Tag: N64 - Page 7
Flying high
Releasing alongside Super Mario 64 when the Nintendo 64 launched back in 1996 (1997 if you're European), it was somewhat inevitable that Pilotwings 64 was never going to see the same commercial or critical success. Simply put, Mario's first 64-bit adventure was a masterpiece and proved that Nintendo could recreate its flagship franchise...
News Happy 15th Birthday, Banjo-Kazooie!
Guh-huh!
It’s hard to believe now, but before 31st May, 1998, no one believed that a bear in yellow shorts and a bird in a backpack could ever make an effective team. A spunky little Twycross-based company called Rare, however, set out to prove the world wrong, and did so with quite admirable results. Today marks the 15th anniversary of the North...
Weirdness Own The Manual To ClayFighter Sculptor's Cut? You Could Be Sitting On A Grand
Super-rare game has an even rarer instruction booklet
We'll forgive you for not being aware of this — because we certainly weren't — but ClayFighter Sculptor's Cut was a Blockbuster-only rental in North America. The 2D fighting title is therefore pretty rare already, but it's near-impossible to find with a mint instruction manual, mainly because...
Video Pokémon Snap Gritty Reboot Spoofs Jurassic Park
"Welcome to Pokémon Island!"
The Gritty Reboot team — which did such a fantastic job on Harvest Moon earlier this month — are back with another Nintendo-related trailer, this time based on the N64 title Pokémon Snap. The clip boasts the same astonishingly high production values as it predecessor, and this time spoofs the Hollywood smash-hit...
News The Electus 64 II Mini Brings the Sexy Back to Nintendo 64
Packed with features that actually work
When it comes to modded consoles — which in this case means one that plays actual cartridges, not ROMS — we've seen plenty of innovative efforts over the years. Enthusiasts with a flair for hardware tech have produced handheld GameCube systems housed in tupperware boxes — we kid you not — a Super NES...
News This Is What Real Life GoldenEye 007 Multiplayer Looks Like
Proximity mines always win
It's actually quite scary to think how many collective man hours the team at Nintendo Life has spent playing multiplayer on GoldenEye 007. During our formative years, this highly esteemed cartridge rarely left the console and any person that didn't own a copy and four controllers was shunned as something of an outcast...
News Ex-Rare Staffer Explains How He Created A Profanity-Packed N64 Cult Classic
Chris Seavor spills the beans on Conker, the chances of Killer Instinct 3 and why he left Rare
Conker's Bad Fur Day is famous for its bad language, adult themes and profusion of poo, but it didn't start life as a mature-rated piece of software. Originally intended as a direct sequel to the cute and cuddly Game Boy Color title Conker's Pocket Tales,...
News Archos Uses Star Fox And Mario To Demo Its Console-Killing Tablet
UPDATE: Blogger posted video and installed emulators - nothing to see here...
EDIT: Since this story went live we have been contacted by the person who created the video, who has made it clear that they installed the emulators and ROMs themselves onto the demonstration device when it was shown at a recent trade show, and not Archos: Archos...
News GoldenEye 007 Designer Gives Amazingly In-Depth Post-Mortem On The Game
Martin Hollis talks about creating the perfect Bond game
Famed developer Martin Hollis may have gone on to other projects at the now-defunct Zoonami - creators of the WiiWare classic Bonsai Barber - but he started his career at Rare, where he worked on titles such as Killer Instinct, Perfect Dark and - possibly most famously - GoldenEye 007. Hollis...
News Turok Developer Wants To See N64 Versions On Virtual Console
Ex-Iguana dev talks N64 development and the influence of James Bond
Former Acclaim and Iguana Entertainment designer Ryan Tracy wants to see the four N64 Turok games made available on the Virtual Console, but admits that the thorny issue of IP ownership could mean that his desire never comes to pass. Speaking to NotEnoughShaders.com, Tracy also...
News Does Ocarina of Time Look Better with Link to the Past's Graphics?
You decide
Many of us know The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Hyrule like the back of our hands, but did you ever stop to consider what the Great Deku Tree might look like Link to the Past-style? Zelda Fan Game Central member MaJoRa has spent the past two years recreating Hyrule with sprites and tiles from Link's SNES adventure, wrapping up the...
News Wait, There's a Spectrum Emulator in GoldenEye?
Secret agent
Of all the cheats and secrets tucked away in GoldenEye 007, we never suspected Rare's N64 classic harboured a fully functioning ZX Spectrum 48k emulator. Rare began a coding experiment to see if the N64 could support a Spectrum emulator, even embedding old-school Rare games Sabre Wulf, Jetpac and more in the code. Clearly the experiment...
One cartridge, infinite possibilities
They may not find much favour with purists, but flash carts are becoming increasingly popular these days. The rapid march of technology combined with the low cost of flash-based storage has generated a wide selection of different options, almost all of which are produced in limited quantities and to very crude...
News See Rockstar and Miyamoto's Unreleased N64 Project
Do the buggy boogie
Back in the day, Rockstar San Diego — best known for Red Dead Redemption of course — was Angel Studios, a work-for-hire developer responsible for the N64 port of Resident Evil 2 among other games. What you may not know was the studio had an internal division known as Dream Team that once worked on an unreleased N64 game with...
News Mario Party 2 Joins the Club Nintendo Rewards Gang
It'll cry if it wants to
North America, your Club Nintendo rewards have been updated today, with two download games available to buy with your hard-earned coins. Art Academy: First Semester (3DS, DSiWare) — 150 Coins Mario Party 2 (N64, Wii Virtual Console) — 150 Coins These rewards are available until 29th February. Remember if you want to get...
Feature Celebrating 10 Years of Animal Crossing
Population: glowing
Here's a fun game next time you're at a boring social occasion: try explaining the point of Animal Crossing to an elderly family member. Nintendo's genre-defying life series first appeared in Japan in April 2001 as Dobutsu no Mori ("Animal Forest") on Nintendo 64, but it was the enhanced Animal Forest+ for GameCube —...
News These Cut Scenes Never Made it Into Majora's Mask
Yet here they are
It's always fascinating to see what gets left out of games before they make it to players, and while these two cut scenes from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask aren't the most exciting we've ever seen they do show Link doing press-ups, so that's something. The clips below come from a beta version of the game, but we won't spoil...
Feature Memorable Zelda Moments
The wonderful world of Hyrule, and beyond
The Legend of Zelda is one of the best loved Nintendo franchises, over 25 years old and still finding new ways to thrill gamers. The significant number of Zelda releases means it boasts an incredible history and reputation, with each new entry’s adventure contributing its part to the lore of the series...
News Miyamoto: "Super Mario 64 Was Boring"
Wasn't always a classic
We now know that Super Mario 64 is one of the most important genre leaps in gaming history, taking Nintendo's mascot from 2D into 3D with enormous skill and craftsmanship. However, creating the game wasn't plain sailing, as a new Iwata Asks reveals. The discussion — which comes in at a colossal 26 pages — reveals that...
Feature Resident Evil's Nintendo History
Undead on the big N, past, present and future
The claustrophobic darkness. The creeping undead. The hideous monsters. The Resident Evil series has brought such thrills and chills to our TVs since 1996, and it’s taken quite a unique path when it comes to Nintendo consoles. With the month of All Hallows’ Eve upon us, we decided to take a look at...
News Unreleased N64 Game Glover 2 Surfaces Online
The sequel that never was
N64 platformer Glover may have been lost in the sea of other 3D platformers that flooded the system, but it's got nothing on its sequel. Glover 2 was never finished, but in 2010 a prototype version of the game made its way to eBay, allowing the world to see Interactive Studios' unreleased sequel. Check out the video below...
Round Table Remembering the Nintendo 64
Check out the polygons!
This week we have been celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Nintendo 64, looking at memorable games, the revolutionary aspects of the system, the let-downs and disappointments, as well as the possible 3D future for N64 titles. Now it’s time to relax and get into some good old retro reminiscences, scouring our aging...
Talking Point The Role of the N64 on the 3DS
Classic games for a new audience
It's no secret that Nintendo has been having something of a tough time of it in regards to the 3DS. Since its launch in late March of this year, Nintendo's newest handheld has battled through a significant price drop, a shaky start as far as its online functionality is concerned, complaints about poor battery life...
Feature Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Nintendo 64
The Big N’s gift to modern gaming
Looking back on the Nintendo 64, there are plenty of subject areas that warrant exploration. As a console, the N64 was a trend-setter that pushed the boundaries and expectations of gaming experiences. This status as a technologically advanced and experimental console was both a blessing and a curse, as it enjoyed...
Talking Point The Most Memorable Nintendo 64 Games
Get N, to the Nintendo Life Poll
It seems like the year of major anniversaries in all things Nintendo, as this week we celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Nintendo 64. The good old N64 was released on 29th September 1996 in North America and introduced 3D polygon graphics at a level that hadn’t been seen before. Throughout the course of this...
Feature What Happened to Metroid 64?
Samus got lost
As a week of Metroid Anniversary celebrations draws to a close, we thought we’d look back at a Metroid game that never was. We’re not talking about Metroid Dread, which could still happen, but Metroid 64, which will obviously never see the light of day. We’ve made the title up, but in light of the trend of adding ‘64’ after...
News This Custom N64 Has a Hidden Secret for Multiplayer
Surprise, a control port!
Custom consoles are all the rage these days, and the Nintendo 64 is particularly ripe for fan-made hardware revisions. The portable machine below might look oddly familiar to those who've seen the iNto64, but it's got an ace up its sleeve: a controller port. The combination of N64, screen and control port means split-screen...
News Iwata: Ocarina of Time 3D "Crammed with New Content"
But keeps quiet on just what
While plenty of gamers are looking forward to revisiting Link's first 64-bit outing when it comes to 3DS in the form of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has hinted the title will still have plenty of new and interesting things to offer gamers this year. Speaking to Nintendo legend...
News Retro Gamer Celebrates the N64 with Special Issue
64-bit baby in depth
With Bomberman Hero arriving on Virtual Console today in Europe, the N64 is firmly back in many gamers' minds, while for some it never went away. This month's issue of Retro Gamer magazine is ideal for both, as it's a special collector's edition detailing Nintendo's 64-bit beauty in all its glory. Taking a look through the...
News Europe, Blow Up with Bomberman Hero on Friday
North America, you have to wait
As we reported last week, Hudson's 64-bit single-player Bomberman Hero was recently rated by the ESRB, but the title will make its first appearance in Europe this week for the price of 1000 Points. The game was originally released in 1998 and is most well-known for being a totally single-player adventure, with not...
News Super Mario 64 is a 5-Minute Adventure With the Right Tools
The rotund plumber is faster than he looks thanks to an emulator-assisted speedrun
Video games are a wonderful way to show off best times and high scores after spending countless hours in attempting to achieve them, but when orthodox methods aren't enough to impress, gamers (and obsessives) must think outside of the box. A group of speedrunners have...
It's party time!
The Mario Party series has become quite successful for Nintendo and has brought many gamers and their families together over the years. Nintendo, obviously still concerned over the taxing controls of the original Mario Party which caused more than a few blisters and hand cramps among players, have decided to skip straight to Mario...
News Metroid 64 Was This Close to Existing
Not that close, actually
There was no Metroid game on Nintendo 64, Samus Aran skipping the console altogether save for a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Series creator Yoshio Sakamoto has revealed in an interview with UK magazine GamesTM that the heroine's history could have been very different, as Nintendo approached a third-party to develop...
News Wanted: Your Memories of GoldenEye N64
Care to share your rose-tinted memories of the fabulous GoldenEye and become a video star?
Do you remember playing Goldeneye on the N64? Were you the sharpest shooter among your friends? Do you still think playing as Oddjob is cheating? Kream London is filming a new media project and is looking for outgoing groups of friends to talk about one of the best shooters of all time. For more information..
News Sin & Punishment Team Talks N64 Development Hell
The console "didn't work at all"
The paradigm shift from 2D to 3D that game developers faced in the 32/64-bit era was so drastic that not only did developers have to grapple with new tech but also figuring out how on earth their games would work in a new dimension. It didn't always work out so well, but when it did it was magical. Nintendo CEO...
News Help People Get Their Wii Consoles Online, Get Free Games
Nintendo of Europe announces their upcoming promotion.
Not too long ago, Nintendo of Japan announced a new promotion - those who helped enough people connect their Wii consoles to the Internet would receive free Wii Points and the ability to download a multitude of Virtual Console games absolutely free. Nintendo of Europe has now announced that they...
News EU VC Update: Mario Golf and Wonder Boy in Monster Land
This week, Europe finally gets another N64 game! Can you believe it's been almost 8 months since the last one? Accompanying it is what is likely to be the last Wonder Boy game on VC.
Mario Golf was strangely already released in the US and Japan months ago before finally appearing in Europe this week. This is the first Mario Golf game, and although...
Mario hits the links
After Mario's forays into non-platforming genres, such as Mario Kart, Mario's Picross and Dr. Mario, Nintendo realized something: Whatever you put Mario in, it will sell. Soon after, they made loads of Mario sports games - Starting with Mario's Tennis on the Virtual Boy, Nintendo soon made the plumber try golf, and, more...
News USA VC Releases: Mario Golf and Shining Force II
Nintendo has dropped the ball on Hudson again! Digital Champ: Battle Boxing and Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou, both announced for release in the US today, have been pushed back in favour of two other games! When will they learn? It's not all bad news though...
You can finally stop complaining about the lack of recent Nintendo 64 releases - Mario Golf...
News Goldeneye Locked In Legal Limbo
WAAAAY back in the mists of time we reported that Nintendo was looking to bring Rare’s N64 classic Goldeneye to the Virtual Console.
Soon afterwards it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, and to make matters worse, it looked as if Rare’s new owners might bring the game to their 360 console via the Xbox Live Arcade service, albeit in...
News N64 Controller Mod For Virtual Console
Although the Classic Controller is enough for most retro-loving Wii owners, there are some that crave a rather more authentic experience. There’s nothing like experiencing Virtual Console games on the controllers they were intended to be played on, and while Nintendo’s limited production of the Club Nintendo SNES pad will have satisfied a few, it’s going to leave a certain demographic out in the cold – namely those who love the N64 controller.
But fear not. A talented hacker called Raphaël Assénat and been tinkering away in his dimly-lit workshop and has produced a converter that permits the use of the..
News EU VC Releases - 30th May - Samurai Shodown
If you like SNK fighters and N64 puzzlers you're in luck today. There's two news games that fall into the former category, and one that falls in the latter. I think you can guess the N64 game!
The top pick this week is Samurai Shodown. Instead of making yet another generic modern-day fighter with special moves, like fireballs and such, they decided to make Samurai Shodown, which does pretty much..
News US VC Releases - 5th May - Pokemon Puzzle League
So what wonderful games can you get your grubby mitts on this Monday? Prepared to be amazed as the Virtual Console is getting a new N64 game in the shape of Pokémon Puzzle League.
For those not in the know Pokémon Puzzle League uses the exact same gameplay found in the old SNES and Game Boy title Tetris Attack. You're given a Tetris-like field full of coloured blocks, which you must arrange into..
News US VC Releases - March 31st - Wonder Boy
Not to be outdone by Europe getting the first Commodore 64 games on Friday it turns out that the North American Virtual Console service is getting its first Sega Master System game in this week’s VC releases!
For those not in the know about the Master System you can read up on the system in Damo’s hardware focus. Basically it was the 8-bit forerunner to the Sega Genesis and a direct rival to..
News EU VC Releases - 28th March - Commodore 64
If you like the number 64 you're in luck today - Not only are there three new games, they're all for the Commodore 64 and Nintendo 64! Obviously this also means there's now a new system on VC. Commodore 64 games cost 500 Wii Points each.
As the C64 is arguably bigger news than a new N64 game (It's not that great of a game anyway), its two games are our "top picks" this week. International..
News EU VC Release - March 7th - Kirby 64
Nintendo are back to their old shenanigans, as there's only one new game this week. That said, it IS a Nintendo 64 game, which somewhat merits it.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the only 3D Kirby platformer ever released (There is another in development, but information on it is a bit scarce). Unfortunately, it's also frequently seen as the...
News US VC Releases - 25th February - Kirby 64
American NES fans were no doubt a little jealous at Europe for getting River City Ransom last Friday - But no worries, while you aren't getting RCR on Monday, you'll get something else that's also wanted by many people and isn't out in Europe yet.
Japan got Custom Robo V2 as their latest Nintendo 64 game, so some people thought the rest of the world...
News US VC Releases - 28th January - 1080 Snowboarding
The days of getting three (or more) Virtual Console games each week seem like a distant memory to us now. Yet again, Nintendo has released just one game for the US Virtual Console, but the blow is softened considerably by the fact that it’s an excellent N64 release! Better to spend your Wii points on one decent title than three rubbish ones, eh?
1...
News EU VC Releases - 18th January - 1080 Snowboarding
Hot on the heels of Japan, who got the game on Tuesday, Europe has gotten the next N64 game - 1080 Snowboarding! This is another "realistic" racer, similar to Wave Race 64, except that you're, of course, snowboarding instead of riding jetskis. Like the other 3 N64 racers on VC, it holds up quite well and is well worth checking out.
On the...
News Goldeneye NOT Virtual Console Bound?
Xbox site Xbox Evolved has posted a rather worrying story regarding the N64 classic Goldeneye. According to the site, Rare is gearing up to publish the game on Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade service.
Rare apparently has already started to seek the permission of current Bond licence holder Activision. Other classic Rare titles such as Perfect Dark and...
