YMMV / Hydro Thunder

• Awesome Music: A unique case regarding that unlike most racing games (and pretty much any 90s game in general) is that instead of the standard techno or metal/rock soundtrack, the game has an orchestral/rock soundtrack. It really comes to head in Venice Canals, with the intense, operatic score to go with the pace of racing at high-speeds through the old City of Canals.
  • The original's main theme. The Scare Chord intro combined with the quiet synth-guitar in the background crying out is just the best thing you will hear in arcades.
• First Installment Wins: Hydro Thunder was the first entry in Midway's "Thunder" series, which also included 4 Wheel Thunder, Offroad Thunder, and Arctic Thunder, but Hydro Thunder is the only one that anyone really remembers or talks about. It's also the only one that got a sequel.
• Funny Moments:
  • You can race a freakin' rowboat or a model of the Titanic!
  • Also, smashing into various obstacles (like civilian boats, penguins, monkeys, the police chasing you, etc...) will send them flying and playing some kind of goofy sound effect.
  • The Tarzan scream, Yee-haws, and the "Buckle up Spanky, This one's gonna hurt!" when you fall from a really high slope, waterfall, or structure.
  • "The tracks in Hydro Thunder were constructed using thousands of hand-crafted triangles." (ooohhh)
  • Hurricane has plenty, including the announcer using the "I Can See My House from Here" line, some random Announcer Chatter in the Area 51 level once the alien overlords have taken over, and being able to race as a rubber ducky, complete with a windup key for the boost animation.
  • The ranger's boat in Lake Powell as he tries to pull you over for violating safety codes. Naturally, nobody cares and everyone keeps racing.
• Game-Breaker: The Banshee, with it's ridiculous speed and handling as well as being the most stable in its boost. It made the rest of the boats a moot point save for the Cutthroat.
  • The Blowfish, one of the bonus boats, is also this. The Blowfish has a special quirk that stands out from other boats: it's a hovercraft. However, this quirk also means that this boat is treated as being in the air all the time. As a result, it handles better and goes faster compared to the other boats in the game.
• Genius Bonus: The unlockable Tinytanic is a miniature version of the RMS Titanic. Its fourth funnel bends backwards to becomes a jet booster—- because the real Titanic’s fourth funnel was nonfunctional and just for show!
• Harsher in Hindsight: The New York Disaster stage, in a game that was released two years before the 9/11 attacks. One could argue that Hurricane Sandy made it worse.
• Moment of Awesome: Lake Powell is all about this. There's a huge ramp in near the start that allows you to fly over a few rock formations, and then there's the part where you can use the back of the dam towards the end to fly over a helicopter and passing train...
  • P.S.: For added fun, hit the helicopter... AND the train.
  • You and everyone else manage to inadvertently rescue a stranded ship by leading rescuers to it at the end of New York Disaster.
• Most Wonderful Sound:
  • "Hey! You found a secret!"
  • "Finish line dead ahead!" And by extension, the music that plays when you finish first, a Triumphant Reprise of Thunder Park's theme.
  • Any of the voice lines that play when you make a really big jump.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • Nile Adventure, about through mid-leg of the trip, has you go through a tunnel that looks like a giant snake, and then somewhat before the finish line, you encounter a weird serpent like beast that acts as an obstacle.
  • One of the shortcuts in Lake Powell takes you through a waterfall and into a canal full of abandoned boats that presumably lost their way.
  • New York Disaster, which consists of the Big Apple after it's been flooded and destroyed by a natural disaster of some sort, moreso with 9/11 having come and gone. At one point a Coast Guard officer shows up and, understandably, is livid that people are co-opting the disaster to use the sunken city as professional racing grounds.
    Officer: WHOA WHOA WHOA, SLOW IT DOWN THERE, YOU FREAKING NUTJOB! HEY, WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES HERE, FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD!!
• Polished Port: The home console versions. Not only is it easier to unlock the bonus boats, but there are extra modes depending on the console. PS1 had a career mode, Nintendo 64 had four-person multiplayer, and the Dreamcast had graphics equal to that of the arcade original.
  • The often overlooked PC port lacked any kind of multiplayer support and for some reason had slightly lower sound quality on par with the N64 port, but also had support for Force Feedback steering wheels and graphics that were every bit as close to the arcade original as the Dreamcast port!
• That One Level: Ship Graveyard and Venice Canals, mostly because of all the sharp turns and most boost powerups are hidden.

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