Nintendo Online Service and SNES Online Jubilation Thread

I haven't slept well the last couple of days, so I wasn't sure if I'd dreamt that Nintendo had put 5 new GameBoy games out, but they were all MegaMan. I mean I guess I've got to try them, but... blimey.

I've never played a Mega Man, and everything everybody's said about it here gives me no desire to. (Apart from maybe X. )

I don't think you'd like them. The combination of platforming and shooting is quite fun, but a little stiff compared to Nintendo's stuff.
The other big appeal of Mega man is the music, but I know you don't go in for retro tunes as much.

If you play Mega Man 2 on the NES if you bounce of that, then don't bother.

I haven't, I know that's meant to be the classic. Also I feel like most of the music's probably been done better in Smash.

Buskalilly wrote:

They add some weird stuff. You know Donkey Kong '94 isn't even on there yet?

If they added that within the same year as the Mario Vs. DK remake that'd render the whole release obsolete (the remake not 94).

Balladeer wrote:

I haven't, I know that's meant to be the classic.  Also I feel like most of the music's probably been done better in Smash.

I think MM3 is better, truthfully. They added a slide move which really helps the game feel more fluid and not as stiff as the first two in the series. The correct answer though is to play Mega Man X.

(whispers) I will probably not play any of them because they're old.

You have been banned from the Retro forum.

And nothing of value was lost that day.

Hooray! Perfect Dark is on the N64! And because it's somehow got a higher age rating than GoldenEye, it has to be kept away from the children...
Why Nintendo, why is there a completely separate app to download to play higher-rated N64 games? That's such a "Nintendo" way of dealing with it. And it's even worse, because now if someone sees what I'm playing it says I'm playing "Nintendo 64 Mature" which basically sounds like I'm planning some kind of creative wanking

I’m curious to see what else might arrive on the N64 Mature app, it presents some new options. With Nightdive Studios having licensed the first Turok to Nintendo for the app, you’d expect the other two to come along eventually. I think they own the publishing rights for a few other aged-rated N64 games too. Shadowman and Forsaken spring to mind, as they were remastered by Nightdive Studios in the same way the first three Turok games were.

Could any of id Software’s games be brought back out as well? I know that Quake 64, Quake II and DOOM 64 are all for sale on the eShop in one form or another, but I think they’re the ones who did Hexen as well. I could probably do with re-evaluating my stance on Hexen, as my memories of it are from seeing a pal’s big brother play it when we were in primary school twenty-five years ago and thinking it looked like the most boring thing ever made.

Maybe the N64’s two Duke Nukem games will make an appearance? It was only last year that several Duke Nukem PS1, Game Boy Advance and MS-DOS games came out on Evercade. It’s safe to assume that Duke Nukem 64 and Duke Nukem: Zero Hour are equally up for redistribution? I’d welcome that – I’ve never given enough time to Zero Hour.

Like everybody else, I’d really like to see Conker’s Bad Fur Day become available on the app. I’d have said that its content and themes were the only obstacle to that happening, but on a Mature app is that a big deal? Speaking of Rare, I’m not sure if Killer Instinct Gold would appear on the ‘plain’ app or this Mature one, but it’s surely a matter of time until that’s available.

The game I’d like the most is Resident Evil 2. It’s one of a very, very small number of PAL N64 games that I’ve never played or owned. Any opportunity I’ve had to buy it, it’s been either too expensive, too damaged or unfortunately a fake.

That all said, I think we can all agree that it’s a worthless endeavour without South Park: Chef’s Luv Shack.

Cappucino kid wrote:

The game I’d like the most is Resident Evil 2. It’s one of a very, very small number of PAL N64 games that I’ve never played or owned. Any opportunity I’ve had to buy it, it’s been either too expensive, too damaged or unfortunately a fake.

All your suggestions sounded great but this is the one I'd want the most, always been intrigued by the randomizer mode this version has.

Hmmm... I love Rare's platformers, but even though it breaks the mould a little, I'm not sure I wanna sit through Conker's Bad Fur Day again - it seems a bit try-hard-y now.

But speaking of Rare - and I know I've already written exactly the same thing on the Discord - SOLAR JETMAN BABY *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn* *airhorn*

I’ve been fair enjoying the original Densetsu no Stafy on the Game Boy Advance app. Sure, it’s lack of an English translation makes your assorted tasks and objectives a bit confusing at times and altogether it’s a lot less straightforward than I’d think it’ll be for any competent reader of the Japanese language. Nothing else needs translating though: the platforming is really enjoyable, it controls fantastically and looks and sounds great too. I’ve long hoped that these three GBA originals would reappear on Virtual Console or Switch Online, and I’m very happy that the first one (at least) is living up to it’s long-standing reputation.

Yassss! I found it to be very pleasant, so I'm glad its found another fan.
Even if I am feeling a bit of the same obnoxious gatekeepery jealousy I felt when Monster Hunter took off in the West right after I moved to Japan.

That’s very welcome news about F-Zero Climax coming to the Game Boy Advance Online, making its Western debut twenty years after its initial Japanese launch.




 
I didn’t massively enjoy GP Legend back in the day, and it’s funny to think that this was likely because of series fatigue (there’d been three F-Zero games in under three years by the time GP Legend came around). Yet playing through Maximum Velocity earlier in 2024 was brilliant – I really underappreciated it for years, it’s a truly fantastic game. I’m very open-minded about giving GP Legend another go purely on that basis, but having never played it before it’s Climax that I’ll prioritise.
 
It’s not lost on people that all but one of the ‘main’ F-Zero games are playable on Switch.

Reading Nintendo Life's review of GP Legend, I was struck by their con in the summary that the game was "utterly unforgiving, with a steep learning curve".  That on its own makes me almost entirely unlikely to play this entry I missed first time out, in a beloved series that hasn't had an update in years.  I don't really need "utterly unforgiving", not in a racing game.  And that description, combined with otherwise positive comments about the game's plot, gives me bad memories of being utterly miserable trying to conquer F-Zero GX's story mode when I was much younger and had much more time to devote to such things.

Am I one of those heartless bastards who doesn't actually mind that F-Zero hasn't had a new entry since Climax?  For my own sake anyway, I'd quite like for the legions of clamouring fans to get something after all this time.

Well there sort of is new F-Zero stuff... in that F-Zero 99 has a 4th "cup" worth of tracks. I know that's dead easy to make really, but there's something about officially essentially adding new stuff to a SNES game that's like "oooooooooo". I have actually been playing F-Zero 99 again, despite the year-long gap allowing everyone else to git gud. And TBH I am looking forward to, most of all in F-Zero Climax, making a track that looks like a swear.

Regarding being “utterly unforgiving”, F-Zero X is the only game in the series that I finished from the first cup on the Novice mode to the last cup on the Master mode. They’re all very challenging in their own right, but I can just about scrape a cup win in Expert mode in the other F-Zeros, GP Legend included. F-Zero GX is bollock-crushingly tough though, even the Standard difficulty level takes the mick.
 
We’ve had hardly any time to digest the two F-Zero games and now we’re getting Banjo-Tooie:




 
I don’t know if I can stomach Banjo-Tooie again in all truth. It does that thing that loads of platformers did back in the early 2000s, which is adopt that philosophy of ‘bigger is better’. You can admire its ambition certainly, but a more streamlined and straightforward sequel to Banjo-Kazooie would have made for a much better game. I never finished Banjo-Tooie and I don’t think I ever will.

I have an interesting relationship with Banjo-Tooie for a game I never played. I didn't get it at the end of the N64's life when it released because it got an N64 Magazine 81, and I was increasingly snobbish about scores. Then maybe five/ten or so years later I regretted it because, well, I'd been snobbish about scores, and an 81 was still an 81. Then maybe five/ten or so years later after that all the opinion pieces were basically about how it did the DK64 thing of being "bigger is better" but worse than that game did, and I never finished nor rated DK64.

I don't think I'll be touching this.

Oh boy, caught in two minds about Banjo Tooie. I am sort of looking forward to the epic adventure, but in typing this I'm having 'Nam-style flashbacks to walking up and down the side of Terry Dactyl Land for a seemingly-terminal amount of time, desperately trying to find a cave entrance I've not been in, in order to discount I don't come back here through the last world, or Stop n Swop, or Kameo or something. Oh boy it really does need a reboot this.

So many people banged on about how much better Banjo was than Mario 64 and then I played it on Rare Replay and like . . . really?

I’d say Banjo-Kazooie is a little bit better than Super Mario 64, although they’re both 10/10 games for sure.
 
Banjo-Tooie, on the other hand…it’s definitely better than stuff like Chameleon Twist and Toy Story 2, but there’s a good ten-or-so N64 platformers that I’d rate higher than it. Tooie might have better graphics and gameplay than many of them, but there’s almost too much of it to enjoy.

I didn't realise people actually did say that until now, I love Banjo-Kazooie but I'd never put it ahead of Mario 64, the fluidity of Mario just makes for an unbeatable experience.