List of Aftermarket N64 releases (Please help contribute!)

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,013]

I wonder if the Celeste sequel will make its way into a cartridge.

https://www.ign.com/articles/celeste-64-fragments-of-the-mountain-release

Edited January 30 by RegularGuyGamer

[OptOut | 8,889]

On 1/30/2024 at 9:17 PM, RegularGuyGamer said:

I wonder if the Celeste sequel will make its way into a cartridge.

https://www.ign.com/articles/celeste-64-fragments-of-the-mountain-release

Hmm, from what I can gather from the press releases online, this game is actually just a little side-project of sorts, rather than a fully fledged game. Also, it would appear to be a regular PC game simply mimicking the N64 in style, rather than actually utilising an N64 based game engine, so there is little chance of this making it to the actual N64, unfortunately!

[OptOut | 8,889]

Update on the faulty Big2Small situation!

I have been back in contact with Roo, and apparently the reason I haven't received my replacement cart yet is because his entire batch of these Big2Small carts are faulty! I figured my one might have been a one-off, but sadly it looks like this is not the case!

I am not sure how many carts he has on his hands there, nor how many other people have bought this game and are either knowingly or unknowingly holding onto a dud, and whatever the case may be this is obviously a seriously costly and detrimental issue for a small company to be dealing with!

So, I'm sending good vibes over their way at https://theretroroomgames.com/ and I'm hoping they find a quick and painless resolution to this situation as soon as possible! 

[fcgamer | 4,729]

2 hours ago, OptOut said:

Update on the faulty Big2Small situation!

I have been back in contact with Roo, and apparently the reason I haven't received my replacement cart yet is because his entire batch of these Big2Small carts are faulty! I figured my one might have been a one-off, but sadly it looks like this is not the case!

I am not sure how many carts he has on his hands there, nor how many other people have bought this game and are either knowingly or unknowingly holding onto a dud, and whatever the case may be this is obviously a seriously costly and detrimental issue for a small company to be dealing with!

So, I'm sending good vibes over their way at https://theretroroomgames.com/ and I'm hoping they find a quick and painless resolution to this situation as soon as possible! 

Well for those who kept their game sealed, they should just order a second, corrected copy so that they have both variants of the game

[OptOut | 8,889]

1 hour ago, fcgamer said:

Well for those who kept their game sealed, they should just order a second, corrected copy so that they have both variants of the game

Well, my copy came without any sort of seal, I'm assuming they don't seal em! Probably a good thing too, depending on how many Roo has to open and inspect! 

[OptOut | 8,889]

Big thanks to @RH for a massively generous favor! He helped me take shipment of the Limited Run Worms Armageddon from a seller on ebay, and then paid the ENTIRE shipping fee to get it to me from the US! 

Without his amazing help I probably wouldn't have had the stomach to add this game to my collection of aftermarket N64 games, so I am ever so grateful to him!

Here's a big time shout-out, everyone should know, @RH is a solid-most dude!

[RH | 4,915]

Thanks for the praise @OptOut, but I wasn't expecting that.  Still, I'm glad to help you accomplish your N64 goals and, very late, Merry Christmas.

 

[OptOut | 8,889]

Why did I buy this?! 

[PII | 1,886]

1 hour ago, OptOut said:

Why did I buy this?! 

Because You're a Die-Hard-N64-Whore.  

 

...which is ok in my book.   

[OptOut | 8,889]

Alright, so here's the N64 aftermarket set so far!

Obviously I am hoping this set will grow and grow over time, but I'm pretty happy to have all this already!

I figured it might be useful to give a quick summary of my thoughts on each of these releases, in case anyone else was interested in picking some of these up. 

I'll start with the licensed rereleases:

In many ways these are the least interesting and most redundant aftermarket N64 releases. They are basically the same as the original versions, just with some updated copyright information on the startup screen, and I believe Glover has had a few bug fixes.

The only one of these I would say is worthwhile is Worms Armageddon, as the original NTSC-U version of the game is almost 200 bucks for the cart alone. So, if you are an N64 fan who really wants to play this game on original hardware without pirating it, this will save you money. However, even THIS version of the game is running 90 bucks plus on eBay, so it's not exactly a bargain either...

As for Glover and the 2 Star wars games, you could get each of these games super cheap if you just wanted a cart to play, and there is little collectable value in them, you'd be better off investing in a decent OG CIB than any of these.

Next we have 40 Winks:

This game was originally supposed to come out on the N64 back in the day, it was fully developed and completed, even to the point of getting reviews and print ads in game magazines. However, just before it was due to release, they cancelled it, and only the PlayStation version saw the light of day.

I would definitely recommend fans of N64 platformers check this game out, it's definitely worth the price tag IMO. It's definitely in the upper-mid range of N64 platformers at least, not on the Banjo-Kazooie or Rayman 2 level, but definitely above a lot of the average stuff like Gex or Duck Dodgers.

Overall, this is a good model for other aftermarket N64 games to follow IMO, take finished but unreleased games from back in the day, polish them up a bit and put em on a cartridge, I really hope we see a lot more of these!

Next up, another very worthwhile purchase:

Xenocrisis is a port of a Mega Drive/Genesis homebrew, which has also found it's way to Steam and about a MILLION other retro platforms. It's a fast-paced 2D run-and-gun shooter with randomly generated level layouts, and a sick soundtrack.

Arguably, the N64 version is one of the best versions of this game. The controls work well on the N64 pad, with the D-pad and C buttons allowing for independent running and shooting in 8 different directions. The graphics also look crisp and the game runs super fast and smooth, it's an excellent package with great challenge and TONS of replay value.

The only thing I would say is it's not exactly the sort of game that really screams N64, it really does feel like a 16 bit game, but that makes sense seeing as where it came from. Also, if you just want to play the game and aren't especially interested in playing the N64 version, you could definitely get this cheaper elsewhere. 

However, the game is great, it's well polished, and as for the packaging and production of the cart, it's probably the BEST quality of all the aftermarket releases. It's also available in Japanese, USA and PAL versions so you can take your pick, although each version is the same with all the same language options and stuff.

Now, for something less appealing...

Well well well... Not the best first impression with this one, seeing as it was glitched up out the box, and I'm still waiting on a replacement... 

I've still played enough of this game to know that it's a poor fit for the N64. This is just a homebrew GameBoy Color ROM running on an emulator of some kind, with some barebones interface options for things like resizing the window, save states and speeding up the gameplay.

The game itself IS fun, I am looking forward to getting my replacement cart so I can see more of the game beyond the first world, and I definitely intend to play through the whole thing when I get the chance.

BUT, it is NOT worth playing this game on N64, the game looks REALLY jerky and bad and washed out on a giant HDTV. If you are interested in this one, check out the original GBC version, I'm sure the game would look and play WAY better handheld.

Last, but CERTAINLY not least we have the REAL oddball of the group Remute R64:

Remute R64 is not a game, as such, but a music album programmed using the sound synth chip of the N64, and containing a bespoke music visualizer with limited interactive elements.

The main draw of this cartridge is the novelty factor of an entire 40 plus minute music album in an N64 cartridge, which takes full advantage of the N64's unique soundscape. However, in addition to the novelty, the music is actually REALLY good, it's a sort of electronic style synth thing which is reminiscent of many of the electro rhythm soundtracks of N64 games such as Tetrisphere, Wipeout, Forsaken, etc.

However, it's not just a collection of cool songs, it really does flow well together as an ALBUM, there are themes and rhythms that repeat and remix through several tracks, so it does feel like one whole cohesive piece. I have found myself greatly enjoying listening to this album, especially when doing other things like cleaning my games or reorganizing my game room.

In terms of interactivity, there are controls to skip though and select songs etc., you can pause and play, and there are a couple of effects you can apply to the visualizer (which looks a lot like flying over a jagged mountainous alien N64 landscape). However, outside that, this really is something mainly to be appreciated for the music.

Is this something you should go out of your way to get? In my opinion, this is worth it for the artistic merit alone, it really is a great piece of musical art. It's also worth it for the novelty factor of having an album on N64. But, if none of what I have said appeals to you, and you are looking for a GAMING experience, then you can probably skip this one.

 

So, those are my thoughts thus far! To sum up, I REALLY hope that we can see two more things ramping up moving forward. Firstly, as I said earlier, I really think the BEST kind of aftermarket releases we can hope for would be unreleased N64 games getting another chance, I really want to play more of those lost games we missed out on.

Secondly, I want to see some BRAND NEW homebrew/Indy games that really take advantage of N64 hardware, and make games that really live up to the N64 style. Xenocrisis is great, but it wasn't intended as an N64 game, and I don't want to see any more Frankenstein emulated games like Big2Small. I want to see new, original N64-style content, something like a brand new 3D platformer, FPS, or 3D Adventure game, something like what we would have seen back then!

That may be a lot to ask, I'd imagine programming a new game for N64 would be incredibly challenging, especially something on the scale of a full-sized game, but even if it was something smaller, I would still REALLY be interested in seeing and playing something like that.

Anyway, I am excited to see what the future brings!!!

(Oh, and Limited Run, can we just, like, NOT with anymore cheap 5 dollar bargain bin carts rereleases for 60 bucks? Thanks!)

[RH | 4,915]

I saw this referenced today on the YouTube update from RetroRGB. Here is a guy who connected his Oculus Rift 1 to the N64 and actually ends up with a mini stage available in 3D.  If you can cross your eyes as you would for a Magic Eye image, you can see the effect.

Regardless, the cool stage he shows off is teased as part of a new N64 game he’s making. I don’t know if it will get a physical release, much less when that would be, but I’d say this guys seems like someone worth following.