N64 Month | March 2012 Podcast: Nintendo 64 Special - Zelda, Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, Is Majora Rubbish?, Retro, Cubed3's Favourite Games Page 1

N64 Month | March 2012 Podcast: Nintendo 64 Special - Zelda, Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, Is Majora Rubbish?, Retro, Cubed3's Favourite Games

It's been a long but rewarding month celebrating all things Nintendo 64. From our most loved games, to recalling our first glimpse of the beast. Soundtracks that have left a lasting impression, MiA features, retro reviews and character profiles have kept the party going.

We wrap it all up by sitting together and serving up an extended edition on Nintendo's first steps into a world dominated by polygons and 3D. What are our favourite games? Who doesn't quite love Majora's Mask? What franchises were missing from the Nintendo 64? All this and more in the March 2012 issue.

Featuring Ross Marrs (Podcast Editor), Rudy Lavaux (Retro Editor), Adam Riley (Operations Director), Aaron Elias (Previews Editor) and Stuart Lawrence (Character Profiles Editor).

Produced by Ross Marrs and Adam Riley.

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Introduction

00:00:00 - Adam introduces Cubed3's N64 Special podcast in Ross' absence

Retro Live Chat - Part 1

00:01:10 - The team discusses the delayed European launch of the N64 and games bought alongside the console
00:05:56 - Adam realises he's much older than the rest of the team
00:06:29 - Ross reminisces about how great the N64 was as a child and his love for the videos magazines included featuring upcoming game clips
00:08:09 - N64 games were ridiculously expensive and many still are when searching on eBay. Ross finds bargains at car boot sales
00:11:15 - Adam and Rudy realise that even though they are not racing fans, most of their favourite N64 games were racers!
00:12:26 - Stu joins the chat, catching up on his launch memories
00:13:30 - GoldenEye 007 cheats and opening up all the features via codes in various Rare titles
00:17:45 - Ross felt let down by Donkey Kong 64; Rudy reveals his dedication by collecting everything possible in it
00:20:01 - Ross shocks everyone by proclaiming The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is "rubbish"!
00:24:06 - Stu believes The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is on par with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
00:25:28 - Ross only likes Link's front flip, the Observatory music and the 'scary moon thing...head thing' in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
00:27:49 - Ross continues on his Zelda tirade, slating The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
00:31:34 - Will it stop? Ross goes on the rip Link to the Past, calls Link's Awakening 'unplayable'

N64 Month Special Feature

00:32:41 - Character Impressions; Name that Game: Part 1

Retro Live Chat - Part 2

00:35:05 - Ross admits he basically doesn't like 2D Zelda games
00:35:46 - Discussions about how a game with a similar style to The Legend of Zelda II: Adventure of Link should be made, featuring true RPG elements
00:36:15 - Stu's first ever console was the Nintendo 64, so had to play his first ever Mario game, Super Mario Bros. 3, at his cousin's house
00:37:00 - Stu talks about his favourite Nintendo 64 games
00:37:45 - Death Race in F-Zero X was a main draw for most of us, completing it in record times. General F-Zero debate ensues
00:46:10 - A closer look at early N64 games, such as Pilotwings 64 from Paradigm Entertainment, and the merits of the N64 sequel over its SNES original
00:47:58 - Paradigm Entertainment worked closely with Nintendo on Pilotwings 64 and two F1 World Grand Prix titles, but then went solo and eventually disappeared
00:50:39 - Favourite FPS games?
00:52:47 - Yoshi's Story - a major disappointment after Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island? Az makes a case for the game
00:56:09 - 40 Winks, cancelled on N64, but released on PlayStation 2
00:58:24 - Heavily delayed talk brings up memories of Body Harvest and Space Station Silicon Valley, and how DMA Design became Rockstar
00:59:00 - Ross does a impression of Buck Bumble's theme song!

N64 Month Special Feature

01:00:10 - Character Impressions; Name that Game: Part 2

Retro Live Chat - Part 3

01:03:56 - Adam continues by talking about developers that were big in the N64 days, but have disappeared now
01:04:43 - Argonaut, StarWing developer, made Buck Bumble. Az talks about his love for hitting balls around
01:04:54 - Rudy defends Excitebots after Adam expresses his disappointment that it was nothing like Excitebike 64. Excite Truck sold people on Wii motion controls
01:09:19 - Was the Nintendo 64 actually weak or not? Why did developers jump ship?
01:12:19 - Angel Studios, the team behind Resident Evil 2, also became part of Rockstar. Random 'umbrella' pun slips in
01:12:39 - Was Operation Winback the N64's answer to Metal Gear Solid?
01:14:00 - One of the only RPGs on the N64, Holy Magic Century / Quest 64
01:15:08 - Ross brings up the topic of WipeOut 64, and Adam mentions how Psygnosis was fully owned by Sony at the time, raising the question of why it ever appeared on a non-Sony system. Comparisons to F-Zero X and the Extreme-G futuristic racers, and talk of comparing fastest times between European and US players on 50/60Hz TVs
01:19:52 - Stu and Adam talk about the fantastic International Superstar Soccer '98. Stu has been busy picking up cheap N64 games, like V-Rally
01:22:59 - Who is that character from Killer Instinct Gold? Who still has the special CD?
01:26:05 - Was the hype for Shadowman justified in the end?
01:27:18 - Much love for Conker's Bad Fur Day, despite the high price. Adam does a scary impression of Birdy...Rudy is impressed by how much voiced dialogue was included in the game. Memories of the funniest characters.
01:33:37 - Final memories of the N64. Adam talks about how he was at school, playing four-player games with friends constantly, especially Mario Tennis, Mario Kart 64, FIFA Road to the World Cup and GoldenEye 007.
01:34:26 - Recap of what readers can see during N64 Month via the N64 Hub

N64 Month Special Feature

01:36:12 - Character Impressions; Name that Game: Part 3

Until next time...

01:37:32 - Farewell from Adam. N64 Month is drawing to a close, but the N64 Hub is still accessible. GameCube anniversary coming soon. Leave us some messages!

If listening via Cubed3 is not an option, be sure to simply download the podcast right here [ Right-Click, Save-As ]

As always, be sure to share your questions, thoughts and feedback on this issue, plus what you would like to see in the next instalment!

Comment on this article

Comments

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jesusraz 31.03.2012#1

Let us know if you like the extra touches added to this month's podcast and the special features Smilie

Also, be sure to share your thoughts on Cubed3's N64 Month content and what you would like to see for May's GameCube anniversary.

( Edited 15.11.2012 02:39 by Guest )

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Rob64 (guest) 31.03.2012#2

Smilie Smilie Smilie

Some of that was bloody hilarious!! Loving the impressions, btw! Beardy...but you don't have a beard?! Smilie Smilie

More please!

( Edited 15.11.2012 02:39 by Guest )

jesusraz 01.04.2012#3

Thanks Smilie Maybe people should suggest others for me to try Smilie

I thorougly enjoyed listening back to this podcast - the whole N64 month was great fun in general, but the chat was really good fun. Amazing how many topics we had to talk about considering we didn't have a proper set plan before starting Smilie

( Edited 15.11.2012 02:39 by Guest )

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Mush 01.04.2012#4

Great podcast, you managed to keep me interested for the whole hour and a half. Smilie

Can't wait to see what you guys have in store for the GameCube anniversary. Awesome as always. Loved the impressions Adam... the Banjo ones made me laugh. Smilie

Oh and this has got me in the mood for playing Conker again, it's been a few years since I played it.

( Edited 15.11.2012 02:39 by Guest )

jesusraz 01.04.2012#5

I just realised that when introducing part 3 of the chat, I refer to myself in the third person! "We pick up with Adam talking about developers..." Smilie

Mush123 said:
Great podcast, you managed to keep me interested for the whole hour and a half.

Fantastic news! I was going through some of the old podcasts from back in 2006 and had forgotten about how they were always broken into smaller segments to keep people's attention more, so I chopped up a few of the old sound effects, re-recorded some of the snippets that James/Mr. T/tempo88 created (only fair since he's not on the team anymore...) and squeezed in as much as possible for variety's sake.

Hope Ross doesn't kick me for messing with his normal formula, though Smilie Smilie

Can't wait to see what you guys have in store for the GameCube anniversary.

We're mulling over what to do. N64 Month was VERY tiring for the staff, but we'll see what can be sorted out. Were there any particular articles from the N64 hub that you definitely want to see again for the GameCube celebrations?

Awesome as always. Loved the impressions Adam... the Banjo ones made me laugh. Oh and this has got me in the mood for playing Conker again, it's been a few years since I played it.

Glad people liked the impressions! I can always try to do more further down the line, and am open to suggestions.

The Banjo, Kazooie, Bottles and Mumbo interview was totally off the cuff. The two Conker scenes (Birdy and Greg the Grim Reaper, for those that haven't listened yet) were fun to do, but the Banjo one was really a last minute rush job, so I'm glad it turned out okay.

EDIT: Don't forget to add c3podcast to Skype and leave us a message!

( Edited 01.04.2012 18:35 by Adam Riley )

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Mush 01.04.2012#6

Adam Riley said:
We're mulling over what to do. N64 Month was VERY tiring for the staff, but we'll see what can be sorted out. Were there any particular articles from the N64 hub that you definitely want to see again for the GameCube celebrations?

I would love to see the whole "Missing in Action" feature. I really enjoyed reading the ones related to the N64 month, even if I didn't comment on them! (Wasn't in a commenting mood)

Another thing I'd love to see, is quizzes. I absolutely loved the quizzes this month, even if I only got 15 out of 20 on the majority of them. Smilie

We probably have reviews for GC games already, so I dunno if you would go back to review those games again or whatever, but yeah.

Also, a top 20 or something of the best GameCube games? Smilie

Adam Riley said:
EDIT: Don't forget to add c3podcast to Skype and leave us a message!

What kind of messages are we supposed to leave? I'm up for leaving one!

I didn't know you could use Skype as like.. an answering machine. o:

( Edited 01.04.2012 20:14 by Mush123 )

jesusraz 02.04.2012#7

Any other game voices we can try to immitate for next time? I was thinking a Luke/Layton scene or Duke Nukem Smilie However, I'm short on ideas, so suggestions would be welcomed!

Mush123 said:
I would love to see the whole "Missing in Action" feature. I really enjoyed reading the ones related to the N64 month, even if I didn't comment on them! (Wasn't in a commenting mood)

Can do, since there are many great games that got cancelled.

Another thing I'd love to see, is quizzes. I absolutely loved the quizzes this month, even if I only got 15 out of 20 on the majority of them.

Jorge says these were very time consuming, but I'm sure he won't mind churning out a couple more. We'll chip in to help him Smilie

We probably have reviews for GC games already, so I dunno if you would go back to review those games again or whatever, but yeah.

There are key ones missing from the database, so we'll see if there's enough time for things like Baten Kaitos Origins.

Also, a top 20 or something of the best GameCube games?

Already being thought of as we speak (type)!

What kind of messages are we supposed to leave? I'm up for leaving one! I didn't know you could use Skype as like.. an answering machine. o:

People used to leave their thoughts on ANY sorts of issues, and then get featured in the next podcast. I just hope Jorge (or James, if you're reading) still has the log-in details for the account Smilie

When you call someone, I think it can got to voicemail, just like a regular call. Maybe the user has to have it set up on their account, though.

Adam Riley [ Director :: Cubed3 ]

UNITE714: Weekly Prayers | Bible Verses

Dave85 (guest) 05.04.2012#8

Good to hear some of the old jingles back, mixed with the new talent on the team! Great all-round effort, and bodes well for next month's (this month's Smilie ) podcast!

jesusraz 07.04.2012#9

We'll see what can be done for the next one. Ross, the regular Podcast Editor, will be fully in charge again for the next edition, so whether or not the old jingles become a firm fixture again is up to him Smilie