Mento

@chamurai: Just the one train driving sim on N64 as far as I know, but there's two horseracing games. Really hoping neither of those show up, they tend to be way more menu-based. Like I'd even know how to raise a champion racehorse even if it was in English.

@borgmaster: That sounds right. 3D game development must've cost an arm and a leg and took way more time besides, so the contractors were probably given the schedules and resources they needed to make them half-decent. Doesn't explain Blues Brothers 2000 but all rules have exceptions. Either way, I guess I won't have to be too guarded when another licensed game shows up (there aren't any next month).

Speaking of next month, well, I really should be careful what I wish for.

@sethmode: Thanks for the heads up. I got his name correct in 3/4 of the instances, so at least there were only some light Yagami errors.

I'm not sure what they do about the tailing. They added more upgrades to make it more painless this time, but it still runs into the same problems AC did with the concept: it's just a really slow and really dull game of red light, green light.

@jeffrud: No spoilers, but I'm probably going to be a bit kinder to Aidyn over Quest 64 because I haven't spent any money on the former. That said, I may still end up having some residual nostalgic affection for dumb little Brian and his magic stick so who knows.

@borgmaster: The random pick for next month is indeed a bad-looking 3D platformer involving a dude in a spacesuit, so we got terrifyingly close there. Almost feels like karma for writing that list (especially since it's a game I didn't include).

@judaspete: I didn't give the placement a whole lot of thought but I put them in that order because Dark Rift's aesthetic was a little more interesting (aliens over medieval warriors). They're otherwise both very chunky fighters that haven't held up.

Still got War Gods to look at, but that won't be showing up next month.

I think Nintendo would sooner make a game where Zelda is a girl than a game where Metroid is one.

@nodima: I played on PC Game Pass so I can't speak to the controller stuff, but I feel something similar to your final paragraph and that review in that the game overall seemed inconsistent with its narrative approach. I wonder if the game wasn't pulling a deliberate bait and switch, making you think it was going to be one of heavy "Message" social studies types of adventure game given the relatively realistic focus on the hardships of Louisiana living during those relatively sedate opening few hours, and then descending into absolute insanity around the time the giant cyberchicken machine god shows up to offer your dead mom some cryptocurrency in exchange for an angel ball.

It's why I held off on the game until this late in this little GOTY process of mine: I genuinely figured I was going to be in for another KR0 misery expedition until that mid-game shift. Maybe going a little cuckoo did rob the game's more dramatic moments regarding Kay's family and the future of the region of much of their seriousness once it circled back around to them during that trippy sequence in the spaceship where you're exploring your house again, especially with how silly everything got while LeBlanc was following you around, but I found myself enjoying it quite a bit more at that point because I had zero idea where the story might be heading. Not to say it wasn't good before then but I sort of approve of any video game narrative abruptly losing the plot, as it were, as long as it continues to be engaging.

Actually, I probably feel the same way about Norco as I do that Sorry to Bother You movie. You think it's this one thing with this one particular statement to make until it suddenly becomes something very different.

@borgmaster: "Could the graphics team change the model slightly so that his hand is gripping something? We want to stick an N64 controller in there." "No dice." "Well... I guess the poster artist will think of something."

@arbitrarywater: Look. Any other sport and I'd make an effort. Like baseball. Hitting things with sticks? I'm into it.

I don't like knowing there's another dozen of these things out there in the catalog list. Waiting.

(Good thing the randomizer has already given me yet another grimdark edgelord fighter for next time.)

@bigsocrates: I remember us butting heads over the definition of Indie for another one of these (maybe an Ori?) but in this case I'm going to 100% concede that I'm really stretching the definition of the term well beyond breaking point. I just wanted an excuse to play it during this stupidly packed GOTY feature I've landed myself with. Maybe I should just rename this feature "A Game I Played This Week".

@sparky_buzzsaw: I definitely had that feeling while playing, wishing I liked playing it more because everything about the presentation is so solid and I instinctively want any big 3D collectathon platformer to be good so more of them get made. That's always been the curse of Double Fine though: excellent premises, excellent style, so-so gameplay.

@vortextk: Yeah, I somehow missed that Helmut was Jack Black (and that Nick/Gristol was Elijah Wood) until I checked the cast list afterwards. For such a flamboyant role he managed to rein it in a lot, I guess because there was a lot of tragedy around that character too.

I'm with you on the mind levels, I generally found their inventiveness the game's highlight but the combat and platforming necessary to get around them was a little weaker. I feel like the mechanical nuances of the gameplay is the sort of thing that can improve with sequels (even if it didn't with this one so much) but working up to that level of creativity wouldn't be as easy to pull off. (Not that game design is ever easy, mind, but relatively speaking at least. Don't see many games with this amount of imagination.)

The Woodstock/Yellow Submarine vibe of that level just made me realize the '60s was 60 years ago. Just odd to see in a game that has the sort of youthful chaotic energy where I wouldn't be surprised to see an adaptation on Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network someday.