I ran a pub in the late 90s that had the full cab arcade version of this and I must have played it almost every day for two years, with a beer and ashtray next to me. Sigh - those were the days.
I loved this game as a kid. Sunk hours into it. Impossible for me to beat the cpu, but the real racing was always against a friend. I remember getting the hidden keys around the courses and unlocking a special vehicle. I also remember turning the timer off, and driving to the hidden stunt course. The memories.
Yeah it was tons of fun, and the stunt track was awesome but you always had to go in slow and avoid the loop because you could easily crash if you went in there full speed. Rush 2 is a lot better though.
A product of its time. The 3D graphics on the N64 and the hidden stunt room made for hours of playtime. I have a ton of nostalgia love for “Rushhhhhhhhhh!”
My friends and I played this for hundreds of hours. Later on a family vacation to San Francisco I told my dad to take a dirt road to the museum. To my delight he did, mostly out of shock that his 11 year old child who had never been to California was giving him directions. I was right, the dirt alley through a park went to a museum.
I had no idea the game was auto adjusting the difficulty. This explains everything. You have no idea how inadequate this game made me feel as a kid lol.
You are not alone my friend i love these games but even recently it put my tail between my legs. I couldnt get anything but 7/8 pos on the 1st race lolol i had no idea the game was messing with the difficulty LOL
Rush 2, the sequel, is my favorite Nintendo 64 game. I can play it for hours and not get bored. There's so much exploring you can do, and trying to jump or flip just right to get the keys and Dew cans will consume your soul. Also the soundtrack is fantastic.
There is something amazingly poetic about a driver who can't stand coming in second so he dies intentionally by crashing on the course to end the race and secure his victory. Like this should be an anime.
I'm really glad you do a "last time" segment before the game, because more than once it's made me realized I missed the previous episode somehow. Love the series!
This was actually a lot of fun watching this game on stream, it was so intense, never though a racing game would create so much passion during this challenge
I love your clever problem solving on this one. That actually felt like more of a triumph and relief than if you had beat an easier game just straight up. It makes this game more exciting and more of an all-time-challenge.
Actually, there are 7 tracks in this game. The track Alcatraz from San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition (Which was an updated version of this game in the Arcade) is hidden in this game if you do a bunch of inputs on several different screens in a certain order after entering a code or beating the game. It was many years later that I learned of this. It was one of my favorite arcade games and I may have shed a tear when I found out it was coming to the 64. Played the game to death with friends, 2 player split screen was so much fun. We would just go to the stunt zones after a while and make the wildest crashes.
I really hope this series gets completed, although its a long and tedious journey. This is by far my favorite video series on TH-cam at the moment and I literally cant wait for next friday every week.
Loved this game as a kid, but never came to grips with the difficulty and never beat it. Today I finally learned the difficulty actually auto-adjusts. Thank you! =)
My fav game. I beat it without cheats and won that purple/yellow car. I had probably 100 hours in at that point. I could do the tracks in my sleep. This is back when it just came out so I tried again a few days ago. I couldn't remember ANYTHING. NOTHING. Dead last on the first race. gah.
I spent so many hours on the stunt course. Distinctly remember getting the call that I’d be starting my first paper route while playing it. Good times.
Stunt mode with this was the bomb. I’d play with my friends and we’d take turns doing the wildest and craziest tricks possible. Somehow it was incredibly engaging and fun. I don’t think I’d have the patience for a game of this quality these days
I was a kid in the 90s went to a day care. Day care lady’s sons had an N64. This game was extremes popular amongst us kid at ye day care. It was very easy to figure out. Plus it look so great… at the time. Thanks for covering this game.
When I was a kid, we got this game from Target… and I was convinced the game was broken because you would crash and explode so easily. Took it back and exchanged it for Diddy Kong Racing.
I had Rush 2049 (the direct sequel, I believe). That game was so, so, so much fun. Not only can you do races, but you can do battles (cars with 8-16 unique weapons) and stunt (while airborne, use wings to roll around and do some crazy flips and stunts and get points for landing those without dying). There were some great tactics with battle.
When I found the Easter egg car jungle gym area as a kid I spent hours trying to get there to do the full loop without having to reset. Best memories of this game imo
Rush in the arcades was epic. The game had a numeric keypad on the side of the dashboard so you can create your own save. Also, yes, the rubber banding was a massive b!tch! You had to know your lines, know your jumps, and which shortcuts were worth the time. Also, drifting was a big key in this game. If you weren't drifting whatever was in front of you, they were gonna leave you in the dust. I worked at Gameworks in the late 90s and we would have at least 4 of these linked up for multi-player action. The competition for the top times on each track was intense. Great memories of this game
@@musclebabies been a long time my bad lol, but yeah I used to spend hours playing it with my brother trying to beat our pb. I think what mr. cook said is true though, that may have been Rush 2.
I remember when this was the absolute height of racing games. Actual damage and some sense of physics while still being somewhat realistic (no crazy weapons).
Loved this and the sequel Rush 2: extreme racing USA. This games were just so much fun in 2 player mode, and the cpu was HARD on high difficulty settings. There’s a secret stunt course on track 6 too BTW!!
Totally get your frustration with the game but I also like the dynamic difficulty. It makes you a better player overall. This was the first video game I ever owned. Lots of Rush memories with my father.
This was my favorite game on N64 prior to Rush 2. I remember playing it every day and eventually was able to beat the circuit mode consistenly on very hard, winning every race. I had a knack for racing games, but sucked pretty hard at every other kind of game, especially platformers.
Aww, I was hoping you would do a brief clip of the secret stunt area. You drive down a hill, into a cave that has loops, ramps, walls to drive up and down on. It was such a cool easter egg.
Damn I loved this game! All these n64 rush and cruising games! I’d try all the shortcuts until I’d find the ones perfect for me. I love this series and I kinda can’t wait to go look for yours let’s plays of these to just put as my background noise while I clean my garage.
I played this game a couple of days ago on the N64..was always curious to how it played compared to the arcade. Had some fun with it for maybe an hour but not something I would replay again. Nice seeing someone else playing and seeing how it faired for them.
This really was a game you had to play in the arcades. Launching into massive jumps would cause the force-feedback steering wheel to shake left and right upon landing, giving them some real impact (much like Daytona USA). Honestly though, the cars always handled like crap, which is especially apparent in the home versions. Despite not being very good, I still have a lot of nostalgia for this game due to those experiences in the arcade.
I dropped thousands of quarters into this game at the arcade. Had the racing seat with 2 crazy loud ass speakers on each side of your head lol. Loved it ! STRAIGHT CHEESIN!!!🤣🤣🤣
Music-wise, I hear a strong resemblance to Mace: The Dark Age, another Midway arcade game that was ported to the N64 (and, imo, they did a fantastic job with it, it's a hell of a lot of fun)
I remember this game being tough as nails when I was 12. I never bothered to check to see that the difficulty adjusted by itself. I really was a bad ass gamer then because I did unlock the F1 car through pure perseverance.
This was the most incredible and immersive experiences when it first came out in the arcade. You sat in what felt like a bucket seat, speakers blasting road sounds in your ear and the steering wheel would jerk and react to the road! The rumble pak just couldn't replicate that. Great vid tho!
Always played this at a cousins of mine, the high jumps track was a level we could play for a long time, good memories, just recently played it with my cousins on Emulator, glad for advancements
I am pretty sure that C-down is the ebrake. I love this game. It's hard but fun. I rented it all the time as a kid and I own the cart now and I still play this occasionally.
This is one of my favorite games I ever got for Christmas.... And u got a bunch of amazing games for Christmas in my day. This is also my one of my favorite arcade racing series. Up there with my favorite racing games period. I think need for speed most wanted (orginal never played the remake and the underground series due to the upgrade system but motor city online was better when it came to they but was back in the day when paying for a game monthly was still newish) motor city online was originally gunna be need for speed online but for some reason it was dropped.
Hey Thab...long time, no see. Merry Christmas to you, man. I recently purchased a N64 with 9 games (Goldeneye, Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World, Banjo Kazzoie, Jet Force Gemini, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, WCW/NWO Revenge, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and Diddy Kong Racing). I did see this game for $10...I don't think I've ever owned the game, but I did rent it and loved it. I prefer Rush 2 because of Stunt Mode, but man, the Midway N64 games are quite fun.
Just thinking there about this challenge... To "beat" this game once - not 100%, just achieve something that could reasonably be construed as victory - took thab (who is, and let's be fair to him, a god gamer) nearly 12 hours of gameplay. That's longer than average, but if you look at the spreadsheet in the description, the current average-per-game is *still* almost 6 hours and 40 minutes and estimated time to completion is well into 2024. (Those wander about a bit, especially after particularly long or quick games, but less so the more games he plays). Now think about all the "10 Best/Worst Games on Console A"-type clickbait listicles (and TH-cam videos) scattered around the web. I think it's fair to say that very few of the people writing those articles have actually spent the vast amount of time needed to get a fair perspective on all the games on each console, so you don't end up with anything worthwhile, just an echo chamber of "Superman 64 is the worst game ever"-type stuff. It's just a pity that people actually read those things to the point they're seen as easy clicks for sites/videos, when guys like thab are showing what it actually takes...
That is such a great point! No way have those bloggers/journalists actually properly played anywhere near the needed number of games for almost any console
I got overall second on my first finished circuit too. Was in 1st on the last lap until the last few milliseconds. Didn't have time to restart. Devastating.
The best part of this game is the free play stunt room play area. I owned this game and never did any racing. Only did insane spins and tricks in the psychedelic free play room.
You should have played the games in chronological order based on their release, like reliving the history of N64 as everyone else experienced it. Hopefully you get to Rush 2049 soon
3:03 In the Playstation version it actually does make your car speed up significantly, dunno about N64/Arcade since I haven't played those, but it's possible this was part of the confusion EDIT: it's possible that it's more noticeable on PS1 because the tracks are miniature in that version, so they sped up your car more than N64 to compensate
I ran a pub in the late 90s that had the full cab arcade version of this and I must have played it almost every day for two years, with a beer and ashtray next to me. Sigh - those were the days.
You never knew those were the days until they're gone.
that was my first experience. As an arcade game.
I’m ashamed at how envious I am about that statement
You Ever Just Get Hurt By a Comment, Boys? 🙃
The Golden Age .. *deep sigh*
The Golden Age.
Use to do the same at the local pool hall. Great memories
That crash strategy was actually genius. That's gotta be one of the biggest brain plays i've seen before.
Proust level LMAO
I loved this game as a kid. Sunk hours into it. Impossible for me to beat the cpu, but the real racing was always against a friend. I remember getting the hidden keys around the courses and unlocking a special vehicle. I also remember turning the timer off, and driving to the hidden stunt course. The memories.
The hidden stunt track and keys made this game amazing.
Now you guys make me want to see them.
Yeah it was tons of fun, and the stunt track was awesome but you always had to go in slow and avoid the loop because you could easily crash if you went in there full speed. Rush 2 is a lot better though.
A product of its time. The 3D graphics on the N64 and the hidden stunt room made for hours of playtime. I have a ton of nostalgia love for “Rushhhhhhhhhh!”
My friends and I played this for hundreds of hours. Later on a family vacation to San Francisco I told my dad to take a dirt road to the museum. To my delight he did, mostly out of shock that his 11 year old child who had never been to California was giving him directions. I was right, the dirt alley through a park went to a museum.
I had no idea the game was auto adjusting the difficulty. This explains everything. You have no idea how inadequate this game made me feel as a kid lol.
You are not alone my friend i love these games but even recently it put my tail between my legs. I couldnt get anything but 7/8 pos on the 1st race lolol i had no idea the game was messing with the difficulty LOL
I love how Thab is always surprised with the number that comes out of the generator.
27. Twenty Seven!? What's that?
Rush 2, the sequel, is my favorite Nintendo 64 game. I can play it for hours and not get bored. There's so much exploring you can do, and trying to jump or flip just right to get the keys and Dew cans will consume your soul. Also the soundtrack is fantastic.
such a dope game
yea that's the game he picked, but he played SF rush :(
The stunt mode/ track was so good
Intentionally killing your driver so your team can win the overall Season. For the greater good.
The Valtteri Bottas method
@@billymac9419 lololol
There is something amazingly poetic about a driver who can't stand coming in second so he dies intentionally by crashing on the course to end the race and secure his victory. Like this should be an anime.
The stunt "track" in this game was so fun! Untold number of hours of my childhood were spent there.
That ending was amazing
I just called it RUSH as a kid. I love this game. And the Cruis'n series
this was one of my fav racing games back in the day
I'm really glad you do a "last time" segment before the game, because more than once it's made me realized I missed the previous episode somehow. Love the series!
You should totally clip that strategic crash for a short/TikTok! That was crazy good decision making.
This was actually a lot of fun watching this game on stream, it was so intense, never though a racing game would create so much passion during this challenge
Is the vod still up?
@@iwinrar5207 Yes, you can find it on Thab's second channel, "ThabeastPlays"
My childhood game & it's great the taxi is my favorite car collecting keys & mt dew cans is the best part
I don't remember much about the main 1 player race mode, but I loved goofing around on the stunt course
I love your clever problem solving on this one. That actually felt like more of a triumph and relief than if you had beat an easier game just straight up. It makes this game more exciting and more of an all-time-challenge.
This was a cornerstone of my childhood. So many good times with this game.
Hey thab. I just want to say these videos are getting better and better. The editing and voice overs nice and clean.
Actually, there are 7 tracks in this game.
The track Alcatraz from San Francisco Rush The Rock: Alcatraz Edition (Which was an updated version of this game in the Arcade) is hidden in this game if you do a bunch of inputs on several different screens in a certain order after entering a code or beating the game. It was many years later that I learned of this.
It was one of my favorite arcade games and I may have shed a tear when I found out it was coming to the 64. Played the game to death with friends, 2 player split screen was so much fun. We would just go to the stunt zones after a while and make the wildest crashes.
I really hope this series gets completed, although its a long and tedious journey. This is by far my favorite video series on TH-cam at the moment and I literally cant wait for next friday every week.
9.5 difficulty, that's the hardest game he's played so far!
This was my absolute favourite racing game as a kid. The racing is so awesome
Loved this game as a kid, but never came to grips with the difficulty and never beat it. Today I finally learned the difficulty actually auto-adjusts. Thank you! =)
I loved Rush 2049, can’t wait to see you play it. Great series!
My fav game. I beat it without cheats and won that purple/yellow car. I had probably 100 hours in at that point. I could do the tracks in my sleep. This is back when it just came out so I tried again a few days ago. I couldn't remember ANYTHING. NOTHING. Dead last on the first race. gah.
I spent so many hours on the stunt course. Distinctly remember getting the call that I’d be starting my first paper route while playing it.
Good times.
The stunt course was so much fun, I definitely played more of that than the racing
And it was always such a pain to go find it again after you died inside the cave. I like that they added real stunt courses in the other games.
i used to play this every time i went to a friend’s house. man, u learn how to embrace the madness. it’s so addictive
I can't believe how you sang that "waahaaaawawaa" part without breaking into laughter.
Road Rash 64 was my favorite non-Mario Kart racer on the system.
These games are sick
The truly best Song in this game is "What´s your Name?", but I agree on your choice when it comes to the race music itself.
Nothing nasty now!
Stunt mode with this was the bomb. I’d play with my friends and we’d take turns doing the wildest and craziest tricks possible. Somehow it was incredibly engaging and fun. I don’t think I’d have the patience for a game of this quality these days
I was a kid in the 90s went to a day care. Day care lady’s sons had an N64. This game was extremes popular amongst us kid at ye day care. It was very easy to figure out. Plus it look so great… at the time.
Thanks for covering this game.
the crash on purpose is brilliant. i love it XD
When I was a kid, we got this game from Target… and I was convinced the game was broken because you would crash and explode so easily. Took it back and exchanged it for Diddy Kong Racing.
1:10 WOW, that sound gave me major nostalgia. i almost forgot i had this game back then >.
I had Rush 2049 (the direct sequel, I believe). That game was so, so, so much fun. Not only can you do races, but you can do battles (cars with 8-16 unique weapons) and stunt (while airborne, use wings to roll around and do some crazy flips and stunts and get points for landing those without dying). There were some great tactics with battle.
I loved the car skatepark
This was one of my favourite arcade cabinets I played in high school! Good times
When I found the Easter egg car jungle gym area as a kid I spent hours trying to get there to do the full loop without having to reset. Best memories of this game imo
First game I ever played as a kid on n64… that hidden skateboard park in the side of the hill was awesome
I loved this game. The second one even more especially the stunt map. It took me forever to unlock all the cars especially the Mountain Dew car.
Rush in the arcades was epic. The game had a numeric keypad on the side of the dashboard so you can create your own save. Also, yes, the rubber banding was a massive b!tch! You had to know your lines, know your jumps, and which shortcuts were worth the time. Also, drifting was a big key in this game. If you weren't drifting whatever was in front of you, they were gonna leave you in the dust.
I worked at Gameworks in the late 90s and we would have at least 4 of these linked up for multi-player action. The competition for the top times on each track was intense.
Great memories of this game
I loved this game. I'm certain there was a stunt track too... unless I'm thinking of a different game.
I remember the arcade game of this being everywhere growing up. Played a lot of the game, but never on console lol.
Used to play the stunt gamemode for Rush.... Would sit there for hours trying to beat my highest score for a trick.
I LOVED THE STUNT MODE! We used to play that sooooooooooo much
might be thinking of rush 2?
@@mr.cook5 Possibly, just remember spending hours as a young kid lol.
@@musclebabies been a long time my bad lol, but yeah I used to spend hours playing it with my brother trying to beat our pb. I think what mr. cook said is true though, that may have been Rush 2.
@@turkeyman631 oh ya I played the rush 2 stunt mode for years with a bud of mine. so many good memories
I love all the strats you come up with to beat these games.
I love all the strategy require for beat this game. Lots of fun.
ITS DANGEROUS
I remember when this was the absolute height of racing games. Actual damage and some sense of physics while still being somewhat realistic (no crazy weapons).
Loved this and the sequel Rush 2: extreme racing USA. This games were just so much fun in 2 player mode, and the cpu was HARD on high difficulty settings. There’s a secret stunt course on track 6 too BTW!!
The rush games were fun, i loved that they added things to find to get unlockables.
I think the 7th level, Alcatraz, is the coolest level in this game. Had lots of fun with this one on the n64.
Totally get your frustration with the game but I also like the dynamic difficulty. It makes you a better player overall. This was the first video game I ever owned. Lots of Rush memories with my father.
This was my favorite game on N64 prior to Rush 2. I remember playing it every day and eventually was able to beat the circuit mode consistenly on very hard, winning every race. I had a knack for racing games, but sucked pretty hard at every other kind of game, especially platformers.
Aww, I was hoping you would do a brief clip of the secret stunt area. You drive down a hill, into a cave that has loops, ramps, walls to drive up and down on. It was such a cool easter egg.
Damn I loved this game! All these n64 rush and cruising games! I’d try all the shortcuts until I’d find the ones perfect for me. I love this series and I kinda can’t wait to go look for yours let’s plays of these to just put as my background noise while I clean my garage.
The arcade game was insane. Every time I see an SF Rush the rock arcade cabinet, I flip because this game goes against the law of physics.
Rush 2049 is my all time favorite 64 game. Spent so much time playing it as a kid.
I played this game a couple of days ago on the N64..was always curious to how it played compared to the arcade. Had some fun with it for maybe an hour but not something I would replay again. Nice seeing someone else playing and seeing how it faired for them.
@jhkuno88 what did I lose?
Spent a good amount of time playing this as a kid. Cruisin USA on 64 was another great one back then.
This one was great, the strats were really good
This really was a game you had to play in the arcades. Launching into massive jumps would cause the force-feedback steering wheel to shake left and right upon landing, giving them some real impact (much like Daytona USA). Honestly though, the cars always handled like crap, which is especially apparent in the home versions. Despite not being very good, I still have a lot of nostalgia for this game due to those experiences in the arcade.
Loved the RUSH and Cruisin' games as a kid
I dropped thousands of quarters into this game at the arcade. Had the racing seat with 2 crazy loud ass speakers on each side of your head lol. Loved it ! STRAIGHT CHEESIN!!!🤣🤣🤣
Lol man that end game strat was a stroke of genius. Wish I was in the stream for that moment.
Music-wise, I hear a strong resemblance to Mace: The Dark Age, another Midway arcade game that was ported to the N64 (and, imo, they did a fantastic job with it, it's a hell of a lot of fun)
Rush 2 Extreme Racing is even better! I LOVE this series and especially the What's your name song LMAO
I loved all the secrets in this game!! Hidden paths and such
I didn't know about the difficulty changes during the game, no wonder I always had trouble with this game and have still never been able to beat it!
IT'S DANGEROUS!
I remember this game being tough as nails when I was 12. I never bothered to check to see that the difficulty adjusted by itself. I really was a bad ass gamer then because I did unlock the F1 car through pure perseverance.
This was the most incredible and immersive experiences when it first came out in the arcade.
You sat in what felt like a bucket seat, speakers blasting road sounds in your ear and the steering wheel would jerk and react to the road!
The rumble pak just couldn't replicate that.
Great vid tho!
Always played this at a cousins of mine, the high jumps track was a level we could play for a long time, good memories, just recently played it with my cousins on Emulator, glad for advancements
I loved this game. Exploring and finding keys was so fun.
I loved this game as a kid, loved finding the hidden areas. Thanks Thab!
I am pretty sure that C-down is the ebrake. I love this game. It's hard but fun. I rented it all the time as a kid and I own the cart now and I still play this occasionally.
This is one of my favorite games I ever got for Christmas.... And u got a bunch of amazing games for Christmas in my day. This is also my one of my favorite arcade racing series. Up there with my favorite racing games period. I think need for speed most wanted (orginal never played the remake and the underground series due to the upgrade system but motor city online was better when it came to they but was back in the day when paying for a game monthly was still newish) motor city online was originally gunna be need for speed online but for some reason it was dropped.
Hey Thab...long time, no see. Merry Christmas to you, man.
I recently purchased a N64 with 9 games (Goldeneye, Cruis'n USA, Cruis'n World, Banjo Kazzoie, Jet Force Gemini, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, WCW/NWO Revenge, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, and Diddy Kong Racing). I did see this game for $10...I don't think I've ever owned the game, but I did rent it and loved it. I prefer Rush 2 because of Stunt Mode, but man, the Midway N64 games are quite fun.
Thank you for existing. I love binge watching you man
the suicide win strat is godlike.
For anyone wondering which song thab was trying to sing it was th-cam.com/video/f7K8TqlibkE/w-d-xo.html
It sounds like Pac-Man got drunk & started singing karaoke. I forgot how hilarious it was!
Just thinking there about this challenge...
To "beat" this game once - not 100%, just achieve something that could reasonably be construed as victory - took thab (who is, and let's be fair to him, a god gamer) nearly 12 hours of gameplay. That's longer than average, but if you look at the spreadsheet in the description, the current average-per-game is *still* almost 6 hours and 40 minutes and estimated time to completion is well into 2024. (Those wander about a bit, especially after particularly long or quick games, but less so the more games he plays).
Now think about all the "10 Best/Worst Games on Console A"-type clickbait listicles (and TH-cam videos) scattered around the web. I think it's fair to say that very few of the people writing those articles have actually spent the vast amount of time needed to get a fair perspective on all the games on each console, so you don't end up with anything worthwhile, just an echo chamber of "Superman 64 is the worst game ever"-type stuff.
It's just a pity that people actually read those things to the point they're seen as easy clicks for sites/videos, when guys like thab are showing what it actually takes...
That is such a great point! No way have those bloggers/journalists actually properly played anywhere near the needed number of games for almost any console
Hes living in the past. N64 was 25 years ago
Can’t wait for rush2!
Day 361 of appreciating Thab’s content. Im close to a year with Thab’s content!
I got overall second on my first finished circuit too. Was in 1st on the last lap until the last few milliseconds. Didn't have time to restart. Devastating.
Intentionally crashed to win a championship? Dayum, you just became a true racer.
I can NOT wait for you to play Rush 2 and Rush 2049!
Ah, this game brings back some great memories.
Best part about this game was the secret stunt level, especially if you mess with gravity.
The best part of this game is the free play stunt room play area. I owned this game and never did any racing. Only did insane spins and tricks in the psychedelic free play room.
This guy has insane quick problem solving skills
Jesus, that was a reckless and incredibly stupid move you made at the end. And I absolutely loved it!
So lucky to have found this series when it's been going for a bit 👍🏼🤝🏽
I love the stunt coarse on this game
this is the first one of your videos that i watched the whole thing. good video
You should have played the games in chronological order based on their release, like reliving the history of N64 as everyone else experienced it. Hopefully you get to Rush 2049 soon
3:03 In the Playstation version it actually does make your car speed up significantly, dunno about N64/Arcade since I haven't played those, but it's possible this was part of the confusion
EDIT: it's possible that it's more noticeable on PS1 because the tracks are miniature in that version, so they sped up your car more than N64 to compensate
You've got some big name games you haven't played. Going to get a ton of views!
Rush 2 was the best of this series.