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One could argue the game continued to refine the 3D platformer genre for years to come. Many felt that the game was a tad too big and that there was too much stuff to collect, but no one could deny that the traditional Donkey Kong charm, loveable characters, engaging gameplay and bopping soundtrack were all present and accounted for. The game was one of the most massive platformers of its day - for better or worse. And speaking of Donkey Kong… Donkey Kong 64ĭonkey Kong’s first and only platforming adventure for the N64 was a tremendous hit when it was released in late 1999. Not only did the game incorporate planes and hovercrafts into the mix, but it also featured a fleshed-out adventure mode, complete with an engaging storyline, bosses and even a villain to defeat.Ĭouple that with a soundtrack by incomparable Donkey Kong Country composer David Wise, and you have a racing game that, even today, stands tall alongside the most recent Mario Kart entries. Diddy Kong Racing took the kart-based gameplay of its inspiration and turned it up to 11. Actually, calling it a clone would be doing the game a tremendous disservice. Rare’s first foray into the racing genre made for a formidable Mario Kart clone. The game proved popular enough to warrant two sequels, Bomberman Hero and Bomberman 64: The Second Attack, as well as countless adventure games for later consoles.
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The result was a short but sweet adventure game that utilized Bomberman’s skills in ways never before seen and cemented him as a hero from that point onward. The series’ first fully 3D title, Bomberman 64, flipped things around, giving the primary focus to action-adventure and platforming with multiplayer taking a back seat. Since its inception, Hudson Soft’s Bomberman franchise was best known for addictive multiplayer with a secondary emphasis on action-adventure. One can understand why Nintendo would opt to wait a bit to announce a release for Tooie on the service, allowing gamers time to enjoy the brilliant original first before diving into the epic sequel.
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It was bigger, darker, and more ambitious, building on its predecessor in almost every conceivable way, just as any good sequel should. The 2000 sequel, Banjo-Tooie, is typically held in even higher regard than the original. Gamers were floored to see that the original Banjo-Kazooie game, now owned by Microsoft, would be seeing a Nintendo Switch Online release sometime in the future, marking its first-ever re-release on a Nintendo console.
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