Retro|Spective 204: Cancelled Games - Sonic Xtreme

[Asura]

Looks quite impressive for a "realistic" N64 racer, which is saying something as they generally haven't aged well. I had Top Gear Rally at the time and frankly I don't know how I got so much play out of it; it looks like garbage today.

[Neon Ignition]

It does look solid for what it is, there were a few games like this or at least appeared similar at the time so I imagine that feeds into why it went unnoticed

[Neon Ignition]

Game 08 - Wave Race
Wave Race 64 is a much loved title for the system but it isn't the one we were originally on course to receive. Instead, the original development version placed a greater emphasis on the vehicles with a more conventional water based racing approach. The intention was to recreate the high speed thrills of F-Zero but on water and with craft that could transform.







As much as the final game is beloved, should this version also have made it to release?

[wakka]

Oh that's very different indeed. Interesting. Honestly, I'm happy that we got the version that we did. That water movement was incredible at the time and still feels great today. It gives the game a more deliberate feel, managing the waves to your advantage to move around the course. The version here looks like it's more to do with zooming across a completely flat plane of water. It would probably have been quite fun but not really as distinctive.

I wish Nintendo would do another Resorts game like the 3DS one, with Wave Race and Pilotwings type elements, but a bit more budget and time applied to proceedings than that game seemed to receive. The feel of that game and its structure were quite generic. Basically Riders Republic but the Nintendo version (so less dudebro how do you do my fellow kids).

[Neon Ignition]

Game 09 - Conker 64: Twelve Tales
Before the game took a turn to the darker side, Rare developed an entry with a much more sunnier approach that was typical of the platforms output. A predecessing GBA title made it out but Rare received some complaints that they were again making a cutesy platformer so the game was retooled despite having been shown with its final form being nothing like what was first revealed.








Glad to have the version we have or do you look back at this version and leave the existing one thinking

[Asura]

Game 09 - Conker 64: Twelve Tales
Before the game took a turn to the darker side, Rare developed an entry with a much more sunnier approach that was typical of the platforms output. A predecessing GBA title made it out but Rare received some complaints that they were again making a cutesy platformer so the game was retooled despite having been shown with its final form being nothing like what was first revealed.

Glad to have the version we have or do you look back at this version and leave the existing one thinking

I don't begrudge the existence of Bad Fur Day, but I remember at the time being really disappointed when the release date for this came and went, and when it was announced the game was never coming out. I think this was around the time I sold my N64 because I believed all the big hitters and been and gone, and I ended up being pretty much right.

However, I don't remember why. Gotta assume CVG or N64 Magazine must have talked it up.

[Neon Ignition]

It was and remains hard to see where they were going with Twelve Tales. It would have made sense if Banjo didn't exist but it looked like a very generic dose of 'more'


I'd have bought it mind.


I was all over Bad Fur Day when it was revealed and loved the end product so I don't feel too much was lost with this one. Even in the bit of footage that exists there's not much about the level design that looks that inspired

[Neon Ignition]

Game 10 - Buggy Boogie
This went through two forms before ultimately being axed by Nintendo. The first was as an arena battler were you could upgrade your equipment and then altered its focus and visual style to one where your buggy could consume rivals and absorb their abilities but ultimately Miyamoto axed the project due to feeling it never came together in a way that felt fun.










Was Buggy right to Boog-er off?

[wakka]

Probably, yeah, if Miyamoto felt it wasn't fun he was likely correct.

I enjoyed watching that vid. Interesting how much many of the games changed from their initial showing or were simply cancelled. I assume we'll be coming into Kirby Bowl 64 at some point. And 'Zelda 64' is quite obviously simply test footage to show 'proof of life' rather than anything that resembles Ocarina.

Hard to imagine major first party games changing so radically during development these days. It was such an interesting, experimental period for gaming.

[Asura]

Are we gonna talk about Robotech: Crystal Dreams?

[Neon Ignition]

The Nintendo 64 seems to be very much of a mould where Nintendo announced it without a very clear plan in place for software support as a lot of the titles that never ended up making it come from the first 12 months of its reveal.

[wakka]

I kind of interpret that as them figuring out the hell games on the new console were going to work. I can't even imagine how challenging it must have been to transition from creating something like Super Mario World and Link to the Past to Mario 64 and Ocarina. Or from Wave Race on the Gameboy to the 64 version!

I never had a 64 as a kid, I was strictly PlayStation. While that platform obviously had some great games (Ridge and MGS loom large in my childhood), as an adult I've got such renewed respect for what Nintendo achieved in that generation.

PlayStation had a lot of rushed games that were crude attempts to convert 2D experiences into a 3D format. I think the reason the core Nintendo software was so good from, literally, day 1 is because it originated in deep experimentation. Which would be my guess as to why so much of the Shoshinkai 95 software changed or was abandoned, because it was part of a broader range of experiments in 3D gameplay which fed into the titles which did eventually come out.

[Asura]

I kind of interpret that as them figuring out the hell games on the new console were going to work. I can't even imagine how challenging it must have been to transition from creating something like Super Mario World and Link to the Past to Mario 64 and Ocarina. Or from Wave Race on the Gameboy to the 64 version!

I never had a 64 as a kid, I was strictly PlayStation. While that platform obviously had some great games (Ridge and MGS loom large in my childhood), as an adult I've got such renewed respect for what Nintendo achieved in that generation.

PlayStation had a lot of rushed games that were crude attempts to convert 2D experiences into a 3D format. I think the reason the core Nintendo software was so good from, literally, day 1 is because it originated in deep experimentation. Which would be my guess as to why so much of the Shoshinkai 95 software changed or was abandoned, because it was part of a broader range of experiments in 3D gameplay which fed into the titles which did eventually come out.

Admittedly this ties into one of the most exciting things about the 32/64-bit era; it seemed like every month, we were seeing something bold and new. The rules weren't understood so people were trying anything and everything; some of it worked, some of it was dreadful, but often the bad games were some of the most interesting for why they were bad. Honestly this is one of the reasons I love VR presently, because it has a very similar feel.

[Ju_mu]

Admittedly this ties into one of the most exciting things about the 32/64-bit era; it seemed like every month, we were seeing something bold and new. The rules weren't understood so people were trying anything and everything; some of it worked, some of it was dreadful, but often the bad games were some of the most interesting for why they were bad. Honestly this is one of the reasons I love VR presently, because it has a very similar feel.

This is the primary reason why twelve tales eventually got retooled into bfd i assume as twelve tales looked good for a game intended for 97 and probably would have sold well by people wanting more mario 64 but in 99 it would have been a harder sell with all the competition from the ocean of 3d platformers at the time they definitely werent wrong about conker being just another kiddy platformer from rare as conker was intended to release first but after banjo beat them to the punch(according to the conker devs they thought banjo was the better looking and playing game. And to top that off they already got surpassed by another rare platformer that was already attached to an ip that guaranteed high sales in dk64) the team just felt left behind so rather then release twelve tales as is they just turned thier game into a mockery because they knew the game probably wouldn't sell well, might as well do something to make it memorable. Thats how competitive things were in the late 90s as had banjo got delayed a year and conker released in 98 banjo would have been way different.

[Neon Ignition]

Game 11 - Emperor of the Jungle
A big reveal from Nintendo was its videogame adaptation of Kimba, planned for the 64DD add-on. Set to be one of the devices biggest games, it was a large open exploration title but rather than be moved to Gamecube following the axing of the magnetic disk drive, Nintendo dropped the axe. Little was ever shown of the game though it was far enough along to get two video showings at Space World.




Do you recall this game and did Nintendo need another open adventure/action game?