positives. Most negative criticism centered around a few factors: difficulty, graphics, and similarity to Wave Race 64. The difficulty of the game was mostly to the controls, which were more twitchy and required a delicate touch on the control stick and proper use of the GameCube controller's L and R buttons. The control system in Wave Race 64, by contrast, was slower and smoother and as a result, less demanding. Graphically, the game was flagged for having decidedly low poly visuals, with uninspired art and character design. Some of Wave Race: Blue Storm'''s courses were criticized for being copies or re-designs of courses from Wave Race 64, and as such, the game felt overly-familiar. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of one eight, one nine, one eight, and one seven for a total of 32 out of 40.Blue Storm sold 62,003 units in Japan, and was the third best selling launch title for the GameCube in North America, behind Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader. It won GameSpots annual "Best In-Game Water" prize, and was nominated in the "Best Driving Game" category, which went to Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec. Appearances in other games Ryota Hayami appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a collectable trophy, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit, sporting his new look from Blue Storm. Several stickers based on Blue Storm can be collected in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. See also Splashdown'' Notes References External links Wave Race: Blue Storm at Nintendo.com (archives of the original at the Internet Archive) 2001 video games Arctic in fiction GameCube games GameCube-only games Nintendo Software Technology games Personal watercraft racing video games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in North America Video games produced by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games scored by James Phillipsen Multiplayer and single-player video games