Nerd Mentality

MIA Files - N64 Edition #4

Posted August 13th 2005 by Kenneth McMillan.

Eight years have passed and I still love this game. Back then - 1997 for me, 1996 for most of the world - few games brought a sense of something unique that you weren't going to find in any other game. Fewer still had a uniqueness which also translated into quality. Pilotwings 64 was, for me, such a game and among the launch games for the Nintendo 64. You would think, since there were just 2 or 3 launch titles, that they would all get their time in the sun. Alas, one of those games was Super Mario 64, meaning Pilotwings 64 (and also Shadows of the Empire in Europe) were vastly overshadowed and, while receiving much praise, largely ignored by the buying public. The price of the games back then wasn't much help, as few people could afford more than one game early in the N64's life and the dream of running around as Mario in true 3-D was too alluring... for most. Within 30 seconds of running and jumping around outside of Peach's castle, I was bored into turning the game off and putting Pilotwings 64 in. Super Mario 64 might have been my first experience of a fully realized 3-D world, but it was the huge landscapes and ultimate freedom offered in this other game that blew me away and then kept me enthralled for the rest of that year.

Made by fledgling video game developer Paradigm Entertainment and Nintendo's close guidance, Pilotwings 64 is a casual flight simulation in which missions have to be completed using a multitude of vehicles. The game was off to a good start when Paradigm were given the task of updating the classic SNES game, as their credentials included making simulators for the U.S. armed forces. This became immediately evident when you took flight and gazed over the incredibly detailed islands. Everything can be very overwhelming at first, despite the lack of options with which to confuse you. Starting a mission after turning the N64 on is simple enough, but once you're airborne it becomes difficult to comprehend the massive environments and the precise nature of the controls. Just keep in mind that even though I said "casual flight simulation," Pilotwings 64 is far removed from all those fighter jet and commercial plane sims that infest PC game collections everywhere, thanks to either Paradigm's own vision or Nintendo's involvement and desire to keep close to the original game.

The basic premise of the game is to gain points in a group of missions by using various machines to fly around the islands. Points are dished out in many ways - some as simple as flying through a succession of rings, others as complicated as taking out a giant robot with missiles. Each of the means to fly is very different from the others and learning to master all of them is a challenge in itself. You can choose from the gyrocopter, hang glider and rocketbelt with the possibility of unlocking a few secret vehicles later. Choosing one vehicle and character to start the game takes you to a training mission which is very simple and requires only a basic knowledge of the controls to complete. Accumulating a certain amount of points from these missions allows you to move onto the next License Class. The more advanced classes have more missions to each of them, so things get much tougher as you go on.

The controls take getting used to even if you've played flight simulators before: the rocketbelt can be awkward to direct at first, the hang-glider takes a lot of practice before you know just how long you can fly at a particular height and speed, and the gyrocopter can be difficult to maneuver at high speed. And that's even before you have to master landing the darn things for a successful mission completion. Despite the somewhat cartoon-ish graphical interface, it's all very precise and intricate. Not everyone will feel rewarded for doing well or find the patience to learn enough to progress to later classes. It can be very frustrating trying for perfect scores in many missions, but persevere and you'll feel that you have accomplished something.

The islands themselves were amazing. I was in awe for the first few months of owning the game, always finding new areas to explore and things to see far past the actual mission side of the game. That's one thing about it I love - you can take on the missions to be rewarded with secrets later on, or you can just relax and explore the huge islands and be rewarded in a different way. Do what you want when you want and appreciate the freedom allowed in the game. Fly around a mini version of the U.S. called Little States, circle the Empire State building with just the sound of wind rushing past in the hang glider, or take Route 66 to LA passing through Monument Valley and the Kansas fields as you go. Use the rocketbelt to soar over the Rockies and land on Mount Rushmore, enjoying the view and solitude. Take in the picturesque sights of Frost Island and see a school of whales or ascend to the snow covered peaks of the mountains. Chill out on Crescent Island's beaches before exploring the deep caverns within the long dormant volcano. See the charming holiday resort on Holiday Island, packed with detail. During the missions these islands are populated with objectives, rings to fly through, floating balls to fire missiles at, thermal air currents to climb. There is a lot crammed into this huge game.

Even a decade after its development, the graphics still impress me. There is some fade-in and some pop-up on objects such as trees and buildings, but at certain places you can see for miles to the horizon and the landscape can be spectacular to look at. Not always though, as when you get close to the ground the textures take on a rather "muddy" quality - an infamous problem in many early N64 games. This is not to say that it makes the game ugly, though, as being up in the air allows for a more natural look. There are some small glitches as well, but nothing that detracts from the gameplay, luckily enough. The nature of the graphics varies from realistic (the splashes of water and look of the sky) to cartoonish (the character pilots and the game's interface), but it all meshes together very well, making a convincing world that impresses without taking itself too seriously. The same can be said for the sound, as it too varies between cartoonish and realistic. The sound of waves hitting the shore and wind rushing past are spot on, but the cries of your character hitting the ground are very exaggerated and shrill. They're not noticeable enough to annoy or stand out often, but they add to the game's atmosphere effortlessly. However, the music is not to everyone's tastes. I suppose it could best be described as upbeat jazz and funk with appropriate mellow tunes for the calmer missions. It's nicely done to suit each level and vehicle. The graphics and sound come together for my favorite moment in any game. During one hang glider mission the air thermals go as high as 600 feet, and at that height there's enough airtime to soar 12 miles in any direction. Floating over the island and the ocean with the sunset on the horizon, the wind rushing past and a wonderful accompanying piece of music makes for the most relaxing experience I've found in any game. This is just one of the many reasons I go back to the game time and time again.

Not everything holds up well to the accelerated aging process that games go through, however. Ten years is more than a generation, and introducing this game to a friend recently (meaning I begged for years for him to buy it), left them unimpressed and unable to understand why I like it so much. The weather and time are sadly static, and these days the sky would change, the sun would pass overheard and shadows would form. There is the vague illusion of time passing thanks to planes and hang-gliders flying over the islands and boats sailing through the seas, but real-time effects would have been great. Of the two areas where I find the game sorely lacking, this is one of them. The other would have been the wonderful feature (begging to be an unlockable) of wandering around on foot, sans fuel worries and the prospect of crashing into objects at high speed. Oh well. While I don't follow current gaming much at all now, I think gamers today expect more "realism" and interactivity than that which Pilotwings 64 can offer.

There are still many impressive aspects to the game in my eyes, and they all add up to make something which gives me hundreds of hours of fun while always feeling fresh. If you are looking for immediate action, then don't look to Pilotwings 64 for it. The fun will be found when you learn to take the game at your own pace while enjoying the wealth of sights waiting to be seen in each of the creatively made islands. It's a perfect game for armchair explorers. I think that, even in the current climate where vast 3-D landscapes and worlds in games are expected, if not demanded - they're certainly commonplace anyhow - there is still something special to be found in the game that couldn't quite get out from behind Mario's shadow all those years ago. Not everyone will enjoy it because of its slow start, but it's a game that can be found for eight dollars that rewards your efforts, and I'm all for that. Here's hoping the next game in the series eventually gets made...

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