F-Zero X (N64 review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1998

F-Zero X is a racing game and the follow-up to the original F-Zero (1990, Super Nintendo).

Modes include GP Race (5 cups with 6 tracks each), Death Race (try to wreck all opponents) and VS. Battle (between 2-4 players). Noticeably, the graphics aren't anything to write home about and the lack of scenic detail across each track results in a rather unappealing experience from a visual standpoint. However, the trade-off in graphical fidelity is buttery-smooth 60 frames-per-second gameplay, blisteringly fast action and a whopping 30 racers competing at the same time. Once you've witnessed the intense action the more you appreciate the developer's choice, as you don't even have time to look at the scenery! The track design shines with its diversity that includes being flipped around in cylinder loops, anti-gravity corkscrews in mid-air, and sections where you catch huge air and have to position yourself for a safe landing as the floor starts to pop back into view. What's more, the unlockable X-Cup features randomised layouts, making for some huge replayability. The gameplay is tough with plenty of trial-and-error, but the inclusion of 30 racers keeps you engaged throughout every second and the constant carnage resembles a destruction derby. Also, the lanes are usually wide enough to where you're not getting annoyed by constantly bashing into opponent vehicles. Learning when to use your boost at the cost of vehicle energy is crucial and it gives the gameplay a strategic edge that co-exists with a fun risk-reward element. Special mention has to go to the amazing hard rock / metal soundtrack, as its wailing guitar solos really set the tone for the exciting racing action.

F-Zero X is a challenging game that makes you work hard for every victory, but the impressive number of simultaneous opponents, ferocious speed and varied track design result in an excellent all-round racer. It successfully translates the series to the 3D space and offers tons of content to keep you occupied for a long time.

Random trivia: An add-on called the F-Zero X Expansion Kit was released in 2000 on the Nintendo 64DD and featured a track creator.

The Legend of Zelda (NES review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1987

The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game that was originally released in 1986 on the Family Computer Disk System.

As Link, your mission is to save Princess Zelda by recovering all eight pieces of the Triforce and destroying the evil Ganon. Your main weapon is a sword, but alternatives such as boomerangs, bow and arrows and bombs can be obtained. For a mid-1980s title, the open world gameplay gives you an unprecedented amount of freedom in how you approach each play session; in fact, the best part is how hours can be spent avoiding dungeons entirely and instead simply taking in the beauty and mystique of the intriguing environments. This autonomy is a theme that runs through the entire game, as the multitude of upgradeable weaponry gives you a ton of ways to tackle each screen. Learning how to use each item to inflict maximum damage to the wide range of enemy types is fun, and I like how you're rewarded for skillful play by possessing a Sword Beam projectile if you have a full life metre. The dungeons are expertly designed too and include many twists and turns so you're not always following a linear path straight to the boss. However, that's not to say that the gameplay is perfect. For instance, enemies have an annoying habit of spawning on top of your sprite (giving you barely any time to avoid taking damage), and it can be annoying to work your way through a dungeon, only to later find out that you need a specific item from the overworld to complete it. Also, while the inclusion of secret pathways and heart containers (to increase your life metre) are much appreciated, their locations are often very obscure unless you spend time burning and bombing everything in sight.

For such an early title in the NES library, there's just so much to do and see in The Legend of Zelda that you can't help but be impressed by what Nintendo managed to achieve. Sure, it can be rather ambiguous at times (and most players will require a guide), but its huge scale and deep gameplay is a compelling combination.

Random trivia: In the Family Computer Disk System version, the Pols Voice enemies can be defeated by speaking into the console's built-in microphone on controller 2.

1080° Snowboarding (N64 review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1998

1080° Snowboarding is a racing game that was re-released on the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console in 2008.

In Match Race, there's six courses (spread across three difficulty modes) and the objective in each is to best your opponent to the finish line. The controls are difficult to get comfortable with and at times it's like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. Part of this is the sensitive steering, but mostly it's down to how ridiculously precise the level of your board needs to be when landing from a jump; it can be infuriating at first and I wish the developers gave newcomers a little more margin for error. What this results in is a complete avoidance of ramps, which are pointless anyway in this mode as they only serve to slow you down. When you do master the controls, the racing is furious with superb course design and branching paths for you to work out the fastest route. There's also a decent amount of scenic variety and despite the limited number of locations, the repeated courses across difficulty settings take place at different times of day and in varying conditions. I also like how the CPU isn't immune to crashing, but it's a shame you can't race against more than one opponent. Contest mode is a mixture of slalom challenges (against the clock) and big air ramps (perform tricks to earn points); this variety is a great idea and it's an intense mode that's perfect for honing your skills. Trick Attack tasks you with gaining the most points within a time limit; fans of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (2000, N64) may find some enjoyment here, as the controls work in a similar fashion (although some tricks are unnecessarily complex). It's mildly entertaining for a while, but the courses aren't really designed for big air.

1080° Snowboarding isn't as instantly accessible as many other Nintendo games on the N64 and its tough-to-master controls are likely to be a turn-off for some players. However, if you put in the time to learn its nuances you'll find an exhilarating racer with some excellent course design and plenty of fun shortcuts to find.

Random trivia: A sequel called 1080° Avalanche was released on the Nintendo GameCube in 2003.

Mario Kart 64 (N64 review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1997

Mario Kart 64 is a racing game and the first 3D entry in the series.

It supports 1-4 players and the Grand Prix mode tasks you with placing first in a series of four races. Opponents can be attacked with various weapons that include Shells, Banana Peels and Thunderbolts. The 16 courses have incredible design with a huge amount of standout moments, such as the train running through Kalimari Desert and moles that pop up from the ground in Moo Moo Farm. Perhaps the most unique and inspired is Yoshi Valley though with its multiple routes in its maze section; interestingly, your race position is hidden in this course, so the tension is kept high until the finish line! The only course that falters is Rainbow Road, as it's too long and the transparency effects and bright lights can make it difficult to see upcoming Chomps as they charge towards you. While the racing is easy for newcomers to get to grips with, what's most welcome are the awesome tricks that advanced players can use; these are great for improving your skills and include drifting for mini boosts, and braking when you hit a Banana Peel to avoid spinning out. Unfortunately, the CPU rubber banding is outrageous and its overuse can ruin much of the fun in higher difficulties; no matter how well you race, there always seems to be someone on your tail in the final lap which gets seriously aggravating due to pure skill not being rewarded. The frame-rate is rock-solid though and even in VS. mode there's barely a hiccup. Battle mode (where you must pop all three of your opponent's balloons to win) is multiplayer hilarity, although I do wish there were more than four arenas and that you could challenge CPU opponents.

Mario Kart 64 is an exceptional racer with rock-solid controls and some of the best course design the series has ever seen. Be warned though that the irritating catch-up system does cheapen the gameplay in advanced difficulties, so you'll need to learn every trick in the book to even stand a chance against the overly aggressive CPU!

Random trivia: Various unused features (such as vertical split-screen) can be enabled using Gameshark codes.

Yoshi's Story (N64 review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 1998

Yoshi's Story is a platform game and the follow-up to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995, SNES).

The Super Happy Tree has been stolen by Baby Bowser and your mission is to reclaim it to return Yoshi's Island to normal. There's six stages per game (although a total of 24 are available once unlocked) and rather than reaching a specific destination the objective in each is to collect 30 pieces of fruit. Personally, I found this idea to be awkward and the sole need to wander for fruit just isn't a strong enough hook. It could be passable if the level design was up to snuff, but it's basic with very few interesting, let alone memorable, moments. Secondly, only allowing six stages per game makes the adventure seem smaller than it is and it would have been much better if players had to complete all 24 levels to complete the story. Despite these glaring issues, the action definitely has some merit as a score attack game and if you're anal enough to collect all 30 melons (avoiding other fruits) in each level there's some fun to be had with this increased challenge. The bosses are insultingly easy though with very basic patterns that are inexplicably told to the player just before battle commences, ruining much of the intensity! Considering the game's title you'd expect that a greater emphasis was placed on the plot; however, the bare-bones story only plays out in brief text-based cut-scenes that do little to invest or excite the player. Even the art style fails to impress, as it lacks identity due to its slapdash approach of merging paper cut-outs, hand-drawn graphics and pre-rendered sprites together. Also, the music is horrific and the gibberish Yoshi vocals sound like rejects from the U.K. TV series Teletubbies!

Whereas Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000, N64) raised the bar with its intriguing power-up combinations, Yoshi's Story lacks innovation and chooses to focus on a weak fruit collecting mechanic that's an ill-advised hook for the entire game. Overall, it's an utterly forgettable experience and one that grows tiresome after just a few stages.

Random trivia: Various test stages can be played if you enter certain codes with a Gameshark.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Publisher: Nintendo

Released: 1995

 

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is a platform game that uses the Super FX GSU-2 chip.

As Yoshi (with Baby Mario onboard), your mission is to rescue Baby Luigi from the evil Kamek. Enemies can be stomped, but Yoshi's main attack is grabbing enemies with his tongue, swallowing them to create an egg and then using them as projectiles. Eating a watermelon allows you to spit seeds, fire or ice, and you can also transform into numerous vehicles such as a helicopter and train. Each level is scored and gaining top marks involves locating 20 Red Coins, 5 Flowers and 30 Stars; these Stars are important as each time you take damage Baby Mario floats away and if you don't save him by the time your Star total depletes you lose a life. The level design is wildly varied (even within the same world) and the game never rests on its laurels and instead chooses to constantly surprise. It's almost as if Nintendo threw in the kitchen sink, yet it's cleverly done in a thoughtful, player-centric manner rather than feeling chaotic or disjointed. Everything is playful and encourages interaction (such as being chased by a giant Chain Chomp, or having to push a boulder through an entire level to mow down enemies!), and there's tons of secrets to find. The ability to max out stars, coins and flowers in each level goads you to explore every nook and cranny, and it also creates a completionist mentality that rewards you with hidden levels; this gives the game a huge amount of replayability. The bosses are imaginative too and show off the power of the Super FX GSU-2 chip in terms of sprite scaling. Rounding out the package is the beautiful art style, luscious music, and handy auto-save feature with three slots.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is one of the greatest and most unique platformers of all-time and there aren't enough superlatives to describe how good the adventure is. It's a timeless classic that manages to impress at every turn thanks to its expertly crafted levels that are an absolute blast to play.

 

 

 

Random trivia: There are several unused transformation sprites in the ROM, such as a plane, mushroom and tree.

Pilotwings (SNES review)

Developer: Nintendo EAD

Publisher: Nintendo

Released: 1991

 

Pilotwings is a flight simulator that was a launch title for the system in North America.

 

It consists of eight lessons and four events. To progress you must score enough points in each lesson by taking part in three events; you're judged based on factors like Accuracy and Speed, and failing to achieve the required score forces you to replay the entire lesson. In Light Plane you follow a guide beam, fly under arches and then land on a runway. The plane controls perfectly making it a fun event, and the landing sequence is just as intense as Top Gun (1987, NES). In Sky Diving, you open a parachute, fly through rings and land on a target. It's tough due to the precise aim you need to have when switching directions. Landing is maddening as you need to use the flare while judging altitude in relation to your proximity to the ground; being accurate takes some superhuman skill and I could never get the hang of it. In Rocket Belt, you fly through rings and then land on a target. It's an enjoyable event as the controls are intuitive and the ability to switch to an overhead view for the landing sequence makes it easier to judge distance. In Hang Glider, you ride a thermal current to a particular height and then land on a target. It's another frustrating event as learning to flare and judge the best angle / altitude to land is too challenging. Overall, the lack of a training mode leaves you with no real guidance so it's easy to feel lost when repeated failure strikes. At least the unlockable Helicopter rescue missions are worth it (via cheat codes in my case!) as you launch missiles at opposing enemies. This more aggressive based action has a great sense of freedom that reminds me of Desert Strike (1992, Mega Drive).

I can see the appeal of Pilotwings but it just didn't pull me in due to its gameplay that demands near perfection from the outset. While some events are entertaining, the Sky Diving and Hang Glider activities offer you little guidance that makes it impossible to progress through each lesson without some serious practice or a stroke of luck.

 

 

 

Random trivia: In 1996, a sequel called Pilotwings 64 was released on the Nintendo 64.