Recycled Gaming

As mentioned last week, I’m now the owner of a Nintendo Wii and said that I’d be doing reviews on Wii Virtual Console games in comparison to the actual cartridge versions of the games.

Well today I’m reviewing Wave Race 64 on the Wii Virtual Console.

Back on March 5, 2008 I reviewed the Nintendo 64 version of Wave Race 64. The game is awesome, so I wanted to try it out on the Nintendo Wii VC.

The Virtual Console version of Wave Race 64 is pretty much exactly the same as the N64 version.

The visuals and game play are perfect, so I won’t be going into a full review again, however I did notice a few things different from the N64 version compared to the Wii version.

Apparently Nintendo did some small modifications to anything relating to Kawasaki. All the in-game Kawasaki banners have been removed and replaced with banners showing Wii and Nintendo DS advertisements instead.

I also noticed that the Jet Skis themselves have also been slightly modified and bear no Kawasaki logos. I’m thinking this was most likely done because of an expired licensing deal.

The funny thing is back in January of this year Kawasaki Jetski was released for the Wii, so it seems Nintendo is back into some sort of licensing deal with Kawasaki.

My personal thoughts on this is Nintendo should put the Kawasaki logos and banners back now and make it 100% like the original N64 version.

I’m sure Kawasaki wouldn’t mind getting a little more advertising love.

I wonder how many other games Nintendo will be doing this with as more Virtual Console games come out? Any thoughts?

Here’s a great 14 minute, 47 second promotional video from 1997 showcasing the Nintendo 64 console. It also covers Super Mario 64, Pilotwings 64 and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.

Just for a small heads up, once you press play on the video, the Nintendo 64 logo will show up spinning for about 20 seconds, then the magic begins.

Now you’re playing with power!

Watching this video just reminds me how cool the Nintendo 64 was and still is for a classic gaming system.

In recent months I’ve really been enjoying my Nintendo 64 and blowing the dust off some of my games.

To really kick things up a notch, this coming weekend I’ve got some friends coming over and we’ve got a Super Smash Brothers tournament all planned out. It should be some good times for sure.

Somethings gone wrong in the happy go lucky world of Nintendo…

Introducing Super Smash Brothers, where all your favorite characters go toe to toe, in one four player star studded slam fest…

Only on Nintendo 64:

This game is so awesome and is currently in my top 10 games for the N64, especially for multi-player gaming action.

In the coming days I’ll have a full review of the game, so keep checking back.

Ok, so you have your copy of Donkey Kong 64, the yellow collectors edition, complete with included expansion pak as seen below with my personal copy:

You have started to explore the vast levels, and you may have collected some strange items. What do those fairies do? What about the blueprints?

Spoiler Alert

If you don’t want to find out how to unlock some of Donkey Kong 64’s cool hidden modes and mini-games, stop reading now. (more…)

Diddy Kong Racing takes the outstanding gameplay of Mario Kart and expands upon it in a number of ways. In addition to cars, you can also race planes and hovercraft!

The tracks feature tropical islands, snowy mountains, and even a prehistoric world. These scenic courses are well-designed and mercifully short, allowing for quick, action-packed races.

Diddy Kong’s graphics and frame-rate are gorgeously smooth, and the waterfalls and snow drifts look particularly appealing.

The airplanes handle surprisingly well, but I found the hovercrafts a bit sensitive when it comes to turning.

A single-player adventure mode lets you unlock tracks to use in the multiplayer modes, and it’s madly addictive but never frustrating.

Catchy tunes play throughout the races, including a few that sound like Christmas carols in the snow stages.

With exciting racing action that places fun over realism, Diddy Kong Racing is a top-notch title for the Nintendo 64.

A couple weeks ago I posted about receiving a boxed Sega Genesis II system and two days ago I did another trade with a local gamer.

I traded two super clean SNES systems for… if you haven’t already figured it out by the post title, a Nintendo 64, in the box, complete with everything it came with brand new:

This whole boxed system is so nice. The box is almost mint, both controllers, the grey and the atomic purple look and work like brand new, the foam insert is even nice. The AV cables, power adapter, etc are also very clean.

Here’s the kicker… everything in the box still has the original bags around each item. Even the instruction manual has a Nintendo bag. I haven’t seen a boxed system like this since they came out in 1996.

I’m not completely sure what I’ll do with this system. I already have two personal Nintendo 64 machines (original grey and Jungle Green), so maybe I’ll bundle it with a bunch of N64 games and sell it as a package.

If you’ve got some suggestions, let me know. If you or a friend wants a super nice Nintendo 64 system, let me know. The trade value was $75.00 USD, so of course I wouldn’t take less then that for it.

With its simple gameplay, beautiful scenery, and superb water effects, Wave Race 64 is one of the most appealing titles available for the Nintendo 64.

Its eight distinctive courses include a sunny beach, a serene lake, and an industrial port. There’s even a “sunset” course where you race on an ocean of orange Kool-Aid!

The choppiness of the water varies between courses, and hitting a large wave at the right angle can send you high in the air.

Wave Race’s foamy water and splashing sound effects are so realistic that you can almost smell of the salty water of the beach and the raw sewage of the port.

The controls are absolutely terrific, and I’m glad because serious skill is required to weave in and out of the colored buoys (miss too many and you’re disqualified).

It’s possible to perform tricks, but they seem a bit pointless really. The one-player championship mode is addictive as hell, and the two-player split screen also very nice.

The main problem with Wave Race 64 is its annoying announcer, who never has anything interesting to say, and will not shut up. Get used to hearing him shout the same words over and over: “Good!! Nice!! O-kay!! Okay!! Maximum Power!! Okay!!”

Despite having a full options menu, there’s no way to shut up that frickin’ idiot. Despite this unfortunate audio flaw, Wave Race is a fantastic water racer and a must-have for all serious Nintendo 64 fans.

Earlier this evening I took a 20 mile (40 miles round trip) adventure to pick up a collectors edition Nintendo 64 “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”.

The box is in really nice shape. The picture below doesn’t show how shiny gold the box really is… but take my word for it, this thing is really nice:

Of course along with the box, it came with a mint instruction manual and also the collectors edition and rare gold cartridge… and there was much rejoicing… yay!

I’ve wanted this for a while now and as of this evening, it’s all mine… muhahahahaha:

Here is my previous “later released” grey cartridge version. From what I can tell, it has the exact game play. If I’m missing something about that, let me know:

I’ve always enjoyed the Zelda series of games. The Nintendo 64 version is really fun and puts the N64 hardware to the test. I’ll have a full review of the game in the coming weeks.

For now, here’s a little teaser… The game begins with the series’ trademark silent protagonist, Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest to stop Ganondorf, the Zelda franchise’s prime antagonist, from obtaining the Triforce. To stop Ganondorf, Link travels back and forth between a period of seven years using the titular Ocarina of Time.

For the complete storyline, check out the official Zelda Wiki.

Now off to play some Zelda before I hit the sheets.

Doing some research tonight on the Nintendo 64 Memory Expansion Pak, I found this handy tip on Nintendo’s official website.

I’ve archived it here on Recycled Gaming because over the past couple of years, Nintendo has removed a lot of useful classic Nintendo system service information and I want to help preserve it.

Step 1:

Make sure that the power switch on the Nintendo 64 Control Deck is in the OFF position and that the power cord is unplugged from the wall outlet.

Step 2:

Remove the Memory Expansion Cover located on the top of the Nintendo 64 Control Deck and remove the red label. It is okay to remove the existing Jumper Pak when you are replacing it with the Expansion Pak.

Step 3:

Insert the Jumper Pak Ejector Tool into the back of the Jumper Pak and push downward, ejecting the Jumper Pak out of the connector. If you do not have a Jumper Pak Ejector Tool, you may use a small spoon to remove the Jumper Pak. You will need to press firmly.

Step 4:

Insert the Expansion Pak into the Memory Expansion compartment, making sure that it is not loaded backwards. The text on the Expansion Pak should face towards the front of the control deck.

Step 5:

Replace the Memory Expansion Cover on the control deck.

Important Expansion Pak Notes:

Once the Expansion Pak is installed, it is normally not necessary to remove it from the control deck. If you do remove the Expansion Pak, you will need to re-insert the Jumper Pak for your system to operate.

To prevent dust, dirt or other foreign material from falling into the expansion pak compartment, be sure to replace the Memory Expansion Cover after installing the expansion pak.

The N64 Expansion Pak is designed to work with all Nintendo 64 Game Paks, even those which do not use the Expansion features.

The Expansion Pak will become hot while the control deck is on. This is normal. Do not touch any part of the Expansion Pak when the control deck is operating.

Wait one hour after turning the control deck off before touching or removing the Expansion Pak. Do not attach any label or sticker to the Expansion Pak which could block the cooling vents.

Source: Nintendo - Customer Service

Can you really call yourself a ”gamer” if you haven’t played Pac-Man? What about Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga? Have you ever played Dig Dug or Pole Position? Galaxian?

If you haven’t played any of these then you’ve missed out on some of the milestones in gaming.

Namco Museum 64 represents some of the most successful arcade games of all time and anyone who dares to claim the title of a true gamer should have at least played these games.

If you haven’t played them yet, now is the perfect time. While this compilation is mainly geared towards the retro fanatic (like me), this cart has something for everyone. (more…)