Heading to a local tonight with my ppl to play some Tekken 5 on an original cab. There will be other games but I only have time to play this before going to another event.

This week, I'm back to giving the Nintendo 64 a second chance by exploring its library and looking for stuff that I missed (or that didn't really get covered much by the British gaming press) back in the day. At this point, I now have, much to my own shock, a list of Nintendo 64 games that I actually like, which has already gone far beyond my expectations for this little journey with a system that I ended up hating back in its day.

Along the way, I've ended up discovering an excellent YouTube channel called N64 Glenn Plant (which I also passed Spider the link for, as he notes above! ), and though Glenn's videos weren't entirely responsible for my pick for this weekend (it's already been on my list for years), they did prompt me to finally get it off the back-burner and get on with it!


My pick for this weekend is 2001's Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) - the result of what happened when Rareware, a studio famous at the time for making solid family-friendly games, got egotistical when the press said that a then-upcoming family-friendly game would turn out to be a good family-friendly game, and then reworked that game into an adult-only title, taking it from a guaranteed multi-million seller to an absolute sales bomb with a very limited audience.

No, really.

Conker's Bad Fur Day actually started out as Conker's Quest (later Twelve Tales: Conker 64, of which there is more preserved footage), a sweet little 3D-platformer starring a cute little red squirrel named Conker and his chipmunk girlfriend Berri, which was announced in 1997, and which would have been a unique early entry in the genre due to being planned to include co-operative play, which was generally considered to be impractical in 3D platforming titles. They spent years promoting the character and his upcoming game by way of including him in the N64 mascot-racer Diddy Kong Racing and giving him a Game Boy Colour game titled Conker's Pocket Tales, which was intended as a prequel to Twelve Tales.


Everything that's preserved and known about the original game shows that it was incredibly technically accomplished, and looked like a lot of fun! And this is why it's taken me such a long time to get around to playing Conker's Bad Fur Day - I had been looking forward to Conker's Quest, and resented Bad Fur Day for causing that game to be lost, as well as the immense budget wastage that was caused by spending so many years reworking it obviously impacting the development of other titles as well (such as the much more interesting full original version of Dinosaur Planet, which was originally for the N64; It's really not like the cut-down and reworked Star Fox Adventures that was released for the GameCube). This was one of several factors that helped to foster my disappointment in and dislike of the N64, in fact!


But, here we are in 2024, when I'm looking at the N64 in a different light and am more able to take it and its games on their own merits, and I'm now playing Conker's Bad Fur Day as it was actually released. And to my great surprise, it's also incredibly technically accomplished and a lot of fun! I would even say that, in some ways, the change to a niche non-seller actually helped the game, as, unlike Rare's other Nintendo 64 3D-platformers, it's not a collectathon - which is a style of game-design that I absolutely hate. The game sees Conker, now an adult unlike in his earlier appearances, as an amiable drunkard who, due to getting lost on his way back from a night of drinking way too much at the pub, ends up stumbling into a truly weird and surreal series of events that leads to him becoming a king - something told in flashback form throughout the course of the game, with the end-result shown to the player before pretty much anything else.


The game handles well, and has fun movement and attacks in a way that surprisingly few 3D platformers manage. The visuals are amazing considering the constraints of the Nintendo 64 hardware - I've constantly found myself impressed by how detailed and expressive the graphics are, and they're (usually) cute, too; There are games I've played in the past where I've suggested not letting the cutesy looks fool you because underneath they're brutally difficult, but with this one, you shouldn't be fooled by the looks because the game is openly violent and gross, instead. The story is utterly bizarre, and was clearly influenced by shows like South Park and King of the Hill, whilst also packing in a lot of references to movies such as Aliens, Saving Private Ryan, Terminator, and The Matrix - I can't really even begin to describe it, as it's just a whole lot of weirdness that drags the player along for the ride! Music is catchy (and sometimes hilarious, such as that found in an area made of poo, where the instruments transition into ridiculous fart noises when you enter), and the voice-work sounds fantastic, with the game having licensed the MP3 format for compression instead of using the much-more-lossy techniques found in earlier releases for the system, which didn't sound so great when decrunched. There's a lot of humour, coupled with a level of crassness and violence that had never been seen in video games before that point, and for the most part the game is actually pretty funny, combining the aforementioned South Park-style approach with typical British humour of the era. My only quibble is that the camera is often pretty awful, though it does still get the job done.


If you like this sort of thing, Conker's Bad Fur Day is well worth a look. It's a unique experience, and certainly not the sort of game that would be made today!

[+..••] Other stuff that I played this week;


Rod Land (Arcade; Evercade)


Space Invaders (Arcade; Evercade)


Super Bomberman 2 (SNES)


Super Bomberman R 2 (Proton)


The NewZealand Story (Arcade; Evercade)


Worms Armageddon (N64)


Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension (Mega Drive; Evercade)

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThis week I have been learning a lot about the Nintendo 64…… Pengling put me onto a N64 youtuber by the name of N64 Glenn Plant…..

It's been really fun sharing reviews back and forth this week!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThe storyline....... There is no storyline……. So I get the make one up……. The Doritos Pope has kidnapped April O’Neil again…….. And its up to the Ninja Turtles to rescue her…… Pengling appears to finally get recognition for her previous rescue of April O’Neil………

The Doritos Pope says he will release April O’Neil if Pengling plays “Summer Athletics” on the PS2 for 24 hours…… Pengling looks at the game and the manual and sees the terrible control layouts, awful graphics and shoddy music and sound effects…….

Pengling ponders for a moment before making her decision……. She looks up at April O’Neil hanging from a rope and about to lowered into a vat of Nacho Cheese……. “Good luck April” says Pengling…… “Your life is not worth enduring that torture for……. Hopefully the Turtles will be here soon to save you……..”

And with that Pengling leaves as the sound of the pulley squeaks into life and April O’Neil is slowly being lowered towards the vat of Nacho Cheese”………...

Bloody right!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderAnd that is why my final score for Summer Athletics is a Eric the Eel out of 10……...

At least the video was good, even if the game wasn't.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderThe road to unlock the PES Penguin in Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is at 3000 PES points out of 5000……….

Only 2000 to go!

Quoting: StoneColdSpider

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art of rally (2020 Funselektor Labs) - Steam - Sports (Racing)

I'm not weirded out by the kangaroo, just the giant sheep.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderNow for my bad joke of the week……
Q: Why are there Pop-Tarts but no Mum-Tarts??.......
A: Because of the pastryarchy.......
*ba dum.... tssssh…...*

Hahahahaha! Very good!

Quoting: MezronHeading to a local tonight with my ppl to play some Tekken 5 on an original cab. There will be other games but I only have time to play this before going to another event.

Awesome! Have fun! Is the other event a gaming one, too?

Quoting: PenglingAwesome! Have fun! Is the other event a gaming one, too?

Monster movie costume party & dancing social. They did have some video games on the screens in certain areas of the club.

Quoting: MezronMonster movie costume party & dancing social. They did have some video games on the screens in certain areas of the club.

Oh that's awesome - please tell me you did costumes?

Quoting: MezronHeading to a local tonight with my ppl to play some Tekken 5 on an original cab. There will be other games but I only have time to play this before going to another event.

Quoting: Mezron

Quoting: PenglingAwesome! Have fun! Is the other event a gaming one, too?

Monster movie costume party & dancing social. They did have some video games on the screens in certain areas of the club.

Hope you had a good time mate.....

Quoting: PenglingThis week, I'm back to giving the Nintendo 64 a second chance by exploring its library and looking for stuff that I missed (or that didn't really get covered much by the British gaming press) back in the day. At this point, I now have, much to my own shock, a list of Nintendo 64 games that I actually like, which has already gone far beyond my expectations for this little journey with a system that I ended up hating back in its day.

Good to see..... Nintnedo got tons of coverage here in Aus....... So I find it odd that the UK didnt get that much coverage.......

Quoting: PenglingAlong the way, I've ended up discovering an excellent YouTube channel called N64 Glenn Plant (which I also passed Spider the link for, as he notes above! ), and though Glenn's videos weren't entirely responsible for my pick for this weekend (it's already been on my list for years), they did prompt me to finally get it off the back-burner and get on with it!

I have quite a few games on my list to play in the future based purely on his his recommendation....... And his video was the sole reason I played International Superstar Soccer 2000 during the week....... Expect a full review of that later in the year.....

Quoting: Pengling

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My pick for this weekend is 2001's Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) - the result of what happened when Rareware, a studio famous at the time for making solid family-friendly games, got egotistical when the press said that a then-upcoming family-friendly game would turn out to be a good family-friendly game, and then reworked that game into an adult-only title, taking it from a guaranteed multi-million seller to an absolute sales bomb with a very limited audience.

No, really.

Conker's Bad Fur Day actually started out as Conker's Quest (later Twelve Tales: Conker 64, of which there is more preserved footage), a sweet little 3D-platformer starring a cute little red squirrel named Conker and his chipmunk girlfriend Berri, which was announced in 1997, and which would have been a unique early entry in the genre due to being planned to include co-operative play, which was generally considered to be impractical in 3D platforming titles. They spent years promoting the character and his upcoming game by way of including him in the N64 mascot-racer Diddy Kong Racing and giving him a Game Boy Colour game titled Conker's Pocket Tales, which was intended as a prequel to Twelve Tales.

It might have had a limited audience...... But the game seems to be really damn good..... And I wish more companies would take that approach to games...... Instead of the formulaic mass appeal clones the AAA industry mostly shits out today........ But sadly that cant happen as AAA games so expensive to make they cant afford not to make a mass appeal clone product.......

Quoting: Pengling

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If you like this sort of thing, Conker's Bad Fur Day is well worth a look. It's a unique experience, and certainly not the sort of game that would be made today!

73%....

Quoting: Pengling

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Rod Land (Arcade; Evercade)

I thought that was a bootleg game at first...... Rod Land sounds like a made up game...... But nope...... Its real.......

Quoting: Pengling

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Space Invaders (Arcade; Evercade)

My favourite version is of Space Invaders is Pepsi Invaders......

Quoting: Pengling

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Super Bomberman 2 (SNES)

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Super Bomberman R 2 (Proton)

GOD DAMMIT PENGLING!!!!........

Quoting: Pengling

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The NewZealand Story (Arcade; Evercade)

I much prefer this New Zealand story.......

Quoting: Pengling

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Worms Armageddon (N64)

I really liked the Worms series...... I have never played the N64 version but I can say that the Dreamcast version is very very good....... But it doesnt work on all Dreamcast emulators due to it being a Windows CE game...... As was Worms World Party......

Quoting: Pengling

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Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension (Mega Drive; Evercade)

I see him there.... Plotting on how to clog another shower.......

Quoting: PenglingBloody right!

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HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
That image is great!!!......

Quoting: PenglingAt least the video was good, even if the game wasn't.

Qxir does a lot of really good videos...... Really worth checking out his channel......

Quoting: PenglingOnly 2000 to go!

Oh god...... Dont remind me.......

Quoting: PenglingI'm not weirded out by the kangaroo, just the giant sheep.

Well if your weirded out by the giant sheep..... Then im affraid ive got some bad news for you...... The giant sheep........ IS REAL.......

Quoting: PenglingHahahahaha! Very good!

I knew you would like that one lol.......

Let's see, what did I play this week? Solitaire 'til dawn with a deck of 51? Sure! But also:

Deadfall Adventures - Put Lara Croft and Indiana Jones together in a room. Dim the lights, play some Barry White and this is what you end up with nine months later. An action/adventure FPS filled with tomb looting, nazi killing and puzzle solving. Should be great in theory but it never really takes of. Can't really put my finger on why though. It's not bad in any way and I plan on completing it, but at the same time nothing about it stands out.

The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav and the sequel Memoria - Really great adventure games, Memoria especially. Great writing and art. Great dialogue and voice acting. Puzzle solving that's just at that point where it starts to get frustrating and you're ready for a walk through when you finally solve it.

Besides the usual item combinations the games uses some magical elements. The protagonist in the first one have the amazing superpower of being able to break (small, fragile) things with his mind, and put them together again (without using glue!). In the second game there's a neat ability where you plant ideas in peoples head and have them do or say what you want. Neat stuff!

EA Sports WRC - I continue to make a fool out of myself in the GoL Tournament. But maybe, just maybe improving a little bit (at the driving bit, not the fool part!). These are the current standings:


There's always room for a trickle of more players though!

During practice i also snagged a TOP TEN IN THE WORLD place on the leaderboards. This is pure talent, skill and good looks.

It has nothing at all to do with there only being 30 or so players having driven that stage in the rain (people seem to hate the slippy stuff) or me filtering the leaderbords to only show players using no assists and steering wheels....

Now if you'll excuse me, the Statler Brothers and I have some flower countin to get back to. I do believe there's a Steam achievement if I get the count correct!

Quoting: PenglingOh that's awesome - please tell me you did costumes?

Yeah we always do! I shared my Ken and my gf's Chun-Li costume someone on here in the past. This time I did a Wolf-Man and my gf did a battled damage Velma.

It was a lot of fun and we got to see Lisa Frankenstein for free.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderGood to see..... Nintnedo got tons of coverage here in Aus....... So I find it odd that the UK didnt get that much coverage.......

That battle was already lost here before it began - console-wise it had always been "Sega territory" because Sega's distributors charged less for their products, had no minimum order quantity, and weren't picky about which stores they sold to, whereas Nintendo's (who ended up ditched after the various UK N64 disasters) was the opposite, which gave them even more trouble when dealing with Sony's money-pit that they had to throw at marketing. The N64 launched late here, in March of 1997, and had constant problems with unstable pricing (people were hesitant to buy when it was known to have sudden undeclared drops every couple of weeks, which went on for most of 1997), low stock, and games that cost way more than the competition but were often less substantial.

They did have marketing campaigns, but the TV ones were annoying and ill-thought-out, and some were inconsistent because they would just re-use ads from other regions, and the print ones (which were mostly alright) just didn't go far enough.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI have quite a few games on my list to play in the future based purely on his his recommendation.......

Same! The channel's proven to be a big help in seeing the N64 in a new light.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderIt might have had a limited audience...... But the game seems to be really damn good..... And I wish more companies would take that approach to games...... Instead of the formulaic mass appeal clones the AAA industry mostly shits out today........ But sadly that cant happen as AAA games so expensive to make they cant afford not to make a mass appeal clone product.......

You're spot-on, and I agree - it was an early sign of some folks in the industry who understood that there was a problem looming due to there being too many samey releases and not enough fun. Remember, Conker's Bad Fur Day was released around the time that the video games market as a whole started shrinking, because it had become too focussed on one type of customer to the detriment of all others - the same phenomenon that led to the creation of the Nintendo DS and Wii, which singlehandedly reversed the trend.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI thought that was a bootleg game at first...... Rod Land sounds like a made up game...... But nope...... Its real.......

It was well-liked on the home-micros over here due to it being in the same vein as the likes of Bubble Bobble, though to be fair it never achieved the same heights as the fairy aesthetic had a slightly less broad appeal than cute stubby bubble-blowing dragons.


It also wasn't helped by this rather dreadful advert that I affectionately describe as "Demented Rainbow Brite". Suggesting that your game causes vomiting is probably not the best sales tactic...

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderMy favourite version is of Space Invaders is Pepsi Invaders......

COKE WINS, as the game proclaims. It actually is a good one.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderGOD DAMMIT PENGLING!!!!........

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI really liked the Worms series...... I have never played the N64 version but I can say that the Dreamcast version is very very good....... But it doesnt work on all Dreamcast emulators due to it being a Windows CE game...... As was Worms World Party......

I grew up with the Game Boy version, which went everywhere with me along with Wario Blast and Ms. Pac-Man - it was a very good conversion for the time.

Back when I was a Nintendo Switch owner, I decided to pick up the latest entry, Worms WMD, and I was left very disappointed - it was clunky and inaccessible, with an unwieldy crafting system (because apparently absolutely everything had to have that after Minecraft hit it big), and a heavy reliance on obscure inside-jokes from entries in the series that I'd never played. Where once the series had felt accessible and pick-up-and-play, it now just felt alienating and like you needed a Haynes Manual to make any sense of it. I counted myself lucky that I hadn't paid much for it, and then just gave up on it.

That was why I enjoyed discovering the N64 version of Worms Armageddon so much - it was nice to see that there were entries I'd missed that thankfully weren't like WMD!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderI see him there.... Plotting on how to clog another shower.......

Hahaha!

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
That image is great!!!......

Thankyou, thankyou! I'm glad you liked it! I was laughing like a madwoman while I was putting it together - it just turned out perfectly.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderQxir does a lot of really good videos...... Really worth checking out his channel......

I ended up binge-watching a load of them after that, hahaha! He does indeed do a lot of really good videos.

Quoting: StoneColdSpiderWell if your weirded out by the giant sheep..... Then im affraid ive got some bad news for you...... The giant sheep........ IS REAL.......

Quoting: whizseThere's always room for a trickle of more players though!

I see what you did there.

Quoting: MezronYeah we always do! I shared my Ken and my gf's Chun-Li costume someone on here in the past. This time I did a Wolf-Man and my gf did a battled damage Velma.

OH! I remember seeing your costumes from before, now! I'm sure the recent ones were just as great, too.

Quoting: MezronIt was a lot of fun and we got to see Lisa Frankenstein for free.

Sweet!

Last edited by Pengling on 17 February 2024 at 4:20 am UTC

Nooo Pengling! You can't go posting in this Weekend Player's when there's already a new one!

You're crossing the streams threads!