My family and I have been looking forward to the official launch of the newest entry into the iconic Cruis’n series of driving arcade games on the Nintendo Switch ever since I heard it was going to happen several months ago. Well, that glorious day has finally arrived! And man it does not disappoint.
The Knapp Arcade has a long history with the Cruis’n series of games. It started years ago when I rented a waaay too big a U-Haul, drove it around windy mountain roads that it probably wasn’t meant to be on to pick up a bunch of games that I bought from a bowling alley in Bear Mountain New York. I picked up the OG of the series that day, Cruis’n USA, for a mere $250.
The game was such a big hit in my home arcade that we eventually upgraded and bought a Cruis’n World when my friend and arcade delivery legend Fast Eddie knew someone who was selling one. That Cruis’n World upright is still in my arcade to this day and it gets a ton of play when people come over. Given how hard it was to get into my basement, I doubt that it’s ever leaving 😂.
So when I heard that I could get the latest and greatest Cruis’n game at home without having to break my back, I was 100% in. I wondered though, how well would a game that has dedicated equipment in the arcade run on a little Nintendo Switch. Well, I’ll tell you…flawlessly.
My family received an advance copy of the game for the Switch to review. The instant we got it I downloaded it and set up our newish driving rig right in the middle of the living room where my wife doesn’t let us keep it permanently set up lol. For my birthday a month ago I picked up a HORI Mario Kart Racing Wheel Pro Deluxe for Nintendo Switch. It comes with the steering wheel and pedals and it works amazingly with almost any Switch driving game. For $99 it’s a must have.
The HORI equipment worked perfectly with Cruis’n right out of the box. No calibration or mapping necessary. If you’d rather, you can play the game in handheld mode with motion control for the steering, regular handheld mode or up on the television with a controller. We tossed this bad boy up on a 65” TV and man the graphics look amazing.
Not only does Cruis’n look great, it’s deep too. It contains an astonishing 29 different tracks to race on, including 5 from the legit arcade version of the game. On those tracks, you can race using any of the 23 different vehicles. Some of them are legit real-world cars like the Nissan GT-R and even the new GMC Hummer EV, which doesn’t even come out in real life until 2022! How cool is that? As the game progresses, players can earn money to upgrade their cars, a concept that I believe was introduced to the arcades by the amazing Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off Road back in 1989 (which we also used to own…man that cabinet is big).
My youngest son and I had an amazing time testing this game out. I think that I may buy another steering wheel for head-to-head split-screen battles. I can’t wait to
Every good arcade has a driving game. Cruis’n Blast on the Nintendo Switch and a couple of steering wheels is a cheap way for anyone to add one to their home arcade.