I've always felt there was something of a King Canute situation going on with the Nintendo 64. This week's pre-selected item carried with it another reminder of how Nintendo more or less threw the third-party support they'd built up over a decade under a bus by sticking to their guns w/r/t to a cartridge-based system, as carts were both limited in the amount of data they could handle and expensive to produce, and perhaps they simply assumed all these studios would fall in line given Nintendo's long-standing industry dominance, at least in Japan (the SNES was usually a little behind the Mega Drive in terms of international sales, but in Japan it ruled that generation with an iron fist). We're kinda seeing that arrogance again from Sony with how they've been handling the PlayStation 5 and its limited availability, increasing the price on all SKUs just as they start integrating cheaper parts to save themselves some scratch. I suppose hubris is a natural by-product of being the market leader, but it's a little frustrating how often history seems to repeat itself even in an industry as relatively inchoate as video games. Anyway, this isn't me making jokes about being thrust into yet another foggy nightmare or two, so let's get back to why we're really here.

This week's duo of games to be considered for the Switch Online Expansion Pack tier makes for about as typical an episode as you'd expect: our pre-selection was chosen purely out of curiosity rather than a desire to promote an obscure favorite, and not the "I've never seen this before" kind of curiosity but the far less committal "I'm well acquainted with this game, just not this version of it". The random choice is, of course, something I would never normally choose to play outside of wiki research reasons but the parameters of this feature being what they are it's more like... I'm thankful it wasn't something worse? Just mostly bleh. Hopefully it'll still be entertaining to read about.

Something that's always entertaining to read are the rules of 64 in 64, which I why I reiterate them every time:

• Each entry covers two N64 games. The first has been pre-selected by this guy over here, the second is randomly chosen from the full library absent those that don't qualify (see below). I play both games for sixty-four minutes apiece, with progress updates every sixteen minutes.
• Since I need an altruistic excuse to boot up a bunch of N64 ROMs we're doing this to help Nintendo figure out what to add to their Switch Online library, because they definitely don't have experts of their own. I provide my two cents as to how each game holds up and whether the legal circumstances are such that they're ready for a comeback.
• We're not touching anything that's currently in the Switch Online library already, or is confirmed to be on there in the future. Nintendo's given themselves some breathing room after a bunch of announcements in the last Direct, so I don't imagine I'll have to make any last-minute changes to my schedule. Incidentally, if you didn't see the trailer they put out for Pilotwings 64 (added this week), it's worth a look.

There's also a whole table here of other 64 in 64 entries to check out if you're still not done:

Mega Man 64 (Pre-Selected)

• Capcom / Capcom
• 2000-11-22 (JP), 2001-01-10 (NA)
• 363rd N64 Game Released

History: Heck yeah, time for some Mega Man. I recall from a recent Arcade Pit stream that someone on staff was unaware there was a N64 Mega Man game and, for the longest while and despite being a fan since the second NES game onwards, I was in the same boat. That might be due to how Capcom never released the game in Europe, but then I never heard much about it from my American colleagues online either. When I eventually discovered a few years back that "Mega Man 64" is actually just a cheekily rebranded port of Mega Man Legends for the PlayStation I was a little disappointed that there wasn't a whole new Mega Man game out there to discover, but given the Mega Man Legends series are probably my favorite of the franchise's many spin-offs I was still intrigued enough to find out more. I'll come clean: I chose this purely because I want to know how this version plays and what kind of concessions Capcom had to make to fit it onto a N64 cart, but I'll also admit to just wanting to play some Mega Man Legends again. (As a side-note, it's wild that Capcom has yet to stick the Mega Man Legends games (and its own spin-off, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne) on a compilation considering all the other spin-off compilations that have been released of late, and I can't help but hope the most unlikely of hopes that they've commissioned some third-party developer to finish up that "prototype version" Mega Man Legends 3 for a nice little value add, if not the entire game.)

It's a little strange that it's taken this long before we encountered a Capcom game, but then they weren't all that prominent on the Nintendo 64. Besides Mega Man 64, the only other games they put out for the system were the Disney-fied puzzle game Magical Tetris Challenge (I mentioned it way back in the first episode when covering Tetris 64) and a less-than-stellar version of Resident Evil 2. All three are ports (Magical Tetris Challenge was originally an arcade game), and in Mega Man 64's case a super late one: the PS1 original was a 1997 release, so that's a three year gap. This is in stark contrast to how heavily Capcom were invested in the NES and SNES libraries: many of those systems' best games came from Capcom. Then, in the generation that followed, we had the GameCube (temporarily) hoarding the exclusivity rights to the Capcom Five, which included three of the best games Capcom has ever made plus P.N.03. Nintendo's stubborn adherence to cartridges and their many limitations over CDs alienated more than just Squaresoft back then, it seems.

16 Minutes In

This block included the dramatically-voiced intro and the prologue mission. The prologue works as a tutorial for the majority of the gameplay to follow, and just as adroitly sets the light, adventuresome tone of the story and offers some early mysteries regarding its Waterworld-esque setting. It's an excellent little prologue, is what I'm saying, and I remember now why I dug this series right from the start. A small recap of the story: It's the post-apocalypse, most of the world is covered in ocean, humanity ekes a living on the few patches of land that still exist, and they power their technology with energy devices called refractors scavenged from high-tech ruins dotted across the globe that are only accessible from airship. The professionals who risk the dangers of these ruins—they're filled with still-functional security robots called Reaverbots, so not just anyone can survive a visit—are known as Diggers, and they make their living selling the refractors they find.

Daaaamn, this game's looking crisp. Mega Man Legends has this stylized cel-shaded look and I guess that meant it was easy enough to translate to the N64 without losing much in the way of graphical fidelity, though the voiced dialogue quality takes a bit of a hit. I guess I forgot to make it clear earlier but Mega Man Legends is the first no-foolin' RPG (or, well, close to it) in the Mega Man lineage, and more than that it's a dungeon-crawler of the type with auto-mapping and traps and treasures to find around every corner. In addition to money, you can find new equipment while exploring the ruins, and can occasionally restock and buy new gear at stores between expeditions. Despite the change in genre though, it's still a run-and-gun action game that's been repurposed more as a third-person shooter that makes ample use of strafing tactics in its 3D environments.

32 Minutes In

Shortly after the prologue you crash land on Kattelox Island, where most of the game takes place. This is a proper dungeon-crawler hub: a town with NPCs to talk to, a marketplace where you can buy many of the items you need, and a bunch of dungeons of various sizes littered around the rest of the island. A bureaucratic licensing system keeps you from accidentally entering the high-level dungeons until you're ready, and Data the save monkey is always nearby if you're about to jump into a dangerous situation. My first task upon visiting the marketplace was to find the junk shop vendor, from whom I am to buy parts to repair the ship. Since he gathers junk from the local dungeon near the town's entrance, I've had to dip in there to go rescue his ass. Since I'm here, I poked around some of the other parts of this dungeon and found a rapid-fire upgrade for my Buster Gun. I've also spotted some Servbots, but no Tron or the other Bonne Family members just yet.

Controls-wise, the game has had to make do with the C-buttons for most of its functions. Jump and fire are mapped to the two main face buttons while the C-buttons cover interacting with objects and talking to people (C-down), using the map (C-up), a free-view toggle for spotting environmental details (C-right), and using special weapons (C-left, though I don't have one equipped yet). Oddly, the Z button simply mirrors the function of the right bumper: the bumpers are used for strafing left and right, moving you in those directions perpendicular to the camera so you can dodge out the way of enemy fire without losing sight of their source. It's not clear why Z couldn't be shoot and the other face button used for the more versatile interact function, but I guess Capcom didn't think to incorporate it.

48 Minutes In

Exploring what I could of this dungeon—it has at least one barrier that I'll need an as-yet unavailable item to break down—I recalled the number one lesson for Mega Man Legends newbies: those inconspicuous hole textures in some walls? They have some of the best items in the game. The only one I could reach in here gave me close to 3000 zenny, and by adding that to the 4000 I already had I could grab a lot of useful early-game upgrades from the junk shop vendor once he am-scrayed out of danger. Since leaving the ruins, it's just been plot developments one after the other: I now have the necessary ID to get into the city, I've been given a vehicle that my "Spotter" (read: radio support) companion Roll can use once she's fixed it up, and I've been told to look out for pirates in the city. Could this unassuming young woman in purple be with those pirates, perchance?

I'm still digging the gameplay of this game but between the C-button usage and not-quite-right analog controls (it feels more like they mapped the D-pad to the analog stick, rather than supporting full 3D movement) it's not living up to my memories of the original. Very close though. The junk shop upgrades reminded me that this game isn't technically an RPG despite all the dungeon crawling: stat upgrades come from parts you attach to your weapon or buy directly, in the case of something like max HP, rather than levelling up via an XP system. On the plus side, that fortune I found in some random niche means I'm way more jacked than I was a few minutes ago, so maybe basing physical strength on the size of your wallet is working out in this case.

64 Minutes In

Sadly, this entire time was spent running around for story purposes. Heading to the town hall, hoping to get the Digger License that'll let me visit more dungeons, I instead meet Mayor Amelia and my professor buddy Barrell just chatting about old times back when the former used to be the latter's lab assistant. After that, I help Tron Bonne down from a lamppost—she was being chased by a terrifying schnauzer—and head to meet Roll outside the city. Then I'm required to reverse course back into the city after the Bonne pirates begin their assault, leading to the cutscene above. What follows is a fun little challenge where I have to defeat one to three tanks to recover a key (they'll swap the key between themselves if you give them the chance) and then Tron's octopus-shaped mech boss. However, since those happen right after the buzzer, I won't be talking more about them. Just as it was getting interesting, darn.

So, yeah, bit of a slow start to the game but I did visit two dungeons at least. I think that's probably why I tend to think back to this game and its sequel as RPGs: there's a lot of talking to NPCs, running through dark corridors, and tinkering around with character development menus, even in spite of a lack of traditional RPG qualifiers (also many plot similarities with Skies of Arcadia and Grandia). I enjoyed the revisit at least, and heartened to know that it's not lost its spark, man.

How Well Has It Aged?: Mega Well. However, there's the thorny issue regarding which version of the game is worth returning to most, and I'd probably opt for the PlayStation version if it ever becomes available again (the last time was as part of PlayStation 3's PS1 range—far as I know, it's yet to appear in PS Plus Premium's "Classics" collection). Graphically, it's probably one of the better-looking polygonal games on N64 owing to its cel-shaded art direction though like many N64 games it has a pretty serious draw-distance problem which is even more an issue when said game involves this much long-range combat. Dang it all though if a Mega Man dungeon-crawler still remains just as compelling a prospect this many years on.

Chance of Switch Online Inclusion: Unlikely. Here's where I consult my crystal ball and determine that the Mega Man Legends compilation is almost certainly on its way and will almost certainly be the best (and only legal) method of playing Mega Man Legends on Switch. I think there are too many fans calling for it to happen for Capcom to ignore: the amount of stink that was created when Capcom officially canned Mega Man Legends 3 suggests the fanbase for this series is still considerable, even if a good portion of them are just MVC Tron mains curious about where she came from. Maybe the creators of the Despicable Me and Minions movies are bribing Capcom to keep MML out of print so no-one realizes they ripped off the Servbots, who knows? They'll run out of GBA/DS Mega Mans to port eventually, so we Legends fans will just have to wait patiently like we've always done.

Big Mountain 2000 (Random)

• Natsume / SouthPeak Interactive (NA) & Imagineer (JP)
• 1998-12-26 (JP), 2000-10-10 (NA)
• =172nd N64 Game Released

History: Originally released as Snow Speeder in Japan, Big Mountain 2000 is a combination skiing and snowboarding game that attempts to recreate the blinding speed of the downhill sport as accurately as the technology of the time would allow. It took two years to find an American publisher (it skipped Europe, as many games did) in SouthPeak Interactive, whom probably felt a nominal kinship. Developers Natsume we've covered before with Episode 15's Harvest Moon 64—perhaps Natsume's most famous franchise—and their only other N64 game was Flying Dragon, a hybrid fighting game and martial arts sim with a number of surprises including two different art styles. On the publisher side, we last saw the double team of Imagineer and SouthPeak with Episode 10's Rally Challenge 2000; I suspect from the year-based naming convention that we can expect an equally generic time here too.

So... Big Mountain 2000, huh? Its name has already come up a few times in 64 in 64 despite being a relatively obscure snowboarding sim, first when I was discussing Natsume's limited N64 output during my Harvest Moon 64 coverage and again when I looked at Snowboard Kids and its handful of competitors (though I might've only mentioned 1080 Snowboarding instead). After this, and excluding 1080 as a disqualified game, we'll have cleared half of all the snowboarding games that released on N64; the remainders being Snowboard Kids 2 and something called Twisted Edge Extreme Snowboarding which is probably the most 1998 title anyone could reliably conceive. Not sure what to expect here besides a whole lot of falling over and rolling up into a giant comical snowball, but I suppose I'm not sick of this genre yet.

16 Minutes In

Ah, I see what kind of game this is. One of those mid-budget types that you get tricked into buying, only to find it has a fraction of the content of the bigger names. Or, at least, a game with some far more modest ambitions. Big Mountain 2000 appears to have four courses in total, but lengthens its runtime by having three events for each one: free ride, slalom, and giant slalom (only difference between the last two is that the gates are further apart). There's also the choice of skis or snowboards, with slight variations in how they control. On top of that, you have six characters to select between each with different base stats and as you continue to make progress in the game your character will actually level up those stats in a manner similar to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, though these upgrades appear to be automatic (as in, you can't choose which stats to improve yourself). I've now completed all three events on the first course as one "Claire Winslet" (super coincidentally, Titanic came out in 1997) and I'm moving onto the second.

Everything about this game is screaming "cheap and cheerful" so far, though it's not necessarily a detriment. More that it's chosen to focus its attention on the gameplay feel and less so on stuffing itself with content to keep you occupied for endless hours. Controls-wise it uses the face buttons for jumping and "edging," the latter needed to reduce speed (you'll fall over if you go to fast) and for turning. You don't want to be edging too much or too hard, lemme tell ya. I've yet to figure out how tricks work or the jumping timing for all those ramps where you can get some big air, so I'll probably start working on those next.

32 Minutes In

Unless crashing into a tree counts as a trick, I'm still no closer to figuring out that aspect of the game. Actually, it's more that you spend so little time in the air that I'm afraid that any sudden movement is going to send me sprawling and drop me a few positions when I badly need to stay ahead of the pack. What's been very common so far, especially with the slalom courses, is how often a competitor will just plow right into the back of you. You can only take so many hits per race too: there's a stamina gauge that goes down with every fall and once it bottoms out you take a major debuff to stats, so at that point you might as well restart the race unless you're close to the end. Even unsuccessful attempts to hit the finish line first might result in a stat increase, though, so I've been trying to avoid instinctively pausing and hitting the "restart race" option on the main menu whenever I bail headfirst into an igloo or something.

Also, while I'm done with two of the tracks—all three events completed for each—the third is kicking my ass. As might be expected from a skiing game, there's a huge difficulty cliff to overcome with each new course, with the idea being to up your game and keep earning those stat points to reach the end in ski-pole position. I've also noticed that the fourth track won't be accessible until I have gold in every event on every course as both a skier and a snowboarder, though your stats don't carry over between styles. It's looking unlikely I'll unlock that final course before the end, but I'm otherwise making some decent progress quickly. Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot to this one.

48 Minutes In

Well, two unexpected things happened this time. The first is that, no matter what I did, the first place CPU always beat Course 3 light years ahead of the rest of us. Most of the time I was competing with the second strongest AI for second place, usually just pipping them on the final jump (I'm not even trying spin or board tricks after a few more failures, but at least I've gotten the timing down to get the best launches from the ramps). Curiously, the fourth place guy finishes about as far back as the first place dude finishes ahead, so it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot of competition between them. However, I have noticed that the CPU—even Mr. Hypercompetent up front—will regularly eat shit from steering into trees and the like, so I've been using that as motivation that, at some point, I'll be able to use one of these CPU whiffs to get the advantage.

The second unexpected thing is that I eventually went up enough stat points to earn a higher rank, going from "Amateur" to "Semi-Pro". Not only do new titles confer bragging rights, but new items unlock in the customization menu. These new items—both boards and clothing—have huge stat bonuses attached to them, and on the very next attempt of Course 3 with these new threads I managed to romp home to victory. It now occurs to me that the same might've been true for the elite CPU guy also, with the game perhaps figuring that I'd played enough of the first two courses to hit that promotion and its superior drip and aimed to maintain parity. Of course, even if I beat the slalom and giant slalom for this course, I'll be stymied until I've caught up with the skis too. Might as well see what that half of the game is like.

64 Minutes In

I had some trouble with the slalom on Course 3—in addition to the tougher AI, you also really have no room for mistakes—but for some reason the usually tougher giant slalom was a one-and-done. I should just clarify somewhere around here that the races all have timers on top of the usual goal, which is to come in first, and the timer is at its most prevalent in the two slalom events. The way they work is that you have a low time limit originally but gain a second for each gate you pass through, plus a combo bonus for every consecutive gate you've passed through so far for a maximum of five seconds added per gate. However, if you miss a gate that resets the combo bonus and also reduces the timer by five seconds. You'll get knocked out almost immediately if you don't go through the first handful of gates, but towards the end if you've been accurate enough you might have a huge buffer you can burn through by just taking the most direct path to the finish line while incurring all those penalties. What matters is you come in first and still have time left on the clock: this ain't the Winter Olympics with all its judges and scoring.

Anyway, it doesn't feel like skiing is a whole lot different than boarding excepting perhaps that it's a little harder to turn and you reach maximum speed (and a need to slow down) faster. I didn't carry over any of my "Semi-Pro" boarding advancements, but still managed to finish this race something like 15 seconds ahead of the next guy. Probably all that practice on the harder courses. I've hit an impasse with the snowboarding half of the game and it looks like I might have an easier time with the skiing half, were I to continue after this. Which I am not.

How Well Has It Aged?: So-so. Actually, I was kinda starting to like the game despite some of its more prominent annoyances. The way opponents will constantly crash into the back of you is kinda aggravating, especially if it's the third and fourth place dudes and these knockdowns are letting the CPU in first place grow an insurmountable lead. However, it really does start to ramp up that sense of speed as you get more stat/gear upgrades and become more daring with the longer stretches in order to keep up. Graphically it's more than a little basic, though I did like the character designs in the menus and on that box art: definitely reminiscent of the '90s to the extent that, were they wearing spandex instead of bulky ski jackets, they could've easily passed as a Liefeld superhero team called something like Blood Teen Force X. An inoffensive game all round if a tad rudimentary, and although I probably would've exhausted its content within another hour that's not really a downside when you're joining a huge online library where no-one's going to be able to stick to one thing for long.

Chance of Switch Online Inclusion: Not Great. Similar to what I said about Rally Challenge 2000, SouthPeak is long gone, Imagineer's off making shovelware, and I don't think either of the Natsumes cares about or were that involved with the license. It's not like I saw their name much while playing: I only have the GDRI's word they were involved at all (they tend to use the staff rolls to determine who was behind what game, so I trust them more than most sources). Anyone who badly needs a decent N64 snowboarding sim on the Switch Online Service already has one in 1080 Snowboarding, so in no version of reality do I see Big Mountain 2000 being a priority get.

Current Ranking

1. Super Mario 64 (Ep. 1)
2. Diddy Kong Racing (Ep. 6)
3. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (Ep. 3)
4. Donkey Kong 64 (Ep. 13)
5. Space Station Silicon Valley (Ep. 17)
6. Goemon's Great Adventure (Ep. 9)
7. Pokémon Snap (Ep. 11)
8. Banjo-Tooie (Ep. 10)
9. Mischief Makers (Ep. 5)
10. Mega Man 64 (Ep. 18)
11. Harvest Moon 64 (Ep. 15)
12. Hybrid Heaven (Ep. 12)
13. Blast Corps (Ep. 4)
14. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Ep. 2)
15. Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (Ep. 4)
16. Snowboard Kids (Ep. 16)
17. Spider-Man (Ep. 8)
18. Bomberman 64 (Ep. 8)
19. Jet Force Gemini (Ep. 16)
20. Shadowgate 64: Trials of the Four Towers (Ep. 7)
21. BattleTanx: Global Assault (Ep. 13)
22. Hot Wheels Turbo Racing (Ep. 9)
23. San Francisco Rush 2049 (Ep. 4)
24. Fighter Destiny 2 (Ep. 6)
25. Big Mountain 2000 (Ep. 18)
26. Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness (Ep. 14)
27. Tetris 64 (Ep. 1)
28. NBA Live '99 (Ep. 3)
29. Rampage 2: Universal Tour (Ep. 5)
30. Command & Conquer (Ep. 17)
31. South Park Rally (Ep. 2)
32. Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M. (Ep. 7)
33. Eikou no St. Andrews (Ep. 1)
34. Rally Challenge 2000 (Ep. 10)
35. Monster Truck Madness 64 (Ep. 11)
36. F-1 World Grand Prix II (Ep. 3)
37. F1 Racing Championship (Ep. 2)
38. Sesame Street: Elmo's Number Journey (Ep. 14)
39. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero (Ep. 15)
40. Blues Brothers 2000 (Ep. 12)

One of my fav details of this series is actually how you always manage to write a fun & unique intro!

(Mega) Man, I do dig the look of Legends! (And by extension, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne) Always thought that style seemed timeless. Perhaps I should actually check out the PS1 version.