Cube
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Posts posted by Cube
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19 minutes ago, darksnowman said:Did you give your car a paint job in Top Gear? For some reason that editor drew my attention.
You can just about make out a "DJ" on the back of the car in some images. I have zero artistic talent.
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Top Gear Rally
- NA release: 30th September 1997
- PAL release: November 1997
- JP release: 5th December 1997
- Developer: Boss Game Studios
- Publisher: Midway (NA), Kemco (PAL/JP)
- N64 Magazine Score: 86%
Top Gear Rally was loved so much by N64 Magazine that they dropped Multi-Racing Championship’s score from 81% to 71%, claiming that it was scored high because it was first. As much as I wanted to love this, this just felt like it had the same kind of “early days” bias as it’s still another arcade style racer where you work from the back of the pack with very few tracks.
The racing itself feels pretty decent with a lot of options to change to alter the handling of your vehicles, and the graphics are very nice for their time, with some nice water effects. In championship mode, you play through a bunch of seasons as you race across the same four tracks multiple times. The weather does change and, while the effects are quite lovely, the rain and slow just make the handling a nightmare. In total, you play across these four tracks a total of 21 times – and then again in mirror mode.
There are some nice touches to the game, for example, you can create custom paint jobs for your cars in a surprisingly nice (for the time) image editor. There’s also “arcade” mode where you can have a 1v1 race against the CPU or another player. The music on the jungle level is also absolutely lovely, although the rest of the music is quite poor. There’s also a hidden track.
If you play through the whole 21 track season and win every single race, you’ll unlock the final track. You can’t race this in the main mode, only arcade and practice. When N64 Magazine wrote their review, they knew it existed but had no idea how to unlock it, it’s that much of a pain to do. Yet it’s easily the best track of the game, with a ton of interesting shortcuts. It’s strange how the best 20% of their game is locked away so hard – another fun vehicle would have been much better, and would allow for a bit more variety in the game’s main mode.
One other thing I noticed is that it doesn’t feel like the other racers have any kind of AI – it just feels like they’re on a set path. They don’t react to you and if you get in their way, they’ll barge you away without slowing down. If you try to crash into them, they’ll be unaffected. They’re more obstacles than opponents.
Top Gear Rally is a fun game, but shows its age with its arcade nature and lack of content. At the time of release, it was definitely the best car racing game on the system.
QuoteTop Gear Rally is pretty much as state-of-the-art as it gets, rivalling most coin-ops with its smooth, high-speed 3D graphics. It uses the N64’s analogue joystick to allow you to steer your car precisely, it’s got four tracks (plus a hidden extra one), it’s got varying weather, and it’s not nine cars of differing speed and ability.
- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or Remaster?
A collection of the various Top Gear games would be quite nice.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Top Gear Rally
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Mace: The Dark Age
- NA release: 30th September 1997
- PAL release: December 1997
- JP release: N/A
- Developer: Midway
- Publisher: Midway (NA), GT Interactive (PAL)
- N64 Magazine Score: 81%
Most of what I said about War Gods remains true to Mace: The Dark Age. It’s another bare bones Mortal Kombat clone with a small amount of 3D movement, once again with extremely generic stereotypes for characters, this time based on medieval times. The one stand out character to me was the training dummy character from the basic practice mode, called Spanky.
Mace does have two points in its favour, though. First are the graphics, which look great for the time. The 3D models for the characters are very well made, with detail in the model itself rather than pasting on photographs. The detail also extends into the stages, with impressive detail. On top of that, the stages aren’t just backdrop.
While it’s awkward to move around the stages, you can try to use the different layers to your advantage. Some stages even have hazards that cause damage. It creates a feeling that you’re actually fighting in a location, instead of fighting in an empty void with artwork pasted behind you.
As I’m not skilled at these kind of games, I’m not really sure how the fighting itself compares – it felt just like War Gods to me – but N64 Magazine rated it highly, so there must be something more to it.
QuoteAll of which is a rather convoluted way of saying that Mace: The Dark age is shin-splinteringly good fun, and almost makes up for the uninspired excess that N64-owning fighting fans have so far been privy to. Almost
- Jes Bickham, N64 Magazine #9
Remake or remaster?
With War Gods, this can be re-released as some kind of Midway fighting came collection.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Mace: The Dark Age
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I love all of the starters here, and the final evolutions are great. The middle evolutions are a bit of a letdowns, with Ivysaur and Wartotle being forgettable.
Chameleon is by far the most notable of the three, having by far the coolest design and having a significant personality in the show.
Squirtle is the best first stage, Chameleon is the best middle and Charizard is the best final evolutions (sorry Bulbasaur, you're still great).
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Bomberman 64
- JP release: 26th September 1997
- NA release: 27th November 1997
- PAL release: 3rd December 1997
- Developer: Hudson
- Publisher: Hudson (JP), Nintendo (NA/PAL)
- N64 Magazine Score: 50%
Bomberman is a much loved multiplayer game, and with the Nintendo 64 having four controller ports built in, an N64 version seems like a no-brainer, you could even have 8 players by having players sharing controllers, one using D-pad and L and the other using C-buttons and R.
Bomberman 64, however, leaves multiplayer to be an afterthought, focusing instead on a 3D puzzle-platform game.
The start of Bomberman 64 is immensely more difficult than the rest, with the main challenge working out the mechanics of the game. The controls feel extremely imprecise and the game gets you to use the barely-working method of dropping a bomb and then pressing b to pick it up – except if you get close to a bomb, you’ll kick it and it will slide away.
Then, after you’ve completed the first world, the game tells you “oh, if you press A and B together, you’ll hold it straight away”. It’s strange that the game lets you struggle with it before telling you the proper way to play.
Little frustrations plague the game. From thin platforms that aren’t suited to the game’s controls, the game hiding objects in places where the game’s bad camera struggles to see and that once you’ve figured out the main mechanics, you realise that there aren’t really any puzzles other than roaming around, hoping you’re going the right way.
Your bombs also explode in a circle, with the blast radius increasing slightly every time you collect a power up, which makes it very difficult to judge how far your bomb will explode, although even at the maximum, it’s nothing compared to the + shape explosions we know and love from Bomberman, one that is integral to the gameplay.
To get to the credits, there are 5 zones, each with 2 levels and 2 bosses. The bosses are quite tedious and not exciting, and Bomberman can only take one hit. There are also golden cards to collect. To collect these, you have to search every nook and cranny, as well as attack bosses in certain ways – with no clues for any of them.
If you find all 100, and fight the boss again, you’ll unlock the secret final world, but when the game is so tedious to play, is more even a good thing?
Bomberman 64 is slow, tedious and the transition to “3D” has taken away everything that made Bomberman fun and enjoyable. It’s no surprise that Bomberman ended up returning to its 2D gameplay.
QuoteWhen it isn’t being tedious, this mode just about works. There’s not much to it, admittedly, and it suffers from all sorts of minor annoyances – such as having to work blind when the environment obscures your view; enemies who regenerate out of sight, in places you’ve thought you’d cleared; exploration puzzles that hide things from the usual perspectives.
- Zy Nicholson, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or remaster?
There are much better Bomberman games to focus on instead.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Bomberman 64
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@lostmario The 2018 Battletoads game starts off fine for the first hour or so, but the rest of it is atrocious. The fighting levels stop and you have
- Discount Rayman Origins levels that are very simple and not enjoyable.
- A really boring vertical scrolling space shooter with multiple levels.
Followed by a terrible minigame where you have to repair something by hitting random buttons.
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J.League Dynamite Soccer 64
- JP release: 5th September 1997
- PAL release: N/A
- NA release: N/A
- Developer: A-Max
- Publisher: Imagineer
- N64 Magazine Score: 66%
The third Japanese football game has a very different feel to both Konami and EA’s games. On paper, this is easily the worst football game I’ve played so far (and not just on the N64) and yet…it’s oddly enjoyable. If you paid money for this game, you would no doubt be annoyed, but giving it a quick blast to see how bad it is truly is quite fun.
You may notice that there’s no cursor showing who you are currently controlling – that’s because you never control any individual players. Instead, you control a random assortment of players who are near the ball, all moving in the same way. Even when you have the ball, the other players will “kick” an imaginary ball at the same time the player with the ball does.
The a and b buttons are different kinds of kicks, these are just in a general direction and not a proper pass – that’s on the C down button, and you have no control over who you pass to (it often goes to a player behind the current one). The goalkeepers are also amazing at what they do, and the CPU even struggled to score when I gave them lots of chances.
Fouls are very loose in the game, as sliding tackles rarely result in a foul. There is a shoulder barge button that does usually give a foul, and I had a lot of fun seeing how many players I could get sent off the pitch. It turns out that after four players are sent off, you can no longer get cards. And even with four players sent off, the absence of a defence didn’t make a huge difference due to the goalkeeper’s skill.
It also helps that the sprite-based players are also funny to look at, often looking like gingerbread men. The graphics combined with the way you control multiple players at once, it feels like a hybrid of football and foosball.
This is a wonderfully dreadful game.
QuoteSo, how’s it managed to sneak into the mid-60’s, then? Well, persevere with it (and, strewth, does it take some perseverance) and you’ll discover that, for all it’s stinking great, size 15 faults, there’s something strangely enjoyable about it.
- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or remaster?
This isn’t worth buying in any way, just emulate it (with the English translation patch) to see how enjoyably bad it is.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get J.League Dynamite Soccer 64.
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Now the next one was the right game at the right time.
Goldeneye 007
- JP release: 23rd August 1997
- PAL release: 25th August 1997
- NA release: 25th August 1997
- Developer: Rare
- Publisher: Nintendo
- N64 Magazine Score: 94%
The legendary game GoldenEye. This is the game I got with my N64 and I spent all day searching around the dam level for bungee rope as it wasn’t in my inventory. It was a landmark game for not just first person shooters, but video games in general.
GoldenEye had the brilliant idea of adding objectives that were more than just pushing buttons then going through the level again to look for something that has changed. You had to protect certain people, blow up certain objects and find objects. On higher difficulty options, you have more objectives to complete.
The praise of GoldenEye has been done countless times before, but one aspect I think is overlooked is the level design, in terms of how the levels feel like actual places and buildings and not a nonsensical string of rooms and corridors.
Part of this is due to how the developers made the game: the GoldenEye team had never made a video game and was a risky experiment from Rare to throw people who had never worked in the video game industry to see if they would come up with unique methods. It’s quite shocking that they were willing to do this with an IP like James Bond, but it paid off.
Typically, the objective and player path is made first and then the level is built around that, but for GoldenEye, the levels were constructed and then they added the objectives and decided where the player would start. This meant that some rooms are essentially “pointless”, but it helps makes everything feel real.
The muiltiplayer was another huge surprise – a few of the developers started it with 6 weeks of development left and without getting permission to do so first. It was simple, but at the same time extremely enjoyable and is still one of the most famous multiplayer modes in a video game.
Some aspects of GoldenEye haven’t aged well, particularly the controls (although there are dual analogue options hidden in the settings, requiring two controllers), but sort that out and it’s still an absolute joy to play.
QuoteIn truth, this is so far ahead of Doom 64, and even Turok, that comparisons are pointless. You’ll look at GoldenEye’s filmic feel, lashings of originality and – yes -frequent genius, and wonder why id or Iguana couldn’t have done similar things. And the reason? Because Rare, like Nintendo themselves, know the N64 inside-out and, plainly, are breathtakingly talented to boot.
- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #9
Remake or remaster?
There was an XBLA version of GoldenEye that was nearly finished. You could swap between old and new graphics (although the “old” graphics weren’t fully finished) and it played great on a modern controller. Finish that version and release it, as it’s what GoldenEye deserves.
Official ways to get the game.
You can buy the game by purchasing a digital copy of Rare Replay on Xbox One/Series. It is also available for subscription as part of Xbox Game Pass or Nintendo Switch Online
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Tetrisphere
- NA release: 11th August 1997
- PAL release: February 1998
- JP release: N/A
- Developer: H2O
- Publisher: Nintendo
- N64 Magazine Score: 69%
If you thought that Tetrisphere is a Tetris-like game that is played on a sphere then, surprisingly, you would be wrong. It didn’t even start out as a Tetris licensed game, but rather a game called Phear on the Jaguar, before ended up going to the N64 instead and published by Nintendo with the Tetris branding.
I remember playing it as a kid and being confused, but the tutorial explains the game quite well and it’s quite simple. You’ll see a shadow of your next piece. You have to line it up so it connects to two or more matching pieces, they’ll disappear – get rid of large amounts and you’ll get power ups. There are different modes, but the general goal is to clear enough of the inner sphere.
While the starting pieces need lining up exactly, the more complex just seem to need one part touching a matching piece, which ends up making them much easier to score combos with. The power ups come in different types, but seem to be just different animations for removing large amounts of blocks.
To help with combos, you can also drag pieces around by lining them up with the shadow and holding B. Tetrisphere is quite relaxed for a puzzle game, and the failure state is making three mistakes, although the shadow showing your target handily shows if your placement is good or not.
It’s an entertaining puzzle game, although while it has a lot of modes, they all still feel like the same game. The game doesn’t mix things up enough, so ends up feeling a little bit basic.
QuoteIt’s in no way an essential purchase, but it has a strange lure about it – hypnotic almost, which is probably enhanced by the eye-glazing tempo of the acid house dance tracks.
- Steve Jarratt, N64 Magazine #13
Remake or remaster?
A re-release is fine for Tetrisphere.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Tetrisphere.
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Microsoft will probably officially announce the next Series X hardware revision (the one with no disc) at the same time.
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Power League 64
- JP release: 8th August 1997
- NA release: N/A
- PAL release: N/A
- Developer: Hudson
- Publisher: Hudson
- N64 Magazine Score: 42%
I had no idea that the Japanese loved American baseball so much, but this is the third Japan-exclusive game on the N64. This one has a more “realistic” art style, but the lack of faces make the players look absolutely horrific.
Control is similar to the previous baseball games, except this time the batter has no aiming reticule, so you have no idea how close you were to hitting. When fielding, you also need to move your players more, although throwing to the bases is a nightmare as it never goes to the person you want it to go to.
I did learn something about baseball from this game: seemingly a big part of the game is the pitcher deliberately throwing an “out” ball, as if the batter swings, it doesn’t count as out. The CPU in this game loves doing difficult shots as it knows about the lack of depth perception in a video game, and the minute screen space between in and out.
If you do manage to hit the ball, the CPU fielders will catch it most of the time, so it doesn’t really matter much, while the CPU will manage to fill the bases and then get a home run. It’s a miserable experience.
There is a mode that I thought could help practicing batting. It’s a home run competition where you try batting 10 times to get as many home runs as possible – except that this is completely unlike batting in the real game as it’s easy to hit the ball and you seem to get a home run every time you hit it.
QuoteWhen it’s all said and done, baseball is plainly just rounders played by men in tights who spit a lot and skid around on the floor. Power League adds nothing and is outclassed by both its rivals. Avoid it with the enthusiasm you would a contagious disease.
- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #7
Remake or remaster?
It’s a bad sports game, so doesn’t really need anything.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Power League 64
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10 hours ago, Julius said:I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who bought an Xbox this gen, I remember saying not too long back that the time to make a drastic move like this (be it shifting away from consoles or exclusives) should be at the start of the gen, not halfway through one. Not the loud ones who flame the console wars, mind.
For me, it's Xbox or nothing. I'm not sure if the PS5 will ever get a price drop to a place where I can afford it. If there's no Series S equivalent next generation, I'll likely be shifting to getting second hand consoles when the generation after releases.
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Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
- JP release: 7st August 1997
- NA release: 16th April 1998
- PAL release: 18th April 1998
- Developer: Konami
- Publisher: Konami
- N64 Magazine Score: 90%
I remember seeing the scores for Mystical Ninja in N64 magazine, but it didn’t seem like my kind of game. I was very wrong about that – Goemon’s first N64 game is kind of a hybrid of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, mixed with edo era Japan and a gloriously absurd plot of musical performers trying to turn Japan into their stage.
The game starts out in a Zelda-style town, but what’s impressive is that this is from before Ocarina of Time. You can swap between Goemon and Ebisumaru (plus more you meet along the way) at any time, each with their own set of weapons and abilities. These are uses sparingly throughout the game, so for the most part you can play as who you prefer.
Connecting each town is a large overworld with some nice locations. The first one I encountered brought back strong childhood memories as I recognised the music from Krazy Konami Racers, but the rest of the music in the game is also great, with lots of great tracks throughout the game. I was bopping my head to quite a lot of the music which mixes classical and modern instrument sounds.
Dungeons also play a big part in the game. While there are map/compass items to collect and keys to find, they’re a lot more platform-oriented than Zelda dungeons. One downside is the game’s camera (which can be turned holding R and using the c-buttons), but it’s something you get used to. While there are some bottomless pits, other areas just have you fall to a section where you work your way back – although one handy thing is that there’s no fall damage.
There’s also a variety of other sections, including multiple giant robot boss fights, which treat you to a song each time you use your giant robot, Impact. Each starts off with an arcade-style section to build up your health and ammo before taking a first person perspective as you shoot and punch your opponent. It’s a lot of fun, although they do become more frustrating the longer they go on.
Goemon is an incredibly charming game that’s still a ton of fun to play. Some of the puzzles do have a sign flat out telling you what to do, although these mainly relate to Ebisumaru’s camera item, which reveals hidden things, so I would probably get stuck without being reminded that the object exists. Even with that, the main story is amusingly silly and the game likes throwing new things at you. It’s a great game.
QuoteIt’s a clever game, not only because there’s simply so much to do, but because you’re never quite sure what’s going to come next. Mini boss? End-of-level boss? Ludicrous sub-game involving a big yellow man and some falling shrinking pills? Erm, yes, quite. Mystical Ninja is a supreme example of game invention.
- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #14
Remake or remaster?
An updated version of Mystical Ninja would be great, with a better camera and fine tuned controls. A bit of extra side content would also be welcome. And perhaps a quest log as instructions are a but unclear at times.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon.
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Mahjong Road 64
- JP release: 25th July 1997
- NA release: N/A
- PAL release: N/A
- Developer: Art
- Publisher: Video System
- N64 Magazine Score: 69%
- Original name: Jangou Simulation Mahjong Michi 64
The N64’s third Mahjong game and I’m running out out of things to say about Mahjong. The interface improves a little bit over Mahjong 64, but still isn’t as clear as Mahjong Masters.
The main mode of Mahjong Road 64 is a competition where players are racing to be the first to earn 10 million G form playing Mahjong. You select from a pool of 16 anime-style characters and chose locations and characters to complete against until you earn enough money. It’s quite freeform in that you can choose who to play against.
Another mode I’ve not seen is a 2-player mode (still only against an AI) on top of the traditional 4 player Mahjong, so it’s a bit of variety. You can change a few settings and one nice thing is you get a close up of the winning hand at the end of a round.
Quotet gives you a section of Tokyo that’s densely populated with mah jong clubs to wander around challenging the locals. And it provides you with a nice 3D perspective views of the tiles when one of the players goes out.
- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #7
Remake or Remaster?
Another Mahjong game with nothing particularly special. Other options exists.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Mahjong Road 64
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Mahjong Drifters Chronicles Classic
- JP release: 1st August 1997
- NA release: N/A
- PAL release: N/A
- Developer: Alpha Unit
- Publisher: Imagineer
- N64 Magazine Score: N/A
- Original name: Mahjong Horoki Classic
Right after Mahjong Road 64 is yet another Mahjong Game. However, this one is a little bit more interesting as it’s a visual novel as well as a Mahjong game. For the core UI, it’s nice that the tiles are more 3D, and it’s the second best interface after Mahjong Masters. You can play matches on their own or as part of the story.
When I first booted up the game, I was quite baffled. The music on the menu, as well as the sepia-tone drawing of a woman made me think of old, seedy bars. Turns out that they managed to nail the atmosphere of the game with just the simple menu because that’s exactly where the game it set: in gambling dens in Japan just after WWII.
Surprisingly, the game starts with a content warning saying that the game is set in the “chaotic period of the war” and that “there may be some areas in which the methods of copying and expression do not fit in with modern conventional wisdom”. Mahjong Drifters Chronicles is based on a novel (which previously had a film adaptation) by Takehiro Irokawa, and is based on his own past.
The short version: After struggling to make ends meet working in a factory post-WWII, Boyatetsu (a fictional name, but based on Irokawa) ends up getting involved in Mahjong gambling dens and getting addicted to meth. It’s a brutal story as he tries to quit and make a life for himself (the real person eventually straightened out after getting a job for a newspaper). Throughout the story, you have to play mahjong, ensuring you don’t run out of money.
There is also a “cheaters” mode. Here you learn specific tricks as you play and unlock passcodes for certain tricks which can be used in the story more. This mimics a way of cheating in Mahjong done by stacking the tiles in a certain way to ensure you have a strong starting hand, but now this issue is solved by shorting machines.
As far as the Mahjong games on the N64, this is quite fascinating due to being based on a novel and featuring a grim story.
Remake or Remaster?
Out of all the Mahjong games, this one is probably worth a re-release in Japan for the unique story. It probably wouldn’t sell well enough for an official translation.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Mahjong Drifter Chronicles Classic
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MRC: Multi-Racing Championship
- JP release: 18th July 1997
- NA release: 4th September 1997
- PAL release: October 1997
- Developer: Genki
- Publisher: Imagineer (JP) / Ocean (NA/PAL)
- N64 Magazine Score: 71%
If you need to explain your acronym in the title of the game, don’t use an acronym. “Multi-Racing Championship” is fine on its own. This game has an interesting review history in N64 Magazine as they gave it an impressive 81% in their import review but then dropped to 71% for the UK review, stating that it scored high simply for being first (that wasn’t Crusi’n USA). In their directory towards the end of the magazine, it dropped even more to a 1/5.
I can see why. The core racing mechanics of Multi-Racing Championship are decent, with a focus on tracks with different routes, one off-road and one for sports cars, and decent handling. The tracks themselves have a lot of variation within themselves, too. It still very much an arcade racer as it has the really annoying timer and checkpoint system and you start in last place with other racers far ahead of you.
The major issue with the game is the amount of tracks. I’ve shown three screenshots so far, which encapsulate all the tracks in the game. Yup, there are only three tracks in the game. You can unlock backwards versions of the tracks, but that’s it. Winning is also down more to car choice. Pick the Kingroader (which actually has “This car is the best car” written on the side, which probably wasn’t readable on the N64) and you’ll breeze the medium and hard tracks – indecently, the first track (labelled “easy”) is actually the most difficult.
There are a couple of cars to unlock, but there’s not much reason for doing so when there are only three tracks. This definitely had the advantage of being the first on the system and for taking advantage of the analogue stick, but throughout the N64’s life, racing games evolved a lot.
QuoteBut the crux of it is that we finished Multi Racing Championship on the first day we got it – it really is far too short and easy – and haven’t really returned to it since.
- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or Remaster?
The concept of the game is worth revisiting. A rating game with different routes for different vehicles. They could even add additional options, perhaps a more dangerous route for motorbikes.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get MRC: Multi-Racing Championship
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The Roddenberry Archive is back, you can walk around digital recreations of a load of bridges (plus the Promenade/Quarks from DS9).
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Dark Rift
- NA release: 8th July 1997
- PAL release: 30th July 1997
- JP release: 27th March 1998
- Developer: Kronos
- Publisher: Vic Tokai
- N64 Magazine Score: 69%
The N64’s early life was filled with disappointing arcade ports, but Dark Rift was the N64’s first fighting game that was specifically created from the ground up for it, so you would expect this to be more suited for home consoles, building upon what Killer Instinct Gold did. Unfortunately, this is another bare bones fighting game.
One thing that did impress me with the game was how well the flat square round and the 2D backdrop merged together, creating a more fluid looking environment – even if it made the levels feel like they took place far away from the distant objects. You have tournament mode and practice, and that’s it. The practice mode is also more basic than Killer Instinct.
The characters aren’t very memorable, but also aren’t as dreadful as War Gods, with a few interesting ideas. The actual fighting has special moves, which are often slow-moving projectiles which can be easily avoided by dodging (while the game never brags about being 3D, it works similar to War Gods). The main trick seems to be the c-buttons and mashing these and blocking at the right times seems to be the way to win.
While incredibly bare bones, this is slightly better than War Gods simply due to the characters being fine. For something specifically built for consoles rather than arcade, it still feels like just another poor arcade port.
QuoteThere’s no spontaneity. Try doing a series of moves that haven’t been programmed as one of your character’s combos and they’ll merely be an embarrassing, does not compute pause.
- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or Remaster?
It doesn’t really deserve anything. Pico Interactive own the license, so that ensures we won’t get more than a terrible re-release.
Official ways to get the game.
Dark Rift is available on GOG and Steam, however reports from players indicate that it doesn’t run on Windows 10 or 11.
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Mischief Makers
- JP release: 27th June 1997
- NA release: 1st October 1997
- PAL release: 12th December 1997
- Developer: Treasure
- Publisher: Enix (JP) / Nintendo (NA/PAL)
- N64 Magazine Score: 90%
Mischief Makers is a 2D platformer from respected developers Treasure. It received glowing reviews for its originality, including a 90% from N64 magazine. Unfortunately, the game didn’t click with me, but I can definitely see why people would love it.
Mischief Makers is made up of lots of short platforming levels, each one focusing one a single gimmick. What’s impressive is that these levels are extremely varied and feel unique. The main move that levels are based on are Marina’s ability to grab and shake objects – mainly NPCs, enemies and balls. These will cause various actions that you need to figure out how to use to progress. There’s also a secret gem hidden in each level that’s very difficult to find, unlocking the final cutscene if you get them all.
The biggest issue I had with the game was the controls. Most of Marina’s movement abilities are performed by double tapping the D-pad. At first, I praised the game because the c-buttons were used as shortcuts to these abilities, providing a great extra way to perform these abilities, but then discovered that the c-button versions are less effective than tapping the d-pad, which is probably why I struggled with some basic jumps.
I would love to see an updated re-release of Mischief Makers, making the c-buttons function the same as double-tapping the d-pad, plus higher details sprites. The game definitely deserves a new version.
QuoteBut the banality of this sagacity, when juxtaposed with the outright bonkersness of the game in general, serves only to heighten the lighthearted surrealism that abounds, which, in out book, is a Very Good Thing
- Jes Bickham, N64 Magazine #8
Remake or Remaster?
A remake would be great. The game still feels unique and a new version would be lovely.
Official ways to get the game.
There is no official way to get Mischief Makers.
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The graphics are certainly higher detail, but the change to "realistic" graphics makes it look lifeless, muted and lacking in colour. Something closer to the original style in higher detail would have been so much better.
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Hexen
- NA release: 25th June 1997
- PAL release: 1st December 1997
- JP release: 19th December 1997
- Developer: Raven Software, Software Creations
- Publisher: GT Interactive
- N64 Magazine Score: 69%
The N64 version of Hexen was very similar to the PC version, just with slightly different textures, so to play this I used a fan made updated PC version that, when testing out both for a bit, faithfully ports the game with the same feel, but with nicer textures (although I think I went a bit too far in choosing a version with textures as different as this). The blockiness is still there so it doesn’t impact the level design in any way, and I like giving games the best chance to impress me.
Hexen is a sequel to Raven Soft’s previous game Heretic (although there’s also a Hertic 2 and Hexen 2 for added name confusion – no wonder they later worked on the Jedi Knight games). It takes the DOOM engine and stretches it to its max to create a more RPG-like fantasy first person melee/shooter game. You can look up and down and jump, so small walls are no longer an impassable obstacle. As a result, it feels much more suited to the N64 than DOOM did, although this is just the PC game with no new levels (there was an added deathmatch option, though).
The biggest difference between DOOM and Hexic is the level design. The levels in Hexic are mini worlds, each having their own hub area which you’ll keep coming back to after exploring the various parts of the level. For the most part, beating a level involves hitting lots of hidden switches, but navigating around is a puzzle in itself. Unfortunately, most of this is just wandering around looking for keys and switches, then looking back to try and find what the switches do. The levels are very maze-like and you’ll end up going round in circles and backtracking a lot.
At the start of the game, you can choose a character class: Fighter, Cleric or Mage. They have different strengths and weaknesses, but the biggest thing is the weapons, as each has four unique weapons. This would work if there were also some shared weapons as well, but no – in each playthrough, you’ll only encounter four weapons. For the fighter, that includes his fists. It means that in a single play of the game, there isn’t much variety in shooting the hoards of enemies.
Hexen has a lot of interesting features, but it’s massively let down by an overreliance on having to look everywhere for buttons to press, along with limited weapon choice in each playthrough.
QuoteHexen’s a solid enough game. If you can forgive its ill-conceived level design which could have you trudging around a vast, empty level for anything up to three weeks trying to work out what that last switch you pulled actually did, it will provide plenty of monster-clobbering and dungeon-exploring value for your money.
- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #5
Remake or Remaster?
An official remaster similar to the version I played would be great. Perhaps throw in some hints or something, though.
Official ways to get the game
The PC version is available on GOG, the graphical mod is from ModDB.
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Another rumour is Sonic Generations. I'd expect nothing more than the PC version ported to newer systems. Perhaps a few costumes so they can sell a "deluxe edition".
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SimCopter 64 (Prototype)
- PAL release: N/A
- NA release: N/A
- JP release: N/A
- Developer: Maxis
- Publisher: EA
- N64 Magazine Score: N/A
In my previous looks at franchises, I noted all cancelled games. Due to the amount of N64 games, I will be just looking at playable prototypes, the first of which is SimCopter 64, which was playable at E3 1997. It was planned to work as a standalone title, but would be compatible in some way with SimCity 2000, SimCity 64 and Mario Artist (all ended up being Japan-only games), although none of that was ever integrated.
In this prototype, you fly around as you please and can help sort out emergencies such as traffic jams and speeding cars (the full game would have had more, like the PC version). These are solved by hovering your spotlight on the cars and pressing a “shout” button. You get money for completing these tasks (there’s a sound effect but no HUD display).
You can also get out of the helicopter and walk around. In both flight and on the ground, none of the buildings have collision, so you go straight through them. The city looks nice, but draw distance is very low. It’s very likely that this was adapted into the free roam aspect of SimCity 64, which was from a first person view.
Footage from a later build has been see, but this is just a few seconds of footage and the build itself hasn’t been shared. This version has some text explaining what to do, a HUD showing health and money and has collisions.
SimCopter 64 is an impressive early demo of a 3D city on the N64, but I don’t think it would have performed well on the platform.
QuoteThe PC version of the game received mixed reviews in its appearance earlier this year, but the Japanese developers promise the 64-bit version will be veritably rejigged with 30 new pre-built cities.
- N64 Magazine #5
Should it be finished?
SimCopter was released on PC with better integration and better graphics, and other elements were likely reused in the 64DD SimCity, so there’s no reason to see the finished version of this. That said, I would be much more interested in SimCity if minigames like this were part of the package.
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@Dcubed Embracer also own Asmodee, a board game company that owns the majority of the modern board game market.
Edit: for a view of their size, they were purchased for over $3 billion.
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That's a wonderful write-up @Dcubed. You certainly know these football games a lot more than I do. I already feel like your post about ISS 98 will absolutely dwarf what I have to say about it.
You're also probably going to hate what I have to say about FIFA Road to World Cup 98 (I think it's down to the more arcade-like nature of that game for me, before FIFA went on to try and move closer to ISS, but not being as good at it).
It seems like some of these sports games haven't so much as evolved, but rather changed completely over time. I do think it would be neat to see some games like this to get a "remaster" of sorts, an updated version running on modern hardware. We got NHL '94 Rewind in 2020 and then that was it.
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F-Zero X - All N64 Games
in General Gaming Discussion
Posted
Tommy Thunder (Prototype)
Tommy Thunder was a game in development by Player 1. It eventually moved to the PlayStation before getting cancelled. A fan or Robotron happened upon an open FPT while trying to find out when Robotron 64 was released and found some files, eventually cracking them 10 years later and discovering this very early prototype of Tommy Thunder.
This prototype mainly seems to be a test of the level design, as you can just move around and enemies don’t harm you – you also walk on water. That said, the level itself is very impressive in scope, with a few underground areas. This map was also just one “block” and the developers were trying to figure out a way to load new chunks of the level on the fly – this is something open world games do now, but was extremely ambitious for the early N64.
From the very few quotes about the game, it seems like this game was going to be a 3D, open world Metroidvania. You would find weapons as you explored, and equipment (such as anti-grav boots) would alter how you can move throughout the environment, opening up new areas in previous sections. The game never made it past prototyping stages and the company eventually closed down after putting all of their eggs into the Sega Dreamcast.
Should it be finished?
With retro-inspired games for this era gaining popularity, it would definitely be interesting to see a “what if” take on if the developers could pull off what they wanted with Tommy Thunder.