What is great about the old N64 "Wave Race" game that I haven't noticed in other racing games is not just having to slalom through the buoys, but having to do so in the face of the chaotic waves. The problem with racing games is that racetracks are too stable of an environment, which means you don't have to be adaptive once you have figured out how to negotiate the various turns. If you introduce being thrown about by chaotic waves, then no two games are the same, which is part of the appeal of, for instance, chess.
Mario Kart tries to accomplish this with the turtle shells and so on that you can get hit by and by having moving obstacles, and that stuff makes it interesting enough, but the chaotic field of waves is part of the fabric of the game, not just a decoration on top. Racing games are about movement, and the movement in Wave Race is just way more dynamic.
Look at this guy do the stunts!!! (below)
Update: It is also possible, I just learned, to change the wave conditions on any given track!!
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