Virtual Console Reviews

I might consider downloading this, I have a lot of good memories of my childhood with this, plus my dad loved this game.

Yeah, I love this game. Might not be that much of a good game, actually, but I have fond memories of this. I love how the arcade cabinet had Ultra 64 in it. ^^
...but do we really need yet another racing game for the N64 on the VC?

Ugh. Another racing game? They should have picked Majora's Mask instead.

This is a good one. Me wants!

Finally another arcade racing game! I hope Out run and Super Moncio GP for Sega Genesis are not too far behind. Anyway I look forward to playing this game.

This is the game Nintendo and Midway made that's mostly in Arcades right? That sounds cool, but i'm kinda frustratred that it's another RACING N64 game. I mean what about the games from other companies!

It was ok, I'd much rather have Rush 2 though

cool, i had some fond memories playing this game back in the day but ill probaly wait for world instead

This isn't just bad - its offensive. I therefore feel completely safe to proclaim that Cruis'n USA is one of the worst videogames ever, and whoever took the decision to release it on VC should hang their head in shame.

I am sorry i hate this game soo much it was so bad it made the virtual boy look good

One of the cool and classics game to play for the N64... but i like the arcade version better cause it sounds way better too.

i never played it,but i'm sure it is NOT better then majora's mask,rush and other bizarre stuff for nintendo 64,like space station silicon valley.It's a shame we'll never get to see clsassics like perfect dark or conker's,thanks to rare....

god i love this game, reminds me of my summer holidays last year in france. my seven year old loved it

cruisiiiiinnnnn.....

I agree with luke

this game was ok...got kind of repetitive, not too much different in all the levels. have it for my 64 already so there's no point in downloading it. also after you get one of the secondary cars the game gets boring, and you don't want to go through all the levels again.

I loved this game growing up, I remember clearing every race first place and I loved to use the gold car, and then when I found out about the cheat code cars I loved using the police car =P. I really liked how it was a Point A - Point B racing game rather than one which centered around laps, I've played so few of those I guess this still stands as fresh to me in that way.

Love that early level where you drive through a forest and the trees fall, too =P. Sold it when the GCN came out along with most other N64 games to afford GCN games, so I'll definitely be giving it a download when it comes out.

WARNING - DO NOT BUY THIS GAME
Controls are unresponisve, terrible frame rate that slows right down if too much is happening. Tracks are boring, cars are boring, music is awful. This is a real stinker. The arcade version was definitely more playable, but it still SUCKED!

It looks ok i guess.. maybe if a free 1000 credits comes around one day, i will get it.. That most probably will be NEVER!

I don't get why everybody's whining about how bad Cruis'n USA is. It's a fun Arcade Racer

Definitely avoiding ths one, i read a review back in the N64 days from NOM (it was an offical nintendo magazine in my country) which they gave this game a bad review saying the game can be completed quickly and the music is awful. The sequel is better though.

Ew... at first I was like "Why does everyone hate this game? Cruis'n World is a great game!" then I noticed it wasn't Cruis'n World...

why another racing game? there are enough racing games on VC why can't Nintendo bring out Super smash bros. or something

i could think of about 20 games that should come out instead of this
if i wanted to play this i would go to chuckee cheeses (arcade place in usa ) and pay only 25¢

i agree with lando, they need to stop only putting racing games on N64. We aleready have mariokart, F-zero, and wave race.

@Sariku: There is no gameplay difference between Cruisn' USA and Cruisin' the World.

to all others: you might like this oversimplified straightforward arcade racer.
but if you want realistic physics and deep gameplay avoid it!

"I don't get why everybody's whining about how bad Cruis'n USA is. It's a fun Arcade Racer"

^qft. Well worthy of a VC release, this one.

Realistic physics, feh. Realistic racing games are among the most boring games on the planet.

@ Adament
Here Here! Thats why I hate Gran Tursismo!

"A two-player mode has been included but even it can’t save the game from mediocrity"

You're saying it can't be saved from mediocrity, but still you're giving it just a single star?

I remember the legendary N64 Magazine (UK) review of this back in '98:

"Dump."

True, true.

We, at least this time we don't get it 1.5 years later than the Americans but even before them.

Yeah, now we just need Excitebike 64 2 years before JPN.

Well after some extensive research, the Cruis'n game I actually had fun with back in the day was Cruis'n World, not USA. In fact, I've never even played USA.

I might still give this a try someday though.

It really bugs me that medicore games like this are being released on the VC when there are much better N64 games that we could have had instead, such as pilotwings 64, Goldeneye, Donkey Kong 64 and many more. Be another 4 weeks or more now before we see what crap N64 game we are getting next. Although there are some good N64 games on there. We,ll be waiting a lifetime before the N64s catalouge is complete. i wont be Downloading this game for sure. I would advice anyone to get F-zero x, Mario kart 64,1080 snowboarding or Wave Race 64. They are all top qualtiy and worth downloading. Dont let Nintendo rip you of with crap like Cruis,n USA

They can't all be winners it seems. Crap.

I wish they released Road Rash 64 and Destruction Derby 64, both by Looking Glass and destributed by THQ. I have them both and Im afraid not many people know just how good both games are... wich slims the odds of them making it to the VC.

i got this straight away, i loved it in the arcades fantastic game much better than the wii remake, still just as good as i remember it being.

I LUV DIS GAEM!!!! Wait... no I don't!

What's with the overly negative review? I never really played it but one star? Seems a little over blown. I know a few people who really liked this game. Was it that awful? I'm not really into racing games so I think I'll pass anyway.

@Link79 - I have to agree with Damo. I remember this from back in the days and it is a real stinker. Cruis'n World was quite a lot better, I wonder if your friends are thinking of that.

I remember this one and the Europe and World iterations as fine arcade games as "realistic" as Burnout or NFS. Never played the N64 version though.

I would recomend everyone avoid this one and get Cruisn' World instead when it comes out.

I'll just repeat my question:
"A two-player mode has been included but even it can’t save the game from mediocrity"

You're saying it can't be saved from mediocrity, but still you're giving it just a single star?

An answer would come highly appreciated.

@KeeperBvK - Are you asking why Damo awarded this a paltry 1 star if he considers the game mediocre? I think the reasoning is clear in the tone of the review. Cruis'n USA is a mediocre game coupled with terrible framerate problems. I suppose if not for the framerate problems he might have awarded it 2 stars.

Actually, I wouldn't even get Crusin World, I'd wait for Crusin Exotica.

Yup, that's what I was asking and I actually gotta say, that Damo's review doesn't state it's an otherwise mediocre game with a terrible frame rate, but rather a game that's mediocre, the frame rate already counted in.
But so in the end it's a terrible game (hence one star) and not a mediocre game, correct?...or at least in his eyes.
I'd rate it two stars for basically delivering what it tries to deliver: Nonsense arcade racing. In my eyes it's definitely not among the worst VC games, although it's still pretty weak.

ha. yeah. i'd rather download Cruis'n USA than download two 1-star NES games.

this game kicks! i gave it 5 stars to balance the rating a bit...
its more a 3 star game boosted to 4 though because it's
so much fun

this game kicks! i gave it 5 stars to balance the rating a bit...
its more a 3 star game boosted to 4 though because it's
so much fun

If you don't think it's worth 5 stars just don't give it that rating, please. Else, that's rigging the votes.

Also... Are you sure you've played this same game, rather than Cruisin' the World?

This review is a prime example why you shouldn't let reviews determine if you play a game or not. I don't think this game is anywhere as bad as the other games that share the same rating. Sure it's nothing great, but it's AT LEAST AVERAGE.

3/5 for the game
1/5 for the review

Whats with the harsh rating? This game is very similair to OutRun and is quite good (3.5 Stars). I Think this game deserves a fair go...

It's true this game is no masterpiece, but it can be fun when played with 2 people. I guess I'm in the minority of people who like this game. I'd give it a 3 out of 5

I remember playing this when it hit N64 and enjoying this because I really liked the notion of a cross country race. The races were too short though, but I know it was made for the arcade where a single session isn't expected to last more than fifteen minutes (I think the main reason it was made was for Nintendo was to showcase its Ultra 64 hardware early on before the console was released, so one could look at this as a glorified tech demo...but I may be wrong). I'm not sure if I'll download this. I had fun playing it back in the day, but the game (let alone the series) hasn't aged well...but there are worse ways going about spending 1,000 Wii Points. I'll get it only if I'm really desparate for a road trip (which is rare because I travel a lot).

there are some n64 titles that are worth 10 bucks.
this one is not

Some of the 'why?' comments in this thread are hilarious.

Why would we award a terrible, jerky, slow, poorly rendered and terribly programmed racing game 1 star?

Why do you think?

I don't understand the bad review either... sure the game isn't worthy of 5 stars but I'd at least expect it to get 2 1/2 or 3.

I personally loved this game when I was younger. And no matter how hard I try, I can't recall any of the problems the reviewers seem to have. I don't remember anything jerky or slow about the game... nor do I recall driving through objects or crashing into things miles away.

Did something go wrong with the VC port?

I can't recall any of the problems as well

I wonder how many people have downloaded it already

i would expect to see it on the top 20 downloads for the coming month.

I had this. Played it, hated it, put it away. Did I mention I had recieved it for free? It is that bad.

I didn't think that there would be a N64 game on the VC that would recieve a 1 out of 5.

i like cruisin usa, its sequels,world and exotica are very rare, hope they make it to the vc

I watched a video demo of this on another site. I have to say it still looks like a cool game. Plus I enjoy arcade racers

@MasterMario: So you are suggesting that there are no bad games whatsoever on the N64?

I beg to differ...

Not a Cruis'n fan but this game doesn't deserve a 1 out of 5. More like a 2 out of 5.

Its a real shame that we are getting crap like this on the VC. we dont get many N64 games then we got to put up with this rubbish when there are much better games that could have come to the VC. Who ever had the idea to bring this to the VC should be very ashamed.

The best in the Crusin' series, far better than crusin' exotic or world. This is an honest 5 stars, I loved the game new and it is nearly as enjoyable to re-live, 1000 wii points is a bit steep, but I'm getting my money out of it. I was shocked to see such a low rating, I guess nerds don't enjoy racing games. I also have to say, this game is far more fun and holds much higher replay factor then any Zelda/Link game to date. Don't hesitate to purchase!

"I was shocked to see such a low rating, I guess nerds don't enjoy racing games...this game is far more fun and holds much higher replay factor then any Zelda/Link game to date"

ROFL

Cruis'n USA is not as bad as the review sounds. I dowloaded it and I have not experienced any of these framerate drop-offs. Also I think it's hilarious the way the cars flip around when you have a wreck. It seems that most non-American gamers hate this game. I played the crap out of this game with my brother and sister and the nostalgia factor is through the roof for me. I played through the single-player mode and couldn't help but smile the whole way through. It made me feel like a little kid again. I don't care how crappy everyone else says this game is... it reminds me of my childhood and I still get a kick from playing it and that's all that counts.

I'd rather get this game in its original cartridge. Why?, so i can BURN IT!!!!!!

@Damo: The reason I said that was I didn't think that Nintendo would put a bad game on the VC. What's next, Superman 64?

I dont want my car to handle like a Grand Turismo game(awful) where you need a real driving wheels and a set of pedal to fully play it.1) Is the framerate that bad, can someone compare it to something that has the same problem of slowness? I really dont care if the graphics are 2D or not, and the handling, 2)isn't it perfect for this game?
@waldojeffershead-I think the only Zelda games that are good and not boring like the one that came for the Wii, are the SNES and the first one for N64 in that order, I always thought that for the Wii they were going to add newstuff and battle system, they just went back to "a link to the past", ugh.
@Lando- Im asking those two question because it's at the top ten most popular and hasn't back down yet.

Alright, I have to admit that I liked Cruis'n USA when it was in the arcade. At the time, the graphics seemed pretty good and it was much harder to notice the wonky handling when you were sitting in an arcade cabinet with a steering wheel (of course, playing it today, the game feels absolutely ridiculous). There was even some pretty cool novelties in this game, like hitting deer or driving a bus, shortcuts, etc. that helped make it feel like a solid, competent racer. At the time, I thought it was decent competition for other arcade racers, like Ridge Racer.

I also enjoyed the fact that you got another free race if you won, which I could usually do the first time around (after that, it seems as though the rubber-band AI would make it impossible to get another free race). And of course, I loved it for the fact that I was getting a glimpse at the next generation of Nintendo hardware, the "Ultra 64." I think that probably even skewed my bias in favor of the game a bit.

But here's the thing: by the time this game came out on the Nintendo 64, it had already been far surpassed by other racers, both in the arcades and on home consoles of competitors Sony and Sega. I'm not even kidding when I say that nostalgia was the only reason to play this on the Nintendo 64 (with all the delays of the N64, it really did feel like it took THAT long to come out). And even that wasn't enough to save this game, because it barely resembled the arcade version.

When you looked back at the arcade game, which seemed a lot more polished (and yet still not all that graphically complex), it really made you wonder about the difference between the hardware in your console and the hardware in the arcade cabinet (which was supposed to be pretty much the same) and why the Nintendo 64 couldn't even handle such a simple arcade arcade game. I chalk that up to Midway doing an extremely poor port job. The frame rate problems seemed odd given that the graphics were "dumbed down" to accommodate the obviously less-powerful console, so clearly the code wasn't optimized for the hardware. I bet that the "Ultra 64" arcade hardware was significantly different from the final N64 hardware which went through so many delays, and Midway just scrambled to get it done as fast as possible as Nintendo had an extremely small number of launch titles.

The handling was ridiculous. Even in the arcade version, the cars rotated as if they were on a pole (which was even more noticeable when taken out of the arcade and put into the home using an analog thumb stick). They didn't feel like they're interacting with the track at all. In more recent arcade sequels (I would never insert another Cruis'n cartridge into my N64 again after this fiasco), they seem to have sped the games up a bit, which actually exacerbates the noticeably bad handling.

There is no AI to speak of in any Cruis'n game to date, as far as I can tell. You can feel your rivals hovering behind your car in the air just in front of your TV screen, as if they are chained to your bumper. You know they are there, because at the slightest mistake, they will slingshot ahead of you. And of course, sometimes they are inexplicably slower or faster than you (for no reason other than to make the race "close"), and there's simply nothing you can do about it. Midway is notorious for this "rubber-band" crap, and apparently someone in an office somewhere thought it makes games more fun, but it's extremely aggravating to have an entire race of flawless driving ruined by one little mistake near the end.

The first Cruis'n was definitely the best, and if you liked the game, maybe it's still worth a quarter in the arcade cabinet, but I rented the N64 version long ago (after being dissuaded from purchasing it by poor reviews) and was extremely disappointed. I think you'd have to be nuts to pay $10 for this game, to be honest (especially if you already bought the cart years ago).

Here's the bottom line: the arcade game was a disposable racer with a few novelties thrown in, meant to showcase the Ultra 64 hardware. Even the arcade version didn't even withstand the test of time by the time the home version came out. Then, instead of adding depth, updating the handling, or basically improving ANYTHING, they rush out a glitchy, crappy port. I liked the arcade game a lot, but this version even ruined that for me. If you pay money to download this game, you are a sucker. Sorry, but that's the inescapable truth.

I apologize for writing such a lengthy comment.

Wow... you know... you can copy paste that whole comment for San Francisco Rush games and the whole game lineup in Midway Arcade Treasures 3... dang... "Arcade"? Offroad Thunder and Hydro Thunder was a frameskip mania in comparison to it's real arcade counter-parts, SF 2049 has a huge problem saving(it may erase your whole M.A.T.3 save) and the only truly arcade there was SF Alcatraz Edition. I recommend Midway to launch California SPEED and/or Cruis'n World...better yet... Nintendo better let EA launch Beetle Adventure Racing.

I don't want to use a word like completely as some points are valid, but it's a nearly completely unfair scoring on this game. Yes, against non-arcade based games it is a bit limited, that's a given as all racing quarter munchers end up that way. Honestly the game captured the Crusin' USA arcade game fairly well aside from some really cruel censorship of the bikini bimbos into mostly covered girls which was just dumb. The handling worked well, collision was good as well (Far nicer than Ridge Racer 64 was by a longshot much years later.) The big problem with the game is that it's limited in being an arcade game and with that can wear thin a lot faster just due to limited content, but it is a good racer and I think should have been more fairly scored on a 3/5 rating or even a 2.5 if need be but 1 is indefensible and I'm not even a huge fan of it by any means.

J.K. - I'm not arguing that it isn't a decent conversion of the arcade game. The issue here is that the arcade version was a terrible game to start off with, and this watered-down port is even worse.

I'd say a 1/5 is perfectly defensible when you consider how godawful this game really is. I understand that many people have a soft spot for it but I honestly think it's a clear cut case of rose tinted specs being worn. This isn't a good racing game; in fact I'd even go as far as to say it's one of the worst examples of the genre I've ever experienced in my long time as a gamer.

Ahh I had it, but it was never a huge favorite of mine. My argument was that it drove well enough compared to some other racers on the system, and it had a nice small variety of cars, and sadly ultimately more track to mess with than the Rush titles which is sad in itself. I just think 1 was way too harsh.

"This isn't a good racing game; in fact I'd even go as far as to say it's one of the worst examples of the genre I've ever experienced in my long time as a gamer."

Yup, that's Cruis'n in a nutshell. By far, the worst part of the game is that it aged extremely poorly. The arcade game was passable when new but even by the time it had hit the console, it was extremely outdated.

Oh yeah, I didn't realize this until a few days ago but the original Cruis'n arcade hardware was actually a 32-bit Williams board.

My friend has the original cart for this game and he says it's really good. But i can't decide to belive the half a million people who say this game is bad, or the 5 people who say it's good....

Absolutely nothing compared to F-zero X

1 star was waaaaaay too generous