Chameleon Twist 2 - All N64 Games

[Glen-i]

Feel like you're underselling the NSO version. Because you can play it online, which is a huge deal! The randomness feels cheap when playing with computers, but with 3 other people, it adds to the funny.

That said, 2 and 3 are far better due to the items, which add a much needed element of strategy.

Also Bumper Balls sucks. If 2 people are even remotely competent, the game will end in a draw every time! Don't believe me? Ask S.C.G, BowserBasher, or Dcubed. Awful minigame!

[Dcubed]

The Mario Party series is amongst the finest series of local multiplayer games ever made in the history of the medium.  Literally anyone can pick it up, understand it at a basic level and have a great time.  While more experienced players, who have an in-depth grasp of how its more intricate mechanics work, will generally win more often; any player has a legitimate chance of victory.

 

Despite outward appearances, Mario Party is actually not a board game in the traditional sense.  At the most fundamental level, Mario Party is a strategy game that is about risk and resource management.  The goal is to manage and increase your resources, while mitigating your own risk and actively increasing the risk of your opponent’s gameplay; by screwing them over as hard as humanly possible.  It is a beautiful social nightmare of a game that encourages you to be as evil as possible, where you are forced into situations where you have to make uneasy political alliances that advantage yourself, while selectively targeting players who may have an advantage elsewhere.  The social element is the true essence of what makes Mario Party so brilliant, and its reliance on omnipresent randomness is what allows the social aspect of that gameplay to work.  For however best laid your plans might be, you ultimately have to think on your feet and adapt to the unpredictable situation at hand.  You may even end up intentionally throwing the game and sacrificing yourself, just to screw over a particular rival and ensure they don’t win.

 

Mario Party is a game with literally endless replay value, with copious turnaround mechanics that mean you can’t ever predict how each match will play out; which makes every game exciting.  No two games will ever play out the same way, and never will that social element ever grow dull.  Mario Party is bullshit, and that’s what makes it brilliant.  It’s also what makes it an utterly miserable and mind numbing single player experience, despite being an incredible multiplayer game.

 

While the first game may come across as rather basic compared to its sequels (indeed, the lack of items does cripple its strategic potential in comparison to later games in the series; because it really was just that groundbreaking of a mechanical addition), the first game has such an incredible mean streak with its board and minigame design that it offers a unique flavour, even in a series with no less than 16 entries at this point.  Every Mario Party game is unique and well worth playing today, and this first game (along with every other game in the series) has remained in my regular multiplayer rotation for the past 26 years for a damn good reason.  It is simply local multiplayer gaming at its absolute finest, and it (along with its two N64 sequels) represent the absolute apex of multiplayer games of that console and indeed the entire console generation.

 

It’s certainly not perfect, indeed, quite a few of its minigames are outright poorly designed, such as Bumper Balls (which is basically guaranteed to end in a draw if two players are even remotely competent), or Piranha Plant Pursuit (a guaranteed victory for the lone player unless they actively try to lose), but those flaws are indeed part of the bullshit that makes Mario Party such a legendary multiplayer title and series as a whole.  I wouldn’t change a thing about it

6 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Feel like you're underselling the NSO version. Because you can play it online, which is a huge deal! The randomness feels cheap when playing with computers, but with 3 other people, it adds to the funny.

That said, 2 and 3 are far better due to the items, which add a much needed element of strategy.

Also Bumper Balls sucks. If 2 people are even remotely competent, the game will end in a draw every time! Don't believe me? Ask S.C.G, BowserBasher, or Dcubed. Awful minigame!

You have to remember that @Cube is approaching the game as an IRL board game aficionado, so naturally he’s gonna detest the random elements of the game; despite that being an inherent facet of the series’ game design.

Mario Party is not a straight board-game simulator though.  It’s a party video game first and foremost that happens to have a board game theme; and the key element of its strategy gameplay comes in the form of risk management.  It would never work as an IRL board game, and that’s the point.

Edited Saturday at 04:43 AM by Dcubed

[BowserBasher]

23 hours ago, Cube said:

I suppose if someone is near the star and has 10-19 coins, you can attempt to sabotage them, but they ultimately feel fairly pointless.

Oh sweet innocent child. @Glen-i, @Dcubed get a load of this guy. He’s never played with us. Sabotage in a mini game is the least of your problems 

[Cube]

I am a bit snobbish about board games, I appreciate what Mario Party does, it just isn't what I like.

South Park
 

• NA release: 21st December 1998
• PAL release: 3rd May 1999
• JP release: N/A
• Developer: Iguana
• Publisher: Acclaim
• N64 Magazine Score: 73%

When it comes to replaying old games, the worst ones to get through aren’t the bad games, but rather those that are just immensely boring, and unfortunately South Park is one of the most boring games I’ve ever played, so much that I was fed up of it before the end of the first level.

South Park avoids being terrible because it’s based on Turok. It was created by the same company alongside Turok 2, running on the same engine. This also brings along its disadvantages, such as the obscene fog, something that is far more egregious in the straightforward, bland and empty environments of South Park.

You play as Cartman, Kyle, Kenny and the other kid from South Park. A comet is causing strange things to attack the town. Chef provides exposition, and that’s about it for the characters and story (there are a lot of characters in the multiplayer, so it’s a bit odd they’re not used in the story). The voice acting itself is true to the show, but lines are repeated so often (and enemy sound effects are so annoying) that I turned down the voice and sound effects half way into the first level.

You play as all four kids as once. As you swap weapons, you’ll transform into the relevant kid that has that weapon. It’s a really odd system and ultimately makes it feel like you’re not really controlling any of them.

While the kinds of enemies change throughout the game (one type per set of levels that make up an “episode”), they mostly consist of two types. There are the basic minions, which generally just run towards you making annoying noises, you’ll have to kill hundreds in each level. I was bored of killing turkeys before the end of the first level. The only slightly interesting enemies are the toys in the final episode.

Then there are the tanks. They spawn more minions while making a dash for the start of the level. If they reach the start, they’ll disappear and at the end of the level you’ll have to defend South Park from them.

The weapons are the most interesting thing in the game. Some, like the dodgeball, you can even catch to regain ammo. There’s a rocket launcher using cows, an alien dance weapon, a sniper chicken that shoot eggs and other whacky weapons. As this was made so early in the show’s life, it may have been the only part where the developers could be creative.

Ultimately, the incredibly tedious level design makes this a chore to play. The levels don’t have anything interesting in them, and the vast, empty spaces and fog means that even though the levels are liner, there are arrows dotted across the map to show you where you need to go. South Park isn’t terrible, but worse: it’s mind-numbingly boring.

Quote

Then, an hour later, you face what must be the one-hundred wave of brown-feathered birdies, whose only behavioural pattern turns out to be taking one look at you and then homing on in. None of the sinister intelligence that made GoldenEye or Turok 2 so complex in involving, and a solid-gold guarantee that round the next corner will be more of the same, 20 times over.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #25

Remake or Remaster?

Perhaps a collection of South Park games, although none reviewed well until recently.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play South Park.

[Dcubed]

I’m gonna confess something… I actually liked South Park 64 as a kid.

It was just fun to mess around with the various weapons (like the Yellow Snowball and the Cow Zapper) and its various cheat codes.

It’s not a great game, clearly made in a hurry and on a budget of a half-eaten packet of crisps + the 50p found down the side of the sofa, but there’s some basic fun to be had with its core mechanics.  That’s not something that can be said with all licensed games, and there are certainly far worse South Park games out there.

Edited Monday at 05:23 AM by Dcubed

[Cube]

Goemon’s Great Adventure
 

• JP release: 23rd December 1998
• PAL release: 18th June 1999
• NA release: 15th September 1999
• Developer: Konami
• Publisher: Konami
• N64 Magazine Score: 69%

While this was called “Mystical Ninja 2 Starring Goemon”, I’ll be sticking with the US name of “Goemon’s Great Adventure” as it’s very different from the first game, being a level-based 2D platformer rather than a 3D platformer/RPG taking place across a vast connected world.

While the story is still a bit silly, it also comes across as a bit more generic, trying to stop a demon from escaping from the underworld, nothing truly as bizarre as the first game.

At first, I hated Goemon’s Great Adventure. The jumps felt needlessly difficult and I found some hidden collectibles only to find I couldn’t make it back to the main path. Eventually, I figured out the double jump (you need to press A again immediately after jumping, not at the apex of the jump) and had a ton more fun.

It’s a decent platformer that can be played in 2-player coop (or a strange 4-player coop if you fully complete everything). Some of the jump do feel a little bit off, and I occasionally found jumps not happening and falling into a put instead. The “UFO-shaped platform” that lets you change character was very common for causing this to happen.

You can swap between four characters, which have different abilities. Goemon’s jump, however, is just too vital for most of the game, so while it’s nice to see enemies get sliced apart from a sword, I only used another character for the underwater sections (as Goemon can’t swim underwater).

To progress to the next level, you just need to reach the end of the level, but you also need to keep an eye out for entry passes, as gates will block your progress without them. Some are hidden in levels, while others are done by completing missions found in the village levels (which are little explorable hubs). There’s also a day/night cycle which causes ghosts to spawn at night, making the game even more challenging.

The bosses are imaginative, but tend to just have one trick that you have to do a few too many times, so they go on a little bit too long. After these bosses, which take place at the end of long, challenging castle levels, is a fight with giant robots.

These are very similar to the ones in the first game, and I’m still not overly fond of them. Your opponent has far too much health and some attacks can’t be dodged unless you charge up your super weapon at the right moment, which requires memorising movements and activating it before they start charging up their special attack.

For me, this was a big let down after how much I loved the first N64 Goemon game. The first truly felt like a grand adventure, while this comes across as more muted. The platforming is well done and part of my issues are just that I don’t like it as much as 3D platforming, however even outside of this, everything, including the story, just doesn’t seem as grand.

Quote

Goemon 2 is not a brave attempt to ‘focus gameplay’, or a return to old-school values, it’s simply misguided, annoying and, at heart, too simplistic and too ordinary. Which is something Goemon and his friends have never been. Here’s hoping for a return to form next time around.

- Jes Bickham, N64 Magazine #29

Remake or Remaster?

A Goemon collection would still be great.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Goemon’s Great Adventure.

[Dcubed]

This is another one of the major 3rd party N64 games I’ve not played yet.  Unlike Mischief Makers though, I actually have a good reason for not playing it yet… it’s mad expensive on the second hand market! (Currently averaging around £110-125 on eBay).

Really hope this one comes to NSO at some point… was always upset that it skipped the VC (despite Bomberman 64 making it).

[Cube]

Resort King 64
 

• JP release: 24th December 1998
• PAL release: N/A
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Taito
• Publisher: Taito
• Original Name: Bakushō Jinsei 64: Mezase! Resort Ō
• N64 Magazine Score: N/A

Resort King 64 (or Life of Explosive Laughter 64: Aim to be Resort King! for the full translated name – I like to simplify names for a “what if it released over here” name). Is a digital board game that is heavily based on one of the worst board games of all time: Monopoly. However, while Monopoly is used as a basis, there is a lot more to this game and you can still win if you make terrible rolls.

The roll and move aspect is still here, unfortunately, with the main types of spaces to land on are shops and houses. Shops are fairly simple: if someone lands on them, they give you money, and they also generate their own income.

Houses aren’t rented out like in Monopoly, so people landing on your houses don’t lose any money. Instead, you need to buy two spaces next to each other and merge them (which demolishes the houses) and the next time you land on them, you can build a hotel. However, as other players can to a “forced takeover” for 3x the original price, you’ll often find that a merged space is no longer yours by the time you next get to it.

There are also multiple kinds of random events. There are space on the board where you draw an event card. Right after I got my first property, I got one that forced me to sell a property. There are ones like “it’s your birthday, get money form other players” and one where a nuke going off nearby forced everyone to lower prices to attract customers.

Every few turns are also other events (like natural disasters) that impact the pricing of various things or change taxes, and if you have a shop of hotel, random events can happen that can lead to good or bad outcomes.

One thing that did impress me was how the CPU players were implemented. The CPU character list is separate from the player one, and they all have their own style of dialogue and will comment on events throughout the game. It’s a simple thing that massively improves playing against CPU players. This is something more digital board games should do.

One big aspect of the game is stocks. You can invest in other players, which increases your capital if they own more stuff. The game shows you how much money you have on hand, plus your total assets. The goal of the game is to reach a certain amount of money, which triggers the end of the game when they reach the bank. I invested in the right person early on and managed to win the game, despite having a single shop and no other properties.

Resort King still isn’t a good game, but it’s a significant improvement over Monopoly. There are also multiple boards (some with unique spaces) and a tournament to work though, so there is variation between games.

Remake or Remaster?

This is more of a curiosity.

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Resort King 64

[Dcubed]

Stocks you say? My inner Boom Street fan is tingling 

Seriously, how have we not gotten a new Itadaki/Boom Street game on Switch yet!? The sheer mismanagement and incompetence at S-E to not make it happen is astounding!

Edited yesterday at 05:49 AM by Dcubed

[Cube]

Chameleon Twist 2
 

• JP release: 25th December 1998
• PAL release: March 1999
• NA release: 14th April 1999
• Developer: Japan System Supply
• Publisher: Sunsoft
• N64 Magazine Score: 55%

The first Chameleon Twist was a game with interesting but fiddly moves that weren’t used to their full potential, so I was hoping that the sequel would fix these issues. Chameleon Twist 2 adds two new moves: you can spin vertically on some bars now, and you can use a parasol to glide. Unfortunately, the issues of the first persist.

Chameleon Twist 2 is a bit longer than the first game, but still incredibly short. This game also drops the multiplayer component completely. The levels are now in more open areas rather than inside small rooms, however this just means loads of random floating platforms, often without rhyme or reason. The levels just feel thrown together without any thought for how they flow.

This haphazard level design is not helped by the most common “puzzle” type in the game: at many points, you’ll have multiple platforms to choose from. One will take you to the next part, the others will kill you, it’s just trial and error.

The camera also remains fixed. You can zoom our slightly and nudge it to the left or right, but you can’t rotate it. You’re entirely reliant on the game’s choice of camera angles, which are pretty bad for the most part. This makes the fiddly process of lining up your tongue more difficult than it should be, not helped by having low margin from touching your target and pressing A to rotate around it, so you’ll often latch on and then jump to your death.

Chameleon Twist still has some interesting ideas and is a good concept, but it does not pull it off very well. The first had the excuse of still being an early N64 title, but Chameleon Twist 2 had plenty to learn from when it started development.

Quote

Twist 1’s camera was a nightmare, but the sequel is like having a nightmare and waking up to find Shane Richie in your bed. Bizarrely, the game defies convention by refusing to let you rotate the view around the main character. Thanks to this semi-fixed angle, even running in a straight line and performing simple jumps becomes taxing.

- Mark Green, N64 Magazine #26

Remake or Remaster?

Merging both into one game and making it work a lot better would allow this game to have a chance – but really, this tongue-based platforming needs to be redone from scratch

Official Ways to get the game

There’s no official way to play Chameleon Twist 

[Glen-i]

Well, at least the playable character actually looks like a bloody chameleon this time!

[Cube]

18 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Well, at least the playable character actually looks like a bloody chameleon this time!

This is something they only did for the Western release - the Japanese version still features the same strange design as the first game. So they only thought about making the character look like a Chameleon after they released it. 

[Glen-i]

2 hours ago, Cube said:

This is something they only did for the Western release - the Japanese version still features the same strange design as the first game. So they only thought about making the character look like a Chameleon after they released it. 

I defy anyone to claim that isn't a change for the better.
Basing something off of the coolest animal, and then going with that design is a crime.

Edited 7 hours ago by Glen-i