N64 Week: Day 3: Platformers!

[Fierce_LiNk]

You spoke to soon, Darksnowman.

 

Tomorrow is the day for platformers. So, we'll be taking on the likes of Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo Kazooie.

 

Myself, I'll be playing Mario 64 alll daay long.

 

What will you be playing?

[darksnowman]

Noooooooo! I was hoping to get a bit longer with DK64 and sneak in some time before the actual dedicated day. Its gonna be tight, but I'll do what I can with it... and try to be as lenient as I can with it too.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Noooooooo! I was hoping to get a bit longer with DK64 and sneak in some time before the actual dedicated day. Its gonna be tight, but I'll do what I can with it... and try to be as lenient as I can with it too.

 

Take all day with the one game, mate. That's what I'm doing.

 

I've never played Banjo Kazooie...or DK64.

[darksnowman]

Have you not? You're better off for it, seriously. I was playing a bit of Mario 64x4 on DS one night not long ago, so I'll leave this one to you experts. I'll take one for the team and make sure DK64 gets some coverage. I wonder what other platformers there were and whether I have any of them...

[Eenuh]

Hmmm, I might join in with this. I have a couple of platformers!

 

Mario 64, DK64, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and the god awful Chameleon Twist. XD

Not sure which one I will play...

[Gizmo]

In terms of N64 platformers, imo, it goes;

 

BK > BT > M64 > DK64.

 

May just play a bit of Banjo tomorrow.

[tapedeck]

Space Station Silicon Valley

(kinda) Shadows Of The Empire

Body Havest

Mario 64

(Kinda) Paper Mario

Banjo 1+2

Castlevania 3D (turd)

Hybrid Heaven

DK64

Conker's Bad Fur Day!!!!

Duck Dodgers

Hercules

Xena

(kinda) Mission: Impossible

Nightmare Creatures

Resident Evil 2

(Kinda) Winback

Rayman

Glover

Rocket: Robot On Wheels

Earthworm Jim 3D

Shadowman

Gex (shudder)

Toy Story 2

Jet Force Gemini

Bomberman64 (aiiiiiii)

Ganbare Goeman 1+2

Mischief Makers

Yoshi's Story

 

...Some off the top o' my head

[mr_bogus]

It's already tomorrow & Mischief Makers is on

 

Jealous of tapedeck for owning Rocket Robot on Wheels, i remember being v impressed at all the physics puzzles in that game.

 

Does anyone have Buck Bumble?

[Cube]

I'll touch on these later (I was too busy for the racing games yesterday)...but I have one thing to say...

 

Every time someone mentions Banjo-Kazooie I get loads of the game's amazing music stuck in my head.

 

I've only got BK and DK64. But both are within the top three platformers on the N64 (Banjo-Tooie slots in at number two).

[Aalborg]

ahh the memories from that list.. shadowman and Hybrid heaven.. hmm platformers? But great games

[tapedeck]

I'll probably play Mario 64. I know a mate who has Body Harvest and Conker so I'll try and get those off him today.

[Eenuh]

I am trying to play some Banjo-Kazooie, but I forgot how extremely difficult it is to find any of the worlds. Seriously, I can't find the entrances I'm looking for. D:

[Cube]

I am trying to play some Banjo-Kazooie, but I forgot how extremely difficult it is to find any of the worlds. Seriously, I can't find the entrances I'm looking for. D:

 

I started playing it again a few months ago and half-way though the game I realised that I'd totally missed the third level.

[ViPeR]

Take all day with the one game, mate. That's what I'm doing.

 

I've never played Banjo Kazooie...or DK64.

 

Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any more of a tit... you did . I love Banjo Kazooie, the music, the locations, the puzzles. I think technically it's the most superior out of all the N64 platformers although Super Mario 64 will always hold a place in my heart. I play it now and yes it does look pretty terrible stacked up to other N64 games but you can't blame it for not aging well, it was the first 64 game. What it lacks in graphics it more than makes up for it in pure platforming genius. I remember when I first got it and the simple joy of exploring the worlds, trying to get to places you weren't allowed etc. It really was revolutionary and that's why it will always be the N64 platformer I hold dearest.

[Eenuh]

Okay, I only popped in two games and didn't really play much of them. I realized that I never really liked platformers too much. =P

 

First, I tried a game that no one will probably know: Chameleon Twist!

Honestly, this game is pretty crappy. It already was back in the day when we got it (never let your parents buy you games when they know nothing about them!), and it's even worse now.

Basically, you control a weird Chameleon person, and you can perform a couple of moves with your tongue. You can stick it out and use the stick to change directions so it curves around the area. You can pick up enemies this way and once you swallow them, you can use them to shoot at other enemies. You can also use your tongue to grab poles to pull you across holes, or swing around poles etc.

The visuals in this game are pretty bad, and actually managed to give me a headache. The enemies and the levels are pretty boring and bland. Along the way, you collect crowns, though the purpose of them? I have no idea. I turned the game off after two levels, because it really wasn't fun.

 

 

Second game: Banjo-Kazooie!

A lot of people will remember this game as being one of the best (if not the best) platformer on the N64. The graphics are still pretty nice to this day and the music is great, with a lot of tunes that will have you hum along!

I had never finished this game, so I decided to see what I could still do in there. First problem: I forgot what moves there were. I actually had to look up a FAQ online to learn them again. This game has quite a big set of moves you can use, which is really cool!

Second problem: finding a level in this game is a long and hard journey. I think it took me half an hour (if not more) to find the level I was looking for. Of course these two problems are due to me not having played the game in so long.

 

The levels in this game are pretty nice and there are quite some characters to meet. Even though I had no idea what I was doing in the game today, it still managed to give me some chuckles with Grunty's comments, or Mumbo Jumbo turning Banjo into a washing machine instead of a bee. The transformations are another nice part of the game, and really make it more interesting (plus flying around as a bee is fun!).

 

All in all, I think this game can still be enjoyed to this day. Nice visuals, great music, cool moves and funny characters: the ingredients of a great game. =)

[darksnowman]

Lol, Chameleon Twist. Me and a friend rented that one weekend... we knew it would be a mistake! Isn't it the game with the Alice in Wonderland type opening with the rabbit that's oh so late...?

 

I played some DK64 last night, and as promised... I tried to like it. Impressions will be posted up later this evening after I get some more time on it. Suspense. :p

[Eenuh]

Lol, Chameleon Twist. Me and a friend rented that one weekend... we knew it would be a mistake! Isn't it the game with the Alice in Wonderland type opening with the rabbit that's oh so late...?

 

I played some DK64 last night, and as promised... I tried to like it. Impressions will be posted up later this evening after I get some more time on it. Suspense. :p

 

Hahaha yeah, there's a weird rabbit with a hat and stuff that just... sits at the beginning of the level and says two sentences before jumping off into space (or something, he just jumps and disappears). Very weird!

[Cube]

Banjo-Kazooie

 

This is still the best platformer I've ever played. Moving around as the Bird and Bear is still a lot of fun and the transformations are awesome.

 

The hub of the game (Grunty's Castle) is a level itself, and you'll need to solve puzzles to get around. Note doors and obstacles that need the advanced abilities limit your progress, but you still have a big amount of choice as to what jiggies you want.

 

The characters and text are all awesome, and the music is the type that you'll instantly remember when someone mentions the game. The levels still look nice, and it's great how collecting an important item won't throw you out of the level.

 

This is a game that has aged very well.

 

Donkey Kong 64

 

Rare's third Super Mario 64-beater, and this is also still fun today...although it hasn't aged quite as well as Banjo-Kazooie. Changing Kongs to do certain things gets annoying after a while and the blueprints are just as bad as the blue coins in Super Mario Sunshine.

 

The levels are OK, but not very memorable and the non-main characters are easily forgettable. The worst thing about the game is that if you (like me) suck at old games, then you'll never complete it. It took me ages to beat the Donkey Kong arcade, only to find out that I had to do an even harder version after it. I still can't do it to this day...and the final boss is supposed to be awesome.

 

Nitpicks and my lack of ability aside, the game still plays fairly well, and long sections with the same character are very enjoyable. It's just a shame you have to travel to the character-changing barrels too often.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Wow, just when I thought you couldn't get any more of a tit... you did

 

Go shove it up your arse!

[darksnowman]

Thank you so much for to playing my game!

I don't have the fondest of memories of it, but I tried to put some perspective on that and so, with the best intentions possible, and a completely open mind, I put in some time with DK 64.

 

I never had a problem with the intro rap. I found it highly cheesy in this day and age, but in no way bad. After Cranky did his thing, I cracked into it and started a new file. The game is such a let down, really. The opening cinema is so bad! The "humour" isn't good (its too slapstick), the graphics of the ocean and DK Isle are so unbelievably plain and sparse. DK 64 needs the expansion pack, but for what?

 

Onto the game. I like the graphics of the actual Kong's themselves, nice and smooth and shiny as well as being well animated. I don't like the design of the other characters and baddies. The levels themselves aren't memorable nor inspirational. There are a few good things such as the mine cart sections (there is one for each Kong) as well as the lighting in the game which is probably some of the best lighting effects seen on the N64.

 

I'm a huge DK fan, so it actually does pain me that I find DK 64 to be so bad. DKC 3 is my favourite game ever, so with expectations of DK 64 being the glorious leap to 3D that Mario 64 was for the Mario series, I can only be bitterly disappointed. Where did it go wrong? Rare were at their peak and had the experience of making other N64 classics behind them- as well as Banjo Kazooie, which gave them experience in making 3D platformers. DK 64 should have been the game to blow Mario 64 out of the water, just as how DKC did with Mario World one generation before.

 

Actually, I know precisely what went wrong with DK 64... Banjo-Kazooie. I never got on with B-K, and to find that DK 64 is nothing more than a reskinned, beefed up (the amount of stuff to collect is just absurd!), B-K is what hurts most. Did they run out of inspiration? Look no further than the control scheme (identical to B-K with all that hold Z, press a C button stuff) and the fact that Lanky Kong is basically just Kazooie. He sounds like the bird, and his running on his hands move is used to get up those steeper slopes- just like how you could use Kazooie in B-K!

 

Would I like DK 64 more if Banjo-Kazooie never happened? I can't say for sure, but its very possible because DK 64 just lost the magic and fun of the DKC games. They took away what made those games so legendary and replaced it with silly characters (Snide!?), poor music and bad levels with boring tasks. A crying shame.

 

-------------------

 

Edit that as you wish. Just make sure my disappointment remains.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Super Mario 64

 

Whilst I'm a huge Nintendo fan, and a lifelong follower of the big N, I must admit that I probably never gave this title as much attention as it probably deserved.

 

It's a fantastic game, and I had immense amount of fun playing it today. But, I must come clean and say that I did prefer Mario's 2D outings, especially Super Mario Bros. 3. One of my favourite games that I have ever played.

 

However, do not underestimate this game. Dozens, nay millions of gamers will say that Banjo Kazooie was the better game, but this is where it all started. Without this game, many of the great platformers that we love today would not have had a starting block to build from. The ideas within this game are phenomenal, such as using the Castle as a "hub" for example, and accessing the different levels through the paintings. My fondest memories will always be the Cool Cool Mountain and Snowman Land levels (see a theme hear), and it's partly down to the humour and the visuals that are accompanied.

 

It may be bettered nowadays, but you'd be a fool to doubt that this game is critically acclaimed for a reason. For now, I'm off to give it some more time and loving, as I probably should have done all those years ago.

[mr_bogus]

I've tried writing with proper grammar this time, so hopefully saves tapedeck from having to translate my Mumbo Jumbo speak into English.

 

Mischief Makers

One of the best looking 2D games, with ultra-smooth animations and detailed, colourful backgrounds. It's very confusing at first, since most of the controls are different to most other 2D games (using B to grab, then camera buttons to "shake-shake" things). Every level seems to have fresh ideas that use the game's mechanics in new ways, from boosting to carrying things to using roller coasters, etc. Later levels start rotating on you, as well as throwing in some pseudo-3D puzzle elements.

As an incentive to go back and replay the levels, the more yellow gems you get, the more of the end sequence you get to watch. Treasure strikes again in the ace department.

 

Rayman 2

The graphical style still holds up today, but with an unpredictable framerate (changing the video to Low Res helps slightly, but it's not worth losing the sharpness). The immersive music & sound effects are noticeably well done. Good to hear the old babble-speak, rather than in-yer-face Hollywood comedy English from the dissapointing Rayman 3. The levels are well thought out with plenty of variety in both gameplay and scenery, with a lot of interesting puzzles. There are a few places with a choice of paths and no hint which to take first, so you end up missing a chunk of the level and having to replay it.

For a fuller experience, I would recommend playing the Dreamcast version, which has sharper graphics and a smoother framerate, but this one is still decent enough.

Throwing & riding giant plums, navigating a flying ship, rushing across boardwalks while a pirate ship shoots away pieces of the boardwalks, riding a mini-rocket like a horse, water-skiing on the back of a snake, this game has an abundance of variety. One of Michel Ancel's best.

 

Conker's Bad Fur Day

Oh dear. Load up your flamethrowers and aim them at me. As good as the cinematic cutscenes are in this game, ths gameplay has not aged well at all. In fact, it makes me wonder why anyone could ever have thought this game played well, unless they were too taken by the well done cutscenes to notice.

Excellent graphics and animations, but at the cost of a framerate so erratic it makes the game almost unplayable at times. A camera from hell, repetitive, tedious tasks, slippery inaccurate controls, losing health for landing on ground 2mm lower than where you jumped, how much of the 6 year development period was actually spent on the gameplay? (Actually, the game can apparently be speedrun in around 45 minutes if you skip the cutscenes, so go figure.)

On the plus side, the facial expressions, animations and general humour in the movie scenes are great, and still hold up today. Consider that almost no games had such cinematic detail at the time. The Rock Solid scene is great (with the light show synced with the excellent music, which was not done in the Xbox remake), and the lava racing a la Wipeout is still pretty fun. My favorite gameplay bit had to be flying around as a bat, pooing on the villagers, picking them up & dropping them into the grinder.

[darksnowman]

Nice one with Mischief Makers! I only got it at Christmas there so I can't fully appreciate it... or even really understand it, lol. o.O I thought you were gonna do some DK 64 too, Mr Bogus, to balance my negativity towards it with some positivity of your own? Came to your senses eh. :wink:

[Tellyn]

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (via the Virtual Console)

 

When I first played this, I was expecting a lot more from it. Being a massive fan of Kirby's Adventure on the NES (which was full of charm, graphical loveliness and innovation in Kirby's power-nabbing abilities). Unfortunately, Kirby 64, whilst maintaining the lightheartedly platforming fun of previous installments, isn't much of a leap forward other than upgrading the series to 3D.

 

Other than that, it's a short but sweet platforming adventure and a nice break from traditional examples of the genre like Mario 64.

[tapedeck]

Updated a lot then come here and there's MORE! lol. Wow, we have so many impressions. EXCELLENT! (Monty Burns alike hand-rubbing.)

 

Cheers Bogus, makes it easier :p

 

Gonna get the rest up now Must. Stay. Awake...