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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

Monopoly NA release: 18th December 1999 JP release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Mind’s Eye Productions Publisher: Hasbro Interactive N64 Magazine Score: N/A Monopoly is an atrocious board game. I’ve played many, many board games, and none are as horrible as Monopoly is. Most of the game is just autopilot – roll dice, move, do the obvious action (buy property/pay rent). The only actual choices are more involving trading, which is heavily dependant on who is playing. This is simply an N64 version of that terrible board game, and this conversion of Monopoly into a video game is fairly mixed, so I’ll talk more about what this version does rather than the game itself. Visually, it’s pleasant. Instead of just a board, it’s in a field with buildings representing the properties around it, with a day and night cycle to signify the endless nature of Monopoly. You can pick between the standard US board and the standard UK board (even though this game was never released outside the USA), but the style doesn’t change – it looks more British than anything, which makes sense, as the developers were British. The pieces move around the board with some animations that start off nice, but grow tiresome very quickly, as it massively slows down the game. Even if you turn these off, the animation of your piece warping is still too long. It makes the game drag even more than usual. Trading is also very confusing, with a very awkward menu that makes it a nuisance to sort anything else, far more hassle than trading in the physical board game. The CPU players will also refuse to trade, unless you want to massively overpay for stuff. This means that making sets is extremely unlikely to happen, making the game grow stagnant and grind to a halt, as players just circle the board, staying at the same level. There are a few options to adjust gameplay, such as starting with properties. You can even turn on some awful house rules, such as putting money on free parking, which does nothing but drag out the miserable experience even longer. Monopoly is an alright conversion of a dreadful board game. Worst Remake or remaster? There are unfortunately many newer versions of Monopoly. Official Ways to get the game There is no official way to play the N64 version of Monopoly.

Viewpoint 2064 JP release: N/A NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Racdym Publisher: Sammy N64 Magazine Score: N/A For starters, I do like how they used “2064” to mark this as an N64 name, it feels much more natural like that. I didn’t even notice what the game was doing with the name to start with. Viewpoint 2064 is a sequel to the Neo Geo arcade game Viewpoint, a side scrolling shoot-’em-up, which notably had an isometric view instead of scrolling vertically or sideways. With a behind-the-ship 3D perspective, Viewpoint 2064 may look a bit like Lylat Wars (Star Fox 64), and even has a similar level progression where you end up on different routes, but it plays much more like a more traditional shmup. For starters, you move in a 2D manner, moving left and right as the screen automatically scrolls forward at a set pace. You can move into the screen a little bit as well, but you can’t move up and down. The on-screen cursor is also initially confusing, as it does move up and down, but your guns don’t fire upwards. The cursor is more for the lock-on, which can target enemies that are “in the air” from your perspective. Appropriately, Viewpoint also likes to play around with its viewpoint. Throughout the stages, there will be times where the camera changes to a different angle, usually for a section where you have to dodge obstacles. These sections can provide a bit of spectacle, as well as a nice change of pace. The game looks nice up close, but the draw distance is quite poor, with the game looking its best when you can see a background. The game ended up getting cancelled due to “development difficulties”, however, this prototype seems very well made. It’s unfinished but very playable, with the main issue being that some levels have no enemies. Through the various routes, there are 15 stages in total. This seems like an interesting take on the shmup genre. Fun Should it be finished? Give it better graphics and finish off the levels, and I think it would be an enjoyable game if released now.

The Director's Cut is now out on Xbox Series S/X.

Mario Party 2 JP release: 17th December 1999 NA release: 24th January 2000 PAL release: 13th October 2000 Developer: Hudson Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 87% I’m really not the best person to talk about Mario Party. I really personally dislike the board game parts of it, especially the roll and move aspect. That said, I can clearly see that Mario Party 2 is much improved from the first game in many areas. For the boards, there is a bit more interactivity and routes to take, plus item shops so you can buy items to boost future turns. One thing I did find odd is that the Stars seem to be placed much closer to players, especially at the start of the game. One new addition to the boards that I hated was the Koopa Bank. If you move past the space, you lose five coins, and if you land directly on it, you get all the coins. What I particularly disliked was that it was generally plonked right at the start, so people will tend to lose coins on their first turn. One really nice touch, however, are the costumes. For each board (except the final, unlockable one), characters will wear outfits that matches the theme of the board – it’s a shame this lovely feature never cropped up again. What Mario Party 2 excels in, though, is minigames. The minigames involving spinning the stick have been completely removed, while some of the better games from the first game make a return; sometimes with some visual or mechanical changes, sometimes exactly the same. One nice touch is that some minigames are also altered for the singleplayer minigame mode. That said, a few of the duller minigames really felt like they went on for far too long. Toad in the Box (jump up at an extremely fast spinning box and hope for five Toad symbols) and Honeycomb Havoc (collect 1 or 2 fruit, avoid honeycombs) feel like they should be much shorter. At the end of the day, Mario Party is a great way to spend a couple of hours with friends, as the randomness and taking turns means that people of different skills (and people not fully paying attention) can get a good laugh out of it. Mario Party 2 is still considered by many to be the best Mario Party. Personally, I would still love Mario Party to have a more involving board mechanic. Fun Remake or remaster? A perfect Mario Party collection would include all the boards, have different rule sets, and let you mix and match minigames. Official Ways to get the game There is no way to buy a new copy of Mario Party, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. Re-releases 2010: Wii Virtual Console 2016: Wii U Virtual Console 2022: Nintendo Switch Online (Subscription Only)

Bassmasters 2000 NA release: 16th December 1999 PAL release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: Mass Media Publisher: THQ N64 Magazine Score: N/A Looking at other reviews of the fishing game Bassmasters, it got a few high scores, but then IGN gave it a 3.1. Quickly reading a few of them, I think I know why: IGN had played In-Fisherman Bass Hunter 64, while the others haven’t. This feels like a very primitive game after Bass Hunter, from the graphics to how the game works. The biggest issue with Bassmasters is finding fish, a task even more difficult than in Bass Hunters. The biggest issue is that you can’t see them from above the water, due to the water being a mostly opaque, flat texture. The fish finder also feels useless in the game, as it would detect fish, but when using the underwater view (which you can’t use while driving the boat), there would be none in sight. The one time I did get close to a fish, it felt entirely unresponsive. It doesn’t react to the lure, it just casually swims through it and attaches. Then it never seems to fight, there’s no pulling involved, the fish doesn’t jump out of the water, it just strangely glides towards the boat. You’ll get a much more realistic and involving fishing experience from Ocarina of Time. Oh, and the one fish I did find wasn’t a bass, so it didn’t count. There are a few bonus modes, such as a casting minigame where you have to aim for moving rings, and one where you fish from shore. Here, there are fish nearby, but even then it’s a massive pain to aim for them (as you can’t see any of them), and they don’t move around that much or react to the lure. This would have been a poor game on its own, but after Bass Hunter 64 (and the minigame in Ocarina of Time), this is just atrocious. Worst Remake or remaster? There are better fishing games. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Bassmasters 2000.

The smoker. Ribs are either oven cooked (BBQ) or deep fried (salt and chilli)

Roadsters NA release: 14th December 1999 PAL release: 17th December 1999 JP release: N/A Developer: Titus Publisher: Titus N64 Magazine Score: 80% Roadsters is very much a refined sequel to Automobili Lamborghini. You can tell it’s built upon the same game engine, and many elements feel incredibly similar – including the very odd mix of realistic and arcade elements. Roadsters, however, feels much smoother and nicer to play. While Roadsters includes real cars, they weren’t able to get all the licenses they wanted, so the game also includes obvious rip-offs of Porsche and Ferrari cars. In the singleplayer mode, you start off only being able to afford one of the more basic cars, starting out in C class. Opponents are in better cars, so winning is a big struggle. As you earn money by playing rounds of six tracks, you’ll be able to afford upgrades and better cars. The difficulty then becomes staying on the track, as brushing the grass or edge will very quickly slow you down to a halt. You’ll also have to cope with weather conditions, using the pits to swap tyre types. While everything sounds like a very serious racer so far, the tracks feel like they belong in a different game, with settings like Area 51, an old castle, and driving into volcanoes. They’re all really enjoyable tracks, and you’ll need to learn every inch of them if you want to beat your opponents. Roadsters is a fine game, then. There aren’t that many tracks, but they make up for it in variety and enjoyment. They’re not quite in the same league as Beetle Adventure Racing, but they are unique when combined with the more serious nature of the rest of Roadsters. Fine Remake or remaster? Like Automobili Lamborghini, it could be included in a Super Speed Racer compilation. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Roadsters

Asteroids Hyper 64 NA release: 14th December 1999 JP release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Syrox Publisher: Crave N64 Magazine Score: 53% Considering that the original Asteroids just consisted of a simple black background with a white outline, it’s a very impressive feat that the N64 version of the game manages to look worse. The background is a dark and generic starfield, there’s a planet in the corner, and as the asteroids are “realistic”, it’s often difficult to spot them against the background, especially once they get smaller. Asteroids Hyper 64 uses the same throttle forward and spin around as the original, as you blast asteroids into smaller chunks until they’re completely destroyed. This adds some simple power ups, as well as new asteroids types which, despite having abilities like being able to regenerate, you’ll be very glad as you can actually see them clearly. It really doesn’t provide as much variety and new additions as Space Invaders does, and feels more like a side mode of a game, rather than its own complete game. It gets dull very quickly. You can unlock the original Asteroids, which is by far the best part of this game. Poor Remake or remaster? Not for this version, although I think Asteroids deserves it’s own type of game like “Pac-Man: Championship Edition”, a bit closer to the original game than Asteroids: Recharged is. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Asteroids Hyper 64

It runs Doom.

Shockingly, I'm out at a bar. A video game bar in Manchester. Family dragged me out.

It's not quite as simple as that. The core gameplay of N64 games was built around the loading times. There's a prototype version of Super Mario 64 for the 64DD (I won't be covering it separately as it's just Super Mario 64) and the game hangs up for a moment as it tries to find the right animation for basic movement. And the 64DD discs are still much faster than a CD. Ocarina is the same, it wouldn't function on a CD without mid gameplay pauses. With different limitations, these games would have been designed in a completely different way, and may not have been as influential as they were.

(I'm out for the weekend, so I'll post two games) Mario Artist Paint Studio JP release: 13th December 1999 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Software Creations Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: N/A As this is the first 64DD game, I’ll talk a little bit about the device itself. It was an add-on to the N64 which would have provided a slot for a new kind of media: 64DD discs. These were sort of large floppy discs, 64MB by default – the same as the largest (and most expensive) N64 cartridge. One key element was that there was a lot more space to save data, allowing for much more complex stuff that could be saved in a game. It was also going to come with an Expansion Pak to increase the N64’s RAM (which ended up getting released on its own). But it kept getting delayed, and many projects (such as Ocarina of Time) were changed from being 64DD games to regular N64 games. It finally released in Japan only via a subscription (with a later limited release on its own), ending up with 10 games – and that includes a web browser, a disc for sharing creations online, and two expansions. Even though they first talked about it in issue 1, N64 Magazine ended up not covering it that much, with it getting a whopping 3 and a half page article once they got their hands on one. Mario Artist Paint Studio was one of the two launch games bundled with the 64DD, being a sequel to Mario Paint on the SNES. Like the SNES game, it also came bundled with a mouse. I’m awful at any kind of art software, and this is no different. It offers a good amount of features – including a lot of backgrounds and stickers (including Nintendo and Rare characters), but it feels a bit cumbersome and sterile, lacking the fun nature of the original Mario Paint. There are a few touches here and there that harkens back to the original – such as the fun animations representing the cursor speed and music options – but it all feels more muted. One colossal advantage it does have over the original is being able to save multiple pictures. It can also connect to the Game Boy Camera to insert some photos. There are some interesting additional features, such as the 3D worlds. Here you can watch three scenes play out – an underwater world, dinosaurs, and strange robots in space. You can play with the camera, watch different creatures, make the image full screen to watch, or even enter the world as a little man to explore and look around. You can also mess around with the worlds. Once you’ve selected a creature, you can then edit its texture, either by picking from a load of colourful random textures, or loading up the texture itself in an editor and manually editing it. It expands Paint Studio into something that’s also a basic introduction to how textures work in video games – the whole Mario Artist series seemed to be aimed at different parts of creating games, which would have likely culminated with the announced but cancelled Mario Artist: Game Maker. One thing about the 64DD is connectivity between games, so Paint Studio would gain more usage as the different parts of the Mario Artist series cropped up, as your creations could also be imported into that, as well as SimCity 64. It was an ambitious project, and it’s a shame we never saw the final result of the entire package. However, there’s one more interesting thing to talk about, something that was completely removed from the final game, but was later found in an earlier build. Just start creating a drawing then click on the “coffee break” icon. Now you can play a new version of Gnat Attack, the flyswatter minigame from the original Mario Paint (which had versions in some WarioWare games and Super Mario Maker). There are four stages that take place in a few rooms of a house, with the last being a boss, before the game loops. It’s really good fun, and I have no idea why it was taken out of the final product, as it seems to be complete. Fun Remake or remaster? I would love to see a fully realised version of the Mario Artist package, but without the cancelled parts of it, there’s not a huge reason to re-release this. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Mario Artist: Paint Studio -- Doshin the Giant JP release: 13th December 1999 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Param Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: N/A The second 64DD launch title was Doshin the Giant, a game that got a bit more attention when the GameCube version came out (and made it outside of Japan). The various Doshin projects are the works of developer Param, who made nothing else. The purpose of Doshin the Giant seems to be to show how the 64DD could enable a game’s world to change over time, allowing you to manipulate it and watch it grow without needing a memory card. You start Doshin the Giant as fairly small yellow giant. The tribes on the various islands you discover will request you to do things for them (usually bring plants over, or create more land for them), which will generate hearts, allowing you to grow. As you help the tribes out, they’ll start to develop buildings and eventually build a monument to you. Controls are simple, as you can grab objects to move them (keeping A held down, or else you’ll throw it straight away), as well as holding onto land and pull it up, providing it’s lower, and stop to lower land. At the end of each day, Doshin will die (I think) and you’ll get some stats before being booted to the main menu. Start a new game, and you’ll be a new Doshin at the starting size, however, the world will be the same as how you left it at the end of the previous game. The game is quite freeform in what you can do, however, I found that it got more and more difficult to impress villagers, so I was unable to achieve the size I got in the first day. Although it’s not all about being good – it’s entirely up to you. While you can cause some damage (such as accidentally squishing villagers once you’re a certain size) as regular Doshin, you can switch to an evil version of him, which gives you a different set of powers. You can send out shockwaves and demolish land, and causing terror will make you grow just as hearts do. Interestingly, evil Doshin also has better powers at manipulating land, as you can easily lower and raise vast amounts of land at ease, but it can be difficult to use this to help out, as the villagers fear you (note: after playing the expansion and GameCube version, I now know that good Doshin can do the same thing). There’s a checklist of different monuments to get the villagers to build, but I could only get them to build the same one over and over. I’m probably missing something, as the text is quite fast and hard to use Google Translate for, so I’m looking forward to discovering more when I play the GameCube version. Overall, Doshin the Giant does come across as more of a tech demo to show off what the 64DD can do, but it’s still a wonderfully unique and charming game. Fun Remake or remaster? I’d love to see a new Doshin game. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Doshin the Giant.