Play Excitebike (World) (Switch Online) Online Free

Excitebike is a motorcycle racing game developed and published by Nintendo in 1984. As one of the launch titles for the Famicom, it lets players ride a motorcycle on obstacle- and jump-filled tracks to finish races in the shortest time. It features single-player and multiplayer modes, where players use acceleration and turbo wisely while monitoring engine temperature to avoid stalling from overheating. It also includes a track editor for designing and racing on custom courses. With innovative gameplay and high track design freedom, Excitebike pioneered motorcycle racing games, has been remade and released on multiple platforms, and remains beloved by players.

Game Overview

Excitebike launched on the Famicom in Japan on November 30, 1984, directed and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and arrived as part of the NES launch line-up in North America in 1985. This entry is the NES version distributed through Nintendo Switch Online. Two ideas made its name: a built-in track editor, and an engine that overheats if you lean on the turbo. The smooth side-scrolling engine built for it was reused by the same team for Super Mario Bros.

Core Gameplay

A accelerates, B fires the turbo, which is faster but pushes the temperature bar at the bottom of the screen upward. Fill the bar and the bike is parked at the roadside for a few seconds while it cools; driving over an arrow on the track resets the temperature instantly. In the air, left and right tilt the bike, nose down for distance and nose up for height, and you must land on both wheels or crash. After a crash, mash A and B to run back to the bike. Finishing third or better in the qualifying race earns a spot in the championship race.

Design Mode and Engine Heat

Five official tracks and three modes: Selection A is a solo time run, Selection B adds CPU riders as moving obstacles, and Design Mode lets you build a course from 19 hurdle types, labelled A through S, choosing the finish point and up to nine laps. The cartridge cannot store your work; the Japanese release needed the Famicom Data Recorder cassette drive, and the save and load options in Western versions do nothing. The Switch Online release, by contrast, stores created courses on the console.

• Built-in Design Mode track editor with 19 hurdle types, labelled A through S
• Custom lap counts up to nine laps, plus a chosen finish line
• Turbo boost tied to an engine temperature bar; overheating parks you for several seconds
• Arrows on the track instantly cool the engine, so lines have to be planned around them
• Mid-air pitch control: land on both wheels or crash
• Three modes: solo time trials, CPU rival races, and your own constructions
• Directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, whose scrolling engine here carried over to Super Mario Bros.