This is an ongoing series where I attempt to play...complete...and rank every video game that ever existed. That is all

I grew up with a nintendo 64. It was the first console that was all mine, unlike earlier systems that I shared with my siblings. I only got gifts on holidays or birthdays, because I was a kid without a job, and was not one who was paid to do chores (they were expected, not rewarded). When I did ask for a game, it was one I would either rent multiple times, or one that was hyped enough in Nintendo power that I could tell myself I wanted regardless of playing it. Ocarina was a no brainer, so were all the NBA games, and wrestling games. One game existed in my collection that I still to this day don't know how I acquired it. That game is of course our title game Hybrid Heaven. I would dabble in it from time to time, but I can tell you that I never got that far, certainly never beat it, and forgot about it just as soon as I put it down.

When it was time to start my collection of video games over (sold games off when I was younger), you would assume that this game would not make the list, but again the most peculiar thing happened where this was legit one of the first 4 N64 games I sought out to buy. Mario, Ocarina, Blast Corps, and Hybrid Heaven (?) Why would this game come up now in my mind? There were so many games that I played the hell out of for N64 that would make more sense? Perhaps it was the sins of the past where I felt I needed to make up for never really giving the game a shot as a kid, or maybe this game is calling to me.

Hybrid Heaven is a 3rd person sci-fi, RPG, wrestling game, where you explore the underground of New York City and discover that not everyone is who they say they are.. Something to that effect, but we will touch on that later, instead I want to call back to calling this a wrestling game, and yes, I meant to say that. While most of this game plays like a 3rd person action game, when you get into battles it turns into an ATB (Active time battle) RPG wrestling game. You and your opponent have a meter that fills up before you can act, during this time you have free mobility where you can wander the area, and when you are ready to attack you can get into position and trigger your action. This freezes the game and allows you to select from a move list, which includes punches, kicks, and headbutts, but if you happen to be grabbing the opponent a list of wrestling moves. Want to try and give a pig monster a brainbuster, or a creature that appears to be made of bricks a DDT, you can! The game also took cues from Final Fantasy 2 (not the super Nintendo, but the OG 2) where you level up based on what was done in a fight. Use a right hook a lot, and your right arm gets stronger and that move gets stronger, get punched in the head a lot, and your Head gets more resistant. It is an admirable system, that over the course of the game can allow you to spec in a couple different ways, which "could" allow you to replay the game slightly differently. This playthrough you could be a devastating boxer with heavy hands, and in another playthrough be a grappler that absolutely destroys if the enemy gets up close. Its a concept that on paper I really like, but much like OG Final Fantasy 2, I hate the concept of forcing me to get my ass kicked on purpose to better myself. In addition to powering up parts of your body, you can learn moves from enemies as long as they successfully pull them off on you. It goes against your instinct, but you might want to allow yourself to get grabbed and slammed to the ground a couple times, just to hopefully learn that brainbuster or DDT so you can bust it out later. However, risk it too much and die, and everything you learned goes out the window as you load an old save. While I think the system is interesting here, and incredibly unique, it can be a trying game of patience as enemies can be rather dumb. This is even worse if you are in a fight just to learn a new move. You could sit there looking to learn a new kick move, but 20 minutes into the fight the opponent might only try the same punch over and over again, or even worse might attempt the kick but it misses you completely. When you first start off, it is exciting to learn new moves, but I found that despite wanting to get better, I instead wanted to make sure I just killed the enemy as fast as possible rather than risk a game over so far from a save point.

Unlike RPGs of similar ilk, there are a finite number of enemies in the game. You will find floor pads that spawn enemies, and while they may seem endless, they do officially run out, so while you can (and should) grind to get stronger in the game, you will not be able to drastically over level for where you are in the game. As there are a handful of different enemy types in the game, you will learn what each one specializes in, which is useful in knowing which enemies you want to hit you in an attempt of learning something. Pig monsters are grapplers, the block monster are kickers, and the enemies that look like plants can F off, because they have unlimited range and can poison you.

Back to the story, the game centers around the fact that there are replicants that are slowly starting to take over the world. The overarching story is that the main enemy is trying to dispose of the president and instead replace him with a replicant. Presumably this would allow our foe to control the army, declare war, and make the world more replicant friendly. I am on board for all this silliness, but the plot gets overly busy to the point where it feels to lose its thread and then just throw in other sci-fi tropes along the way. During your travels you will meet actual little aliens, who have crash landed in this underground bunker and are hiding from our big bad, sure why not. The game for what its worth felt 5-10 hours too long, and perhaps that is a "me" or a "now" problem and not one I would have felt in 1999, but I kept waiting for the end and it was always just out of reach.

I do have to very quickly call out how drab and boring the setting/environment was with this game. I know the N64 limitations, I understand other games of the era don't score high marks, but the whole game takes place in this underground lab, and it is just an eyesore from moment 1 to 101. When they obviously re-release this game, I hope we get some new locations, and can bring some color and light to the areas we are stuck in for hours on end.

This game will also have the first designation of me "cheating" on my notion of playing games without looking up a walkthrough to get past a hurdle in the game. The moment doesn't require much attention, but there is a part where you are locked in a room with a giant rancor/xenomorph and I couldn't figure out how to escape. I'm not proud of cheating, but I was at the point where it was either look it up, or put the game down and never return.

Hopefully now, having atoned for the sins of my youth, by beating this game, i will no longer be hunted by its ghost. Who knows, maybe if I have to rebuild my collection a 3rd time, this game will no longer be at the top of my list for replacements.

Is this game the Greatest game of all time: Can't say that it is

Where does it rank: This was another game that I had a hard time ranking, I knew where it fell (between 17-21) but specifically it was harder. Ultimately I am putting this at the new #19 spot. It falls below #18 Adam's Venture Origins, and above #20 Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout. Despite not caring a lot for Adam's Venture, apparently I felt having a whisper of a story was better in this instance than having a long confusing story.

Up Next: "EQQo" for the Switch (also available for VR, phones, and PC)

Anyone looking for it: here is the link to the list and more if you are interested in following along with me (this is not a self promotion). Here

Thanks for listening.