The Unoffcial N64: A Visual Compendium Review

 

While we have a pretty decent knowledge of all things retro there are always blind spots. Despite the fact we’ve gathered a modest N64 collection together it would be fair to say that we are far from experts when it comes to the console. This latest Bitmap Book seemed a perfect opportunity to remedy that. So with thoughts of short draw distances and weird looking polygons in our head it’s time to take a look at Nintendo's first foray into the world of 3D.

We are reviewing the book via a digital copy so we can’t comment on general build quality. That said all the previous visual compendium we have looked at have been of an excellent standard and we see no reason why that may have changed. As usual, the cover features a host of characters from iconic games which hits the nostalgia button right from the start with everything from Pokemon to James Bond drawing you in.

The book follows the now proven route in terms of content. You get the usual excellent intro full of information to both make you an instant expert and also pique your interest into what’s to come and an excellent selection of interviews from developers and industry veterans of the time such as motion capture expert Remington Scott and Kevin Bayliss from Rare.

The games are mainly presented with a single, well chosen, screen shot spread over two pages with decent amount of text to give further information. Some games do get three or four pages, such as Paper Mario and the selection is pretty expansive with all the titles you would expect and many more obscure ones as well. The interview with Rare is particularly good and gives a key insight into a lot of the systems most iconic games. It's always a pleasure to look through and find games that look interesting to try and hunt down.

Away from the standard games there is also a look at some of the 64DD games such as Doshin the Giant, cancelled cartridges such as Eternal Darkness and some of the peripherals like the Expansion Pak. There’s also an interesting look at the development of the unique N64 controller. This helps to give a fuller and more well-rounded feel to the book and gives some more context behind the technical thought process and aims of the console.

Overall,the N64 Visual Compendium is up to the same high standards of Bitmap Books other releases. We felt that this book in particular gave us a real urge to go and find a lot of these games and add them to our collection. As we weren’t experts on the console in the first place we found it a great way to get a detailed overview of the interesting and diverse back catalogue and also the systems place in the market in term of historical context. We may not have known much about the development of the N64 before this but after reading through we certainly love it more than ever.

Click here for store link. 

Mario Kart 64 Review (N64)

Starting life on the SNES the Mario Kart series has now graced just about every Nintendo system since and each time a new gimmick or mechanic has been added. Looking way back to the second game in the series we see a distinct lack of gimmicks, some 3D rendered tracks and the introduction of the dreaded blue shell.

Mario Kart 64 had a lot to live up to following on from the hugely popular Super Nintendo game. Fans loved Super Mario Kart (though it’s crazy to think critics weren’t always as keen at the time), and the track design and pure gameplay would be seemingly hard to beat. But with a new powerful system out Nintendo had to try and pull something out of the bag.

The big leap is in terms of the graphics. The tracks are now properly 3D with much more depth of field and solidity than before (though occasional objects on the tracks are still 2D). The game also introduced a completely new selection of tracks to race around and the super racers among you could also unlock mirror mode for the first time. 

All the new tracks (bar about two), are of an exceptional standard and either showcase a simple gimmick or act as speed demon heaven. Many of them have found their way into other Mario Kart games other the years and they showcase just how creative Nintendo was with the franchise when it was in its infancy. There’s ice to slip on, marauding cows and even a train that manages to cross the road just at the wrong time. Every track requires concentration to avoid hitting hazards and a keen eye to spot potential shortcuts.

Most of the cast of the first game return but now Donkey Kong Jnr has been replaced with standard Donkey Kong and poor old Koopa Troopa has been dropped in favour of Wario. Dropping Koopa Troopa was a strange move as he was the first choice for many SNES gamers but then he was far less recognisable than Wario and Nintendo had a new character to promote. We are very glad to see the little guy return in later versions of the game though.

There were also a few changes in the power up departments with continually replenishing floating squares now dishing out weapons instead of the one use question marks on the road. The feather is also long gone and the triple green and red shell pick up came in. This was the first time the leader-smashing blue shell turned up as well. Hated by many, the spikey shell will zoom directly to the racer in first place and knock them up into the air. This is very annoying when it happens to you but great when it hits someone else.

The other big change which divides fans is the rubber band mechanic that is very apparent. Especially noticeable in single player it is almost impossible to actually build up a meaningful lead over your opponents. Even at 50cc you’ll be racing around with one or two racers permanently popping up at the edge of your screen. You can hit them with all sorts of weapons but chances are at the next corner they will magically appear again. 

It’s something we really dislike about the game as it just seems cheap and unfair. The computer also makes ridiculous defensive shots (such as hitting a speeding green shell with a forward thrown banana), and manages to catch you even when you’re hammering through mushroom power ups. In our eyes this is a real mistake as though it keeps things close it makes the player feel there is little point doing anything offensively unless you are on the last corner of the last lap as the computer will just recover almost immediately. At least later versions of the game better hid their rubber band mechanics behind power ups given to those towards the back of the pack.

Overall, returning to Mario Kart 64 left us with more good feelings than bad. The rubber band mechanic is annoying but the tracks and intense racing is some of the best ever seen. The level design is arguably a series highlight and the general feeling of fun remains throughout. It certainly deserves to be in any Nintendo fans collection and it more than holds up against other games in the series. If you can get some friends together it raises up to a whole new level as well with in-room chaos likely to break out very quickly. 

Overall 8/10

F-Zero X Review (N64)

One of Nintendo’s best loves franchises F-Zero has had surprisingly few games developed over the years. Three home console versions, two handheld, one arcade game and an add-on for a device that failed almost immediately are all to show for some of the most iconic characters, locations and music in the Nintendo arsenal. F-Zero X is the second game in the series but does it still hold up?

We’ll get the negativity out of the way right from the off. The biggest criticism you can level at F-Zero X is how bland it looks. Though this is the first time the series moved into 3D it lacks detail on both tracks and crafts but when you spend a bit of time with it that quickly begins to become an irrelevance.

There is arguably a very good reason for the lack of graphical detail and that is that you have thirty unique craft hurtling around roller coaster like tracks without the framerate dropping. Thirty unique vehicles was (and still is), a very impressive number to race against and they each have their own driver, strengths and weakness. This means there is more than enough choice for any gamer to find their perfect match which makes losing that little bit harder to deal with.

The game also has a large amount of tracks to get to grips with. You get four standard cups containing six tracks each and then the X cup which actually randomly generates tracks for you each time you play it. Some of the most iconic versions of F-Zero tracks are found in the game with Big Blue and Mute City among the highlights. 

There isn’t a bad track here and each will test your driving skills to the max. There are giant cylinders, upside down sections, half-pipes and loops to get your head around. Once you finally think you’ve got it mastered you’ll then come up against tracks like the dreaded ‘Big Hand’ (a track shaped like a hand full of open curves), and then watch as you fly off the track at 780mph. 

F-Zero X is not easy and venturing past the Novice setting will require good concentration and an understanding of the track design. The learning curve is steep (though not as tough as F-Zero GX), and players may well have to spend time trying out different craft to succeed. Crossing the line ahead of twenty-nine other racers is a tough thrill to beat though and it’s well worth the effort.

As well as the standard single player mode you get Time Attack and Practice mode to sharpen your skills and the Death Race mode which has you trying to wreck the other vehicles in as quickly a time as possible.  The VS mode allows for four player split screen (and good luck seeing the corners in that), where any player who has wrecked gets a continually spinning slot machine to play with that adds penalties to the racers still in the race.

Unlike racers such as Wipeout and Mario Kart there aren’t any weapons to pick up and use in the. Though you can perform a spinning attack the core experience is about the thrill and speed of pure racing. Using the left and right air brake and hitting the speed boosts on the track is the key to success as is setting up your acceleration to high speed ratio before each race starts. Once a lap has been completed you get access to boost power but this needs to be used sensibly as it uses up the same meter that acts as your health bar and when you blow up it is race over.

Overall, F-Zero X may not be pretty to look at but the simple graphical style at least keeps things clear on the track. It’s in the playing that the game still shines and the thrill of zooming around as the music blares is still hard to find in other games. The track set is one of the best ever and there is still so much to love about the game after all this time. It remains a classic and a game that every N64 owner should hunt out.

Overall 8/10

No Mercy Review (N64)

Retro wrestling games can be a strange thing to go back to. Most consist of simply picking wrestlers with identikit sets of moves and then hammering away at which ever button makes moves happen until the controller breaks or someone wins. There are of course exceptions to the rule such as Fire Pro and also some of the Playstation and N64 wrestlers such as No Mercy. As a newcomer to the game we dived in to see if it still holds up today.

The final game from Acclaim’s Nintendo series built on the excellent foundations laid down in Wrestlemania 2000 and pushed the concept just about as far it could go on the hardware at the time. There’s no button bashing in sight either as the unique grapple system is based on timing and single button presses. A simple system is in place with the A button being used for grapples and B for strikes. Holding down the buttons then allows for stronger but slower moves. Once you have grappled you can then press a direction with A or B to perform different moves.

As a system it works well with the left and right shoulder buttons being used to counter moves and block strikes respectively. Pulling off moves and taunts gradually fills your attitude meter which will eventually start to pulse. When this happens you need to perform a taunt which then turns the pulsing bar into the ‘Special’ bar for a short period of time. When ‘Special’ is flashing you then have access to your superstar’s trademark moves. This includes their finisher but also any other unique turnbuckle or grapple techniques as well.

Though each superstar can carry out a fairly wide range of moves many of them are repeated through the roster. This can make the game feel a little samey after long periods of play but certainly doesn’t derail the experience. The other issue the game has is that it moves at a much slower pace than many grapple fans will be used to. You’ll also have to get your timing right as superstars need to complete their animation cycles in order to do their next move. This means pressing grapple slightly too early will result in nothing happening. 

The biggest thing which shows up the game is when you need to take part in handicap matches. Slamming one opponent and then trying to focus on the next opponent will almost always be too slow and thus allow the remaining wrestler to grab you first. It was the only really frustrating match type we found with all the others (including Ladder Matches, Royal Rumble and Hardcore Matches) working excellently.

The main draw of the game is the excellent single player mode on offer. Each belt has its own set of storylines assigned to it for you to complete. Most belts have a set of around six to eight sections with different branches to take on depending how you get on in each match. Completing a belt storyline allows that belt to be defended in exhibition modes and can then also be defended as the champion’s storyline in the campaign. You also get to see how much of the belt’s storyline has been experienced with a single run through normally resulting in around fifteen to twenty-five percent completion.

There are also a whole host of things to unlock as you play. As well as new moves and costume parts you can also buy a few superstars in the Smackdown shop with the in game currency acquired while playing the single player mode. Most can be unlocked in the game as well and they range from Referee Earl Hebner and Jim Ross to Jerry Lawler and Legend Andre the Giant (though you’ll have to survive a very long and tough survival mode to have any chance of getting him). 

Another real strength of the game is the excellent roster of superstars available. As well as the high profile stars from the era such as The Rock, Steve Austin and HHH you also get pretty much all the rest of the roster at the time. This is important as there are storylines for the Light Heavy Weight, European and Hardcore titles so having a sizable roster of wrestlers who were active in those divisions adds an excellent level of authenticity. It also acts as a snap shot in time of the WWE as you can play as wrestlers such as Crash Holly and Essay Rios who only ever really worked on the lower card. It’s a great way of experiencing the ‘attitude’ era and matching up many peoples favourite wrestlers. The fact that a handful of the superstars have passed away (such as The Big Bossman, Crash Holly, Eddie Guerrero etc.) means this is likely the best way to remember your favourites.

Overall, No Mercy still holds up as an excellent wrestling game and we would recommend any grapple fan to seek it out. It’s a little slow and is obviously not going to look great on huge HD televisions but once you get used to it there is a fun and rewarding game here. The grapple system still works and the story mode is one of the best ever seen, it’s full of things to unlock and play with and it’ll keep you occupied for hours.

Overall 8/10