Last Retro Game You Finished And Your Thoughts

Yes! Here's where you can tell us all about the time you won the European Competition with Albion Rovers in Premier Manager 98. Also, I didn't want to clog up with main reviews thread with my thoughts on Cruis'n USA while you're all trying to talk about The Last of Us Part II.

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I completed Snowboard Kids, the game N64 Magazine called “Mario Kart on Ice!”. That description maybe oversimplifies things a bit, but it’s much more reminiscent of games such as Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing than it is the likes of Cool Boarders 2 and 1080 Snowboarding. Snowboard Kids simplifies snowboarding, that’s fair to say, and sticks it in colourful, cartoony setting that I’d argue is more appealing and easier to enjoy than its simulation counterparts of its day.

Snowboard Kids isn’t some unknown quantity, you’ve probably heard all about it. Although it got mixed reviews from the critics and a even a couple of sub-50% scores, the punters liked it. It sold well enough to become one of the few N64 Player’s Choice titles here in the UK (with the manky silver boxes – boak). I think that’s because Snowboard Kids is a really good all-rounder, both as a single-player game and as something folk to could add to their usual N64 multiplayer rota. I’ve got nearly 200 N64 games but I’ve got a core set of around 20 that I like to pop in and return to every so often, and Snowboard Kids is one of them.

There’s not that many options here (just three standard modes, those being Battle Race, Time Attack and a Skill Game) but everything’s good fun. Likewise, there’s not many tracks either, just six with three unlockable ones. They’re all memorable though, each being smartly designed as well as varied, challenging and highly replayable. There’s a couple of downhill courses on snow slopes as you’d expect, but you’re also racing through desert valleys, amusement parks and cliffside highways. The gameplay remains the same whether you’re on snow or sand or whatever, but the scenic break from a screen full of white is much appreciated all the same. The way you get items sets itself apart too. The coins scattered across the courses give you gold to buy items during the race, which you plough through for either a red offensive weapon or a blue defensive weapon. Scrambling for coins adds an aggressive edge to the racing, and squishing folk with a falling frying pan from the sky is an all-time iconic video game weapon, and I’ll not hear anything else. Another nice touch is the ski lift at the bottom of each track – jostling for your place at the gate so you can be transported up to the top of the mountain first is a clever competitive twist that adds a lot to the already-chaotic races.

The lack of speed and lack of challenge holds it back a little, but never spoils it. It still looks nice, has a great soundtrack and hasn’t really aged that much. Returning to Snowboard Kids was no hassle: I’ve had tons of enjoyment from Snowboard Kids over the last twenty-odd years, and replaying it from start to finish was magic once again. I really encourage you all to seek this out, it’s an N64 must-have, 8/10.

Had a wee look at N64'S on eBay along with a few buying & selling groups, they've become super expensive now that what I would spend on a N64 could go on a more quirky system.

Quality write-up Cappa. I have fond memories of Snowboard Kids and the battle for the ski lifts - SBK was in rotation alongside Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye 007 and Mario Party back in 1999 as part of regular Friday night N64 sessions. Haven't played it since it was relevant (if SBK has ever been "relevant") but would love to see it come to a Virtual Console or N64 Mini - as far as I'm aware Atlus haven't re-released it have they?

Also, didn't N64 Magazine give the sequel a lower score?

The only re-release of sorts that Atlus ever gave Snowboard Kids was a Japan-exclusive PS1 port. The second N64 one looks like it's trapped on the system. But - hooray! - the third one isn't hard to find globally on the DS. It's nowhere near as good as it's prequels though. 

I don't know about the N64 Magazine review of the sequel, but it sounds like something they'd do. It's an absolute shame that Snowboard Kids 2 only came out in Australia and not in Europe, I've got no idea what that was all about. It's as disappointing that neither of the first two games made their way onto Virtual Console too.

I remember N64 absolutely raving about that weird little game. Didn't pick it up at the time because I was a narrow-minded child and it wasn't Mario, cute animals, or... er, ISS98. Meh, regrets. (Mischief Makers, which I believe Cappa also mentioned on these shores, is another 'meh, regrets' weird little game I didn't play.)

We had Snowboard Kids (well, still have!) and it is a wonderful game

Balladeer wrote:

I remember N64 absolutely raving about that weird little game. Didn't pick it up at the time because I was a narrow-minded child and it wasn't Mario, cute animals, or... er, ISS98. Meh, regrets. (Mischief Makers, which I believe Cappa also mentioned on these shores, is another 'meh, regrets' weird little game I didn't play.)

What's changed

Now ISS98 wouldn't get a look in . . .

Good to read that people have fond memories of Snowboard Kids too. I'd love to hear the story of how Balladeer and ISS 98 came together...

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I think I had all the N64 platformers back in the day, except Bomberman Hero. That’s because it got a really unenthusiastic response from all the magazines (and it was permanently £50, natch). Even Official Nintendo Magazine only awarded it 72%, and that was a magazine where anything under 85% was regarded as utter shite. 72% must surely have been one of the lowest and worst scores they ever gave. Truthfully, I’d probably give it that score too. But 72% is still all right! I don’t feel anywhere as negative about Bomberman Hero as games journalists seemed to in 1998. These days, it isn’t recognised as one of the N64’s best games, and nor should it be. However, on the whole, I think it’s a little bit underrated.

Bomberman Hero goes in a different direction from it’s overrated-as-hell quasi-prequel, Bomberman 64. It plays more like a 2D platformer than a 3D puzzle adventure – I’m making a very generous comparison, but think along the lines of Super Mario 3D Land and you’ll have an idea of what Bomberman Hero is like. Being able to jump around snappy, linear levels with 360 degree movement is big departure for a series that had more or less played the same since it’s debut in the early 1980s. Personally, I think it’s a welcome change. Bomberman 64 was the only prior game in the series to ditch the grid-based gameplay while moving into 3D, but I felt they royally arsed it up. Hero is Hudson Soft’s second go at that, and it’s a lot better one.

I can imagine that Bomberman Hero would be a gigantic pain in the arse to fully complete, as there’s loads of collectables, and you’d need to replay most of the levels a few times to unlock everything. For me, The In-Completionist, going from A-to-B was quite a nice and pleasantly unchallenging way to spend six-or-so hours. That said, I had a number of annoying game overs because of not being able to measure my jumps and see where things were on the screen, and I wish there were more health pick-ups. Still, no level is so long that you don’t feel you can head straight back in and get to where you were quickly.

The game’s absolute, undisputed highlight is the soundtrack. I just wish there was more of it. 

Conversely, the absolute, undisputed lowlight is the lack of multiplayer. This has nothing at all: it’s one player only. That’s a massive shame, as even a few classic Bomberman maps for four players would have elevated all of Bomberman Hero. Just being able to say that it had a four-player mode likely made this game much more popular than it was, critically and commercially. I don’t think Hudson Soft ever made that mistake again, and I don’t recall them going back to this single player, Bomberman Hero template for any future Bomberman games. It was one-and-done.

I kind of wish I’d bought this when I was younger. I’d probably have enjoyed it more than Glover, Gex: Enter The Gecko and whatever other 3D platformers I was pissing about with after Banjo-Kazooie. With a good amount of variety to it’s gameplay, I still quite liked it in my thirties. If you’re like me and you’ve exhausted your Mario/Banjo/Rayman options, I say this a good alternative to consider. A neat and tidy 7/10.

I'd be well up for a bit of that! I'll keep it in mind if I spot a copy; I'm planning to pick up an N64 in the not-too-distant future, so will be reviewing this thread with interest . . .

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Good to read that people have fond memories of Snowboard Kids too. I'd love to hear the story of how Balladeer and ISS 98 came together...

At the age of nine, or maybe eight, I repeat that I had no taste in games.  It took my parents to buy me such gems as Lylat Wars (which I then loved) and Ocarina of Time (which I got stuck on and took against until the WW bonus disc).  However, I was very very susceptible to peer pressure; so I made the decision I was going to like football.  Not even the strongest of peer pressure could make me find watching the matches anything but bone-shatteringly dull, though, and I was bobbins at playing any and all sports; so I got a game, and I got a little guide book on the teams that had qualified for the 1998 World Cup.  I devoured them both, having no interest in watching the Cup other than to bet with my parents on the final (I bet on Brazil... yeeeeeeeah ) but playing the former to death and being able to almost quote the latter verbatim.  

The game was also pretty good!  I really enjoyed the buttery smooth football.  I must admit, I spent most of my time in the player creator.  You were given a random set of stats each time and a random number of points to upgrade them by, so creating the best ones had a substantial 'gacha' element and I found it very addictive.  Then I'd sub out all of Germany's players for my created ones to end up with a team with 99 attack and defence.  (If I subbed the same bunch in for Brazil I got 97 attack, because the game couldn't countenance you replacing Ronaldo.)  Then I'd steamroll everybody, despite my habit of hammering the slide tackle button like it was going out of fashion.

I tried again, several years later - but Konami had given up on Nintendo platforms so I had to get FIFA on Wii.  The one with the Mii players?  Only that was an unlockable mode, hidden behind football that I found slow and galling compared to my memories of ISS98.  I dropped it like it was hot and haven't tried again since, missing out (another regret) on Mario Strikers due to a review from NGamer and my own reluctance re. footie.

Monkey Soccer was also pretty fun...

Those are nice memories to have. I don't think any football game has recaptured the silky feel of the ISS N64 games. The final one, ISS 2000, was a game I fully planned on playing though.

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G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream might have been the last N64 game I bought, at some point last year. It’s an unusual one for me: it’s an N64 game I’ve never played before now, and that was quite appealing. It actually sounds all right, and I was interested in it before it’s release in 1998. Lots of companies were trying to develop the N64’s version of Tekken - there was definitely a gap in the market, as the console didn’t have a truly great 3D fighter. This was Konami’s go, and I remember it standing out in previews with it’s eye-catching title, create-a-fighter mode and emphasis on skilful combat rather than just trying to get your opponent’s energy bar to nil. But N64 Magazine gave it a shite review score, and I never bothered my arse with it. A cheap copy in CEX twenty-one years later leads me here. 

Although that Konami logo would almost always inspire confidence back then, it means bugger all in this case. Whoever it is, the developer really let the side down with G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream. It’s a genuine contender for the most lifeless and unremarkable game I’ve ever played. It seriously reminds me of that utterly abysmal Virtua Fighter 2 port for the Mega Drive, which is one of my least favourite games ever. G.A.S.P!! doesn’t quite sink to those depths, but the characters are really dull, the moves don’t ever impress, the graphics and audio are bland, the framerate is rubbish, and, above all else, it just isn’t entertaining to play. The good Create-A-Fighter mode lifts it a little, but it’s the gameplay that matters, and it’s complete bollocks. 

I was quite surprised with how bad G.A.S.P!! is. It’s only one step above the console’s infamous worst, 3/10.

Wow, GASP! That was one of the 2 games I was going to write a Gintendo article on, in that it's a really shit game that I couldn't stop thinking about. I totally agree that the characters are absolutely meaningless - I just assumed that a lot had been lost in translation. But I was absolutely fascinated with the character creator - I remember trying to work out the maximum number of moves I could add (103 sticks in my mind for some reason - look, this was 21 years ago now). I must've had a lot of time on my hands.

I thought the Wii-U was poorly named, but G.A.S.P!! takes it to the extreme. Or should that be NEXTream. What even is a "generation of arts, speed and power"? Does the game have stats based on them three fighting attributes? Or are the fighters pictured representing a generation of people?

I avoided this at the time, mostly because I had Mortal Kombat 4 and Rakuga Kids - I kind of knew it was going to get much better than spiky death and violent Crayolas.

I can see how you'd become lost in the character creator Jimbob, it must have been the dog's bollocks back in 1998. I'd be keen to read that Gintendo article on GASP! if you were to ever write it! It's deserves to get it's arse kicked more than it has done.

The N64 is really weird for fighting games. It's got loads of console exclusives like GASP!, Dark Rift and Clayfighter 63 1/3, and they're almost all amazingly bad. I don't even think GASP! is the worst of them either, Dual Heroes takes that accolade. Mortal Kombat 4 and Rakuga Kids were definitely the way to go!

Waialae County Club: True Golf Classics was the Nintendo 64’s first golf game, and it’s an disappointingly ropey one at that. The graphics engine uses the same digitised and blurry cardboard cutouts from all those naff US arcade games that look manky today, and the environments look like they’re from a game that would have kickstarted the 3D gaming revolution in 1987. The controls don’t help it’s cause either, as they don’t offer the precision that’s needed in a game where accuracy really matters. Oftentimes, your ball won’t travel quite as far as you feel you’ve hit it, or vice versa. 

There’s no consistency with the weather too. For instance, when the game’s telling you that there’s a 15mph southerly wind, you shouldn’t expect to see your drive go forty-five kilometres to the east and into the North Pacific Ocean. But you learn to, because that’s how Waialae County Golf goes about things. So, I ended up completing all eighteen holes, on the easiest setting, hardly ever getting below par and against a computer player with the worst possible handicap. That’s good enough!

It’s quite hard to make a complete hash of video game golf though, as it’s a genre that (almost always) translates well into gaming. Gameplay-wise, it’s not the worst thing to play for a couple of hours, albeit it’s a very no-thrills way of spending your time. On the more positive side, the atmosphere is quite appropriate, with jaunty Hawaiian tunes and bright, summer-ey scenery. It’s the joint-cheapest N64 cartridge on CEX too, so there’s that. However, it’s all a bit flat. Really, you’re fine to save your £1.50, skip Waialae County Club, and treat yourself to a pie roll when Greggs reopens instead, 4/10.

There was Fighter's Destiny as well, that I remember N64 giving 86%. Oh - and War Gods.

Damn it I remember Waialae! Was it in N64 issue 1 or something ridiculous like that? They didn't like it either.

I went and checked an old N64 Magazine Club 64 Directory to see if you were right, and you're absolutely spot on, they did give Fighters Destiny 86%. That's pretty generous...! I also looked at the mini-review for Waialae Country Golf - they gave it 49%, say "it's golf, but golf that looks like it's been through a meat processor". They reviewed it in Issue 21, which must have been around Autumn 1998. 

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I deserve a Victoria Cross for completing Castlevania 64. The sheer amount of total bullshit this throws at you makes this the most frustrating game on the console, and a heroic effort to beat. 

I’ve had this in my collection for ages, just kind of sitting there. I gave it a miss when it was new as it didn’t look like my sort of game. I got it for a fiver many years later - after playing the superb Castlevania: The New Generation as my introduction to the series - and was instantly disappointed with what I’d bought. The first level was boring, easy to get lost in and had one of the worst platforming sections I’d ever played in a game. I gave up, and left it alone for over ten years. I’d heard that it gets better though, and I’ve got time on my hands, so...

I knew ahead of my playthrough that this is a famously troubled game. It spent years in development quagmire and turned into a big jumble of genres and ideas before it was eventually released in 1999, two years after it was supposed to. The reviews were good at the time, but time aged it’s flaws and setbacks pretty quickly. Apparently, due to its reputation and perceived quality, Castlevania 64 isn’t part of the series timeline or canon anymore. It’s been erased entirely, probably replaced by Steven Richards like The Big Show was in WWF No Mercy. 

Castlevania 64 is stuffed with parts where you can see where it’s development became strained. It’s breaking at the seams. As a result, there’s countless aspects of the end product that you feel could have desperately used a tidy up. Or much further playtesting. Or indeed just getting binned to all fuck. This is a very awkward transition to 3D, and there’s big problems with the stiff combat, unfocused levels and ruthless platforming sections. These are mostly exasperated by it’s wildly erratic camera. There’s dozens of N64 games where the camera causes unnecessary difficulty, but I’d have to go away and have a think about a game where it’s worse than in Castlevania 64. 

Yet it’s the aforementioned bullshit that stuck in my craw the most. It’s almost immediate with the sheer and utter rubbish it catapults at you. 

About twenty minutes in, I was going up a castle tower, kind of like the way you would Spiral Mountain in Banjo-Kazooie. Except here, the camera can’t keep up, and you’ve got dragon skeleton heads spitting fireballs at you. Also, the platforms sometimes break apart, and sometimes revolve, and sometimes revolve with spikes on their underside. None of these platforms seem to rotate with any sort of regular timing or pattern either. You’re dead if you fall from any height too, so you can’t even land on a lower part of the tower to save yourself. That bit took me at least fifteen tries…twenty minutes in. 

There’s this really obnoxious bit slap-bang in the middle of the game, where you’ve got to blow up some walls with Magical Nitro and Mandragora. Sounds simple enough, but you immediately explode if you get hit by an enemy, or collide with any object, or fall off a ledge, or even jump at all. To transport the Magical Nitro then, you’ve got to slowly walk around these massive, hazardous sections of the level where enemies are launching themselves at you, as well as dive under falling spikes, squeeze in between moving gears and balance across narrow platforms like it’s some sort of Transylvanian version of Super Monkey Ball. On top of that, the game never explains how you actually select and lay down this nitro or detonator, not at all. Oh! And there’s backtracking too. It’s infuriating stuff, and I wondered if other gamers had picked up on this utter nonsense. Turns out they had; in fact, Angry Video Game Nerd tore shreds into Castlevania 64 in one of his earlier episodes, and this level was his main focus. 

Another, later point in the game robs you of all the save points too, meaning that you’ve got to fight three bosses in a row, and do lots of this precision jumping and climbing onto other platforms with instant-death underneath. There’s no defending that, that’s just rubbish games design. Bear in mind that the three sections I’ve typed about here are at the beginning, in the middle, and towards the end. This type of utter bollocks is with you right throughout the whole game.

Castlevania 64’s issues are glaring. With all of those in mind, I can completely see why people really, really don’t like this game. To call it one of the worst on the system though, cobblers, I’m not having that. I really think that there’s a decent game here.

Honestly, if you go into it with a forgiving mindset and learn to tolerate it’s camera, controls and platforming, I think you’d find yourself rewarded. I’m usually guilty for getting to an unfair part of a game, thinking ‘away and take your face for a shite’ and just dropping it altogether. I’m glad that I didn’t do that here though, as this is oftentimes a compelling game. I think Castlevania 64’s greatest strength is that it absolutely nails the traditional, gothic, Castlevania mood and atmosphere. It’s a menacing, creepy and unsettling game with a very fitting soundtrack and lighting and sound effects, and I feel that’s a really impressive feat for a game that looks this shite in 2020. The moments of grand spectacle and genuine horror are what I hope to remember about Castlevania 64. Two playable characters would have made for good value back in the day too. Sections of the game are different for each character, with their own levels and cutscenes. Having been through both their stories, I felt  they aren’t different to really warrant two playthroughs, though – I’d have preferred if they were just brought together under the one save. But fair play for being ambitious, and you can’t really argue with too much content.

For me, playing a game with this type of challenge was quite invigorating. While it wasn’t consistently enjoyable and while it was absolutely maddening at points, I’m glad I stuck it out. Just keep in mind that Konami includes a lot of this game in it’s follow-up, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness. I read that that game tightens up the combat, adjusts the camera and streamlines the levels to make them more manageable. That sounds like the game to go for, if you’re arsed. It’s one of the relatively few N64 games I don’t own. On it’s own merits though, I’d give Castlevania 64 a high 6/10.

Wow, that review was a rollercoaster! After the last two paragraphs, I feel the need to ask; are you okay mate? Is Castlevania 64 holding you against your will? I know it says it loves you, but you don't deserve to be treated this way.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Honestly, if you go into it with a forgiving mindset and learn to tolerate . . .
greatest strength is that it absolutely nails the traditional, gothic, Castlevania mood and atmosphere. It’s a menacing, creepy and unsettling game with a very fitting soundtrack and lighting and sound effects, and I feel that’s a really impressive feat for a game that looks this shite in 2020.
For me, playing a game with this type of challenge was quite invigorating. While it wasn’t consistently enjoyable and while it was absolutely maddening at points, I’m glad I stuck it out.

Wait, fuck, is that how us Dark Souls fans sound to everyone else?

Review of the year from Cappa..

I've never played either of the 64 Castlevania's but always hear that they're shite but that at the time might be because the PS1 & Saturn had SOTN on them.

Then again the Castlevania fanbase seems to think all the 3D ones suck.

@Buska yes yes you do

Cappa wrote:

For me, playing a game with this type of challenge was quite invigorating. While it wasn’t consistently enjoyable and while it was absolutely maddening at points, I’m glad I stuck it out.

Even with all the praise it gets (and rightfully so) SoTN has sections like this also & Buska is right you could definitely be talking about Dark Souls here.

Buskalilly wrote:

Wow, that review was a rollercoaster! After the last two paragraphs, I feel the need to ask; are you okay mate? Is Castlevania 64 holding you against your will? I know it says it loves you, but you don't deserve to be treated this way.

I'm fine! It's a strange game. I wouldn't describe it as enthralling, that's too strong a word. But it definitely captured my attention. There's lots that's memorable about it, but no: it's not holding me against my will, and I'll probably not revisit it!

Cheers for the kind words, masofdas. 

I'd love to write the GASP article! But I fear I'd need to revisit it - I only borrowed it off a friend at the time, so don't have the cart myself. I'll have a go from memory, and if not, I'll see if my N64 still works, and buy one off eBay. I may do my Nontendo game first though, which I can access.

I nearly got Castlevania 64 instead of Ocarina of Time... if that had happened I probably would've chucked the N64 in the bin!

Quality review, Cappa! I don't think I'll be picking up the game anytime soon, but it's always been a curious title to me. Good to read your thoughts on it. How long did your playthroughs take you?