Play Classic NES - Excite Bike Online

Classic NES - Excite Bike is one of those simple but weirdly satisfying racing games. You start with just a basic bike, and the controls feel stiff at first—like you're wrestling with the d-pad to keep from wiping out on every turn. But after a few races, you get the hang of leaning into jumps and timing your landings.

The tracks are short but brutal, full of ramps and pits that punish bad landings. I remember one race where I kept overheating my engine because I was mashing the speed button too hard, then crashing into the same mud pit over and over. It's frustrating in that old-school way where you know it's your fault, not the game's.

What surprised me was the track editor. Messing around with hills and obstacles gives Classic NES - Excite Bike some extra life after you've raced the main courses a dozen times. It's not deep, but it's fun to build something ridiculous and then immediately eat dirt trying to ride it.

It's definitely a product of its time—no flashy graphics or complex mechanics—but there's something pure about how straightforward it is. You race, you crash, you try again.