Ubisoft and Nintendo 64 – A Look Back

If you have fond memories of early 3D games and can still feel the calluses raised by its unforgiving hard-plastic thumbstick, it might come as a bittersweet realization that the Nintendo 64 – the trailblazing console that helped pioneer modern 3D gaming and analog controls – turned 20 last week. Ubisoft (then known as Ubi Soft) contributed a handful of unique platformers, racers, and more to the Nintendo 64 throughout the console’s lifespan. Let’s take a look through some of the highlights:

Buck Bumble (1998)

Ubisoft’s first action game for Nintendo 64 was utterly unique. Developed by Argonaut, the studio behind the original Star Fox, Buck Bumble cast you as a laser-toting bee commando out to stop a marauding faction of technologically advanced mutant wasps from conquering a quaint (but foggy) English garden. Outside of its scaled-down premise, Buck Bumble was a robust flight-combat game, letting you soar and hover around huge, open areas; blow up targets with a variety of guns; and dogfight enemy insects to send them buzzing to the ground in flames. You could even walk around on the ground or perch on leaves, things that other flight sims of the time almost never let you do. It also had, hands-down, the single catchiest theme song of the N64 era.

S.C.A.R.S. (1998)

Goofy, weapon-equipped racers were at the height of their popularity in the 32-/64-bit era, so it’s hardly surprising that Ubisoft – along with developer Vivid Image – entered the fray with S.C.A.R.S. (Super Computer Animal Racing Simulator). Bringing together a collection of nine animal-themed vehicles that bristled with weapons and were designed to suit different play styles (some were geared for pure speed, for example, while others fit a more combative approach), S.C.A.R.S. was about racing dirty, with plenty of shortcuts and opponent-destroying power-ups scattered around each of its 10 tracks.

Tonic Trouble (1999)

Rayman isn’t Ubisoft’s only hero to sport a big grin and no limbs. The 3D platformer Tonic Trouble starred Ed, an alien janitor who accidentally unleashed a can of strange liquid on Earth, granting life to inanimate objects and turning a layabout named Grogh into a power-mad Viking overlord. The N64 version’s storyline was a bit different than the PC version that released a few months later, trading that version’s narrative about unrequited space-love for one about janitorial bumbling. But both versions followed Ed on a quest to restore order by outwitting unruly mutants and unlocking new powers, like bowtie-enabled flight, that let him explore more of Tonic Trouble’s collectible-filled levels. He could also get temporarily swole by eating branded treats, which differed depending on whether you were playing the European version (Nestle Crunch) or the North American one (Newman’s Own popcorn).

Rocket: Robot on Wheels (1999)

A few years before their work on the PS2 and PS3 put them on every gamer’s radar, Sucker Punch’s first game was a visually striking platform-hopper about a little robot charged with keeping a theme park running while its owner is away. Of course, things immediately go awry when one of the park’s mascots (a raccoon who bears a vague-ish resemblance to a protagonist of Sucker Punch’s later games) kidnaps the other one (a purple walrus who looks kinda like that protagonist’s hippo sidekick) and throws everything into disarray.

While it could have been confused with any number of similar-looking N64 mascot platformers at first blush, Rocket: Robot on Wheels had a secret weapon: it was one of the first console games to use a physics engine, which let Rocket realistically manipulate and throw objects, swing around on an energy tether, pilot vehicles that had a realistic weight to them, and more. It also used its physics to create a game that was more about puzzles and hazards than fighting, with lots of platforming and environmental challenges that included, among other things, building a custom rollercoaster and using it to grab collectible items floating in midair.

Rayman 2: The Great Escape (1999)

Possibly Ubisoft’s magnum opus on Nintendo 64, Michel Ancel’s 3D follow-up to Rayman made its console debut on Nintendo’s platform, where it made impressive use of the N64 Expansion Pak to boost its resolution and overall sharpness beyond what was possible in most other platformers at the time. Beyond its smooth animation and vibrant textures, Rayman 2 delivered a hugely varied platforming experience, giving Rayman new powers to wield against skull-faced robot pirates and devious puzzles. Critics at the time hailed it as one of the best platformers ever made, and while it’s since been ported to more powerful systems, the N64 version still holds up remarkably well today.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000)

Surprising as it may seem today, Ubisoft once held the license to create Batman games, producing four between 2000 and 2003. Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was the first, delivering a fairly straightforward, side-scrolling, single-player brawler based on the direct-to-video movie of the same name. As future Batman Terry McGinnis fought to save Gotham from a mysteriously resurrected Joker, he spent most of his time punching and kicking through squads of mutants, robots, and members of the Jokerz gang. In lieu of multiple characters, Batman Beyond let players pick from four different Batsuits that accentuated different mixes of offense and defense, but regardless of which you chose, the objective was the same: keeping moving forward and beat the tar out of absolutely everything.

Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers (2000)

Hell hath no fury like Donald Duck in in a blind rage, and Goin’ Quackers put that idea front and center, mixing 3D and 2D platforming levels filled with creatures for Donald to angrily punch out of existence. Filled with Carl Barks-created characters like Gyro Gearloose and Gladstone Gander, Goin’ Quackers was a treat for Donald fans – in fact, what really set it apart was the level of detail that went into Donald himself. Depending on his health, for example, his look and animation style would change, going from gamely sauntering around and excitedly swinging his arms at foes to stomping forward, shoulders hunched, hat cocked, and a grim look of unstoppable anger plastered across his face. It didn’t make him more dangerous, necessarily, but it did make us feel like we were piloting a dynamo of fury instead of a happy-go-lucky cartoon nobody. Doom was visited upon the mystical land of the evil magician Merlock, and its name… was Donald Duck.

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