Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 - All N64 Games

[Dcubed]

4 hours ago, Glen-i said:

I still don't understand why this is based off of Wario Land 3 of all things...

That said, 4 player is neat, but it's very choppy. Not nice to actually play.

About that… according to the TCRF page, the characters were originally going to be more traditional; but seem to have been all changed to Wario Land 3 characters rather late in development… for some bizarre reason.

To be honest though, that’s the most notable thing about this game; because it is a very poor version of Dr Mario otherwise.

Also, fun fact, this game came on the smallest cartridge to ever grace the N64 (a mere 32mbit/4MB, the same size as DKC on SNES).  This was a budget release in every sense of the word.

[Jonnas]

I played Dr. Mario 64 not too long ago. My general sentiment was that this focus on Multiplayer was a mistake, and it ill-suits this series, which is all about relaxing catharsis and taking your own rhythm. The multiplayer mechanics themselves were also far more frustrating than competitive.

That said, there is a mode in this game that works: Flash Mode. Basically, there's three specific viruses that each player needs to get rid of, and whoever does it first, wins. It's a much better idea for Dr. Mario multiplayer, and it's a shame that the game didn't go for that ruleset as the default.

Despite my criticisms, I do love Wario Land 3, and this game happens to be the one other piece of media that acknowledges its existence. I'll always be fond of it for that reason.

[Ashley]

[Glen-i]

14 minutes ago, Ashley said:

 

[Ashley]

"crushing blows"? My my.

[Cube]

Animal Forest

• JP release: 14th April 2001
• EU release: N/A
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Nintendo
• Publisher: Nintendo
• N64 Magazine Score: 80%

While what was released on the 64DD was a failure, the whole venture did end up resulting in a massive success story for Nintendo: the Animal Crossing franchise. The game was inspired by what the 64DD hardware could do, and was probably why some features (such as the clock) ended up being added to the GameCube. When the 64DD failed, the game was scaled back to release on a regular cartridge (with its own internal clock), and only released in Japan. It was originally intended to be a dungeon crawler with the social aspect being in choosing a part, but the focus became on the social aspect, which probably worked out for the better in the long run.

While there is an English patch for the game, it’s still work in progress and crashes a lot, often getting to a state of having to delete saves and start again. As the game ended up releasing on GameCube, I just messed around a bit in this version.

Animal Forest is a relaxing game where you move into a small village, and get given a house. In order to pay it off, you have to do errands for Tom Nook, the owner of the only shop in the town, even if you only need to work when you want to (although it’s the only way to upgrade your house). Outside of this, you can chat to all the villagers, make friends, collect insects, fish, paintings, and fossils, and enjoy events that happen on certain days. You can even write letters to the other animals in the village, or other players using the same cartridge.

One thing that didn’t make it to the N64 version is the museum, which means the collection aspect in this version isn’t quite as compulsive, as you have no way of recording what you have or haven’t collected before. This (along with the Able Sisters design shop) were added to the GameCube version, and both are such a vital part of the game that they feel like they should have been there from the start. One interesting feature that did make it into the N64 version was the ability to play some NES/Famicom games by collecting coloured consoles in-game, although the library was expanded for the GameCube.

The Animal Crossing series is a wonderful and unique kind of game, although the N64 version isn’t much more than a curiosity, as compromises had to be made, and the original intention was later brought to the GameCube, which I will look at in a lot more detail.

Fun

Quote

Despite Animal Forest’s undoubted quality, unless you can read Japanese pretty well, you won’t be able to visit Shigsy’s world as anything other than a simple tourist. You can look, you can play, but you’ll never be able to understand what’s going on. And that’s a shame, because everything that we’ve seen so far suggests that this is yet another example of just why Mr Miyamoto is held in such high regard.

Geraint Evans, N64 Magazine #56. 

[Note: Takashi Tezuka, Katsuya Eguchi and Hisashi Nogami are the main producers and directors behind Animal Forest]

Remake or remaster?

The game got its full potential on GameCube. Although it would be nice for it to get a re-release, as later games focus a lot more on online and aren’t as nice to return to.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to play Animal Forest.

[Dcubed]

Oh wow! The N64 version of AC didn't even have the Museum? That's like 90% of the entire point of the game!

[BowserBasher]

I didn't know Animal Forrest didn't have the museum. How did they ever cope?

I would love to be able to enjoy this version on AC again. Please Nintendo, make some big changes to what we have now and take it back to this. we've had too many of the same scrolling world with just a few changes.

[Cube]

Derby Stallion 64
 

• JP release: 10th August 2001
• EU release: N/A
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: ParityBit
• Publisher: Media Factory
• N64 Magazine Score: N/A

The second horse racing game for the N64. This one has a lot more focus on betting than G1 Stable, so I could at least see some races, which include text-based Japanese commentary. As you start earning more money, you can get involved more into the business management side of things, as you buy, trade, and breed horses to give you an advantage in races.

This was another late N64 game which was initially developed for the 64DD. This was originally going to use the Game Boy link cable (which was part of the 64DD project, but never for released) to allow players to hide their bets from others in multiplayer.

?

Remake or remaster?

The series is still ongoing and evolving, with the latest game on Switch. Although still only in Japanese.

Official Ways to get the game

There is no official way to play Derby Stallion 64

[Dcubed]

Paritybit are the developers of Calciobit/Nintendo Pocket Football Club BTW.  Amazingly enough, they’re still going! With their latest game being Derby Stallion Switch, released in 2020.  Come to think of it, their next game should be due this year… wonder if they’ll be jumping in on Switch 2’s launch window…

[Cube]

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
 

• NA release: 21st August 2001
• EU release: 12th October 2001
• NA release: N/A
• Developer: Neversoft, Edge of Reality
• Publisher: Activision
• N64 Magazine Score: 90%

Most of what I said about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 still applies here: while this is a perfectly functional port of a PlayStation game, some of the cutbacks – especially the heavily reduced soundtrack – make this more of a “it’ll do if you don’t have a PlayStation” kind of game. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 does bring some new features, such as the manual move to better string combos together (although I found it rarely actually continued a combo when I played) and more consistent levels across the game.

You could also unlock Spider-Man in the game (made possible due to the developers also making a Spider-Man game). It’s interesting to see how licensed characters could be handled back then – he isn’t mentioned at all on the box, he’s just a secret unlockable in the game, just a bit of a bonus, rather than something purely done for marketing reasons. One thing of note is that this was the N64’s final game in Europe, and the last N64 game reviewed by N64/NGC Magazine.

Fun

Quote

Despite being something of an ugly duckling, and hardly the big-bang exit we’d have hoped for the N64, Tony Hawk’s proves itself to be fairly indicative for the console’s catalogue as a whole – a host to some seriously entertaining gaming.

Geraint Evans, NGC Magazine #62

Remake or remaster?

The remake of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is the best way to play most of the game, but if you want Spider-Man (plus some bonus levels), you’ll need to check out Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2x on the original Xbox.

Official Ways to get the game

The remake is available on most platforms.

[Dcubed]

Everything I said about the THPS1 port also applies to this THPS2 port as well.  Thoroughly mediocre port job that could’ve been much better, had the N64 version been a priority.

But considering that the N64 was very much on its last legs and on the way out by this point? The deprioritisation of this port makes perfect sense here.

[killthenet]

THPS2 on the N64 was probably the first time I found a game unplayable because of the frame rate. I had loved THPS3 on PS2 to death so when I saw there was a Tony Hawk game available for the N64 me and my brother decided to buy a copy but first impressions were very disappointing - it just felt so rough in comparison to what I had become accustomed to on the PS2 that I couldn't really get any enjoyment out of it. It was also my first experience of the 'old style' Tony Hawk games, with reduced scope to the levels and goals compared to THPS3 so it just didn't live up to expectations at all and, given how expensive N64 games were, we decided to take it back to the shop and use the money for something else.

[S.C.G]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the N64 was my first frame of reference for the game, and probably the last title that I got from Special Reserve... except I didn't buy it, I won it in a competition. The subject of which, was to write an article about the impending launch of the GameCube in the UK, and I ended up winning.

The prize was a videogame of my choice, and being that it was new out at the time, and expensive... I went with THPS2, as there was nothing else out for the N64 at the time that I either wanted or didn't have, so for me, it was a solid choice.

I played this game for hours, me and my brothers loved taking turns trying to go for high-scores, or playing the various multiplayer modes such as "HORSE" which was a favourite, particularly when one of you would look away from the screen for a moment, while the word in place of the default of "HORSE" was being changed, and then gradually finding out what choice word had been selected for the unfortunate lesser player of that particular match.

I'd never played a game like it at the time, and I never have since, though these days, I'd probably default to the superior Dreamcast version, or the Xbox port, which was NTSC exclusive, though I might be able to play it on my Xbox Crystal, so I should probably check that out when I next decide to play the console.