Best of Rare's N64 platformers?

[BetaWolf47]

I'm wondering what people think is the cream of the crop. Rare made some amazing games for a system that needed its support. Platformers are also one of my favorite genres.

I myself say Banjo-Kazooie. It was the most simple, yet the most balanced. Early levels are easy, while later levels are controller-through-the-wall brutal (Rusty Bucket Bay, I HATE YOU!). The main hub had a lot of personality, with the villain constantly taunting you. It had a lot to do, and was well-constructed.

Banjo-Tooie was a nice upgrade, but some of the new stuff detracted from it. Levels were freaking enormous, including the main hub. This is a double-edged sword. Some levels are even intertwined with others, which can cause a lot of confusion.

Donkey Kong 64 tried too hard, in my opinion. The cinematics actually detracted from the experience. Also, being forced to beat Donkey Kong arcade in one credit, just to beat the game, is a little harsh. I couldn't do it back in the day, and it was the sole reason I never beat the game. Why should one be forced to beat an unrelated game just to beat this one?

I'll admit, I've never played Conker's Bad Fur Day. I'm not a big fan of adult humor in colorful video games, personally. I'll get around to it.

[buzz_n64]

Conker all the way! I haven't played much of the other titles on the list, but enough to know I like Bad Fur Day better. Their Super Nintendo years were the best, their golden age.

[Enigmus]

Conker, man. The gameplay was awesome, it had graphics that proved that the N64 was more powerful than the PSX, the amount of voice acting is stunning, and it's a fresh breath compared to the intoxicating levels of cute in other Rare Ltd. (then Rareware) games before it.

Also, I agree on DK64 pushing it too hard. Donkey Kong in one credit? What, did they think every gamer was Billy Mitchell or Steve Wiebe?

[Hwj_Chim]

Conkers bad fur day! It was a breath of fresh air for the n64 and made me forget about my Playstation for about a month.

[BetaWolf47]

...the intoxicating levels of cute in other Rare Ltd. (then Rareware) games before it.
Love your choice of words :D

[Aussie2B]

I'm surprised to see the retrogamers around here complaining about having to play Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong 64. I remember seeing a ton of ranting about that on GameFAQs, but I figured that was just because of the ages skewing younger around there and that they probably didn't have much experience gaming prior to the N64.

Honestly, I still don't have that much experience with the original Donkey Kong under my belt, but with just a minor amount of practice, I blew through it. And if I remember correctly, doesn't the game then challenge you to play it again on a harder mode except with more than one life in order to earn a banana? After the practice for the first challenge, I didn't even need any extra lives to get through the harder mode. I thought the DK machine was a really fun inclusion for the game.

DK64 is kind of a sorry platformer in terms of platforming. Even the stages feel like hubs, just for the purpose of containing mini-games. Even though it's still a pretty fun game, I never felt like I was doing much in the way of platforming.

I can't pick any of Rare's other N64 platformers, though, seeing as DK64 is the only one I put any significant time into. As much attention as they get for their N64 offerings, I'll take their NES and SNES games any day of the week.

[joshnickerson]

I think Banjo-Kazooie was the best of the four, as while it still has stupid amounts of crap to collect, it had not reached the insanity of DK64. Banjo-Tooie, in all honesty, was just too damn BIG for its own good. And I never really got into Conker. Not sure why, especially since I was a big fan of South Park at the time. Eh.

But that stupid board game near the end of Banjo-Kazooie? Fuck it. Fuck it to hell. Hated that fucking thing. And really cheap of Rare to make the last chunk of spaces near the end instant death tiles. Fuck it. (Yes, I'm still pissed about it this many years later)

[BetaWolf47]

I'm surprised to see the retrogamers around here complaining about having to play Donkey Kong in Donkey Kong 64. I remember seeing a ton of ranting about that on GameFAQs, but I figured that was just because of the ages skewing younger around there and that they probably didn't have much experience gaming prior to the N64.

Honestly, I still don't have that much experience with the original Donkey Kong under my belt, but with just a minor amount of practice, I blew through it. And if I remember correctly, doesn't the game then challenge you to play it again on a harder mode except with more than one life in order to earn a banana? After the practice for the first challenge, I didn't even need any extra lives to get through the harder mode. I thought the DK machine was a really fun inclusion for the game.

Your memory is a little mixed up. You got a gold banana by completing it once. You got the token for completing it on hard. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I was 12 when I played through Donkey Kong 64. I had a lot of NES and SNES experience, but almost no experience playing through Donkey Kong arcade. I admit, I cheated through most of DK64 and used a strategy guide... but still, I managed to get all but a few golden bananas, blow through Jetpac, collect almost every item in the game, but could not beat Donkey Kong arcade. It just felt unfair, when I had the skill to beat THIS game, but not enough skill in a totally different game.

I mean, imagine if in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, you could breeze through the entire game. But near the end, there's an NES in someone's room, and you need to play through Castlevania 1 in one continue, in order to get a key to unlock the final boss room. Unfair and gamebreaking for anyone that wasn't around at that time.

I could probably pull this off today, and will get around to it.

[j_factor]

Why is Jet Force Gemini not an option? That was really the only one I could tolerate.

[BetaWolf47]

It's not in the platforming genre. It's more of a third-person shooter or adventure game.

[joshnickerson]

I managed to get all but a few golden bananas, blow through Jetpac, collect almost every item in the game, but could not beat Donkey Kong arcade. It just felt unfair, when I had the skill to beat THIS game, but not enough skill in a totally different game.

I got EVERY DAMN THING in that game, and it left me a bitter husk of my former self.

[retroman]

For me it was Banjo-Kazooie

[frogofdeath]

Banjo-Kazooie has a slight edge over Conker. BK wins out because of the 4 seasons level (don't remember the name?). That is one of the best gaming levels ever.

[Rickstilwell1]

For me I can't even vote yet because all I have played in this list is DK64. But I thought that game was awesome, so if you guys are rating the others higher, then I must be missing out on something amazing.

[BetaWolf47]

Banjo-Kazooie has a slight edge over Conker. BK wins out because of the 4 seasons level (don't remember the name?). That is one of the best gaming levels ever.
Click Clock Wood. I've not played that level yet, but I just did the jiggy puzzle for it yesterday.


For me I can't even vote yet because all I have played in this list is DK64. But I thought that game was awesome, so if you guys are rating the others higher, then I must be missing out on something amazing.
Not really more amazing than DK64. Moreso less flawed than DK64.

[pseudonym]

Tough call. I'd say Conker in my favorite, although I had a lot of fun with Banjo Kazooie back in the day.

[bartre]

My personal favorite has to be DK64.

I can't say anything about BT that hasn't been said, I never bothered playing more than the first few levels in BK, and Conker was good, but i never felt like i had any choice on what to do.

[j_factor]

It's not in the platforming genre. It's more of a third-person shooter or adventure game.

Banjo-Kazooie is more of an action game. There's not that much actual platforming in it.

[TheClash603]

I would count each of these games as platformers, not sure why there is any argument about that here?

Anyway, Conker is my pick, because it is equally as fun as the other games, but has the humor element. Only thing is, I think it has more camera problems than the other games, DK is probably the best playing game of the bunch.

[Baloo]

I'd go with Banjo-Kazooie. A little long, but definitely a lot of fun, it was one of my first N64 games. I haven't played it in years though.

I've played a little bit of Banjo-Tooie, it seemed a bit big and then there was the whole Mumbo thing, I can't really give my opinion on it.

I own and have played Donkey Kong 64, and when I realized it'd be just like Banjo-Kazooie but worse, I immediately turned it off. I've also heard the game described "As fun as going to the supermarket and taking bananas off the shelf and putting them in your shopping cart".

And I've never played Conker.

[jonebone]

I went with Banjo Kazooie. But I'll admit, I've only played it and Conker on the list. I've even played and beaten BK twice, but still haven't gotten around to Tooie... hopefully one day.

Conker had tons of humor and was definitely worthy of the Mature badge, but it seemed a bit gimmicky / contrived at the time. Still fun, but didn't have the lasting appeal that BK did.

The levels in BK were so varied, and the Mumbo transformations were awesome. Being the pumpkin at the spooky house is just funny, and being the alligator in the swamp was just plain fun. These were varied enough to keep the gameplay fresh and interesting without becoming too repetitive. And for those of you completionist, plenty of jingos / notes to collect.

Great game and I loved it just as much as Mario 64.

[Rob2600]

I feel like with Conker's Bad Fur Day, the people at Rare took everything they learned from their previous games - cherry-picking the best parts and avoiding the boring ones - and combined them into one of the ultimate N64 masterpieces.

Rare utilized every trick and technique they learned and produced a beautiful game all around. The level designs, texturing and texture effects, real-time lighting and shadows, animations, digitized speech, music, draw distance, framerate, etc. in Conker really show what the N64 could do. Conker and Perfect Dark were Rare's swan songs.

[Xtincthed]

Conker all the way.. that game is so much fun and so funny :D

[BetaWolf47]

Well, I'm getting close to beating Banjo-Kazooie. I just need 5 more Jiggies. I must say, this is getting to be almost as tedious as Donkey Kong 64.

Needing 94/100 jiggies to beat the game is insane. Super Mario 64 only required 70/120 stars, and Donkey Kong 64 only required 80/200 golden bananas! It's got the steepest requirements I have ever seen in a platformer. Plus, near the end, you can get rewards for having a lot of notes. That wouldn't be a problem if it didn't reset your total per level every time you died.

[jdc]

By sheer co-incidence I just finished adding a mint copy of Conker Live & Reloaded to my Backloggery, which contains a suped up version of Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Xbox. I feel that all Rare N64 games are equally brilliant...but Conker gets the nod for Rare's having the balls to produce it after Nintendo's asking them not to. One of my most prized possessions is the official walk through guide for the game. It's also rude as hell and a riot to read. I also own a complete set of Conker's Bad Fur Day beer coasters that were given by Rare at the launch of the game.

[Aussie2B]

Your memory is a little mixed up. You got a gold banana by completing it once. You got the token for completing it on hard. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Yeah, I could've very likely mixed up the rewards, but my memory of the rest is good.

I always wonder if people who have trouble with Donkey Kong in DK64 use the D-pad or not. I very quickly thought to check if it was compatible, and it made a big difference to me. That's where I think being a younger gamer hurt too because those who were kids back then might have never played games much prior to the analog sticks of the N64 and Dual Shock, so they wouldn't have the experience to realize that 2D gaming generally works better with a D-pad (of course, the original machine has a joystick, but that functions far different from the N64's nub). Granted, the N64 has a pretty sucky D-pad, but even with its cheapness, it still made controlling Mario so much better.

[Rob2600]

I just finished adding a mint copy of Conker Live & Reloaded to my Backloggery, which contains a suped up version of Conker's Bad Fur Day for the Xbox.

Souped up or not, critics in general regard the N64 version more highly than the Xbox remake. And interestingly enough, the N64 version is *less* censored than the Xbox version.

[BetaWolf47]

I always wonder if people who have trouble with Donkey Kong in DK64 use the D-pad or not. I very quickly thought to check if it was compatible, and it made a big difference to me. That's where I think being a younger gamer hurt too because those who were kids back then might have never played games much prior to the analog sticks of the N64 and Dual Shock, so they wouldn't have the experience to realize that 2D gaming generally works better with a D-pad (of course, the original machine has a joystick, but that functions far different from the N64's nub). Granted, the N64 has a pretty sucky D-pad, but even with its cheapness, it still made controlling Mario so much better.
I used the dpad. Thing is, I never really had the chance to play pre-90's arcade games, except the common Namco stuff. To someone who grew up on Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World, the jump physics and game itself seemed primitive, terrible, and difficult at the time. I was about 11 then.

[Dred]

I'm still surprised, why so many people like Conker. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay was awesome, but that kind of humour... I mean, is piece of s***t flying everywhere that funny? It's disgusting!

My vote goes to Banjo-Kazooie. Probably one of the best games on N64.

[buzz_n64]

I'm still surprised, why so many people like Conker. Don't get me wrong, the gameplay was awesome, but that kind of humour... I mean, is piece of s***t flying everywhere that funny? It's disgusting!

My vote goes to Banjo-Kazooie. Probably one of the best games on N64.

Ummm... Didn't Banjo also use poop as a weapon? Just saying. :)

[maxlords]

Why is Jet Force Gemini not an option? That was really the only one I could tolerate.

Agreed. And I could barely even stand that one. I can't stand ANY of Rare's stuff aside from Goldeneye. Hey...why the hell isn't bloody friggin GOLDENEYE on the list???? I guess it's not a platformer tho....

[Rob2600]

I can't stand ANY of Rare's stuff aside from Goldeneye.

Which N64 platformers did you like? Super Mario 64? Rayman 2? Glover?

[Greg2600]

Incidentally, a Glover 2 (unreleased) prototype (http://www.nesworld.com/n64-unr-glover2.php) has surfaced.