It is similar to its Famicom Disk System counterpart, though this version lacks the Design option, has three difficulty levels, and has other minor differences.

The human racers have been replaced by Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Wario, Toad, and some of Bowser's Koopa Troopas.

The concept was unchanged except for a "SUPER" mode where the player has unlimited turbo and coins spread across the courses to increase top speed in a manner similar to the Mario Kart series.

The Nintendo 64 version restores the Save and Load functionality in Design mode, though it is limited to saving one custom track on the Game Pak, while the Animal Crossing version can be transferred to the Game Boy Advance by using a link cable.

Excitebike was added to the European Wii Virtual Console on February 16, 2007, the same day its spiritual successor, Excite Truck, was released there.

[17] In Japan, Game Machine listed VS. Excitebike on its January 15, 1985, issue as the fifth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

[31] It ended the year as America's second highest-grossing arcade system game of 1985, below Nintendo's Hogan's Alley.

The review referred to the game as a "staple of any NES collection", praising its graphics as cute and its control as simple that still require strategy to apply properly.

The review noted the design mode, as "the first of its kind in a console game, and greatly extends the life of the title by featuring 19 different components you can piece together to build your own course".

[20] IGN praised the NES version in 2007, as "ridiculously addictive" and that it "proves video games don't need to have flashy graphics or complex AI to actually be fun.

[37][38] While working on Excitebike and Kung Fu, he devised the concept of a platformer in which the player can "strategize while scrolling sideways" over long distances, and has colorful backgrounds rather than black.