"N64 Magazine" journalists described "Wave Race 64" as "one of the deepest racing games" they had played, stating that the game's dynamic waves "constantly tests and re-tests" the player's control and that the buoys system offers "tactical decisions about whether to spend time taking a wide corner or dash straight on to catch the leader before it's too late". Similarly, "Game Informer" remarked that the waves can strike players on every turn and that "one mistake can mean the difference between victory and defeat". "Edge" highly praised the game's believable watery environments and satisfying controls, stating that each of the game's four crafts feature different handling characteristics, which is accentuated by the way they interact with the water. Although the magazine criticized the game's lack of courses, noting that most of them can be seen in a day's play, it ultimately concluded that "Wave Race 64" "is a perfect example of how Nintendo's approach to game design still remains markedly different from almost every other videogames company in the world".