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Last Topic's Ratings:
Bottom of the 9th - ABA - 33% (3)
Mission: Impossible - GBAABBAAAAG - 45% (11)
Monaco Grand Prix - AGGBA - 60% {5}
Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness - GAGGGA - 83% (6)
Super Robot Spirits - AB - 25% (2)
Wave Race 64 - GGGAGGGGGGGGGGG - 97% (15) (5 SR)
I was pretty surprised to see so much love for Wave Race. Makes you wonder why Nintendo doesn't do more with the franchise, especially now with how much modern physics engines could do for the water mechanics.
Games for this topic:
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2
Donkey Kong 64
Mario Golf
NBA In The Zone 2000
Super B-Daman Battle Phoenix 64
Supercross 2000
An important note, Supercross 2000 is not the same game as Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000. The Supercross series has some of the most confusing titling of all time. Oh, and we finally have Mario Golf so I can stop talking about it.
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 - B
ReplyDeleteDonkey Kong 64 - G
Mario Golf - G (SR)
NBA In The Zone 2000 - A
Super B-Daman Battle Phoenix 64 - G
Supercross 2000 - B
Army Men: Sarge's Heroes 2 is an easy G... on Playstation. The N64 version is an almost completely different game and is one of the most massive PS1 to N64 downgrades on the system. Obviously, all of the cutscenes are cut, which is a big deal because they give the series almost all of its personality. The little in-engine scenes that they made to replace them in no way capture the fun of the ones from Playstation. Moreover, though, the game runs on a completely different engine on N64, and there's really nothing to say about it other than that it's vastly worse. The graphics are much less detailed and it has severe framerate issues in places, even the UI isn't nearly as detailed. The PS1 version also controls much better, using Z + left / right on N64 to strafe feels extremely awkward, especially given the importance of strafing in this game, it's far better to have the dedicated strafing buttons on PS1. One thing to note is that there are some level differences between the versions, the levels on N64 are based on those from the PS2 version, for example the third stage on PS1 is a frozen cave that takes place in a freezer, whereas on N64 and PS2 it's a level that takes place in a refrigerator that you have to scale vertically. The latter is more interesting design-wise, but big levels like this run so atrociously on N64 that they're almost unplayable. I guess what happened is that they gave PS1 its own, separately-developed version which is tailored to its hardware and runs great, whereas N64 just got a hastily thrown-together port of the PS2 version that barely works. Either way, stick to playing this on PS1 or PS2.
Donkey Kong 64 is often seen as the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to collectathon 3D platformers, and it's not hard to see why. The game's core concept, being a 3D platformer with 5 different characters, each of whom can access different parts of each level and solve different challenges, is actually pretty cool. However, there are also a ton of collectables in each level and the collectables can only be picked up by one of the 5 Kongs, which essentially forces you to explore each level 5 times, and it can definitely feel a bit excessive. Thankfully, there are pads to warp around the levels and you can switch characters at multiple points, so it's not as tedious as it could be, but I can totally see how people get tired of it. Extreme collectathoning aside, there are many other things to like about the game. It controls quite well, the characters have some fun abilities, the graphics and music are really good, and the whole game just kind of feels epic in scope in a way that I feel you don't often see from platformers anymore. There's even a multiplayer mode, which, while being somewhat superflous, still demonstrates how much work went into this game. And of course there's the DK Rap, which easily ranks up there in terms of the best game intros of all time. My biggest complaint with the game is actually the camera, which I feel needs to be corrected almost constantly, I definitely didn't have to fiddle around with cameras this much on most other N64 games, and it can make some parts involving precise movement fairly frustrating. Apart from that, though, this is still quite an impressive and ambitious game, and the fact that we haven't seen many more games of this type since the N64 era ended has helped it age fairly gracefully. As long as you know what you're in for with this game I think you'll have a good time.
After years of comparing almost every other golf game in existence to it, we finally arrive at Mario Golf. I almost don't even know what to say about this game other than that it's fantastic. I guess we'll start with the controls and UI. Almost all previous golf games have issues with either getting a read for the course, knowing approximately where you ball will land, reading the slope of the green well, or accurately setting the power of your swing. Mario Golf makes all of these things easy, through a simple and intuitive swing system and great camera controls and UI. It probably doesn't seem like a big deal now, since almost all games to come out since have used similar systems, but compared to earlier games this is a gigantic leap forward in terms of playability. It's a giant step forward in presentation as well. The courses in Mario Golf look fantastic, they have a nice, clean look with good lighting effects and texture work, and there's also some nice character animations to give the game more personality. The sound of the game is also great, with an unexpectedly excellent soundtrack and a lot of voice acting. Onto the gameplay and progression, these are also well done, there's a good number of courses that feel quite varied from each other, and the Get Character mode is a fun way to unlock new content. There's even some pretty great integration of the Transfer Pak with Mario Golf GBC, letting you bring your GBC characters to the big screen (though they are very overpowered if you're near the end of the game), and the concept of Birdie Badges gives the game a lot of replay value. Overall, this is just a phenomenal package. I actually think this is low-key one of the most influential games of all time in terms of how much it advanced its genre. There's a reason that I keep coming back to this game as the gold standard of what a golf game should be. It also hasn't aged poorly either, even though you could maybe argue that Toadstool Tour or Super Swing Golf has surpassed it, it's still instantly engaging upon coming back to it, and even though I've played it to death I could easily see myself starting a new file and doing it all over again. Definitely one of the top games on the system.
DeleteNBA In The Zone must be one of the most diverse sports franchises of all time, it continues to change drastically from game to game. Compared to the much more sim-style NBA In the Zone 98, 2000 is going for more of a hybrid approach, where the court is generally a bit more open and the turbo move, now called Drive, lasts a very short time but gives an irresponsible amount of speed. Actually, I'm not a huge fan of either of those changes, I feel that defense feels somewhat inordinately weak in this game, the Drive move is so quick that it's nearly impossible to defend against, and pretty much all steal attempts result in fouls, so it feels like defense is mostly limited to trying to get rebounds, which the AI is very bad at so you have to switch players manually to the player under the basket every time a shot occurs if you want a chance of getting the ball back. Visually, the game looks quite good, I think you could possibly make the case that it could be the best-looking basketball title on the system, but the commentary has less energy compared to a few of the others, like NBA Live 2000 for example. Actually, I think that game is the main reason for my rating here, it just feels a bit better to play in most ways, and it also offers vastly better customization. There are some interesting novelty modes here like the Dunk Contest that do a good job of showing off the game's visuals, but I don't feel they have a ton of depth. It's still not a bad title by any means, it's just kind of fallen behind the curve a bit.
DeleteSuper B-Daman Battle Phoenix 64 is a pretty neat game. It's a minigame collection, though with a bit of a twist as it's based on the B-Daman toys, so all of the games involve aiming and shooting in some way. For example, one of the games is like Whack-a-Mole, but instead of hammering the moles, you have to shoot into a corridor and hit them. This is more involved than it sounds because your rival is trying to do the same, and there are both high value targets and targets you're not supposed to hit, so you have to aim quickly and accurately to come out on top. Another game involves fleeing from hungry dinosaurs while attempting to shoot balls into their mouths to placate and slow them down. You can earn points for feeding either dinosaur, but you especially want to feed the dino that's after you so you don't get chomped and lose points. A particularly unique game involves playing pool, where you get points for sinking balls, but can also sink the rivals ball (you turn into a ball when it's not your turn) for a power shot. There's a fair bit of nuance to each game and the unique controls makes it feel distinct from other party games. Beyond the basics of the minigames, there are also different playable characters with different stats (affecting things like how fast they can shoot and how much power their shots have), and you can unlock little marbles that act as power-ups that you can choose before each game, generally giving your character a bit of a boost or messing with your opponent to some degree, which adds some degree of strategy and gives you some help against the AI, who can be absurdly good later on. Finally, there's a battle mode where you and 3 opponents try to knock each other off the stage, though this is less fun than the main mode IMO. Overall, a unique and fun game that's worth looking into.
Though neither of the Supercross 2000 games are great, this is by far the worse of the two. The main problem here is that controlling your bike simply feels terrible. It's somehow both too tight and too loose at the same time, the bike responds far too much to minor corrections, frequently sending you off-course on jumps and such, while also feeling far too stiff when you try to make turns, making navigating tough courses (especially when rivals are around) nearly impossible. The game does look nice and getting air is handled far better compared to Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000, but it's simply impossible to get past how lousy the controls are here. I'm also not a fan of the fact that there's no music during races, though the commentary is a nice touch. If only there was another biking game that combined what both of the things the two games do well into a single package...
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