N64 Magazine Issue 4

Introduction

Mario Kart 64 finally arrived in the UK and parties would never be the same again! The game got a massive 16 page review, with coverage of all the characters, all the cups, and every mode of the game. Jonathan scored it at 91%, with plenty of praise across the board, and although its PAL conversion left a lot to be desired! There was also a mini guide for getting the best times on Mario Raceway - the competition track in the USA and Japan, including how to get the biggest shortcuts. Unfortunately the only other games reviewed this month were two duff Fighting games in the form of Mortal Kombat Trilogy and War Gods (in the US), scoring 34% and 46% respectively.

There were plenty of games to preview though, with an exclusive look at shoot-em-up Sonic Wings Assault, and a big look at RPG Holy Magic Century. There was also the first look at Struggle Hard (later to become Fighters Destiny). In the news this month they looked at the UK Launch of Mario Kart as well as announcing a release day for the 64DD, although there would be significant delays and restructuring of the offering before it would finally come out in Japan in late 1999. Hidden deep in RPG news there was the first mention of Pocket Monsters on the N64, which would mark the start of much more coverage over the next few years. There was also the first of a regular column from Max Everingham who reported on the state of Nintendo games in Japan, as well as teaching readers some basic Japanese. 

As well as that brief guide to Mario Kart, Tim talked us through how to master ISS 64 and there was a guide to getting high coin scores through the first 10 courses of Mario 64 - this was certainly a further attempt at getting even more out of the N64’s biggest game. There was also a feature covering Japanese arcades and some of the best games of the time, including obscure games like Armadillo Racing and train simulator Denshin De, Go!. 

Club 64 finally made a proper feature of I’m The Best, with proper leagues for several games. At the back of the mag, in a similar vein to the previous issue, the magazine looked at the US development industry, how Nintendo had fared in the US, and focused on the US development houses and all the N64 games they had in progress.