5 Fun Multiplayer Experiences on the N64

Beetle Adventure Racing – Parkade Beetle Battle

“Wacky” isn’t the first word that would come to mind when thinking of a racing game dedicated to the Volkswagen Beetle, but it’s a good fit for Beetle Adventure Racing‘s non-traditional take on racing with its wild stunt-focused environments. The multiplayer Beetle Battle mode was a twist on the straight free-for-all competitions in other N64 racing games like Mario Kart 64, where you had to retrieve beetles of six alternating colours that would appear at random locations. Gather all six to have the unnecessarily loud announcer yell “Head for the exit!” as a cue to everyone that someone’s on the verge of winning.

Parkade was the best of the default maps. Whereas the Airport is an open environment and Stadium has an element of backtracking due to its longer path structure, the Parkade is a three-floor parking garage with singular points of access. In addition to collisions being common, item warfare is more potent on this map. Since missiles are animated with high velocity, dodging an attack in this confined space gets you pumping as you feel like you missed a speeding truck. Getting the silver body armor from an item crate makes you a serious threat: it’s harder to avoid without the person crashing into something, so you can completely demolish your opponents with rapid speed while snagging their beetles in the process. These variables make for an entertaining scenario of close-quarters combat.

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