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Randnet Disk JP release: 23rd February 2000 PAL release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: N/A The Randnet Disk for the 64DD isn’t really a game, but I thought it was interesting enough to talk about. It’s a software disk that is essentially a web browser and email client. As the Randnet service is down, there isn’t a lot that can be done, but I was able to mess around a little with the menu, along with the help pages which use the browser. While you could use the N64 mouse and the N64 keyboard (which was sold separately alongside this disk), a good deal of effort was put into allowing text input on a controller. The stick is used to narrow your selection to a couple of letters, while you can use the A button and C-buttons to pick one of those letters, or a shortcut for something else (such as www. or .com). It’s a surprisingly nice way to input text, and it’s a shame this wasn’t used in other N64 games. The browser is basic, but most were at the time anyway. From the help pages, it does its job just fine. There were some big plans for this, such as online play, watching others play games, and a music streaming service, but as the 64DD was short-lived, so was this. I also think it shows how botched together the 64DD ended up being, that this wasn’t released alongside the system itself. ? Remake or remaster? A group called Randnet+ is working on getting Randnet to work, allowing for the sharing of items from Mario Artist, and letting the browser work. They’re also recreating some of the pages the Randnet Disk directly linked to, so we’ll be able to see what it actually did (it probably won’t be able to load most modern websites). Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get Randnet Disk.

It looks like no Expansion Kit music and no version from the F-Zero X Guitar Arrange Edition. I wasn't expecting them, but it would be nice to have comprehensive releases if they're only doing one a week.

NBA In the Zone 2000 NA release: 18th February 2000 PAL release: May 2000 JP release: N/A Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 69% This is such a boring game to talk about, that the most interesting thing I can point out is that this game kept the name “In the Zone” in PAL regions. Previous games were renamed as “NBA Pro”. But, apart from that, this is an update of a clunky, average sports game that does nothing new. Everything moves in a strange way, and the “next player” is never who you expect or want to be selected while defending. There are far better basketball games. Fine Remake or remaster? There are better basketball games. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get NBA In the Zone 2000

You don't need the "else" there. There are no proper awards shows for gaming. The closest are the BAFTAs, but they don't air the ceremony. Proper awards shows happen after the year is finished.

Will they be getting a real host this time, or will Geoff be using his money to carry on pretending that he's suitable for the role?

ECW Hardcore Revolution NA release: 17th February 2000 PAL release: 3rd March 2000 JP release: N/A Developer: Acclaim Publisher: Acclaim N64 Magazine Score: 80% While it’s very easy to see the progression in Aki’s N64 wrestling games, it’s just as easy to see the lack of progression in Acclaim’s. Going from WWF War Zone to WWF Attitude, the only real improvement was the presentation. Now that Aki have the WWF license, Acclaim have had to shop elsewhere, with that impressive presentation going away with it. This feels like a very slightly modified War Zone. The create-a-wrestler is probably the best thing, which now has more options, plus you can create female wrestlers straight away. Other than that, there’s very little to talk about with this one. Fun Remake or remaster? There are better wrestling games. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get ECW Hardcore Revolution.

Tarzan NA release: 15th February 2000 PAL release: 21st April 2000 JP release: N/A Developer: Eurocom Publisher: Activision N64 Magazine Score: 35% It’s probably difficult to make licensed tie-in games. A lot of the development is while the film is being made, and the developers don’t always get much help from the film studio regarding characters or story. There’s also the nature of translating the story and set pieces into stuff that can be played. Add to this strict release dates and usually low budgets, and there’s only so much that can be done. This game, based on Disney’s Tarzan, doesn’t even try to tell a story. There’s no text between levels, no cutscenes. So instead, it’s just a story about a young boy that murders every animal in the jungle, who then grows up, still kills every animal he encounters, kidnaps a woman, and then another man tries to put him down at the end. Tarzan is a “2.5D” platformer from before the brief period where the term was popular. The level bends and moves into the camera at times, which gives it a bit of extra depth, but the levels all just blend into each other. You can throw fruit at enemies or find a knife to stab them (which, oddly, does no more damage than your infinite supply of fruit). One big issue with Tarzan is jumping near edges. One trick good platformers do is have slight leeway when jumping close to an edge, you can run part way off before jumping. Tarzan lacks that, and is made even worse because the edge isn’t well defined – due to the 3D geometry, the edges aren’t straight, and it’s difficult to tell which part is the actual “edge”. On top of countless animals to kill, there’s also a ton of collectibles. These only unlock extras, and searching for them is immensely dull, an issue with the entire game. The only semi-enjoyable level was Terk going through the campsite, with some nice music (the game has some good MIDI versions of tracks and songs from the film, including some Phil Collins stuff). Incidentally, there’s no enemies in the level. There are a few different set-pieces for variety. You can grind along long branches (it’s all automatic, you just spin around the outside of the tube) and there are a few Crash-style “3D” sections: two are annoying “run towards the camera from danger” and the other is a badly made Crash Bandicoot level. It makes you very glad the entire game isn’t in 3D. Tarzan is a very boring 2D platformer with a slight bit of flair, but no identity or personality. You could throw any license into the game and it would make as much sense. Poor Remake or remaster? Unless it’s part of a comprehensive Disney platformer collection, not really. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get Tarzan on N64.

Ridge Racer 64 NA release: 14st February 2000 PAL release: 4th July 2000 JP release: N/A Developer: Nintendo Software Technology Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 91% Ridge Racer was a massive success on PlayStation, and Namco were not very interested in the N64. Instead of working on an N64 version of Ridge Racer, they allowed Nintendo to develop and publish their own Ridge Racer game, a task handed to one of Nintendo’s new American teams, Nintendo Software Technology, known for Mario Vs Donkey Kong, Wave Race: Blue Storm, and the cancelled Project H.A.M.M.E.R. One thing the team nailed was the feeling and aesthetics of Ridge Racer. There’s no attempt to put a Nintendo flair or spin, no use of Nintendo’s character. Instead, there’s a load of Namco easter eggs, and overall a game that you would never guess that Nintendo made themselves. It works extremely well for this game, something that was clearly the plan, as the box downplays Nintendo’s involvement. Ridge Racer 64 is heavily based on the first two games in the series (the popular Ridge Racer Type 4 was already out on PlayStation). The one thing I really dislike is the style of game this is, with it being a “enemies are ahead and you have to catch up”. This one is especially odd as all the racers start at the start line, they just impossibly zoom off to get into position. I managed to win some races easily, while others I was stuck in 12th the whole time, I could never figure out why this happened. That said, the actual racing feels amazing. The cars are incredibly smooth to control, and drifting – which is something I understand to be an important part of the franchise – is an absolute joy. While you can pick drifting methods from Ridge Racer or Ridge Racer Revolution, the default is its own drifting method. You can drift for an immensely long time, doing 360 degree spins as you do. It plays wonderfully. But Ridge Racer 64 has another big weakness: the tracks. The three tracks are great, but there are only three. There are slight variations, but they don’t feel different enough. To make matters worse, two of the tracks are from previous games, so there’s only one new track in the game. They do look amazing, and free from fog and pop-in, it just isn’t enough. With the options to have regular races and some more tracks, I would love this. The actual racing is amazing, it’s just a shame there’s not a lot around it. Fun Remake or remaster? The game got a remake on DS, but a remaster/sequel with some additional racing modes and tracks would be lovely to see. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get Ridge Racer 64.

Vigilante 8: Second Offence NA release: 1st February 2000 PAL release: 25th February 2000 JP release: N/A Developer: Luxoflux Publisher: Activision N64 Magazine Score: 69% This was one of my multiplayer favourites as a kid, although playing it again now, and I remember this having more stuff than it actually does. It’s a more refined version of the vehicle fighting of Vigilante 8, with the biggest improvement being the levels, as they feel far more open, yet also more interactive. The AI also engages with you a bit more, instead of dashing to health the moment they get hit. The singleplayer mode has been overhauled slightly, too, as each character now has a quest. For the most part, it’s playing all the levels and blowing up opponents, there are just some slightly different objectives like finding hidden objects. That said, the number of characters and levels don’t quite feel like enough. It’s still a really fun game, it just feels the same as the first. Fun Remake or remaster? A remaster that combines everything from all the games would be great. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get Vigilante 8: 2nd Offence.

Blitz Shogi 3: Championship Series JP release: January 2000 PAL release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: Random House Publisher: Seta Original Name: Mayjinsen 3 N64 Magazine Score: N/A A Shogi game for the Aleck 64 arcade system. In this, you challenge the computer in a shogi match. When it is your turn, a timer counts down – run out and you need to pay another credit. If you lose a match, you get a 30 second penalty and try again. Apart from the colourful background, the interface is basic, not showing you possible moves and bringing up a message if you place something in the wrong place. There’s not a great deal of information online about this game, so I used the help of a Shogi website to help win a match. Unlike other Aleck 64 games that have anime girls as your only opponents, this one seems to be more appropriate and you get a line of text and move on to your next opponent, each one seems to have their own board design. That said, things might change if you get through multiple matches. You only start with 3 minutes of time per credit, which is really very little time at all. The Shogi AI itself is also the same one as in Strongest Habo Shogi, so this is essentially a more colourful version of that game. Fine Remake or remaster? Better digital versions of Shogi exist. Official ways to get the game. There’s no official way to get Blitz Shogi 3

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2: Royal Road Succession JP release: 28th January 2000 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Asmik Ace, AKI Publisher: Asmik Ace N64 Magazine Score: N/A If you’re a fan of AKI’s wrestling games on the N64 and don’t mind the lack of famous Western wrestlers (aside from a few unlockables like Andre the Giant), then Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 is something very much worth checking out. While the first just felt like a Japanese version of WCW vs. nWo: World Tour, this feels like an actual sequel to WWF Wrestlemania. In particular, the game engine has been made much smoother, with the game being extremely fluid, eliminating any jankiness from the previous games. There’s also a new grapple system, as each wrestler tries to overpower the other, and a ton of different modes. The create-a-wrestler has a lot more to it (especially if you like masks), and this is Aki’s biggest roster, although not many are licensed (although the unlicensed ones still have their signature moves, taunts, and their clothing is conveniently available in the edit mode). There’s a lot of different modes and features, including the Royal Road Succession (this game’s Road to Wrestlemania). These games aren’t personally my kind of thing, but if you do enjoy them, this one is well worth checking out and using a bit of Google Lens to navigate menus. Great Remake or remaster? A new call-back game to Aki’s would be good. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Virtual Pro Wrestling 2

Goemon Mononoke Sugoruku JP release: 25th December 1999 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: N/A There’s no good way to translate “Goemon Mononoke Sugoruku”. Mononoke are a kind of vengeful spirit, but can also be a term for a shapeshifting creature, while Sugoruku refers to one of two board games, in this case a very simple roll and move board game. This Goemon version of Sugoruku adds in a card and combat system, with the goal being to defeat your opponents by reducing their health to zero. The game doesn’t explain its mechanics (they’re just in the manual), but it’s simple to figure out. Each turn has a structure: draw a new card, optionally use a card, roll and move, battle (if on the right spot), take another action (use a card, place a spirit, or level up one of your spirits), then end your turn, discarding a card if you have too many. Most spots are empty, but you’ll want to place down your spirit cards, which add the respective creatures to the board. When your opponent lands on one (or you land on one of theirs), a fight commences. Here, you can attach a single weapon card to use in the fight to help improve the stats of your spirit card. While they’re the actual creature on the board, here they’re represented by the card, and there are some quite nice animations for attacks and to show the different kinds of damage affecting the cards. When you win a battle, you’ll also damage your opponent directly, and then gain a lot of money from them. If the losing spirit is on the board, they’ll be replaced by the victor. As money is mainly used to level up monsters, victory is pretty much decided very early on in the game, as the winner of the first fight is in a better position to level up their on-board spirits, so the rest of the game is you and your opponent just circling the board for ages until another battle is triggered. It’s all very dull. Poor Remake or remaster? Only as part of a Goemon collection, which is something that needs to happen due to a few great games. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play Goemon Mononoke Sugoruku

Robopon 64 JP release: 24th December 1999 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Red Company Publisher: Hudson Original Name: Robot Ponkottsu 64: Nanatsu no Umi no Caramel N64 Magazine Score: N/A Robopon (short for Robot Ponkottsu, essentially “Robot Trash”) is a game that was very much inspired by Pokémon, launching on the Game Boy Color with Sun and Star versions, followed up by a Moon version. The GBC game did end up getting released in North America, but only the Sun version – although both versions of Robopon 2 on GBA (Ring and Cross) did come out in North America. The N64 game, however, was only ever released in Japan, and Robopons could be traded with the GBC games. In Robopon, you play as a kid on a quest to find seven parts of a goddess called “Caramel”. You have a fish-shaped ship to sail around a small ocean in, which has a strange maze-like structure in it. From what I can tell, the aim of the game is to get through the maze structure, which requires defeating bosses (signified by a tower on a small island) to get passes. The process of growing Robopon (you plant seeds in a flower bed) is quite complex, and there is a ton of maintenance and training (which involves playing minigames) to boost stats. I couldn’t defeat the first boss and, from reading some reviews, the game is essentially grinding, doing maintenance, battling the owners of random ships floating around, growing items to enhance stats, or get new Robopon until you get a team to defeat the next boss, then repeat. Oh, and if you don’t clean your ship on a regular basis, rats will appear and eat what is currently growing. One of the English reviews I’ve read said that all the tedious stuff can be skipped by importing Robopon from the GBC game. The battles themselves are very simple. You choose an ability with B, then press A when a meter is full to perform that attack. You can move around, but the only reason for doing so is to collect power-ups that randomly get dropped down, as your position has no impact on attacks. When a move is performed, you’re teleported to a set place for the animation, then it cuts to the opponent to show the damage, a lot like Pokémon Stadium, it’s just more disjointed here because you’re actively moving around the arena. The few Robopon I saw had interesting designs and are nicely detailed, but are just random. Some of them are human, some are robots, and others are strange animals. There’s no consistency to the designs in any way, and many feel like they belong in different games. While the battle system is fine, this is an RPG that’s all grind and no adventure. Poor Remake or remaster? Bung them in a collection, perhaps. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play Robopon 64.

Penny Racers 2: Chaotic Grand Prix JP release: 24th December 1999 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Locomotive Corporation Publisher: Takara Original Name: Choro Q 64 2: Hachamecha Grand Prix Race N64 Magazine Score: N/A The second game on the N64 that is based on the Japanese Choro Q toy cars. This one never made it out of Japan, which is a shame, as it solves some of the issues with the first game and ends up being a charming, if basic, kart racer. The biggest changes are to the speed and handling, with the game being much faster and cornering tighter. The strange mechanic that made cars roll over when doing a big turn is also gone, making for a much more fun game. The biggest complaint I have is with the warning icon that flashes up whenever you encounter an obstacle, or sometimes just a big turn. It’s right where you’re looking, and actively distracts you from the actual hazard it’s supposed to be letting you know about. I wish this could be turned off. You also don’t have a weapon by default, you have to assign one to your car. That said, the weapons are quite easy to avoid, so while they can be used effectively, you might still opt to choose a different part that increases your speed instead. Choosing new parts for your car is still a key point of the game, and the top three in a race can take parts from the bottom three. For the most part, this is a much nicer version of Penny Racers, the greater sense of speed and better handling make this an enjoyable racing game. Fun Remake or remaster? There have been a surprising amount of Choro Q games on various platforms, but perhaps a collection of some of the main ones would be nice Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play Penny Racers 2.

I do find it strange when video games end up not being released in the country they were made in. Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling NA release: 22nd December 1999 JP release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Point of View Publisher: THQ N64 Magazine Score: N/A Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling is possibly the most sterile game I’ve ever played. It does a good job at what it sets out to do – be a simulation of professional bowling – but that’s all it is. There’s no fun, and the presentation is extremely bare-bones. Get a strike, and you’ll sometimes get a short animation of your bowler silently putting one of their hands in the air. There’s no fun animation, no big letters saying “STRIKE”. Nothing. For how it plays, it’s absolutely fine. Aim, add spin, then do a golf-style power/accuracy. In a way, it’s too good, as you’ll become fairly consistent at getting strikes by the end of your first match. There’s a few different modes of play, such as a single match, tournaments, a career mode where you play multiple tournaments, a mode where only strikes count, and an enticing “Cosmic Bowling” option. Instead of picking visually different lanes, you instead select the oil pattern of the lane, something which only means something to the professionals. There’s very little variety to how the game actually plays, no challenge mode with different pin setups, no fun bowling minigames. The only hope for something different is Cosmic Bowling…. …Cosmic Bowling is just regular bowling with garish colours. Poor Remake or remaster? There are better bowling games. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling