Welcome to Remember 64, where this week we're a unicycling
robot. Welcome to the show everyone.
My name is David Pitrangelo and I'm hopping and bopping my way
across a strange circus like land and building up as much
speed as possible before I fall all the way down to the ground
from this giant tower of weirdness or whatever this is.
But there's no fall damage. Woo Hoo.
OK, here we go again Jiggy. How's it going buddy?
Welcome to the show, Sir. Hey, I'm here.
You're here too, jiggy. Look back, back once again.
And if any of that made sense that I just said in any way
whatsoever, you may have guessed, may or may not have
guessed that we are playing Rocket Robot on Wheels.
It is the first game from Sucker Punch, and if that name sounds
familiar to you, it is the creators of Sly Cooper,
Infamous, and most recently Ghosts of Tsushima.
Today we are so graciously hosting Bill from the gaming and
collecting podcast The 3D O Experience and Geek Addicts.
Bill, welcome back to Remember 64.
Dave, it's been a while. I think last time I was here we
were talking about Resident Evil 2.
It was Resident Evil 2. Oh, that's the early days.
Early days? Oh.
Man. Fun fact, I was I was the 1st
guest of the show You. Were you?
That's awesome. You were.
You're on Level 2 and it is still one of the most popular
episodes on the feed because it is just all about the knowledge
of collecting, all about the sort of like weird world of
collecting, you know, retro games and stuff like that.
And I think when I started the show, so I said, you know what?
This is a great way to just start things.
You know, like this is something that people might be listening
to the show or the shows like it like yours, Bill, that are
wondering like why is this stuff so God damn expensive?
Why is it so hard to find all that kind of stuff?
And I think that is just like an Evergreen situation for people
in our shoes. So.
And I and I have said this one quote from that episode, it has
stuck with me for almost 2 years at this point.
I've told this to numerous people that when it comes down
to it, everybody just wants their stuff back.
And that is what you told me in that episode, and it rings true
every single day of our life. What's funny is like, I re
listened to that episode like a while back and I was like, you
know, it's very still on, pretty accurate to what's going on in
the collecting scene. But I'm like, you know, in a lot
of places. It's much worse now than it was
then. That's the crazy thing, right?
That is that was only a year and a half ago and it still keeps
spiraling in a lot of ways. Right.
So it's really crazy it's it's just and it doesn't and and you
know we talked about a whole bunch of consoles.
We talked about PlayStation talked about Dreamcast bunch of
stuff right. This this is one of those games
that might fall into that category that may have just kept
spiraling in a way since then. So Rocket Robot on wheels,
before we get into sort of talking about the game itself
and you know some of the the development and history of it
kind of thing, we, you know, me and Jiggy were sort of
disgusting like oh, what should we play next or whatever.
This kind of came up on the list of games that I saw that, oh, we
haven't covered this yet and I've always kind of wanted to.
Jiggy was doing another video of that he was working on in his
YouTube page about it. And then once that came up, I
was like, wait, I think I'm pretty sure Bill mentioned that
this is like a game that's really close to his heart.
I'm gonna see if if it is, I'm gonna see if I'm right, 'cause I
haven't talked to him for a little bit, but I I just have
this. I don't know why it's stuck in
the back of my mind. Just like that quote.
It's still stuck in the back of my mind.
So I asked you, and you said yes, absolutely.
This is that game. Why is it that game for you,
Bill? Like what?
What about this game? So as I mentioned, like way back
in the day, like I didn't grow up with an N64.
I was a PlayStation kid, and PlayStation had a ton of their
own exclusives for the time. And as we mentioned earlier, a
lot of them were developed by Sucker Punch Productions.
And one in particular that was probably one of my favorite
games as as a kid was the Sly Cooper series.
Yeah, which to me are some of the finest platformers ever
made. So when I finally got into N64,
collecting around like 2010, I want to say when I got my N64, I
I remember I joked back then that I had Man 64 for about like
5 months without any games. Because games were just so
expensive and hard to find. Yeah.
And I kind of grabbed the ones I could find.
Like I got Star Fox 64, Donkey Kong 64.
And then I was like, you know what?
I love Sucker Punch. And I know about that.
They made a game for N64 that was their first game.
And supposedly, even though nobody really talks about it,
it's supposedly critically lauded as like one of the finest
platformers on the N64. So I went out of my way.
I found it. It was semi expensive at the
time. It was like 30 bucks, which.
Now it's now it's, now it's cheap.
Yeah, what what's funny is as a so I that was 2000, elevenish.
I was still in high school senior year, not senior year.
I don't even remember what year it was, but I was still in high
school, didn't have a job. So money was not the easiest
thing to come up across. So I had to save up for probably
half a year and then once I had the money decide, I got that one
and my N64 collection started looking like a collection.
At that point I had three games, so at least it wasn't.
Just a it. Wasn't a console sitting on a
shelf that I couldn't even turn on because the N64 doesn't have
a start up at all, right? Right.
Like that. The weirdest part about that was
like, I own the thing and it turned on.
I was like it works I think. I think I.
Can't tell because there's no way to to know without a game.
Right. There's no way for it to.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
The light turns on, but that's about it, yeah.
Thankfully, it worked. I still have it to this day,
which is hilarious because N 60 fours are not the easiest things
to find anymore. I know, I know.
I just went to a store yesterday and and and and picked up a
couple, you know, smaller purchases for for a couple small
games. But not only are there only a
couple compared to the Playstations and even a couple
Dreamcast were there and stuff too.
But they're not cheap, man. At least at least in Canada it
was. These were priced, they were in
really good shape. They were cleaned up.
This place was like a, you know, it's a nice place, but or at
least there there's stuff to make sure it's tested and
whatever, right? It was, I want to say it was 140
bucks for the console and one controller.
That's not cheap. That's not cheap.
Even if that was in the States and it was like 120.
Because sometimes stuff, sometimes stuff is quote UN
quote cheaper in the US compared to where I am.
But that's still a lot of money, man.
Like just just for no games like that's.
That's wild to me. Yeah, N64 is particularly bad.
So is GameCube. It's it's the Nintendo tax, I
always say, because Nintendo stuff is just always more
expensive for whatever reason. Yeah, it's like even.
And that's true, even today, it's not even just retro stuff,
because you can look at like the Switch and games that were
launch titles are still $4050. Like, they don't go down in
value. And I don't know if that's
Nintendo just somehow retaining that, like, no, no, no, no,
their full price or whatever it is, but it's just, it's
something about it. I think you're on to that,
Nintendo Tex. Yeah, I'll always say I I One of
my favorite collecting stores I'm pretty sure I shared was
when I bought my GameCube, paid $5 for the GameCube, 50 for
Melee. Yeah, that's Yeah.
As crazy as the five dollar thing is the the fact that the
game is that much more also kind of makes sense.
Yeah. So lose their value, yeah.
Right. So you so you you booted this
up. This was one of the so did you
you just sort of knew about it because of Sucker Punch you like
I I like the studio. I like Sly Cooper or whatever.
Where do you remember if you were, like you know, pleasantly
surprised, or if this is what you expected?
Or did you know anything about it before you, you know, turned
it on? So all I knew was it was a
platformer because I went on. So I was I, Sly Cooper.
I played the hell out of those games and I had just started
playing infamous. Yeah.
And I was like really, really high on sucker punches games
because, yeah, they haven't made a bad game yet at this point.
Yeah. So I was browsing their
Wikipedia page and just reading it and I saw before slide they
made a game called Rocket Robot on wheels for the N64.
And I was like, oh, they weren't always a Sony studio.
Right. Ironically, they were owned by
Microsoft at one point, which is very interesting in their
history. Yeah, but I saw that.
I saw, Yep, I saw platform. I saw it.
It was a platform and it looked fascinating, like you play as a
robot. So I ordered it and booted it
up. And I'm not gonna lie, from the
start I was pretty hooked on it. Nice.
Yeah. It's it's this is me.
If anyone's watching the video versus this is me struggling
with what the controls were at the beginning.
I'm I was so bad at this at first.
I was like what am I doing? How does this control and it?
We'll get it busy, but very unique feeling platform.
It is, yes, exactly. Yeah, we'll we'll we'll get into
it for sure. But I think that you mentioned
Microsoft as well. And from when I was sort of
doing research and all that kind of stuff here, Rocket Robot on
Wheels, its founders came from Microsoft and they decided to
start the studio, decided to start Sucker Punch and just kind
of create a game for the N64. And I was like, oh, really?
That's that's interesting that they just, yeah, this is what we
want to do. We want to do, you know, we want
to do a platformer for this. This console they only had, I
think it was at this point, it was roughly 97 around that time.
So the console was already out. You had things like obviously
like Mario 64 was out at that time and stuff and like to me
that sounds like a really like ambitious start to be like I
want to make a platformer that is like Mario 64 or or have like
similar DNA to that. It's it's an interesting way to
to go about it because I I I think that's like at that time
that's tough to do. That's like a really difficult
sort of task to try and take on. And they did something different
with it, at least right. The physics based game is
essentially what this is. Yes, like that's really, really
what it is. During that era, there was like
two ways of making a platform. You either had the open world
collectathon style that Mario 64 popularized, or you had more of
like the Crash Bandicoot style with linear stages.
That went, yeah, kind of like the hallway design.
I think it's been coined these days.
Yeah. Hall white platformers sort of
thing. Yeah that's that's part of it.
Before we get too far into it, Jiggy, did you have experience
with this in the past you you did you did a very in depth
video about this recently too. So like you've had very recent
experience and in a lot of you know in a in an in depth way but
did you have anything you know any experience with this
earlier? Nothing.
I I had absolutely 0 experience with this growing up.
It's not one I ever particularly saw.
And if I did saw, I probably passed it up because I probably
thought it didn't look my speed. I think the thing that really
like detracted me from it. So I got Iggy's wrecking balls
when I was a kid. If you know that game and that
game was like, you know, side side to side, kind of like a
battle system where you're like jumping up and down, you're just
a ball rolling around. Essentially.
This the cover for this game, similar to Iggy's wrecking balls
in my mind. So I'm sure I was like, I have
Iggy's wrecking balls, I don't want rocket.
So I was like, if I knew it was a platformer, I probably would
have been like yes, yes, but I've, I just assumed it was
gonna be the same, something like that, but yeah.
You weren't entranced by this red cartridge.
The the red cartridge is cool but.
I don't know if you to be, I don't even know if, if there was
a way to know that it was a red cartridge, 'cause you'd like
you'd like go to the store and try and rent it and the box is
just there, right? Like, that's like, yeah, for me,
I recognize the cover. Like I honestly did.
And and I don't know that I knew a whole lot about it until you,
I remember you saying stuff about it.
Bill 'cause I really, honestly don't.
Don't. Remember.
So there's actually a very interesting thing about this
game is you notice Ubisoft published it, Yes.
Yeah. And there was actually a
promotional tape that Ubisoft sent out that had like a bunch
of their games that they were showing off, 'cause the tape
famously had Rayman 2 tonic trouble, and then it had rocket
tacked on as a third game. And that was one of the few ways
people really knew about this game when it came out.
Yeah. So so when I, when I was
researching and everything they had a heart.
Sucker Punch basically almost completed this game and still
had nobody to publish it. So they're just working on their
own dime you know in their own studio and and just sort of like
I I find that crazy because that could be so daunting because
you're just starting off. You need you need money
obviously you can work as long as you want.
But if you're going to be working for like a year, year
and a half on something and have no money coming in or very
little coming in, like what are you supposed to do?
How do you how do you even feel like you're going to succeed if
you don't even have a publisher at that point.
And Ubisoft was the company. So they got turned down by
PlayStation, by Sony, because Sony didn't think that there
rocket was enough of a of a mascot, and they didn't want the
fact that this game is also coming out for the 64.
They didn't like the fact that that was the case.
And that that was probably the bigger thing than the mascot
thing. I'm.
Sure it is. Yeah 'cause I read the mascot
thing. I go, yeah, but Sony still has
trouble with that. Like, in my opinion, anyway.
Well, you don't like, is it Astro now?
Is there a mascot? I don't.
Fuck you Exactly, exactly like there.
There's characters there and there's family friendly
characters there. Like there there's characters,
but I don't know that like outside of Kratos today.
Anyway, I was like, my heart says Kratos is there.
Ratchet maybe? Maybe Ratchet.
Yeah, right, 'cause that that game was awesome.
The most recent game especially, was great.
But. SAC SAC, SAC Boy, maybe SAC.
Boy could have been it, but. SAC Boy's been dead though for a
while now. That's.
The big game, like three years ago.
Yeah, that's the thing. Oh yeah.
SAC Boys is that SAC Boys adventure.
SAC boys, yeah. It's it's really good.
Never. Played it.
Oh, it's good. It's Mario 3D World.
It's a 3D World clone, but it's really good.
Oh, nice. OK, well, interesting.
The The thing is about about all of those, and even even Crash at
the time is like it was all, you know, four or five years or
something. You know, it's all like short,
short stints. You can't really compete with
Mario. I understand that.
But that excuse for like, Nope, You know, mascot.
Look, that's come on, really. Like, yeah, but.
But here, let me OK, let me flip this on its head, because
there's a certain amount of charm you can instantly get from
seeing a game cover or a game case or just even the art for
the game, right? Donkey Kong has that, Mario 64
had that, Spyro had that, Crash Bandicoot had that.
I don't think Rocket had that, I don't think.
Game's biggest thing. Yeah, it doesn't have the
aesthetic to support kind of a mainstream success.
It's just like, it's kind of lame.
I don't know, speechless. Like it's not a bad game.
My enemies, like, don't get me wrong, I'm just saying like,
like, there's literally clowns on a ball rolling around and
they make like. Like old school squeak.
Noise Jingle or something. Yeah, yeah, Jingle noises.
Yeah, it's like. This game is It is very much the
perfect example of a retroactive hit.
Yes, yeah. It I, I don't know I I, I think
you're on to something jiggy for sure.
But I think the character model of Rocket himself is still could
could be pretty interesting like I I could see that being the you
know quote UN quote selling points or whatever or like the
mascot. But the rest of it, I think like
the world's, aren't necessarily overly interesting or make it
flashy or as I don't know. I think another huge thing with
Rocket that really hurt it was it came out on the 64 and the 64
was already saturated with 3D platforms as it was.
Yeah, that's true. And there was a.
Lot on this system that kind of got overshadowed.
Yeah, yeah, there there's. I mean that's that's a lot of
what kept the the console afloat with like the bigger titles,
like the rare titles especially, But like it's also hard to
compete with those. Like how do you make this game
and just automatically be like, oh, this is going to be a
success because it's a 3D platformer.
It's understandable. Because, you know, Nintendo
famously or infamously patented the camera controls to the C
buttons so no other studio could use those.
It's. Like.
Really. I didn't actually know that.
That was the thing, Nintendo. Actually, that's crappy.
Patented how the camera controls worked in Mario 64 and they had
the patent on that for most of the consoles run so that's why a
lot of like non Nintendo are rare made plat 3D platforms have
really awful camera controls yeah.
It's so crappy we. Should talk about this camera
jiggy. I know you have thoughts because
on your video you definitely talked about it.
Yeah. And I I just wanted to briefly
say too, like, so this game came out November 17th in North
America in 1999. 99, yeah. OK.
And I was looking, yeah, but I was curious because you were
talking about, you were talking about it being over saturated
and I'm like maybe sort of, yeah, they're they existed.
I think it it was more like we didn't get too over saturated
until maybe like 2000. Like then you're like you're
really hitting with a lot of different games.
But it was definitely overshadowed with DK64 releasing
just a couple days later. And if you're going to pick a
platformer on the 64, like Donkey Kong is definitely going
to take the cake there. I mean, everyone's going to go
to Donkey Kong because he's, they're, it's recognizable,
right? Like you're.
Going to just it's just going. To happen and people know that
it's coming. That release date was
unfortunate, I think. Probably probably a
controversial opinion, but I'd rather play rocket, I'm not
going to lie. Yeah, controversial.
I hate this camera. So yeah, the camera's not great.
I will say it's better than a lot of the yeah on Nintendo
cameras, like it's better than tonic trouble, I'll say that.
Oh, I gotta play that other than.
Play that it's better than Earthworm Jim 3.
DI think that's there's more of them that's coming soon by the
way the the. Thing What's up?
Everybody that's coming soon. The thing about rockets camera
two that really, you know, I mean like I think it's tolerable
like you said, I I don't think it's, I don't think it's bad.
I think it works but the noise it makes when it moves.
You don't like? Pew, Pew, Pew.
If it was like once and it moved like I I was trying to vividly
like remember what the camera does in other games like the
sound effect and was like they do have sound effects but for
some reason rockets really. It's like I think I said in my
video, it sounds like a fart that's been like pitched up and
it's added reverb. It's just like
it's like every like, I know what it is, I know what it is.
Besides the noise, it's like increments of camera movement.
They're not very large, so if you tap the button it's like it
moves subtly, so you have to tap it like three or four times.
You're like and it makes multiple noises within it.
Yeah, you're pressing it quite a few times to make it, to make
it, and it gets caught on the wall quite a bit, like on
tighter spots like some. I mean, that was.
Most games of this era, though. Yeah, it it was.
But it feels like for this, like you're going down a hallway, for
example, and, you know, I kind of want to see what's in front
of me a little bit instead of. It being sort of mostly in the
front, it almost has a cross between the Resident Evil camera
and the Mario 64 camera where it's like it wants to follow you
and be that 3D platform a camera.
But at the same time, because I experienced exactly what you're
saying, when you turn a corner, there are certain certain like
set pieces within the game where you'll turn into a small cave or
something and the camera like flips to the opposite side.
And to be fair, the controls work like they translate really
well. It's not like it's not like
where you're going in a direction.
All of a sudden you feel like you need to change the joystick
orientation so that you're moving.
Like it feels natural, like how it works.
But it's just like then you can't see what's coming.
There's they do you dirty in the level.
In particular, we're watching right now where there's a pit of
lava in the middle of this cave and you like turn and then all
of a sudden there's a pit of lava and you just got to know
that you have to jump over it. Only knew it was there because I
ran into it the previous time. Like, that's.
Yeah, exactly. That's the only reason why I
knew it was there. I I think, I think before we get
too far into like all this stuff too, we have just sort of
mentioned that the fact that this game is, is yes, a 3D
platformer, but it also is very physics based, like I mentioned
that earlier. But like, yes, there's like this
is based around physics, which yes, sure happens in a lot of
games. They try to have some sort of
physics in it, but a lot of platformers in the 90s and even
a lot of the the 3D platformers and stuff, Donkey Kong, Mario,
whatever you want to, whatever title you want to pick.
Sure, there's like physics based in it, but it's not as precise,
I would say, and it's not as necessary to complete a lot of
the tasks and especially the actual platforming itself.
So for example, you want to go up a ramp as Donkey Kong or as
Mario and Mario 64, you can kind of just run up it and it's OK,
right? But in Rocket, and as Rocket,
you have to sometimes make sure that you have a little bit of a
running start or you need to hop your way up that hill or that
ramp because you need momentum, 'cause you're on, you're on a
unicycle essentially you are a robot on one wheel.
And I think that is a very inventive idea for the time, for
sure, and definitely ambitious. Like talk about ambitious of
wanting to make this your first game and stuff like that's great
and everything. I just every once in a while I
was like, I wish it was just a little bit less.
I don't think it's clunky, but I feel like sometimes the those
platforming elements where you're on something that's
really, you know, thin or you're going up ramps that are sort of
turning and things like that, it's almost too difficult
sometimes in my opinion. I don't know if it.
Is. I don't know if it knows how
difficult it wants to be. So a a key thing with the
platforming, one of the reasons I really enjoy it is Rocket has
a very good sense of weight, which is something that a lot of
3D platformers did not have at that point.
That's a good point. That's part of it.
Like, yeah. When you jump, he feels like a
rock, like he feels like a robot, like a hunk of metal is
jumping through the air. Like he's got like this kind of
like he'll jump up and then you can like feel him like sinking
down and you kind of have to time it out properly.
And what's cool is I played this after playing like, say, the Sly
Cooper series. You can see a lot of what Sucker
Punch was going to eventually do in this game because it has the
the kind of like almost parkourish style platforming.
Yeah, it's like right at home in that series.
And it it's it's one of those that's like kind of hard to
master. But once you figure it out, it's
like super satisfying to, like, go through all these platforming
challenges. Yeah, I don't jiggy.
Did you have that experience? Like, I know that like it's, it
can be tricky and stuff, but did you find that it it clicked with
you after a while, 'cause you you played it a little while ago
and so too for your video. But like, how did how did that
feel for you? Yes and no.
I just clunked. My mic, Yeah, yes and no.
I hate giving that answer, but it's like, I know, I I I feel
like the majority of the time, yes, it worked.
I got to a point though, like we'll get to this at some point,
but the the very last boss and very last level I was kind of, I
was getting really frustrated. I I wouldn't say it's
necessarily with the jumping, but there's just some some dumb.
Dumb. Maneuverability.
I don't know. I I find that when you when
you're going, so it's almost like you have to give yourself a
little bit of a head start like you said earlier and then you
have to jump. OK.
But what I found I was doing, and I think this is, I think I
would have liked this game better if I played this
platformer before playing others for like so much of my life,
right? I'm so used to not these
controls. And it's not to say I can
acknowledge they're not bad, but the fact that I couldn't just
like go off a platform and then jump or like do my double jump
and make it like you would go off a platform and it would just
trigger your double jump. But your double jump wouldn't be
as high as it would if you actually, like, took the time to
do it right. So that was like a blunder for
me constantly. I was constantly falling or
coming short for my jumps and a lot of like falling down to the
bottom and then having to scale all the way back up and those
parts. That was just frustrating.
Those parts sucked. Yeah.
Like I I think, I think especially early when you don't
have as many abilities or you're not as comfortable with the
controls and and the camera for sure.
Like without the double jump, I felt like I couldn't get any
platforming done. Not gonna lie like it was and it
and it's not that long, It's like an hour hour and a half a
play or something. Like it's not crazy.
But early on it I I think like they should have made the double
jump a little bit earlier, 'cause you can really sort of
save yourself in a way. Maybe it's too much of A crutch.
Maybe I should I should learn to be better, but I don't know.
So it's it's. The controls have like a flow to
them, which is like something that is very common now in like
very artsy platformers. You see, like nowadays where
it's kind of like you have to like, you're the key to like
getting through the challenges is you have to keep moving like
you can't like stop and like, yeah.
Yeah, it's it's like it's the momentum, right?
Like it's all physics based. So like your momentum matters
and that's not what you expect with with games like this,
right? You expect to just, you know, go
like you said Jiggy, like you were saying, just jump and just
go, right. So anyways, you're going to say
yeah. I was going to say, First off, I
don't have a compulsive form of movement in this game, which is
a little irritating to me. Like, usually you have something
like Link has like constant rolling Donkey Kong 64.
I do like cartwheel jump, tailspin, like, you know what I
mean? Like, I wanted something like
that to, like, feel like I was moving faster than I was.
I totally lost my trail of thought.
I wanted to say that. But what?
What? What did we say right before
that? Just remind me.
You're talking about? What just like the momentum and
everything like in the platform? Gosh, yeah.
I totally lost my thought. It'll come back to me.
Oh, yes. It came back to me.
Yes. OK.
I was going to say what What is like, super annoying is?
Yes. They want you to keep moving.
They want you to go fast. I would say for the most part
your tractor beam like as a as a tether as grabbing things works
great right? Yeah, it's fine.
What I don't like is that you use that for combat as well, OK?
And the combat, it's it's just you grab an enemy and you jump
in the air and you slam them down.
It's like it's it's a ground pound essentially.
I actually want to talk about the the combat real quick.
Let's do it. OK, go for it.
I had a interesting experience with it.
I didn't realize initially the first time I played this that
you could pick enemies up, so I was throwing bombs and items at
them, which I thought I was like, this is a cool combat.
Idea. And I was like, that's cool.
But then I would have to run into the problem where, like, I
would throw a bomb and it would blow up and damage me as well.
So I was like, so I was like, OK, this isn't isn't great.
So then I kind of had this thought.
I realized, oh, I can pick the enemy up.
Oh, I can throw the enemy at the bomb.
This is genius. And then I quickly realized, oh,
I can just ground, pound and kill the enemy by picking it up.
Yeah. Essentially, yeah.
It was like, well, that's convenient.
I can help too. Yes.
Yeah. Here's Here's the thing I wanted
to capitalize on with the tractor beam and moving fast,
right? And you can't think about it.
There are stages that require. I'm looking at this one in
particular. I think I just hated the stage.
It's like the first or second one, yeah.
You have to grab bombs and move through these cave systems.
And I've had so many instances where you pick up some momentum
like going down a hill or something, and the bomb would
like your tractor beam wouldn't hold it level.
It would like kind of dip it, go up a little bit and it would
yeah. And it would smack a wall or
smack the ground more. The wall, I can forgive the
ground is irritating because then it would blow up.
I had this one part in particular where you're sitting
on a platform, you have to descend to the like bottom level
and as you have to grab a bomb, go to this platform to descend
down. And as you're doing it like I
must have done it like 8-9 times and I would sit in the middle,
not moving, I'm not moving, I'm sitting in the middle.
I have the tractor beam like right in front of me with the
bomb. Boom, it explodes just by like
the platform moving. It hits a wall.
I don't know. I couldn't tell why it was
blowing up and I had to do it until finally I got through it
and I was like. Yes.
And then I threw it on the ground and accidentally, like
blew it up and I had to do it again.
But I got it right after that. So he did.
OK, that's good. But it was so.
It was so needlessly irritating. So so it's that that's the whole
physics based gameplay part of it, right, is that like they
they had, they put in physics and they and they program in
physics to every pretty much everything in the game, right.
I think that particular issue I ran into too.
And in a few instances, I understand where they're going
with it. And I I don't hate it or
anything, but I do think it would get rid of a few headaches
if the tractor beam would just be, you know, hold things in
place, you know, like just just keep it in one place and that's
it. I I, I like the way it works.
I like that you could use it like all these things, like it's
it's good. But sometimes it's like we'll
just make the choice to make one thing a tiny bit simpler.
You know what I mean? So.
Or if when you pick up items, maybe it just puts it like
directly above your head or something.
Something. Yeah, something like.
That I'm like just just a little bit higher than because it's
actually like below your head. It's kind of like your body
level. Like it holds it like right
about here, right? Yeah but like for example if
anyone's trying to picture sort of like if you're not watching
like the video and stuff but if if you're if you're picturing
it, it's like a beam like you said sort of that neck level
shoulder level of like a person if you were a person like that.
But like if you were to jump the bomb or whatever you're holding
kind of bobs with the momentum of of your body.
Again I think that's a that's a cool idea and concept and the
fact that that that's what they went for I think is really
interesting in some aspects. I that that's where I got
confused. Where it's like I'm not confused
but I just tried to say to myself like well is is this a
kids game or is this an adult's game?
Because that's hard to pull off as someone who may not be as
experienced. Like if I was playing this when
it came out, I would have been and then I'd just get killed by
an enemy really quickly and I didn't even see.
I mean, that happens in games I guess, but but if I was playing
this as as like an 11 or 12 year old when this came out, I don't
know if I could wrap my head around some of those sections at
least. It's a It's a hard one.
It isn't the easiest. I kind of like that it doesn't
hold your hand though at all. I I don't mind it I I think it's
it's kind of it's kind of interesting like I I I don't
mind the fact that it's like I although it doesn't hold your
hand but but some of those sort of like mini tutorial like you
know instances where tells you what you need to do when you get
your new ability or when you go into a new area and it kind of
gives you some information when you talk to the little robot
head or whatever it gives you something it and and then you
kind of have to figure it out yourself from there.
And I I'm OK with that. Like, I I, you know it doesn't
have to be perfect, but every once in a while I was like, I
wish the introduction to some of these abilities that you get,
for example, or introduction to some of the world's were just
like a touch simpler, that's all.
But otherwise I still had fun, you know, it can be frustrating,
but, and nowadays a lot of these can be frustrating in a lot in
some ways, I think. Most old platformers are kind of
frustrating at at times. There's always elements of it,
right? Yeah, exactly.
I'm trying to I'm trying to like and so one thing I wanted to
point out was that that whole just because I know it's
published by Ubisoft. I don't know if they've how much
of a hand they had in this game if any at all.
But I like. But I love the the when you go
into a level and leave a level I was like that's so tonic
trouble. That I mean literally it's it's
what happens in tonic trouble. It's it's cool.
You're like disassemble and then reassemble.
Yes, that's a real animation. Yeah, Yeah, yeah.
It felt it felt very Ubisoft. Oh, OK, yeah, go ahead.
One thing. I really enjoy about this game
is its level design not so much the designs itself.
Some of the levels are a little frustrating.
It's the these levels aren't massive because I think 1 issue
some of these games have are like one of my biggest gripes
with Donkey Kong 64 is the it's the the levels are just too big
at times. Some of them are huge, some of
them are huge. You kind of like it's very hard
to do a a a really big expansive platformer and make it
interesting. It's like one of the reasons
why, like all these open world games just annoy me nowadays,
because they're just empty and barren and like, it's really
hard to fill them with stuff. These levels are all very medium
sized. Like, there's not.
They're big enough that they're interesting, but they're not,
like, so big that you, like, feel like it's gonna be a
struggle to find everything in them.
Yeah. What I find interesting about
what I notice as as you get further along, I kind of I kind
of realized it more and more. But I think it's interesting
because some of them don't don't feel big at all.
Like the first couple ones I'm like oh this is pretty
especially the very first one like that one seems very, very
close. You're sort of just on like a
beach island type thing. But like I think some of them
you you you end up collecting like these machine parts that
open you up to a whole other area that you didn't have
before. So that the level does feel like
that sort of medium to to small, medium size.
And then all of a sudden it opens up to more.
And sometimes there's like I've heard most of the time there's
more an intricate platforming section.
There's sometimes a couple more tickets that you need to
collect. And the and the little machine
parts or whatever they call them, I can't remember what
those are called. And the and the level just feels
different and it feels bigger and it feels like there's more
going on. And it's not just, hey, there's
a couple little like rooms where you can find some tickets and
then you move on to the next one.
I like that. Part of it too is the fact that,
like, it's not just what's in front of you.
After you do a couple things, you open up to another section
and that, and that's fun too. I I know a lot of these games
kind of have that idea, but for some reason it it was more and
more entertaining as it went on for me, I I enjoyed that part of
it, so. Did you guys, did you guys have,
so First off have you completed it?
Yes, I have 100 percented it once.
Oh, OK, good. I did not 100%.
It that's for sure, but I did not.
See, you got the very boring, lifeless ending.
I don't even know. I I think I did look it up.
I don't remember what the. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I do
remember now. If you don't 100% it, you don't
get the ending. You don't get an, I do.
Well, yeah, but but I know, yeah, I know what happens.
I did look it up. I did not.
What happened? What happens in the, in the, in
the non boring ending? The actual ending.
The The owner of the park renames it from Rocket World.
He names it from like Wubby World or whatever it is.
Whoopi World or Wubby World. Yeah, Whoopi world into Rocket
world. Cause Rocket was the true hero.
Yeah. And Whoopi looks very upset.
Poor Whoopi. And Jojo's in his cage.
Also, Jojo's design is just sly it is.
Yeah, yeah, it is, Sly. It's 100.
Percent like the raccoons. Yeah, so fun fact, if you look
at the the like the early concept art for Sly One Sly's
original design was a lot chunkier and like more legit
raccoon looking. Yeah, and he looked just like
JoJo. Yeah, it first thing that came
to mind when I saw this, like 100% the first thing.
So yeah. But also like Whoopi the Walrus
like looks like his friend too. I I'm not.
I'm not super into Sly Cooper, but.
He kind of looks like Murray to a degree.
Murray was a hippopotamus, but I can see the yeah, I can see the
similarities, yeah. Also the very comic book looking
like art style that that's that's just like a sucker punch
trademark, which I really enjoy in this game, yeah.
Yeah, I I I do like the the design.
I think of a lot of the characters and stuff.
I think some of the world's are hit and miss.
To me, like the one that that was just up on the video before
where it's like The Cave and stuff like that.
It's OK, but there's only so much you can do with like cave
walls in a cave. Yeah, I.
Guess it's, you know, I I wanted to backtrack a little bit
because. Yeah, I'm sorry.
You're going to say something. I.
Thought I was going to just say the Did you guys find some of
the tickets? Like, to go back to complete the
game, you need 65 tickets, I believe 65, and there's a total
of 84 in the game. I got to the point where I
needed the 65 tickets and I had to go back and like really hunt
in these old levels to find tickets.
Like did you guys find it to be a struggle to find things?
Like, is that just a me thing, 'cause I feel like I explore
often in games and I was like, man, this is kind of hard.
So. Yeah, I will shamelessly admit
I'll go through the levels once, and then once I can't find
anything, I'll just look up the good.
OK. This one there, there's
definitely a few of those tickets which in if you think
about other 3D platformers like take Banjo Kazooie for example,
the tickets are the Jiggies and the I think machine parts.
What are they? The other ones are basically the
notes. Tokens.
I think they're. Tokens, Machine tokens or
something? Those are the tokens.
Yeah, those are the notes. So those are the two things
you're mainly collecting. And I mentioned machine parts.
So there's just like sort of an extra thing that's within each
level. It's it's hard to explain, but
just like another thing you collect to open up a new area
100%. I found I found it hard to to
find some of these things. Like I it wasn't like not all of
them. Because sometimes what I did
like about this game is sometimes it was actually kind
of easy. Not easy to figure out, but easy
to notice. Like, oh, this is going to be
one of those sections that is going to lead me to where a
ticket is and where some of the tokens are.
Cool. I'm going to put myself through
it. I'm going to do it even though
it's not super obvious. It just kind of feels like it's
set up that way. But that didn't feel overly
unique. What felt unique is when I
stumbled upon things, but that was few and far between.
I think I I looked up a guide for a couple of them so that I
can unlock more worlds and everything.
So I did go back a couple times, but it is difficult I think to
get through some of these, these ones like this particular level
that I'm showing, which I think is like the fourth stage.
Maybe it's the third where you're sort of on like a magic
carpet and like flying around this like open area.
I hated this one. I did not.
You know what I. Did not like this one at all.
This one was probably in my mind.
This is one of the easier ones I felt like this one easier ones
to. Find them.
Yes. Easier ones to find the tickets,
yeah. But I found it to be a bit of a
pain in the ass. Not gonna lie.
OK. Favorite.
Level. I don't know.
Did do you have one jiggy? Do you have like a a?
Particular Yeah, I do. I really liked, I think it's
pyramid scheme and that's the one like in the jungle and it
does like a time travel sort of thing.
That's the one I was about to say.
That, Yeah, yeah, I love that one.
That's the best one. Yeah.
OK. So we're all in the same.
Page vehicle in the game. OK, vehicle.
Yeah, I didn't think the magic carpet was bad, But that
motorcycle, that thing is sick. It like shoots out bat wings and
it it uses the momentum, kind of like Batman Arkham City style,
where you like dive and then you shoot back up like it's it's a
lot of fun. I wish I could have the vehicle.
Just like, threw away the carpet.
There he was. Like I'm done with this.
I just want man, I did that so many times and and then this I
was like, how do I jump back on it like I couldn't quite figure.
Oh, I couldn't. I didn't.
Do this on this on my first try, no chance.
I I love this mix in this level. Most of the platforming I did
not do in my first try. Like, I think I'd fall off, like
right in this jump. See ya.
Oh yeah. Oh, there we go, He.
Didn't even miss it, He just ran.
Off I just. I just kept going up and.
There's the camera. And and and that's so.
So that's the thing with like some of the the platforming
stuff as an example. So if anyone's not watching it,
basically there's a bunch of suspended platforms that are
like, I don't know what they were hexagons or something.
Like doesn't matter what the shape is, let's just say they're
circles. The the problem is, it's not
that you need momentum to kind of just make those jumps in
order to get speed to kind of create, you know, more momentum
to have a further jump. The problem is that those
platforms also wobble because they're floating in suspended
space. And again, that adds to the
physics of what this game is. And it does to me feel
interesting. I like that, but oh, here's my
abandoned carpet that I try and jump on and I think I fall off
the level. Oh my gosh, you're not gonna try
to jump it? Over 100%.
I tried. I I threw it in the middle of
the stage and I'm just like, you know what?
Screw it. I'm gonna do a running jump.
Let's see what happens. Wee.
I almost made it too. You always got a time to double
jump, man. You wait for it to be in view.
I I, I I had to struggle with the camera.
The the the problem with some of those platforms is that they
also wobble. So it affects your momentum.
Again, ambitious idea, stuff that for the most part I think
works, but every once in a while I'm just like I don't.
Know and the fact they fall and you're like you're under that
anxiety stress that you're like, I gotta go fast to do this.
Yeah, right. And I think that's that's
probably part of the the like you said that so early on I'm
like that's totally right because you start you have to
keep moving and if you commit you have to commit.
You have to commit. Yeah, that's a good way.
To you have to commit. I I partially kind of love that
'cause I kind of. I always joke like it.
I call it like the full send method where you just full send.
See what happens. Yeah, yeah.
Yep. Oh, 100%.
You have to do that so many times and in a way that that is
that is just, you know, it's another approach, it's another
interesting way of doing it and whatever you know there are
there is there is something unique, there is an advantage to
that. The bomb thing happened.
There's the bomb thing, yeah. And I just and I just took.
That death animation is so sad. He just rolls around, like,
sadly. Also, sometimes when you die,
like it kind of just like sits there for longer than it should.
And then you watch him. Roll, yeah.
You watch him roll around and it's like wah wah wah wah like.
You know, it's interesting. Oh, go ahead, you go.
Ahead, I was gonna say, I don't know if that's better than like
something like Jack and Daxter, where like Daxter just
criticizes you whenever you die. Oh, that's true.
Yeah, he chirps you. Yeah, that's right.
The the thing about like the platforming too, is in other
games you have a form of like correction when you do it.
So like Donkey Kong 64, you can jump off something.
You have an aerial attack that you could, you know, you could
do an aerial attack and get you just that little bit extra that
you needed to kind of pull back a little bit.
Banjo Kazooie, you had Kazooie, you could flap your wings and
kind of like maneuver around. Mario, you had your dive, right?
So if you didn't think you can make quite make it, you could
dive, try to go in a different direction or something.
This has no correction, it's just a full set, like you said,
big hunk of metal on one wheel coming at.
You yeah it's it's real. It's realism, you know, You you
you make you, you can't, you can't change your direction in
mid air in real life so. I know and and that's so that's.
I've tried, it doesn't work. I've tried to jump off a magic
carpet and make a platform, but I just couldn't do it.
I'm pretty sure we all as kids tried to do like the change your
direction in mid air and just fell.
I just like doesn't work. Fall like a sack of bricks.
Yeah, 100%. Castlevania always had it right.
That's that's how jumping really works.
Yeah that's actually when you think about it, yeah, that that
that's how it goes. The again I I think I think the
the ideas in in all this platforming in the physics space
gameplay is is fantastic. I think it's great that they
just went for it. I I think that needs to be
applauded and honestly that's one of the reasons why like even
though it was it could be frustrating at times.
I was like. What happened there?
The thing closed on me before I got a chance to get in there.
You were. You were in there though?
I know. And it closed and pushed me out.
I know I didn't hit. The switch in time.
I didn't yeah I didn't hit the switch in time.
I don't even know if I I don't even know if I got this one.
This is one of the first times I did this level or the first time
it it's yeah I I applaud. I applaud this game and and
found I was slightly less frustrated with it because I was
like OK I see what they're going for here.
Like, I get it, you know? And I think that that deserves
some some extra credit. Not not saying that you guys
aren't giving it credit for that or anything, but I do think that
that is a factor as to why I may have pushed through some of the
elements and some of the moments that I would have been otherwise
too frustrated to continue with. Did I ever rage quit this game?
No. But I came close every once in a
while. I get it sometimes.
You know one thing about this game though that, like I noticed
just from watching the footage here alone, this game runs
incredibly well. Oh yeah, you're right.
Like especially because the N64 is kind of infamous for bad
frame rates and games not running perfectly.
This game was is smooth the whole way through.
I I had no issue running this game.
I mean I played it on on an ever drive which you know is is is
ROMs of of all these games and stuff but like it worked really
well. I had no issues with the what's
I I didn't hit frame rate problems at all.
I think you're right. I don't, I don't know if you
guys did, but I doesn't have any of those kinds of issues that
that the game has a lot going on at points like even like this
particular instance, the magic carpet area.
It's it's a big expansive space. There's things moving and flying
around. You're also moving at a pretty
pretty high clip like it. It pushes the limits of what you
could probably do in this, and for the most part, the is pretty
good in this as well, I found. So for the time, yeah.
For the time, yeah. For the time.
Yeah, not a whole lot, I would say.
I would say one. Of the reasons why we're getting
such good performance is there really is a lack of enemies in
this game. Yeah, there's no, there's no AI
enemies that really come at and attack you.
There's the clowns, like, they're just kind of nuisances,
but they they just show up every once in a while here or there.
Like for the most part this is a big empty space that you're just
moving rocket. And when you do have an enemy
like a like one of those flying cars or something, it's a flying
car. There's no animations on it.
Besides, it's like moving around in a space, you know, like they
didn't, they didn't really. I think it's just, it's just for
what it is. It runs better.
It's just not pushing all those polygons in that information as
much as it needs, or as much as it would have otherwise.
Yeah. No, I.
Think you're. I think you're right.
Yeah. It also puts a lot more emphasis
on the fact. That the the real challenge is
the platforming. There's no need for like, added
fluff. I I think that's.
What it is? It's like they want.
You to just hit up the platforming and that's it.
You know, this is me trying to explore a level that I just
can't figure out how to at this point.
You just gave up and you're like, I'm just gonna.
Explore now I I think I just fell off the level and I was
like. All right.
Well, next time I'll just die again.
So. So that's the other thing is
like, that actually reminds me of a point where I think the
respawn and the save stuff in this I wrote down as a note.
So respawning like the game's not easy, but like you fall off
a stage, for example in this, in this particular one where
there's no ground, you just fall into the clouds.
It'll respawn you at the closest sort of quote, UN quote spawn
point that that you come across so that you are are activating
and that. I find that to be somewhat
forgiving. Yeah, I think I think that's
pretty good. Some games don't even do that,
see, Like he's just rolling around when he dies and then he
responds. So I think I think there's
something to that. I think that helps a little bit.
You know, it's quick, you respawn, you go to an area and
you can just pick up where you left off.
When you die completely, you start at the beginning of the
level, but for the most part you can get back to where you were
fairly quickly, and then the save option doesn't have lives,
right? It doesn't.
Have. Lives.
Exactly. So you can die fifty times in
the first stage if you wanted to and you can just keep going.
It has a health bar that you can, you know get pieces to to
make your health bar larger as the game goes on.
That's totally fine. And then I I I don't know.
I wrote this down Same to like sort of thinking to myself I
don't know if this is unique at the time in like 9899 but a save
and quit option is that is that a thing at this point Like
unless you had like a PlayStation with a memory card
or unless you had the memory card in that like save and quit,
close the game and then everything is right there.
And and I found that in this game in particular, I don't know
why but you could be in the middle of anything.
You could be in the middle of a of a, you know the Last Battle
or last stage and a really difficult point.
I could be falling off a Cliff about to die.
I could pit, pause, save and quit, and I can pick up where I
left off the next time I turn the game on and everything is.
Safe. I didn't lose.
Progress on any stages. I didn't lose progress on
anything I collected. I have everything that I had to
that exact moment and maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of
it, but maybe it's because this game is not super easy.
Doesn't hold your hand like you guys have said that.
That feels good to me. That felt like not a hand hold.
It's not that, but it it worked in this game and I think it
needed to work. Otherwise it may have been even
more frustrating. I don't know.
I wrote that down as a point. Whether it actually is a legit
point or not, I don't know. You guys can correct me if I'm
wrong, but that's what it felt like.
If this game had lives, it would be a.
Much more frustrating experience I oh, I think that would make a
difference. I think that make a huge
difference. If it did, yeah.
Yeah, you have unlimited lives. That's.
I didn't even realize that at first.
And then I died, like, you know, like four times in one level,
which is really funny to me because.
Sly One has lives, So they kind of reverted.
Oh, does it really? Oh, I didn't know that.
Yeah. Sly, sly one's also very.
Easy. Oh, I don't know that I've
played the first time. I think I've.
Played the other ones, but yeah, yeah, it's here's, here's the
thing. The last level, OK, generally.
Generally I'd say yes, you have unlimited lives.
Everything's fine, you just spawn out where you need to
spawn out. It works great the last level
against the boss, against JoJo freaking.
Sucks, OK? And it doesn't suck because it's
bad. It sucks because if you.
If you you know what you're you. Do have lives.
Wait, hang on. It's not.
It's not lives per SE. It's your health.
It's your health if you if you
fall off a ledge and you have health.
You'll spawn up at. The top right or at the last
like checkpoint almost. But if you lose all your health,
you will have to completely restart.
Yes, OK. In this particular level at the
very least, yes. And this particular level is a
lot of platforming. A lot of, you know, semi
difficult platforming too difficult using all your
abilities. And all those using all your
abilities, it's the. Finale I got all the way to the
ball, which is the very last part of it.
Oh yeah, yeah, I. Fell off the ball.
And it was my last health. I had to completely restart
over. And that's when I looked up
cheat codes and I got called out of my video.
They're like low gravity cheat. I'm like, heck yeah.
I was like, I'm not ashamed to say that you put the low gravity
cheat on. I think I also put super jump.
I did like everything I could. I'm like, I'm just bypassing I
did this level the right way. I am bypassing it.
So I witted and I jump and I'm like, woo.
I'm like halfway to the end of 1 jump.
Like this will work. This will work I but it's fine.
There's nothing wrong with that. Like, you know, if if you got as
far as you did as well this part of it and also like are you
still playing the game and enjoying it, Yes, that's fine.
Just it. It is what it is.
I wanted to finish it. I was committed.
At that you're right there. So you're right there.
I was so irritated. I was like come on.
So that was I don't often break out the cheat codes, but I did
for this game. Yeah.
Yeah, the I. Like the final boss.
Just 'cause it was. It's different cause there's so
many final bosses in this era that the boss is so boring and
just like generic, like Mario 64.
I love that game, but the Bowser fights are just it's a level's
more interesting than the boss fight.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree for.
Sure. And I kind of like that they
made. They just kind of Jojo's not
really even a boss. He just, he's more of a thing in
the background and the actual boss is the level itself.
Yeah, totally staying true to the game.
Yes, that's what it is. Yeah, I.
I will say too, like even with elements like that, like that
particular part of the game, I don't know how he did it man.
Maybe I was just like in a groove that day that I did it
without the codes, but I can completely understand wanting to
have low gravity and like 100%. But it is.
He just went full send. Yeah, he went full send.
Yeah, I I went. Full send and Jiggu went full
send in one way. I went full send in the other
way. Either way, full send, yeah, it
was I I could totally see it. But I do think that like when it
comes to the platform and my favorite parts, at first I had a
hard time sort of wrapping my head around it.
Maybe it's because without the double jump or maybe it's 'cause
I just wasn't used to it yet. But I do really like the
swinging. I thought when you when you have
like 6 of them in a row, I just like the whole woo woo, woo,
woo, woo in. This and just like.
Jump grab, jump, grab, like I think that momentum really works
to me. I felt the groove of what Sucker
Punch was doing with that and those ones works pretty much
every time for me. Is was is it perfect every
single time they implement them? No.
But I think that when you when I once I got used to it,
especially a couple stages in and it's just the right amount
of difficulty. I found that I I really enjoyed
it and look forward to more of those.
I think it's the second or third stage, the sort of underground
one that I that we were looking at before.
Once you open up where the machine parts are and it gives
you that area, there's things spinning and you're going up,
you're going down, There's this thing spinning vertically and
horizontally and it's like really the first time that a lot
of that more complicated stuff happens.
And I thought that was like a ton of fun.
And I was like, oh, I get it now, I get it.
It's something that a sucker. Punch is just like known for
Yeah, like a cuz they're still doing this even maybe not so
much goes to Tushima, cuz that's very much it's own thing.
Different game. Yeah, yeah, in infamous.
In particular like 1. Of my favorite parts of that
game is like when you unlock more powers as coal, you can
legit jump off like the top of buildings and like electric
glide over like electrical wires and then jump in the air and
hover those are onto another one, onto another wire and just
like keep the momentum going. And it's all stuff that I kind
of can see like the original budding in like this game in
particular. Yeah, yeah, I could see that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think.
I think Fly had like that, kind of like.
Parkourish platforming. Oh, especially those games.
Yeah, and. And The Walking across the wires
and, you know, all that kind of stuff.
Yeah, I didn't realize this until now.
I just looked it up. The game, I mean, this is
Nintendo Power. It's not based on sales, but
even. I mean, I know Nintendo Power is
kind of like a, you know, a a marketing ploy for Nintendo
games in some ways at that time, but they rated it as the 18th
best and 64 game. That's just interesting, 'cause
it was very. Unknown yeah, at the time and
and that was in. Their 20th anniversary issue,
which I think would have been around this time around in 99,
so I'd like to see this list. I'm gonna.
I should look it up. Yeah, but.
Wait, there's there's some interesting.
Games that's above. Yes.
OK. Yeah.
This, this was late. This was.
Before the this when the console was still out, I'm sure there
was OK. I'm sure there was lots of lots
of other games that were not out yet for sure.
And I wanted to Did you guys build?
Did you guys do roller coaster? Tycoon.
Yes. Oh, this is it right here.
I I have. I have a video of it.
Perfect timing, perfect timing. I did this one and it was I
think I I I did one where I collected like the tokens and
then I made another one that did the all the numbers where I
could get the the actual ticket itself.
I thought this was gonna be a bigger thing in this.
Game like, no, it's it's very early on and then they kind of.
Forget about it. Yeah, yeah, it was like, it was
like 1. Of those things.
When people talk about this game, they show this clip,
right? They show the roller.
Coaster when you. See a trailer?
You see the roller coaster, it's A I'm the The freaking Game
cover. There's the roller coaster and
you think it's gonna play A? Major.
Factor in this game, it's the first level and then it never
shows up again. Yeah, and it's cool.
I liked it. I wish I could have built more
roller coasters. Yeah.
Also, I built the one that I'm. That we're watching right now
that I built. I built the loop to loop like by
accident. And I was like, I'm just gonna
try and see if I have no momentum and see if it works.
And it didn't. I was like fuck yeah.
Basically if anyone is again if anyone isn't watching what it is
is you go to an area at a theme park and it lets you build a
roller coaster. But you have to take momentum
into into play here where you have to make sure you go high
and and make sure that rocket goes down on the roller coaster
in order to go back up again and collect five points.
That will give you your ticket in it.
But you know you can do loops and you can do you know some
zigzags and whatever and stuff like that.
But it it's basically just gives you like this little rectangular
area to build your own roller coaster and it's kind of cool.
It kind of pulls out in like a separate little like mini menu
almost. It looks like and you just kind
of use a joystick and the A&B buttons to create new like a new
little like roller coaster and you can do whatever you want for
the most part within that confined space.
And I liked it. I thought that was kind of fun.
I thought it was it was cool. I wish.
I wish it came back, though I agree it happens once and then
never. Again, I know it.
It makes sense. You're in like a theme.
Park OK, get it. But like, I don't know maybe the
maybe do like some other kind of track.
I don't know figure it out like there's got to be a way that you
can you can do it. Well, they have the, the,
minecart, the. Mycart at this level.
And that you you don't. Build that track.
I know it's there. And in fact, they actually take
you off the track for like half of it multiple times, yeah.
Yeah. It's like, come on.
Yeah. I wonder if.
It was like a memory thing. 'Cause N64 games lacked the
memory at the time. Yeah, that's true.
That's true. That could.
Have been part. I mean, it's always, always
feels like that's that's pretty much an issue almost across the
board. It feels like with these larger
games, and again, not again. But that reminds me, it's not a
really long game. But there's a lot to do in this
and there's a lot to collect. Whether whether you get
everything, get the true ending or the OR the full ending or
not. There's a lot, there's a lot to
do here and I think there's a lot to master as well.
It's not an easy game, but it is something that you can
definitely get the feel of and the more and more you play it, I
think the more and more you feel like confident in being able to
do these platforming sections. When I was looking up sort of
reviews of it and stuff, I want to find where exactly what it
said. OK, this is a review that
happened at the time. I don't know what next Gen. is.
I don't know if that's like a magazine, magazine, I believe
magazine. I guess at the time this person
Doug Truman wrote, it's an attractive, almost anti violent
3D puzzler with graphics intended for kids but with some
puzzles whose level of challenge is more appropriate for adults.
And I think that is perfectly on point.
Yeah, I think that is a great way to sum of this up.
I don't think any of that's a negative, but it is something to
be aware of. I think if if you're going to go
into this game and you haven't played it before, I think
there's lots of fun to be had here.
It's just you have to be ready to not play the same 3D
platformer that you're used to because it is not like the
others I think. That's honestly one of the
reasons. Why it stands out nowadays is
just that compared to like a lot of the other platformers on N64,
this one really feels like its own thing.
Yeah, it it. Is and and it absolutely.
Is I think, Oh yeah, I wrote down the JoJo the raccoon looks
like Sly Cooper. Yeah, I I think so.
I had a good time with this game.
I I think once I got the hang of it, I was really gelling with
the with the momentum of it was really gelling with the with the
platforming. Yes, I didn't you know, like
some areas of it, but none of these games are really all that
perfect when it comes to that stuff in my opinion.
But I'm happy I played it like this is a game that was not on
my radar whatsoever, especially growing up as a kid.
Interestingly enough, I feel like if I knew what this is or
tried it at a friend's place, I would have definitely gone out
and and got this and been like, this is cool.
It's different. It's 3D platformer.
It's got cool music. I like the music even though
it's quite repetitive. I think the music's pretty good
for the most part. Other than the camera movements
like Jiggy mentioned, the sound effects are are pretty decent I
think. But yeah, I I enjoyed this game.
I think Rocket Robot on Wheels is worth your time.
Just be prepared for some more challenge than you may expect.
Jiggy. What about you man?
What do you think? Sort of final thoughts I I think
this game. I did a thorough analysis of it
on my YouTube channel and I think that it's it was overhyped
for me on my Discord, Like people wanted me to play this
game and I'd never played it, and I actually found it at a a
game store near me and it was I think I paid I.
Think I paid 80. Dollars for it, but I didn't
really care because that's pretty standard.
Yeah, it's a pretty. It's pretty around the mark of
where it sits. It actually might be on the low
end for a cartridge but it yeah, which is pretty nuts.
But I don't regret playing through it.
I think it's fun. I think realistically you you
look it up. I think they say like 6-7 hours
of like gameplay time for this. I would say I probably sat
around 10, maybe same, same, yeah.
I think I. Think it's a solid game.
I I it's just different. It's just not what I'm used to
and it's challenging. It's fun.
I I don't regret playing it. I think I think people would
like it and especially if you are looking for an N64 game,
that's a 3D platformer. But maybe just it's a little
fresh, right? It's fresh.
It feels different. It feels totally different than
anything else on the 64. I can't say that and I'll give
it some props for that. I think, I think baseline it's,
it's OK to good in my book. Sure.
OK to good. Yeah.
Bill.
Bill would say it's, it's the greatest game of all that.
No. So what what you know for you is
this like one of the, you know your, I mean you mentioned it a
little bit earlier, we talked about it, but this is like
pretty much right up there as far as platformers go,
especially in this era or this console.
So I didn't grow. Like I said earlier, I didn't.
Grow up with a lot of the classic N64 platformers.
So I came into this with a much different mindset, right,
Compared to a anyone who grew up with an N64 at the time.
And to me, the best way to describe this game is its
creative. It is by far one of the most I
want to say. Ambitious and probably.
Platformers on North 64, which is interesting.
To me because the N64. Had a lot of unique and original
platformers, but it also had a lot that basically copied Mario
64. Yeah.
Oh yeah.
And I think this one. To me is special to me.
Just in the fact that it. Is basically the bare bone, like
the bones of what would become like sucker punches.
Legacy over at Sony with their incredibly creative and uniquely
ambitious like platformers that are full of charm and they just
feel different than like the rest.
Like, say, like moving on to like their future stuff.
Like with Sly Cooper. I still think out of Sony's big
three platformers, Sly Cooper was the best pure platformer of
the three compared to like Jack and.
Daxter and. Ratchet and clank, which had
their own strengths in different ways.
Sure. Yeah, yeah.
And this is this is like you like you mentioned earlier this
is like very foundational for what they did and and everything
which is which is great you can see a lot of the.
DNA of what's what to me is Sucker Punch Productions in this
game. Yeah, yeah.
It's it's it's it's all there and it's.
I just I think you're right. I think this is this is a a
special game because of what they tried to do and I I do
think that that is not to say like oh they tried to do it and
they failed completely. They didn't.
I I think there's a lot. No, it's not a failure by any
means. No way.
Yeah, exactly. I camera controls better than
croc. That's what you can say on that.
Better than most N64. Platformers.
Yeah, it it's still weren't. Made by Nintendo.
They were made, yeah. Yeah, and that's the thing too.
Like yeah, sure it's different if you are Nintendo 100% that
makes a difference. Yeah.
This I I'm, I'm, I'm happy that
that I sort of like semi stumbled upon this thanks to you
guys. So I I agree.
I think it's it's a really fun game.
It's definitely worth, definitely worth playing for
sure if these 3D platformers are up your alley, like I do think
that it it it is one of those titles that makes makes a a
pretty good effort of doing something different and I think
that is definitely something that that needs to be
experienced. I think so, So before we wrap
up. Do you guys want to hear some
fun rocket references in later Sucker Punch games?
Yes, absolutely, 100% so. Similar to how?
Like Sucker Punch likes to reference their older games and
their newer games. Like how in Infamous, Cole
McGrath had a Sly Cooper patch on his backpack and there was a
poster for Sly Four at the movie theater.
An interesting thing is in Sly Cooper Two there is a grave
marker in, I believe Paris that says rib Rocket.
Oh what? Really.
And I believe it says like the year the game.
Came out nice there was. There was also a.
Room in slide 2 where it's one of the levels.
I forget the one exactly, but if you destroy all the items and
like furniture in the room and then you stand on this one
platform, the game will zoom into the center of the room and
3D models like new models of Rocket and JoJo will appear in
the center that you can look at what?
Interesting. It's a little fun little.
Thing that. Sucker Punch threw in there just
to see if people could find it. That's great.
That that that. Seems like super like that one
in particular would be like tough to sort of stumble upon
sort of thing and then also in their recent they did.
Their big like, I think it was like they're either 25th or I
wanna say 25th anniversary. They did like sounds right this
big PO. They did a big poster
celebrating their basically the games that they made and of
course it had Sly, Infamous and Ghost Joshima on it but it also
had Rocket and JoJo in the corner which was a nice touch
nice. That's good.
It's.
It's it is one of those games that seems to be a little bit
forgotten, whether it's on the 64 or whether it's from the
studio and stuff, or at least it's not at the forefront of
people's mind and stuff. So at least they're they're
still saying like, hey, we did this thing, I hope.
I hope people remember 18 baby, yeah.
It's also never been. Re released, which is one of the
other reasons why it's kind of got this mystique to it I I
think, I think. They could, they could find a
way to re release this and you know, maybe it's, maybe it's
not. It's gotta be a licensing issue.
That's. Probably the Ubisoft and stuff
is probably. Probably a problem.
I would assume there's something to it with that, but sometimes
it's small things, sometimes it's music, sometimes it's
character design, sometimes there's usually something there.
But, you know, maybe you don't have to.
Pay 8200. Dollars to play the game and
stuff. Hopefully you not everyone has
to but if you have a chance to pick up a copy or you have a
chance to experience this game I think it's worth it.
I think it's a good game. I think rocket Robot on on
wheels is something that people should try and and as I usually
say for people that bring in bring games.
I'm going to say to both of you guys thanks for bringing this
game more to my attention because I'm happy I played it.
If if not perfect, still a good time and still something that
I'm happy I've played. So before we get out of here
Bill, let's talk about your stuff online and all the the
expanding shows that you keep doing and and all that let's
let's chat about your work. Yeah.
So I think the. Last time I was on.
It was mostly still just G and CI think 3D O existed, but it
wasn't active at the time. I think you were like just
kicking it off. Yeah, I well 'cause I did the, I
did the. Original like 3 episodes and
then it went on hiatus for good like half a year.
Just because of. Logistical reasons, yeah.
But yeah, so my three shows I currently have, I have my main
show is Gaming and collecting. That is a gaming and anime based
nostalgia podcast I do with my sister Alex, where we talk about
a whole bunch of different games, anime just different
stuff from our child. Let's be able to talk about some
modern stuff every now and then. My second show is the 3D O
Experience, which may or may not have been inspired by this
podcast. Yes.
It is a. Retrospective podcast talking
about the Panasonic, well, the 3D O console which was famously
made by Panasonic and it's essentially a show where me and
my Co host rack, we go over either the games we talked
about, some of the developers or we talked about the company
behind it, the console, basically everything in between.
I kind of given sort of a retrospective of this very
obscure console from the the 90s.
It it is. Honestly, I know.
Almost nothing about this console about these games.
It was something that would like I knew existed when I was
younger but didn't really know anything about and still don't.
I have learned more in just a few episodes of the podcast than
I ever have leading up to this point.
So if the three, even if you never, even if you don't have
any experience with a 3D O like me, it is worth a lesson because
it is very cool and interesting. Obviously you guys put on a good
show, so I highly recommend it. Thanks.
And then my final show, this one recently started.
It's a it's more of a spin off than a new podcast.
It releases in the GNC feed directly, but I do a third show
called Geek Addicts, which is a pop culture podcast I do with my
my friend Matt. And we basically just talk about
all sorts of pop culture things like gaming, anime, comics,
books, all sorts of stuff like once a week.
Just it's most the best way to describe it is just two buddies
like shoot the shit for an hour every every week.
Love it. Love it.
All that stuff's on podcast feeds Jiggy.
What about you man? What's what's happening on the.
I mean you did you did something in Rocket Robot on Wheels.
What? What's happening at the at the
YouTube page? Oh, so much is happening on the.
YouTube page. I just feel like I've I've been
pumping stuff out. You have to just put out, just
put out in analyzing everything about Earthworm Jim one and two,
a little retrospective playing through those and those, those
are those are very hard, well not Earth from gym 2, but earth
from gym one very hard, a very unforgiving, but it was a lot of
fun and I love it And so I got that, I got a big, I'm super
excited. I think I mentioned it a while
back but the mapping out the rear rear universe video I've
been working on going to have a special guest on it.
It's going to be super cool, super pumped for that one.
I'm just waiting for the guests to finish their part, but it's
going to be something really special.
If you love Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo Kazooie, any rare, rare
game, basically of all time, it's going to be represented in
some way there. So I'm super stoked for that.
But yeah, it's been been a lot of fun.
It's been a wild ride. Yeah, just keeps growing.
Yeah, you're plugging away, man. The stuff is is.
Awesome rocket robot on wheels as well, if you want to hear a
little bit more about that. From jiggy and breaking things
down, from gameplay to music to sound to all of that stuff.
You hear a little bit more about that on his YouTube page and I
want to address something. Yes, please do I.
Want to address something? Rocket.
Robot on wheels, plural. OK, it's real, but I want to
defend it, OK? Because I never even thought
about that until you said this by the.
Way I I feel. Like I've seen people pointed
out and be like it's rocket robot on wheel, not wheels,
right? But he does drive a lot of
vehicles. Oh, that's true.
And he. Does that like?
So many vehicles without the game, so I'm defending wheels as
the proper title. So that, let's face it, Rocket
robot on. Wheel just sounds it sounds bad.
Yeah, or like. Unicycle robot.
Like it just wouldn't, wouldn't quite work.
Yeah, Rocket the circus robot. Yeah, right.
I mean, but then that just doesn't.
Sound as appealing? You know, like it just doesn't
Rocket Cycle Bot. It's like.
Yeah, OK, I'm done. No, no, it's good.
You know what I. Literally never even thought
about it until you said that. Well, that's a good.
Thing or not, I got it. Yeah, I.
Don't know if that's a good thing that I never thought about
it, but yeah, go play this game, Don't think about it.
Don't think about it, just play it.
Yeah, and I just I just subscribed so.
Yeah, word. Yeah, there you go.
And another one, lock them in. Remember 64 Show, Across the
Board patreon.com/remember 64 Show.
You can also get all the all the episodes early.
There you can find us across social media, Remember 64 show
and yeah some some gameplay videos and get a video version
of this. We're referencing the video of
me playing and being terrible at at most games that we play on
the show. That's because we haven't
playing while we're recording episodes.
If you want to see what we're talking about, that's the best
way to find it. And other than that, some pretty
fun games coming up as 2024 continues.
And until next time, everybody, thank you very much for joining
us. Jiggy Bill, thanks for being
here and we will see you next time on Remember 64.