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Cube

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About Cube

  • Rank
    Administrator
  • Birthday 04/11/88

Personal Information

  • Location
    North Wales
  • Interests
    Firefly, Games, Sci-Fi
  • Occupation
    IT Guy

Details

  • Nintendo Systems Owned
    Wii, DSi
  • Other Systems Owned
    Xbox 360, PC
  • Favourite Game?
    Banjo-Kazooie
  • Favourite Video Game Character?
    Banjo and Kazooie
  • Gender
    Male

Game Info

  • 3DS Friend Code
    5198-2395-9664
  • Nintendo Network ID
    DJcube
  • Wii Console Number
    0460 9678 8120 6539
  • PSN ID
    Cube1701
  • Xbox Live Username
    Cube1701
  • Steam ID
    Cube1701
  1. @Dcubed Madden 64 and Quaterback Club 64 came out in October 1997, so just over a year after the US launch Battle Puzzle Balls: Fighting Spirit! JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: 1st September 1998 NA release: 29th September 1998 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 47% Original Name: Susume! Taisen Puzzle Dama: Tōkon! Marutama Chō Battle Puzzle Balls is a collection of three games, two puzzlers and then a bonus minigame. It features a cast of random characters including a “magical girl” that might be a vampire, a mad scientist, a rockstar, a baby and an axolotl. The first game is a variation on Puyo Puyo. In this version, a group of three will make them disappear (instead of four) and the “bad blocks” sent from your opponent can be turned into regular balls. Unfortunately, there are no colour options and I couldn’t tell apart the green and yellow – these also lack the slight shape variation from Puyo Puyo. The second game has the same linking and chain rules as the previous, but instead of balls coming from the top of the screen, you have a pair of wings that can pick up one of the balls, swapping it with another. The green is a darker colour in this game so I could tell the difference, so I was able to do fairly well at it. The final mode is a very basic bowling game. A cursor swings up and down the screen and you press A at the right time to bowl. It’s like a rather naff java version of bowling. This is mainly just a less fun version of Puyo Puyo. Remake or Remaster? Other puzzle games need more attention. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Battle Puzzle Balls: Fighting Spirit!
  2. Power Pros Baseball 5 JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: N/A NA release: N/A Developer: Diamond Hear Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 78% One simple change makes this a huge improvement over Power Pros 4: when the ball is pitched, a target appears on screen for you to aim at. It still needs incredibly quick reflexes, but you now have a chance of hitting the ball. The computer is still completely perfect, though, catching pretty much everything you hit while they always hit a large gap between your players. Another new feature is the scenario mode, which gives you a bunch of in-progress games and you need to try and win from that position. It’s very similar to the scenario mode from International Superstar Soccer. The RPG mode also returns, but there’s just an immense amount of text involved in it, so it’s difficult to keep track of what is going on. Interestingly, there’s still no N64 baseball game that has released in the USA. Remake or Remaster? I would like to see an English version of one of the RPGs in these games. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Power Pros Baseball 5
  3. G.A.S.P!! Fighters’ NEXTream JP release: 26th March 1998 PAL release: 1st September 1998 NA release: 29th September 1998 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 47% What does Generation of Arts, Speed and Power mean? It means someone really wanted the game’s initials to spell out “GASP”. As for “Fighters’ NEXTreme”? I have absolutely no idea – probably why this was renamed to the extremely generic “Deadly Arts” in America. This is another fighting game on the N64, one that has one interesting feature, but is unfortunately not that fun to play. GASP is all about combos, but the input window makes it difficult to pull any off, so I found a couple of simple moves and spammed then. The default timer is very short, so KOs are unlikely and if time runs out, you get judged on multiple categories, so the person with less health may win. The characters are all completely uninteresting and just look like prototype versions from other fighting games. The one interesting thing is “create-a-fighter”, although options are extremely limited. You then train by fighting others and, if you win, you get to learn one of their moves, although with how much of a faff they are to perform, it doesn’t mean much. This joins the rather large list of bland fighters on the N64. Remake or Remaster? The create-a-fighter could be done in newer games, but needs to be better than this. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play G.A.S.P!! Fighters’ NEXTream
  4. Quake NA release: 24th March 1998 PAL release: 24th May 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: iD, Midway Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (Pal) N64 Magazine Score: 79% Like with Duke Nukem, Hexen and DOOM, this is another port of a FPS that released on PC a few years prior. The N64 version of Quake (which I’m calling Quake 64 to make things easier) was mostly the same, but had altered (and missing) maps, making it a slight variation of the original – luckily the 2021 remaster of Quake includes the N64 maps as an additional option (just make sure to turn off the horrible CRT filter). Quake is like DOOM but with a bit more 3D, featuring platforming. It follows the structure of having to hunt down keys to progress levels white are a bit maze like and are often disorientating due to everywhere looking the game. It was no doubt impressive back in the day, but the genre evolved a lot between when this originally came out on PC and when it came out on N64. Apart from slight level changes, the other big difference with Quake 64 is the music. The original had a wonderful soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails (which is a genuine game soundtrack, not just some music they had already made) while this has its own soundtrack which sounds a bit like DOOM 64, being mostly background creepy ambient noise. Quake is a fine game by itself, but there’s not really any reason to play it over the original. Remake or Remaster? The remaster of Quake included an additional download for the N64 version – although if you’re not on PC, you’re stuck with a horrible filter, as it requires a console command to disable. Official Ways to get the game You can get Quake for Gog and Steam.
  5. 1080° Snowboarding JP release: 28th February 1998 NA release: 1st April 1998 PAL release: 9th October 1998 Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo N64 Magazine Score: 89% 1080° Snowboarding has a bit of a mixed reception amongst Nintendo fans, with some loving it and others not really getting into it. Unfortunately, I’m in the latter camp but I can see why people do love it. I think a lot of it is to do with expectations: you expect something more whimsical and a bit over-the-top from Nintendo, but 1080 is surprisingly grounded. 1080 is a snowboard racing game with a lot of tricks, with the tutorial being geared towards performing tricks. I think this was the main error of the game, as it sets tricks as something integral to the game, creating the impression that they’ll be important to all modes. After this, people will usually pick the race mode and almost certainly lose. As Nintendo have gone for a more serious game, tricks won’t help you out here, they’ll just slow you down, any kind of jumping usually will. You need to crouch down and perfect the course to win, even on the easiest difficulties. The tricks come into play in specific trick modes, and the system is quite robust and it takes a lot of skill to master landing. I just wish that the two modes were integrated a bit more and that tricks were part of races, creating boost – but that would change the nature of the game and isn’t what Nintendo is going for. 1080° Snowboarding is a very solid game, it just isn’t for me. Remake or Remaster? It definitely deserves an updated release, perhaps adding a more arcade mode as well. Official Ways to get the game There is no way to buy a new copy of 1080° Snowboarding, the only official way to play is to rent it via the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pak. Re-releases 2008: Wii Virtual Console 2015: Wii U Virtual Console 2024: Nintendo Switch Online (subscription only)
  6. Incineroar could work great as a standalone Pokémon, like Tony the Tiger merged with a wrestler and climbed out of hell. The problem with Incineroar it follows two Pokémon that are quite similar, and goes in a completely different direction. Litten and Torracat are simple cat Pokémon, but that's what I liked. A much cooler cat Pokémon as the third evolution would be much better than a savage demon. Out of the others, Owliver was also a great design. Moon was my only main Pokémon game after Yellow.
  7. NHL Breakaway 98 NA release: 25th February 1998 PAL release: 25th February 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Iguana Publisher: Acclaim N64 Magazine Score: 62% Graphically, NHL Breakaway looks much more “real” compared too Wayne Gretzky, with human-shaped proportions and an ice rink that has reflections (although not of players). It also seems to be more in-tune with a proper Ice Hockey viewing experience (I presume) with organ music playing American sports tunes. Unfortunately, that’s where the good points for Breakaway end, as it’s nowhere near as fluid or fun to play as Wayne Gretzky. It’s all stiff, with some unresponsive controls and bad camera angles – I couldn’t find a single one I liked. Similar to Igunana’s American Football game, NHL Breakaway also ahs some cheats, although none are as amusing as their previous one and they don’t really make the game any more fun. This is just a bland sports game. Remake or Remaster? Sports games constantly get refreshed. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play NHL Breakaway 98
  8. Jeopardy! NA release: 25th February 1998 PAL release: N/A JP release: N/A Developer: GameTek Publisher: Take Two N64 Magazine Score: 9% Similar to Wheel of Fortune, this got a scathing review from N64 Magazine and, once again, this is just fine. There’s not much too it, but it gets the job done. That said, it does have a few problems not present in Wheel of Fortune. One odd thing I noticed (which isn’t really a problem) is that the menu music is a remix of “I’m a little teapot”, which is a bit random. Jeopardy is a trivia game where everything is worded awkwardly so that the answers start with “what is” and the questions don’t have question marks. It doesn’t change the nature of the questions in any way, it’s just a pointless novelty to make them seem more interesting than they are. You pick from a list of categories and difficulties – if you don’t know much about one of the chosen categories, tough. Typing out on the N64 is particularly awkward. It helps you by filling in the “what is/are” part so you just put in the answer (making it more obvious that it’s just a regular quiz show). You can set it to accept incorrect spellings or to show you potential answers. On the flip side, computer players type so fast you can’t see what they’re doing. It’s a basic trivia game – but that’s all it’s trying to be. Remake or Remaster? Like Wheel of Fortune, classic games should be in a Jackbox-style collection. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Jeopardy on N64, but there are various versions of the game on other platforms.
  9. Olympic Hockey ’98 NA release: 23rd February 1998 PAL release: April 1998 JP release: July 1998 Developer: Software Creations Publisher: Midway (NA), GT (PAL), Konami (JP) N64 Magazine Score: 60% In December 1997, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey ’98, offering no notable improvement over the first (pretty solid) game. Two months later, Olympic Hockey ’98 is just another version of Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, just with the American teams replaced with those from the Olympics (although most of the players are generic and not based on real ones). IGN had a particularly scathing review, giving it a 0/10 and saying “We’ll post a new review when Midway releases a new game.” (that’s not a quote, that’s the entire review). The biggest difference between Olympic Hockey and Wayne Gretzky are the default settings, with Olympic Hockey having everything set to simulation and strict. I realised I hated strict hockey, especially the ball going behind the goal resulting in a penalty, but change some settings and you can have fun again. This isn’t a terrible game, it’s just a cheap cash-in. Remake or Remaster? This game is pointless. Official Ways to get the game There’s no official way to play Olympic Hockey 98
  10. Your 2024 Gaming Diary

    If you ignore minigames, Sonic Shuffle trounces every Mario Party (well, apart from the cheating AI).
  11. Fighters Destiny NA release: 31st January 1998 PAL release: 1st March 1998 JP release: 11th Decemver 1998 Developer: Opus, Ancho, Genki Publisher: Ocean (NA), Infogrames (PAL), Imagineer (JP) N64 Magazine Score: 86% Even though I’m not a fan of fighting games, I can tell that this one is something special, at least compared to all the tedious ones released before this on the N64. This has some interesting ideas and feels like it was designed for a console due to the modes it included. The key part of Fighters Destiny is the point system. You have to be the first to seven points and different methods of defeating your opponent gets you different points: pushing them off the giant block you fight on top of nets you 1 point, a throwdown move gets you 2 points while preforming a special mode (via a ridiculous combination) get you 4. This means people are trying different tactics rather than just whittling down health. There are also a bunch of different modes to keep people interested. There’s a rodeo where you have to keep in the fight (against a cow) for as long as possible, a survival challenge and a timed mode. There’s also Masters Challenge, where you can earn more moves for each character (on top of the already immense amount they have) and can move these via controller pak to a friend’s house. It isn’t for me, but Fighters Destiny stands out above the other fighting games on N64. Remake or remaster? A collection of both games would be nice. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Fighters Destiny
  12. @Dcubed a fresh team worked for GoldenEye, but I imagine Konami's method was just randomly assigning a new project when a team has finished a previous one. @Jonnas thanks for the info! SimCity 2000 JP release: 30th January 1998 NA release: N/A PAL release: N/A Developer: Maxis, Genki Publisher: Imagineer N64 Magazine Score: 83% I didn’t touch this one that much. For the most part, it’s a straight port of SimCity 2000 on PC, but completely in Japanese (even with Google Lens, it’s a nightmare to play). On top of that, the joystick moves a cursor and is really not suitable for this kind of game. I did try to get somewhere with it, but I couldn’t even attract a single person to my city. This version of SimCity 2000 does have some additional features I never got to, mainly in the form of minigames. You can bet on horse races, breed monsters (to defend your city from other monsters), defend your city in a Sci-fi shooter and take part in a dating sim. I am curious to see what they’re like, but the barrier is just too high – I’ll save my SimCity effort for the N64’s other, more custom, SimCity game. (Note: There was never a UK release of SimCity 2000) Remake or remaster? It would be curious to see the minigames in another version. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get the N64 version of SimCity 2000. The PC version can be bought from EA.
  13. Splatoon 2

    @Hero of Time are you going to play the Octo Expansion? The DLC is much, much better than the standard campaign.
  14. NBA In The Zone ’98 JP release: 29th January 1998 NA release: 16th February 1998 PAL release: April 1998 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami N64 Magazine Score: 71% With ISS64, Konami gave the N64 a solid start with Football games on the N64. Their take on Basketball is the first serious take on the sport on the N64, so you would hope for similar results. Unfortunately, NBA In the Zone 98 (or NBA Pro 98 in Europe) bounces off the basket rim and just misses the mark. Everything in NBA In The Zone feels slow and clunky, even swapping players seems unreliable. Helpful AI-controlled teammates are also an important part in sports games, and for a game like baseball it seems vital, but anyone you don’t control may as well not be there. From what little I know about Basketball, getting your players in a defensive position is a necessary part of the game, especially as you can’t tackle directly, but defending may as well not exist in this game. After FIFA 98, the players also seem extremely outdated, with stick arms and legs, looking more like abstract monstrosities than human. The courts and crowds also look rather flat, resulting in a game that’s just janky and ugly. Remake or remaster? Sports games have evolved over time. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get NBA In The Zone 97
  15. Robotron 64 NA release: 5th January 1998 PAL release: June 1998 JP release: N/A Developer: Player 1 Publisher: Crave (NA) GT (PAL) N64 Magazine Score: 75% With the advent of digital downloads, games like this have a great place now. But back in the N64 days, arcade-style games were sold on a cartridge the same price as much meatier games, making them difficult purchases. Robotron is an update to the original Robotron 2048, but the arcade mode of going though the 200 waves (or taking turns with another person) is really all there is. Robotron 64 is a really good update of the original arcade, now in a new perspective with a camera that mostly does a great job at showing the action. You can either use the analogue stick to move and c-buttons to shoot, or use two controllers to use two analogue sticks. The gameplay is solid and a lot of fun. Although with the camera moving and all the flashing effects, it can sometimes be difficult to see what is happening, with the projectiles of the brain enemies being particularly difficult to see, resulting in some unfair deaths. Robotron 64 is a lot of fun, but it really could have done with more modes and features. Remake or remaster? I’m quite surprised that there has been no XBLA style update for Robotron. It’s still a well respected name and an update could be great, potentially having new styles plus including options for the previous three: 2048, X and 64. Official ways to get the game. There is no official way to get Robotron 64
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