The Video Game
- Audience-Alienating Premise: WipEout Rush/Merge already had the misfortune of being a mobile-exclusive revival of a Cult Classic franchise, but then the gameplay trailer reveals that everything that made the console games fun would be stripped down and automated, leaving players with... a card merging game. To say fans were miffed would be the understatement of the century. If it's any comfort (and depending on how you look at it), this never left the UK, so players outside of Europe weren't missing out much there.
- Awesome Art: One of the reasons why the series is much loved is the cool stylized art and solid visual design. The first three games stand out in this department, courtesy of The Designers Republic. Their return as artists in Formula Fusion is the reason why many a Wipeout fan got extremely hyped for its release.
- Best Level Ever: Each game has its share of memorable tracks, to say the least.
- Altima VII (or just Altima in 2048), the very first and last track in the series (as of writing), is a perfect introduction into the world of Anti-Gravity Racing. A wide, open track with tons of straight sections, the track's main claim to fame is the drop at the halfway point, which is always fun no matter what speed class you're flying in, or what version of the track you're racing on. It says something about this track that it's the most recurring location in the series, appearing in the first game, Wip3out Special Edition, Pure (as DLC), and given a slight remix in 2048.
- 2097 gives us Gare d'Europa, a challenging and intense track that serves as a form of Cerebus Syndrome— that is, the point the gloves come off and you get a taste of the game's real difficulty. The track has an incredibly foreboding atmosphere, topped off with plenty of straight sections that are immediately cut off by chicane series throughout, as the track alternates between the intensity of the outside rain, and the anxiety of the dark, abandoned tunnels. It was many people's introduction to the game, as it was the circuit used for the playable demo, so it also has a significant nostalgia factor.
- Porto Kora is far and away one of the best introductory courses in the series. Making its debut in Wip3out, the track is one of the most beautiful and atmospheric tracks in the series, being on par with levels like City Escape in terms of accessibility and establishing game moments. It even managed to make its way into Pure as DLC.
- Also from 3, Manor Top. One of the fastest courses of the original PS1 trilogy, this track is as challenging as it is enjoyable with its many twists and turns, as well as a fragmented series of 90-degree turns that are a joy to navigate, which is followed by a huge ramp leading back to the starting grid. The Pure version of the track, while eschewing the original's hallmark Battle in the Rain aesthetic (that it nearly borrows from 2097's Gare d'Europa), is just as fun as the original, if not moreso owing to the faster pace in Pure coupled with the introduction of barrel rolling making the jumps much more fun to take.
- Pure has quite a few eligible candidates that aren't That One Level. Of the levels in the base game, Sol 2 is easily one of the most enjoyable levels in the game owing to its straightforward layout and premise of a track being in the sky, with the hazard of falling off the track being easily avoidable. No surprise that it was among the many tracks selected for HD.
- As far as the DLC levels from Pure go, there's Anulpha Pass. Another track with an easily navigable layout, one of its signature landmarks is a shortcut that requires careful maneuvering not just to get onto it, but also navigate through it in the first place.
- From Pulse, there's The Amphiseum. Fittingly located in Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada, the track is a spectacle both on the eyes and to navigate, having plenty of straight sections for you to go all out in, ample jumps for barrel roll opportunities, and a hairpin turn that takes you through the titular venue around the halfway point.
- Another worthy candidate from Pulse is Metropia. One of the fastest-paced courses in the series, the track has ample opportunities for barrel rolls, plenty of straights to cut loose in, and a memorable drop at the halfway point (exclusive to the Black run of the track, which HD exclusively uses, unlike in Pulse). Taking place in a futuristic Kyoto as it's suspended high above the city á la Sol 2 certainly doesn't hurt it's cool factor one bit.
- Breather Level: Pure's Tournament Mode lends itself to this.
- Compared to Modesto Heights and especially Chenghou Project (only the second and third courses in the game, respectively), Blue Ridge is a fairly straightforward, no-nonsense course with little in the way of winding twists and turns. Compounded by a fairly large ramp into a wide right turn at the halfway point that makes landing with a barrel roll much easier.
- Coming hot off the heels of the notorious Citta Nuova and, to a lesser extent, Sebenco Climb, Sol 2 is practically a cakewalk. The course is almost as easy as Vineta K in terms of its layout, being decently wide enough to provide plenty of clear racing lines as you rack up the Perfect Laps. The only real hazard the course presents are the lack of barriers towards the beginning, but it's manageable and easily navigable compared to Citta Nuova's undulating chicane series in its second half, or the jump in the halfway point of Sebenco Climb.
- Frankly, the entire Classic Tournament (assuming you have it unlocked) is this, as it's sandwiched between the Beta League series of tracks, and the gargantuan Marathon Level that is the Ascension Tournamentnote . All of the courses selected are straightforward, easy to navigate, and run you sub thirty-second lap times from Flash class onwards.
- Broken Base: The fandom doesn't talk about it much given the direction this series has taken, but there's a divide between those who prefer the slower, more difficult handling of the 3 first installments and those who prefer a more fluid and faster pace from Pure onward. Then there's Fusion...
- Cult Classic: Although the series is remembered for its amazing gameplay, visuals, and music, the series hasn't really caught on in the mainstream, but it maintains a very devoted cult following. This proves why there are some fan-made games in development: to fill the void that the series left after 2048.
- Demonic Spiders: The AI crafts can be this depending on difficulty. Especially if they use the Quake, Missile, or even the Rocket items. Heaven forbid you get hit with a Plasma bolt, or else you're cooked.
- Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Qirex is the most popular team in the series, rivaling FEISAR and AG-Systems.
- Arial Tetsuo
, one of the Auricom pilots from the first game had a quite large popularity back in the day. The music video
of one of 2097's soundtrack explained how. - Curly, the announcer in Wip3out is also widely loved. To this day many fans actively make demands to make a return for her in Formula Fusion.
- Although Tigron Enterprises were one of the most ruthless teams in AG racing history, their craft, the "BULL-666", was one of the most popular ones in Fusion thanks to its impressive speed, handling, durability, firepower, and its overpowered Super Weapon. Their popularity skyrocketed when it was confirmed that they would return to Omega Collection along with Van-Über. Even their newest K-VSR craft is available as a media kit for the limited edition of the game itself
.
- Even Better Sequel: 2097 introduced a load of innovative concepts that were so highly praised by critics that they still remain in the series' modern iterations, namely the ability for ships to be destroyed, a few game-enhancing weapons and pick-ups, such as the auto-pilot, the plasma bolt, and the quake disruptor, and of course, Phantom class. It also made touching walls more forgiving than the original, which would bring the player to a dead stop every time.
- Fan Nickname: In the early games, there are rescue droids that grab your ship and place you back on the track, should you fall off. The fanbase has nicknamed them "Wuss Wagons".
- Friendly Fandoms: Back in the day, there used to be a major Fandom Rivalry with F-Zero, but as time went on, the two fanbases began overlapping. It further helps the fact that both series are currently laying dormant.
- Funny Moments:
- Icaras originally dissolved after wip3out due to the death of its eccentric owner, Burnston Burns. How did he die? He accidentally swallowed a balloon at a children's party!
- At the 3:08 mark
of Fluke's "Atom Bomb" music video, Arial ends up hugging two men; one of them seems to have been easily choked to death! - Due to the Good Bad Bugs in Pure mentioned below, Citta Nuova can be either one of the hardest tracks in the series since Silverstream from the first game... or one of the easiest if you make liberal use of Quakes and Bombs and watch as every other racer on the track drop like flies. The end result is nothing short of hysterical if you're the last racer on the track.
- Game-Breaker:
- Each game had one from 2097 onwards. The Piranha ship in 2097, the Assegai in 3, yet again the Piranha in Fusion, the Triakis and Zonenote in Pure, again the Assegai in Pulse, the Goteki 45 and FEISAR Fury in HD and the AG-Systems Speed in 2048.
- As for the Super Weapons in Fusion, we have Tigron's Nitro Rocket, which was deemed overpowered since it deals some nasty heat and screws up the victim's controls.
- Good Bad Bugs:
- Triakis's cornering deceleration rate in Pure is bugged, making it quite agile for a heavy craft. Pulse factored this bug (and its fixing) into the lore by noting that Triakis had installed an illegal reverse-inertia deceleration system on their FX300 craft.
- Continuing from Pure, it's possible to invoke an Instant-Win Condition on certain tracks (Sinucit, Citta Nuova, Cardcity Run, and Paris Hair) in Phantom class by making liberal use of Quakes, Bombs, and everything in-between. You can even fire the Quake backward if you're in first place and occasionally be treated to the amusing sight of wiping out (heh) the rest of the competition. Though actually attempting it is more of a Luck-Based Mission than anything given how weapon pick-ups work in Wipeout.
- Certain events in HD allow you to wreck yourself early and still get Gold Medal for it.
- Hilarious in Hindsight: The game was considered to be Sony's answer to Nintendo's F-Zero series - and then Psygnosis went and teamed up with Midway to release Wipeout 64 on the Nintendo 64. And in the very same year that F-Zero X was released.
- Meaningful Name: Hi-Fumi in Wipeout 3; it's Japanese for "1,2,3".
- Memetic Mutation:
- WipEout predicted Brexit.note
- "Oh my god, this course is HORRIBLE!!!"/"Those BLOODY bulkheads!"note
- Pilot Assist: "DON'T USE IT!!!!"note
- "Baby got an atom bomb! Twenty-two megatons!"note
- "Donk."
- "SHAKE IT! DON'T BREAK IT!"note
- Moment of Awesome: Scoring a plasma bolt hit in 2097. Made anticlimactically easy in the third game and in the games after that, the weapon no longer did instant kill damage.
- Most Wonderful Sound:
- "CONTENDER ELIMINATED." Unless it's happening to you, that is.
- In Pure, Pulse and HD, "GOLD MEDAL AWARDED." It's especially awesome if you're playing on Elite difficulty. Same story goes for its 2048 equivalent: "ELITE PASS."
- Nightmare Fuel:
- The Zone mode can be considered this to some players, because of its Difficulty by Acceleration.
- The intro from ''Wip3out'' is pretty much this
, which features the reversed animation of the Goteki 45 craft causing a suicide explosion towards the FEISAR and AG Systems crafts in the finish line, blowing them up. Considering how violent Goteki 45 was during the F7200, suicide attacks would've been right up their alley. Also, the intro also featured a creepy drone (even though it uses a sample of "Piranha" by DJ Sasha) throughout the entire cinematic cutscene. - Fusion's intro is even more of a doozy.
Not only does it feature sudden flashing lights that would cause a Jump Scare, but it also has a sample of a child laughing in both the beginning and the end of the opening. And it gets worse from there: the fall of F9000 not only led to a massive global recession but there were also riots and war all over the globe. It only took many decades to stabilize, and many more to recover from before the events of WipEout Pure. - Well, this is an odd one. The promotion art for the very first game
◊ is downright unsettling. It features two teenagers with nosebleed as their clothes has been soaked with blood. It's just like if the developers of the game kidnapped them and tortured the poor bastards as an attempt to force them to promote the game. Also, the other version of the art refers to the game itself as "a dangerous game". Thankfully, the unsettling art is staged, but still... - The Qirex announcer from 2048 may count as this, due to its Creepy Monotone.
- Nintendo Hard: The earlier games had a rather unforgiving learning curve. WipEout HD is also considered by some to be the hardest in the series, but later patches introduced difficulty levels for those who struggled against the insane AI and speed.
- Polished Port: Wipeout 64 is one damn fine port of both the original and 2097 to the Nintendo 64, bringing with it fully integrated analog control for better steering accuracy, and a tighter control altogether for a distinct feel while retaining the high speeds the series is known for, only dropping frames in any notable way during the new split-screen mode. It had to compete with F-Zero X and Extreme-G, and it managed to damn well hold its own ground.
- Porting Disaster:
- The PC port of the first game loses the light effects, which wouldn't be so terrible if they weren't what made it such a graphically awesome title in '95. It also acquired a peculiar kind of flickering track bug. Lastly, the opening cinematic had a random probability of locking up certain PCs while playing...
- The PC port of Wipeout XL/2097 lacks a speed limiter, causing the game to run out of control on top of the line back in '97, never mind today (this can be fixed with a CPU-killer program, but then you will find out the hard way that Windows Vista/7 require a lot more CPU to run properly than the game!). The game also has a different soundtrack (Possibly due to licensing problems) that's nowhere near as good as the original's.
- While the PlayStation 2 port of Pulse may look visually better than the PSP version, it suffers from a nasty glitch which corrupts your memory card data beyond repair. Even turning the autosave off doesn't prevent the said glitch as well! If you really want to play the game, stick to the PSP version instead.
- Replacement Scrappy: Unlike the far better-received Fusion-debuting teams Tigron and Van-Uber teams, G-Tech ended up being far and away the most loathed team in the franchise for being a replacement to AG Systems.
- Ron the Death Eater: Despite turning good by the events of Pure, quite a few fans wanted Goteki 45 to retain their Ax-Crazy F7200 persona even after their reinstatement, even though their newer, lighter crafts have become extremely popular in the Pulse/HD Fury multiplayer scene.
- The Scrappy: G-Tech. They likely represent Good Technology (Currently known as VML London), the graphic designers of Fusion. They're also loathed for replacing one of the fan-favorite teams, AG-Systems, ripping off Qirex's color scheme and their craft REVVER being inferior compared to the other crafts such as FEISAR's "LS-59", Auricom's "T-808", Tigron's "BULL-666", or Piranha's "Swiftkiller".
- Scrappy Mechanic:
- The rescue droids from the original to Wip3out were loathed for taking precious time when the players accidentally fell off the track. As a result: Since Fusion, you will instantly respawn on the track, with the rescue droid only appearing when your craft is destroyed, saving the pilot inside.
- The bulkheads from Fusion. Those BLOODY bulkheads! (See That One Level)
- Pilot Assist in HD/Fury. It's meant to be a beginner-friendly setting that can help novices make tricky turns easier or prevent them from bouncing between the walls too much, but it's way too aggressive in its activation, causing pilots to actively do worse in races than without it. It got fine tuned to be not as aggressive in 2048, but veterans would still recommend newcomers to ignore Pilot Assist entirely and try to find their own feel for the controls.
- Scrappy Craft: It may look cool, but GOOD GRAVY! G-Tech's REVVER from Fusion is terrible! It's notorious for its poor stats compared to Van-Über's ZR-320, its super weapons may deal some moderate damage, but the craft itself can be easily WIPED OUT if the player isn't careful enough.
- Sequelitis: While it may be a little bit well received, Wipeout Fusion was criticized for being Pod Racer-ish, having different graphics compared to Wip3out and the gameplay being vastly different, placing an emphasis on its needlessly over-complicated weapons system compared to other titles. The track design was also derided by critics and fans alike.
- Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Wipeout Pure was a welcome improvement after the poorly-received Wipeout Fusion.
- That One Attack:
- The Disruption Bolt in Pure, whenever it isn't a Scrappy Weapon in the hands of the Player. The AI will spam this with a vengeance on faster speed classes, and getting hit by it is a crapshoot, as it runs the gamut between an unintentional helping hand from the opposing racers (such as providing a free Autopilot), to requiring a restart of the race (especially if it stops your craft dead in its tracks or worse, turns it around to go the wrong way) with no in-between.
- The Quake Disruptor is basically the series' analogue to the infamous Spiny Shell, but unlike the latter, it hits every other craft in front of you as opposed to just the leader. And in the hands of the AI (from Fusion onwards), hearing the word "Quake" from the announcer will absolutely make you void your bowels if you're using a craft with low shielding (like AG Systems or Assegai).
- That One Level: A nice cross-section of some vicious tracks from the series inception through to HD Fury can be seen here
. Highlights include:- From the very first game, Silverstream. A tight, very technical track with alternate routes at two points where choosing the wrong path meant you were effectively out of the running. Combine with the original game's extremely unforgiving collision mechanics and it is so notoriously brutal it's still considered one of the (if not THE) hardest courses in the series.
- Getting a gold medal on Super Combo Challenge 5 in 64 is easily considered as one of, if not the hardest challenge that Wipeout has to offer and it's for a good reason. Not only you have to finish first, you also have to kill eight opponents using only the machine's Super Weapon. The problem? The machine you were given is the Qirex, which had the Power Snare as its Super Weapon. Power Snare is universally regarded as the weakest Super Weapon in the game as it doesn't have enough firepower to kill opponents easily when compared to all the other Super Weapons. Oh, and the AI's can steal kills from you. Spawn camping a weapon pick-up and firing it backwards while hoping that the AI's don't kill each other too much is absolutely necessary if you want to have a shot at gold and even then, you have to pray that everything goes your way, as demonstrated by YouTuber Thabeast721
who took six hours to get everything aligned just enough to barely beat the challenge. - Temtesh Bay Course 2, from Fusion, is a veritable checklist of horrible track design decisions. It was so bad that it became part of a major in-universe race disaster when the backstory to Pure was released. According to YouTube user and series veteran Charlie Emery AKA HellfireWZ's video "Wipeout - Circuits from Hell
", Course 2 is a travesty of a circuit filled with tricky corners, rock pillars and those fuckin' annoying bulkheads which will NOT OPEN until you are VIRTUALLY ON TOP OF IT!! Also, it's even worse when played in reverse, making Temtesh Bay Course 2 itself the most difficult course in the entire series, making Silverstream from the original game look like a walk in the park.Charlie "HellfireWZ" Emery (reacting to Temtesh Bay 2): Oh my god, this course is HORRIBLE!!!- Take That, Scrappy!: Its bad reputation among the fandom was almost certainly the reason it was chosen by the Devs as the Sacrificial Lamb for Fusion as a whole lore-wise; the aforementioned disaster involved an up-gunned version of Feisar's Superweapon causing a massive cave-in, killing several competitors as well as spectators, which helped lead to the domino effect that led to the League collapsing in turn.
- From Pure, Citta Nuova. This track boasts a nasty hairpin at the halfway point, but what makes it especially difficult on the faster speed classes are the undulating chicane series following said hairpin that are so great that they're liable to throw you off the track (or worse, flip your craft upside down) if your racing line isn't pitch-perfect. And to add insult to injury, if you're on Phantom class, weapons do unusually high damage both to you and the other contenders, meaning you can't afford to have a margin of error lest you want to be eliminated and end the race prematurely.
- While it doesn't seem hard to navigate, Sebenco Climb in Pure and HD is full of sharp corners in which you'll need a perfect timing while speeding up the mountain until you start plowing into the tunnel, where you'll have to be careful while racing in the chicane section in order to avoid ramming the walls.
- From 2048, there's Sol. A predecessor to Sol 2 from the FX300/350 League (Pure/HD), you'd think you wouldn't expect such a challenge, but unfortunately - no, that's not the case. It's one thing for the track to be very tight, technical, and ruthlessly testing of your reflexes, but there are absolutely no borders anywhere on the track, making it extremely easy to fall off the course. And to add insult to injury, the track can only be raced on A and A+ Class (aka, Rapier and Phantom, respectively) in the Omega Collection, meaning that like in Gare D'Europa and Spilspinake back in 2097, you have to throw yourself into the deep end to be able to practice the course.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: Right from the very first game, WipEout has always pushed the envelope when it comes to visual fidelity and performance. The original 1995 release to this day is still one of the PlayStation's signature Killer Apps owing to its unique atmosphere and visual style provided by the folks at Designers' Republic. Fast-forward to 2017 and the Omega Collection is bar none one of the prettiest games on the PlayStation 4 in a system that's flanked by games like Horizon Zero Dawn or Ghost of Tsushima. Mind you, that's without mentioning that the Omega Collection is a remastered compilation of HD and 2048, which still look incredible and hold up really well on their native systems to this day.
- The Woobie:
- The backstory for Icaras for Wipeout 3 will surely make you feel bad for them. It might overlap with Jerkass Woobie if you count that they were created as a publicity stunt and their scrubbish attitude during the championship.
- Auricom also count as this during the F9000 League (Fusion), as they're mocked by Xios and were the remaining team to defend Belmondo's philosophy right after AG-System's downfall.
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