The Official Nintendo 64 Thread!

Warmsignal · March 4, 2023

On 3/1/2023 at 1:49 PM, Atariboy said:

The only arcade racer there is F1 Pole Position 64. Technically it's primitive and as I recall reviewed poorly back in the day. But it's not a bad game by any stretch. The other four are simcades.

As for the four simcades, I prefer the Ubisoft franchise over the F1 World Grand Prix franchise. I've been revisiting Monaco Grand Prix 64 for 25 years now and still believe that the physics of the N64 entry are the best balance that I've seen in a console F1 racer when played with an analog stick equipped gamepad. It has just the right amount of realism without taking it far enough where the game is compromised due to the limitations of a gamepad controller compared to a full fledged steering wheel and pedal setup.

F1 Racing Simulation is a South American/European exclusive sequel to Monaco Grand Prix. It sticks pretty close to the original, but features the full Formula One license this time. Monaco Grand Prix had fictional driver names that you could edit and save to the cartridge if you wanted (letting you substitute with the real driver names), fake teams, and so on (But did feature the full schedule of real tracks for I think the 1997 F1 season). F1 Racing Simulation thus has that extra bit of realism and a slightly different schedule. It simulates the 2000 F1 season as I recall and has Indianapolis and Sepang while losing at least one track that Monaco had (Argentina, which fell off the F1 schedule in the late 1990's).

F1 World Grand Prix is a solid game and was loved by the critics and held up as the best that the system had to go up against Sony's Gran Turismo franchise. But between getting Monaco Grand Prix when it was new and falling in love with it (it was a Christmas present along with the system), and the strange steering setup that F1 World Grand Prix had, I never got into it when I bought a Player's Choice copy back around 2001 at the local Ames department store (I bought F-Zero X at the same time, which was a great deal for $15). Instead of only the X axis of the analog stick affecting steering like in most every other modern console racing game, this one treated the analog stick as if it was a 360 degree wheel. A sharp left turn didn't mean moving the stick fully to the left. You instead had to point it to approximately the 7 o'clock position (picture a clock face around the analog stick).

It worked for many people, especially back when it was new in 1997 or so and was a person's first experience at playing a console racing game with an analog stick. But for those like me that were used to the conventional analog stick steering setup that most other developers use (and continue to use today), it was just too foreign for me to ever feel totally comfortable with. F1 World Grand Prix II was basically just a season update covering a later F1 season, with an updated track calendar, driver roster, and a new slate of scenarios based on the previous F1 season. And like F1 Racing Championship, it also didn't come out in North America. It's a PAL (And maybe Japan?) exclusive on the N64.

Interesting and informative breakdown. I ended up going with F1 Pole Position 64.

I also forgot to mention one other game on the list, Indy Racing 2000, but it's a bit of a departure from traditional F1 racing from the looks of it.

Atariboy · March 4, 2023

Yeah, IndyCar racing is a separate discipline of motorsports. The vehicles are superficially similar since they're both single seat open wheel racecars with front and rear wings and an open cockpit. But past that they're very much different.

Indy Racing 2000 was done back at the height of the split between CART (the sanctioning body back then for America's premier open wheel racing series) and the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that had formed his own league in the mid 1990's called the Indy Racing League. The Indy Racing League back then was an all oval series, so there's no road or street courses in this game like is associated with Formula One. Most of the famous names like Al Unser Jr were still CART drivers during the 1999 season that's represented in the game and past the Indy 500, you're racing on NASCAR tracks (NASCAR was quite happy to host the Indy Racing League in front of sparse crowds and help American open wheel racing attempt suicide).

Graphically, Paradigm Entertainment did an excellent job. The physics are also quite nice with a balanced approach between arcade accessibility and realism. What sadly ruins it is some of the worst AI that I've ever seen in a racing game. The highlight of the game actually isn't even in the main mode as a result. Rather, the mode that has you going up the ranks to IndyCar is far more entertaining. You start in midget cars, move up to sprint cars, and so on. As I recall the AI is still poor in these series, but on the fictional road courses that comprise this mode it wasn't as game killing as it was when trying to race an IndyCar around an oval at 200+ mph.

With good AI this would've been a memorable effort since everything else was done well. But I ended up disappointed when I bought it when it launched back in 2000 (I think at a Kmart, which might've been the only time I ever bought a videogame at that chain). You'll literally see multiple IndyCars on every lap getting sideways at high speed with smoke pouring off the tires in the game. The AI is that pathetic.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Atariboy

SlidellMan · March 4, 2023

Austin Eruption on Weird and Forgotten N64 games:

I'm glad that he gave Iggy's 'Recking Balls the recognition it deserves.

SlidellMan · March 6, 2023

The holy grail of the N64 Disk Drive:

Tanooki · March 7, 2023

Im happy I own a form of that fzero madness. The track editor was lifted and added into CLIMAX on GBA. You can save quite a few full on courses to use or share on GBA. Disgusts me still 20 years on this was denied to the US market…twice.

SlidellMan · March 7, 2023

Another one I liked:

They sure don't make them like they used to.

dudeguy · March 8, 2023

Played a bit of Shadows of the Empire the other day. The controls are so wonky, it's hard for me to comprehend how people are able to beat this game on Jedi mode. I know Ive seen completion times from staff members and I have to imagine they were playing the PC version!

dudeguy · March 8, 2023

On 3/6/2023 at 10:35 PM, SlidellMan said:

Another one I liked:

They sure don't make them like they used to.

Lot of memories with this game growing up. I was never able to keep my vehicle on the track. Total nostalgia trip whenever I play this game, I sure dont play it because it's better than what we have today. This game came out when it was still acceptable to have a trophy girl at the end of the race, like the developers knew that 99% of the people playing the game were testoserone-fueled straight dudes between the age of of 12 and 25.

SlidellMan · March 14, 2023

Shadowgate 64 - Trials of the Four Towers:

By the way, Infinite Ventures had another sequel titled Shadowgate Rising, but it was cancelled.

Asaki · March 14, 2023

11 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

By the way, Infinite Ventures had another sequel titled Shadowgate Rising, but it was cancelled.

SlidellMan · March 17, 2023

I know that there are still people who are bitter at Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, but the music in both games still holds up:

This may come as a shock to you, but this was the first Castlevania game I have ever played. It also lead me to check out other games in the series, most notably Super Castlevania IV, Bloodlines, and the Game Boy Advance games.

Asaki · March 18, 2023

2 hours ago, SlidellMan said:

I know that there are still people who are bitter at Castlevania 64 and Legacy of Darkness, but the music in both games still holds up:

I really liked the first one...

...until I got to the very final boss, and then the battery in my save pak died >_<

SlidellMan · March 18, 2023

Asaki, so did I.

SlidellMan · March 19, 2023

More from Kaze Emmanuar:

SlidellMan · March 20, 2023

Game Sack on the N64DD:

SlidellMan · March 21, 2023

The Cutting Room Floor on Quest 64:

https://tcrf.net/Quest_64

SlidellMan · March 31, 2023

Some Bomberman 64 Second Attack oddities:

By the way, Lilith in this game was referenced in Borderlands. (Looks like someone at Gearbox must have been a fan of Hudson Soft on the N64.)

Enjoy!

KidGameR186496 · April 1, 2023

I wanted to share y'all this compilation of homebrew demos for the N64 by Marshallh (aka Marshalls). Some of them should ve finished and released as physical carts

SlidellMan · April 1, 2023

To be honest, both Marshalls and Kaze Emanuar should consider making a proper N64 homebrew engine/integrated development environment. However, I don't blame them for not going that route due to all the time an effort required.

KidGameR186496 · April 1, 2023

Speaking of N64 homebrew games, a new Challenger has entered the scene. Xeno Crisis is coming to Nintendo 64. They clarified that the post is not an ultra elaborated April Fools joke. The game is actually available to order on Bitmap Bureau's official page.

SlidellMan · April 2, 2023

Excellent, I might have to order copies of both versions.

M-S · April 2, 2023

But how? Is it going to be a port or emulation?

Punisher5.0 · April 2, 2023

Awesome to see a new N64 game! It would be great to know what resolution the game is. 480i would be awesome for CRT users.

Just noticed that this game is 64MB. It should have some really high quality music.

+Charlie Cat · April 3, 2023

Hi guys,

Pardon me if this was mentioned.

Bitmap Bureau will be accepting pre-orders for the Nintendo-64 and Nintendo GameCube. Amazing!

Bitmap Bureau Ltd. @BitmapBureau

It's April Fool's Day, but this is no joke - Xeno Crisis is coming to both the Nintendo 64 and GameCube! We also have the Final Vendetta OST available in an awesome gatefold double vinyl! Shipping starts in 3 to 4 weeks, so get your pre-order in now! https://shop.bitmapbureau.com