Random Shots: The Locations of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon

Previously on the SDP, I reviewed Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the Nintendo 64. To summarise it, while it had its flaws, it was still creative and engaging enough to be memorable for the lucky few who got to play it, myself included.  It's the sort of thing I would love to play again as some sort of updated HD remake, although its publisher, Konami, seems to have no idea what the [verb] they're doing these days.  But it was after I posted that review that I learned something about the game, after all those years of it living in my memories.  I was looking at a map of Japan's old provinces -- the regions that existed before the 1868 Meiji Restoration replaced them with the prefectures in use today -- when I recognised one of the province names as a location from the game.  Then another... and another... until I realised this wasn't a coincidence.  Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon doesn't take place in some fake, fictionalised, fantasy version of Japan.  It's set in the real fictionalised, fantasy version of Japan!  So allow me to be your tour guide in a journey through the game, as we attempt to link its whacked-out take on the Land of the Rising Sun to its real-world counterpart.

The game starts at Goemon and Ebisumaru's home in Oedo Town.  Okay, this is obviously Tokyo, or Edo as it used to be known.  (The 'O' at the beginning of the word is a prefix denoting honour.)  Whilst wandering about Oedo Town, you may notice a few landmarks.  For instance, you know that big red gate blocked by a big red lantern?  That would be the Kaminari-mon, or Thunder Gate.  The real Kaminari-mon is located in the Asakusa district, on the approach to the temple Senso-ji.  And if you happen to cross a curved wooden bridge, you would be walking on the Nihonbashi, the "mile zero" from which all roads across old Japan were measured.  Alas, the real Nihonbashi was replaced with a new concrete bridge in 1911, but you can try out a replica of the original at the Edo-Tokyo Museum.  Anyway, after taking a trip out to Mount Fuji (yes, that Mount Fuji) and picking up a new weapon for Goemon, you'll head back and take on the first castle level, Oedo Castle.  There was indeed a real Edo Castle built in 1457, but over the centuries parts of it burned down; what's left currently serves as the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

With Oedo Town wrapped up for now, your journey will take you to Zazen Town.  Now, "zazen" refers not to any specific place, but to the meditation performed as part of Zen Buddhism.  But there are a few obvious clues which relate Zazen Town to the city of Kyoto.  The Golden Temple, where Ebisumaru will eventually learn his shrinking power, is a scaled-down version of Kinkaku-ji, a.k.a. the Golden Pavillion, one of Kyoto's most famous landmarks.  Then there's a section called Mt. Nyoigatake.  To get there, first you go up a staircase covered by a row of bright orange torii gates, just like the approach to the Fushimi Inari shrine, another iconic Kyoto destination.  Once through that, you'll end up facing a mountain with a kanji character written in flames on its side.  There are several of these mountains in Kyoto, commonly named the Daimonji-yama, and they are lit up in such a manner at the end of the O-bon festival in August.

Next door to Zazen Town is a place called Yamato.  The province it was named after is now Nara prefecture.  Yamato and Nara also share another connection besides their name -- it has to do with the centrepiece of Yamato, a giant pagoda-like building.  Nara is home to Todai-ji, a Buddhist temple boasting what was, at the time the game was made, the world's largest all-wooden structure.  The main hall at Todai-ji houses a giant bronze statue of the Buddha, itself the largest statue of its kind.  The similar building in Yamato is indeed equally big, and whilst this digital re-interpretation does not contain a similar statue, it is worth unlocking and checking out for an extra life and a Fortune Doll life upgrade.  Not far from Yamato is Kii-Awaji Island, from where you can warp to the Husband and Wife Rocks, a pair of islets tethered together by a giant rope.  The real Wedded Rocks, known as the Meoto-Iwa, are located off the eastern coast of the Kii peninsula, near Ise in Mie prefecture.

After a brief mini-boss atop a dragon, you'll land on Shikoku, another of Japan's four main islands¹.  Your landing spot is Kompira Mountain, and directly from there lies Folkypoke Village.  "Kompira" likely refers to Kotohira Shrine in Kagawa prefecture, which sits atop Mount Zozu, and is also called Konpira Shrine.  As for Folypoke Village... offhand, I have no idea.  The biggest city in that prefecture, would be Takamatsu, so that's the best guess I've got.  Anyway, across Shikoku lies the second castle level, but immediately beforehand are the Dogo Hot Springs.  There is indeed a Dogo Onsen in the city of Matsuyama, and whilst the main building of the complex today was not constructed until 1894, the waters of this hot spring resort have been mentioned in the Man'yoshu, a work of literature which dates back to AD 759 at the latest, so it certainly could have existed in Goemon's world in some form.

With the second castle down, the road to Chugoku opens, and with it some of, I think, the game's most interesting locations.  Bizen and Kurashiki are quasi-urban areas lined by white-and-black warehouses, examples of which can be seen in cities like Kurashiki, in Okayama prefecture.  Aki-Nagato is a coastal area with a giant red torii gate in the middle of thewater, modeled after the one off of Itsukushima (a.k.a. Miyajima), an island not far from Hiroshima.  Inaba is a vast, hilly desert, to which you may be thinking, "A desert?  In Japan?  Seriously?"  It's more likely than you think -- there actually is a plot of sand dunes in Tottori Prefecture named, obviously, the Tottori Sand Dunes.  Finally, there's a vast, hilly plains area with little rock plilars strewn about, named Akiyoshidai.  A mouthful, sure, but I didn't even have to break out the list of old provinces to locate that -- the real Akiyoshidai is a park in Yamaguchi Prefecture, near the western tip of Honshu. 

With the third castle down, you'll get cut off from your destination of Kyushu due to... I won't spoil it, but suffice to say, it couldn't have happened in a game less light-hearted in tone as this.  So instead, you'll be going north from Oedo Town into northern Honshu, current known as the Tohoku region.  Much of Tohoku, both in-game, and in historical Japan, is taken up by a snowy area called Mutsu; the real Mutsu province corresponds with four modern-day prefectures: Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori.  The big city around the Mutsu region is... Festival Village.  Again, that gives me little to go by.  There are lots of notable festivals in Tohoku's cities, such as the Nebuta Festival in Aomori, and the Kanto Festival in Akita.  But there is a cluehidden in the town's restaurant.  One of the HP-giving dishes on offer is kiritanpo, a dish of rice patties pounded into a cylindrical shape, served in miso soup.  And it originates from... Akita prefecture.  Well, that's good enough for me!

Behind Festival Village, you will find Mt. Fear, named after Osore-zan (literally, "fear mountain") in Aomori prefecture.  The real Osore-zan is known, among other things, for a festival (kuchiyose) in which blind mediums (itako) channel and contact spirits of the dead.  And indeed, you do this in-game.  Alternately, you can head back and take a fork southwards to the Waterfall of Kegon, where Yae can learn her mermaid power.  The real Kegon Falls is located near Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture.

With the fourth castle down, it's time to wrap things up in Kyushu.  Again, I shan't spoil how you get there, but much of it takes place in yet another castle level.  But it is briefly bisected by one last town area, Sogen Town of Bizen.  Alas, I drew a blank at the name alone; there isn't even a historical province in Kyushu named Bizen (that could be a mistranslation of either the Buzen or Hizen provinces).  So once again, I was forced to turn to the local cuisine for clues on its real-life counterpart.  One such offerring was sponge cake, described as a culinary import from the Dutch.  That clearly tipped me off to the city of Nagasaki.  See, for much of Japan's history until the Meiji period, the country managed to protect itself from colonial influences simply by shutting themselves off from all foreign trade -- with a few exceptions.  One of them was in Nagasaki, where the Dutch and Chinese were allowed to set up shop.  Although, sponge cake in Japan, where it is known as "castella", actually came from the Portugese beforehand so, close but no cigar.

Lack of cigar aside, this has been a delightfully informative journey, both for me as I wrote this article, and I hope for you, the reader, as well.  It may even get you to look at Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon in a new way.  Who knows, maybe you'll even visit Japan yourself and see the real-life inspirations behind the game's locales!  Special thanks to Zeality of GameFAQs.com for recording and posting the game's script (http://www.gamefaqs.com/n64/198022-mystical-ninja-starring-goemon/faqs/45558).

¹The four main islands of Japan refer to Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu.  However, Hokkaido, was never part of the Japanese state until the Meiji period, which explains why it is never visited in the game.

Game Review: GoldenEye (N64)

Goldeneye

• Publisher: Nintendo 
• Developer: Rare 
• Release: Nintendo 64, 25 August 1997 
• Genre: 3D Action 
• Players: 1-4 
• Save: Battery-backed, 4 files 

Previously on the SDP, I put the Call of Duty series through Game Rehab. Said article also happened to include a section for first-person shooter games in general, seeing as how so many games of the genre have absorbed features from CoD, and Halo before it. I don't know about you, but I've always held earlier titles as shining examples of what I want the genre to be like again. And chief among those sacred cows, for me, was 1997's GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64. (Actually, I'm not sure if the extra "007" was supposed to be part of the title, or the extra capitalisation on the one letter "E", but I'll not dwell on that.) But, reality check -- Goldeneye, the game, is seventeen years old as of this article, and came out for what is now three-generation-old hardware. So do I only love Goldeneye now because it does things that new games don't do anymore? Or is it still worth its salt after all these years?

For the uninitiated, Goldeneye is an adaptation of the James Bond film of the same name, from two years beforehand. Don't you just love how we used to have to wait two years between a movie and its video game? It would have solved a lot of problems during the Atari age, let me tell ya. The game follows the movie's storyline, involving a set of spacebound EMP weapons stolen by a post-Soviet Russian crime gang. Pretty much all of the film's key scenes are re-created, from the pre-credits dam jump, to the St. Petersburg tank chase, to the climatic fight atop an antenna cradle. But the game builds upon the original story, either by extending existing scenes or adding new ones entirely. You know the level in the missile silo where the Goldeneye sattelites launched from? It doesn't appear in the movie at all. But it does help bring certain pieces of the story together, and more than anything, gives us some more game to play in.

There are some characters whom you're not allowed to kill.

For those of you who weren't into gaming during the mid-to-late 1990s, shooter-action games generally had one goal: get to the end of each level, and mow down anything that gets in your way, maybe stopping here or there to push a switch or pick up a key. But when such a character as James Bond is involved, you're gonna have to change the standard operating procedure a bit. Each and every level has certain objectives for you to complete. And even when you do have to break something, or someone, there's always a reason given. All this contributes to the game's world, and proved that serious narrative was possible even in genres of gaming commonly considered to be mindless.  Goldeneye also places an emphasis on stealth which, while not exactly a new development in this genre, is tastefully done. Getting spotted or using a non-silenced weapon may attract enemies in your vicinity, but this doesn't automatically trigger an alarm. Generally, they have to head over to an alarm button on the wall, or you have to get caught by a security camera, for that to happen.

Unfortunately, the objectives you must accomplish on these missions are not always intuitive. Take the very first level, for example. On the Secret Agent (medium) and 00 Agent (hard) difficulties, one of the objectives is to attach a covert modem somewhere. Even if you read the pre-mission briefings, it is totally unclear where you're supposed to attach the thing. And you only get one of them, so if you throw it someplace you're not supposed to, you can't get it back, and you'll have failed your mission. (To that end, I'm glad the levels in Goldeneye are a little short, averaging about 5 minutes apiece, which is the stick I will beat Goldeneye: Rogue Agent and 007 Legends with to no end.) I'll welcome a break from the standard linear string of objective markers any day, but taking things too far the other way is right out as well. Throw me a frickin' bone here, is what I'm saying. And another thing, how come we can only equip non-weapon items from the pause menu? And why can I still get hit, or killed even, during the extra second it takes to run the pause menu transition animation?

Some objectives are hard to find.

Goldeneye was not the first first-person shooter to run on a gaming console, and not even the first one on the Nintendo 64 itself. To my knowledge, all previous attempts at the genre done on this particular console (for example, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter) used the C-buttons to walk and strafe and the Control stick to aim, which was if nothing else an admirable attempt to duplicate the mouse-and-keyboard setup of PC-based shooters without an actual mouse or keyboard being available. And while Goldeneye makes this available as an optional controller setup, the default scheme flips this. The Control Stick walks and turns, and the C Buttons are used for strafing and looking up or down. "Won't this make aiming clumsy difficult", you might ask? To that I respond: No, for two reasons. The game employs a rather generous auto-aim system which can be counted upon for torso hits. And for situations requiring more precision, Goldeneye also pioneers an aiming mode, where you hold R and move the Control Stick to look about, and the C Buttons to duck or lean. In lieu of having a twin-stick-based controller, the powers that be made an equally versatile control setup. There are even options to use two controllers for simulating the aforementioned dual-stick controllers. It's not all good though; the use of "button chords" for certain actions (namely, holding A and pressing Z to cycle backwards through your weapons) may be cumbersome without practise, but for that one can blame the N64 controller more than the game itself.

Another sore spot one could also blame on the N64 hardware is the graphics. As I said before, I'm not one to depend on graphical proficiency in order to extract fun from a game. I do draw the line, however, when drops in the frame rate get in the way, which I'm sad to say happens quite a bit in Goldeneye. But let's be honest, were any video games out at the same time that much better-looking? And finally, I'd like to address the multiplayer mode. I'd like to, but I never had the friends to play it with on a regular basis, and there aren't any AI bots for us solo players to get our jollies with, so my authority's not the greatest on the matter. Judging from similar experiences in games like Perfect Dark and The World is Not Enough, however, I appreciate the degree of customisation available in setting up multiplayer matches, especially when you throw unlockable cheats into the mix.

So now comes the million-pound question: is Goldeneye still good? It's certainly playable, if that's what you mean, and potentially fun as well. Anybody who's been burnt out by the rigid linearity imposed upon us by all those Call of Duty clones should appreciate the relative freedom most missions give you in how you approach your objectives. (Although maybe too much freedom, as I explained a few paragraphs ago.) But that's just it: so many of the defences I could whip out for Goldeneye stem from the fact that it's not like today's crop of shooters. And yet not all shooters are like that; there are still shooters out there which emulate Goldeneye's business model as well like the aforementioned Perfect Dark and Timesplitters, and are technically better for having built on its formula with improved technology and experience. Not that we'd ever have been blessed with them in the first place without Goldeneye, however. So yeah, it's still good, but it's not like I wouldn't change anything about it, either. Let me put it to you this way: if I had all the knowledge and resources to make whatever video game I wanted, and no licensing or trademark restrictions to worry about, I would make an updated HD remake -- not a reboot, a remake -- of Goldeneye. Actually, that would be my second choice behind making Mega Man Legends 3, but you should have picked up on that by now.

P.S. I am aware of Goldeneye: Source, a free, fan-made Half-Life 2 mod which emulates and expands upon the original's multiplayer mode. I like it very much, in fact. But I choose not to count it unless or until they work the single-player campaign in there.

Positives:
+ The story follows the movie, but takes liberties in all the right places.
+ The level lengths are just short enough to encourage repeated play-throughs.
+ Responsible and then-innovative use of stealth gameplay.
+ Control options make the best use of the N64's controller.

Negatives:
- Some objectives are so poorly-described that you could miss them entirely.
- The frame rate is highly prone to slowdown during intense action.

Control: 4 RCP-90s out of 5
Design: 4 RCP-90s out of 5
Graphics: 2 RCP-90s out of 5
Sound: 3 RCP-90s out of 5
Value: 5 RCP-90s out of 5
The Call: 75% (B-)

Game Review: Wave Race 64

Wave Race 64 

• Publisher: Nintendo 
• Developer: Nintendo 
• Release: Nintendo 64, 1 November 1996 
• Genre: Racing 
• Players: 1-2 
• Save: Built-in 
• Rarity/Cost: Common (US$5-20) 

Remember back at the start of the summer, when I rather ironically reviewed two snowboarding games at once? Well allow me to make it up to you by reviewing a more summery sports game before the equinox hits. And what better way to follow up 1080 Snowboarding than with Nintendo's other extreme-sports title, Wave Race 64? The sequel to a 1992 Game Boy title called simply Wave Race, its N64 sibling is, as the title suggests, a racing game on waves. Specifically, you and three other competitors are tasked with doing laps around one of eight waterlogged tracks, on stand-up, Kawasaki-model personal watercraft. (Fun Fact: Due to an expired licence, the Wii version replaces the Kawasaki billboards, seen in the picture below, with ads for the Nintendo DS and Wii. In a game originally from 1996. Go figs.)

Most of your time may be spent in the Championship mode, a series of races which lasts for, depending on the difficulty selected, six to eight events. In these events, the position each racer finishes in determines the points they get at the end of each race, and the winner of the series is determined from who has the most points. But at the same time, there's a target score which increases with each round, and if you don't meet or exceed this score, you're kicked out of the series and will have to try again. This lingering threat of failure could discourage some gamers from giving it that other try, but who am I to complain about a game punishing you for your mistakes? And besides it's not as if you'll necessarily fail out just for finishing a race in fourth, not if you've built up a wide enough margin, so what've you got to complain about?

You have to follow slalom buoys, or else get powered down.

But certainly a simple race off of some beach could grow boring quickly, especially if a total of only four racers are involved? Well, that's not all: you have to follow a series of buoys as well, indicating you to pass them on the left or the right, like a slalom course. If you miss enough of these buoys (the default is 5), you lose the race automatically. But there's positive reinforcement for following them, as well: for each buoy you pass, your top speed is increased, up to a maximum of five levels. And then they throw in obstacles, ramps, and of course, the waves themselves, so one thing's for certain: in terms of gameplay, Wave Race 64 is not lacking in variety.

Wave Race 64 is, on the other hand, somewhat lacking in content, with only eight tracks available for play (plus Dolphin Park, which is available only as a practise level or in Stunt mode). But just because the levels are limited in number doesn't mean they lack their own personalities. For example, on Southern Coast, the last level on all difficulties, the tide falls in the middle of the race, forcing you to dodge new obstacles you could run over on the first lap. Apart from this, a number of courses have shortcuts, some of which don't open until the second lap, and some of which are completely blocked off on certain difficulties. Even the tracks that are laid out in a simple oval are spiced up simply by the presence of those slalom buoys I mentioned earlier. Apart from the Championship mode, the game also features 2-player races, a Time Trial mode, and the Stunt mode, where you score points for driving through rings and perform rolls, flips, and other manoeuvers off of ramps. The array of available tricks is not wide, certainly not to the level of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater games, and I wish the Stunt Mode runs lasted more than one lap, but it's a fun experience to mess around in.

Speaking of lacking content, the selection of characters consists of only four riders. All of them have different performance statistics; although they are not displayed, which would have been a great help, it's a pretty obvious guess that the one girl (default name A. Stewart) boasts sharper turning and slower speeds than the big guy (D. Mariner). But if you're looking to conquer the Expert (and Reverse) series, you won't need to bother with anybody but the third rider (M.Jeter). He and his watercraft have the cornering acumen of the lady I mentioned earlier, but without the sacrifice in speed. In fact, their steering is a bit too sharp. And this isn't like a 1080 Snowboarding level of uncontrollability, but make too sharp a turn and you'll lose valuable speed fast. Well fret not: that's where the engine customisation feature comes in! No matter which rider you choose to play as, you can adjust his/her machine's handling, grip, and acceleration/top-speed balance. Apart from the last of those criteria I mentioned, the game gives little direction as to what altering these specs will have on your performance, so let me help you a bit. Just stick to M.Jeter and set the Handling spec halfway to the left, to fix some of his understeer.

Considering the time this game was made, the wave physics are impressive.

Before going any further, let me state the fact that Wave Race 64 was released within the first months of the Nintendo 64's life cycle,  well before the console's full potential had been tapped. That said, this game has some really good graphics for its time, especially in the look and feel of the water. The waves in particular, whilst they might be script-generated, are handled rather realistically and are an excellent showcase of the game's water physics. Again, consider the primitive state of 3D graphics at the time, and this becomes an even more amazing feat in hindsight. The soundtrack is primarily light-rock fare that would sound more at home in 1986 than '96, but the title screen does use a nice, somewhat catchy guitar-driven theme which is incorporated into a number of the stages' background music. And of course there's the announcer, prone to stating the obvious and sometimes falling behind in his vocal updates.

All in all, there's not too much content to be found in Wave Race 64, not like today's triple-A title... sorry, I couldn't finish that sentence with a straight face. At any rate, the slalom system, Stunt Mode, and of course the wave physics make this game stand out among its contemporaries in the racing genre. In fact, given that this series only received one additional sequel, Wave Race: Blue Storm (GCN, 2001), that only serves to highlight the special place Wave Race 64 (and presumably, the other two games) holds in the gaming macrocosm. If you can find it for cheap, then by all means, give it a spin! Or... whatever they say in that regard for personal watercraft.

Positives:
+ Impressive wave effects and physics.
+ Courses that change in the middle of a race.
+ The buoy slalom system (arguably a negative).

Negatives:
- Disagreeable controls, if you're used to land-based driving games.
- The buoy slalom system (arguably a positive).

Control: 3 buoys out of 5
Design: 4 buoys out of 5
Graphics: 5 buoys out of 5
Audio: 3 buoys out of 5

Value: 3 buoys out of 5
The Call: 75% (B-)

Second Opinion: 1080 Snowboarding vs. Snowboard Kids

Despite the current lack of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, I recently got my hands on two snowboarding games for the Nintendo 64: Snowboard Kids by Atlus & Racdym, and 1080 Snowboarding by Nintendo. Both are titles I have fond memories renting as a kid, and both are titles I haven't touched in years. So which is better than the other? Well... they're different. But to explain which of the two quantifiably does what it does better... that would take more... explaining. In pondering such an... explanation (somebody give me a thesaurus), I flashed back to a certain review by the Video Game Critic. No, it's not Sonic 4, although it did generate negativity where I saw none. Yup, he/she/they gave Snowboard Kids a C+, whereas 1080 scored an A-, and apparently, that is cause for my concern. Looks like it's time to dust off the Second Opinion brand again!

1080 Snowboarding Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Release: Nintendo 64, 31 March 1998 Genre: 1-4 player Sports/Racing Save: Battery, 1 file Rarity/Cost:Common, US$5-15	Snowboard Kids Publisher: Atlus Developer: Racdym Release: Nintendo 64, February 1998 Genre: 1-4 player Sports/Racing Save: Controller Pak, 121 Pages Rarity/Cost: Moderate, US$15-25

Design:

First of all, I can tell you up front that 1080 Snowboarding is more or less a straight-up racing game on snowboards, in which the main mode involves series of one-on-one races. Snowboard Kids, on the other hand, plays with that formula. One, you can pick up items to slow down your rivals or boost yourself. For this reason alone, the Video Game Critic aptly describes this as "Mario Kart on snowboards". So what kinds of pickups can one expect? More than can be described in his/her/their traditional one-paragraph reviews, that's for certain, but he/she/they do have something to say on the the matter:

[SK] Some weapons are incredibly cheap, like one that simultaneously drops pans on all of your opponent's heads (really?).

Ah yes, the dreaded pie pans. (Or possibly washtubs; I hear that's a real thing in anime.) Now, what he/she/they don't tell you is that there's actually a fair balance to the item allotments. The more effective goodies like the pie pans are more frequently given to players falling behind, whereas leading players are more likely to end up with lowly rocks (for tripping opponents with). Compare it with the Mario Kart series, and let me know if you manage to find a Blue Shell within the top three places.

And two, despite the one-way nature of snowboarding, the game manages to work in a lap system: at the finish line, you scoot over to a gate and ride a chair-lift to the top of the course. But it's not all good, as the VGC describes:

[SK] Each race requires several "runs" down the slope, and you need to enter a tiny lift gate at the bottom of each hill to ride back to the top. Why did they make these gates so tiny? They are so easy to miss! [...] The races are longer than Lindsay Lohan's rap sheet, so if one guy pulls way ahead it turns into a dull affair.

Alright, I will concede that fighting with your opponents to get the next seat on the chair-lift is not the best way to put this concept into practise. Why not just make it a cutscene -- or better yet, a skippable cutscene?

[1080] There are a nice variety of modes including match races, time trials, slalom events, long jumps, half pipes, and "contests" that mix up the challenges.

[SK] The single-player mode challenges to beat all the tracks, and you shouldn't overlook the mini-games which include a rapid-fire snowman shooter.

Both games feature stand-alone time trials and score trials, where you pull off stunts for points. By virtue of its unorthodox format, SK offers an exclusive mode where you shoot stationary snowmen. But unlike SK, in 1080 you can attempt these auxiliary modes on any track available in the central mode, and then some. However, what the Video Game Critic doesn't tell you is that "Long jumps" and "half pipes" merely refer to individual courses playable in one Trick Attack mode. Draw.

[1080] A nice two-player split screen mode is included and the cartridge automatically saves high scores.

[SK] The problem is, saving your progress requires 121 pages on a controller pack [sic], and that's pretty much the whole thing!

Yeah, that's a lot of space, I said understatedly. Frame of reference: a regulation-size Controller Pak holds 123 pages of data. This is one reason why my youthful preferences drifted more towards the N64 and away from the CD-based PlayStation: the ability to save progress without and additional purchase. The chance that my file might not be on the copy I rented the second time around was a chance I was willing to take. Point 1080.

Control:

[1080]The trails are more narrow than other snowboarding games, but it's not a problem since analog stick provides just the right degree of control. [...] Also, I noticed that some characters have trouble nailing their landings even after performing simple tricks.

[SK] The tracks are wide enough and the analog controls make it easy to carve.

Okay, this is where I beg to differ. In my experiences with 1080, the game offered me anything but the right degree of control. I could literally (not literally, mind you) never get my boarder to coast in a straight line, since every single turn left him or her faced at some angle. Which becomes problematic because there's a health meter, if you can believe it, and when it drains you have to trade in one of your limited "lives". Whilst ultimately playable, the unstable controls of 1080 provide for a serious case of "Your Mileage May Vary". At the very least, 1080's control setup boasts a feature missing from SK's: holding Z makes you duck down and go faster, without having to jump once you let go of the button. Point SK.

You can hardly ever keep straight in 1080 Snowboarding.

If I may be permitted to make an observation of my own, I shall compare the trick systems of both games. In 1080, the B button and Control Stick are used for grab tricks and the R for spins. On the other hand, to do spins/flips in Snowboard Kids, you have to hold the Control Stick before jumping, not in midair. You can also do grabs by pressing and holding one of the C buttons, but for some reason you can only perform one grab per jump. Combined, these rules make the stunt system in SK far more awkward than in 1080. And when doing tricks yields rewards other than points in a separate mode, it's kind of important not to mess that system up. Still, both these titles were planned and released before Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (PlayStation et al., 1999) came and standardised the extreme-sports genre, so either way you might encounter a degree of early-installment weirdness. Point 1080.

Graphics:

[1080] The graphics are superb, with awesome mountain backdrops, icy ridges, and blowing snow that looks so real you can feel the chill! I actually had to wear a hat, ski pants, and ski boots just to review this game. Most of the six courses are fairly realistic, and even the more unusual courses never go completely over-the-top like those in SSX (Playstation 2, 2000). [...] The sound of crisp snow crunching under your board is awesome, and I like the way snow flies as you slice through it.

[SK] The courses are very inviting with their well-groomed trails and bright blue skies. The night track is downright spectacular with gorgeous lighting effects and a quaint town backdrop. The tracks feature plenty ramps, cliffs, tunnels, and bridges to keep things interesting. [...] Most trails have appealing winter themes, but what's up with the "grass valley" stage? Who in the [expletive] [sic] wants to snowboard on grass? That doesn't even make any sense! There's also an amusement park track that's equally dumb - and unnecessary.

Somebody's gushing about games they like. Alright, bias aside, I can safely state that 1080 goes for a straight snowboard simulation, whereas SK takes a more fantastical bent. Both are reasonably competent at what they set out to do. On the one hand, 1080 fits in more details, like the trail of compressed snow behind your boarder, and the wind whipping at his or her clothes. But I don't know about "superb"; slowdown is occasional, the camera seems to have a fetish for "Dutch angles", and character animation is on the lifeless side.

As for Snowboard Kids, yes there is the occasional stage which takes place on non-snowy surfaces, like Green Valley (pictured below), Dizzy Land, and the unlockable Sand Mountain. And you consider that as valid grounds for criticism? Seriously, dude? Whatever happened to your spirit of whimsical fun? I mean, when your game features (alleged) 10-year-olds smacking each other about with snowmen, pie pans, and Cartoon Bombs, what else could you expect but something a little off-the-wall? And besides, it's not like grass, rocks, or sand have different physics than snow, so in essence, they all play the same! ...Granted it would be a nice technical achievement for them to have done so, but hey, gotta save something for the next console generation. Besides, why not talk about the character models, each easily discernable from one another and decked out with these giant noses, it's just... so... KLOOOOOOOOOOT!!! =^_^=

...

Yes, folks. A cat-emoticon. You see what ya made me do, Snowboard Kids!? Draw.

Grassy courses in Snowboard Kids, because why the [verb] not.

[SK] Power-ups and weapons are provided by creepy clown icons.

And another thing: no, that's a dog on the item boxes. You know, the same dog who runs the board shop from the main menu? Do you even do research for your reviews? Oh wait, you ignored Dimps' heavy involvement in Sonic 4, so I guess not.

Audio:

[1080] One negative aspect of the game is the soundtrack, which dishes out some of the most repetitive [noun] I've ever heard in a video game.

Alright, I'll agree with you there. The music in 1080 tries to emulate real house and rock music, which given the limited music synthesizer and storage space for samples proffered by the Nintendo 64, is no small feat. Unfortunately in doing so, they made some of the songs just plain annoying, in particular the track from the first level, Crystal Lake (no relation to Friday the 13th). SK, on the other hand, has decidedly more in common with "traditional" video game composition, with a stronger emphasis on instrumental melody, and is stronger for it. I for one especially liked the minor-key theme from the Night Highway course. Point SK.

Final Statements:

[1080] [...] 1080 is a phenomenal title that's hard to put down. Before SSX came along, nothing could touch this.

[SK] Bonehead design decisions not withstanding, this lighthearted racer will keep you in good spirits during the cold winter months.

Dear Video Game Critic, forgive me for not indulging in such gushing praise of 1080 Snowboarding. I still maintain that the unstable motion physics leave much to be polished up, but the straight-up racing and trick mechanics provide more than their share of satisfaction. But if I had to pick a proverbial deserted-island game, I'd personally prefer Snowboard Kids, for its creativity and innovation not only in the snowboarding sub-genre, but the kart-racing sub-genre from which it claims inspiration from. Yes, execution is nine-tenths of the law when it comes to reviewing video games, but it's also important to understand the designers' intentions, and I do wish the Video Game Critic could be more receptive in that regard.

1080 Snowboarding: Control: 2 1080s out of 5 Design: 3 1080s out of 5 Graphics: 4 1080s out of 5 Audio: 2 1080s out of 5 Value: 3 1080s out of 5 The Call: 65% (C)

Snowboard Kids: Control: 3 pie-pans out of 5 Design: 4 pie-pans out of 5 Graphics: 3 pie-pans out of 5 Audio: 4 pie-pans out of 5 Value: 3 pie-pans out of 5 The Call: 75% (B-)

So that's my review, but before I go, I've got one more punch to throw. Subsequent with his/her/their review on Snowboard Kids, the Video Game Critic published a review of its sequel Snowboard Kids 2 (Nintendo 64, 1999), which unfortunately had bestowed upon it a D+ rating. While some valid complaints were brought up about some less-than-desirable mechanics being carried over from the first game, the majority of the review was just him/her/they kvetching about its choice of non-traditional settings. No seriously, comments relating to the snowy settings -- or lack thereof -- literally compose half the review -- and mind you, I've been real particular about the use of the word "literally", mind you. And to that I say, OH MY GOD WHO THE [verb] CARES!? IT'S FUN!! Yes, pure simulations have their place in the market, and a well-deserved place at that. But when you have the immense power of a virtual world at your disposal, what's wrong with letting your imagination run wild? It would've been nicer if you spent more time examining what did get improved from SK, like the trick system; you can now do more than one grab per jump! So yeah, the same experience as SK, only with more and better content. If you don't mind shelling out an extra ten bucks for a used copy, I'd easily recommend Snowboard Kids 2 over its sequel, plus a bunch of sour grapes to the haters.

Game Review: Mega Man Legends

Mega Man Legends / Mega Man 64

• Publisher: Capcom
• Developer: Capcom
• Release:
• PlayStation, 19 September 1998
• Nintendo 64, 16 January 2001
• PlayStation Portable, 4 August 2005 (Japan only)
• Genre: 3D Action
• Players: 1
• Save:
• PSX: Memory Card, 1 block
• N64: Built-in
• PSP: Memory Stick, 360KB

This review was updated on 12 July 2016.

As simulated three-dimensional graphics (not to be confused with the stereoscopic 3D effects of today) became cost-effective in the mid-1990s, the video game characters we knew and love evolved to adapt it, with varying results.  Mario did it with Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996), and it was good.  Sonic did it with Sonic R (Saturn, 1997), and it was bad.  Bubsy the cat did it with Bubsy 3D (PlayStation, 1996) and OH DEAR NEPTUNE DON'T EVEN GO THERE!  And then there's Mega Man, who had made a name for himself with (as of 1997) eight games in the original series and four in the Megaman X series, all following the same concept.  Run and gun through eight or so levels in any order, taking weapons from the bosses and using them to exploit others' weaknessess.  So along comes Mega Man Legends, and in the transition to three dimensions, it takes great liberties with this formula.  Do these changes work in its favour, and more importantly, does the gameplay survive the jump to 3D?

The first thing you should know about Mega Man Legends in comparison to the other spin-offs is that it places a heavier emphasis on story.  The universe it takes place in is a world reduced to assorted islands, with sky pirates travelling amongst them in airships and collecting oversized gems called Refractors from underground ruins.  Our hero and player-character is one such Digger, Megaman Volnutt.  Basically, he's like Indiana Jones as filtered through a shonen robo-punk anime.  He flies about with his sister and spotter Roll Caskett, and her grandfather Barrel, on a ship called the Flutter.  After a tutorial level, the Flutter crash-lands on Kattelox Island, where Megaman and Roll set out to find Refractors and other parts to fix their ship.  The plot alternates between this scavenger hunt and exploits against a family of ne'er-do-well pirates known as the Bonnes, consisting of miss Tron Bonne, mister Teisel Bonne, Bomb Bonne, their giant robot baby (!), and a legion of forty Servbots.  Picture the Servbots as the minions from Despicable Me crossed with Lego minifigures.  In other words, [verb]ing adorable!!

Much of the action takes place in underground ruins.

Given the story I just described and the gameplay's adherence to it, Legends dispenses with the traditional Mega Man structure.  Indeed, the only thing linking it to the other series is that its main character is, in the words of Brentalfloss, "blue and cyan with a gun for a hand".  Certain conventions of the original series do reappear in spirit, however.  In addition to the traditional Buster Gun, you can use special weapons, but instead of picking them up from bosses, you find junk items in the over- and underworlds, and get Roll to craft weapons from them.  However, you must also return to Roll if you ever want to switch your special weapon, so this link to the original series (where you could swap weapons at any time) shows its cracks upon inspection.  On top of that, the Buster can be upgraded by finding parts to enhance its attributes, in a bout of RPG elements.  It's a little-known fact that you can entice me to play any old thing by working in RPG elements.  Military shooter?  Hmm, I don't know, there are a few too many around these days...  Military shooter with RPG elements?  [adverb]ing sold!

But despite the presence of RPG elements and a Saturday-morning anime aesthetic (remember when I coined that phrase?), could I still possibly harbour reservations about Legends?  Yes, from a certain point of view, but once again these complaints fall apart upon inspection.  The first thing that caught my concern were the controls.  Mega Man Legends was first released in 1997, so it pre-dates the analogue Dualshock controller.  As such, you'll have to use the D-Pad to move forward, backward, and to the sides.  To change directions, hold the L1 or R1 buttons to turn.  There is an option to have the D-Pad turn and the shoulder buttons strafe instead, but that's it for control customisation.  Yeah, it's a weird control scheme, and the handling of these controls can be a bit stiff, but honestly?  I got used to it rather quickly.  I like how the camera only moves when you turn, as opposed to automatic camera movement which, as a rule, lacks precision, never looks in the direction you want it to, and is just one more thing to wrestle with.

Plus, this setup makes circle-strafing a breeze, and believe you me, you're gonna be doing a lot of it. Manual aiming is handled by holding R2, although there is a degree of auto-aim to help you out if you turn it on.  All things considered, the control scheme is kind of an elegant solution given the limitations at hand, but since both the Nintendo 64 (funny I should mention that... read on) and Sega Saturn had analog-equipped controllers at the time, it's hard to take this on its own merits.  But that's what I must do as a critic, so let's move on to the game's scale: colour me unimpressed.

You've got the one overworld, Kattelox Island, from which you can find entrances to three main ruins, plus another ruins which, despite lacking bosses or plot artifacts, holds useful treasures and can be entered from all over the island.  The running time is padded out with special missions where you take the fight to the Bonne pirates, plus other mini-games and side-quests, but -- and I don't know about you -- I felt the game is at its best when you're exploring the dungeons, hunting through each room in anticipation of the traps and treasures lying within.  Let me put it to you this way: if the game had taken place 100% within these ruins, then I think the game would be stronger for it.  In the end, I spent around 6 hours in my first play-through. Taking on all the side-quests and building all the special weapons should add a couple of hours on top of that, and if you're willing to save enough money to fully upgrade all those weapons, then you can pad out your playtime considerably.

There are also a great deal of separate story missions.

But despite the scale of the game world being a bit lacklustre in my opinion, the world itself is vibrant in its look and feel.  Kattelox Island is dominated by its eponymous town.  One of the first places you visit on the island is Apple Market, a shopping arcade lined with businesses which you can’t buy from, save the Junk Shop, but you can still poke around them and read Megaman’s commentary on what’s in front of him.


The joke’s on him.  Those are just regular old Newsweeks someone dragged around in the mud.  But seriously though, all this flavour text brings the world of Kattelox Island to life.  So do the character designs, especially those of Megaman, Roll, and the Bonnes, which are well-suited to both the styles and the technical capabilities of the time.  And then there’s the voice-acting; it’s not spectacular or anything, but it’s not boring either.  Many of the actors on hand do try to wring out as much emotion as possible, which is more than I can say for other games of its time.

For example.

Mega Man Legends was also ported to the Nintendo 64, re-titled Mega Man 64.  In comparison with the original release on PlayStation, the N64 version has both pros and cons.  On the one hand, MM64 works with the analog Control Stick, which I personally find to be more comfortable to handle than the PSone's D-Pad.  The Z and R triggers handle turning, and you aim by holding both, which I personally found a more ergonomic, if not elegant, replacement for using a separate button.  Still, the translation of the face buttons is a bit confusing.  On the other hand, by virtue of being sold on a solid-state cartridge with, even in the most high-end cases, one-tenth the data space of a CD, MM64's audio-visual aspects pale in comparison to the PSone original.  Textures are less sharp and the voice-acting is of a more muddled quality (I'm just surprised they kept it in the first place), and on top of that the frame rate is choppy in all but the tightest confines.  So, should you choose the inconvenience of sub-par ergonomics or sub-par graphics?  Pick your own poison, I guess.  I should also point out that a port was also made for the PlayStation Portable, although sadly it hasn't left Japan.

Edit 29 Sep. 2015: The previous couple of sentences have more or less been rendered moot, now that the PlayStation version is available to download from the PlayStation Store.

It's funny, I went into this review with the mindset that Mega Man Legends was good but not great, but the more I scrutinised my sticking points, the less valid they became.  Maybe the control scheme is the best you can manage when you're stuck with one of the worst D-Pads in recent memory (but that's just me).  Maybe there is a meaty, engaging experience to be found in unlocking and upgrading all the special weapons.  I guess to be fair, I'm basing most of my criticism of this game against its sequel, but that's a review for another day.

Positives:
+ Changes the Mega Man formula in all the right places.
+ The underworld areas are fun to explore.
+ Even without analog support, the controls work well.
+ Good voice-acting, especially for its time.
Negatives:
- Changes to the Mega Man formula might put off some players.
- Could stand to have a few more areas to explore.
- Poorer texture and sound quality on the N64 version.

Control: 4 Refractors out of 5
Design: 4 Refractors out of 5
Graphics: 4 Refractors out of 5 (PSX) / 2 Refractors out of 5 (N64)
Audio: 4 Refractors out of 5 (PSX) / 3 Refractors out of 5 (N64)
The Call: 75% (B-)

Game Review: Jet Force Gemini

Jet Force Gemini

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Rare
• Release: Nintendo 64, 1999
• Genre: 3D Action
• Players: 1-4
• Save: Battery, 6 file

You guys all know of the video game developer Rare, right? These guys date back to the gaming computers of the 1980s, but their heyday of 1994-2001 was one of the most-loved periods of not just their history, but gaming in general. As a "second-party" developer for Nintendo, they gave us classics like Donkey Kong Country, Killer Instinct, Goldeneye, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and Conker's Bad Fur Day. And then... they got bought out by Microsoft, bound to their XBox and later XBox 360, and they haven't been the same since. As far as I'm concerned, their mediocrity since then was merely coincidental, but I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to talk about one of the games that came out of their golden age, but slipped through the cracks of public consciousness. ...Actually, I've already done that, so let's do it again! Here's Jet Force Gemini.

JFG is, in story terms, a space opera, starring a young man Juno, his sister Vela, and their dog Lupus. (Shut up, House.) Yes, I said a dog. Who wears his guns strapped to his back. How can you not love that? A distress call takes them to the forest planet Endor Goldwood, which has been besieged by an army of insect-like alien Drones, led behind the scenes by the aptly-named Mizar. (Like "miser", get it?) Upon landing, they encounter a shaman named... Jeff, who represents his bear-like race called the Ewoks Tribals, and pleads for their rescue. And how will our troika manage that? By blowing [noun] up.

Lupus, with back-mounted gun and secret upgrade.

The structure is laid out a little something like this. You start out with only Juno as a playable character. Mid-way through his story, you rescue Vela, and mid-way through her story, you find Lupus. Each character is restricted to a path of four levels each until they all meet at Mizar's Palace. Beat the boss here, and then the game really opens up. Not only do each of the characters get to travel to all the unlocked planets, but they also get a secret upgrade (read: a jetpack) to explore places they couldn't before. But there's a reason for this: at this stage in the game, you're tasked with not one, but two collection quests. First, Mizar has sent an asteroid at Earth (Michael Bay says hi), so you have to collect parts to repair an old spaceship in the hopes of intercepting it. Second, in order to get one of these pieces, you have to explore all the levels and rescue all the Tribals within. The trick is not only finding them, but keeping them alive; Tribals can be killed by your fire and the enemies' fire alike. True, dead Tribals do come back if you retry the level, so you can never truly fail this task, but it just kinda weighs heavily on your conscience, ya know?

JFG is, in gameplay terms, a third-person shooter. Despite being an early example of the genre, the only older example I can think of being Mega Man Legends (P.S. Legends 3 is still not a thing. Yet.), JFG boasts a few features which make the experience nothing short of fun. While it's true that most shooter games work best with two Control Sticks, they found a way to compensate for this. An alternate "advanced" control scheme moves the jump and duck functions from A/B to C-Up/C-Down, but by holding R to aim, you can move around by pressing the C-buttons. Moving whilst aiming? What sorcery is this!? Seriously, if you've played older shooters on the N64, the learning curve should come naturally.

The arsenal of weapons you can pick up on your journey is a tad heavily-focused on explosives. For example, there are two rocket launchers, both with a twist: the Homing Missile launcher, and the Tri-Rocket Launcher. More bizarre items include thrown weapons like the multi-explosion Cluster Bombs, the homing and retrievable Shurikens, and... Fish Food. However, most of your work will be done with the Machine Gun, which is fully-automatic but inaccurate. Early on in the game, you can also rescue the flying robot named... Floyd. Quite a bunch of anticlimactic names we've got here. But anyway, Floyd can play bonus flying missions -- hard-as-nails ones at tha,t due to the tight time limits and low-friction physics -- and a second player can join in a campaign, controlling his laser guns. If you're thinking of the "1 1/2-player" co-op of Super Mario Galaxy, you've got the idea.

Maybe the Shocker's not the best idea for a boss fight...

By mixing elements from shooters and fantasy platformers alike, with that light touch of British humour that Rare has provided in their other mascot-led titles, Jet Force Gemini is one of the most unique titles to grace the Nintendo 64. It's true that the frame rate frequently goes on the chopping block, despite -- or rather because of -- the many coloured dynamic lighting effects, and the movement physics are a bit on the slippery side. And I may have been spoiled by modern shooters in this regard, but I'm a bit bugged by the targeting reticle resetting to the centre of the screen, especially since the N64's Control Stick is stiffer than others. But for a game which lasts 8 to 10 hours, you're sure to make everlasting memories and have great fun throughout the whole thing.

Positives:
+ Original characters, environments, and weapons.
+ Smooth controls, especially with the "Advanced" setup.
+ An ambitious graphics engine with lots of pretty lighting effects.

Negatives:
- Too much of an emphasis on collection quests, especially near the end.
- The ambitious graphics engine tends to chug quite a bit.

Control: 4 Tribals out of 5
Design: 4 Tribals out of 5
Graphics: 4 Tribals out of 5
Audio: 4 Tribals out of 5
Value: 4 Tribals out of 5
The Call: 85% (B+)

Random Shots: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

• Publisher: Nintendo
• Developer: Nintendo
• Platforms/Release:
• Nintendo 64: 23 November 1998
• Wii (DLC): 26 February 2007
• Genre: Action, Adventure
• Players: 1
• Save: Battery/3 files
• Rarity/Cost:
• N64 (Gray cart): Common (US $5-20)
• N64 (Gold cart): Moderate (US $20-30)
• Wii: N/A (US $10)

Back when I was still unemployed and desperately needing something new to stave off cabin fever, I decided to go back to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.  I did love this game when it came out, despite having to wait quite a while to rent it.  However, I was mellowed by the fact that there was no multiplayer.  Just imagine using all the famous tools to wail on opponents, GoldenEye-style.  Ironically, I don't play a lot of multiplayer, so I wouldn't even have used it.  Bear in mind that this was my first Zelda game: I didn't know how the original game or A Link to the Past, so I had no idea what to expect.  Besides, this game provided a tankerload of iconic and memorable moments, so I should probably go back in time and tell myself to stop complaining. Now, I'm not doing a formal review for this game, although if I did it would easily get some kind of A.  The only question is how A, which I haven't decided on yet.  Instead, I'll write down some of my random thoughts from replaying the game.  They could be stuff I remembered from the first times, or things I'm realizing for the first time.

The first time I played this game, I missed out on getting two things: the Magic meter, and Epona the horse.  It turns out that while you don't need the horse to finish the story, you do need magic.  (i.e. Entering the Shadow Temple and in the final battle.)  For those who want to know, you first get magic powers at the Death Mountain summit, any time after clearing Dodongo's Cavern (level 2).  The path to this spot stands out rather well, so I'm surprised at myself for not having found it sooner.  All that time I had Navi saying the same thing to me every time I called her!


As for getting Epona, the race to win her was way tough, which at first kept me out of completing many sidequests.  However, I was unaware of a trick:  As Young Link, go to Lon Lon Ranch, meet Epona in the middle of the horse ring, and get out your Ocarina in front of her to learn Epona's Song.  Then return as Adult Link, and when you do the "test drive" before the race, play Epona's Song to call and ride Epona.  She's faster than the stock horses and is the only way you can beat the race - although it's still tough.

And what sidequests are impossible without Epona?  The big one is the trading game for the Biggoron Sword.  At some points you're given ingredients which must be delivered to their destinations within a few minutes each.  Even though you learn warp songs, you can't use them for some reason (the fourth dimension is a cruel mistress).  And some shortcuts which would help you greatly are blocked off as Adult Link, such as the one from Zora's Domain to Lake Hylia, which is frozen over.  And there's no way to un-freeze it.  I remember this being involved in one of the game's many urban legends, but now I accept that there's no way to un-freeze Zora's Domain, that you can't get the Triforce in-game, and that there is no playable Temple of Light.

Aw, man, there were so many other sidequests, too...  Collecting Heart Pieces and Gold Skulltula tokens were the big ones, because there were so many of them (IIRC, 36 and 100 respectively) and I really wanted to get their rewards (increased max health for the former, larger wallets and cash for the latter).  Being so jam-packed with this kind of stuff while not detracting from the core gameplay experience is one thing that made the game so great.  And then there's the Z-Targeting system.  If you would take the time to imagine playing the game without this luxury, it could be a lot more frustrating.  So yeah, tip of the hat again.


When I first did the timeskip and started playing as "Adult Link", the world that had to live seven years without a hero was a scary place.  Most shocking was the first "new" locale I encountered, Hyrule Castle Town.  In short, Biff Tannen would be proud.  In long, it's gone all derelict, with not a shred of life apart from the Re-Deads, rather annoying "zombies" which can freeze you by looking at you and then hump your chest to attack. 


Another scary moment: For those unfamiliar with enemies in the Legend of Zelda series, Wallmasters are giant disembodied hands which warp you to the beginning of a given dungeon if they catch you.  In this game they first appear in the Forest Temple (level 4), and the way they pop up on you (rather, they drop down on you from the ceiling) was just so scary.  Maybe it's the whooshing sound that warns you of their impending enterance, maybe it's the fact that they're invisible until you get the Lens of Truth.

I understand that later printings of the game changed the music from the Fire Temple (level 5).  Apparently, it used a recorded Islamic chant and, due to how touchy some people can be, they had it replaced.  My copy of OoT an early gray-cart version, and contains the original music.  As far as I could tell, the chanting is distorted enough that I couldn't make out what they were saying anyways.  If I were the same kind of person I am in real life, except a Muslim-American, I might not be offended, but that's just me.  And for what it's worth, bear in mind this was before 9/11.


A lot of people hate the Water Temple (level 6), and I understand why.  Progressing through this dungeon requires stopping at random points all over the place to raise of lower the water level, as well as going to the pause menu to switch on/off the Iron Boots which let you sink in deep water.  I'll admit I still get annoyed at the Water Temple, if not to the point of insanity.  The worst part of it for me is that messing up, say, forgetting one step along the way, means you have to start the process all over again.  I hear the 3DS version makes this a tad easier, with the ability to take the Iron Boots on/off through the touch screen, so if that's how you're going through the game, more power to ya.

Speaking of the 3DS, I am aware that OoT got ported there a couple of months ago.  If I were to get a 3DS of my own, I'd be somewhat interested in picking it up, only for the Master Quest version built-in.  Unfortunately, as I've read, you have to beat the original game first in order to unlock it.  And since I just beat it again within the past year, I'd have to wait quite a while for it to seem fresh again.  Incidentally, I've been debating with myself whether I want a 3DS or a PlayStation 3 for this Christmas and having weighed my options, I'm going with... the latter.  And believe it or not, the clincher that made me decide was not the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3.  I actually had my eye on a download game for the DSi/3DS, Shantae: Risky's Revenge, another long-awaited sequel.  However, I only recently heard news that a port for the iOS is being planned, and since I own an iPod Touch, there isn't much for the 3DS that I want and can't get somewhere else.


So that wraps it up for N64 Month.  Since I've set this post to be sent out automatically on midnight EDT on 29 September, allow me to be the first in the country to say... Happy Birthday, Nintendo 64!


This is IchigoRyu.


You are the resistance.

N64 Month: The World Is Not Enough

NB: The previously scheduled review, Jet Force Gemini, has been postponed.  Sorry, I just feel like I have too little inspiration and time.  Don't worry, I will get back to it soon.  But with one other game left which I have more to say about, I might as well get something done by the end of the month.  In other words, I just pulled a Moonraker on ya.

007: The World Is Not Enough

• Publisher: EA Games
• Developer: Eurocom
• Release: Nintendo 64, 1 November 2000
• Genre: First-Person Shooter
• Players: 1-4
• Save: Controller Pak, 2 pages
• Rarity/Cost: Moderate (US$5-15)

I have let slip before that the James Bond series is my favorite fandom, so with that in mind it might seem odd that I haven't reviewed any of the movies yet.  Well, apart from feature films not being my specialty... yet... I was thinking of doing something bigger.  That's why I'm proud to announce that in honour of the first movie's (Dr. No) 50th anniversary, 2012 will be "James Bond Year" at the SDP!  What that means is throughout the whole year, I'll attempt to review all of the James Bond movies in chronological order.  However, that does not preclude me from reviewing any of the tie-in video games, including one which I find unappreciated among all the Goldeneyes of the franchise: The World Is Not Enough for Nintendo 64.  (NB: There were similar tie-in games also released for PlayStation and Game Boy Color, however they are so different that they would require separate reviews, something I have no current plans to do anyway.)

Nintendo and Rare's Goldeneye 007 was the king of the first-person shooter genre for a while since its debut, but inevitably the crown had to be passed down.  The way I see it, there were not one, but two spiritual successors to the throne.  One was Perfect Dark, and while not involved with the James Bond licence, it did build off of Goldeneye's engine and all but perfect both the single-player and multiplayer experiences.  Incidentally, Perfect Dark would get a 95% or even 100% call if I were to do a formal review, but if you have the choice, stick to the recent XBox 360 port.  So what was the other heir to the throne?  Why, that would be The World Is Not Enough, a tie-in with the 1999 Bond film, and while it was made by a completely different development team, it still played similarly enough to Goldeneye while making its own welcome tweaks.

If you're not familiar with the film, it was pretty mediocre, I'll admit.  Like a number of Bond films, the plot is intricate and merits repeated watchings to take it all in, but here's the short of it.  Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is tasked with protecting Electra King (Sophie Marceau), the orphaned daughter of a British oil magnate.  The villain is Renard (Robert Carlisle), an anarchist who has kidnapped Electra in the backstory and lost his ability to feel pain.  Things get complicated when Electra and Renard team up to nuke Istanbul, thus sabotaging the King oil pipeline's competitors.  Oh, and Electra's role as the Bond Girl gets swapped out mid-way for Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist.  ...Yeah, your mileage may vary.  The game covers most of the plot points from the movie, although unlike Goldeneye which added playable levels not covered in its respective film, there are scenes here which aren't playable, at least in the N64 version, such as the casino and the King pipeline.

Welcome gameplay changes from Goldeneye include
being able to switch to gadgets in-game.

Carrying on the franchise's legacy, it's only fair that TWINE shares most of its mechanics with Goldeneye.  Each of the 14 missions has you completing a series of objectives, some of which you can't complete if you kill the wrong person, destroy the wrong object, or even blow your cover by pulling out a gun.  This time around, objectives can also be added mid-mission, through the use of in-game scripted events.  Some tasks require the use of gadgets, which can finally be selected in-game (hold A and press B) instead of having to go to the pause menu every time, like in Goldeneye.  A selection of control schemes allows you to switch between Control Stick or C-Button (think Turok) movement, or flip the controls for left-handed support, but the Control Stick sensitivity is a bit too tight for my liking, with no way to modify it.

The graphics are par for the course in terms of late-era N64 titles, but if you've grown tired of Goldeneye's much-referenced "blockheads", you'll find this a pleasant upgrade.  Having an Expansion Pak plugged into your console enables you to switch on the "hi-color" graphics mode, but while having it active can occasionally trash the frame rate, turning off leaves a grainy filter over everything, so pick your deathtrap.  There's quite a bit of voice work to be found in this game as well.  Sadly, due to the space constraints of N64 Game Paks, the voice clips have been compressed something awful in order to fit, but the sound-alike actors sound fairly similar to their film counterparts, and John Cleese reprised his role as R, gadgetmeister-in-training.

Multiplayer adds bots so you can play with yourself.

And if you have fond memories of Goldeneye's multiplayer, then fret not, since TWINE's got you covered.  The requisite variety of characters (including vintage Bond villains), maps, modes, and weapons is accounted for.  This time around, AI-controlled bots can be used to fill in any of the 4 positions not being used by human players.  Since I hardly ever got the chance to play multiplayer games, this was pretty much a Godsend for me, and thus gave TWINE a slight edge over Goldeneye in my book.  While I must give credit to Goldeneye for all it's done to build the first-person shooter genre as we know it today, don't feel bad if you see TWINE as a more polished, if not better, game if they were both released today.

Graphics: 3 martinis out of 5
Sound: 4 martinis out of 5
Control: 4 martinis out of 5
Design: 4 martinis out of 5
The Call: 80% (B)