Category: Game Reviews

Developer: Z-Axis Publisher: Activision Released: November 30, 1999 Rated: E 6/10 From Robotron to Asteroids and in-between, the retro revival that began in the latter half of the ‘90s, mostly composed of the biggest names of the pre-Nintendo generations, was well-represented on the N64. Space Invaders comes to us from future Dave Mirra developer Z-Axis, Read more

Developer: Asmik Ace, AKI Corp. Publisher: THQ Released: November 30, 1997 Rated: K-A 7/10 Fresh off of debuting their original wrestling engine with the original Virtual Pro Wrestling for the PlayStation (localized in the west as WCW Vs. The World), AKI Corp. and Asmik Ace transitioned to the N64 for their next collaboration with the Read more

Developer: Midway Games Publisher: Midway Games Released: November 7, 1997 Rated: E 6/10 For the arcade racing aficionados who perhaps thought that Cruis’n USA wasn’t worth their attention, Midway’s other prolific arcade conversion would arrive a year later in the form of the first San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing. Localized entirely and hyper focused down Read more

Developer: Rare, Ltd. Publisher: Nintendo Released: October 11, 1999 Rated: T 7/10 Jet Force Gemini occupies quite possibly the most unique position in Rare’s extensive legacy on the N64. Not beholden to a larger, multi-game franchise like Banjo, not a game which utilizes another company’s IP or characters, like Donkey Kong, and not separately praised Read more

Developer: Traveller’s Tales Publisher: Activision Released: November 16, 1999 Rated: E 7/10 I feel like many Disney adaptations, for good reason, fall into the habit of representing something of the “stock average concept” of a video game for their times. In the 8 and 16-bit eras, mostly Capcom-published efforts accounted for a set of almost-exclusively Read more

Developer: Racdym Publisher: Atlus Released: February 1, 1998 Rated: E 7/10 The N64’s first brush with the extreme sports craze that produced dozens of snowboarding titles in the latter half of the ‘90s, Snowboard Kids boasts the setting and premise of a fast-paced downhill trickfest, but actually plays a lot more like a number of Read more

Developer: High Voltage Software Publisher: Acclaim Released: March 31, 2000 Rated: E 7/10 While still far from the likes of future titles like MLB Slugfest and The Bigs, new developer High Voltage Software was handed the keys for All-Star Baseball’s third and final iteration on the N64 and manages to offer a slightly flashier and Read more

Developer: Imagineer Publisher: THQ Released: June 10, 1998 Rated: E 4/10 Again and again and again you hear the same thing about Quest 64: “the ONLY RPG for the Nintendo 64!” It’s not completely true, of course. Many games flirt with RPG elements and we would eventually get another, possibly worse role-playing game in 2001, Read more

Developer: Kronos Entertainment Publisher: Vic Tokai Released: July 8, 1997 Rated: T 2/10 In an alternate timeline, the N64 would be the great bastion of 3D fighting games, spawning great series left and right that combine great mechanics of the genre with a unique new visual style. Instead we have release after release of derivative Read more