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Space Station Silicon Valley (N64)
by ROMEHEREWECOME
Packaging
Being a cartridge instead of a disc, this game initially came in a rectangular flimsy card board box with instruction game booklet with some other electronic based manuals in various languages.
Plot
Heroes for hire Evo the robot and Danger Dan are messing around in their spaceship one day ... one after a childish row Evo actually knocks Dan unconscious. Not only do they crash but they crash into a said to be lost space station sending Evo flying and smashing into tiny pieces leaving only his microchip and control centre intact. In the time this station was lost the place has become over run with robot animals, Evo must possess these animalistic androids and use their abilities to complete the game. This isn't easy however as most of the beasties are vicious and won't be defeated without a good fight.
Gameplay
The controls are fairly easily to get to grips with, you must defeat and possess different animals to achiever various goals in different levels and environments such as bouncy sheep in the farm like zone to helicopter bunny rabbits in the arctic zone. The more levels you go through the more levels that are opened up with extra awards should you manage to collect all of the power cells 15 of which are available in each level. The difficulty level increases at a steady rate in my opinion as you play through the levels with various bosses appearing along the way including giant king rats. I do love this game though and I love how kooky and challenging it is. There is a lot of humour to it also in this little game which got me hooked on it to begin with.
Visuals
Ok let's be honest they aren't HD but they are still very colourful and the graphics have a unique and cartoony charm to them, for some reason when I was a kid and originally playing it for the first time I sort of occasioned with the weird cartoons which appeared on cartoon network in the 90s known as cartoon cartoons, I don't think cartoons today show the same kind of zaniness as those cartoons from the 90s did. Though there are some little glitches and frustrating bits but I think most games at the time had some of these and some plat formers today still have them and are much worse.
Audio
All of the animals have the sort of vocals you expect them to for instance the dog barks, the sheep baa and the mice squeak. The soundtracks for each of the levels are really jazzy and catchy though and they do get stuck in your head so I give it definite thumbs up for that.
Availability and Overall opinion
Unfortunately I think this one is pretty much like gold dust these days even on the internet though at the time I think I paid maybe Ł29.99 for it which I though was good value from game. I would like to see this on the Wii or DS virtual console for download as it is a great and memorable game.
It does have its glitches and the visuals aren't exactly stunning but it is extremely quirky and fun, it is also challenging so you will get quite a few hours out of this one. Plus I particularly liked playing the role of a penguin.
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Pokemon Snap 64 (N64)
by ROMEHEREWECOME
Pokemon
Short for pocket monsters, the franchise was an overnight success in the late 90s creating billions and billions of dollars for Nintendo with the release of Pokémon red and blue and the introduction of the anime series to western television. Now almost every household in the world either knows of or has some form ... Pokémon merchandise.
Packaging
The original I received over a decade ago came in a rectangular rather flimsy card board box with a number of leaflets including the instruction leaflets which is very different to how games are packaged now. Though in saying that the N64 still worked on cartridges instead of discs so maybe they didn't need as sturdy a box back then.
The Plot
You are a wildlife photographer and your biggest goal in life is not to capture the rarest Pokémon on the planet but photograph them. The rarest Pokémon at the time of release was Pokémon number 151 or Mew a space cat, though I am aware there are now 550+ Pokémon now when I was a kid there were only 150 and the idea of seeing Pokémon in 3D was a must for me so I had to get this game. So together with professor oak you travel across different terrains and environments to photograph as many wild species which was amazing at the time.
Gameplay
In terms of controls the game is very easy; you ride around in a cart which has a set track across the different zones which include a beach, jungle and cave. You can speed up and slow down the cart but not stop and you have to take pictures of as many Pokémon as you can or all that inhabit that zone. The more points you get the more upgrades and such you get such as apples to lure Pokémon out of tall grass to feed, like a tranquiliser ball to stun Pokémon and a flute to awaken the sleeping.
As you go you have to find secret tunnels to open up to explore further also through aggravating certain Pokémon's temperaments or photographing all the Pokémon in the previous zone.
In my opinion however the game is a little short as there only are 6 main zones to travel through and they definitely don't contain all 150 of the originals but for its time it was a real stepping stone for Nintendo I think and you wouldn't have access to the 3D Pokémon video games on the Wii today if they hadn't experimented with this idea.
Visuals
To be brutally honest a lot of it has aged horrible with blocky and glitch graphics especially in the Wii import it hasn't exactly stood the test of time, but I think the ease of controls and unique characteristics and facial expressions make up for that a little depending on how you lure them over for your snap.
Audio
The audio is still pretty good I think with memorable and catchy theme tunes for each zone as well as nice audio from the Pokémon themselves there isn't a lot to fault in that department.
Availability
I had the original on the N64 but you can also download it to your Wii for something like 1000 Wii points, though you will need to purchase a classic controller or GameCube controller which is a bit of an expensive nuisance if you don't already have one.
Overall
Although it has aged quite a bit I still see its charm and do enjoy playing it over and over even there only is maybe 8-10 hours gameplay there, but I am a retro Pokémon fan at heart and believe the Pokémon world was so much better when there were under 200. For instance some of the new Pokémon designs for Black and White aren't even worth mentioning I mean a bin bag full of rubbish and an ice cream cone? Pokémon should stick closer to its roots in my opinion which are best demonstrated through the simplicity of this game.
Though I can see some people looking at this game as animal cruelty as you do end up accidently bopping a lot of Pokémon on the head by accident with apples and such when trying to coax them towards you. I would really like to see Nintendo making an updated version of this in the future as it is well overdue. At the time I would have maybe given 4/5 but by todays standards its only around 3/5.
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Paper Mario (N64)
by ROMEHEREWECOME
Plot
Once again King Bowser the koopa King is up to no good not only is he up to his usual antics of stealing princess peach, but he has also stolen the entire Royal castle, uprooting it from the ground and flying it into the upper atmosphere far from the reach of Mario and his friends.
Bowser seems to have managed ... this with the help of Kame Koopa a magical itch Koopa whom on Bowsers behalf has stolen the magical Star Rod a magical wand with limitless powers. Unfortunately the only beings to stop the Star Rod are the seven star spirits however Bowser's cronies have thought of this also and have them captured in various dungeons and castles across the mushroom kingdom.
Game play
It is pretty hard to describe the gameplay; technically it is both an RPG with platform elements. It is technically 3D but as in the name all the characters are made of paper. It reminds me of those paper dolls in the old days which you used to make paper clothes for and put them up on little scenes, though in digital and Nintendo form which is an awesome idea.
You control Mario in this game and travel around the mushroom kingdom defeating badies by jumping on them in old school manor or bonking them on the head which is inspired by the original Donkey Kong game on the Nes or arcade machine. Though the battle doesn't end there, one you attack an enemy or an enemy attacks you for that matter you are thrown into a little cut scene stage which shifts the whole game play style over to an RPG. You have health, flower power and star power to constantly keep an eye on. Health or hit points are fairly self-explanatory and flower power is a little like magic power in other RPGs which allow you to use special effects. The star power is the most interesting of the attacks options however as it grows and opens up more attack options depending on how many Star Spirit beings you have released and can provide you with an awesome attack or to resume health which can be a battle decider when trying to defeat a major end of dungeon boss.
Not unlike most other RPGs you earn money for your battles to purchase items that refuel your health, flower power or status effects, though some items even give you a multiple attack such as the well-known "pow block" which attacks all enemies on the ground and flips some enemies upside down.
You even have the option to play as Princess Peach when she is sneaking around the castle trying to find clues for Mario which I thought was so much fun, you have to do things like bake cakes for obese shy guys and chat back to Bowser.
You also gain other friends along the way that each have their own individual attacks and abilities, though funnily enough when I first played the game I was very surprised to find that they are the usual enemy species of the Mario brothers such as Goombas, Koopas, Boos and Cheep cheeps. It is explained through this world however that the only bad guys of any species or creature are actually those who follow Bowser. Almost every Mario creature lives in harmony with one another in this game including ones you have not met in previous games which I thought was a fantastic and novel idea.
You also have badge power which allows you to wear badges, these are highly important as they can do anything from add extra special attacks to evade all enemy attacks when you are down to your last few health points. Every time you level up you have the choice of increasing either you hit points, flower power or badge points so you need to choose wisely.
The controls are virtually glitch free also I don't think I have ever played a smoother or more pleasant game to play solely on the ease of control, more to the point it is addictively fun and hard to set down just because of its sheer craftsmanship.
Characters
The characters are fantastic; there are hundreds of unique and individual characters without the game and each with their own individual personalities and characteristics they are even cheeky and say things like "duh!" and even call you stupid if you make mistakes whoever wrote the cast for this game is a comedy genius! Even after playing this game numerous times over I am pretty sure I have missed somebody.
Visuals
In all fairness despite the fact that this was for the N64 the graphics still look better than some of plat formers produced today. The landscapes, environments have aged extremely well with colourful towns, forests and jungles inviting you to play on. The characters all have their own unique little styles and are very cute and colourful in their own right. The visuals could most easily compared to that of Yoshi's Island or similar games on the super Nintendo with the best taken from all the best Mario games ever made and melted into one amazing collage of gaming bliss.
Music/soundtrack
The music and soundtrack takes me right the way back to my childhood too, again it's like all your favourite Mario soundtracks from all the best games ever made melded together and revamped to please your ears. The soundtrack could not be better in my opinion its everything a Nintendo fan could ever hope for.
Longevity
The game easily has 30+ hours of initial gameplay with all the extras and side quests for instance one of your friends is a para-koopa (a koopa troopa with wings) who delivers letters for the post office; however some of Bowsers minions scattered his letters all over the mushroom kingdom so you have to find and deliver all of those. One of the people you meet is a little old mushroom lady who loves to cook so you need to find her loads of ingredients from all over the mushroom kingdom to complete her recipe list. There are also hundreds of star shards all over the mushroom kingdom too which you need to collect to complete your badge list too so there are endless tings to accomplish and achieve.
Availability
Unfortunately trying to find the original N64 version today would be like finding an alligator in your back garden it is very hard to come by. However all the lucky Wii owners can download now as a virtual console game for 1000/1400 Wii points I think and I would highly recommend doing so.
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