N64 Magazine Issue 2

Introduction

Two of the big games for the N64’s second wave of software got a review in the May issue. Rare’s Blast Corps arrived just in time for an import review, with Jonathan Davies trying to decipher the concept of this unique game, scoring it 88% with heavy praise for the soundtrack and its use of the n64s’s hardware. Wave Race 64 was the other game, with Zy taking apart all the tracks and scoring it 90% with heavy praise for the visuals and how it used the still young N64 hardware. The only other UK review this month was Fifa 64, with it not being a patch on ISS - only scoring 39% and suffering from muddy visuals as well as significant slow down.

This issue also brought big previews of several new games, Doom 64 was the star, with a look at the almost finished US game. Ganbare Goemon 5 (mystical ninja in the UK) and Starfox 64 were also previewed with Star Fox also nearly due a Japanese release. In the news this month they reported on the Tokyo Show, showcasing the latest games, although there wasn't much to show from the Nintendo side as they were keeping the biggest games to themselves. There was plenty of N64 gear this month, as the team rated all kinds of things from the Arcade Shark to AV cables for the console.

Game guides kicked off this issue in earnest, focusing on three of the four PAL launch games. Of special note was Zy’s guide to getting 70 stars as quickly as possible in Mario 64, which eventually became a fully detailed guide of the game over the next few issues. There was also the first part of a guide to the challenges in Shadows of the Empire as well as finding all the keys and chronoscepter pieces in Turok. Club 64 was full of letters praising the first issue of the mag, as well as the first “Im the best” feature , although it was only a small column for members scores as letters.

In the second of their back of the mag features, they looked at some of the major players in Nintendo’s history, and how the company came from humble beginnings to become the force they are in video games. There was an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto as they asked him questions about the reasons behind Nintendo’s hardware choices and his process for designing video game characters. As well as that they tried to establish what makes Nintendo games so special, with a look at five separate games and what they did right that other publishers weren’t.