N-Query answers questions about Resident Evil, Beetle Adventure Racing, nasty filters, Harrier, and more.
Hey, Just so you know, I love your site as much as water. Ice cold water on a hot day. Now that's love. Just a few quick questions. Do you think we'll see "Ura-Zelda" on cart before 2000 or maybe mid 2000? I just finished Zelda and must say it was the best game ever made, so an add-on would be right up my ally. And what can they do with these add-ons? I mean can they spruce up existing 3D models and game engines or just add things, such as new areas and weapons? P.S. The next Z-Day has gotta be "Z is for Zebes."

I have my doubts that Ura-Zelda will ever make it out on N64. However, it would make for a nice "enhanced" classic release on the next platform, wouldn't it? The Z-Day you mention would certainly be a scoop. Alas, you would probably read about a Metroid game in Nintendo Power first, as they get first dibs on all internal Nintendo info.

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I was reading your article about the proposed Castlevania "3D 2", and I was surprised to hear that it wouldn't even be considered until the finishing touches were done to the Japanese version??? What's up with that, are all companies so down on N64 that they release their games here first? Anyway, any chance the Japanese version will feature anything new besides Japanese text?
KRUFF647@aol.com

I never thought about that. You're right, considering the fact that Konami is cutting corners with voice and music in the US version of Goemon 2, it's more than likely that the Japanese release of Castlevania has more voice samples and perhaps even EEPROM saving. We'll check it out once the game is released.

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Is it just me or am I the only one sick and tired of`"hidden project" ? I mean creating the hype is one of the best way to sell a game, so I think it is only logical to announce a game that sold widely like Killer Instinct gold. I believe that Rare are the kings of secrecy (GoldenEye) mainly due to the probable release of KI3. I'm a big fan of this great series and I was wondering if you could get to the bottom of this annoying story.
Thanks.
Martin "killer" Sauvageau.

According to Rare, no sequel to KI is in the works as of this time. I agree that it's annoying when companies keep projects too much under wraps (eg: Jet Force Gemini is coming out in June, but nobody outside of Rare or Nintendo has ever played it). However, sometimes game companies aren't sure about release dates and what they want to do with a title. Announcing a game too early can put a lot of stress on a development team. In the case of Rare, it's not uncommon for a game to get pushed back by a full year (GoldenEye, Conker, etc). If you build up hype too early, most of the momentum can be lost once the final game debuts.

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Do you know where I might be able to get a Stereo AV cable. You know the red, yellow, and white cable that comes with the N64. In the process of borrowing my system to my cousin it got lost. He says he only took the RF cable but since then my AV cable was missing. This was a while back but I'm fed up with listening to mono sound for games like Rogue Squadron and Zelda when I can have surround sound. I check out stores like Wal-Mart but they don't have it. Do you know any sites that sell it? I think that I should call Nintendo itself but I don't know which number to dial

Any Toys R Us has the AV cable. You can also check ebworld.com. BTW, you can use the SNES cable, too. It's the same thing.

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Hey Peer, I gotta say I admire you man for putting up with obviously intelligent questions, like that guy asking why Nintendo doesn't release the Dreamcast in the US. I was really glad to hear that Capcom finaly mustered up the balls, and decided to make a Resident Evil game on the fun machine. Even though we'll have to settle for a port until they get that new scenario going, its a port of one kick ass game, so no complaints out of me. I have a few questions though. I understand that Angel Studios is considering both realtime movies, probably rendered with the games engine, or MPEG compression, for those bulky cinemas that made the PSX version all that much better. Ok, I know developers have pulled off some pretty cool stuff with compression on the 64, but were talking at least 200 megs of full screen, full motion video. I mean, even if they have a 64 meg cart, they also need space for the compressed audio, possibly hi-res jpgs, and the other game info. So, in your opinion, are MPEG movies really a realistic option? I'm really wondering about this, seeing as how I rented Wheel of Fortune, only because I knew it featured a little digitized Vanna. I wasn't very impressed with her might I add. Anyway, my second question: do you think that once Capcom gets the ball rolling with the RE series, we'll see some of there other titles headed to the N64? (A 64 bit Street Fighter, my mouth is watering). Just want your input. Thanks man,
Noah Pancratz

Actually, the video footage in RE2 was letterboxed and low-res and didn't use very high compression. With MPEG compression, the majority of the cut-scenes could indeed be included on a huge cart. You have to remember that the developers of RE2 decided from the very beginning that they would be using two CDs, one for each character. Let's say each hi-res background is compressed in JPEG form at around 60k. If I'm not mistaken, all images in RE2 should be able to fit into less than 16 MB. Good sound compression can squeeze all the narration into only a few MBs. Game and monster data shouldn't exceed 10MBs. Without movies, a hi-res RE2 should definitely fit into a 256 megabit cart. With movies, a 64MB cart (512 megabits) would do the game justice. I'm not saying this is what Capcom's doing, but it's technically possible.
Wheel of Fortune was a 4MB game and didn't use MPEG compression, by the way. Shudder.

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I am truly amazed by the screen-shots featured on the preview of Harrier 2001! I don't think I've seen more realistic (not necessarily better) graphics on the N64. Some of the pictures look like they were taken by a camera. Simply stunning. And finally someone has enough sense to make a real flight sim. Not the stupid crap like Aerofighters Assault. I'm just glad to see such a great looking game taking itself seriously and actually having a pretty good plot. I'm really looking forward to this game. I was just wondering if they were planning to run the game with the help of the Expansion Pak? Thanks.
Mark O'Brien

Unfortunately, we have not heard anything about the game using the 4MB Expansion. Considering the fact that the game is likely to be very draw-intensive (meaning pure polygon power is required rather than more RAM), I'm not sure if the expansion could be used all that effective. Still, game developers shouldn't underestimate the psychological impact that little 4MB icon on a game box can have. I'm sure gamers who have purchased the expansion are looking for more compatible games.

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Peer,
What now, have you gone insane?!? Giving out your adress to nuts like us IGN64 readers? That's like asking someone to point a loaded gun at your head and pull the trigger! YJust sitting here reading your god-forsaken N-Query section (a tradition I carefully observe every day, even on weekends) I have already begun scheming the summoning of the devil that I plan to send --- err... The, uh, gummi bears I plan to send, that is. Heheheheh...
You know we IGN64 readers aren't really that crazy. As long as we get our daily share of... HUMAN BLOOD!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHA, MUHAHAHAHA!!! Seriously, though, Peer, look out for yourself. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you.
Mrunner, man of many colors

Don't worry man, we have a troop of specially trained monkeys working in our mail department that shake and open every package to check for rotten cheese before handing them to us. Actually, our address has been freely available since we started the site. The need to use it has simply never come up because all of you have e-mail, right?

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Peer,
I just read Matt's editorial about third-party mem paks, and why they fail. So instead of utilizing less reliable data compression to store more saves, why doesn't Nintendo make a physically larger memory pak? I haven't been to the store recently, so have they made one that I just haven't seen yet?
A N64/IGN64 fan,
jrsjason@hotmail.com

The N64 games only read 123 pages of data at the same time, so the maximum size of memory paks is limited to 256k. "Larger" memory paks have to use switches to change memory banks. I agree that it would be nice if Nintendo supplied either a multi-bank memory pak (a reliable one), or lowered the MSRP of this totally overpriced peripheral.

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Hey, Hey,
How are you? I have comment/question that, I'll bet, not too many people consider. You guys get flash roms or completed games before they are released(Sometimes, quite a while before they are released.) but you don't actually post your "official" review until it is shipped to retailers. Are you with me so far? Anyway, the excitement or shall I say "enthusiasm" with getting a new game might very well be somewhat drained from you guys by the time you do your final review. I know you can still technically be on the money, but some games do lose there luster after only a short period of time. That's not to say they are not great games, they may be, but I think the excitement factor could not be the same as if you were to get the game, play it for a week, then review it.
Question: Am I just insane or is there something to this?
Thanks,
Ken
P.S. I live Castro Valley, and my father is a Sgt. on the S.S.F. police force. Maybe you guys know him? I'll have him stop by and say "Hello".

No, you're right. By the time we write a review of a game, we've usually put in plenty of days of playtime. But that's a good thing. If our judgment was clouded by excitement over getting a new title, we wouldn't be able to include long-time play value into our review. Let's face it, when you buy a game, you want it to lost a little longer than just a day or two.
Please don't send any cops over to our place, ya nut...

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So, in essence, what you're telling me is that there won't be a 4 player racing mode in BAR? It's comparable to the battle mode in Mario Kart, I'm guessing...I really hope somehow there will be a 4 player race mode in there, because from experience here at school, more people enjoy the racing aspect of Kart than the battle mode...It'd be odd to have a racing game where you couldn't race 4 players...And one other question...When you race in one or two player mode, how many cars do you race against?
-Bob

Because of the complexity of the environments, BAR wouldn't work with four players in the normal race mode (much like Rush). No big loss, though, the Beetle Battle mode is a hoot. There are seven computer-controlled cars racing against you in the one-player mode. The two-player mode is versus-only.

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Why do developers insist on having that crap dither filter on?

Beats me. Perhaps "because it's there?" It's an easy way to fake more colors, but it looks pretty nasty on most TV screens.

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About them KI Gold lyrics... uh... that certainly isn't how I hear them... heh, *everybody* hears them differently.
TJ Combo's:
"Listen to the music (just play the music?) - It's a party-y (ooh, yeeeaaah-eee yeeeaaah-eeee yeaaaaahh!) - It's a party-y (Here's yo jumpstart here's yo jumpstart)" And I'm pretty sure that chant is "T-J-C-O-M-B-O"
Orchid's: (I'm really sure about this. Really. It makes more sense.) Play hard - With the feelin' - Play hard - You got nothin' to lose - Play hard - With the feelin' - Be a boy or a man - It's up to you.
S-U-P-E-R CodeGuy Ty

Say, why don't you guys e-mail editor@rareware.com and make sure that those are the real lyrics?

Heheh.

N-Query by Peer Schneider

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Today's letters rag on about third-party Memory Paks and pretty graphics.

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Hey Matt,
After reading your review on Memory Pak, I have to say something. Turok 2 is actually really Evil. I had an 11:30 hours game (which was going quite well, on Normal, and such), surviving through the frozing and such (2 savepoints in Level 4, bad level design sir). And then came the time to reload my game (mind me, I never buy anything else than official, Nintendo or Sony stuff) and what the??? NOTHING IS ON MY MEMORY PAK. Needless to say I got rid of the cursed game just recently. Now my question is simple, is my Nintendo Pak broken or was it just the Evil game?
Djih'Ef

I'm guessing it wasn't your Memory Pak. Turok 2 saves just fine for me.

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Matt,
The DexDrive is a life saver! I have both the PSX and N64 Dexes and I've been downloading tons of files and having way too much fun. Not only that, but in response to your crappy third-party Memory Paks editorial, now people can save with confidence (well, if your HD crashes, then you are screwed). Think about the price of the DexDrive, $40... a Memory Pak costs like $15-$20, so your only paying 2 to 2.5 times as much for the DexDrive as a Memory Pak and you get unlimited space. If there is a God, I command him to bless Interact, they earned it.
Chris Isler

Yup. The DexDrive is remarkable piece of hardware. A few days ago (as a result of the ASB 2000 incident) I hooked one up in my room and now I always immediately back-up my saves to PC.

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Hey Matt! Sucks that you lost your ASB 2000 data, but consider yourself lucky - the rest of us can't lose our data until at least April 1st!

The other day my friend came over and brought his copy of our beloved Turok 2. He plugged his Controller Pak into the 1st controller, and I plugged into the second. As a side note, his Controller Pak is completely dedicated to Turok 2 but mine is full of Rush and Rush 2 notes with some Warzone characters with only 2 pages of Turok (Damn I've gotta get a DexDrive). Anyway, we turned on my Nintendo and, lo and behold, my *Performance* brand Memory Pak triggered the message, "Controller Pak in slot *2* may be damaged. Do you wish to retry or attempt to repair the problem?" After picking my jaw up off the floor and rehinging it to my skull, and screaming a few choice words at my Nintendo and at Turok, I retried about 5 times with no luck and then just turned the system off. What really mattered to me was my Rush 2 notes, so I quickly popped in said game and turned it on. The same f@%king message appeared so I switched the pak to another controller and reset. It worked! Haste-posthaste I turned off the Nintendo and inserted Turok 2 again with the Controller Pak again in the second controller and it still worked!

This has happened more than once now but switching to different controllers and games has worked every time, no matter what games I was using when the problem occurred. In conclusion, If you get that damn message, don't try to repair the data! 99% of the time it just erases it. Just swear for a while and then switch games, controllers, or whatever else you can think of, and your data will probably work fine.
P.S. - Swearing is optional, but I find it to be very relaxing and helpful.

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Rare produces the best graphics of any developer in my opinion because of games like Banjo Kazooie and those Perfect Dark screenshots. Many people probably think that Turok 2 has the best graphics, but I thought the background graphics of some levels were ugly (port of Adia, for example) not to mention the horrible fog in that game. Also you should take into account the 4MB expansion pac that is being used by the new games to help graphic capability. We should put those games into separate categories or something like that. I'll shut up now.
Ratface McGee

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I would just like to take a moment and thank who ever added the real audio clips of music from Zelda to that Ocarina page. As someone who is employed full time and has an impulse control problem, I was a click away from buying one of those Ocarina's just for gimmick's sake and because I liked the music in Zelda. That is until I pressed the PLAY button on the plug-in. My god did that sound awful! Maybe I was naively expecting the full symphony in the background. Maybe I was expecting a string accompaniment. What I wasn't expecting was a trilling uninspired solo which is what it would have sounded like if I played it. Blech. Still a cool gimmick, but not for $32.
Patrick Myers

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Do you even have to ask this question? Anyone who tells me that anybody but Acclaim produces the best graphics is gonna get kicked in the head. Acclaim pioneered effective motion capture (any sports game, Turok 1). Acclaim pioneered effective Hi-Rez graphics (QB Club 98, every friggin' game thereafter). Acclaim was the first to incorporate the use of the 4-Meg RAM Pak (Turok 2, nuff' said). And they damn well own the book on graphically realistic sports games. If anybody would care to prove me wrong, I'd really like to hear about it.
K.R. Tamminen

Actually, it was Iguana Entertainment that did all of the above (Acclaim was the publisher). Giving Acclaim credit for everything, though, is almost like praising 20th Century Fox for Star Wars.

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ACCLAIM, with Hi-Rez compatability, hands down. I'm not taking game play, I'm taking graphics. NFL QBC '98 took my breath away, since it was the first Hi-Rez game released on the N64, BUT it just plain sucked.

ACCLAIM, with All-Star Baseball '99, with its Quagmire Sports Engine. Simple unbelievable. Highly detailed stadiums with Jumbotrons...I could go on, BUT a few bugs and NO INSTANT REPLAY!! ASB 2000 will be the leader in baseball simulations this year.

ACCLAIM, with Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. Hi-Rez graphics thanks to the 4MB Expansion Pak. Biggest and the nicest damn game I've ever played (with exception of Zelda 64), BUT you morons complained of choppy framerates. Who cares? It still runs beautifully. Otherwise take nothing and like it.

ACCLAIM, with NFL QBC '99. Hi-Rez default with 4MB Expansion Pak helping out with the extended Instant Replay. Excellent motion-capturing, BUT it lacks AI and gameplay (although improved over '98's).

I don't care. I'm an eye-candy fella. I'll take ACCLAIM's Hi-Rez Graphics anyday over some silly gameplay.

ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM ACCLAIM

Have I made my point?

D'oh! I spoke too soon.

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When it comes to graphics, N64 sure is putting out these days. I'm sure most people think N64's graphic delights either come from Iguana, Rare, or Nintendo. However, I'd give the torch to Konami. Excluding the blur-fests that are Nagano and In the Zone, I think Konami makes the nicest looking N64 games. Their games aren't as flashy or solid as the big boys, but they have a charm to them. Castlevania impresses me most of the times--the Villa and Castle especially. Mystical Ninja uses such simple shapes to convey a humorous, medieval Japan, I honestly like looking at it more than Banjo. Then there is I.S.S. 64 which still astounds me. It's easily the best looking N64 sports game despite it's lack of high-rez. Konami isn't the most obvious choice, but their games look like how I want next generation games to look on N64. It's too bad they aren't making much more than Hybrid Heaven.
KRUFF647@aol.com

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After reading your story about cheap third party controller paks, I just wanted to let you know that I have one of the few that actually work. I bought an Interact Memory Plus controller pak that holds four times the data and uses a switch to switch in between the four "separate" paks. I've had it for two years now, and not once has anything erased. I have saved on it Gretzky's Hockey, Hangtime, MK Mythologies, Warzone, Bomberman, Turok, Southpark, Extreme G, Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, and Fifa 98 all within the four different sections of the pak. All are still intact from when I first saved from two years ago or later. Just once did I have the problem of it saying my pak was damaged and I chose to have the game try to fix it. It fixed the problem and nothing was erased. And the only reason I bought it was because I needed the extra memory and didn't want to buy a bunch of Nintendo paks. So I gave it a try and it was definitely worth it. Sometimes we get lucky enough to find those one in a million.
DoomTurtle

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Dear Matt,
Your report on memory cards is very accurate, but one point needs to be addressed. I like to rent games like anyone else. It's a nice way to preview games and induce sleepless nights. Because of this I save alot of info on my memory card. Games like NBA Jam '99, though, require 123 pages to save your progress. I have a Nintendo memory card and that is all the pages it has. So that means I can only save one game on the card. While this is not true for every game it's a big problem for consumers. At $20 a pop for a memory card it adds up pretty fast. Why can't they just make passcodes like the good old days.
Matt Klausky

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What developer produces the best graphics on the N64? Well, Zelda 64 is the second most beautiful game I have ever played. But, from all the first party titles this is the only one that stands out in the visual department. Also, I don't see many stunning games in the future from Nintendo. Which game is number one in graphics you ask? Banjo-Kazooie of course. There is no denying that BK was pure eye candy. Goldeneye was quite a beauty as well. Rare has produced the best graphics on the N64, and will continue to do so until the system's death. With titles like Conker's Quest, Jet Force Jemini, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Tooie, and Donkey Kong, us gamers have quite a few more months of gorgeous graphics thanks to Rare.

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I can tell you right now that 99% of the letters that you get about who produces the best graphics are going to be developers that have access to Nintendo's microcode. The developers that have access, and have programers that want to work with the assembly code are the ones making the great games. I'd put money on the fact that Rare, Iguana, and Factor 5 all have people that, pretty much, just work with the microcode, and they enjoy working with microcode. Nintendo needs to realize this, and one, let more people have access to their microcode, and/or two, get more people at home base using the stuff to make better dev tools.
Fresh D

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Hey Matt,
I just got back from out of town, and wasn't able to log on to the site till today, so I hope you understand and/or listen to the latter segment of this letter, even if it does seem contemporaneously extraneous.

First off, the DexDrive is amazing. I bought one for both my PSX and N64, and they paid for themselves expeditiously, especially for those amoeba-like games who suck up an inordinate amount of pages (*cough* Turok 2 *cough*). Btw, when are you and Peer going to start supporting it on the site?

Secondly, I still believe in my heart that Iguana produces the best graphics on the N64 (see abovementioned game). I love what EAD can do when they put their passion's marrow into it, but alas, Rare's a close second to Acclaim's powerhouse ganglion.

And now, after seeing yesterday's N-Put section, I have to say this about the whole N64-Dreamcast clash (cue soapbox): I went to my local importer last week, bought Smash Bros. for seventy bux and a Dreamcast bundle; two controllers, seven games, including Sonic Adventure for $450 (I know, I think it was 'hot'), and now, several days later, I can honestly say I've had more fun and spent more time with the N64 controller in my hand.

Speaking of controllers (beautiful segue, eh?), last week you mentioned how fun Aliens Vs. Predator is, but I was wondering...what kind of control pad do you use for the computer, as I have yet to find anything even slightly comparable to the N64 layout for first-person shooters. As always, thanks for listening.
CABANA BOY

We're also huge fans of the DexDrive here at IGN64, as I'm sure you're aware of. We plan to start throwing our support behind the product just as soon as our "tech guys" make it possible -- hopefully sooner rather than later. Look for future cross-over events between us and publishers. I know we're planning an WWF Attitude/DexDrive partnership of some kind.

As for what controllers I generally use when playing PC games -- I don't. I'm more of a mouse/keyboard first-person shooter player. However, if I were to use any PC controllers, I'd probably go with either Microsoft's Sidewinder or the Gravis Xterminator.

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Are they coming out with any stragy games fo the N64? Please tell me!
user@gsa.k12.id.us

I've often asked that same question myself. I've always been a huge fan of the stragy genre and let's face it, stragy games are virtually nonexistent 'fo' Nintendo 64. Unfortunately, as much as I hate to admit it, the situation doesn't look to improve anytime soon.

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I think Iguana wins the best graphics hands down. Sure, Rare does some sweet games, when it comes to graphics, but detail, color, anything graphic oriented is just so much better when Iguana makes it. Look at Turok 2, easily the best game ever for a gaming system when it comes to graphics. I own the game, and I can't get enough of it, I'm on my third or fourth time through beating the game w/out cheats, and I will spend hours just marveling at the amazing levels, weapons, and of course enemies. Rare really is the only other company that can come close, the rest don't compare. Not even Nintendo ( I hated Zelda in all respects, so don't bother mentioning it ) knows graphics like Iguana.
Yablo

Hated Zelda? You're not Communist... are you?

Think on This...

1. Will you buy Resident Evil 2 for N64 or is it too little too late?

Letters by El Slackomassina

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