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KIRBY 64: CRYSTAL
SHARDS |
 
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NINTENDO |
HAL
LABS |
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ACTION/PLATFORM |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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I can't help but think that
I'm starting to outgrow the Kirby series. I was
pretty fond of Kirby's Adventure on the NES, and this
sequel on the Nintendo 64 has much of what made that
game great, plus colorful and attractive polygonal
graphics. For some reason, though, it just didn't
keep me entertained the way the NES game did.
Rather than getting me excited about every new round
like Kirby's Adventure, The Crystal Shards made me want
to finish stages so I wouldn't have to bother with them
again.
Perhaps the reason for this is that Kirby 64 is a
more straightforward game than Kirby's Adventure.
That game was packed with museums, bonus rounds, arenas,
an enormous amount of power-ups. By contrast,
Crystal Shards gives you a lot of platforming levels,
some bosses, a few cartoon intermissions, and that's
about it. You get a chance to score extra items
after every round, but hopping onto a picnic blanket to
grab them is a pretty lame excuse for a bonus
round. Speaking of lame extras, there are a few
mini games you can play with your friends, but they've
got about as much meat to them as the games in Mario
Party, and they're poorly integrated, too... you don't
even have to earn them in the story mode to play
them!
Kirby 64 still plays fairly well, but HAL Labs made
some changes to the gameplay, hoping to improve
it. Some of the tweaks make a lot of sense... for
instance, Kirby can still fly but only for a short
period of time, making the game more challenging than
previous Kirby titles. You'll have to get through
some areas with well-timed jumps rather than just
floating over every obstacle, and this is definitely a
good idea. However, some of the other changes to
the gameplay don't work so well. Kirby's gigantic
selection of weapons has been trimmed down to six, but
you can combine abilities a'la Gunstar Heroes by
throwing one bad guy at another or eating them
together. I guess I should appreciate the extra
depth this adds to the traditionally simple Kirby
gameplay, but I can't help but think that the new
weapons are kind of weak. Earth, fire, ice,
needle, bomb, and boomerang are just as dull as they
sound on their own, and when you combine them, you're
left with weapons that are disturbing (I'm sorry, but
Kirby would never, ever stick exploding shuriken between
the eyes of his enemies...) and sometimes horribly
unbalanced. To give you a good example, dynamite
can harm both you and your opponents, but the
refrigerator lets Kirby spit out an infinite amount of
food that heals the player but damages the bad
guys. When you've got a weapon like this, why
bother with anything else?
Another serious problem with the gameplay is that The
Crystal Shards seems a whole lot slower than the other
Kirby games... you can make Kirby run by double tapping
on the controller, but even then he just isn't fast
enough. Things get even worse underwater, where
you're even slower and you CAN'T double tap to
run. Of course, since The Crystal Shards is your
typical side-scrolling platformer and the game's
designers are your typical sadistic bastards, there's an
entire world covered with water, and it just... never...
seems... to... end. By the time you finish it
you'll consider ripping the cartridge out of your N64
and throwing it in the nearest lake.
Now that I think about it, maybe I haven't outgrown
the Kirby series... perhaps HAL Labs just didn't do a
good job designing this particular Kirby game.
Superficially, Kirby 64 looks like it's got everything
that made the previous games in the series wonderful,
but there's more to Kirby's world than cute characters
and memorable scenery. I hope the designers of
this game realize this when they start work on the next
one.
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PAPER
MARIO |
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NINTENDO |
INTELLIGENT
SYSTEMS |
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ROLE-PLAYING |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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I recently found a review
of Paper Mario on the web that began, "Boy, this game
sure went down the toilet the moment Square left the
project." This, of course, proves that it's never
too hard to find morons on the Internet.
Yes, Paper Mario, the sequel to Super Mario RPG on
the Super NES, doesn't have Square's support behind
it. Of course, this also means that it doesn't
have cheesy computer rendered graphics, dark, confusing
playfields, generic battles, or hours of full motion
video starring characters that don't matter to you,
either. Intelligent Systems knew better than this,
giving this game three things Super Mario Bros. fans
really want: addictive gameplay, familiar characters,
and a whole lot of personality.
RPGs are a prickly genre for me... it takes me a
while to warm up to most of them, if it ever happens at
all. However, this wasn't a problem with Paper
Mario... I loved it right from the start. The
storyline, slightly altered from Super Mario RPG's, was
no big surprise, but I really enjoyed the dialogue...
and just like Super Mario RPG, it had that same
delightfully silly flavor throughout the entire
game. Unlike most role-playing games, you'll enter
each town looking forward to all the conversations...
you may even start looking for townspeople just to talk
to them. Better yet, they've got names, stories,
and relationships of their own, so they're not just the
walking signs you've come to expect from other adventure
titles.
The graphics are impressive, too... Intelligent
Systems left the computer rendering of Super Mario RPG
behind and tried a gimmick of their own, one that let
them capture Mario's world much more faithfully.
As the title suggests, Mario (and every other character
in the game) is a paper cutout, and they're all drawn
perfectly... Shigeru Miyamoto himself couldn't have done
better. And although there aren't as many sight
gags about the flat characters as there were in Parappa
the Rapper, the designers do occasionally have fun with
Mario's missing dimension, spinning him around in
battles and swirling him down pipes.
An added bonus to drawing Mario as a flat object is
that all those extra polygons can be devoted to the
backgrounds... and man, are they great. The towns
are colorful and full of scenery, and some of the
locations have breathtaking details like drifting snow
and paths made of glittering stardust. Some of the
playfields are nicer than others, but I guess that's the
point... you'd expect the green hills and cool waters of
Yoshi's Island to be more vibrant than the appropriately
named Dry Dry Desert. No matter where you happen
to be, jumping into a battle changes the scenery into a
stage with hanging props... something I haven't seen in
a video game since the release of Dynamite Headdy for
the Genesis. You may or may not like it, but one
thing's for sure... you can't call it an overused
cliche'.
Oh yeah... that reminds me of the battles. The
fights in most role-playing games can get boring,
especially since most of them are exactly alike.
However, Paper Mario has a lot of features that help
make them more entertaining, or let you avoid them
entirely. As was the case with Super Mario RPG,
enemies don't just pop out of nowhere... they run around
the playfields with you, and if they spot you they'll
try to start a conflict. However, you can defend
yourself... if you stomp or hammer an enemy, or sic one
of your partners on them, you'll damage them before the
battle even starts. Sneaking around or running
from enemies is also an option, although some of the bad
guys are pretty intent on starting a fight.
Fortunately, since they're based on classic Super Mario
Bros. characters, they have all of their
weaknesses. Remember, a Spiny isn't so dangerous
when it's on its back, and Bob-Ombs won't get the chance
to hurt you if you can make them detonate before they
attack.
As you can tell, Paper Mario is a lot of fun if
you're a fan of the Super Mario Bros. series, but none
of those games were perfect, and neither is this
one. First of all, the battles can be fun, but
they're limited as well... none of your partners are
treated as full-fledged party members, and you can only
use one of them at a time. If you took the rather
flammable Lady Bow into a battle with fire-based enemies
and need to select a more suitable character, you can
switch to that character in the middle of the fight, but
it will cost your partner their turn, and sometimes, you
just can't afford to lose that extra firepower.
Also, you're not allowed to damage just any enemy with
any attack... if, for instance, there's a particularly
obnoxious Magikoopa behind a row of Clubbas or Dry
Bones, you won't be able to reach him with the hammer or
another close range attack. Finally, although the
sound effects are great (Bombette's explosion really
packs a punch!), the music is not.
Oh well... if I have to sit through some overblown,
repetitive tunes to play a terrific game like this, I'll
definitely do it. I don't play many RPGs, and I
won't finish many of the ones I do play... so when I
find a game like Paper Mario that keeps me entertained
to the end and leaves me wanting more after it's
finished, you know it's worth buying.
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SHADOWMAN |
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ACCLAIM |
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ACTION |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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I was absolutely sure I'd end up hating this
one. The normally docile mainstream video game
press ripped Shadowman to shreds, and I was ready to do
the same thing when I watched my friend Matt play
through part of the first stage. Whoohoo, Tomb
Raider in hell. Isn't just playing Tomb Raider
hellish enough? I was about to write Shadowman off
as another overhyped Acclaim flop, but then, something
happened. When Matt fired up a saved game with
Shadowman lost deep within the cavernous world of
Deadside, I started to notice how incredibly well
designed this world was. Every level was an
intricate puzzle, filled with branching paths which
often lead to rooms with important items left just out
of your reach. I urged him to open every door...
flip on every switch... swim through every sea of blood
to find the next dark soul. Then I took over, and
that urge to discover every hidden path and item became
an insatiable need. The repetitive wall textures,
the monotonous backtracking, and the awkward control
were instantly forgotten. All that mattered was
finding out what was around the next corner... and the
next... and the next. Sometimes it would be a door
just begging to be unlocked, and other times it would be
a freakishly dressed zombie with a gun pointed right
between my eyes. The bastard could kill me a dozen
times and I'd come right back for more, all because
there's another dark soul in the level, calling my name
like the ghost of a long lost love. Damn it, I MUST HAVE
THAT SOUL!!!
Er, um, sorry. As I mentioned earlier,
Shadowman is a lot like Tomb Raider in that you're armed
with a gun but do as much exploring as enemy
blasting. It shares quite a bit in common with
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, too, because your
character walks a thin line between life and death and
can visit either plane of existence at will.
However, thre are some subtle differences... Shadowman
can't die from falling long distances like his big
breasted counterpart (because as my friend put it, he's
already dead!), and his gun fires these strange beams of
light which can be powered up by holding down the
appropriate button. Like Soul Reaver's Raziel, he
can be defeated by enemies, but instead of being
transported to an alternate dimension to regain his
strength, Shadowman is simply returned to the beginning
of the current stage.
The graphics and sound won't raise the dead, or
anything else, for that matter... the walls have some
pretty good textures but they're a bit overused, and
this coupled with the very long rounds and lack of
reference points makes it very easy to get lost.
And confused. And frustrated. The game as a
whole is pretty dark and dingy, so don't expect any
spectacular lighting effects... however, some of the
enemies and the strangely clear pools of blood aren't
too shabby. The music fits the mood, and in one
instance, the plot... you'll be tormented by the
carefree laughter of a small child cut off by the whine
of a circular saw in one stage. This disturbing
sound bite gives you a taste of the trauma Shadowman
experienced when he watched his little brother die, but
after hearing it a dozen times, you'll hit the mute
button on your remote to keep the voices in his head out
of yours. The control is a bit goofy (Nintendo
found some pretty weird places for buttons on that
controller of theirs!), but it's still better than Tomb
Raider's, and the gun battles are more natural than the
rather clumsy fights in Soul Reaver.
Is Shadowman better than the games that inspired
it? No, not really. The game as a whole is a
little contrived and doesn't feel as solid as, say, Soul
Reaver... and Shadowman's big bad voodoo daddy doesn't
hold a black candle to the much more threatening
Raziel. Still, those of you who spent dozens of
hours exploring every last cavern in Metroid will be
quite happy with Shadowman's endless convoluted tunnels,
and the enormous amount of items hidden within them.
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SIN &
PUNISHMENT |
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NINTENDO |
TREASURE |
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SHOOTER |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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Treasure. A game
company that brings drool to the lips of thousands of
even the most jaded fanboys. With the insane
difficulty, complex simplicity, and ultra-articulated
bosses of their games, the company has gotten quite the
following. The ex-Konami developers have their
quirks--their "no sequels" policy, for example--but
they've won the hearts of many gamers.
One of their
sublimely simple efforts is Sin and Punishment for the
N64. One of the last games to come out for the
"Fun Machine," this game challenges the gamer with two
simple rules:
1) If it moves, shoot it.
2) If it doesn't move,
shoot it anyway.
The plot of the game is actually quite
interesting. In the year 2007, much of Japan has
been overrun by genetically-engineered monsters called
"Ruffians." An American military organization
called the "Armed Volunteers" has come to Japan
ostensibly to help repel the invaders. However,
this being a futuristic setting, and a paramilitary
force being what it is, the Volunteers have gotten a bit
heavy-handed, forcing rebellion to the minds of three
teenagers: Saki (15, male), Airan (16, female) and Achi
(13, female). The three eventually cross paths
with the lieutenants of the leader of the Volunteers, a
young man by the name of Brad who seems to have prior
experiences with Achi. She apparently gave him
some of her blood, which gave him some of her power;
mainly, he can speak to his subordinates from afar (with
a pretty cool "floating eyes" shot) and attack those who
would harm his soldiers with the power of his
mind. And he's a demon with a sabergun.
The "sabergun," as I call it, is the solitary weapon
you get in this game. The weapon has four
functions: aimed fire (has to be precisely aimed, but
does decent damage), lock-on fire (can lock on, but does
less damage), sword (close-range, does great damage),
and deflection (deflects certain missile-like
projectiles at the targeted monster or scenery).
There aren't really any power-ups for the weapon, but
the game is set up so that you don't really need them
(apparently, Treasure learned from their mistake in
Silhouette Mirage of adding in weapons that served
little to no real purpose).
The controls are simple--in most stages, you're on
rails moving forward, with one or two side-scrolling
levels. You mainly move to the left or the right
(in most cases, this means strafe) using the D-pad or
the C-buttons. The shoulder triggers make your
character jump, A toggles lock-on and aimed fire, B can
disengage a lock in lock-on mode, and Z is the attack
button (performs all attack functions). There's
also a 2-player mode that has one player move the
character, and the other shoots.
The graphics aren't too impressive--don't get me
wrong, they're anti-aliased, and they don't
glitch. However, they're still fairly
low-resolution. This can be forgiven, however,
because of the massive flow of humanity (and inhumanity)
that you must engage. The characters are pretty
well-designed--including Saki later in the game, where
he looks like he's wearing M.C. Hammer pants (the result
of a partially-reversed physical mutation); or Radan, an
early boss. The sound is actually quite excellent
for the much-maligned cartridge format.
There is a diverse array of music, as well as an
excellent array of voice acting. The strangest
thing about the game is that the dialogue is spoken in
English, and pretty good English, at that. In the
tradition of Resident Evil, the producers, perhaps with
a US/Europe release in mind (which never developed), had
English-speaking voice actors do the lines. NOT in
the tradition of Resident Evil, the dialogue is actually
pretty intelligent, without the horrors of the language
barrier. There are Japanese subtitles,
incidentally (if you just HAD to know), but they can be
turned off by beating the game on Normal difficulty.
The gameplay is simple enough to hook you, but
there's enough to the game to keep you interested--no
mean feat for what would seem to be a warmed-over Space
Harrier clone at first blush. You can get enemies
as you pass them with your blade, and you actually have
options as to how you want to rid the screen of
foes. For instance, if there are three enemies on
a platform, you can either pick them off one at a time
or shoot out the platform. However, you only get
credited for direct kills--an important point, since you
get an extra continue for every 100 kills--so you have
to make that decision depending on your
circumstances. There are even real races against
time, including the "railgun firebomb" sequence, in
which you have to destroy a railgun shell before it hits
a mutated Saki. Of course, Saki is firing at you
(he's mutated and thus delirious), so you can actually
position yourself so that the shell is in the path of
the blasts. The part before the railgun shell
sequence involves a Death Star-meets-Battletoads
sequence in which you have to dodge electrical bolts to
slash a railgun chamber. Also, the final boss may
remind you of Missile Command gone mad.
The characters are actually pretty compelling--Airan,
who becomes the midpoint main heroine after Saki is
"lost," is actually a pretty good "strong female lead"
for the game, and Brad actually cares about his
lieutenants to the point of giving them blood
transfusions and protecting them in battle. And,
I'm sure he gives them full dental coverage, as
well. ;) Achi plays the "mysterious ally"
part pretty well, seeming to be on your side, only to
double-cross you at the least opportune moment.
The game is fairly short, but not too easy. For
the 45 minutes to an hour of each play-through, enemies
are thrown at you from every conceivable angle.
It's nothing that you can't eventually learn to handle,
and this is the kind of game you play to top your
personal best. Try to find it on Ebay; most places
are sold out of it, and even if they had it, you'd
probably pay a heinous price for it anyway.
[Editor's Note: This game can now be downloaded
from the Wii's Virtual Console service for a quite
reasonable $12. It's worth every penny, but
it's recommended that you grab Thrustmaster's
wireless Wii controller to go along with
it. Sin and Punishment just doesn't feel
right until you map the character controls to the
left thumbstick, and the targeting reticule to the
right]
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SUPERMAN
64 |
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TITUS |
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"ACTION" |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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PREFACE: I know that just about
everything that can be said about this game has been
said already, but it definitely bears repeating.
If we're to avoid suffering a game like this again, we
must continually and continuously remind the world of
this horrible, horrible game. And more than anything
else, we can only hope that one day, Titus shares
Acclaim's fate.
It would be easy to write a cookie-cutter Superman 64
review.
"It's Superman 64. It sucks."
But that would not adequately capture just how bad
this game really is. If you took the badness of pretty
much every licensed Acclaim game (well, except maybe the
Mary Kate & Ashley ones) and harnessed it into one
single game, it would likely not be as bad as Superman
64.
To start, we have the graphics. Not only does
Superman look more blocky than his Bizarro counterpart,
but apparently Lex Luthor--in his infinite zeal to kill
Superman, no doubt--has somehow managed to purchase all
the fog from London.
The sound is okay, I suppose. Nothing to write home
about, but it captures the mood about as well as can be
expected. Considering that the one thing that can be
turned off is the one thing they got right (or more
appropriately, didn't get horribly wrong), I can't help
but wonder what Titus must have been smoking.
Now to the gameplay. The first level--a mandatory
training level--goes in the following pattern: Fly
through hoops, do something. Fly through hoops, do
something. Fly through hoops, do something. Apparently,
this must have been originally designed as a game that
let you play as Krypto instead of Superman. The "fly
through hoops" part is easy enough, but the "do
something part" can be frustrating when the car you're
supposed to keep safe from exploding explodes before you
can do anything about it. That arbitrary factor--the
fact that sometimes the game decides to screw you over
(though it's fair that it's a warning)--makes this
training level the ultimate endurance test. I think this
is the most repetitive sequence in a game since the
hoverbike level in Battletoads.
In summation, this game is the worst game ever made.
It's worse than Final Bout, it's worse than E.T., it's
even worse than Fellowship of the Ring. The fact that my
N64 didn't come to life and kill me in the shower
because of this game is the only possible redeeming
factor I can think of about this game. If there were any
justice in this world, the Titus offices would be
leveled to the ground. (And for those of you who feel
that this sounds too extreme, I would point out that I
could have easily added "with all of Titus' employees in
them" to the end of that sentence.)
I should note that there was a Playstation version of
Superman in the works, but it was ultimately canned. I
guess, either be thankful or be afraid.
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SUPER MARIO
64 |
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NINTENDO |
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ACTION/PLATFORM |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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Yes, Super Mario 64
justifies most of the positive response that it's
received from countless fan-eds and professional game
rags, and even I was blown away by the game for the
first fifteen minutes, but that's the problem... I'm not
sure if most people have actually played SM64 for more
than fifteen minutes.
It takes at least a few hours to reach the game's
later rounds, where you begin to realize that things
aren't all secret stars and incredible graphics in
Mario's latest adventure... there's frustration, too,
and plenty of it!
Take, for instance, the Bowser stages. Nintendo never
passed up a chance to capitalize on Mario's battles with
this gigantic Koopa boss, but there was nary a mention
of how difficult it is to actually REACH him in its
press releases and advertisements for the N64. You see,
the Bowser stages (among others) are set above a
bottomless pit, making it very easy to fall to your
death if you don't jump from platform to platform with
near surgical precision.
I've always hated this about platform games in
general, but with SM64's 3-D perspective and touchy
analog control, it becomes almost unbearable. Don't even
talk to me about the ice slide in the Snowy Mountain
stage... I've never been so tempted to smash a rented
controller into a thousand tiny pieces!
What I'm trying to say is that SM64 is an excellent
game in most respects, but for heaven's sake, don't buy
it and an N64 before playing it for at least two hours.
This is one game you can't judge from a first
impression.
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TONY HAWK
3 |
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ACTIVISION |
VICARIOUS
VISIONS |
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EXTREME
SPORTS |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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With Tony Hawk 4 on the horizon, it seems a bit odd
to be reviewing its predecessor. But this is a special
case--it's also the final Nintendo 64 release. A moment
of silence, if you will...
Anyway, the game generally plays very well, with the
combos as easy to pull off as the other versions of the
game (PS2, GC, XBox). The primary issue is that the
buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller are not laid out
in quite the same way as the PS2 or XBox joypads, but
this is just a momentarily vexing factor, and it's easy
enough to handle. There's not much music, with only six
songs, including The Ramones' "Hey, Ho (Let's Go)" and
something by Motorhead. The songs themselves are also a
bit truncated, due to the limited cartridge space. They
sound great, though, which is an important factor;
besides, they have the Ramones. What more do you need?
Finally, the areas seem to be a bit smaller, as well.
However, they still provide hours of fun trying to get
S-K-A-T-E and the videotape. Basically, this game
warrants an easy six. It's a serviceable port of the
game, but given the limitations of the N64, it couldn't
possibly capture the complete experience.
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TOUKON
ROAD |
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HUDSON
SOFT |
YUKE'S |
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WRESTLING |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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Pros: It's easy to pick up and play, has actual
entrance themes and voices.
Cons: Few characters, it
just wants to be Smackdown too much, controlling it with
the analog stick? O_o
Hudson made a few wrestling games for the Nintendo 64
based on the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The
engine was developed by Yuke's, the company that did the
engine for the Smackdown series of wrestling games.
The graphics lack light sourcing, which means the
arenas are quite dark. However, the characters seem to
be well-animated in this game. The game actually
presents actual entrance themes and voices for the
wrestlers. Which isn't too hard considering that it
doesn't even feature 20 guys. And that even includes the
three secret guys, two of whom are alter egos of the
regulars.
The control is fairly easy; the only major issue is
that you have to move your character with the analog
stick. I'm used to using the D-pad to move my wrestler
and the analog stick to taunt. Hudson seems to be trying
to reinvent the wheel here, and while it works out all
right, the formula Aki had worked just fine. Basically,
A, B and A+B by themselves perform strike moves, and
holding Z with these buttons will grapple. The C-left
button will perform pretty much every other
function--run, whip, pick up, turn over--and Z+C left at
the side will pin the opponent.
The game isn't awful, but there's just too much that
could have been so much better. It's "acceptable," but
it just seems too unambitious and rushed.
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TOUKON ROAD
2 |
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HUDSON
SOFT |
YUKE'S |
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WRESTLING |
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NINTENDO
64 |
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Pros: Major improvement from the first one, after
less than a year
Cons: Still using the analog stick
for movement, are we?
Some might remember my review of Tohkon Road for the
Nintendo 64. It was a bit threadbare as wrestling
games go, even when you consider that it came out in
1998. Less than a year after the release of the
first game, a second was released. If that doesn't
say "recipe for disaster," I don't know what does--do I
need to mention "Tomb Raider" here?
All fears aside, this sequel is actually
significantly better than the first game. They
actually have a commentator announce the wrestlers
before they come down, there are three possible arenas
(big Tokyo Dome-style, medium-sized stadium with banners
over the sides for each wrestler and small arena), and
each wrestler has four different outfits. In some
cases, these outfits actually correspond to "younger"
versions of the wrestlers.
Also, there are entries to the ring; that is, you'll
see your character make his way to the ring from the
entryway. And certain characters (nWo members)
have special pre-intro light shows before their intro in
the Dome. Otherwise, they'll just get the standard
"N... W... O" introduction that most WCW fans became
accustomed to in the late '90s. The gameplay is
much like the first Tohkon Road (A and/or B strike,
Z+A and/or B do grapple moves, moves vary
depending on opponent's condition). However,
certain moves can only be activated after
taunting. For example, the Great Muta can do a
superplex to a groggy opponent in the corner.
However, if you taunt beforehand, he'll instead spew
mist in the opponent's face and do a Frankensteiner
instead.
The most amazing thing about this game is that I
believe it was the first wrestling title to have an
actual career mode, where you progress for a year in New
Japan Pro Wrestling. You'll fight your way to the
top of the rankings, and possibly win tournaments and
titles.
Finally, certain characters (such as
at-the-time-recent retirees) have special endings in the
career mode. With all this improvement, I have to
give this game an 8. The only flaws I can really
see here are the dearth of match options (no ladder
matches, etc.) and the use of the analog stick for
movement.
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|
|
VIRTUAL PRO WRESTLING
2 |
|
|
ASMIK ACE |
AKI |
|
WRESTLING |
|
|
NINTENDO
64 |
| | |
|
Pros: Excellent selection of guys, great moves,
Vader
Cons: Only one licensed promotion in the whole
bunch--this could have been a "real-life" FirePro
game
One of the most lauded engines in wrestling game
history is that used by AKI in such games as WWF No
Mercy, the first two WCW games for N64, and even Def Jam
Vendetta. The Japanese game series that uses this engine
is called Virtual Pro Wrestling. For the most part, the
characters in these games are unlicensed, "please don't
sue us" counterparts of the stars of the unlicensed
promotions.
The second game, however, has a license with one of
Japan's Big Two--All Japan Pro Wrestling. Founded by
Shohei "Giant" Baba, this promotion has generally
emphasized competition over contrived storylines--which
pretty much could be applied to most Japanese promotions
and independent promotions worldwide.
The game features a large number of guys, totaling
almost 100 total. Of those, 21 are the licensed guys,
which include a lot of names that are much more familiar
to those who get Japanese tapes in general, such as Baba
himself, Gary Albright, Kenta Kobashi, and Johnny Ace;
as well as some familiar faces to all, like Vader and
Kimala.
The game is familiar territory to anybody who's
played No Mercy--tap to perform weak attacks, press to
execute strong ones, analog stick taunts and does
specials. The match options include time, blood,
run-ins, as well as something that had not been done in
a wrestling game up to this point--shootfighting mode.
This mode allows you to play like the many "mixed
martial-arts" leagues in Japan. In fact, some of the
guys are geared toward this style, actually being able
to force opponents to the mat with strong grapples and
subsequently pummel them to the approval of the
crowd.
The moves are very impressive and cringe-worthy in
some cases. Such moves as the Cradle Piledriver, the
Tiger Driver '91 (basically, it involves dropping the
victim on the head with no protection whatsoever) and
miscellaneous other slams, drivers, breakers and
bombs.
Plus, it has Vader. Any game that has a guy who
weighs 400 lbs and can do moves that most guys half his
weight don't do can't possibly suck. It's a law. Find
somebody to get you on Lexis-Nexis or something.
The "career" mode puts you (and a partner of your
choosing) through a year of AJPW. You'll win titles,
participate in league play, tournaments, and battle
royales. What's interesting about this game is that the
main title is three belts. For some reason, this just
brought a smile to my face.
The entrances are fairly well-done, with the star
(and his second, if applicable) in a locker room, and
the two walking to the ring.
There is actually entrance music and announcers. If
you're one of the licensed guys, you'll actually hear
your weight and name. If you're one of the "names have
been changed to protect our sorry asses" guys, you'll
just get something like "4P Resuraaaaaaa!" instead of
even trying the name they gave them. Then again, I guess
there wasn't enough space. That said, even the generic
music is good. That's a rarity, I suppose.
In short, find this game on Ebay, buy it, etc. Trust
me on this one. I got mine for roughly $45. Getting it
in some online store would have set me back $70+ easily.
And that's if they had it in stock.
|
|
|
WRESTLEMANIA
2000 |
|
|
THQ |
|
|
WRESTLING |
|
|
NINTENDO
64 |
| | |
|
This is it…the grand daddy of ALL wrestling games.
Easiest to play, best selection of characters, awesome
create-a-wrestler mode, excellent graphics and…well, ok
sound. Nothing’s perfect.
Me, being the biggest pro wrestling fan on the
planet, went out and bought a Nintendo 64 just for this
game! Yah, it was a used one, but as long as it works, I
am happy. After playing this game, all my wrestling
video game dreams came true. It’s a World Wrestling
Federation game, which is a huge plus, cause WCW sucks
crap. Everyone is included. Mankind, Rock, Edge,
Gangrel, Gerald Brisco, Big Show, and even all the
ladies are in there!
A huge plus is the fact that this game uses the
incredibly easy WCW Revenge engine. Moves are easy to
pull off, unlike that WWF Attitude crap on Playstation.
Playability is very high for this game, and beginners
will have no problem nailing a Rock Bottom or Mandible
Claw.
Graphics are very good too. Everyone looks like their
WWF counterparts; they even walk and taunt the same
ways! Every single little detail has been included.
Mankind has Mr. Socko, Al Snow has Head, and Godfather
even comes out with a ho! Now that’s realism for ya! All
the pay per view rings and environments are here too!
A plethora of play modes and matches including Royal
Rumble, First Blood, Steel Cage, 3 Way Dances, and a lot
more! You’ll never got bored with all the options in
this game. Try to Road to WrestleMania and see if you
can become WWF Champion! Unlock hidden characters such
as Dude Love and Shawn Michaels while on your quest!
Game just keeps you coming back for me.
Challenge in this game is pretty good. Not perfect
though. I can pretty much beat any computer opponents
whenever I want, except for maybe the upper tier guys.
Just be VERY cautious, use weak moves all the time, and
if you get into a jam, get a garbage can from the crowd
and beat the living hell outta the poor sap!
Create-A-Wrestler is a very cool option, allowing you
to make any wrestler you want! Just about every move is
available to give your wrestler, and the appearance
choices are plentiful. I like making my friends in the
game and having them duke it out. Now that’s fun,
especially with four people!
Downside to the game….the sound is not all that hot.
Very passable though. Also, creating a female wrestler
in the game is kinda a letdown, as the options are very
limited. Other than those two gripes, this game is very
complete.
In the end, if you are a wrestling fan, you MUST have
this game. No bones about it. All the great WWF stars
are in there, and if you are a WCW fan, just make
Goldberg and Dallas Page! Their moves and taunts are in
there! From graphics to playability to all-out fun, this
is the greatest wrestling game I have ever
played.
