Cruis’n is an arcade racing series with a long history on Nintendo systems that originated at Midway before Nintendo bought the IP. The original trilogy was a hit on the N64 even with some controversy over the ports, and fans had clamoured for a new game to erase the horrid Wii game, which was a reskin of Raw Thrills’ Fast and Furious game that did not port well to the system. Raw Thrills later released the new entry Cruis’n Blast to the arcades and has now brought it home to the Nintendo Switch.
Cruis’n Blast on Switch contains the original arcade mode and all five tracks for those who want to experience the game as it was originally (car licenses notwithstanding). The real meat, however, is in the Tour mode which adds 24 new tracks across sis tours of four races each. These tours each have a unique theme to them, such as city landscapes, dinosaurs, and exotics islands and are not just recycled from the arcade.
One interesting detail is that it seems RAW Thrills added content from its other arcade games into this port. For instance, some of the dinosaurs and layouts from the Jurassic Park games and content from Super Bikes seem to have made their way into Cruis’n Blast for this port. This is a good thing, as it both lets players experience more of what RAW Thrills has to offer and adds to the overall content of the game in a good way,
Cruis’n Blast is extremely over the top when compared to the previous entries, and it shows with the stages that come alive with unique elements. These elements help capture that arcade feel that are missing when it comes to modern racing simulations, which are far more realistic in comparison. After all, you will not be encountering giant Yetis in Forza or racing on Dinosaurs in Gran Turismo.
As mentioned above, there are licensed cars like the Nissan GTR, but Cruis’n Blast soon shows off many more, including the aforementioned dinosaurs, sharks. fire engines, and UFOs just to name a few. Each vehicle can then be leveled up and upgraded with things like neon lighting and body redesigns.
The game looks absolutely stunning even with some performance issues (more on that below) and the music is some of the best in the series. Plus, the thrill of taking out a rival racer and causing a crash feels great, especially with the added slow down to help players take in the effects. One thing that stands out about this port though, is the inclusion of tilt controls/gyro controls, auto acceleration and more that make Cruis’n Blast feel better on console and make up for the lack of arcade controls.
Cruis’n Blast requires players to unlock cars and more tracks as they go along, first by getting the hidden keys on each track then getting gold trophies on every tour in all difficulty settings. This may seem like an artificial way of extending the game, but it actually comes across as a throwback to the classic games of the ‘90s that often made players do the same. Besides that, the game’s fun manages to make sure that players will want to keep trying for more all the time.
Performance wise, Cruis’n Blast tries its best to hit a constant 60 frames per second, but does fall short regularly, especially when using a boost. It is not the worse thing, but the game’s frame rate struggles are noticeable, and this may have contributed to some decisions involving multiplayer. Cruis’n Blast is still fun to play though, and the frame rate drops are not a deal breaker.
In terms of control, players need not worry as the vehicle handling is weighted just right, and there is a handy drift mechanic that is easy to figure out. The drift mechanic will even bring up a gauge to show how long players should hold to get the best speed boost. In other words, players will eb able to masters the game easily and move on to the fun parts.
Now for something that needs to be addressed, the multiplayer includes split-screen for up to four players or local wireless. There is currently no online multiplayer, but Raw Thrills has indicated it may come after launch. As fun as the game is locally, it would be extremely fun to play Cruis’n Blast in all its intensity and take out other players online with crashes, but the frame rate drop mentioned above may have been a factor here.
To sum up, Cruis’n Blast is arcade brilliance come home and is something that was sorely missed in the gaming scene. Hopefully, Raw Thrills continues to update the game and ensures that there is a healthy lifespan. Perhaps if this game succeeds, they will be motivated to bring the original trilogy to Switch like they have considered.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Images were taken from Nintendo.com