Cube

Robotech: Crystal Dreams (Prototype) PAL release: N/A NA release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: GameTek Publisher: N/A N64 Magazine Score: N/A Based on an American/Japanese sci-fi animated series, Robotech: Crystal Dreams was an extremely ambitious flight simulator game that ultimately went over budget and was cancelled when it needed another six months of development. The prototype for the game features a demo area you can fly around, there’s a large ship and you can find some of the logos from the very nifty-looking opening. You can see your character’s reflection in the cockpit window and can even look around the cockpit. It controls really well and seems like a good starting point to build a game from. The ship also has a few different transformations. You can also turn on random dialogue, and there’s a surprising amount of it in the prototype. The plans for the game was that this would be fairly open-ended. You’ll collect missions from bases that you can walk around then go out into space to complete them. A simple “crystal” enemy was designed for the console in as the specs of the N64 weren’t well known. On top of this, over 40 minutes of dialogue was already done at this point. With only three programmers, the game proved too ambitious for the company and they were unable to get the funding and publisher needed to finish. Should it be finished? With the script and many design aspects finished, it would be great to see what this could have been like.

Mobius was mentioned in some early game manuals but abandoned after Sonic Adventure. They just started calling it Earth.

He's the ultimate lifeform created by Professor Gerald Robotnik (Dr. Robotnik's granddad) and an evil alien who was setting up a long-term invasion of Earth. He then ended up in stasis for 50 or so years before Dr. Robotnik finds him. He looks like a hedgehog because the professor saw an ancient prophetic mural depicting Super Sonic.

Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. NA release: 25th May 1998 PAL release: 1998 (Australia only) JP release: N/A Developer: Angel Studios Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 74% With this being published by Nintendo, you would hope for a fun and solid portrayal of Baseball, similar to how NBA Courtside did the same for Basketball. Unfortunately, while this does go for a more arcade-style format, it’s rather clunky and messy by comparison. This features a similar system than most of the other N64 baseball games, and this seems to be the easiest to hit the ball – but still almost impossible to actually do anything with it, struggling to land a hit that doesn’t go straight to an opponent, while the CPU hit a home run first try. One thing I do like is that the games seem snappier and go by much quicker, so you can get through a match in a decent time, but this is just an average baseball game. Remake or remaster? Newer baseball games are likely better – although it’s interesting that Nintendo once had the Major League Baseball license, as Sony have now had it for a while. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr.

World Cup 98 NA release: 19th May 1998 PAL release: 19th May 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: EA, Software Creations Publisher: EA Sports N64 Magazine Score: 73% World Cup 98 is simply FIFA Road to World Cup 98 with some minor gameplay changes and a ton of stuff removed. While the previous game had every official international team, plus teams from multiple leagues (such as the Premiership), this just has the teams that qualified for the world cup (plus 8 extras). The gameplay has some minor tweaks that isn’t as noticeable and one of the fun parts of the previous game – the indoor 5-a-side – is also gone. This is just the previous game with fewer stuff. Interestingly, the FIFA branding is missing (even though the World Cup is a FIFA tournament) – I wonder if they thought that not having the FIFA name would make people think that this is another competitor to try out. Remake or remaster? Nothing interesting is offered here. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get World Cup 98

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. NA release: 19th May 1998 PAL release: September 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Saffire, Midway Publisher: Midway (NA) GT (PAL) N64 Magazine Score: 76% I really had no idea that the N64 had so many people trying to claim the title of being the N64’s fighting game. In BioFREAKS, the concept is that in a dystopian future, people have been modified into grotesque monsters (although, predictably, the female characters aren’t modified as much). The only notable character to me was a fish monster, although he oddly throws up blood before and after matches. A couple of things set BioFREAKS apart. First is the hover, where you can fly. This doesn’t seem that well integrated into the fighting and is mainly used to making distance, as this fighting game relies a lot on projectile attacks, which don’t even need special attacks to use. Levels are a 3D but not that interesting, although a couple do make use of the flying. Do enough damage to an opponent and they may lose limbs and lose some of their attacks. I think this is supposed to look gruesome (as with the whole game), but it all comes across as laughably silly, unlike the gore in Mortal Kombat. This isn’t bad, but it’s just another fighting game on the N64. Remake or remaster? Throw all the Midway fighting games in a collection. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get BioFREAKS

Too Human started was originally announced for the PlayStation, but development was paused when they made a deal with Nintendo to make Eternal Darkness on the N64. Incidentally, Too Human is still available digitally on the Xbox store https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/too-human/BQ216SGGM4M8 It's cheaper than the physical versions, too. Still not sure it's worth the price.

ClayFighter Sculptor’s Cut NA release: 15th May 1998 PAL release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: Interplay Publisher: Interplay N64 Magazine Score: N/A This is an “improved” and updated version of ClayFighter 63⅓ featuring some gameplay changes and new characters. It was exclusive to Blockbusters, the small amount of copies being sold after the promotion ended, making it one of the rarest N64 games. That said, everything good about the game you see before the main menu: the game’s intro is a nice little song. But the game is still incredibly slow and tedious. The main changes to gameplay are the removal of a bunch of special moves. Some of the new characters are slightly more inventive than the originals, but there’s still none that I wanted to actually choose. This is just a small patch for a terrible game. Remake or remaster? Like I said for 63⅓, throw them all in a compilation. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get ClayFighter Sculptor’s Cut

Forsaken 64 NA release: 30th April 1998 PAL release: 1st May1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Iguana, Probe Publisher: Acclaim N64 Magazine Score: 87% When it comes to remastered versions of games, I give play around with the remaster and the N64 version a bit to compare feel and features. While Forsaken Remastered is a great version, it’s based on the PlayStation/PC version and while it contains the N64 exclusive levels, it lacks a few features and the exclusive levels are bonuses, so it felt a bit to different to play – so I stuck to the N64 version (if you just want to play the game, then definitely play the Remaster). Forsaken is a spaceship combat game that takes place in cramped maze-like arenas. Naturally, this feels very disorientating, even though the controls (once you adjust them to your liking and get used to them) do a good job at allowing you to move in so many directions and there’s a lot of weapons to find and use. The third person mode is exclusive to the N64 version and looks neat with the see-through ships, but a lack of crosshairs makes it difficult to aim. It’s still a nice novelty, though. There’s a lot of levels, but unfortunately they all feel quite samey, and while enemies look different, they don’t feel that different to blow up. That said, Forsaken 64 is a decent game, there’s a lot of levels and a good multiplayer. A bit of variety and some more open levels would be nice, though. There’s also a lot of impressive background lore and detail on the characters, none of which is really carried through to the game, which is just a case of completing the objectives and going to the next level. Remake or remaster? The remaster is probably the best way to play Forsaken, even though it’s lacking the 3rd person view (it looked nice but isn’t practical), it plays a lot nicer and looks cleaner – although an “N64 playlist” to play levels in the order of the N64 game would be nice. Official ways to get the game. The remastered version of the PC/PS1 Forsaken is available on GoG and Steam.

Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition NA release: 30th April 1998 PAL release: June 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Taito, Probe Publisher: Acclaim N64 Magazine Score: 80% Another colour match puzzle game, Bust-a-Move (or the much better named Puzzle Bobble in Japan) is a well renowned puzzle series, with this being a port of the popular arcade version of Bust-a-Move 2. Unfortunately, I had issues with this as quite a few colours looked similar to me. The game does use shapes as well – but they’re partly obscured by the puzzles, and the shapes spin around (and out of sync), so it takes me too long to properly check I’m aiming at the right colour. If it wasn’t for this, then Bust-A-Move 2 would be a puzzle game that I would enjoy, and on top of competing against more difficult enemies (with little animations before each “battle”), there’s also a puzzle mode – but this is also against a timer, so my issue with colours persisted in this mode. I’m sure this is a good puzzle game, but unfortunately my colourblindness gets in the way. Remake or remaster? It doesn’t really need a remake and the newest game in the series, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! (they’ve moved to using the Japanese name worldwide) is out on Switch. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Bust-a-Move 2: Arcade Edition

Bomberman Hero JP release: 30th April 1998 NA release: 31st August 1998 PAL release: 23rd October 1998 Developer: Hudson Publisher: Hudson (JP), Nintendo (NA/PAL) N64 Magazine Score: 66% Coming out a mere six months after the first Bomberman game on N64, this Bomberman game seems like it was developed as a separate take on Bomberman rather than a sequel to Bomberman 64 (it actually started out as a Bonk game). This focuses solely on platforming rather than the more puzzle-orientated Bomberman 64, but unfortunately doesn’t so much with it. Bomberman Hero is made up of a lot of short, linear levels, ether played from side to side or up into the screen. You collect gems, kill enemies and try to get to the door. The main challenge is from the poor depth perception and rather naff jump, with the difficulty of the first level and final level being pretty much the same. Very few levels stand out, and the ones that do (one that adds a lot of fog and one on moving platforms) do so because they’re particularly bad. There are a few types of vehicle levels, which all feel like slow and boring copies of Star Fox 64. Move into the screen, firing off torpedoes while avoiding enemies. Bosses are a particular nuisance, not so much that their attacks are difficult to dodge, but rather because they have a lot of health and take ages to defeat – the last world before the ending being comprised of repeated boss sections before the final boss. Like Bomberman 64, there is a hidden final bit of story, but the game is far to dull to hunt for all the collectibles required to do so – and it’s just more of the same, really dull gameplay. It’s nowhere near as tedious as Bobmerman 64, it’s just a really boring and average platformer. Incidentally, despite Bomberman being legendary for multiplayer, Bobmerman Hero has no multiplayer whatsoever. Remake or remaster? Again, there are better Bomberman games to focus on – these can just be part of a larger collection. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Bomberman Hero.

Kobe Bryant in NBA Courtside NA release: 27th April 1998 PAL release: 10th June 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Left Field Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 90% Licensed sports games aren’t what you expect to be published by Nintendo, but here we are with NBA Courtside, a licensed basketball game and one that does a really good job with the sport. The graphics were particularly good on the N64 at the time, with some really nice reflections on the court. At first, it seemed like a very back and forth game like other baseball games, with you and your opponent taking turns to score, but I eventually learnt how to properly tackle and defend (players you aren’t directly controlling move to sensible positions) and was able to go on the offensive and win some matches. Controls are fluid with a lot of options to adjust to your liking. NBA Courtside is a very solid basketball game, one that is enjoyable for non-Basketball fans and probably great for those who are into the sport. Remake or Remaster? Sports games evolve over time. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play NBA Courtside

All-Star Baseball 99 NA release: 14th April 1998 PAL release: 1st August 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Iguana Publisher: Acclaim N64 Magazine Score: 84% The N64’s first baseball game that was actually released in America (and Europe). This follows similar control schemes as most of the Japanese baseball games, aiming the bat with the stick. One notable thing is that this is entirely in 3D, and doesn’t switch to a different style when the fielders are chasing the ball. Like Power Pros 5, it also has an indicator to show where the ball is heading towards, but this is initially confusing as it moves as the ball curves, and I did manage to hit the ball a few times and even get a home run. The computer still feels like they’re far too skilled, especially when catching balls, though. There’s a nifty cheat that allows for playing in an alien stadium (which deforms players to look alien-like) but there aren’t a lot of modes. This seems like a decent baseball game, but that’s coming from someone who has yet to win a baseball match in a video game. Remake or Remaster? Like other sports games, the genre has evolved. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play All-Star Baseball 99

@Dcubed There's another odd cartridge I'll be "playing" too. GT 64: Championship Edition PAL release: 14th April 1998 NA release: 31st August 1998 JP release: 30th October 1998 Developer: Imagineer Publisher: Infogrames (PAL), Ocean (NA), Imagineer (JP) N64 Magazine Score: 67% Racing games that go for “realism” really don’t age as well as sillier and more arcade-style racing games, and GT 64 when it came out was already just a cheap cash-in to make itself look like Gran Turismo on the N64. Due to this, GT 64 is a truly horrid experience without a single redeeming feature. Before each race, you need to qualify for starting position. The default is a 3 lap time trial which sounded horrible, so I selected “special stage”. This is a 1 lap time trial, but with a warm up lap before it. The racing itself is very stiff and janky, and the CPU racers feel more like obstacles than rivals. There’s also no music, with the only sound a really horrible engine noise – I ended up muting the game. You race across three tracks, and then race across slightly different versions of those three tracks – with the difference between “shot and long” feeling less unique than the different routes in their previous game, Multi-Racing Championship. Then you can play the three tracks two more times in mirror mode. Cruis’n USA had some mild bouts of enjoyment, this is just pure tedium all the time and the worst racer on the N64 so far. Remake or Remaster? Nothing for this one. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play GT 64

Morita Shogi 64 JP release: 3rd April 1998 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Seta Publisher: Seta N64 Magazine Score: N/A A sequel to Strongest Habu Shogi, this looks a lot more basic, with a completely 2D interface instead of the 3D tiles and viewpoints of the previous. There are less modes and features as well, however it does have a few advantages. While it still doesn’t highlight possible locations for moving tiles, trying to move them will move them directly to the next legal position, so you don’t need to be told off for trying an illegal move. The other significant feature isn’t one I can test. The game cartridge came with a built-in modem, enabling online play against other players in Japan. As I don’t quite understand the game of Shogi and struggle to remember which tile is what, I can’t really judge this one properly. Remake or Remaster? Clubhouse Games on Switch does the job. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Morita Shogi 64

I know I want to do play GameCube games after N64 games, but I've come across a few interesting non-GameCube games I'm thinking about including due to having a sort of "N64" association. When looking into Shadow Man and WinBack (both notable N64 games, more so than the other platforms they released on), I discovered both had sequels that I'd never heard of. They're supposedly not great, but I'm curious to see for myself. On a similar note, when looking for GameCube prototypes (there aren't many, and some don't work well in emulators), I searched to see if there was one for a game that was a heavy part of early GameCube marketing: Galleon. I thought it had been cancelled, so I was surprised to discover it came out on Xbox, so I'm including that as well, because of how much I rewatched a VHS that included that trailer. Are there any other PS2/Xbox games that feel like they have an association with Nintendo or the N64, but never came out on GameCube - not so much "games that would have been nice on GameCube", but strange omissions (even if they were exclusive deals) - Soulcalibur III perhaps because of the popularity of 2 on the GameCube.

I think my graphics card is dying and they're so obscenely expensive now. My current one is an AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB so even something like that but cheap would be good.

Rampage: World Tour NA release: 30th March 1998 PAL release: June 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Game Refuge, Saffire Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (PAL) N64 Magazine Score: 54% Some arcade games are great for playing for hours, making home console ports good ways to play. Others are fun for 10 minute bursts and you see how soulless they are if you sit down for much longer. Rampage is one of the latter games. You take control of one of three monsters (not-King Kong, not-Godzilla and a wolf monster) and smash buildings and eat people. Being a monster is fun to start with, but the fun only lasts for a few minutes as you smash up the same few types of buildings again and again. There’s zero variety – once you’ve played the first level, you’ve pretty much experienced the whole game. It all feels a bit clunky, too, smashing buildings feels a bit awkward as you have to jump onto them to start the process, movement just isn’t fluid and there aren’t many ways to take out a building. Everything already felt dated when it came out on the N64, and time hasn’t helped it out. That said, Rampage World Tour is an accurate port of the arcade game, which itself is an accurate update of the original. If you really, really wanted to play Rampage at home, this provided that experience – it just didn’t do anything else. Remake or Remaster? You can throw all the Rampage games in a collection. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Rampage World Tour

Air Boarder 64 JP release: 27th March 1998 PAL release: November 1998 NA release: N/A Developer: Human Entertainment Publisher: Human (JP), Gaga (PAL) N64 Magazine Score: 62% Air Boarder 64 is a trick-based skateboarding-style games, but on hoverboards. The fascinating thing about Air Border is that this came out before Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The unfortunate thing is that the developers of Air Border never seemed to figure out what the player is supposed to do in a game like this, instead opting for a bunch of random modes. You have a trick mode (spoiled somewhat because you have to hit gates in a certain time), a time trial, coin collection and free play. It all feels like the developers were testing different things, but none of them really feel like a completed feature, seeming a bit disjointed. The five levels also feel like they’re each from a completely different game, with zero cohesion in theme or level design. You have the starting skate park, a forest level, a bit of a city during winter, a few islands connected by a massive bridge and one where you’re tiny in a house. Like the modes, these also feel like they were testing random ideas and couldn’t work out a direction for the game. None of them take advantage of the fact that you can fly up walls, either. Even though it feels more like a lost prototype than a final game, I can’t help but find this game fascinating, and the core movement and tricks are enjoyable. It’s not a good game but, even with its complete lack of direction, it’s not terrible, either. Remake or Remaster? It would be interesting too see this tried again, using what the Tony Hawk series did with the genre. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Air Boarder 64

@Dcubed Madden 64 and Quaterback Club 64 came out in October 1997, so just over a year after the US launch Battle Puzzle Balls: Fighting Spirit! JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: 1st September 1998 NA release: 29th September 1998 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 47% Original Name: Susume! Taisen Puzzle Dama: Tōkon! Marutama Chō Battle Puzzle Balls is a collection of three games, two puzzlers and then a bonus minigame. It features a cast of random characters including a “magical girl” that might be a vampire, a mad scientist, a rockstar, a baby and an axolotl. The first game is a variation on Puyo Puyo. In this version, a group of three will make them disappear (instead of four) and the “bad blocks” sent from your opponent can be turned into regular balls. Unfortunately, there are no colour options and I couldn’t tell apart the green and yellow – these also lack the slight shape variation from Puyo Puyo. The second game has the same linking and chain rules as the previous, but instead of balls coming from the top of the screen, you have a pair of wings that can pick up one of the balls, swapping it with another. The green is a darker colour in this game so I could tell the difference, so I was able to do fairly well at it. The final mode is a very basic bowling game. A cursor swings up and down the screen and you press A at the right time to bowl. It’s like a rather naff java version of bowling. This is mainly just a less fun version of Puyo Puyo. Remake or Remaster? Other puzzle games need more attention. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Battle Puzzle Balls: Fighting Spirit!

Power Pros Baseball 5 JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: N/A NA release: N/A Developer: Diamond Hear Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 78% One simple change makes this a huge improvement over Power Pros 4: when the ball is pitched, a target appears on screen for you to aim at. It still needs incredibly quick reflexes, but you now have a chance of hitting the ball. The computer is still completely perfect, though, catching pretty much everything you hit while they always hit a large gap between your players. Another new feature is the scenario mode, which gives you a bunch of in-progress games and you need to try and win from that position. It’s very similar to the scenario mode from International Superstar Soccer. The RPG mode also returns, but there’s just an immense amount of text involved in it, so it’s difficult to keep track of what is going on. Interestingly, there’s still no N64 baseball game that has released in the USA. Remake or Remaster? I would like to see an English version of one of the RPGs in these games. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Power Pros Baseball 5

G.A.S.P!! Fighters’ NEXTream JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: 1st September 1998 NA release: 29th September 1998 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 47% What does Generation of Arts, Speed and Power mean? It means someone really wanted the game’s initials to spell out “GASP”. As for “Fighters’ NEXTreme”? I have absolutely no idea – probably why this was renamed to the extremely generic “Deadly Arts” in America. This is another fighting game on the N64, one that has one interesting feature, but is unfortunately not that fun to play. GASP is all about combos, but the input window makes it difficult to pull any off, so I found a couple of simple moves and spammed then. The default timer is very short, so KOs are unlikely and if time runs out, you get judged on multiple categories, so the person with less health may win. The characters are all completely uninteresting and just look like prototype versions from other fighting games. The one interesting thing is “create-a-fighter”, although options are extremely limited. You then train by fighting others and, if you win, you get to learn one of their moves, although with how much of a faff they are to perform, it doesn’t mean much. This joins the rather large list of bland fighters on the N64. Remake or Remaster? The create-a-fighter could be done in newer games, but needs to be better than this. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play G.A.S.P!! Fighters’ NEXTream

Quake NA release: 24th March 1998 PAL release: 24th May 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: iD, Midway Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (Pal) N64 Magazine Score: 79% Like with Duke Nukem, Hexen and DOOM, this is another port of a FPS that released on PC a few years prior. The N64 version of Quake (which I’m calling Quake 64 to make things easier) was mostly the same, but had altered (and missing) maps, making it a slight variation of the original – luckily the 2021 remaster of Quake includes the N64 maps as an additional option (just make sure to turn off the horrible CRT filter). Quake is like DOOM but with a bit more 3D, featuring platforming. It follows the structure of having to hunt down keys to progress levels white are a bit maze like and are often disorientating due to everywhere looking the game. It was no doubt impressive back in the day, but the genre evolved a lot between when this originally came out on PC and when it came out on N64. Apart from slight level changes, the other big difference with Quake 64 is the music. The original had a wonderful soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails (which is a genuine game soundtrack, not just some music they had already made) while this has its own soundtrack which sounds a bit like DOOM 64, being mostly background creepy ambient noise. Quake is a fine game by itself, but there’s not really any reason to play it over the original. Remake or Remaster? The remaster of Quake included an additional download for the N64 version – although if you’re not on PC, you’re stuck with a horrible filter, as it requires a console command to disable. Official Ways to get the game You can get Quake for Gog and Steam.

1080° Snowboarding JP release: 28th February 1998 NA release: 1st April 1998 PAL release: 9th October 1998 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 89% 1080° Snowboarding has a bit of a mixed reception amongst Nintendo fans, with some loving it and others not really getting into it. Unfortunately, I’m in the latter camp but I can see why people do love it. I think a lot of it is to do with expectations: you expect something more whimsical and a bit over-the-top from Nintendo, but 1080 is surprisingly grounded. 1080 is a snowboard racing game with a lot of tricks, with the tutorial being geared towards performing tricks. I think this was the main error of the game, as it sets tricks as something integral to the game, creating the impression that they’ll be important to all modes. After this, people will usually pick the race mode and almost certainly lose. As Nintendo have gone for a more serious game, tricks won’t help you out here, they’ll just slow you down, any kind of jumping usually will. You need to crouch down and perfect the course to win, even on the easiest difficulties. The tricks come into play in specific trick modes, and the system is quite robust and it takes a lot of skill to master landing. I just wish that the two modes were integrated a bit more and that tricks were part of races, creating boost – but that would change the nature of the game and isn’t what Nintendo is going for. 1080° Snowboarding is a very solid game, it just isn’t for me. Remake or Remaster? It definitely deserves an updated release, perhaps adding a more arcade mode as well. Official Ways to get the game There is no way to buy a new copy of 1080° Snowboarding, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak. Re-releases 2008: Wii Virtual Console 2015: Wii U Virtual Console 2024: Nintendo Switch Online (subscription only)

Incineroar could work great as a standalone Pokémon, like Tony the Tiger merged with a wrestler and climbed out of hell. The problem with Incineroar it follows two Pokémon that are quite similar, and goes in a completely different direction. Litten and Torracat are simple cat Pokémon, but that's what I liked. A much cooler cat Pokémon as the third evolution would be much better than a savage demon. Out of the others, Owliver was also a great design. Moon was my only main Pokémon game after Yellow.