Starhawk Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 "only for Nintendo ULTRA 64!" I've been messing aroung with Killer Instinct on MAME and U64 emulators and got to thinking about this promise Nintendo made to me about 10 years ago. To put is bluntly, what the fuck were they thinking?? If I remember correctly, Killer Instinct (and the less impressive Crusin' USA) were to be some of the first games for "Project Reality". I also think there were claims that when KI hit the home on the Ultra 64 it was going to be arcade perfect. Did they even know what they were talking about? If this were true, Nintendo would have had to release machine much more powerful than the Nintendo 64, using at least a CD-ROM for storage, and maybe even a hard drive. I was Nintendo born and bred, so I used to get alot of those Nintendo Power exclusive and such. When Donkey Kong Country was released, everyone was sent a promotional video to help hype DKC. After the video wrapped up, there was a hidden segment where the "reporter" snuck into a room where Ken Lobb and crew were playing the arcade version of KI on a television screen and screaming "NOT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!" Talk about a case of blue balls for a big KI fan. The Ultra 64 gets delayed and we get Killer Instinct for the Super Nintendo. That's all fine, but not what we were promised. Later, when the cartridge using N64 is finally released, it was a far cry from what I considered to be the great Project Reality. Then, they half ass make due with the promise by giving us Killer Instinct Gold, but not the original. And even KI: Gold for the N64 does not technically match that of the original arcade KI. But on the plus side, Nintendo did give me and other fans both KI and KI2 to play at home, I have to give them props for that. So, was Project Reality and KI and Crusin' arcade perfect for the home just a bunch of impossible hype, or was it something that Nintendo truly had planned and then decided to release what is now know as the N64. It's funny, I think all of the Project Reality smoke and mirrors came from NOA and Rare, not from Nintendo of Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris F Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 I'm actually considering picking up an N64 on Ebay just so I can play KI:Gold. I loved that game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Monkey Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Remember some of those insane, SGI-rendered 'screens' in Next Generation showing what an upcoming Robotech game would look like on 'Project Reality'. Talk about creative license! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted February 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Rise ye old ass thread from the past! Here's a video from Silicon Graphics showing some mighty impressive tech demos for the time that were to be included in the Nintendo (Ultra) 64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrik Draven Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 My fondest memories of this, the only Nintendo product I EVER owned, were playing the original Turok and Doom 64. I thought both were great. Doom 64 really surprised the hell outta me in being not a port but a completely new version with great sound effects, and only having the cartridge for storage space. After those 2 titles, it started collecting dust then, I gave it away to my ex's daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 These vids are a little off topic since they are footage from what the Nintendo 64 actually turned out to be, but they are still funny: N64 Promo Video Part 1 N64 Promo Video Part 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel P Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Doom 64 really surprised the hell outta me in being not a port but a completely new version with great sound effects, and only having the cartridge for storage space. The only game I ever owned on the N64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogbert Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I think a lot of people (including the press) bought into the hype of a machine using SGI's technology regardless of the viability of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFo Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 These vids are a little off topic since they are footage from what the Nintendo 64 actually turned out to be, but they are still funny: N64 Promo Video Part 1 N64 Promo Video Part 2 Wow, I remember getting that video in the mail. It actually did a lot to interest me in buying an N64. I remember seeing screenshots of Super Mario 64 in magazines and not really understanding how it was supposed to work or why they needed to put a joystick on the new controller. Once I saw that video though, it made complete sense to me. It's hard to believe that Shadows of the Empire was once my most antcipated forthcoming game. Playing it now, I just realize how much of it is poo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBardon Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I think a lot of people (including the press) bought into the hype of a machine using SGI's technology regardless of the viability of it. It really was timed just about perfectly. They started hyping it at just about the same time as SGI was becoming a mainstream term. People saw effects in movies like T2 and Jurassic Park, and knew that those were powered by SGI, so the assumption was that you'd see that sort of power in your games. As it is, the N64 was more about getting people used to analogue and 3d than cutting edge performance. When was the first mention of "project reality" though-does anyone remember? I know I was reading about it WAY ahead of time in things like Nintendo Power, and I think it was well before even the first DKC, but perhaps that was part of the problem-getting people interested in something way too far in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted February 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Yeah they hyped it early. I specifically an article from Nintendo Power with pictures of SG renders with sprites of Nintendo characters pasted on top. Killer Instinct and DKC came out in '94, so it must have been in the early 90's. I was always pissed at them for promising an arcade perfect Killer Instinct would be released for the Ultra 64 in 1995. What eventually became the N64 was far, far from all this hype (also known as bullshit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony G Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 It's hard to believe that Shadows of the Empire was once my most antcipated forthcoming game. Playing it now, I just realize how much of it is poo. I haven't played it in a long time but I remember enjoying it a great deal. I know I'm in the minority though. I could play the Hoth level alone over and over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnemaEms Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I would much rather play the Hoth level in the Rogue Squadron series or in the Battlefront series. -Dean- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFo Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 I haven't played it in a long time but I remember enjoying it a great deal. I know I'm in the minority though. I could play the Hoth level alone over and over again. Go back and play it and see what you think. I also enjoyed it a great deal back when it first came out. I even played through the game on Jedi difficulty and found all the Challenge Points. The problem is that it doesn't hold up very well. Other games came along that did everything Shadows of the Empire did, but better. Various FPS games did the commando missions better and the flying stuff was outclassed by Rogue Squadron and Star Fox. Once I played those titles, there was no going back. I would much rather play the Hoth level in the Rogue Squadron series or in the Battlefront series. Battlefront I can understand. Rogue Squadron I cannot. I think the latter was a far superior game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBardon Posted February 19, 2007 Report Share Posted February 19, 2007 Yeah, but shadows was the first game to really start the 3d hoth cliche, and that level was awesome. The rest of the game just sucked You're not alone in looking forward to that game though-I remember it was one of the reasons I wanted an N64 in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyElf Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 The mame32 and Killer Instinct 1 and 2, are arcade perfect now. All issues with framerate and sounds are fixed. Using a Arcade stick is basically having the 2 arcade machines in your house. I played a lot for a few days and then kinda got tired of the C'C'C'Combos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starhawk Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks for the info! I haven't messed around with them in a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisBardon Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 What kind of CPU do you need to get those games running at a decent speed though? Haven't messed around with Mame in a long time now-I have a complete ROM collection as of one version about 4 years ago, but that was just before they started adding the hard drive based games and the ROM sizes skyrocketed (the ones I have fit on 8 CDs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyElf Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 What kind of CPU do you need to get those games running at a decent speed though? I can run it on a laptop, 1.7 Centrino, crappy intel integrated vid card... so, not much is needed anymore. Runs great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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