Excitebike

I played this a week ago. It's simple these days but back when it was released there would have been more recognition for depth because you don't just jump, you have to balance your bike and make sure you don't overheat. So it's still relatively fun today.

Man, I fucking loved Excitebike. This was one of my favorite NES titles, and although I never owned a copy, it was one of the only reasons we ever went to this one kid's house. The place smelled like an ashtray, and the kid was an annoying shit, but he owned Excitebike.

A racing game that you can do tracks on. It has track from 1-5. Mostly notable in this game is that the guy runs to his bike once he wipes out. This game is side scrolling. 1 of the racing games that's like that. Great game

Dumb.

One of the first NES games, one of the best selling, and the only one that I would call easy. It takes roughly ten minutes to play. Pretty fun for what it is, which isn't much.

Navigate the obstacle course to complete laps on your bike, don't let it overheat, keep your balance, don't crash. That's all you need. Had charm but definitely hasn't aged so well.

Not much of a "racer", as it's mostly down to having a good sense of when you might want to slow down or speed up a little to avoid spilling on a hill (though you should clear the tracks easily so long as you lean forward in the air). There is a track creator to monkey around with, though.

More like borebike

This is iconic but really, really archaic stuff, amusing for a few minutes but not something I've ever been able to sink into the way I can equally old games like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong and Balloon Fight.

Maybe putting "excite" in the title provoked unrealistic expectations.

Doo doo doo do da doo, da da doo da doo dooo dooo dada dooo. I'd make courses that were just the giant ramp block with the sudden drop off and nothing but mud pits. Welcome to Hohumbike.

At least there's a bike.