[00:00]
Welcome to the Cartridge Archive, the show dedicated to chronicling the complete Nintendo 64 library, one cartridge at a time.
I’m Adam.
And I’m Jamie.
On each episode, we pull another game from the shelf and explore its impact on the Nintendo 64’s history.
[00:30]
From beloved classics and hidden gems to forgotten curiosities and infamous disasters, no cartridge is left behind.
Along the way, we’ll examine each game’s story, development, legacy, collector value, and the impact it left on the Nintendo 64 library as a whole.
And then we’ll put it through the rigorous and totally patented 64-point inspection to determine whether or not it has what it takes to become certified 64.
So prestigious.
[01:00]
September 29th, 1996.
Nintendo launched its long-awaited Nintendo 64 console in North America.
But launch title choices were limited.
Powerhouse brand mascot and franchise namesake Super Mario led the offerings.
Super Mario 64, an immediate hit, sold at nearly 100% attachment rate with consoles at launch, but it wasn’t the only available option.
While Mario showed players what the Nintendo 64’s 3D environments and revolutionary analog stick could do on the ground, another launch title took to the skies.
[01:30]
With nearly 1 in 4 buyers also picking up this game in the console’s opening weeks, it ultimately sold over 1 million copies and became one of the Nintendo 64’s earliest commercial successes.
But it wasn’t just about flying.
It was about demonstrating massive 3D landscapes, impressive draw distances, dynamic weather, and a world with virtually no load times once you took off.
In many ways, it was as much a technical showcase as it was a game.
[02:00]
Its origins were also just as unexpected.
Although Nintendo designed the experience with Shigeru Miyamoto producing, much of the development was handled by Paradigm Entertainment,
a small Texas studio whose previous clients included NASA, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin.
Before entering the games industry, Paradigm specialized in professional flight simulators,
and that experience helped shape the game’s surprisingly convincing physics model.
[02:30]
It was an unusual partnership that would eventually lead to the studio developing several more N64 titles,
including Arrowfighter’s Assault and the beloved Beetle Adventure Racing.
Rather than filling the skies with enemies and explosions, the game focused on something much calmer.
Players could select from six distinct pilots and earn increasingly difficult flight licenses
by mastering unusual vehicles including a hang glider, a rocket belt, and a gyrocopter.
Success came through precision, patience, and smooth analog control,
[03:00]
creating an experience that often felt as relaxing as it did challenging.
The landscape was memorable in its own right.
One of the game’s four islands, appropriately named Little States,
presented a miniature United States, complete with playful recreations of Mount Rushmore,
Devil’s Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge, along with other recognizable landmarks.
It encouraged players to slow down, leave the objectives behind,
and enjoy the freedom of exploring the skies.
[03:30]
While praised for its visuals, realistic flight mechanics, and technical ambition,
some critics questioned whether its deliberately relaxed pace
offered enough content to justify the price.
Even so, it developed a loyal following.
Multiple sequels were proposed throughout the N64 era,
but none ever materialized, with the series eventually returning in 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS.
Today, cleared for approach to the 64-point inspection is Pilotwing 64.
[04:00]
Awesome.
Alright, so to start this episode off, as far as the discussion goes,
I think we need to flip over to the back of the box and read the back of the box quote.
So, uh, here we are.
Forget about those other flying games.
This is the ultimate flight experience.
Pilotwing 64 carries you off into vast three-dimensional environments.
Pilot several different vehicles and take in breathtaking sights.
Successfully complete flight tests to earn your flight badge.
[04:30]
Get enough high score, and you’ll get a chance at bonus games such as cannonball and skydiving.
Soar into the wild blue yonder with Pilotwings 64.
They said flight a very large number of times.
They did.
They did.
And there’s a lot of exclamation points, too.
I think there’s maybe one sentence that doesn’t get an exclamation point on the end of that one.
I think, okay, so to be fair, though, this was one of the first games that came out for the N64,
[05:00]
so maybe they just, you know, you gotta get that interest.
You gotta hook people early.
So you gotta bring the excitement.
Yeah, you gotta get them sold on that wild blue yonder.
I’ve always been, I love a good yonder.
Yeah.
The wild blue, arguably the best of the yonders.
Now, I’m not gonna say that I’m anti-yonder, but if I have to choose between hither and yon,
I think I’m probably gonna choose hither most of the time.
Spoiled for choice.
That is a thing people say, right?
[05:30]
Not people that I want to talk to, but it probably.
Sometime in the maybe mid-1800s, maybe people said it more often.
Yeah, I don’t remember, but we’ll go with you.
That’s fair.
So, Pilotwings 64, the other launch title for the Nintendo 64 when it came out.
This game was one that I never owned before.
I have now because of my need to collect all of the cartridges, but I would be lying if I told you that this one was ever on my radar as one that I felt I needed to play outside of maybe a rental,
[06:00]
or maybe even just the demo kiosk that they had set up in a Toys R Us.
What about you?
Was this one that you, did you own this one back in the day?
I don’t think I did.
I think I’m in the same boat that I probably rented it.
I did, and I don’t think I owned the Super Nintendo either, the original Pilotwings, but I do remember renting it a number of times and enjoying it.
So, I think this is probably something that I tried, but I don’t know that it’s something that I ever had.
Gotcha.
Honestly, I did not know there was a Super Nintendo prequel to this game until quite a few years later, actually.
[06:30]
I had no idea that it was a franchise IP for Nintendo.
I thought this was just basically a glorified tech demo to try and push their new console.
And, you know, that’s kind of a reductive approach to it, but I remember that was sort of my thinking as a kid.
But also, you know, you couldn’t really afford to, well, I couldn’t really afford to have too many Nintendo 64 things on my shopping list when this thing came out.
[07:00]
For sure.
So, I was on team Mario, right, which had 100% attach rate for this console.
Right.
So, it’s easier to poo-poo what you can’t afford, and then you don’t feel like you’re missing out on it.
So, I think that was more of a coping mechanism for me for not actually having this game when the console first came out.
I think you make a good point, though, that it, and we’ll get into this, I think, a little bit in a minute, that it kind of is a tech demo.
And it sort of always has been, like every release of Pilotwings, and I didn’t realize this until we started sort of researching this a little deeper,
[07:30]
that every time a Pilotwings game has been released, it has been a launch title for that console.
And so, it really does seem to be something that Nintendo rolls out to kind of show, check out what we can do with this new thing.
And it’s kind of weird that they haven’t done that recently, but maybe there’s not, I don’t know, maybe there’s not as much interest as you would think.
Maybe they haven’t needed it, right?
We’re launching a thing, Dustoff Pilotwings, now we’re good.
We’ve got Zelda this time.
Yeah, right, and too, like, hey, did you want to see the Switch 2?
[08:00]
Well, it’s kind of like the Switch 1, so I don’t know what we have to show you.
Like, you know, there’s some stuff, but, you know, we’ll let Star Fox and other games like that, you know, do the heavy lifting this time.
Yeah, yeah, that’s fair.
I mean, the franchise doesn’t have the cachet as an IP, but it does have the ability to be a good showcase.
But yeah, like you said, I think we’ll get into that with the 64-point inspection.
So if you’re on board, do you want to kick it off and start that process now?
You know what?
I think it’s time for the 64-point inspection.
This is a carefully crafted evaluation designed to judge every Nintendo 64 game through a series of 10 tests.
[08:30]
For each test, we’ll present the evidence, make our case, and put it to a vote.
If the game passes the test, it earns 10 points.
If it fails, it earns none.
And if our opinions are split, then it’s awarded 5 points.
Any game that earns 64 or more points passes the inspection and receives our coveted certified 64 seal of approval.
With that out of the way, let’s start inspecting.
Okay, test number one, the memory pack test.
[09:00]
I’m sure there was something.
Ah, yeah, now I remember.
Is this game still remembered today, or has it faded into obscurity?
Would the average gamer recognize it in 2026?
You want to start this one off?
What’s your thoughts here as far as the memory pack on this?
I think for the most part, it’s going to be like you said,
that you didn’t even realize when this one was out that there had been a previous title.
And I think now it has been a number of years since this came out.
[09:30]
And I don’t think many people probably remember this.
When you think Nintendo, you think Mario, you think Zelda, you think Pokemon.
If you’re really in the weeds, you think Fire Emblem and some of these other ones that I’m not quite as familiar with.
But I don’t know that Pilotwings is very high on most people’s list.
Yeah, no, it really, it definitely not.
As far as an IP for Nintendo, definitely not.
But as far as this specific release and this game, it does get included in the conversation when you’re talking about the Nintendo 64.
[10:00]
And I think largely because of its position when it came out with the console itself right at the beginning.
But the game itself, it has, the game doesn’t really have a plot or an antagonist or a protagonist.
It’s not forgotten as a game, but the content of the game is kind of forgotten.
So, yeah, I don’t really know how I would quantify that as far as voting on this one.
[10:30]
Yeah, that’s, that’s an interesting way of putting it because you’re right.
There is not, it’s, it’s me against me, you know, it’s, it’s just kind of not even that.
It’s you against just a set.
The clock.
Yeah, it’s, it’s just a set, set of conditions.
Can you land without it being a crash?
Can you get there in a decent amount of time?
And if you can do that, if you’ve gotten really good at piloting around, you, you’re good at it.
And that’s basically the end of it.
So it is sort of in terms of a game, once you’ve gotten it figured out, there’s not really a whole lot that changes.
[11:00]
So it is, I would say not unusual, maybe that people don’t remember it because you don’t have those.
Man, I was up against this really tough, you know, level or boss battle and I beat it and it still sticks with me how cool that was.
It’s kind of like, yeah, man, I got really good with the rocket belt.
So, you know, that’s cool.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What was the biggest challenge you had?
I had a hard time landing, so I had to do it again.
Yeah.
You know, that’s kind of, I got a little bit better at it.
So, yeah, as far as this game, is it still remembered today?
[11:30]
Yes.
Is the content of the game remembered today?
No.
So, where would, what’s your vote on this one?
I think since the wording of the category is more, is it remembered today?
I think largely no.
I think you made a good point.
If you’re thinking about specifically impressive Nintendo 64 games, maybe it comes up.
But if it’s just, hey, split decision or, you know, split second, make your choice.
[12:00]
What’s some of your favorite games that you’ve ever played?
This is probably not coming up for most people.
Yeah, I’d agree with you there.
So, I’m thinking maybe not.
I’m thinking maybe a no.
Okay.
Okay.
I was thinking of going yes just to balance it out so then we could split it.
But I think, I think you’re right.
I’m going to have to vote no on this one as well.
I swayed you.
Okay.
So, so, so far, 0 for 1.
But let’s, let’s keep going.
There’s still plenty of time.
All right.
Test number two, the Rumble Pack test.
This is the Rumble Pack.
[12:30]
The coolest cinematic gaming experience there is.
Does this game really take advantage of what made the Nintendo 64 unique?
Four-player, multiplayer, analog controls, accessories, and other signature Nintendo 64 features.
I’ll jump in on this one to start.
This game came out before most of the accessories did.
So, no Rumble Pack or Expansion Pack capabilities.
It didn’t require a memory pack, which is a good thing.
[13:00]
But it doesn’t have any sort of features that are enhanced by that.
It does utilize the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo 64.
Like we said, it was more of a showcase.
But I think that might apply in later tests more than talking about unique Nintendo 64 features.
So, right off the bat, I’m going to just come out and say that I think this one is an unfortunate fail.
Yeah, I think I’m going to have to agree more than likely on this one.
I think you’re totally right.
It’s almost a product of timing more than anything that had it come out later.
[13:30]
And at that point, if the Rumble Pack were on the horizon, maybe it would have made more sense to have that factored in.
But it didn’t exist at that point.
Expansion Pack was not for some time later as well.
So, it may have benefited from those things in a different timeline, but those things weren’t there.
So, it’s to its benefit that it didn’t need them necessarily, but it also probably could have benefited from them.
And so, yeah, I think just a product of being such an early release title.
[14:00]
Analog control, great.
3D environments and using some of the console’s power, great.
But I think overall, it’s not a tremendous showcase of what the N64 ultimately could do.
Yeah, looking back now, which is what we’re doing, I agree entirely.
It just doesn’t check a lot of those boxes.
And some of those boxes weren’t there to check at the time.
But with the benefit of hindsight, I think it’s unfortunately not able to do that.
This is one of the rare boxes where, you know, down the side of the old school Nintendo 64 cardboard boxes,
[14:30]
it has that red kind of right column that we kind of mimic in our album art for this podcast.
Yeah.
It’s one of the very few that straight up has nothing in it.
Yeah, that’s true.
There’s normally an icon for multiplayer.
Oh, this game doesn’t even have multiplayer.
Like, that’s pretty crazy.
So, that’s actually probably one of the biggest strikes against it,
considering that this was supposed to be a console showcase at the time for launch.
And Mario wasn’t a multiplayer game.
You’d think that the other one should have had some multiplayer going for it.
[15:00]
But that’s true.
Actually, not to overly foreshadow, but thinking about these first couple of categories,
it may be actually surprising how Mario fares on some of that, too,
because it also didn’t have Rumble Pak support.
But that’s for another episode.
Yeah, when you’ve got four controllers ports on the front of this thing,
and there isn’t a game that gives you a reason to use those four controller ports.
Yeah, that’s an unusual start.
All right.
So, we’re talking 0 and 2.
Moving on to test number 3, the expansion pack test.
That is one powerful piece of machinery.
[15:30]
Does this game deserve an expansion, sequel, remake, or modern successor?
Was there enough here to justify a future beyond the original cartridge?
Do you want to take this one?
Yeah, I think with this one, as we mentioned before,
it is something that Nintendo has used to showcase new hardware.
So, it did ultimately get a sequel.
It itself was a sequel, in a way, to the Super Nintendo release.
But it did, in 2011, I believe it was, was a launch title for the 3DS.
[16:00]
Which showcased the glasses-free 3D and some of the other features of that hardware.
And so, that is cool.
It does have a sequel, though it has not gotten a whole lot of traction since that.
That was, you know, at this point, many years ago.
So, it’s, it has gotten one.
So, to that extent, that’s probably a pass.
Because it has earned a sequel.
And if it got another sequel, I don’t know that I would be upset that it did.
I think it would be cool if it did.
But, yeah, I mean, I think to this point it has.
So, there’s not a lot of reasons to say that it wouldn’t be worthy of one.
[16:30]
Because it’s already proven itself to be worthy.
It’s one of those franchises that I think is very adaptable to whatever the hardware is that it needs to be put out on.
And that’s probably why they lean on it for launch fodder.
Because, let’s say they’ve got some new VR console that comes out a couple of years from now.
I can see VR being applied to Pilotwings rather soundly.
What if they’ve got some new gesture control on the Switch 3 or whatever it might be?
I can see this also being a nice showcase for that.
[17:00]
So, I think it’s very, very possible that this is not the last we hear of Pilotwings.
But, you know, I could also see it being a long wait until we hear more.
I mean, it’s been a long wait since the last one, like you said.
So, yeah.
I think even, like you were mentioning earlier, I had said, what if it was on the Switch 2?
And to some extent, though, we have motion controls.
There is, the Switch 2 now has the mouse control where you can take the Joy-Con off.
Now, there’s probably some world where those features could be showcased in a way.
[17:30]
And I don’t think I’d be against that at all.
I think I’d actually be sort of eager to jump in and play with some of those things.
So, it’s almost interesting that they have it.
Because we do have a couple of, between detachable Joy-Cons and some of those other features,
it actually wouldn’t be terrible.
And, of course, now we’ve got more powerful hardware.
We’ve got online.
You could go flying with your friends.
So, Nintendo, if you’re listening, maybe think about it.
Yeah.
Bring it back.
Bring it back.
I mean, for the Switch 2, I think there was a launch console game that was, I can’t remember
what it was called, but you were basically a little tiny person walking around a giant
[18:00]
Switch 2 and you learned about the battery capacity by talking to a battery or whatever
it was.
That should have been Pilotwings.
Should have been Pilotwings.
Controversial take?
I think not.
The Welcome Showcase or something like that?
I got it.
I picked it up because it was like $10 or whatever.
And it was cool.
It was interesting enough.
It’s something that is distinctly Nintendo.
It’s something that no other company could get away with.
What if it was just a museum showcase piece around this thing that you’re holding in your
hands?
I think anyone else did that, it would be corny.
[18:30]
But when Nintendo does it, it’s endearing in a way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And still charge you for it as well.
The fact that that wasn’t free blew my mind at the time.
Yeah, that’s true.
All right.
So, where are we sitting score-wise?
That is…
We are one for three right now.
We’re sitting at 10 points.
Okay.
Okay.
Test number four.
The barrel roll test.
Do a barrel roll.
Impressive, Star Fox.
How impressive was the game for its time?
Did it push the boundaries of technology, gameplay, graphics, scale, or innovation?
So, the game does look simple today, but it’s pretty important to remember that for the
[19:00]
time, this game, especially what was running under the hood, was very impressive.
For 1996, this game was pretty much cutting-edge rendering techniques for a home console.
And that’s why they put this thing out at launch, right?
They wanted to showcase what this hardware can do visually.
And I think that, in and of itself, is very impressive.
They were using things like mip mapping, Z-buffering, texture filtering, anti-aliasing.
[19:30]
It created a really nice, seamless, large feeling, well, seemingly large environments.
By today’s game map standards, these things are postage stamps.
But these big, seamless landscapes that they had on these different islands really did feel
like massive experiences.
And it was running smoothly on the Nintendo 64.
Again, modern-day lenses, very different story.
But for the time, how impressive was this game for the time?
Which is how we word that question.
[20:00]
I think this has to be a pass for me.
Yeah, I think I’m going to agree with that.
I think you’re totally right.
That for the time, this was, and especially not being disc-based, because Nintendo went
cartridge-based, that once you started, you were in.
And so there was very minimal load times.
It started up, and then you just took off.
And you could fly where you wanted to, anywhere around the island or whatever of the worlds that
you happened to be at that point testing within.
And so you were able to go wherever, and everything looked great.
[20:30]
There was no loading.
There was no stuttering.
I think it was pretty impressive.
And some of that comes from the fact that the developer previously had worked even with
Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
They had worked on legitimate flight simulators for commercial pilots and military pilots.
They really knew what they were doing as far as making something that had a good feel for control.
Yeah, no, agreed.
Agreed.
And that’s a pretty cool element as well, for someone that’s jumping in and wanting
[21:00]
to play this game, to know that it’s got that credibility and pedigree to the people
making it.
That’s impressive.
That’s cool.
It’s fun to be a part of that.
So, yep.
I agree.
Absolutely.
All right, so we’re up to 20 points now?
Nice.
Yeah, we’re two for four.
Okay.
Staging a comeback, Pilotwings.
Let’s see how they do on test number five, the joystick gymnastics test.
Yeah.
How well does this game play today?
Are the controls and cameras still enjoyable, or are they working against the player?
[21:30]
I’m just going to jump in right now and say that landing in this game sucks.
The only saving grace that this game has in a modern day environment, besides just frustrating
a current player, is that on the Switch, if you’re playing it on that, you can rewind
and try your botched landing over and over again instead of having to restart each mission
and fly to all the points over and over again.
Okay, cheater.
Okay.
Yeah, yeah, basically.
But by modern standards, playing this game today, it’s just annoying.
[22:00]
And honestly, that was kind of the point of the game back in the day, right?
It was figuring out how to master the skill set, understand the mechanics of the system,
whether you’re using the jetpack or the glider or the airplane, whatever it might be,
and then becoming good at that, and then being able to pull off real-world style skill challenges.
And it’s just like if you’re a hang glider in real life or you’re a pilot in real life,
it’s not easy to land a plane, and it’s good when you can do it.
[22:30]
Yeah, ideally, yeah.
Yeah, preferably.
I mean, if you do land a plane, if I was a pilot and I landed a plane, I would make sure
to make the ah noise that they do when you fail in this game, simply just for the fun.
But it just, I get why the game controls the way it does, and I still hate it.
I don’t, I just, I can’t get behind it now as someone who is collecting these games and
[23:00]
going back and playing them and trying my very best to be as completionist with them
all as possible, get all of those challenges and move through this game.
You know, it’s segmented really easily.
You just pick up, do a challenge, break a record, get the medal, move on.
Maybe you don’t get the medal that time.
Try again later.
It’s really easy to do.
I am having a hard time at the later missions caring enough to do it because it’s just frustrating,
and it’s all on the controls.
The camera’s pretty good.
I’ll give the camera props, but just, it’s too fiddly.
[23:30]
It’s too frustrating.
I have to, I have to.
It is too, because there is such a sort of limited number of things that you can do.
If you’re not great at the rocket belt, you’re going to continue to not be great at the rocket
belt.
It doesn’t matter which level it is.
It doesn’t matter which challenge it is.
Kind of like when we talked about 1080, I couldn’t do a 1080 no matter what.
It didn’t matter what the level was.
I had trouble with it.
So I was never going to be great at that.
It’s kind of the same thing here.
If you’re bad at hang gliding, you’re not going to get better at hang gliding unless you
[24:00]
do it a ton, and you probably don’t want to.
So I am though, this is going to be, I think our first time that we’re going to differ.
I’m going to go ahead and I’m going to pass it on, on joystick gymnastics.
And I think it’s because like you said, the point was to get good at flying and try to
be, you know, an effective pilot.
And as I went back and played it some over the last couple of weeks in preparation for
this, I noticed that it had sort of that, that pedigree of, of flight simulator.
[24:30]
There’s a mess, there’s a mission where you have to immediately take off with the hang
glider.
And then you shoot like directly straight down and go through a bunch of rings over a waterfall.
And you have to like really nail it because if you’re too late, you miss every single ring
because you’re too high.
So you have to like get your speed really kind of dial it in to get sharp enough turn, but
then be able to pull out of that.
And I thought that was pretty cool.
And it took me a million tries and I kind of started to get there.
[25:00]
And so I was like, you know what, this is, it actually sucked me in, in enough of a way
that I wanted to try it a couple more times.
So I’m going to say that though the controls are challenging, I think that the controls were
effective.
So I think I am going to give it a light pass on this one.
So I think we might be split here.
Awesome.
Okay.
I, uh, I think that’s a respectable, uh, take and I’m, I’m, it’s nice to see that we’re
able to kind of get a little variation in, in, in our thoughts on this one too.
So yeah.
Awesome.
All right.
Let’s move forward onto the next category, which is test number six, the bum to the base
[25:30]
test.
How good is this game’s audio?
Does it have memorable music, iconic sound effects, or the kind of soundtrack that sticks
with you long after you’ve put the controller down?
I think you’ve already kind of said, you mentioned landing a plane and doing the, the scream bailout
noise.
Like you’ve crashed.
I think there’s, there’s something to that, that it’s, that it’s memorable to an extent.
And I sound more like Gruntilda when I do that impression.
I mean, they’re both on the same platform.
[26:00]
It just means that you’re, you know, you could fit into multiple game situations, but the,
I, I do kind of like it.
I think it’s got some pretty good music.
I know that the Birdman music is super, super relaxing.
It’s kind of just a really nice sort of just vibe to kind of fly over stuff.
Yeah, it’s chill.
I will say that I looked up the actual soundtrack and there’s the Rocket Belt theme sounds incredibly
similar to the song Funky Duck by Wolfpack.
If you’ve never heard it, they’re kind of like a funk.
[26:30]
You’re just making up words right now.
I know that’s a really, really bizarre combination of words, Wolfpack and Funky Duck, but they’re
sort of like a funk sort of groove, jazzy type offshoot band, but they have a song called
Funky Duck and it sounds suspiciously like Funky Duck and Funky Duck is pretty good.
So I’m going to, one more time, Funky Duck, since I’ve said it like 15 times, I am going
to say that I think that that alone makes it a pretty impressive soundtrack because it’s
just a really, just, it’s got an awesome groove.
[27:00]
And so I think that, and on top of that, we’ve got a couple dozen more tracks.
I think there’s a lot here to enjoy.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Though there are 30 tracks on the official release.
I think there’s 31 for the total game.
I’m seeing mixed numbers when I look it up.
But interestingly enough, of all of those tracks, the total runtime is only 45 minutes.
So this is a good example of intelligently designed music that’s loopable.
This is a cool feature actually of the Switch Music app.
[27:30]
This is a really nice chill track, soundtrack to pop on.
And I think that this is a testament to the quality of the music and the way that it’s
been designed.
So I would agree with you on that one and I would vote to pass this one as well.
Awesome.
That’s a good point too, about the making wise usage of, of limited cart space that
making short pieces that can loop seamlessly, but they’re enjoyable enough that they don’t
get old.
Cause sometimes if you’re, especially if you’re working on something frustrating, hearing it
[28:00]
over and over, it kind of bothers you more than it, it becomes enjoyable at a point.
And I think that it’s a, like you said, it’s a really good from a technical standpoint to
be able to put that many tracks in there.
It kind of expands to a good bit of music though.
It’s relatively small pieces.
Agreed.
All right.
So what are we looking at right now?
Score wise.
That puts us at 35 points, 35 points going into, I believe it is test number seven.
Yes, it is.
[28:30]
All right.
Test number seven, the smash invite test.
Will this battler live up to expectations?
Does this game have characters, worlds, music, or ideas worthy of a place in smash brothers?
Um, so actually this is an interesting tidbit here.
One of the game’s pilots, uh, his name’s Lark, isn’t actually a new character for this
game.
He’s actually the Nintendo power mascot, Nestor, um, stolen his model and just given a new name.
Um, he first appeared, uh, in Nintendo power back in the eighties, um, before he got his
[29:00]
own game, uh, Nestor’s funky bowling.
Uh, so Lark is sort of a, uh, a hidden throwback character with a little bit more Nintendo pedigree
to him.
And, um, that being said, I, uh, I can say that Nestor slash Lark is the kind of character
that I would offer up as a, as a, uh, a nod for a smash brothers, uh, invite.
So I don’t know if, uh, I can really say yes on this one.
Um, there are elements of this game that could contribute to smash.
[29:30]
And to be honest with you, I, I haven’t looked it up, but it’s probably in there in some
capacity, as far as some of the music, maybe a background stage or something of that nature.
But on, on a, on a face value, if you ask me, should this game have anything in smash?
I, if it was up to me, I’d say no, I would fail.
Yeah, I believe you are correct.
I think there is some music from pilot wings in smash ultimate.
I believe I did see that.
I do have a list of the characters here just to sort of reinforce how probably not worthy they
[30:00]
are of being in here.
I was hoping you bring this up.
Yeah.
So we’ve got, and I do think one, one thing to their credit that I thought was cool was
that there are different sizes of characters.
So there are some that are like heavier and more affected by the wind, some that are stronger.
And so it can affect your control.
So credit to them for a little bit of variance of gameplay there, but we have six characters
in total.
Uh, we have Lark who is just, just mentioned small says he’s very courageous.
He moves fast, but he’s affected by the wind because he is relatively small.
[30:30]
We’ve got Kiwi.
Uh, these are, these are lifted from the instruction.
These are directly from the manual.
These are part of the cannon lore.
Uh, we’ve got Kiwi who is not afraid to get her hands dirty, but she is small like Lark.
And so easily affected by wind goose, which shout out to top gun goose is one cool pilot,
a self-proclaimed expert.
There’s not a vehicle he says he can’t handle.
So I guess he’s a little more well-rounded.
We have Ibis.
They’re all interestingly also named after birds.
[31:00]
Ibis is small and calm, sometimes makes mistakes because she gets too confident.
Hawk, who is a larger guy looks tough, but he’s a pussycat.
It’s an interesting choice of words, Nintendo.
He is not very fast because of his size, but he’s also not affected by the wind.
And then Robin, who in Japan was called Hooter, which is also another bold choice.
Uh, so they, they, they chose to go, they left pussycat in the manual, but they chose
to go with, they chose to lift Hooter and change it to Robin.
[31:30]
And you got to have some restraint.
It’s a different time.
They referred to Robin as one of the prettiest pilots around and said that nothing bothers
Robin.
Like Hawk, wind does not affect her.
I think we should give her some credit for her skill, not just her looks, Nintendo.
Okay.
But, uh, I think most of these.
How afraid to get her hands dirty is she?
You know, is she as dirty handed as Kiwi or as cool as Goose?
I don’t know, but she’s apparently pretty.
She looks great.
But yeah, I think that sort of shows just reading through that fairly uninspiring list
[32:00]
that there’s probably not a lot here.
And I guess maybe if there were the main reason you would want them in smash is to watch someone
else beat them up because they are, because they’re just take this Hooter and or Robin.
Yeah.
They’re just not very exciting characters.
So Lark, why don’t you stand here while someone punches you?
So I think I’m going to probably fail it too.
Yeah.
That’s a fail.
All right.
So that brings us to a total of 35 still.
[32:30]
And we’ve got three tests to go.
Three tests to go.
Not looking good.
Pilot wings.
All right.
Test number eight, the 101% test.
Oh, they are running up the score.
Is the game worth fully completing?
Are there extra challenges, collectibles and secrets that are worth the effort?
What’s your thought on this one?
Did you ever play this one through to completion or how far did you get with this one before
you threw in the towel?
If you did, I have, I think hit the majority of things.
And of course, like you said earlier, neither of us owned it.
So I believe I rented it.
[33:00]
It did have saves on the cartridge.
So I probably, maybe if I didn’t get through it, someone who would, you know, left their
save over at movie gallery or blockbuster or whatever at the time, I was probably able
to pick something up and see things that I hadn’t reached.
I do think there are some cool things here as far as not only the hang glider and the gyrocopter
and the rocket belt.
I think eventually you get to do skydiving.
I think there’s like a human cannonball element, which I guess Mario did too.
So that was a theme early on in the N64 shooting people out of cannons.
[33:30]
It had the bird man.
So like there were some things to do, but I think once you unlock them, you had unlocked
them.
I don’t know that there was a lot of real incentive where you’re like, I have to do
this.
I have to see this.
Yeah, I would agree with you there.
And that was one of the criticisms of the game had, but there just wasn’t enough in the
total package to justify a full game in many people’s eyes.
I would argue that there is, but as far as a drive to give you a reason to complete it
[34:00]
all, besides wanting to get good and master these frustrating techniques, there really wasn’t
much to drive you to completion.
Now, there were what I would consider some really cool Easter eggs to this game.
But so exploring the whole island when you loaded up a new island was worth doing.
And that was a fun experience.
Not necessarily completing all of the tasks or breaking all of the records, but seeing
it all was something that I think the game did a good job of breadcrumb trailing you there
[34:30]
with interesting iconography and reasons to go around, particularly the little states
level that was basically a miniature United States and it had different landmarks.
And it was really cool to get to fly around that and see the interpretations of it.
And there was the Mount Rushmore where Mario’s face was on there.
Instead of one of the presidents, I think he replaced Washington.
I can’t remember.
Yeah, I think it’s Washington.
[35:00]
I want to say it’s Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln.
And I believe Mario took George Washington’s spot.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I couldn’t remember which one he pinched the spot for.
But one of the things was, is with the cannonball, I think you could do it with other challenges
as well.
But the cannonball was the main one.
If you fire your character right into the center of Mario’s nose on Mount Rushmore, he
would explode and reveal a Wario face, which I thought was pretty cool because Wario was
[35:30]
kind of hitting his stride then.
And he was, he just made it, well, he was coming to, was it Mario Kart later that year
and, or next year.
So Wario was the, was the coolness.
So the fact that he was in there as a little Easter egg, I remember that was cool.
And I was really excited about doing that.
But besides flying around the levels, seeing all of the stuff and Wario-ing up some blasphemous
mountains, that was, that was about it.
So yeah, I think I’m going to have to vote no on this one.
[36:00]
I think too, that’s something that like, if you know that it doesn’t take long to reveal
that, like you can hop on the gyrocopter, you fly for about 30, 40 seconds, shoot a
couple of missiles at the mountain and you’ve seen it.
So like, if you know, it’s there, it’s not like there’s this big grind and this big payoff.
It’s very simple to accomplish.
And once you’ve seen it, you go cool.
And that’s about it.
So though there is stuff in there, I don’t think that the grind is really worth necessarily
the satisfaction that you get out of it.
So I’m going to agree.
It’s, it’s probably going to have to be a fail.
[36:30]
All right.
Speaking of Wario, test number nine, Wario’s Wallet.
Oh my God.
Is this game worth the price of admission today?
If you are spending modern collector money, are you getting your money’s worth?
So once again, we’re going over to pricecharting.com here.
The loose price for this on average, you’re looking at a 21.64.
Nice on the 64.
That’s going to be the equivalent of the 69.
Nice.
Whenever we get 64, I think we have to do nice on this.
[37:00]
Nice.
So prestigious.
I’m on board.
And so yeah, 21.64 for the loose price and the box and manual complete, you’re looking
at about 50.
So for a clean eBay cart find, the kind that I’m looking for from my collection, you’re
about 30 to 35 bucks USD.
Um, and I will add that this game is available on the Switch expansion pack service and in
today’s environment.
That is arguably the better way to play this game because of the rewind features and things
[37:30]
like rumble support, which wasn’t in the original release.
Um, so 30 to 35 bucks, if you want a copy that isn’t beat up, um, I think that’s a little
steep for the game that you’re getting here.
Um, I don’t think that the name of the game is of a higher enough pedigree to demand space
on a shelf.
If you’re trying to do a limited, let’s say, I only want the top 20 and 64 games.
I don’t think it would make that cut.
[38:00]
And I don’t think at this price, it’s a compelling argument.
It’s worth having, in my opinion, I’m happy to have it in the collection, um, especially
because it was a launch title.
So it’s kind of got some legacy, uh, on that front, but, um, for 30 to 35 bucks, I think
I’m going to have to vote, um, the, for the average collector or the average person looking
at starting to build a Nintendo 64 collection, I’d have to vote no on this one.
Yeah.
And I think that’s a smart way of looking at it.
Like you said, there’s a, maybe not superior version of it, but a version that gives you
[38:30]
a little bit more flexibility around your ability to pass and fail certain challenges.
It also is kind of interesting with this game, having sold over a million copies, you would
think that there would be not necessarily a flood on the market because people mistreat
these things and throw them away and whatever.
But you would think that that’s a pretty decent sales number, that it’s not something that
you’re looking for.
There’s just trillions of them out there and they’re 10 bucks.
Like, you know, cause sometimes that’s the case.
[39:00]
It seems like a million is a pretty good number that it feels like it’s higher than I would
expect for the price.
I think I agree.
And with it being available on, on the switch expansion pack for the price of what you could
pay for this game, you could pay for that for like almost a year and you’re good.
You can play that along with a number of other games, including in 64 games.
And if you’re not really seeking out original hardware, original experience, there’s probably
other ways you could spend that money and still get this experience.
[39:30]
So I think I would probably also vote against it.
Yeah.
I would, I would just add, like, if you’re trying to build a collection, this game’s not
going anywhere.
Get to it eventually.
But there are other things that I think need to jump in line before it.
I think that’s, that’s, that’s mostly how I look at it.
So still a fail for me, but, um, not one that I, I say with, with enthusiasm.
Yeah.
All right.
So that brings us to still 35.
So not looking great.
We’ll see how this final score shakes out, but we are at 35 with one test to go.
[40:00]
All right.
Test number 10, the nostalgia goggles test.
Does this game genuinely hold up today or is its reputation being carried by nostalgia?
I can start off, uh, for this one, I think.
So I do not think this game is carried by nostalgia.
I, I very much don’t think anyone is particularly nostalgic for this game.
[40:30]
I think people could be nostalgic for scenarios where this game was featured, like the test
center, um, Nintendo 64s that were set up in Walmarts and Toys R Uses and things like
that.
And the fondness for what was buying and purchasing and previewing and getting excited about a
new console back in the day.
But, um, this game itself, I do not think has a nostalgic, uh, windfall going for it.
Um, but, uh, the game is good and it is of quality.
[41:00]
Um, so weirdly, I do think that this passes this category because it does not rely on nostalgia
because it doesn’t have any.
Yeah, that’s fair.
So, so I think I’m going to, I’m going to vote, I’m going to vote pass on this one for,
for the final round.
Yeah.
I think you make a good point there that this is, there, there is a certain segment of
people who probably do have some nostalgia.
If it was the first game you got or one of the first games you got because you got an N64
[41:30]
early in its life cycle, maybe you like it because it’s sort of a formative memory as
far as that time period goes.
And if you’re a flight sim enthusiast, maybe you like it because of that.
But I think you’re, you’re average everyday person who just likes to play games for sake
of playing games.
I don’t know that this one sticks out.
So I think you’re right that nostalgia isn’t necessarily what is propping it up, but it
is well-made.
It controls pretty well.
It’s got decent music.
It looks pretty good.
So I think there are some definitely redeeming qualities, even if you were memories of it
[42:00]
from, you know, as a kid or depending on your age before you were born, uh, that look experiencing
it in that way.
It’s not something that you’re, you know, there’s people who weren’t born when Ocarina
came out, but they’ve heard so much about it that there is an enthusiasm around that
game for them.
They’re not hearing a lot about this game.
So if they’re looking at it, it’s out of curiosity.
It’s not out of someone else’s recommendation most of the time.
So I think, I think you’re right.
I think it’s a good game.
I think I would pass it because I don’t think that necessarily just people’s fond memories
[42:30]
are what’s keeping it afloat.
All right.
So with that all tallied up, what is the rundown?
What’s the final for pilot wing 64?
That is going to give us a total of 45.
You almost had it 45 out of a hundred.
So not real close, but not awful.
It could have been worse, but, uh, it looks like it’s high points were expansion pack barrel
[43:00]
roll test went well, bummed to the base.
It was good as far as music goes.
And it passed not because of nostalgia, but in spite of nostalgia, the fact that there wasn’t
very much for it.
So some strong points in there, uh, not a total success, but not bad, not a bad game.
With that being said, um, I think there’s still quite a bit that can be learned from
this game.
So I’d like to launch into our Lobo learning section now.
So, uh, in this segment, uh, we take a look at today’s game through the eyes of an indie
[43:30]
developer.
That’s me, um, or an aspiring indie developer, I should say.
Um, see what lessons can we learn from it decades later?
What ideas are worth borrowing?
What mistakes should we avoid?
What made this game work?
And how might those same principles apply to a modern day game in development?
So, uh, Lobo learnings is brought to you by Lobo Destroyo, which is our own Nintendo 64
inspired 3d platforming adventure that’s currently in development.
If you’re enjoying this show and you’d like to follow our own game development journey,
[44:00]
we’d love to have you along.
You can learn all about Lobo Destroyo, join our discord community, find links and all of
that, uh, to our socials and whatnot over at LoboDestroyo.com.
That’s L-O-B-O-D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-O.com.
And, uh, yeah, you can find that link in the show notes.
So, um, yeah, it’d be awesome to, uh, get a couple extra likes and follows if, uh, you
guys are interested in that and would be much appreciated.
So, uh, yeah, looking at this game with a, uh, amateur developer hat on, um, what can
[44:30]
we learn from today’s cartridge?
Uh, we already touched on it in the, uh, few categories that this game did score points.
I think it scored well for a good reason, um, that this game does a lot or did a lot with
a little.
And by that, I mean, it shows scope control.
It was very targeted in what it wanted to do and what it wanted to accomplish.
And it accomplished those things rather well, you know, whether or not they are something
that I’m compelled to jump in and recommend someone play today.
[45:00]
That’s, that’s a little bit different, but as far as when this game was being made,
the focus was on the concept and the mechanics and it reuses and combines elements and scenes
and levels and characters to make a full experience out of fewer elements.
And that’s something that is, uh, definitely admirable, admirable, um, for, uh, a developer
to take into account that restraint, there were only six vehicle types, you know, only three
of them available at launch.
So we didn’t even let people do half of your game until they played a good chunk of it.
[45:30]
Um, it was just a handful of levels, but they felt vast and special and they were peppered
out and, and, and doled out at a pace where you didn’t feel like you were just repeating
the same things.
And they made modifications to the challenges.
So it didn’t feel like you were using the same spaces over and over again.
There were minimal objectives, but the combinations of levels and objectives and tools and, and,
um, the, the different mechanics made it seem like a, a bigger experience than it was.
[46:00]
A lot of people criticized it for not being quite as big as say its sister title, Mario,
but I think that’s a balancing act.
And I think that while criticized at the time for it, uh, my opinion of that has aged rather
well, um, over time and, uh, whether or not it pulled it off perfectly is debatable, but I think
the design intent is a lesson that any developer can learn from regardless of the game that
you’re making.
So that would be my, my takeaway from a logo learning perspective on this game.
[46:30]
Yeah.
I think that’s really a great, uh, set of observations there because you’re totally
right that it had six vehicle types, but you didn’t get to see them at first.
So once you got your skills sort of started to improve, you started to get access to those,
but I said there were only, I think something like three or four total islands.
But the fact that when you were skydiving, you would land in a different spot than where
you would start when you were hang gliding.
And if you were gyro coptering, you would take off from a certain place, but you would
[47:00]
rocket belt on the other side.
So it was just the way of twisting and turning and manipulating the island.
You were still on the same landscape, but it felt like you were doing something different.
And I thought that was really smart.
And like you said, thinking through an older game developer, I myself, not a developer, if
only, uh, if I could figure out anything that make me feel smarter than I would try that.
But you do see games like that now that are incredibly simple on their face, but they have
incredibly deep gameplay loops like Bellatro, where it’s literally a deck of cards and you
[47:30]
add a bunch of jokers and stuff.
The gameplay loop is incredibly straightforward and simplistic, but you can sit there and
play it for hundreds of hours because it’s addictive and it’s just moving pieces around
in a slightly different order, but the pieces are almost always the same and it’s an incredible
game.
So I think that’s a really, really insightful way of looking at it that maybe most people
wouldn’t necessarily have that resonate with them in that way.
And we did touch on it when we were talking about the music and the bump to the bass test
[48:00]
as well.
The fact that the music was designed, it was chill, everybody likes it, but it’s actually
relatively short considering you’re talking 30 tracks.
Um, and, uh, yeah, the, the loop ability and the intelligent design of how things were
constructed, it carried over to the audio as well as the gameplay.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
I actually, uh, found a listing of the actual tracks and I think the longest one is there’s
one about five minutes.
The Birdman one is about seven minutes because you will spend a lot of time doing that actual
[48:30]
action.
And so it makes sense for it to kind of take up some space, but then a lot of the other
ones are just very quick little hits.
Like you landed and it went well, it’s just a quick sting that’s five seconds long, but
a lot of the other things, even still the longest ones are only a couple of minutes.
And so it does a really good job of taking an extremely limited amount of space because
the visuals took up so much of it and still really using that in a really effective way.
Bravo Shigeru since he produced it.
[49:00]
Oh, okay.
I was like, what?
Yeah.
He had probably nothing to do with the music, but maybe he listened to it and was like,
this is pretty good, but I, he was the only person I can think of by name who was involved.
So Miyamoto, congratulations.
All right.
Well, on that note, I think it’s time to, uh, wrap up this episode and call it a day.
Um, so yeah, thanks for listening to this one and, um, yeah, Adam, take it away.
The cartridge archive was created by Jamie guy and is produced and hosted by Jamie guy and
Adam Jones.
Our music is by the mysterious break master cylinder.
[49:30]
Visit the cartridge archive.com for more information or join our discord.
You can find links to both of those at tap to add.me slash TCA pod.
That’s tap the number to add.me slash TCA pod.
You’ll find that and all of our other links in the show notes, more episodes of the cartridge
archive are available wherever you get your podcast.
And as always, thanks for listening.