Excitebike

Excitebike
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher	Nintendo
System	NES, Arcade, Game Boy Advance, e-Reader, Virtual Console (Wii, 3DS, Wii U), NEC PC-8801
Release Date	Nintendo Entertainment System JP November 30, 1984 NA October 18, 1985 EU September 6, 1986 JP December 9, 1988 (FDS) Arcade US 1984 e-Reader US September 16, 2002 Game Boy Advance JP February 14, 2004 US June 2, 2004 EU July 9, 2004 Wii Virtual Console EU February 16, 2007 JP March 13, 2007 US March 19, 2007 3DS (3D Classic) US June 6, 2011 PAL June 7, 2011 JP June 7, 2011 Wii U Virtual Console April 26/27, 2013 Wii U Virtual Console (Vs.) JP August 8, 2015 US September 26, 2015
Rating	ESRB: E

Excitebike is a motocross racing game for the NES. It debuted in Japan, selling for 5000 yen.

Gameplay

In Excitebike, the player is trying to beat a certain time limit on each track. If they manage to beat the track's time limit, they advance to the next race. In Mode A, the player races solo while Mode B adds other racers as an added obstacle.

Excitebike also featured a Design Mode, which allowed players to make their own tracks. In Japan, the tracks could be saved with the Famicom Data Recorder. Since that accessory was never released in America and Europe, players in those regions couldn't save their tracks. However, the functionality was added for all countries in the Virtual Console version.

Legacy

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, the driver from Excitebike is available as a trophy. Several of 9-Volt's microgames in the WarioWare games are based on Excitebike. Additionally, Level 16 of Tetris DS's Standard Mode has an Excitebike theme. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Excitebike Riders (in 8 bit form) may sometimes appear when the Assist Trophy is used. They ram into any player that gets into their way (except for the user).

Excerpts of Excitebike were also used in NES Remix and Ultimate NES Remix, which presented challenges using parts of classic NES games and also combined elements from the different games. Additionally, DLC for Mario Kart 8 included a stage based on Excitebike known as Excitebike Arena.

Sequels

Excitebike has had several sequels: Excitebike 64 for the Nintendo 64, Excite Truck and Excitebots: Trick Racing for the Wii and more recently Excitebike: World Rally for WiiWare.

Ports and Remakes

• In Japan, Hudson Soft was allowed to port Excitebike to the NEC PC-8801.
• In 1988, an enhanced version of Excitebike was available for the Famicom Disk System as well as the Vs. Unisystem arcades in 1984. These versions featured new music and two-player racing games.
  • In September 2018, the arcade version of Excitebike was released for download on the Nintendo Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series.
  • VS. Excitebike was released for download on the Wii U as part of the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015. This version was made available to America for the first time through this release.
• A special version of the game called BS Excitebike Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium was available for the Satellaview system. It featured Mario characters as the playable racers riding the motorcyles.
• The original Excitebike was unlockable in Excitebike 64.
• In 2002, Excitebike-e was released as an e-Reader game.
• Excitebike was released for the Game Boy Advance as part of the Classic NES Series in 2004.
• Excitebike was also unlockable in the 2004 Gamecube game Animal Crossing.
• The game was added to the Wii Virtual Console in 2007.
• In 2011, it was released with the launch of the 3DS's eShop as the first game made available for the 3D Classics series. As a 3D Classic, it is similar to the original, but modified with stereoscopic 3D visuals. It could be downloaded for free for a limited time: until July 7th in all areas except Japan, where it was available until the end of July.
• In 2013, Excitebike was released for download on the Wii U as part of the Wii U Virtual Console. It was one of the launch titles for the Virtual Console, although its release was preceded by several Trial Campaign games.
• In 2018, it was among the NES games made available to play as part of the Nintendo Switch Online service. It was part of the first wave of games that were made available with the launch of the service in September 2018. This version included cooperative and competitive online multiplayer options.