Excitebike (1984) by Nintendo is one of the finest mixed genre game of the past. It displays a pixelated motocross motorbike on its cover, it features racing motorbikes on dirt tracks but... It's not just a racing game. At least, it's enough far from racing games canons that can fit in other genres as well.

There aren't turns to care about, no drifting to be mastered, gears to switch at the right time and no veichles to be selected in Excitebike. Instead there are well calibrated jumps to be done, obstacles to be avoided and opponents to be taken down. These are mostly the features of a platformer game and isn't surprising that Hello Games Joe Danger (2010), that took this platformer side of Excitebike to higher levels, was defined by IGN something that "felt like a Nintendo game".

Some mixes between genres became pretty obvious along the time. Quite all of today's platformers have puzzle elements in them: pure skill-based platformers were a hit during the arcade era but few years later gamers had a lot more time to spend on games at their homes, allowing more compelling and various adventures and gameplays.

The way these genres are mixed can give you very different results: non-conventional ways can produce very original and interesting experiences, like in EA Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure (2009), in which our usual puzzle/plaformer blend... is played as two distinct and linked games to be controlled simultaneously!

Sometime the mix feels so both fresh and obvious, like in Valve FPS/Puzzle Portal (2007), that can be considered the root of a brand new genre. The success of The Witness (2016) is well deserved, since it expanded the Portal narratives and mechanics in a more videogame flavoured blend.

There are even game genres that are clearly blends, like the metroidvania genre, which mixes exploration, platforming and RPG elements from Nintendo Metroid (1986) and Konami Castlevania (1986) - but mostly from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

People reacts to genre blends in very different ways: I've met people praising Atlus masteripece Persona 4 (2008) for its balanced mix between JRPG and dating sim elements and someone else heavily criticizing it for being a watered down experience of both of the genres.

So are these mixes a good thing or not? As usual, it depends... but it's all about being open minded and appreciating differences and opportunities as they are. This can make you a better gamer... and, probably, a better human too.

Plot!

Time to face the daily Motocross Roguelike Challenge, rider! Jump on your motorbike, go full throttle and stunt along the track for the best score! Wheelies, perfect landings and turbo pads can boost your speed but... be careful! Bad landings and wet sand can slow down you down... and rocks or reckless driving can even break your motorbike!

Use the A BUTTON for accelerating, UP/DOWN for changing track and LEFT/RIGHT for changing pitch. Good luck!

PS: A year later I've found this little game still fun to play! It already had a pretty good highscoring system, so I've just added some sound effects here and there.

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Install / Add to home View game sources ...or play it online below!