“High Stakes sold well, but I thought it was an incomplete game. I thought, 'let's do this again, let's make a true next-generation Need For Speed game'. And we were already working on Porsche Unleashed. We already had the base right there.”
-Tony Parkes, producer of Need For Speed: Unleashed
“That couldn't have been better timing for us. Everybody was playing that game. So by the time The Fast and the Furious came out, people were already familiar with that world. Everybody always asks about a Fast and the Furious video game, but if you ask me, it's Need For Speed: Unleashed.”
-Vin Diesel, in an interview in the June 2003 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly
“They're both compatible! It takes an extra accessory to connect your Game Boy to your Pokemon Stadium game, but whether you have the new Nova or the original Game Boy, you can import your Pokemon into the game!”
-from the March 2000 issue of Nintendo Power
“Hey hey! I'm not gonna... wait up, slow down...!!! Oh man...where did that annoying little bird go?”
-Lupe, Skulls
“Alone...not another human for miles. I won't get anywhere just staying here. I need to start moving. ….it's so cold! I won't survive long without shelter...”
-Doran, Phantasy Star VI: Mystery In The Wilds
“Everyone could tell a new era was beginning. Microsoft was going all-in on a console. The Saturn was winding down. Nintendo's new handheld looked amazing. Things were changing so rapidly in the gaming world, and for a time, it seemed like all the news was overtaking the games!”
-Adam Sessler
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Ultra Nintendo:
Battlezone: Rise Of The Black Dogs
EGM: 5.5 (quote: “The graphics are lackluster, so it's hard getting immersed in the game even in its better moments.”)
Gamespot: 6.8 (quote: “There are certainly better tank games out there, but the multiplayer is pretty solid and is a good way to pass a long night.”)
Breath Of Fire IV
EGM: 7.0 (quote: “This series has always been just good enough to be satisfying, and that remains true here.”)
Gamespot: 6.4 (quote: “While a capable game, it does lack the epic feel of previous series entries.”)
Galerians
EGM: 4.0 (quote: “Shoddy graphics and clunky controls make this one a horror dud.”)
Gamespot: 6.1 (quote: “When it tries to innovate, it shows promise, but it does look a bit blocky.”)
Mega Man X6 (also ported to the Sega Saturn)
EGM: 7.5 (quote: “Another exciting effort for the Blue Bomber.”)
Gamespot: 7.1 (quote: “It feels somewhat hastily made, and while it retreads familiar ground, it has just enough creativity to keep you entertained.”)
Need For Speed: Unleashed (eventually released for the Sega Katana)
EGM: 9.0 (quote: “A fast and exciting racer that hits all the right notes.”)
Gamespot: 9.2 (quote: “Gran Turismo meets Cannonball Run in this brilliant racing tour-de-force.”)
Pokemon Stadium
EGM: 8.3 (quote: “If you loved Pokemon battles, this one is definitely for you.”)
Gamespot: 8.5 (quote: “All 151 original Pokemon look fantastic in full 3-D.”)
Top Gear: Hyper Bikes
EGM: 3.0 (quote: “A real mess of a game.”)
Gamespot: 2.7 (quote: “This game just looks ugly. It might even be as bad as Motorcycle GT.”)
Triple Play 2001
EGM: 6.0 (quote: “About as mediocre as baseball games get.”)
Gamespot: 5.6 (quote: “Decent graphics can't make up for this game's lack of features.”)
Twinkle Star Adventure
EGM: 8.5 (quote: “A surprisingly cute and addictive shooter.”)
Gamespot: 7.6 (quote: “Is it girly as hell? Yes. Is it difficult as hell? Definitely yes.”)
Ultra Le Mans: 24 Hours Of Fury
EGM: 6.5 (quote: “At times, it's exhilarating, though I wish there were more variety in cars.”)
Gamespot: 7.2 (quote: “A serviceable racing game that is as much a tribute to the classic French marathon race than it is a racing game in and of itself.”)
Rage: The Revenge (also ported to the Sega Saturn)
EGM: 7.3 (quote: “While the series' storylines take a back seat to the brawling, there's plenty of that to go around.”)
Gamespot: 8.1 (quote: “An excellent beat 'em up that doesn't spend too much time trying to tell a story.”)
Skulls
EGM: 9.0 (quote: “A wonderful and colorful platformer that features a memorable protagonist.”)
Gamespot: 8.3 (quote: “More than just Frederico for girls, it has a wicked aesthetic all its own and a killer soundtrack.”)
Cluck Cluck Luck
EGM: 5.5 (quote: “Running around like a chicken with its head off is fun for a while, though eventually you'll wish this chicken really would get beheaded.”)
Gamespot: 5.2 (quote: “When will game companies learn chicken games don't work? There hasn't been a good one since Alfred Chicken.”)
Breakers
EGM: 4.0 (quote: “This is like a candy commercial turned into a game, and not in a good way.”)
Gamespot: 2.3 (quote: “Riddled with cringe-worthy slang and unlikable characters, not to mention awful platforming, Breakers has a shot at killing all the good will built up by games like Tony Hawk and White Mountain.”)
Shift Nine
EGM: 7.2 (quote: “The complex controls make this a racing game for experts only.”)
Gamespot: 8.0 (quote: “If you take the time to master this game's precise timing, Shift Nine is one of the best racing games you'll play all year.”)
Chokeout
EGM: 6.0 (quote: “We've been craving a UFC-like fighting game, but Chokeout doesn't quite go the distance.”)
Gamespot: 4.6 (quote: “It's bloody and brutal, but it doesn't succeed where it counts: the gameplay.”)
Praxis Gold (also ported to the Sega Saturn)
EGM: 5.0 (quote: “The play controls really left me disappointed.”)
Gamespot: 5.2 (quote: “Play controls mean everything in a shooter, and it's almost impossible to consistently target enemies in this game.”)
Saturn:
Phantasy Star VI
EGM: 7.7 (quote: “It falls just short of greatness, but Phantasy Star VI is still worth playing for its massive world and lovely visuals.”)
Gamespot: 7.4 (quote: “Sega's flagship RPG series is still going strong. Phantasy Star VI is flawed, but it still delivers some memorable moments.”)
Klonoa 2: The Wind Rider
EGM: 8.0 (quote: “Klonoa's back and while this game isn't the most original platformer, it still brings all the beautiful and familiar Klonoa flair.”)
Gamespot: 9.1 (quote: “Klonoa was one of the best platformers of the generation, and Klonoa 2 tops it in almost every way.”)
Pacific Fleet: Great Air Battles
EGM: 9.3 (quote: “There are some spectacularly good missions, and the incredibly realistic planes make this a must play for history buffs.”)
Gamespot: 8.9 (quote: “One of the best World War II games ever made. Not only does it recreate classic naval battles perfectly, it creates all new scenarios to experience.”)
Mori-sama Adventure
EGM: 7.0 (quote: “It's fun, it's cute, it's not your typical RPG, but Nippon Ichi has created something fairly special.”)
Gamespot: 7.8 (quote: “The Saturn is becoming the go-to system for anime-esque RPGs, and this might be the best one yet.”)
Game Boy Nova:
Super Mario Nova
EGM: 9.0 (quote: “While shorter than a typical Mario game, it plays just as good and looks gorgeous.”)
Gamespot: 8.2 (quote: “A few more secrets would've been nice.”)
Street Fighter III: The New Age
EGM: 8.2 (quote: “It's nice to have Street Fighter III in the palm of your hand.”)
Gamespot: 8.6 (quote: “It's not a straight-up port, but the handheld exclusive characters definitely distinguish this game.”)
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
EGM: 8.5 (quote: “An almost perfect port of one of the most addictive games in years.”)
Gamespot: 8.3 (quote: “I'm not going to dock any points for not having all the songs, it's an 8MB cartridge for goodness sakes!”)
Rayman
EGM: 8.5 (quote: “The quirky visuals of this game are perfectly carried over on the Game Boy Nova.”)
Gamespot: 7.9 (quote: “A supremely fun platformer, though it seems a bit dated these days.”)
Dodgeball
EGM: 6.0 (quote: “Clumsy and slow controls mar what's otherwise a cute and original game.”)
Gamespot: 7.1 (quote: “Dodgeball is bite-sized fun, even if it's hard to get a handle on the controls.”)
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The first proper Pokemon battling game to be released for the Ultra Nintendo was Pokemon Stadium (Pokemon Stadium 2 in Japan). It allowed players to play out 3-D battles with all 151 original Red and Green Pokemon in several different modes.
In Stadium mode, the normal single-player mode in the game, players could challenge a gauntlet of trainers in four different cups: the Pika Cup, the Petit Cup, the Poke Cup, and the Prime Cup, with difficulty and Pokemon levels increasing with each one. Players could use either their own Pokemon imported from Red and Green (provided they met the level requirements), or could use “rental” Pokemon from the game itself. Battles were 3-on-3, players used a six Pokemon team and then selected three of those Pokemon to compete in battle.
In Adventure mode, battles progressed in a bare-bones, battle-only version of Kanto, where players would move between individual locations and battle several trainers there. With each change of location, players would select a new team of Pokemon from a randomized selection of Pokemon leveled to approximately the same levels as the trainers they were facing. As you progressed through Adventure mode, you won prizes in the form of special Pokemon that could then be transferred back to your Red and Green game. Eventually, you battled the Elite Four and the league Champion, and once that was complete, if you had also beaten Stadium mode you were treated to a battle against Mewtwo, the “final boss” of the game.
In Versus mode, you could battle another trainer, either a human trainer or a trainer controlled by the CPU. Players could customize their CPU opponent with any Pokemon they wished, allowing players to train in a variety of battle situations. This customization option was a late addition to the game, but became one of Pokemon Stadium's most popular and enduring features, even if the computer AI couldn't entirely simulate a human opponent.
Then there's the Fun Park, which included a variety of side modes like mini-games and a mode to let you play your Red and Green cartridge on the Ultra Nintendo with optional speed boosts.
Pokemon Stadium was one of the year's most highly anticipated games, and sold quite well upon its release, as Pokemon fever continued in the run-up to the North American release of Pokemon Sun and Moon. With Pokemon now a household name, every release in the series was considered an event, and Pokemon Stadium continued that tradition. Within weeks of its release, a sequel covering the upcoming Sun and Moon games was announced for 2001.
-from “A History Of Pokemon On The Ultra Nintendo”, posted on the Nintendo Rewind blog, October 8, 2009
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Sega's Phantasy Star VI was the last game in the series to be released for the Sega Saturn. A follow-up to the critically and commercially successful Phantasy Star V, the game's subtitle, Mystery In The Wilds, refers to the mysterious occurrences on the seemingly uninhabited planet of Norsia, located in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Ships that pass anywhere near the Norsian system disappear, and over the last millennium, the occurrences have become somewhat of a legend. In another star system, a young man named Doran and his friend Elise train to become star pilots, and are recruited by Captain Winstrong, whom Doran views like an older brother, onto his ship after helping Winstrong out of trouble. When Winstrong's ship is attacked by pirates, Doran is forced to take control of the ship, but he steers it way off course and into the Norsian system. The ship's transporters go haywire and Doran finds himself awake and alone on the planet of Norsia with only the local monsters to battle. The game is actually somewhat open-ended here, when Doran reaches one of four set points he'll trigger an event that kicks off the rest of the game. Eventually, Doran reunites with Elise and another crewmember, and it's discovered that Norsia harbors a hidden civilization, completely invisible to the primary dimension. It seems that a technological accident on Norsia separated its civilization from the rest of the universe, and the Norsians capture any ships that stray too close in order to harvest their technology to keep their own civilization alive. However, the Norsians are being hunted by an extra-dimensional being that is manipulating their leaders, it seeks force them to build a technology that will allow it to enter into the physical world. Through manipulation, this being, named Atmos, succeeds in bringing itself into the primary dimension, and immediately launches an assault on all surrounding systems. Doran and his allies must destroy Atmos before its power threatens all of the universe.
Like most Phantasy Star games, Phantasy Star VI was a major hit in Japan. However, sales were quite low in North America, certainly far lower than those of Phantasy Star V. Whether it was the Saturn's fading fortunes or simply a lack of interest in Sega's RPGs in America, the game was a low point for the series' North American fortunes, and was considered to be a sales disappointment.
-excerpted from an article on Gamesovermatter.com
“I'd been a champion for localizing RPGs for the Saturn, from day one. RPGs were a successful genre. When Phantasy Star VI's first sales numbers came in, it's like the universe was mocking me.”
-Tom Kalinske
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“Skulls is the latest game in a genre I like to call 'darklight'. Light-hearted games with LOTS of dark elements, games that have a sense of humor but aren't afraid to shock and horrify you. Games in this genre tend to be really good, from the Oddworld series, to the two Darkest games, and now comes Skulls, one of the most innovative platformers to hit a console in a long time.”
-from the 9/10 review of Skulls in the April 2000 issue of Game Informer magazine
“The object of Skulls is really simple. You're dropped into a big wide open level, and your goal is to find the key that will open the door that will move you on to the next level. No collecting 100 coins or 50 tokens or 25 stones or whatever. It's one door, one key, in every level you're in. Now, in order to reach that key, that's the hard part! Sometimes it's just follow the arrows or the signs, kill or dodge everything in your way, there's the key. Sometimes the key is hidden really well, and the clues are really subtle. And sometimes the game throws you for a loop and you've got to trade a bunch of objects in a chain until you trade with someone who has the key, or you have to catch the little girl who has the key in a pendant around her neck, or you've got to let the giant monster swallow you and grab the key out of its stomach... you get the idea.”
-Brittany Saldita, from GameTV's coverage of Skulls on the March 7, 2000 episode
“As soon as I was done recording for Lammy, my agent got a call and said, 'Sara, you did a great job and they want you to come back and do another game'. And I was so busy, I was doing Broadway and everything but my agent said 'they really want you to do this game'. So I told my agent, 'okay, tell me what it's about first and if I like it I'll see if I can squeeze it in'. As soon as I heard what the game was about, I said immediately, sign me up, let's do this. And that's how I came to play Lupe.”
-Sara Ramirez, discussing Skulls on G4's The Interview show, December 2, 2004
One of the quirkier platformers of 2000 was Skulls, which came out for the Ultra Nintendo. The game centered around a teenage girl named Lupe, who lived in Mexico and could communicate with the dead. Every year on the Day of the Dead, Lupe's “gift” becomes overwhelmingly powerful, her mind is flooded with the thoughts and wishes of the dead and she experiences incredibly powerful phenomenon. One year, the voice of a young man cuts through the fog in Lupe's mind. He pulls Lupe through a mysterious otherworldly door and shares a dance with her, and it's the only time Lupe has ever experienced the holiday without nearly going completely insane. The young man offers Lupe his hand in marriage, but she declines it and wishes to go back to her own world, sending the man into a rage and causing him to cast Lupe into the depths of the world of the dead. She's able to find a door leading herself away from his wrath, but this draws her into a world from which there's seemingly no escape and from which she must find a series of doors in order to return to her own world. As Lupe navigates the world of the dead, she encounters all sorts of environments, from cities, to mountains, to forests, and everything in-between, and meets a variety of creatures, both friendly and unfriendly.
Skulls didn't play like the typical collectathon platformer of the day. Lupe's basic controls were fairly simple, and advanced actions relied on contextual environmental cues to activate. You hunted down keys to move between worlds, and the game's stylistic graphics and Latin-inspired soundtrack were vivid and festive, but with a hint of darkness behind them. Skulls never found a mainstream audience, but became an enormous hit among certain groups of players, especially among girls. The game was ultimately successful enough to spawn a franchise, and Lupe is perhaps the most popular Latina character in video game history.
-From “2000's Top Ten Platformers- #3: Skulls”, a top ten list posted on GameFAQs.com, June 18, 2012
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Two years later, and after Klonoa has become somewhat of a phenomenon, the highly anticipated sequel finally drops for the Sega Saturn. Does it succeed? For the most part, yes. Klonoa 2: The Wind Rider has everything fans loved about the original Klonoa. The tight platforming gameplay. The big, beautiful worlds. The gorgeous soundtrack. The challenging bosses. It keeps the formula largely the same. The one big change is the new “glider mode”, where Klonoa takes to the skies in gameplay somewhat similar to that of NiGHTS Into Dreams... It mostly takes place during boss battles (nearly every boss battle in the game is fought in this mode), and occasionally certain levels send you into this mode as well to traverse large areas. It's somewhat of a mixed bag, as the controls are a bit difficult to master, and especially during tough boss fights can be frustrating.
(…)
Klonoa 2 will certainly please fans of the original game, and will likely bring new Klonoa fans along for the ride as well. It's one of the Saturn's few bright spots in a year that sees the system's lineup thinning out somewhat, and it's pleasing to see such a beautiful, whimsical game that really does push the system quite hard in one of its later years. There's a reason fans fell in love with Klonoa, and the sequel, though it has a few bumps, should go equally far.
Score: 8/10
-from the Official Saturn Magazine review of Klonoa 2: The Wind Rider, in the March 2000 issue
Klonoa Still A Marketing Force
Klonoa: Door To Phantomile made a big splash when it launched for the Sega Saturn in late 1997 in Japan and early 1998 in North America and Europe. A line of toys soon followed, and though the animated TV series plan ultimately fell through (likely because of the launch of the Commander Keen animated series), Klonoa is still one of Sega's most popular mascots, with a presence already ensured on the upcoming Katana system (Klonoa 3 is planned for the Katana sometime in 2001). Early Klonoa 2 sales have been strong (it should easily be the Saturn's top selling game of the month), and a new line of merchandise featuring characters from the new game should start hitting stores this summer. In a year that hasn't seen much in the way of good news for Sega, Klonoa continues to be one of the Saturn's premier franchises, and a light in the darkness for the company.
-posted on GamesUpdate.com, April 5, 2000
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“Need For Speed: Unleashed builds significantly on High Stakes. Its graphical engine is a vast improvement over the previous game, and it nearly doubles the amount of available cars for the player to collect. It also contains a significantly improved career mode, giving the player many more options about how they wish to progress through the game. Unlike in High Stakes, you're no longer required to compete in any all or nothing “pinks” races to advance, preventing the player from needing to risk a beloved, expensive car in order to progress through the game. While racing for 'pinks' is no longer required, it's a significantly larger optional component of the game, with many of the game's best cars only available by risking your own, and opposing racers given their own personalities and spoken dialogue, making races a lot more intense.”
-excerpted from IGN's 10/10 review of Need For Speed: Unleashed
Fight Breaks Out At Need For Speed Midnight Release
An EBGames location in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida reported a fight after two shoppers got into an altercation over what was apparently the last copy of Need For Speed: Unleashed available for purchase. The store claims to have oversold its pre-orders, significantly overestimating the number of copies it would have available. When a store manager reported that the store's pre-order allotment was gone, the next person waiting in line got into an argument with another individual who'd received their copy of the game, and a fight began. The two men, both of whom had sustained minor cuts and bruises in the brawl, were arrested by police.
-excerpted from an article posted on Gamestop.com, March 13, 2000
“A fight over Need For Speed? A fight over Gran Turismo 2 I could understand, but Need For Speed? Really?”
-a comment posted on GameFAQs.com on March 13, 2000
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“One of the most unnecessary sequels of all time was Mega Man X6. After the masterpiece that was Mega Man X5 exceeded sales expectations and seemed to revitalize the series, X6 brought back Mega Man X for a largely paint-by-numbers affair. Since X5 had killed off Sigma, X6 introduced a new villain, Count Argus, who was basically Sigma with a vaguely European accent and a goofy costume. You fought eight new animal-themed robot minions, got their powers, assaulted Argus' castle (which, okay, I'll admit, was a damn cool looking place, even niftier than any of Wily's lairs), and took down the bad guy in the most generic Mega Man X game to date.
It wasn't a BAD game. There weren't any real glitches, it wasn't terribly boring, some of the boss designs were cool, and I'll even admit that the final boss battle, which saw Argus turning into a wicked looking bat because hey, vampire robots are cool, was one of the best in the whole series. But the whole damn thing was an obvious cash grab by Capcom and as cookie cutter a Mega Man X game as it possibly gets. And considering the Mega Man series in general, that's saying something! Fans didn't buy it. No, they literally didn't buy it, sales weren't even a third of what Mega Man X5 got. It showed Capcom that just because you can do a new Mega Man X game doesn't mean you should, and the series was shelved in favor of the Mega Man Zero series, while Capcom went back to the drawing board. Mega Man would once again be back and in a new form, but that's gonna have to wait for next time.”
-from Sazebot's “Mega Man Retrospective” series, posted on Youtube.com on July 23, 2011
Is Capcom Losing Its Originality?
Breath of Fire IV and Mega Man X6 were supposed to be big hits for Capcom. New installments of series that have been popular since the Super Nintendo days, these games launched amidst a wave of magazine articles and internet hype, but critical reaction for both has been mixed, fans have been even crueler, and early sales figures for both games are extremely disappointing. You know it's a bad month for you when your handheld game (in this case Street Fighter III for the Game Boy Nova) is getting a much better reception than either of your console titles. So what gives? The negativity for both games largely stems from the games being considered unoriginal, Breath Of Fire IV is considered a “generic” RPG and Mega Man X6 is considered to be rushed and not nearly as creative or exciting as X5. Is this a trend for Capcom, or will the company bounce back?
Longtime Capcom fans shouldn't fear. Its recent Resident Evil: Code Veronica was one of last year's best reviewed games, and the company has a slew of upcoming titles, both original and sequels, that are already stirring plenty of fan anticipation. As far as sequels go, Capcom is releasing Iron Battalion, a sequel to 1996's Iron Combatant that showcases a massive (and expensive) new controller that replicates the controls of an actual giant mech cockpit. The company just finished showing off the game at the 2000 Game Developers' Conference, and early reviews of the controller are stellar. It's also releasing the futuristic racing title Booststream, which showcases futuristic neon versions of famous Japanese cities and is said to be a more accessible take on F-Zero. And for the Saturn, Capcom is launching The Savateur, a brawler that takes place in 19th century Paris. Capcom is also said to be planning games for Sega's upcoming Katana and possibly for Microsoft's Xbox system as well, ensuring the company will continue to release a steady stream of games well into the future.
-excerpted from an article posted on March 28, 2000 at Gamespot.com
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American Beauty Sweeps Oscars
As was expected, the film American Beauty won every Oscar it was nominated for, including Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Mendes), Best Actor (Kevin Spacey), Best Actress (Annette Bening), Best Supporting Actress (Thora Birch), Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, and Best Cinematography. One of the more intriguing storylines of the night was the animated film The Iron Giant, which was nominated for Best Picture and which some analysts predicted may have had an outside shot at taking down the juggernaut, but it ultimately wasn't to be. American Beauty becomes one of the biggest Oscar winners of the past decade, winning a total of nine awards, the first film to do so since The Last Emperor in 1987. Another of the night's most intriguing storylines involved the creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, coming up to the podium to accept their Oscar for Best Original Song (“Up There” from South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut) in a pair of dresses.
-from a Yahoo! News report on March 27, 2000
“Matt and Trey wanted me to show up to the Oscars in a dress too. I thought it was a hilarious idea, and I would've done it, but my friend John Lasseter said to me 'Brad, you've got a legitimate shot at winning Best Picture, are you really going to go up to get your Best Picture award in a dress?' If I'd known American Beauty was going to do so well I probably would've done it!”
-Brad Bird
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Game Boy Nova Technical Specifications
The Game Boy Nova looks very similar to an OTL Nintendo DS, with a wide, clamshell design. There's a screen on the top of the device, while the bottom houses a speaker and the buttons, a standard D-pad on one side and A/B/X/Y buttons on the other, a pair of shoulder buttons with additional Start/Select buttons as well. It comes in blue and red originally, with other colors available later on. The device has built-in memory storage (8MB, mostly used for saving Game Boy Camera pictures and old Game Boy saves) with space for a small 1MB memory card that can be used to move data back and forth. The system also has hook-ups for multiplayer link cables and for accessories (such as a connector cable to the Ultra Nintendo, this will also be compatible with the Ultra Nintendo's successor).
Internally, the system is quite similar to OTL's PSX console, with a 38 Mhz MIPS unified processor powering both the system and its graphics. Its sound chip, designed by Ken Kutaragi, is far better than the one in OTL's Game Boy Advance, and games sound exceptionally good through the system's fairly large speaker. It has 4MB of RAM, and houses a rechargeable battery capable of going 4-6 hours on a single charge, with a fully backlit screen. Games are stored on cartridges similar to those of the original Game Boy only a bit bigger, cartridges range from 8-128 megabytes. The system is somewhat bulky (similar to OTL's “phat” DS) due to the need for a large internal battery, later on the system would get a smaller redesign but at the time of its release the size is considered a necessary concession.
The system is quite powerful, more powerful than the SNES-CD (though because it uses cartridges as opposed to CDs, SNES-CD games trump Nova games in many areas, most notably FMV and voice acting). It's somewhere in-between OTL's Game Boy Advance and OTL's Nintendo DS. It's capable of running ports of SNES-CD games and even many Saturn games when memory isn't a concern. Compression is used to achieve much of what has been achieved in CD versions of ported games, developers become quite adept at using compression tricks by the end of the system's run.
March 26, 2000
The Game Boy Nova is released in North America, at $169.99. It is released alongside eight launch titles: Super Mario Nova, Street Fighter III: The New Age, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Rayman, Dodgeball, The Iron Giant, Madden 2000, and Tika In Trouble (an original TTL platformer that gets mixed-to-negative reviews). Despite the expensive price tag, the Nova sells briskly upon release (partially due to anticipation for the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon). It's not an instant sellout like the Ultra Nintendo was, but it's definitely the best launch week ever for a gaming handheld, and excellent reviews from game publications (and a steady stream of good games) keep the Nova's sales strong throughout the rest of the year. The best seller of the launch titles is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, with Street Fighter III in second and Rayman a respectable third. Madden 2000 is also a decent seller, though The Iron Giant, Dodgeball, and Tika In Trouble report poor sales (Iron Giant is your typical bad movie-to-game adaptation, Dodgeball is just a tough sell in general, and Tika In Trouble is a mediocre game).
Game Boy Nova Launch Titles: The Basics
Super Mario Nova- The first real side-scrolling Mario game since Super Mario World 2, it plays much like that game did, with the addition of a special fireball upgrade that makes Mario temporarily invincible and lets him shoot bigger fireballs (It's called, appropriately, Nova Mario). It contains six levels in all: a grass world, a desert world, an ice world, a jungle world, a cave world, and a fire world where Bowser lives, it features the option to play as Luigi right from the start (similarly to The Lost Levels), and it also includes Yoshi in a number of levels. The plot is typical “rescue Peach from Bowser”-type fare. It's Mario comfort food, but it's a good game and probably the best received of the launch titles.
Street Fighter III: The New Age- A streamlined Street Fighter III game (with only eleven of the characters retained from the console version of the game), it's not quite a port, as it features, in addition to a bunch of new musical tracks and stages, the addition of three entirely new characters in addition to the already existing 11: a Catholic schoolgirl-type character named Grace, a wildman/beast tamer character named Bearclaw, and a new villain character named Kastor, who drives the plot of the game itself. Grace and Bearclaw appear on the cover of the game along with Ryu, Guile, Ken, and Chun-Li, and the game features some subtle control changes as well to optimize it for the handheld system. It's considered to be a good game and, because of the major changes to Street Fighter III, worth playing even for those familiar with the arcade/console original.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater- A port of the original console game. The biggest downgrade from the console original is the removal of most of the songs (for memory capacity reasons), other than that it's a nearly perfect port, its graphics actually compared favorably to the Saturn version of the game.
Dodgeball- This is essentially OTL's Super Dodgeball Advance, though with some butterfly-induced changes and slightly better graphics, along with more precise controls due to the presence of additional buttons.
Rayman- A perfect port of the original Rayman. Michel Ancel is so impressed by the Nova's capabilities that the success of the Rayman port inspires him not only to create a Nova-exclusive series of Rayman games for the device, but to port The Darkest Ritual to the Nova as well.
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Ted Crosley: I hate to say it, but I found myself enjoying Pokemon Stadium a lot more than I should've.
Alex Stansfield: You can never enjoy Pokemon Stadium enough!
Ted: Playing through the Adventure mode is a blast since you've constantly got to build a new team, you can be trying out new Pokemon, new strategies, you'll find yourself using Pokemon you never thought you'd use... I blitzed through Koga's gym with a level 37 Tauros. Just obliterated it, it was a really fun time.
Alex: And the mini-games are a lot of fun too.
Ted: Don't push your luck, there's only so much I can take of making a Pikachu run on a treadmill.
Alex: It's a good break from the intense battling, though!
Ted: No it's not, it's boring! I'd rather see this-
*Footage is shown of Pikachu unleashing a Thunderbolt*
Ted: Than this...
*Footage is shown of the Pikachu treadmill minigame*
Alex: Well, Pokemon Stadium is a really fun package all the way around and I'm giving it a 4.5 out of 5.
Ted: I'll give it a 4, but just barely.
Alex: You're starting to come around on the whole Pokemon thing!
Ted: Remind me not to come to work once Sun and Moon are out.
-excerpted from the March 7, 2000 episode of GameTV
(…)
Steve Horton: I welcomed the changes. Rage: The Revenge is all about fighting and that's what it needs to be, screw the story, I'm punchin' stuff!
Gary Westhouse: The main attraction of the Rage series for me has ALWAYS been the story. Without it, it's just another brawler. The story's just your standard “somebody close to me is dead, it's time for revenge” plotline and that's gotten so old in these types of games.
Steve: It's as good a reason as any to beat somebody up though!
Gary: The original Rage game, everybody had their own motivation, everybody was fighting for a reason besides just revenge.
Steve: Really? Because I played it and pretty much everybody was fighting for revenge even in that game.
*A brief series of snippets from the original Rage is shown and despite the vastly larger number of available fighters, it's true that nearly all of them were motivated by revenge*
Gary: ...hunh.
Steve: Uh-huh, told you so!
Gary: My point stands, it's still just a generic brawler!
Steve: No love for the new 360 bodyslam?
Gary: Not when it's the only damn move you use in a level. Don't you get tired of watching that animation?
Steve: Nope!
Gary: *sighs* Rage: The Revenge is a real disappointment, I'm giving it a 3.
Steve: It's an excellent brawler and I'm giving it a 4.5.
(…)
Lyssa: Nippon Ichi has done something really creative with Mori-sama Adventure. It's the type of game that almost NEVER sees the light of day here in America, but if you're an RPG fan, do yourself a favor and check it out!
Alex: A fair warning, the battle system is really tough to master.
Lyssa: It's pretty simple actually, the more Mori-sama clones you have, the more damage you'll do! Also, the more you'll get hurt, but if you can kill the enemy before they kill you, who cares?!
Alex: The storyline's overly sugary and saccharine...
Lyssa: Even for me!
Alex: But with that said, it's a really unique game and I'll go ahead and give it a 3.5.
Lyssa: If you like games like Andrekah, Thousand Arms, it's right up your alley.
Alex: Andrekah's not an RPG.
Lyssa: True, but you do play a hyperactive little waif who goes around helping lots of people and getting into lots of trouble. She's a BIT more annoying than Andrekah but you'll fall in love just the same. I'm giving it a 4!
(…)
Brittany Saldita: Pacific Fleet is just a brilliant game. I mean, air combat is one of my least favorite genres but I was sucked into this one from the opening battle.
Ted: Yeah, it's hard to beat the Battle of Midway for excitement and action. Look, um... there's not much I can say that's really bad about this one. It's an incredible game and even if you've never touched the genre before, give this one a chance, it will change your perception of the genre tremendously.
Brittany: It's historically accurate...when it needs to be. When it doesn't, when the game decides it would be more fun to throw the history book out the window, out the window it goes!
Ted: But it's a VIDEO GAME.
Brittany: Right, and even when it gets serious and educational, Pacific Fleet never ever forgets that it's a video game. Not in the 'oh look it's a UFO!' kind of way that some games do, but just in really really subtle ways. It stays serious, it stays historical, but it never gets boring.
Ted: Flying a World War II plane in real life...not fun. Flying one in this game...LOTS of fun! I saw you playing this in your dressing room, AFTER you'd turned in your review, I'm assuming it's because you couldn't get enough?
Brittany: I really want to go back and play it right now, my hand feels empty without that controller in it...
Ted: Isn't that how we all feel though?
Brittany: Most of the time yeah.
Ted: So yeah, a clear 5 out of 5 from me.
Brittany: I'm giving Pacific Fleet a 5 out of 5 also.
*An air raid siren goes off*
Ted: Duck and cover!
*Ted and Brittany throw themselves to the floor*
Brittany: Wait...I think that's just the Hall of Fame siren.
Ted: Oh, right!
*Ted and Brittany take a framed copy of Pacific Fleet: Great Air Battles up to the Hall of Fame wall.*
Ted: And up we go! It's been a while since we put a Saturn game up- oh wait no it hasn't! *points to Resident Evil: Code Veronica*
Brittany: *smirks* Okay, gloaty.
-excerpted from the March 14, 2000 episode of GameTV
(...)
Alex: I'm bummed. Breath of Fire IV bummed me out.
Brittany: Yeeeeeeah... the graphics were...okay. The music was...okay.
Alex: Every time I expected the game to throw me for a loop, it didn't! Oh look, here's Ryu again. Oh look, he can turn into a dragon...again.
Brittany: Nothing new, nothing surprising...it's an RPG and it's just a perfectly average one. Their RPGs are starting to become like their Mega Man games.
Alex: Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA. WHOA. No. *shaking his head angrily*
Brittany: What, it's true!
Alex: No, Mega Man is still awesome! Mega Man X6 was great!
Brittany: *cocking her head to the side* Really?
Alex: It's DIFFERENT for action games.
Brittany: How is it different?! Like, okay, here's the deal. Final Fantasy. The basic elements stay the same, but they change everything else between titles. EVERYTHING. But Breath of Fire is basically the same game from one to the next. Okay, II had religious themes. That was the only thing that stood out from any of them. Mega Man, same deal.
Alex: But X6 still feels different! Different weapons, different bosses... ugh, why are we even talking about Mega Man X6 again?
Brittany: I have no idea. But the point's the same. Breath Of Fire IV, way too derivative, way too plain, 2 out of 5.
Alex: 2 out of 5 here too. And Mega Man X6 is still awesome.
Brittany: When's the next Legends coming out, those are good games...
(...)
Ted: All right guys, before we go, I want from each of you: last word on the Game Boy Nova, and best launch game. Alex, go.
Alex: Game Boy Nova is awesome. It looks awesome, it feels awesome, it's just awesome to have that much power in my hands. And Super Mario Nova is the best launch game, brings back all my good Super Mario World 2 memories. Only drawback, the Nova needs more RPGs.
Brittany: Agreed. And yeah, I felt like this thing has a ton of potential. I could have done with a bit more battery life, but I guess I can just keep it plugged in at home. And my favorite launch game was probably Street Fighter III: The New Age. Grace kicks ass!
Steve: This thing's sweet. It's got the extra buttons I need to play great games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, which, by the way, is my favorite launch game.
Gary: It's more powerful than the damn Neo Geo! Can you believe it? I paid out the ass for a Neo Geo back in the day, and now this little thing that fits in my pocket-
Lyssa: Not my pocket...
Gary: Get bigger pockets. But yeah, it's just an amazing little device.
Lyssa: It's not little!
Gary: *snickers* I loved Street Fighter III.
Lyssa: It's too big, I have these tiny little hands...
Brittany: *puts one of her hands on Lyssa's, it's barely bigger* My hands are small too and I did just fine.
Lyssa: I got sore holding it. *Brittany goes “Awww...” and starts rubbing one of Lyssa's hands* But when I wasn't sore, I had a lot of fun playing Super Mario Nova on it.
Ted: Well, I also thought it was a bit bulky, but it's still a pretty kickass little system and I had a ton of fun with Super Mario Nova, and Street Fighter, and Rayman.... Super Mario's my fave but any of those three. Oh, Tony Hawk too.
-excerpted from the March 21, 2000 episode of GameTV
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Ultra Nintendo Power Charts: March 2000
1. Squad Four: Rebellion
2. Final Fantasy VIII
3. Resident Evil: Operation Stormwind
4. Deathblow II
5. The Legend Of Zelda: Temple Of Time
6. Ultra Donkey Kong Country
7. Emergency
8. Final Fantasy Collection
9. Super Smash Bros.
10. WWF Wrestlemania 2000
The Official Saturn Magazine Buzz Chart: March 2000
1. Soul Calibur
2. Klonoa 2: The Wind Rider
3. Turok III: Generation War
4. Phantasy Star VI
5. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
6. Sonic The Hedgehog 5
7. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
8. Rage: The Revenge
9. Pacific Fleet: Great Air Battles
10. Silent Hill
-
Gore All But Clinches Nomination, McCain Surges Ahead On Super Tuesday
Al Gore is now almost certain to be the Democratic presidential nominee after sweeping Super Tuesday's slate of primaries and caucuses, including the all-important California primary. Though Bradley initially looked like he might provide a strong challenge to Gore in early polls, once the actual contests began, Bradley's perceived support withered, and now Al Gore has a commanding lead in delegates and appears ready to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination.
There's a much more exciting race going on in the Republican field, as John McCain has survived a fierce round of attack ads by his rival George W. Bush, and has emerged from Super Tuesday with a very slight lead in delegates after winning several key states, including California by a tight margin. McCain's success can be attributed to going on the offensive against Bush, attacking Bush's record as governor of Texas, and also attacking Bush's service in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. While Bush has reacted strongly against the attacks, they've been largely effective. McCain has not only performed strongly amongst veterans, he's also managed to pull over Democratic voters who have chosen to sit out their party's primary. While McCain currently leads by only 37 delegates, he's polling strongly in Colorado and Florida, which look to be key battleground states going forward.
Also making headlines is Donald Trump, who looks to be the Reform Party nominee after his rival, former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, announced the suspension of his campaign.
-excerpted from a Yahoo! News report on March 8, 2000
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While the 2000 Game Developers Conference lacked the glitz and glam of this year's upcoming E3 event, a number of blockbuster announcements and major presentations were given, setting the tone for the upcoming year in video games and beyond.
Bill Gates himself was on hand to formally unveil the Microsoft Xbox, which now has a presumptive release window of sometime during the second half of 2001. Gates showed off the new console and, in his presentation, stated how he hopes to “bring the worlds of cyberspace and the living room together like never before”, promising cutting-edge online capabilities, along with the latest and best in graphics and realism. Early preview footage looked somewhat similar to that of Sega's Katana system, though a promising tech demo hinted that the Xbox might have slightly better graphical capabilities. The only game promised for the new Xbox was a port of the 1997 PC hit The Witcher, and Gates claimed that the Xbox was the “only console capable of conveying the game's massive open world”.
Sega also had an impressive showing, demonstrating both their new Katana system and several new games, including a demonstration of Phantasy Star Online that showed how the game's interactive network would function. Players from all over the world will be able to team up and embark on quests together, and the game looked both technologically impressive and, from a gameplay standpoint, quite entertaining. They also teased a Katana Shenmue sequel, though no in-game footage was shown. A pair of Saturn games were shown off as well: Vintage Speed Series, a racing game where players can choose from dozens of vintage race cars, and Extremis, Sega's highly anticipated horror title. Extremis showed gameplay footage of the main character fleeing from a hideously mutated bull as he explored a massive farm complex, and looked both terrifying and exciting.
While Nintendo itself was a no-show, Sony showed off a few upcoming titles, including Gran Turismo 2, Tales Of The Seven Seas: The Victorian Legacy, and its new RPG, Wrath and Ruin. Gran Turismo 2 looked incredibly impressive, with graphics that looked amazing even for the Ultra Nintendo, and the Tales Of The Seven Seas presentation even featured an appearance from Victoria's voice actress, Olivia D'Abo.
Microsoft's Xbox was definitely the talk of the town, and Bill Gates looked all too happy to field questions from reporters. Indeed, it was probably the happiest and most excited we've seen him in a great long while. Microsoft might be treading on dangerous ground stepping into the ring with the titans Nintendo and Sega, but if enthusiasm could translate into sales, the Xbox is poised to have an Ultra Nintendo-like run of success.
-from the May 2000 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly
