Super Robot Spirits - All N64 Games

[Cube]

Killer Instinct Gold

• NA release: 25th November 1996
• PAL release: 4th July 1997
• JP release: N/A
• Developer: Rare
• Publisher: Nintendo
• N64 Magazine Score: 62%

As I mentioned in the Mortal Kombat Trilogy review, fighting games aren’t my kind of thing, so this will be opinions from someone who has no idea about balance or techniques. That said, Killer Instinct Gold feel much more like a home console game than the Mortal Kombat Trilogy, due to a few extra features.

 

The game has a nice look about it, with detailed sprites (based on really well made 3D models, like Donkey Kong Country) mixed with 3D arenas. It definitely feels like an N64 game and the sprites somehow don’t look too out of place in the maps. I found the gameplay to be fun, even though I’m absolutely useless at it, this feels slightly friendlier to newcomers.

One welcome feature is the practice mode, which lets you browse through all the special moves and select one to pin to the screen. The bottom of the screen shows all your inputs to help remind you which button “FK” is. There are also training modes to go through specific abilities, including a “focused training” mode which adds a timer. It’s something that will likely be good for people who have the capabilities of having skill with these games.

Killer Instinct Gold still have a few oddities. There’s no mode in singleplayer where you can select a specific opponent, and map selection is done via cheat codes. Still, this seems to offer a lot more than Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

Quote

The initially complex combo linking system starts to wear thin after several weeks of constant hammering.

- Marcus Hawkins, N64 Magazine #3

Remake or Remaster?

Its inclusion on Rare Replay is good enough – although it would be nice to have that package ported to more systems.

Official ways to get the game.

This is available via Rare Replay on Xbox One/Series.

Re-releases

2015: Rare Replay

[Dcubed]

Kind of ironic that you say that this is more of a home console fighting game than MKT; despite the fact that MKT never actually released in arcades, while KI Gold is actually a port/remake of KI2.

The reviews from back in the day were super harsh on KI Gold, and while the game itself isn’t to blame, it does still kind of deserve it because of the marketing surrounding it.  The original KI was always hyped up as being made on “Nintendo Ultra 64” hardware and that it was always due to get a perfect home conversion… which of course famously didn’t happen.  So it’s not hard to see why people were left disappointed by KI Gold, since it’s a completely different beast compared it its KI2 counterpart.

But considering that they were bringing a hard drive powered arcade game to a 12MB N64 cartridge? There was no way that the arcade visuals could be brought over as-is.  The decision to recreate the pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D polygons was an inspired one though and really? They did a great job of capturing KI2’s look and feel, especially when running on original hardware on a CRT.  But there’s just no getting around the fact that the flashy OTT presentation of KI2 and it’s FMV powered pre-rendered visuals just couldn’t be done justice on a cartridge, and KI Gold does feel rather cheap in comparison to KI2 as a result.

Also, I believe this is the first ever fighting game to have a practice mode that shows your inputs and has a training mode that actually teaches you the various special moves available.  That would’ve been a huge deal back in the day!

I feel that Rare made the best of a bad situation really.  But it is a bit annoying to think that if this game came out a little later, they could’ve used a larger cartridge to capture much more of KI2’s original presentation (maybe even being able to keep some of the FMVs intact), but then again, it probably would’ve come out too late to really capitalise on the arcade game’s popularity.  Rock and a hard place really.

Edited January 7 by Dcubed

[Cube]

19 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Kind of ironic that you say that this is more of a home console fighting game than MKT; despite the fact that MKT never actually released in arcades, while KI Gold is actually a port/remake of KI2.

It's mainly based on the feeling the game gives due to the modes available. The practice and challenge modes are more single-player focused. Also, I really was not expecting so many fighting games on the N64, as other platforms have a bigger reputation for them - although as I play the N64 ones, I kind of see why.

The Glory of St Andrews

• JP release: 29th November 1996
• PAL release: N/A
• NA release: NA
• Developer: Seta
• Publisher: Seta
• N64 Magazine Score: 58%
• Original Name: Eiko no Saint Andrews

The Glory of St. Andrews [Eiko no Saint Andrews] is a Japanese exclusive golf game set on “The Old Course” at St. Andrews. This isn’t the first Japanese exclusive game set on that golf course – the SNES had one as well (although by a different developer and publisher). As it’s only based on one course, it does mean we just get 18 holes.

Unfortunately, this means there isn’t much visual variety. The holes don’t feel very different when playing a video game and once you’ve played each one, it’s just doing it the same with different options. You can customise your character (although the looks are from a few options with the same face and different hats).

The swinging mechanic is interesting and uses the analogue stick well. you move it back to the power you want, then swing it forward to swing. In the bottom right, a red circle decreases in size before resetting and you want to time it to be as small as possible when you swing as this gives you more accuracy.

When putting, it’s difficult to see the shape of the green. The game gives you a few things to try and help. It gives the green a grid pattern, and it also lets you stretch the map of the entire level upwards to see the shape in more detail. None of this seemed to help much.

The Glory of St. Andrews is a fairly poor golf game with very limited options and only one course.

Quote

On top of this, your player (who is quite content to behave perfectly adequately for the majority of the game) occasionally seems to lose all control over his bodily functions, turning into some kind of pseudo-Melting Man, changing shape and size as he swings at the ball.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

This is only interesting because of its obscurity.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get The Glory of St. Andrews.

[Cube]

Cruis’n USA

• NA release: 3rd December 1996
• PAL release: 30th January 1998
• NA release: NA
• Developer: Williams
• Publisher: Nintendo
• N64 Magazine Score: 24%

The first road-based racing game on the N64. I remember this being panned in magazines, but surely not much can go wrong with something as simple as a racing game, especially one that Nintendo themselves published?

Unfortunately, there is a lot to go wrong. Almost the entire game feels exactly the same: driving along the same four lane roads, dodging the same few cars and turning over the slight bends – hoping that your card doesn’t decide to swerve too much. The handling is dreadful and everything just feels floaty, even collisions. The only variations are the different backgrounds (which you can see loading in), and this is not enough to stop the game from becoming stale before you’re halfway through it – which is an impressive feat when the game is less than 30 minutes long.

There was one level that stood out: a redwood forest level. Most of this is two lanes, with the roadside visuals up close and some large trees to drive under. In most racing games, it wouldn’t be a good level, but in Cruis’n USA, it’s the best by a long way.

If you really want to, you can complete the game on harder difficulties in different cars to unlock faster versions, but the first playthrough is so dull that there’s no reason to do so. I can see this being fine in the atmosphere of an arcade, spending a few quid on it, but for a home console release, this is just bare bones.

The Cruis’n series had a few games on N64 and there’s even a new game on the Switch, so hopefully this series improves as it goes on.

Quote

Granted, February would appear to be a disappointingly lean time for PAL N64 owners but surely, in the name of decency, there’s no need for this.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #13

Remake or Remaster?

While I think the game is horrible, a collection of the arcade games (plus the Wii game) would be nice for the sake of preservation.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get Cruis’n USA.

Re-releases:

2008: Wii Virtual Console

 

(I have given some games, a Mario star with R for Recommended and a logo of a certain N64 game with a W for what I consider to be the worst examples of N64 games)

[Cube]

Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire

• NA release: 3rd December 1996
• PAL release: 1st March 1997
• JP release: 14th June 1997
• Developer: LucasArts
• Publisher: Nintendo
• N64 Magazine Score: 78%

Shadows of the Empire was a big “Expanded Universe” multimedia event with this story getting a novel, soundtrack (for the novel), comic book, toys and, of course, a video game. Shadows of the Empire was released on the N64 on PC. I was originally going to use the PC version for this, as the game is identical, but it has video cutscenes with voice acting, but controller support is poor (and the HUD goes tiny). With the help of remapping buttons, I was able to create a good setup that feels  modern using the strafe setup.

I played this as a kid and I do remember enjoying it.

The game starts off during the Battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes back, with you controlling a snowspeeder. This section is great, with the snowspeeder feeling great to control and toppling AT-ATs with the tow cable is great. Unfortunately, the level isn’t very long and it’s the best part of the game (you may notice the large amount of lives – that’s more for the poor platforming in later stages). If the entire game was like this, it would be a great game, but most of the game is on-foot.

You play as Dash Randar, who in this game is essentially a Han Solo clone (the novel expands the character’s personality a lot). You’re armed with a blaster that recharges, and you can get special ammo for it (best saved for bosses). The game heavily relies on autoaim, which is especially necessary as you can’t really aim up or down in any reasonable way (the aim button lets you, but it’s far too sensitive).

Trying to setup so you can flee Hoth, you start by watching the Millenium Falcon leave (shouldn’t Vader be standing nearby?) then blast your way through the stormtroopers attacking the rebel base. The shooting isn’t very satisfying and the movement is wonky.

After blowing up an AT-ST, you make your way off Hoth and blast TIE fighters in an asteroid field in a dreadful turret section with awful controls. The game at least gives you plenty of time to react as the bombs from the TIE bombers are really slow, and you have infinite missiles – they just reload between batches of 5.

Hunting for Boba Fett, Dash heads to a junkyard planet to get information from IG-88. I absolutely hate this level as a kid due to the controls but I didn’t find it too bad – I think the ability to strafe helps a lot with lining up jumps, and I never figured that out the first time round. It’s still a very ugly planet, though – Shadows of the Empire was definitely ahead of its time for its use of greys and browns. At the end of the level you take out IG-88, who gives you information on where Boba Fett is.

This is where the platforming really does take a nosedive. Dash’s jump is incredibly floaty and not difficult to control, and the narrow paths of this level are built for you to fall off constantly. You get a jetpack half way through which helps a bit, but is not as fun as a jetpack should be due to being slow and only possible to use for short bursts.

You fight Boba Fett and the Slave 1 at the end. I ran out of ammo, but found a spot where Slave 1 couldn’t hit me, so was able to hit it a few hundred times to destroy it.

Some text explains that after this, Boba Fett escapes and an assassin tries to kill Luke, so it’s up to you to help protect him.

As Luke chills out at Obi-Wan’s home on Tatooine, Dash hears of a swoop gang heading to kill Luke. Speeding through this level is great, but it’s much better to go slowly to take out enemies. You find out information that an Imperial ship contains the necessary information.

As Luke waits outside in his X-Wing, Dash assaults the imperial ship on his own (this game makes Luke seem weak). Most of this level is messing with door switches in a large cargo hold. There’s some secrets to find, but you need to work your way, then fighting a big droid near the end. The jetpack you found earlier would have been handy, but Dash left it on his ship. On a side note, I do really like the Outrider.

In order to infiltrate a base, we need to go through a sewer. Dash has absolutely no issue diving though massive amounts of excrement as you have to find a few different items to progress. The boss fight at the end is a horrible experience, with respawning tentacles and the poor jetpack controls underwater.

Going through the base your job is to find a reactor to place charges to blow up a space elevator. Luke is also infiltrating this base to save Leia, but that’s just background information and you never get to see them during gameplay. This is another dull level.

After another bad ship turret section, we get to actually fly the Outrider, and it’s great. You don’t get to focus on shooting other ships, though: your mission is to shoot four turrets then fly into the base and blow up the reactor, Death Star 2-style. The game ends with Dash seemingly not making it (but then reveals his fate in the final cutscene).

Shadow of the Empire is not as fun as I remember. The genre has evolved a lot, and the controls are just strange and floaty. The full story is probably good, but this isn’t a good adaptation as important points are relegated to scrolling text.

Quote

The first and last levels are superb. Some of the rest are good. A sad few are awful.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

This game definitely needs a remake, perhaps with a few more levels added as well, with better integration of the story – perhaps even working alongside Luke.

Official ways to get the game.

The PC version of the game is available via GOG and Steam

[Dcubed]

A surprisingly important part of Star Wars history.  This was the first major original SW project since Return of the Jedi was released in theatres 13 years prior and it was originally considered canonical by Lucasfilm (in fact, the Outrider ship actually makes a brief appearence in the Special Edition version of A New Hope!).

SOTE was directly responsible for convincing Lucasfilm to ruin revive the Star Wars movie franchise with the Special Edition re-releases of the original Star Wars movie trilogy (which itself lead into the Prequel Trilogy).  So without SOTE, we may well have never seen Star Wars return to theatres (whether or not that's a good thing is up for debate though ).

[Cube]

Mario Kart 64

• JP release: 13th December 1996
• NA release: 10th February 1997
• PAL release: 24th June 1997
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• N64 Magazine Score: 91%

Part of me was dreading replaying this. I have a lot of fond childhood memories of Mario Kart 64, but is it something that still holds up today? I did find a texture mod that makes the game look incredibly crisp (they re-created the original models the sprites were based on and took cleaner images of them), yet still retains its look, but it’s all about the gameplay. Mario Kart has changed so much since then.

After actually playing Mario Kart 64 again, the amount of changes to Mario Kart over the years actually keeps Mario Kart 64 still hugely enjoyable – the newer games aren’t simply better, they’re all quite different. The simplicity of Mario Kart 64 really helps it stand out from the others, and the handing still feels great.

My biggest criticism of Mario Kart 64 is the lack of singleplayer modes, just GP races and time trial, you can’t even pick single races, but most Mario Karts have similar issues. There is a mirror mode to unlock (which has the true version of Toad’s Turnpike) by completing all GPs on the highest difficulty, but that’s about it.

Mario Kart 64’s true wonder is in the multiplayer mode, which is still a lot of fun. The weapons make it hectic, but also allow people to catch up. You can spend hours and hours just playing races and I really like that you just pick a race and play, you’re not forced to do a tournament or anything like that.

Battle mode was also amazing in this game, and has not been properly replicated since (with newer games favouring points-based rather than elimination). When a player has been eliminated, they turn into a bomb and can try and screw over a player of their choosing. This wouldn’t work in a more serious setting, but for Mario Kart, it’s perfect.

Mario Kart 64 is still an immense joy to play, and is still worth going back to due to how different other Mario Kart games are. It really does deserve a re-release similar to the version I ended up playing: widescreen and with nicer textures, but without changing too much.

Quote

I’ve played it more than all the N64’s other games put together, and, six months after plugging it in for the first time, I still love it as much as ever. It’s great.

- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

A remaster with new sprites similar to the texture pack would be great for Mario Kart 64.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no way to buy a new copy of Mario Kart 64, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak.

Re-releases

2003: iQue

2007: Wii Virtual Console

2016: Wii U Virtual Console

2021: Nintendo Switch Online (subscription only)

[Glen-i]

Ehhh... It's better then Super Mario Kart at least.

[Dcubed]

I miss Elimination Battle Mode so much.  It’s just never been the same since they changed it over to Points scoring from MK Wii onwards (which also disastrously forced Team Battle only; which sucked green shells).

MK64 probably has the best traditional battle mode in the series.  Just four karts in an arena, infinitely bouncing green shells that never stop until they hit something, bomb buggies, and glorious screen watching.  Bliss.

I also really like the freeform physics in this game.  I just love how the game allows you to jump over stuff and skip huge chunks of the track.  Newer games became very restrictive in that regard, with even the slightest veering off of the track causing Lakitu to void you out back on the track as a huge over-correction from MK64.  I get why they made this change, but I love being able to knock other players off the ramp in Wario Stadium and making my opponents have to repeat half the entire track again! Bring that back Nintendo!

Edited January 11 by Dcubed

[Cube]

King of Pro Baseball

• JP release: 20th December 1996
• NA release: N/A
• PAL release: N/A
• Developer: Genki
• Publisher: Imagineer
• N64 Magazine Score: 68%
• Original Name: Chōkūkan Naitā Puro Yakyū Kingu

Hey batter batter…or something. Baseball is a sport I know very little about, although the basic rules seem pretty simple to figure out, and quite similar to a sport I’ve played in school called Rounders. Hit the ball, run around the bases. If the ball ends up at a base before you do, you’re out. The N64’s first baseball game (of many) also happens to be a Japanese-only game.

The basic controls are simple to figure out, but difficult to master. The batter controls a cursor on the screen and swings to hit the ball. Your aim has to be extremely precise, though, and it’s extremely difficult. I only managed to hit it a few times. Pitching is very simple, though: move the stick to control a invisible cursor, if you’re too far off course, the pitcher will shake his head.

Fielding I found to be quite slow, while the CPU was spot-on (they caught everything I hit). Once you figure out selecting players, it isn’t too bad, but I still had the issue with the CPU being absolutely perfect.

King of Pro Baseball doesn’t have a lot of modes, but it does have an immense amount of options, which weren’t something I could really play around with due to having to use Google Translate and then not understanding Baseball terminology. I did get the impression that this was a decent baseball game and the basic pitching/batting were intuitive.

Quote

Pro-Baseball King is a worthy attempt, but it never looks likely to convert the uninitiated.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

I don’t know enough about sports games to know what is worth doing with this.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get King of Pro Baseball.

[Dcubed]

So… it’s essentially a knockoff Power Pro Baseball then?

Well, it beat Power Pro 4 to the punch at least; that wouldn’t come out on the N64 until March 1997.  But I can’t imagine that many people wouldn’t just prefer to wait a few more months for the real thing back when this one launched in December 1996.

Edited January 12 by Dcubed

[Cube]

Jikkyō J.League Perfect Striker
 

• JP release: 20th December 1996
• NA release: N/A
• PAL release: N/A
• Developer: Konami
• Publisher: Konami
• N64 Magazine Score: 89%

Jikkyō J.League Perfect Striker is essentially the N64’s first version of International Superstar Soccer (a franchise from Konami later known as Pro Evolution Soccer). While a game with very similar gameplay did get released elsewhere as International Superstar Soccer 64, the games are quite different, as this only features teams from the “J.League”, Japan’s football league. The international version was later released in Japan as Jikkyō World Soccer 3.

The gameplay of Perfect Striker is solid. The controls are intuitive, with A and B being used for basic move and the c-buttons for lobs and quick passing back and forth. I haven’t been a fan of the sport itself for a while, but this is still an entertaining video game. Movement is fluid and, for the N64, lit looks nice and is animated well.

Outside of the regular single match and league modes, there’s a “scenario” mode. Each of the 16 scenarios put you in the middle of a pre-set match and you need to try and win. Sometimes this is maintaining your lead, while other times you have to win from a losing position. It’s a nice little extra for when you’re on your own.

Perfect Striker is a good football game and I’ll be delving into it more when I get to the international version.

Quote

The beauty of Perfect Striker is not so much that it’s good fun (which it is), but that it grasps the workings of football so brilliantly.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

It’s a sports game, which should improve over time – sadly, this franchise has collapsed and could to with looking backwards before it carries on going forwards.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get Jikkyō J.League Perfect Striker.

[Dcubed]

I’ll save my commentary for the international version, but when your game is being praised by no one less than Shigeru Miyamoto himself?

You know you’ve done something right

[Cube]

Mahjong Master

• JP release: 20th December 1996
• NA release: N/A
• PAL release: N/A
• Developer: Konami
• Publisher: Konami
• N64 Magazine Score: 69%

In English speaking countries, Mahjong is known as a solitaire tile matching game. This simple game is actually just one of many variants of Mahjong, with traditional Mahjong being a 4 player (no more, no less) game. This is Japanese-only game so I did read up a bit on how to play this style of Mahjong. I was still confused to begin with, but got the hang of it.

The object of Mahjong is a game where you’re trying to create sets (three/four of a king or a straight of three/four) in your hand, playing a “Mahjong” when complete (there’s usually a single pair in a Mahjong, other sets are bigger). Each turn, you pick a tile to discard and get a new one. As others play tiles, you have the opportunity to match them up with two more of your tiles – thankfully, Mahjong Master shows you when these are available.

In Mahjong Master, you join “South End” club and get introduced to the players there, most of them casual players of Mahjong. You can play individual matches or take part in tournaments as you move up the leagues, meeting more dedicated players as you progress. The characters also comment on actions in the matches, making it seem a bit more personal. I manged to win a tournament, although for true “completion”, you need to get to the top league and win tournaments for 12 months in a row.

There are a lot of options available that I didn’t mess with, and I also struggled with getting straights in one of the suits (others are self explanatory, but one is Japanese characters). There’s also a quiz where you can answer questions about Mahjong, so there are quite a few options for fans of the game.

Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics has this flavour of Mahjong under the name “Riichi Mahjong”, which is a bit easier to understand with tutorials and numbering on the tiles.

Quote

Add a risible story mode and you’ve got every housebound Mah Jong player’s dream. There are absolutely no huge weapons though.

- Wil Overton, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

It’s a Mahjong game, so other options exist for it.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get Mahjong Master.

[Dcubed]

51 Worldwide Classics has an excellent rendition of Riichi Mahjong with a fantastic tutorial.  That’s how I learned to play it.  Riichi Mahjong is the standard form of Mahjong that is commonly played in Japan.

And Riichi Mahjong is fun! But yeah, it does have a steep learning curve (so much so that even 51WWC takes the piss out of how steep that game’s learning curve is ).

Mahjong games are ridiculously common in Japan; even the Wii U of all consoles has multiple Mahjong games! And Mahjong games with stories and RPG mechanics had been done plenty of times before.  So this game wouldn’t have been very novel, even at the time of its release.  But I suppose the N64’s built-in 4 player support would’ve at least have given this game some sort of USP by the time of its release.

Edited January 15 by Dcubed

[Cube]

@Dcubed one of the N64 Mahjong games is particularly interesting, but the rest are more like this (but with worse interfaces)

NBA Hangtime

• NA release: 16th January 1997
• PAL release: 1st September 1997
• JP release: N/A
• Developer: Midway
• Publisher: Midway
• N64 Magazine Score: 52%

The Nintendo 64’s first basketball is a straight up arcade conversion, which means there’s nothing to the game except matches and very few options. It’s a 2-on-2 basketball game where scoring is so east that most games will be back and forth of constant scoring from both teams.

With four players, you might find a bit of fun, but this is the kind of game best suited left in the arcades, as it’s something that can be fun for a quick go, but playing for more than a few minutes quickly wears thin. For an arcade game, it’s fine. For a console game, it’s pretty terrible. I know that some people love this game, but it needed a lot more to it.

Quote

Very, very quickly indeed, we got bored of saying “Serious hangtime!” in increasingly-ridiculous American accents, and one by one we quietly put down our joypads and sloped away to do something less boring instead. Like work.

- Jonathan Davies, N64 Magazine #6

Remake or Remaster?

A collection of Midway’s arcade NBA games would be worth having.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get NBA Hangtime.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Now we're talking. I turn my head to the right and I can see my copy of Hang Time. Turn that bad boy into a werewolf and set that ball on ffyyaaaa

[Dcubed]

Quote

There is currently no official way to get NBA Hangtime.

That's where you're wrong... because there is ONE way to get it officially...

Yes, this is mine

... the arcade version at least is available via the Arcade1up cabinet.

And yeah, it's perfect for a quickfire bit of arcade multiplayer fun

Can't imagine that it'd have much staying power as a single player console game, but the arcades are a vibe, and the NBA Jam games are really the quintisential arcade sports games.  They're loud, they're brash, they're stupid, they're not complicated and they're fun.  Midway at their finest.

NBA Hangtime is also another rare example of a pure 2D game on the N64, and graphically it's actually superior to the arcade version in some respects (and also much better looking than the only other home console version, the PS1 release); it was an excellent port of an arcade game that was perhaps a bit behind the times by 1996.  I can imagine this being a popular game to rent back in the day though (when you could still rent games), perfect for the weekend when you had friends coming over and you wanted a good four player multiplayer game that wasn't Mario Kart 64 again.

I'm not even a big basketball fan, but even I enjoy a good Jam.  Hard to go wrong with it on any console, and this is probably the best console release a Jam game ever got.

Edited January 16 by Dcubed

[Cube]

22 hours ago, Dcubed said:

That's where you're wrong... because there is ONE way to get it officially...

I always thought that licensing prevented re-releases of sports games, so it's interesting that its been sold in that one specific way (also, they seem to do a singleplayer version of that unit, which is a bit odd).

FIFA 64

• NA release: 28th February 1997
• PAL release: 17th March 1997
• JP release: N/A
• Developer: EA Canada
• Publisher: EA Sports
• N64 Magazine Score: 39%

When I was younger, I used to be very much into football, the era of the football games I’ve been playing will have the players I remember in them. FIFA 64 has official licences for a few countries – although they do so little with it that I’m not sure why they bothered.

The players in FIFA 64 are horrific, nightmarish creatures with distorted arms and legs, and with no proper team management – you can only change formation, there aren’t even substitutions – the only time you ever see a player’s name is when scoring a goal.

While Perfect Striker only had a small amount of Japanese teams, it still feels like it had a lot more stuff than FIFA 64 in every other department. The HUD in FIFA 64 is dreadful, showing just the time (no score!), although you can get a picture-in-picture with a different camera angle that covers up far too much of the main screen. You can make the pitch “damp” but you can’t really tell the difference, there’s no rain effects.

The gameplay itself is equally dismal, being extremely slow and clunky. Even passing feels completely broken, as your players will often kick the ball backwards or just tap it forward slightly. Every match is tedious – which is probably why you can skip matches in the league mode (which seems pointless without any kind of management).

FIFA 64 is a very dismal football game and is not nice to play. It very clunky, looks ugly and the game pelts you with annoying sound effects as you play.

Quote

FIFA 64 seems incapable of deciding which button does what, with a tap of the pass button not necessarily leading to its natural conclusion. Instead, the ball frequently balloons off into the stand.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #2

Remake or Remaster?

There are so many much better FIFA games.

Official ways to get the game.

There is currently no official way to get FIFA 64.

[Dcubed]

That's not ISS...

 

44 minutes ago, Cube said:

I always thought that licensing prevented re-releases of sports games, so it's interesting that its been sold in that one specific way (also, they seem to do a singleplayer version of that unit, which is a bit odd).

Arcade1up/Tastemakers managed it because of two reasons... one, their products are classified as toys and not video games (thus are not subject to the same licensing rules as standard video game releases), and two... they have some really fucking good legal staff! Seriously! The stuff they've managed to get official licenses for puts the rest of the retro video game re-release industry sector to absolute shame!

Edited January 17 by Dcubed

[EEVILMURRAY]

56 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

That's not ISS...

Yeah, but he's gotta wade through the shit to get to the good stuff.

[Cube]

ISS isn't even the next football game in my list (but it's not long after that).

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

• PAL release: 4th March 1997
• NA release: 4th March 1997
• JP release: 30th May 1997
• Developer: Iguana
• Publisher: Acclaim
• N64 Magazine Score: 91%

The Nintendo 64’s first first person shooter is in some ways what you would expect from first person shooters in the early N64 days – something along the lines of Doom and Quake, but focusing a bit more on movement. I played this as a child but never got far, even using cheats I never quite understood what I was supposed to be doing. That’s because Turok isn’t just a shooter: it’s a platformer game where you have to find collectables.

The version I’m playing is the remaster of the game – it still has the look and feel of the N64 game, but with a few improvements, the biggest one being fog. Due to the detail of the original game, the render distance was extremely low, so fog was added to hide the lack of level. The PC version moves the fog much further away – it doesn’t remove it completely as the levels were designed with the fog in mind, so you’d just see all the broken geometry the fog was removed completely.

Even with the increased view, navigating the levels isn’t easy. They’re very maze-like and you get warped between different parts, with no reference point to help you get your bearings. It doesn’t help that the levels have little graphical variety within them. You’ll need to scour these levels in order to find keys to unlock later levels, so most of the game will be ambling around, fighting respawning enemies.

The gunplay, at least, it a lot of fun, with a great variety of weapons and lots of different enemies. The story (which you’re not told at all in the game) involves an area of space where things from the past and future exist, so while you start killing tribesmen and dinosaurs, you’ll work up towards aliens, robots and dinosaurs with guns. Enemies to become more bullet sponges as you progress, though, so you need to use more ammo.

Movement is an important part of Turok and it provides a great sense of speed. You run around and jump in a very fluid way. For navigating the main parts of the levels, it’s a lot of fun, but then you reach the many platforming segments of the game, and it all fall down (or you will at least, a lot). The movement feels great when there’s leeway, but it doesn’t feel precise enough for jumping on the many pillars the game requires you to jump on – and with the game’s checkpoint system, some of these jumps can be a good distance away from the last one.

Turok was definitely great when it came out, but I can’t really recommend it now. but it is a game well worth remembering. It has a lot of flaws, but the flaws are also what make the game unique. Turok is very much a product of its time, but is also a piece of gaming history, especially with environments that are much more 3D than previous first person shooters.

Quote

It’s the sheer scale of Turok that impresses. From the Braveheart-style size of The Campaigner’s army to the end-of-level bosses, this game will keep you entranced for weeks on end.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #1

Remake or Remaster?

The Nightdrive remaster is exactly what Turok needed.

Official ways to get the game.

The faithful remaster of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is available on GOG, Steam, Switch, Xbox and PlayStation.

[BowserBasher]

Ah Turok, I had the game (wasn’t it 1 of the 3 release games here) and all I remember about it was that it was £70 when the other games where £50.

[darksnowman]

1 hour ago, BowserBasher said:

Ah Turok, I had the game (wasn’t it 1 of the 3 release games here) and all I remember about it was that it was £70 when the other games where £50.

It was Mario, SotE and Pilotwings at launch with Turok shortly after. I was going to get it too (since everything else was sold out) but no way was I parting with seventy quid of hard saved dough. Put it back in the moneybox for Mario Kart. 

[Dcubed]

Turok is low-key, one of the most important games in the N64’s library (and one of the most important for western developed video games in general).

It was the first ever fully 3D FPS game for a home console (and I believe second only to Quake in general, which launched on the PC about 8 months prior).  It also codified the “standard” control scheme for FPS games on the N64 in general (which isn’t actually all that far off the modern FPS dual analog setup, just in reverse owing to the c-buttons being on the right side of the controller).

But perhaps most notably of all? Turok 1 & 2 are the prototypes for Metroid Prime.  I mean this in both a figurative and a literal sense.  Turok 1 & 2 are not just first person shooters, they are straight up Metroidvania games.

Now, Turok Dinosaur Hunter is not the first First-Person Metroidvania game, that title belongs to 1996’s Powerslave/Exhumed for the SEGA Saturn, but its ties to Metroid are a lot more explicit than you might realise… because the team at Iguana Studios behind the development of Turok 1 & 2 would split off after the completion of Turok 2’s multiplayer spinoff Turok Rage Wars, to found none other than… Retro Studios.  Yes, the very same Retro Studios that made the Metroid Prime series.  Though half of the staff at the studio would end up getting fired before Metroid Prime 1 really moved into full production (including studio head and founder, Jeff Spangenberg), around half of the people who worked on Metroid Prime 1 had previously worked on Turok 1 & 2 (including the Director, Mark Pachini).

And when you go back and play Turok 1 & 2 after playing Metroid Prime? The influence is immediately obvious.  Metroid Prime’s platforming is a direct evolution of what was first done with Turok Dinosaur Hunter; including the iconic downwards head bob that shows you where you’re going to land when you jump.  Prime’s basic locomotion gameplay is built directly off of Turok 1 & 2, as are many of its gameplay subsystems; hell, you can even shoot birds out of the sky in Turok, just like in Metroid Prime!  The non-linear, exploration focused level design also immediately reminds you of what was later done in Metroid Prime (albeit much more limited, owing to the N64’s hardware and cartridge space limitations).

Without Turok Dinosaur Hunter? There is no Metroid Prime.  Not a bad legacy for a game based on a comic book!

1 hour ago, BowserBasher said:

Ah Turok, I had the game (wasn’t it 1 of the 3 release games here) and all I remember about it was that it was £70 when the other games where £50.

You’re not far off, it came out just 3 days after the N64 launched in Europe (on the same day as the US release even).  So it basically was a launch day title over here.

Edited January 18 by Dcubed