In late January 2020, Nintendo renewed their trademarks on nearly 40 titles in their library. Some of those renewals are exciting and others are just, well, meh, whatever. In all honesty, it could all mean nothing. It is possible Nintendo is just protecting their property, as it has always done so darn well. But could it also mean that the Switch is getting ready to see some new classic titles? Maybe some remasters? First let’s check out the list of renewed titles and get on board with one title today:

• Alleyway
• Animal Crossing: City Folk
• Balloon Kid
• Card Hero
• Cruis’n
• Dillon’s Rolling Western The Last Ranger
• Eternal Darkness
• Face Raiders
• Freaky Forms
• Golden Sun Dark Dawn
• Jam With The Band
• Kid Icarus
• Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards
• Kirby Air Ride
• Kirby Mass Attack
• Kirby’s Adventure
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
• Mario Sports
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong Mini-Land Mayhem!
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong Minis March Again!
• Nintendogs + Cats
• Nintendo Presents Style Boutique
• Phantom Hourglass
• Pullblox
• Pushmo
• Radar Mission
• Shadows of Almia
• Spirit Camera
• Steel Diver
• Super Mario Sunshine
• Super Mario World
• Swapnote
• Urban Champion
• WarioWare: Smooth Moves
• Wave Race
• Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

This list was pulled from videogamer.com, an early reporter of this news.

WAVE RACE SERIES – Quick History

Wave Race – Game Boy

Wave Race was first introduced on the Game Boy in 1992 to much critical acclaim! Featuring 2 to 4 player multiplayer racing action, it was one of the few games that truly utilized the Game Boy 4-player adapter to its full potential! Wave Race sold exceptionally well! It was a handheld miracle for fans of racing games that may have been looking for some variety after playing games like F-1 Race, Super Off-Road, Super R.C. Pro-Am, and more.

Wave Race 64 – N64

A short 4 years after the Game Boy’s Wave Race, fans were graced with Wave Race 64, a satisfying 3D jet ski racing game that showcased the Nintendo 64’s capabilities. It’s tough to compare the Game Boy game to the N64 game as the technological improvements from one to the other almost feel like comparing apples to oranges. Shigeru Miyamoto was very hands-on for Wave Race 64, and it shows! When you really think about what Wave Race 64 is — jet skis racing on water — the game easily could have been extremely one-dimensional and thus very boring. But Nintendo has always excelled at taking ordinary concepts and making them fun-as-hell!

Although Wave Race 64 wasn’t a technical launch title, it did release about 1 month after the system launched (November 1, 1996). Early titles like this and Pilotwings 64, Super Mario 64, and Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey were more than just fun games, they showcased Nintendo’s prowess for quality gaming, even in the face of change. The fourth generation of gaming saw developers FULLY embracing 3D graphics, which in retrospect wasn’t always so great.

The Nintendo 64 has its fair share of games that don’t quite hold up 20+ years later. Despite obviously looking very dated, Wave Race 64 holds up fairly well and is still fun to play! Upon its release in 1996, everything about this game was incredible!

Wave Race: Blue Storm – GameCube

In 2001, Nintendo launched their next gen system, the adorable purple GameCube. This system marked Nintendo’s first successful foray into disc-based gaming, and subsequently their best system to date. The GameCube is famous for many things, most famously for its super ergonomic controller and Smash Bros: Melee, the game by which all Smash fans measure subsequent Smash sequels. Unfortunately, Wave Race: Blue Storm is undeservedly forgotten, despite strong sales and quality reviews.

Featuring next-level graphics and sound (incredible by 2001’s standards), Wave Race: Blue Storm came flying out of the gate as a quality launch title. I remember 2001, at Funcoland, picking up my reserved GameCube and perusing the short list of games. I wasn’t totally thrilled to get this one, but I didn’t have that many choices on GameCube launch day. When I got home and popped the tiny itty bitty disc in, I was more than surprised. Blown away in fact.

Wave Race: Blue Storm is an extremely solid racing title with some of the generation’s best water physics. I mean, I was impressed. Tight controls paired with beautiful visuals make for a strong racing title, no? Blue Storm delivers exactly that, but gets us off the asphalt and onto the water. Perhaps the best part of Blue Storm is the continued focus and emphasis on 4-player racing that has been a strong part of the series since day 1. Overall, Wave Race: Blue Storm should be on any Top 5 racing games list for the GameCube, and somewhere in the top 25 for best games on the GameCube.

Wave Race Coming to Switch?

How it has been almost 20 years since the last Wave Race game is beyond me. Somehow we have managed to go through the Wii, Wii U, Game Boy Advance, DS, 3DS, and a few years of Switch life with nothing more than rumors and speculation of a new Wave Race title. A producer for the Wave Race series did make very weak hints at a possible revival in early 2018, but that clearly never came to fruition. Despite all of that, something tells me we might see one on the Switch! This trademark renewal has spurred a lot of internet chatter, but it’s Wave Race that captures my attention.

This series is stronger than people realize with a devoted cult-like following hidden in the shadows. Each title is lauded for its water physics and joyous, scenic tracks, so why not bring that hotness to the red-hot Switch? I see endless possibilities for ways the game could be successful on the Switch. Namely, what about online multiplayer races? Motion controls? Add some F-Zero elements with booster pads, Wipeout elements with weapons, and Mario Kart 8 elements with anti-gravity.

Simply put, the Switch is a perfect system for a new Wave Race game. I can see the simplicity of split joy-cons between two players working out perfectly. One of my major concerns for bringing Wave Race to the Switch is: I don’t know that the same style of game we saw on N64 and GC will be sufficient today. Previous Wave Race games thrived on being realistic and offering extremely solid gameplay. Somehow that seriousness was fun, I guess we chock it up to Nintendo quality! But the Switch pales in comparison to what the upcoming Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will be able to do capability-wise. So how can we expect an ultra-realistic jet-ski racer to stack up against anything Xbox and PS5?

If we do see a Wave Race Switch game, will we be as impressed with the water graphics? Will the watercraft physics be better than what we already have in games like Aqua Moto Racing: Utopia? Can they include enough elements to make it more than just a continuation of Wave Race: Blue Storm? Only time will tell if Nintendo does anything exciting with their newly renewed trademark of the Wave Race series. Maybe this isn’t about the Switch at all, and maybe we’ll find ourselves enjoying a new Wave Race on our mobile phones one day. Hm. I guess we’ll all just have to wait and dream until then. Splash.