Flyboy
Smash Hero
That's right, folks. It's time. Strap on to your dolphins - it's going to be a bumpy ride.
The Official Wave Race/Ryota Hayami For Smash HQ
Why Did You Make This Thread?
Great question! Honestly, I started this thread because the idea of "the Wave Race guy" (that is to say, Ryota Hayami) being in Smash is funny to me. It all started last week or so when I started thinking about Nintendo franchises I don't often see repped in Smash or even discussed. I checked the Newcomer Support Directory and saw nothing, but I'm probably blind and just didn't Google hard enough or something. We have threads for everything from Senran Kagura to Agumon to the little eShop bag, so I thought I'd throw another one onto the pile. But it didn't start out so ambitiously, oh no. It started, as many great ideas often do, with a joke made to annoy one of your friends. You see, I'm the kind of guy who only finds things funny if they're bordering on the absurd, and I wanted a way to joke with my friend while at work, so I thought of the most almost-plausible-but-still-kinda-out-there character idea possible and that was Wave Race Guy. It started simply - "he's going to be a Falcon echo but using water instead of fire" "his Fsmash will be pulling out a dolphin and hitting you with it" - and it slowly became weirder and weirder, culminating in discussing a stage that takes place underwater where you move at half-speed and everyone hates it. But the more I joked, the more I grew to like the idea of this franchise getting some kind of rep in Smash. Music, stages, or characters - it didn't matter to me. So while I still plant my tongue firmly in my cheek, I ended up doing something we all do: I went too deep, and now I want me some Wave Race in Smash.
Then, I learned about the "leaks".
Leaks?! I'm Intrigued!
As you should be, dear reader! However, I'm going to temper your expectations by saying one is a joke and the other is almost certainly fake. But for history's sake, I'll be posting them in here anyway.
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Everyone and their mother has heard of Box Theory. Well, feast your eyes on THIS totally real, totally legit box! If you look over next to Incineroar, you can see who I think might be the Wave Race Guy? It might not be. Maybe it's from a Trials game I never played. Anyway, this one's not real. Neither is the next one, but this one's good for a laugh.
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Okay, here's the cool one. Now, I am immediately saying that this one is fake, because it's clearly intended to evoke the ESRB leak as evidenced by the MS Paint question marks. But let's break this down a little further and explain what we are looking at here.
![]()
This cool dude is Ryota Hayami, ostensibly the face of the Wave Race franchise, or at least the latest game in the series, Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Nintendo GameCube. We'll get to him. This model is quite good, and it's an unusual character to chose when making a leak. He's also joined by a pretty nice Lloyd Irving! Hey, Lloyd! Now, I'm sure someone is going to swooce in here and show that this one was debunked already, and that's cool! I just wanted to post a picture showing that I'm not that crazy and that some people actually remember the Wave Race games. I can already tell the lighting really doesn't seem right, so y'know, I'm not trying to argue this is real.
So, What Is Wave Race?
Did you know that Wave Race is actually a trilogy? I didn't! Yeah, the original Wave Race is actually a Game Boy game! It was released in 1992 and it sure has aged! But at the time it was seen as a pretty cool little water game. Good handling and physics, fun times. But then, when the Nintendo 64 came out, that's when things got real.
Wave Race 64 came out in 1996 and was a smash (eyyy) success. It was one of the first N64 games and it really showed off what that little console could do. I actually remember in a Nintendo retrospective in Retro Gamer Issue 4 from around 14 years ago reading one of my favorite quotes about it:
Now, yeah, this is running on an emulator with some upscaling, but that doesn't change the fact that this game was absolutely gorgeous. It's the N64 game souped up to the Nth degree. Hey, that video even contains our boy Ryota! Cool! But yeah, this game is beautiful, it's fast, it's fun, and it's a series that has been part of Nintendo for three different consoles. Plus, with the N64 Classic rumored to be coming out soon and series producer Shinya Takahashi saying he wants to see a Wave Race game on Switch, it may not be too much longer until Wave Race rides again for a new generation.
Has Wave Race Been In Smash Before?
Actually, yes! At least, Ryota has. He had a trophy in Melee based on his Blue Storm look. You can click here to see the model up close, and here to see the trophy description!
To be honest, I don't think this is the best he's looked, so I'm going to post this picture of his concept art looking dashing as well, even though it's not strictly Smash-related.
So, What Do You Want to See?
Anything. That's what this thread is all about. Yeah, it started as a joke about playing as the Wave Race guy in Smash, but there are so many interesting ways that Wave Race could be incorporated into Smash Ultimate in non-fighter roles. I know music is usually a big thing in these threads so I'll be posting some tracks down a ways, but one really easy way to represent this franchise? A Dolphin Park stage. Fight on top of a dolphin, buoy, or jet ski as the water rushes by or laps at the platforms! See other racers zoom on by! It's like Big Blue, but even more blue! There could even be weather changes that fundamentally shift the flow of battle, introducing things like rain and wind to the equation! We have Wii Sports Resort and Delfino Island, yeah? Let's get more beaches, why not? Heck, dolphins as assist trophies? Crazier things have happened. Of course, number one would be Ryota himself. Don't ask me what his moveset could be. That's the fun part - nothing is immediately obvious, so he could potentially be an enjoyably unique addition to the roster.
Or he could be a water-based Falcon echo. Who knows.
Let's Vibe To Some Cool Tracks!
All right, I know you like music, and let me tell you, Wave Race has some great ones! Also it has the awful ambient noise of the Game Boy one, but that doesn't count. Instead, let's listen to some nice tropical tunes that really get the blood pumping!
I'm Convinced! Sign Me Up!
Nice! Cool, dude! Sure!
The Official Wave Race/Ryota Hayami For Smash HQ
Great question! Honestly, I started this thread because the idea of "the Wave Race guy" (that is to say, Ryota Hayami) being in Smash is funny to me. It all started last week or so when I started thinking about Nintendo franchises I don't often see repped in Smash or even discussed. I checked the Newcomer Support Directory and saw nothing, but I'm probably blind and just didn't Google hard enough or something. We have threads for everything from Senran Kagura to Agumon to the little eShop bag, so I thought I'd throw another one onto the pile. But it didn't start out so ambitiously, oh no. It started, as many great ideas often do, with a joke made to annoy one of your friends. You see, I'm the kind of guy who only finds things funny if they're bordering on the absurd, and I wanted a way to joke with my friend while at work, so I thought of the most almost-plausible-but-still-kinda-out-there character idea possible and that was Wave Race Guy. It started simply - "he's going to be a Falcon echo but using water instead of fire" "his Fsmash will be pulling out a dolphin and hitting you with it" - and it slowly became weirder and weirder, culminating in discussing a stage that takes place underwater where you move at half-speed and everyone hates it. But the more I joked, the more I grew to like the idea of this franchise getting some kind of rep in Smash. Music, stages, or characters - it didn't matter to me. So while I still plant my tongue firmly in my cheek, I ended up doing something we all do: I went too deep, and now I want me some Wave Race in Smash.
Then, I learned about the "leaks".
Leaks?! I'm Intrigued!
As you should be, dear reader! However, I'm going to temper your expectations by saying one is a joke and the other is almost certainly fake. But for history's sake, I'll be posting them in here anyway.
Everyone and their mother has heard of Box Theory. Well, feast your eyes on THIS totally real, totally legit box! If you look over next to Incineroar, you can see who I think might be the Wave Race Guy? It might not be. Maybe it's from a Trials game I never played. Anyway, this one's not real. Neither is the next one, but this one's good for a laugh.
Okay, here's the cool one. Now, I am immediately saying that this one is fake, because it's clearly intended to evoke the ESRB leak as evidenced by the MS Paint question marks. But let's break this down a little further and explain what we are looking at here.
This cool dude is Ryota Hayami, ostensibly the face of the Wave Race franchise, or at least the latest game in the series, Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Nintendo GameCube. We'll get to him. This model is quite good, and it's an unusual character to chose when making a leak. He's also joined by a pretty nice Lloyd Irving! Hey, Lloyd! Now, I'm sure someone is going to swooce in here and show that this one was debunked already, and that's cool! I just wanted to post a picture showing that I'm not that crazy and that some people actually remember the Wave Race games. I can already tell the lighting really doesn't seem right, so y'know, I'm not trying to argue this is real.
So, What Is Wave Race?
Did you know that Wave Race is actually a trilogy? I didn't! Yeah, the original Wave Race is actually a Game Boy game! It was released in 1992 and it sure has aged! But at the time it was seen as a pretty cool little water game. Good handling and physics, fun times. But then, when the Nintendo 64 came out, that's when things got real.
Wave Race 64 came out in 1996 and was a smash (eyyy) success. It was one of the first N64 games and it really showed off what that little console could do. I actually remember in a Nintendo retrospective in Retro Gamer Issue 4 from around 14 years ago reading one of my favorite quotes about it:
So, even years later, this game held up! And yeah, it was a fantastically fun little racer on water with a refreshing and relaxing vibe that went hand in hand with the exhilaration of riding a jet ski on sunny waters and trying to beat your fellow racers as a booming announcer cheered you on. And then we got the GameCube sequel, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and just- just look at it.Retro Gamer Issue 4 said:
Now, yeah, this is running on an emulator with some upscaling, but that doesn't change the fact that this game was absolutely gorgeous. It's the N64 game souped up to the Nth degree. Hey, that video even contains our boy Ryota! Cool! But yeah, this game is beautiful, it's fast, it's fun, and it's a series that has been part of Nintendo for three different consoles. Plus, with the N64 Classic rumored to be coming out soon and series producer Shinya Takahashi saying he wants to see a Wave Race game on Switch, it may not be too much longer until Wave Race rides again for a new generation.
Has Wave Race Been In Smash Before?
Actually, yes! At least, Ryota has. He had a trophy in Melee based on his Blue Storm look. You can click here to see the model up close, and here to see the trophy description!
To be honest, I don't think this is the best he's looked, so I'm going to post this picture of his concept art looking dashing as well, even though it's not strictly Smash-related.
So, What Do You Want to See?
Anything. That's what this thread is all about. Yeah, it started as a joke about playing as the Wave Race guy in Smash, but there are so many interesting ways that Wave Race could be incorporated into Smash Ultimate in non-fighter roles. I know music is usually a big thing in these threads so I'll be posting some tracks down a ways, but one really easy way to represent this franchise? A Dolphin Park stage. Fight on top of a dolphin, buoy, or jet ski as the water rushes by or laps at the platforms! See other racers zoom on by! It's like Big Blue, but even more blue! There could even be weather changes that fundamentally shift the flow of battle, introducing things like rain and wind to the equation! We have Wii Sports Resort and Delfino Island, yeah? Let's get more beaches, why not? Heck, dolphins as assist trophies? Crazier things have happened. Of course, number one would be Ryota himself. Don't ask me what his moveset could be. That's the fun part - nothing is immediately obvious, so he could potentially be an enjoyably unique addition to the roster.
Or he could be a water-based Falcon echo. Who knows.
Let's Vibe To Some Cool Tracks!
All right, I know you like music, and let me tell you, Wave Race has some great ones! Also it has the awful ambient noise of the Game Boy one, but that doesn't count. Instead, let's listen to some nice tropical tunes that really get the blood pumping!
I'm Convinced! Sign Me Up!
Nice! Cool, dude! Sure!
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