, are made using emulators, making the games run far from perfect.

Secondly, the experience of running the game in your own home and on your own hardware and TV is of course far better to not only get a look, but also a feel of a game, something that also hugely contributes to how a game's first impression impacts you.

And that even goes for getting reacquainted with games...