While many people associate Ridge Racer or Tekken with the early years of PlayStation, for others, it's WipEout that really sums up the incredible impact Sony's 32-bit console had on the gaming landscape.
Not only did this 1995 racer represent the pinnacle of home gaming technology with its intricate circuits and intense speed, but it exhibited a degree of 'cool' that, even today, still feels unmatched. Thanks to its futuristic techno soundtrack and impeccable branding by The Designers Republic, WipEout became a commercial and critical smash hit and spawned a series that remains beloved, even today.
But which of these titles represents the apex of the WipEout franchise? We asked you to vote a while back, and the results are shown below. Remember, this is an evolving list – you can still vote, even now, and your input might change the ranking over time.
11. WipEout Merge (Phone)
Developed by Amuzo Games, WipEout Merge (formerly known as WipEout Rush) is a smartphone title which, instead of allowing you direct control of the action, has you playing as a team manager who must influence each race by deploying randomised cards.
Despite boasting some impressive visuals and a faithful soundtrack, WipEout Merge failed to find its audience, and development appears to have stopped; its online features have also been disabled.
10. WipEout Fusion (PS2)
Considered by many to be one of the weaker entries in the WipEout series, WipEout Fusion deviates greatly from the visual language laid down by The Designers Republic (the company was asked by Sony to pitch alongside other agencies in order to work on the game, and refused) and therefore doesn't quite feel like it's part of the same series.
The visuals are also slightly disappointing, while the track design lacks the dazzling intensity of its forerunners. Fusion is possibly a better game than many people give it credit for, but it definitely feels like something of a low point for the series.
Comments 19
Man I suck at Wipeout XL. I definitely agree that the PS2 game is the worst. My favorite is Omega. I also never understood why people liked Pure more than Pulse. Pure feels like it was rushed out the door. It doesn't have much content.
i was an early PSX adopter at the age of 10, and wipeout was the game that sold me on the system. in fact, it and the 1st demo disc were my only games for a good while, and i absolutely wore these two discs out.
when XL came out, needless to say I was hyped. I still barely had any other games for my psx, and it felt like I'd waited AGES (lol.) it was the first game for which id ever anticipated the actual calendar release date, counting the days. and, it was SO worth the wait! one of the best sequels EVER!
i returned to the series for fusion and thought it was pretty good, and i didnt know til much later that other people didnt like it.
I feel that I really missed out on 3 and 64, and this year I endeavor to rectify this deficit 👍
NOTE - "it was seen by many fans as a 'Sony' series (despite the fact that the original game and its sequel had both launched on* the Sega Saturn)."
i think you mean "also released on*" or "been ported to*," or similar. "Launched" in this context implies that they came out on Saturn first which i believe oversells your point beyond the bounds of reality. 👍
And here I was…interested to see where Wipeout, based on the tv show, would land. 😋 I hereby vote for Wipeout: Create and Crash on the Wii. And then I vote for WipeOut 2048 on the Vita. I would vote for the PS4 version of WipeOut because it has PSVR support, but the dang game gets me motion sick before I can complete one lap.
Big balls!
@CasePB The ridiculous amount of free DLC for the game would suggest otherwise.
The hack of Pulse with all the content from pure is the best Wipeout game. I have a soft spot for fusion because I expected it to be bad and then enjoyed it, it's definitely better than 64, and you won't find a much bigger fan of the 64 than I am. I suck at Wipeout games anyways.
@RadioHedgeFund
Yeah, pretty much! I played that game for years on end. When Pulse came out, I was kinda disappointed in it.
There are some amazing PSP iso hacks for both.
One for Pure that includes all the DLC content, and another for Pulse which includes ALL THE PURE CONTENT. Insane, and unarguably the best versions of both, since you can either play them on real hardware, or emulate
It warms my heart to see 2097 and Wip3out in the top two spots, but Wip3out SE is the version of the third game I'm seeing instead of the vanilla version.
I'd also put 64 waaaay up at third, just above WipEout in my fourth, Pure in my fifth spot and and the Omega collection in my sixth.
Everything else can go underneath
Love everything WipEout, but the Omega Collection in VR is an absolute beast of a game. Praying for the day PlayStation wake up and bring it over to PSVR2.
@AJB83 Wipeout 64 is the only title in the series playable with the analog stick!
@RadioHedgeFund Not quite - Saturn 2097 and Wip3out both have analog stick control. There's also NegCon support for the first two PSX titles, so really, there's been analog options since the beginning
@AJB83 What I’m getting at is WipEout is the one racing title that actually plays better with the tap-tap minor adjustments of a dpad. I have found every version unplayable using the sticks!
WipEout 64 is actually the only game in the series which doesn’t have d-pad as an option!
No one remembers Wipeout 3 SE?
Always enjoyed the link up play on the PS1 versions. Could never really got into the Vita version to be honest.
@RadioHedgeFund I used to be a d-pad die hard too until I discovered BallisticNG. Before it even hit Steam and was buried in the WipeoutZone forums, people had healthy debates on d-pad vs analog. It took me a while to learn, but yeah, analog is my preference now. I still love the d-pad controls though, they've always been super playable that way
Also, Wipeout 64 has very different controls to the main games. The physics are a bit different, maybe that's why you don't get along with it either? EDIT: Or you do... I should learn to read properly
@AJB83 I actually think the controls in WE64 are sublime. It’s the only one I can play with the analog sticks!
These rankings are spot on. Wipeout 2097 with the analog NeGcon was amazing. The lighting in 2097 has not been surpassed in the series. The intro gave us a glimpse of what games would look like in the future.
The only Wipeout game missing from these rankings is the 2d top down version that featured in Playstation Home. It isn't really worth mentioning though. Arguably Wipeout Merge wasn't worth mentioning either.
Based on the current scores, Wipeout 64 seems massively underrated. I consider it very close to Wipeout 2097 and I probably spent a similar amount of hours on it at the time.
Wipeout 3 SE was the best for me. Glad that the PAL versions are actually good with this series.
For me, Wipeout 3: Special Edition will never be the "definitive experience", as it's only 25fps.
For years I only knew the Pal versions of the WipeOut PS1 games and it was great. But when I discovered the NTSC ones, which are 30fps, it really blew my mind and I rediscovered the games.
Only 5 more fps might sound not much but it's in fact 20% more frames every second. It's huge. Especially for a game which biggest strength, showcase and vector for gameplay feelings is its fluidity.
So nope, I prefer the quality of the experience rather than more content but a lowered experience.
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