N64 Magazine Issue 24 | Nintendo Mags

Introduction

As Link had taken pride of place on the cover of the Christmas issue, Mario got his time to shine on the cover as the team looked at several new Mario games, including the first looks at Mario Party and Smash Bros - although at this point Smash Bros had little chance of a UK release. There was also coverage of the top 10 games that the team thought would be released in 1999. Perfect Dark was top of the list, although that would take another 6 months into 2000.

Of course, there was still the question of what score they would give Ocarina of Time, with the cliffhanger of last month's unscored review still lingering. By the time issue 24 came around, everyone in the team had been able to play the game in full, so this time got the usual massive review treatment - with 14 pages going into great depth about the first dungeon and looking at almost every other location in the game. Jes got the privilege of scoring the game, giving it a chart-topping 98%, which wouldn’t be beaten by any other N64, Gamecube or even Wii game over the next 14 years!

As if there wasn’t enough, there were another 10 reviews this issue, with Top Gear Overdrive (79%) and NBA Jam ‘99 (83%) being the other big hitters, while classic puzzler Bust-A-Move 2 surprised with a score of 82%. The first South Park game also hit US stores, which Martin scored at 73%.

As every new game was released, it seemed that a new title was announced, this month Mystical Ninja 2 was the lead preview, stripping back the game to a 2D point of view. Vigilante 8 and FIFA 99 were also in their Future Look section. In the news this month the team discovered that new areas could be unlocked in Goldeneye’s multiplayer with the use of an Action Replay card, as well as interesting information about Zelda’s 64DD possibilities. In Japanese news, Max reported back that OOT had scored a perfect score of 40 in Japan’s foremost gaming magazine Famitsu.

Also this issue, the back of the magazine had a complete redesign, with the mailbox, guides, tips, and everything else being rebranded as Club 64 with colour coded pages - quite a good tidy up and much easier to find the section you needed. The big guide this month looked at the first half of Turok 2, and there was also a look at some amusing quirks in Mission Impossible. The feature at the back of the mag looked at some of Nintendo's innovations that changed the world of videogames forever, such as their control methods, the 3D platformer and of course the Game Boy.

Articles

Future Look

Mystical Ninja 2
Vigilante 8
Fifa 99

Coming Soon

California Speed
Golden Nugget
Snowboard Kids 2
Pikachu Genki Dechu
Ogre Battle 3: Person of Lordly Calibre
Quake II
Micro Machines
Rogue Squadron
Castlevania
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour

Special Investigation

Brave New Mario World
Ten at Work

Reviews

Cruis'n World
Author: Tim Weaver
Country: UK
Score: 38%
Knife Edge
Author: James Ashton
Country: UK
Score: 42%
Twisted Edge
Author: Tim Weaver
Country: UK
Score: 60%
Rush 2 Extreme Racing USA
Author: Tim Weaver
Country: UK
Score: 73%
Top Gear Overdrive
Author: Tim Weaver
Country: UK
Score: 79%
Bust-a-Move 3
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: UK
Score: 82%
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Author: Jes Bickham
Country: UK
Score: 98%
South Park
Author: Martin Kitts
Country: USA
Score: 73%
NHL Breakaway '99
Author: Jes Bickham
Country: UK
Score: 64%
NBA Jam '99
Author: Mark Green
Country: Uk
Score: 83%
NBA Live
Author: Jes Bickham
Country: UK
Score: 64%

How To

Save the Universe in Turok 2
Find 11 Amusing quirks in Mission: Impossible

Features

Nin-Novation: Nintendo inventions that changed the world of videogames forever

Staff

James Ashton Editor
Tim Weaver Deputy Editor
Wil Overton Art Editor
Jes Bickham Reviews Editor
Andrea Ball Production Editor
James Price Writer
Martin Kitts Writer
Mark Green Writer
Justin Webb Designer
Paul Edwards Designer