My roommate has an N64. Oddly enough given the platformer fan I am, I'd never played Conker's Bad Fur Day, so I've been rectifying that oversight. It's definitely a classic in the platform genre, for its straightforward jump-based play, cute characters, and variety of worlds. It is set firmly in the 64-bit era, given its 3D controls, humorous cut scenes, self-references to itself and the genre, lack of load times, and a modern sensibility that doesn't quite cross into the complete unabashedness of the Xbox remake's web site.
By "modern sensibility" I mean themes like greed, sex, and substance abuse are present in the N64 game, but they don't feel gratuitous, tempered by the presence of adult relationships, a British humor and sensibility of language, and, even at the extreme where the game lives, an inability to use the word "fuck." As Matt Casamassina wrote for IGN in 2001:
The original Twelve Tales Conker 64 was previewed at E3 so many years ago that we've lost track, but the finished title has proven vastly different and worth the wait. Not only is it quite possibly the most hilarious title ever created, but the selection of crude jokes, over-the-top violence and sexual content featured is only one-upped by the game's remarkably deep, well-paced level design, tightly knitted control mechanics, beautiful graphics and amazing sound quality.
Actually playing the game is a kick back to the past. While it is an N64 game, the camera is blissfully less floaty than in Mario 64. You can tell Conker came much later. In some places, such as scaling the inside of a stone tower, the camera locks so you can't control it; while that can get annoying if you want to zoom the camera in for finer control, it prevents the camera from getting stuck in the wall, and allows effects like bats diving for you from out of frame. You could ruin that with free reign of the camera.
After having played such beautifully rendered Gamecube games like Super Mario Sunshine, the N64 graphics are kind of a kick in the head. I'm not sure why they have the rain outside the pub as the very first scene you see of the game, right before the main menu, when it slows the N64 down so much. Now it just says, "Wow, they were trying to do some really cool things on really sad hardware." That's by today's standards of course, as the IGN article shows:
At the risk of sounding cliche, the graphic look of the title can best be described with one word -- wow! Lush, detailed 3D worlds, cute character designs, fantastic texture work and top lighting effects....
The N64 sits under the TV on a shelf above the Gamecube, so it's funny to see two sleek black boxes and know the graphics are a generation better on the one with the ATI badge on the front. Things have changed since a company could build the best of breed gaming system all by itself. (Meanwhile pictures of the Xbox version look more splendiferous, with fuzzy fur at the expense of looking less cartoony.)
While we see many new games for Nintendo boxes like the Metroid FPSes, Killer 7, rhythm games, and Nintendogs, don't forget the original Nintendo game for the adults who cut their teeth on Milon's Secret Castle, Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers, Earthbound, and Bubsy. If you don't have an N64 lying around, you might at least try the Xbox version.
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