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F-1 World Grand Prix

NA release: 27th July 1998

PAL release: 14th September 1998

JP release: 18th December 1998

Developer: Paradigm

Publisher: Video System

N64 Magazine Score: 93%

In my review of GT64, I touched upon how racing simulation games have aged much worse than more arcade-style ones. F-1 World Grand Prix seems to be a clearer example of that as, while GT64 was always a poor game, F-1 World Gran Prix got great review scores – unfortunately, can’t get into it.

Compared to F1 Pole Position, this is a much, much nicer looking game. The tracks have detail that you can see at a distance, with a good amount of detail of the world beyond the track. There’s still some pop-in, but it’s more for finer details, so you can see the track itself with no issue. There are some options for realism and assists, plus adjusting the amount of laps.

One great feature is the challenge mode, which pits you in specific situations based on real races. You have to perform in a similar way (or better) than what the actual professionals did, doing things like taking advantage of other cars using the pit stop, maintaining a lead with a broken gearbox and blocking a rival so that your teammate can win.

Sadly, I just couldn’t get used to the driving, with or without assists. I’m not a fan of first person view and in third person, the camera kept tiring to “help” by twisting into turns, which completely threw me off every time it happened as I kept thinking that I was properly aligned (as the camera was looking down the track) while my car was off to the side – of course, it could just be that I’m also a terrible driver.

Even with that, I can see the effort put into the came and that it was probably a great experience when it game out.

Unsurprisingly, given the graphics behind it, the game plays extraordinarily well too. The handling is realistically ticklish, and almost certainly designed with an analogue steering wheel in mind. There are superb touches as well, like double tapping the throttle button to ‘floor’ the accelerator and double tapping the brake to lock the wheels. Why’s that useful? If you’ve ever seen an F1 driver fling their car through a 180° to right it on the spot after a spin, then you’ll know.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

Newer F1 games are more refined.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get F-1 World Grand Prix

[alln64games]

Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64

JP release: 24th July 1998

PAL release: N/A

NA release: N/A

Developer: Hudson

Publisher: Hudson

N64 Magazine Score: 23%

B-Daman is a series of toys that are little figures that shoot marbles, with the original ones being based on Bomberman before expanding a lot, eventually spawning its own manga series, Super B-Daman. The video game, Battle Phoenix 64 is a minigame collection with 10 minigames.

You control your selected B-Daman and most games involve shooting, with a few basic shooting galleries. One fun one involves a bursting a balloon on spikes, but you need to reveal the panels underneath first. Unfortunately, the aiming on all of them are fairly poor. Some have you moving a target on screen and is very slow, and others have you aiming a row of dots and is not precise.

With only 10 minigames (some you need to unlock in singleplayer before you can play in multiplayer), they all get tiresome very quickly, especially as a few of them last too long for how simple they are.

It’s not an atrocious game, there just isn’t much to it.

Having played Battle Phoenix for far far too long (and for much longer than it deserved), I popped outside, and shook my fist at the sky. I then returned to my room, moved my N64 and TV into the wardrobe, climbed inside, and closed the door firmly behind me. When someone comes to remove the Battle Phoenix cart with sterilised tongs, I’ll consider coming back out again…

- James Price, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

This doesn’t deserve any special treatment.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Super B-Daman: Battle Phoenix 64

[alln64games]

Rakugakids

JP release: 23rd July 1998

PAL release: 4th December 1998

NA release: N/A

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

N64 Magazine Score: 80%

Rakugakids is odd in that it came out in Japan and Europe – but not North America. It’s a 1-on-1 fighting game where magic crayons have brought the creations of children to life. This created a fun cast of inventive characters – showing Clayfighter that something fun can be done with its concept – these fighters even change shape as they perform moves.

It has a really lovely visual style, and some neat touches like shadows and a stage that features a mirror. The fighting itself it a ton of fun, and I’m not someone that enjoys the genre. There are a lot of moves for each characters – the moves reminded me of Super Smash Bros in a way.

The presentation and how much fun it is to play – even the movement and jumping feels extremely fluid – makes this one of the N64’s standout fighting games, which is a nice change for a platform littered with poor examples.

The way fighting works has obviously been carefully thought out, and belies Rakuga Kid’s image as a novelty title.

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine 22

Remake or remaster?

A crisper looking version of Rakugakids would be lovely to see.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Rakugakids.

[alln64games]

Super Robot Spirits

JP release: 17th July 1998

NA release: N/A

PAL release: N/A

Developer: Banpresto

Publisher: Banpresto

N64 Magazine Score: 58%

A fighting game featuring giant mechs from various anime – although to my uncultured mind, this is a Megazord fighting game. In the story mode, each “episode” has some story before each fight, which is a nice touch.

Unfortunately, this is another dull beat-’em-up. The large mechs don’t really move like large objects, more like people moving in slow motion. The really poor levels also don’t make them come across as large machines, either, so the impact of fighting with giant mechs is just completely lost. The fighting itself is very generic as well, with a few moves and not much else. There is a hover mechanic, but it doesn’t amount to much.

This just seems like it was quickly put together to cash in on the various anime shows included in it.

There are plenty of options, such as a time attack and survival mode, and a couple of secret characters to find, but no amount of window dressing can disguise the fact that this is very average, and a waste of a fantastic license.

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

This doesn’t need much attention – although the concept done well in a new game would be great to see.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Super Battle Robots

[alln64games]

Mission: Impossible

JP release: 14th July 1998

NA release: 27th October 1998

PAL release: 6th November 1998

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 91%

Being a movie tie-in to an action spy film gives Mission Impossible a lot to live up to, as it was always going to be compared to GoldenEye. Like GoldenEye, Mission Impossible had origins on the SNES before being made for the Nintendo 64 instead, as well as offering objective-based gameplay, this time from a third person perspective.

The first mission impossible takes a lot of goes to get used to how the game works, form movement and the camera (in the first level, it’s a very high camera, but you can change it to behind Ethan Hunt, who is not based on Tom Cruise). You have to find a certain guard, knock him out and use the face maker to use his image as a disguise – it feels a lot like an early Hitman game.

After the “cold open” levels, you the need to rescue some fellow agents and recover a list form an embassy. The stating level is great, although very much trial and error, as you are undercover and have to lure people to the correct places. It’s a very strong start to the game. There is only one correct way to do things, but it creates the Hitman film really well for its age.

Then the game suddenly becomes a strange corridor-based shooter as you blow up crates and jump over pits of acid. It feels completely at odds with the previous levels and just comes across as padding.

Thankfully the following level is much more like the Embassy level, and I was even able to mess things up and fix them without failing the mission, which is a nice touch. If there were more levels like this in the game, it would be great, but unfortunately, this is the last proper mission in this style. There’s a few small touches of stuff like this throughout, but unfortunately no levels that fill like living areas.

Instead, the rest of the game is some linear corridors, a lot of shooting (with really terrible aiming) and some platforming sections with floating platforms. The friendly AI that follows you is also terrible and makes Natalya look like AI by comparison. On one level, Candice claimed she was fine, before walking right to a guard looking at her, saying “he snuck up on me” and getting shot.

While the rest of the levels aren’t great, there is a surprising amount of variety as missions feel quite different. There’s one where you use spray pain to block cameras, one in and then on top of a train (which look quite impressive for the N64), a sniper mission, the famous laser scene from the film and navigating a tunnel by jumping on trucks.

There are a lot of frustrating aspects. Sometimes you’ll try punching a guard, but they’ll automatically arrest you – but that only happens on some levels and even then it doesn’t happen all the time. The game is also very picky about what you do, so you’ll often try something only to fail the mission.

After a very strong start, Mission Impossible loses its footing, although even then it’s still mostly a decent game from that point onwards.

The actual ideas behind the game are fantastic. Spraying blue paint across CCTV cameras, dodging searchlights, knocking people out in the bogs and disguising yourself as them, picking up clues from conversations, working out which gadgets go with which situations, Mission, at heart, does actually feel like a spy sim. It’s just that the executions is so lacklustre, it’s hard to see the positives.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #19

Remake or remaster?

With some refined gameplay mechanics, a remastered version could be a lot of fun.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Mission Impossible

[alln64games]

F-Zero X

JP release: 14th July 1998

NA release: 27th October 1998

PAL release: 6th November 1998

Developer: Nintendo

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 91%

I loved F-Zero GX on GameCube, but I’ve never played the N64 version before. It turns out I love this version, too, even though it feels a lot more brutal than I remember GX being. This is Nintendo’s take on the sci-fi racer genre, and it does a great job at it.

F-Zero X features a whopping 30 racers at once (each with a unique ship) and – even with some obvious rubber banding – they all move like actual opponents, making mistakes and reacting to your presence. The game goes a great job at remaining smooth by adjusting the level of detail as the framerate is perfect throughout. The tracks twist and turn and it’s all incredibly fast.

One key part of the game is the energy bar. On top of representing your health, it’s also your boost. There are places to recharge on the track (usually near the end of a lap) so a key part of the game is deciding how much you’re willing to risk in order to go faster. Blow up and you lose a life and have to start the race again.

The tracks in F-Zero X start out quite gentle, but things take a sudden turn in the last track of the second cup (there are four cups in total, with 6 tracks each) and you’ll start getting thin portions of the track with no edges – fall off and you’re not placed back like other games, you lose a life and start again. Just surviving the tracks becomes the main challenge until you start learning them.

Not every choice is made against the player, though. You have barge attacks and a spin attack at your disposal. Take someone else and they won’t score any points for that round. To make good use of this, the game even highlights you rival (the opponent with the highest score) so you can try to target specific opponents and pick them out of the crowd.

On top of the leagues (which have four difficulties) and multiplayer, there’s a few extra modes. There’s an unlockable X cup that serves you up procedurally generated tracks and a “death race” mode where you race around a short track trying to take out every other racer (I personally would prefer if you could do this on other tracks as well).

F-Zero X is a great game that is quite full of stuff to do. It’s still a ton of fun today.

F-Zero X is fast. While other developers may have chosen to polish its exterior, Nintendo have created one of – it not, the most – well-judged and wonderfully balanced racing games we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing.

- James Price, N64 Magazine #22

Remake or remaster?

A remake of F-Zero GX with all the tracks and features of F-Zero X added in would be amazing – although it shouldn’t be based on this version of F-Zero X, but we’ll get into that when I play the Japanese-only expanded version of the game.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no way to buy a new copy of F-Zero X, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak.

Re-releases

2004: iQue

2007: Wii Virtual Console

2016: Wii U Virtual Console

2022: Nintendo Switch Online (Subscription Only)

[alln64games]

Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth

JP release: 10th July 1998

NA release: 15th December 1998

PAL release: N/A

Developer: Hudson

Publisher: Hudson (JP), Electro Brain (NA)

N64 Magazine Score: 62%

Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth is a very traditional style sci-fi scrolling shooter. While it features some nice 3D graphics, it doesn’t try to utilise 3D in its gameplay or camera usage, it just keeps things simple. I was quite surprised that this game worked well with widescreen, as with the fixed camera, you would expect everything out of view to be removed.

However, keeping things simple works for this genre. You can pick between a few ships that have different weapons – all of which can be upgraded by collecting power-up, which level down if you get destroyed. Everything is fast, smooth and feels polished.

Outside of the main mode – which has some hidden paths to unlock bonus missions – there’s also a couple of timed modes for quick high score challenges. It’s a decent example of its genre.

Gameplay is predictably and reassuringly simple. Just select one of three distinctly different types of ship and head off into battle. The controls will be familiar to anyone that has ever played a SNES or arcade scrolling shooter.

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #19

Remake or remaster?

A regular re-release would be fine.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth

[alln64games]

Penny Racers

JP release: 30th June 1998

NA release: 4th February 1999

PAL release: 5th March 1999

Developer: Locomotive Corporation

Publisher: Takara (JP), THQ (NA/PAL)

N64 Magazine Score: 58%

Known as Choro-Q in Japan, this racing game is base on a series of pullback toy cars. The all have a cute deformed style and the racing game brings that to life, with upgradable cars and weapons to use against other racers.

The customisation and upgrades are a key part of Penny Racers. There’s a lot of different vehicles to choose from and you can alter the with colours and different components – some change your stats and others alter your appearance. As you finish races, the top three racers can steal components from the bottom three racers.

While the game is cute and charming, the actual racing is unfortunately not much fun. It takes ages to get up to full speed and other racers coming near you will knock you about. I also found my car to just roll over a lot, particularly on long turns and I really couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong. I eventually learned to anticipate the rolls so I could plan the quick turns and performed fairly well – unless I got stuck in the middle of the pack and bashed about by others.

There’s also a nice track editor in the game, with a few options for different kinds of straights, turns and curves. Unfortunately, there’s only one (fairly hideous) style to the track, so they’ll all look the same, but it’s a really nice feature.

I wish I could enjoy Penny Racers more than I did, the setting is adorable and I like some of the ideas. Hopefully the sequel will sort out some of the issues.

There are just too many far superior alternatives available, and a lot more exciting ways to get rid of that spare cash that’s burning a hole in your pocket. How about a nice calculator and ruler set? A plastic skeleton that glows in the dark? Or maybe some new bags for the vacuum cleaner…

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #25

Remake or remaster?

There’s a bunch of Choro-Q games, so some kind of compilation could be interesting – just with improved gameplay.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Penny Racers.

[alln64games]

Off Road Challenge

NA release: 30th June 1998

PAL release: 15th September 1998

JP release: N/A

Developer: Midway, Avalanche Software

Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (PAL)

N64 Magazine Score: 21%

Developed by Midway and Avalanche (the ones who made the Tak games and Hogwarts Legacy) is another port of an arcade racer, this one has you driving large 4×4 trucks across some very bumpy environments.

Off Road Challenge is very clearly an immensely ugly game. Everything looks low quality and messy and there’s a load of pop-in and gaps in the world. The game does mange to make its 6 tracks feel distinct (there’s also two bonus ones which look similar to some of those), but when none of it looks good, that doesn’t matter much.

However, even though the game is nowhere near good, I found it to be rather enjoyable. The handling is surprisingly good – one of the most responsive I’ve encountered in a car game on the N64 and there’s such a great sense of fun with the game. Everything surrounding this is bad, but the core driving is just entertaining.

One bizarre thing is that your car starts off as not good enough to win, you need to collect money found in the level (and awarded if you place high) to buy upgrades for your car, which then help you out in later races. One huge problem – if you leave the game to swap vehicle or turn the game off, all these upgrades are on and you need to do a few races to catch up again.

It’s ugly and has some rather odd features, but it’s still kind of fun.

Off Road Challenge as a whole could be used to simulate just how blurry life would be if you sprayed half a bottle of Harpic into your eyes.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #19

Remake or remaster?

Being another Midway racer, a collection of their racing games would be nice.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Off Road Challenge.

[alln64games]

Banjo-Kazooie

NA release: 29th June 1998

PAL release: 17th July 1998

JP release: 6th December 1998

Developer: Rare

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 90%

Banjo-Kazooie is possibly my favourite game, something I utterly love. I play it around Christmas every year and never get tired of it. But why is this? What makes Banjo-Kazooie such a lovable game to play?

For starters, Banjo-Kazooie has a lot of character, from Banjo-Kazooie themselves to the worlds, settings and music. Even characters like Colliwobble (a giant cauliflower with googly eyes) has a magical style and charm to it. I think it’s Rare’s love for googly eyes, so much stuff has it, including boulders, blocks of ice and boxes of TNT. The world of Banjo-Kazooie is just alive in a joyful way.

Then you have the heroes Banjo and Kazooie. Banjo is a fairly straight character. For the most part he’s kind and gentle and wants to do good. If he was completely on his own, he may be a bit bland, but luckily his trust friend Kazooie lives in his backpack. Kazooie is rude, sassy and will mock anything. Together, it makes for great banter between them and other characters. And all dialogue is text with grunts, which helps make their world remain unique. I really hope any (if there are any) future games keep this as I’m not sure how I’d feel about proper voice acting.

Banjo-Kazooie is a 3D collect-a-thon platformer, which doesn’t go overboard on its collectibles. Banjo and Kazooie have a lot of moves crammed onto a controller, but they all work really well. There are some slight niggles, like trying to change the camera while aiming an egg can activate your golden feathers, but the platforming itself feels extremely precise, with any missed jumps never feeling like the game’s fault. The camera also functions fine for the most part, but there’s a couple of areas with some forced angles that don’t work, such as the path to Mad Monster Mansion which is a narrow walkway that can be difficult to see.

There are 9 worlds in Banjo-Kazooie. These each have 10 jiggies to collect, 100 notes, two honeycomb pieces (which increase your health). One jiggy in every level will be finding all five Jinjos hidden in each level. The levels will be considered small by today’s standards, but I think that they are ideal. It’s a size where you can search for everything without tedium or growing tired of it. Each world has its own charm.

Mumbo’s Mountain is a great introductory world. It’s a great introduction to how jiggies are hidden. Some are out in the open, some given to you by characters, some by activating switches and some by smashing things or just trying to shoot eggs into any hole you find. It sets you up for handling the later levels. It also introduces the important Talon Trot move, which allows you to use Kazooie’s legs to traverse steep slopes, and the layout of the level encourages heavy use.

Also here is the first Mumbo Skull. Enter here and you’ll find the crazy shaman Mumbo Jumbo. If you’ve found enough Mumbo tokens, he’ll cast a spell on you and you’ll turn into a termite. These transformations are another wonderful thing about Banjo-Kazooie. They’re not in every level so aren’t overused, but they turn you into different animals (or objects), which is required for certain jiggies. They’re all wonderful to use and are simply a joyous thing to have in the game.

After Mumbo’s Mountain, we get Treasure Trove Cove, a beach level filled with crabs. Mambo’s Mountain also introduces you to a pound attack (using Kazooie’s beak), which is used here for enemies and tasks. Flying is also introduced, as Kazooie can use red feathers to fly around the map. Treasure Trove Cove is quite open, with a jiggy that encourages flying around it. There’s also a very scary shark in the water. It’s a really wonderful level.

Next up is the weakest part of Banjo-Kazooie: Clanker’s Cavern. It’s a murky underwater level, and looks fairly dull. I do like Clanker – a big whale that has been turned into a horrifying trash disposal monster, but is actually a nice but depressed individual, but there’s a lot of swimming in this level, including a very deep dive that terrified me as a kid. That said, I grow more and more fond of the level each time I play the game.

Bubblegloop Swamp swiftly returns to form, especially because of adorable crocodile Banjo. This level is split up into segments, and then croc Banjo can traverse new areas, including a fairly difficult minigame with Mr Vile, sneaky crocodile (although a move from a later level can make this easier if you wish).

Then the wonderful wintery world of Freezeezy Peak, a level revolving around a giant snowman. One slight niggle for me with this is that you can’t finish the level initially, so I’d recommend a quick trip into the next level to grab the speed trainers, but it’s only a minor hassle. In Freezeezy Peak you get to climb the giant snowman’s scarf, have aerial fights with aggressive smaller snowmen, turn into a Walrus and take part in races – WAHEEEY!

From the snow straight to the sand of Gobi’s Valley. This is one of the more challenging levels, with pyramids, temples and sphinxes holding challenges you need to complete. One of these requires a perfect run with the speed boots, and still takes me multiple attempts each playthrough. That said, there is still a load of fun and charm.

Up next is for some halloween fun in Mad Monster Mansion, a haunted house and grounds. Initially, I found this level to be incredibly daunting, but traversal isn’t as difficult as initially seems, and getting around the level is quite fun. There’s lots of rooms to explore and even a toilet to explore. Brilliantly, the toilet itself is also a character called Loggo. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that Banjo-Kazooie loves puns. Some people may pretend to groan at puns, but everyone loves them.

Rusty Bucket Bay is the penultimate level, with some very tough challenges. The water in this level drains your air much faster than previous levels, so even though there’s a lot of water, you only spend small stints in it. There’s lots of hidden rooms to find, with some fun and cute details hidden in them. The transformation in this level is also super adorable.

And last is the seasonal Click Clock Wood. This is split into four “sections” that you open up over time, each is the whole world in a different season, and some jiggies require doing parts in each season, although if you fully explore each season before moving on, you don’t have to go back and forth. It’s lovely to see all the changes throughout the seasons.

Connecting these together is Grunty’s tower. Grunty is an evil witch who wants to make herself beautiful (by stealing the beauty from Banjo’s sister, Tooty, who became a staple of all future Banjo games…either that or she was relegated to a missing person’s poster and forgotten about). You explore the tower, finding jigsaws to fill in with the jiggy pieces you collect to open the main worlds. There are also 10 jiggies hidden here, which require you to hit a switch in each level to reveal (except for one, which is given to you at the start of the game).

And once you get past all the levels and go to defeat Gunty, it doesn’t go straight into a boss battle (that comes later), instead you have to complete Grunty’s Furnace Fun, a trivia board game where you have to answer questions about the game (or complete some mini games from previous levels). These questions could be about Grunty herself, pictures of places in levels to identify, trivia about characters or identifying sound and music.

Music. That’s a very important part of what makes Banjo-Kazooie work. Composer Grant Kirkhope did an absolutely phenomenal job of creating some tunes that you will be humming for the rest of your lives. They also work with the levels extremely well, adding to the magical experience. The music will also vary slightly based on different locations of each level or going underwater, all with perfectly smooth transitions between them. The music to Banjo-Kazooie is simply heaven for your ears, and will put a smile on your face for the entirety of your playthrough. Even other people in your house will start humming the tunes.

Replaying Banjo-Kazooie takes between 6 and 10 hours, although this will be a lot longer the first time. It’s a great length for annual revisits and is an extremely well-contained piece of media. You can follow it by its sequel, Banjo-Tooie (as I do every few years), but it works extremely well on its own. The entirety of the game is just full of joy, accompanied by very happy tunes and a sense that everyone working on the game was enjoying themselves.

There are two versions of this game, the original on N64 and a remaster version on Xbox. I highly recommend the Xbox version, as the better controller design helps a lot, and the widescreen HD image is much nicer to see. The main other difference between the two is that the Xbox version is easier, as it saves what notes you have collected. In the original, you need to collect all 100 in one go, which I believe was mainly due to memory limits on the N64 and not the original intention.

Banjo-Kazooie is my perfect game.

And stop playing you won’t. You can always tell when you’ve got a great game on your hands: when it starts to warp time. 16 straight hours of Banjo, leaving only for calls of nature – we had food and drink brought in.

- James Ashton, N64 Magazine #18

Remake or remaster?

The Xbox remaster is pretty great, although releasing on more platforms and a few fixes and refinements would be great.

Official ways to get the game.

Banjo-Kazooie is available on Xbox One/Series and is included in Rare Replay. You can also rent it on Switch via Nintendo Switch Online

Re-releases

2008: Xbox Live Arcade

2015: Rare Replay

2023: Nintendo Switch Online (Subscription Only)

[alln64games]

Dezaemon 3D

JP release: 26th June 1998

NA release: N/A

PAL release: N/A

Developer: Athena

Publisher: Athena

N64 Magazine Score: 82%

For the N64’s first sci-fi scrolling shooter, this is a bit of an odd one, as it isn’t a specific game, but rather a creation kit for making you own sci-fi shoot-’em’-up game. The software itself is quite complicated and isn’t easy to use, even with a translated manual and Google Lens – although I don’t think it’s the game’s fault.

There is a whole host of editing features, you can modify textures, modify models, modify the level layouts with effects and enemies and even design your own music. There are a bunch if icons and I imagine you can do a fair amount with it once you got used to how it worked.

The best I could do was do was some kind of takeaway food (the model is already in the game) shooting above water that moves around in waves. I did try to do a bit more, but I somehow accidentally reset all the custom data.

Dezaemon 3D does come with a couple of built in games, presumably made using the creation software of the game as examples of what you can do. This is a vertical scrolling shooter and near the start you come across a boss and an immense amount of bullets, but the detail is quite impressive.

The second game changes viewpoint depending on what stage you’re on, with a top down view on stage one and a side view on stage 2.

This is rather fascinating software, and it seems like it could do a lot.

So, as Solid Gear ably demonstrates, Dezamon is perfectly capable of producing a commercial-standard shooter. Of course, games design isn’t easy, and the average user might struggle to produce anything half as good, especially if they don’t understand the instructions, but given an English translation (stranger things have happened), and a lot of spare time, we’d just buy it for the music editor.

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #19

Remake or remaster?

I don’t really know enough about games creation software to see how this sits now of if there’s anything similar available.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Dezamon 3D

[alln64games]

Cruis’n World

PAL release: 25th June 1998

NA release: 30th September 1998

JP release: N/A

Developer: Midway, Eurocom

Publisher: Nintendo

N64 Magazine Score: 38%

While still nowhere near a good game, Cruis’n World has significant improvements over Cruis’n USA. It’s still an arcade-style racing game with a lot of courses, although this time it’s based across the world instead of just the USA.

This gives us a much bigger array of visual variety. The visuals of the levels are very stereotypical, but it means the locations are very easy to identify and they all stand out from each other. The track design is also much more varied and isn’t almost entirely 4-lane roads. With the amount of tracks – including one on the moon – it’s certainly one of the stronger N64 racing games when it comes to tracks. There’s also a really nice variety in cars, mostly knock-offs of real ones, but also fun ones like a double-decker.

Unfortunately, it’s all let down by the handling. One slight touch of the analogue stick and you swerve wildly across the road, with a drift that makes it even harder to control your vehicle. Winning is also very difficult because the other racers are so bad – they’ll often crash and you’ll end up in the pile up (well, more a bunch of cars spinning wildly in the air) as they block the road, letting the cars up front get ahead in such a way that you can be perfect for the rest of the race and not be able to catch up.

I got fed up of this pretty quickly and resorted to using cheats. Strangely, the only track I won legitimately was one of the “expert” ones. It’s a shame because with better handling, it would be a very enjoyable game.

Cruis’n World, then, is better than its predecessor. But not by much. In fact, the difference between them is like the difference between a Lada and an Austin Allegro. Sigh.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

A collection of the tracks and vehicles from these games with some better gameplay and handling would be an interesting package.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Cruis’n World

[alln64games]

Mortal Kombat 4

NA release: 23rd June 1998

PAL release: 15th September 1998

JP release: N/A

Developer: Midway, Eurocom

Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (PAL)

N64 Magazine Score: 84%

The big Mortal Kombat game for this generation of consoles, and this one brings the graphics into full 3D. After experimenting with a few styles of graphics and gameplay with their earlier N64 fighting games, Mortal Kombat 4 settles on polygon models that manage to capture the spirit of the 2D sprites pretty well.

The gameplay also feels quite solid to me. It sticks to working from a 2D point of view with some slight 3D movement from dodging. One new feature is the ability to use items like rocks to throw at opponents, and each person can bring out a weapon with a special move (which the opponent can also use if dropped).

There’s a few modes such as an endurance mode fighting random opponents, the standard arcade mode and some tournament options for multiplayer. The practice mode also gives you a move list, but this is only on a static screen and you can’t pin one to try.

This seems like the N64’s most solid fighter so far, although it doesn’t try to do anything special either.

The MK games have always looked a bit tatty, but this latest release is fast, its animation crisp and largely convincing. For a series renowned for its ugly countenance, to spawn such an aesthetically pleasing update is akin to, say, Frankenstein and Medusa having a kid who grows up to appear on Baywatch.

- James Price, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

A Mortal Kombat collection would be good.

Official ways to get the game.

The PC version of Mortal Kombat 4 is available on GoG.

[alln64games]

Mike Piazza’s Strike Zone

NA release: 18th June 1998

PAL release: N/A

JP release: N/A

Developer: Devil’s Thumb

Publisher: GT Interactive

N64 Magazine Score: N/A

Not knowing the name Mike Piazza, the name made me think of bowling. Unfortunately, this is another baseball game, and by far the worst one so far on the N64. It’s definitely not helped by the horrific and extremely ugly graphics, either.

In Strike Zone, there’s no indicator for aiming the bat. I’m not entirely sure you actually able to aim as I really couldn’t tell any difference when moving the analogue stick. This doesn’t help with hitting it though, as the strange angle used makes it very difficult to judge where the ball is.

Fielding is also a mess, as it doesn’t change to the closest fielder until far too late and it feels like you’re just yelling at the players rather than directly controlling them.

There is a cheat where you can turn almost any hit into an instant home run, and the game can be amusing to see the unrealistic distances it produces.

Remake or remaster?

There’s much better baseball games.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Mike Piazza’s Strike Zone

[alln64games]

Virtual Chess 64

NA release: 10th June 1998

PAL release: July 1998

JP release: N/A

Developer: Titus

Publisher: Titus

N64 Magazine Score: 76%

I wasn’t expecting much from Virtual Chess as it’s just chess, but at least you can’t mess up chess – or so I thought. Against all odds, Titus have managed to achieve the impossible and create a chess game that looks bad and controls poorly.

The analogue stick or d-pad move the cursor, but way, way too fast so you need to perform the quickest tap or move the stick immensely slightly. With the 3D view, you expect the c-buttons to control the camera and they do – at least two of them do. c-right spins the board right while c-left spins the board up. It’s impossible to find a good camera angle and adjusting is itself a big pain.

When a piece is taken, you see the pieces fighting (similar to Battle Chess), only the designs of al the characters are absolutely hideous and carry no charm whatsoever. As it doesn’t happen with the other pieces on show, it also feels completely disjointed from the main game.

You can choose a 2D board. I turned it on and was presented with a really baffling design. I checked the options and found no way to change it – although I eventually figured out that c-left and c-right can change the the look of the board and pieces.

Now, there is one aspect that Virtual Chess is competent in, and that’s playing chess. The problem is that it’s too good. While it’s got 17 levels of difficulty, the first beginner level will trounce most people – especially if they’re using the 3D view that makes it very difficult to judge how pieces can move.

There are plenty of good chess games, but this is just trash. I’m amazed that it got good reviews

The game itself is pretty difficult, as you’ve expect but, throughout the contest, you can seek the CPU’s ideal move by pressing the B button. Strangely, though, it’ll sometimes tell you to move to a certain place – which you do, trusting its judgement – and then move in on your King and devastate your second line. This back-stabbing occurs pretty frequently so, for the first timer, there’s really very little margin for error.

- Tim Weaver, N64 Magazine #18

Remake or remaster?

You can get much better chess games on your phone for free.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Virtual Chess 64

[alln64games]

Quest 64

NA release: 10th June 1998

PAL release: 30th September 1998

JP release: 9th July 1999

Developer: Imagineer

Publisher: THQ (NA), Konami (PAL) Imagineer (JP)

N64 Magazine Score: 71%

There’s a lot of curious things about the Quest series. This game was given different names in different regions. In North America, it was the very generic Quest 64. In Europe is was the rather meaningless Holy Magic Century and in Japan it was Eltale Monsters (I think Eltale Book would have worked better). Despite being a JRPG, it also came out in Japan last.

Quest got a spin-off in the form of a Mr. Do clone on Game Boy Color called Quest: Fantasy Challenge in the USA and, oddly, Holy Magic Century in Europe (it wasn’t released in Japan) and then a remake of the original game on Game Boy Colour (with an expanded story) called Quest: Brian’s Journey in the USA and Elemental Tale – Jack’s Great Adventure: Satan’s Counterattack in Japan (this one wasn’t released in Europe).

As for Quest 64, the game itself is also interesting as it seems like a great starting point for a game, but it feels like it isn’t finished. It works fine and isn’t glitchy, it’s just there isn’t a lot to it. The idea behind the story is interesting, but it isn’t told well. It’s very easy to lose track of what you’re supposed to be doing due to lack of context, and NPCs rarely have anything interesting to say.

The combat has some interesting ideas, too. It’s turn-based but you move around in the actual game world. You can move around within a circle (which is more of a circle in the Japanese version) to position yourself and select an attack. When enemies attack you have a bit of movement to try and dodge.

You collect spirits in four elements: fire, wind, water and earth (no heart) and as you get more, you unlock more abilities. There are three “levels” of attack but in each new “level” you can mix in another element for a wide variety of spells. Unfortunately, there are just a couple of attacks that are far better than others.

By far the biggest issue with the combat is the random encounter system, as the amount you get is extremely overboard. You can be drawn into a new battle immediately after one ends and, other than trying to break the game by hugging walls (or using a Gameshark code), there’s no proper way to avoid battles.

What doesn’t help is that a lot of battles won’t reward you with anything, as the game won’t give you an item if you already have one of them in your inventory. You’ll get tired of the random encounters before the end of the first area.

There’s plenty to like about Holy Quest Monsters, but also a lot to hate about it. It feels like the developers had a lot of ambitions but had to tone it back during development. It has a lot of interesting ideas, it just doesn’t fully use them.

Packed with atmosphere, each populated area consists of lush green fields, glorious castles and lovingly-crafted thatched houses with gently smoking chimneys. The people, meanwhile, are happy to do that RPG thing of standing around like statues, but at lease they give you puzzles to solve. Or so you’d think. In fact, all the residents are content to say much the same thing, normally along the lines of “Ooh, if only someone would go and kill that big boss character!” And considering the town or forest where the boss lives is – gasp! – the next place on the path you’re following, you can almost get away without speaking to anyone

- Mark Green, N64 Magazine #23

Remake or remaster?

Quest 64 definitely deserves a fresh attempt. Refine the combat system, add more context to the story and give NPCs more to do with side quests and other activities.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get Quest 64

[alln64games]

International Superstar Soccer 98

JP release: 4th June 1998

PAL release: 1st September 1998

JP release: 15th September 1998

Developer: Konami

Publisher: Konami

N64 Magazine Score: 92%

ISS vs FIFA was a big debate for a while, with 1998 probably being the biggest year for the argument. N64 Magazine clearly preferred ISS, but for me, I enjoyed FIFA 98 more. I do think I know the main reason why people prefer each one, as while they seem the same from a distance, they both have slightly different targets. FIFA is more about casual fun, while ISS is more geared towards providing a more tactical experience.

Which means that it isn’t a case of which one is better, but rather what kind of game you want. ISS 98 is a marginal improvement from ISS 64, focusing on the World Cup. In Japan, it had an official World Cup branding, but still not player names (other than the Japanese squad), but is the same game.

You do get a new set of scenarios, so if you liked those, these are the main new thing in this version compared to the previous year.

So it’s changed then. Not in a drastic, classic-ruining sort of way (Major A are far too canny for that), and not in a way that would be immediately apparent to even the biggest ISS 64 fan, but there’s definitely something different about this new jazzed-up sequel.

- Martin Kitts, N64 Magazine #20

Remake or remaster?

Other than Konami looking back to move forward, not really.

Official ways to get the game.

There is no official way to get International Superstar Soccer 98