Pilotwings 64
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| Pilotwings 64 {{#if:{{{image|}}}|<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center;">{{{image|}}} | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Paradigm Entertainment {{#if:{{{publisher|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Publisher(s)<td>{{{publisher|}}} |
| Release date(s) | Image:Flag of Japan.svg June 23 1996 Image:Flag of the United States.svg September 29 1996 Image:European flag.svg March 1 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single player {{#if:{{{ratings|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Rating(s)<td>{{{ratings|}}} |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 {{#if:{{{media|}}}|<tr><th style="background-color: #ccccff;">Media<td>{{{media|}}} |
Pilotwings 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64, released in 1996 along with the launch of the console and the console's other launch title, Super Mario 64. It is a sequel to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Pilotwings, which was also a game released with the launch of the SNES.
Contents |
Gameplay
In Pilotwings 64, as with its popular predecessor, the player must complete a variety of missions with different airborne vehicles. Examples include destroying various ground targets within a limited time using a missile-equipped gyrocopter, navigating through large floating rings placed throughout a city using a rocket belt, taking a picture of a smokestack while riding a hang glider, or firing a chosen character out of a large cannon towards a target several hundred yards away. For each mission, points are awarded based on time, damage, fuel usage, accuracy, softness of landing, and similar criteria.
The game also places a large emphasis on exploration, with detailed, object-dense environments and specialized modes (such as the Birdman mode) made solely for wandering around the game's four islands.
While undoubtedly a popular game, the PAL conversion of the game was widely considered one of the worst of the N64's history, with borders of over an inch on the top and bottom of the screen.
Vehicles
Standard vehicles
Bonus vehicles
- Cannon (each level has four sections [one per target], and the player is given three attempts at each target)
- Jumble Hoppers (boots enabling the wearer to jump to extreme heights and distances)
- Parachute (get in formation with other skydivers, then land on the target)
- Birdman Suit (with no objective or fuel gauge, the player can fly until they crash or quit the level)
Locations
- Holiday Island- A small oval shaped island complete with a castle rising in the center of the island and a fair nearby. There is a special cheat activated when a character hovers with a jetpack in a cave the islands main river is flowing out turning night into day or day into night. Some say that the island is modeled after Ie-shima (Ei Island) in Okinawa, Japan.
- Ever-Frost Island- An ice-laden mountainous island(s) sporting an industrial area, a large town with a lighthouse, and an oil well that is activated when the player ventures too close to it.
- Crescent Island- This crescent-shaped island is mostly covered with tropical rain forests and white sandy beaches with an airport on the lower east side. A large waterfall on the east side flows from off top a mountain leading back into a large cave that traverses part of the island exiting out on the Western Side of the Mountain Range splitting into three very beautiful waterfalls. It has a large Resort Town boosting two swimming pools and some tennis courts looking out to a small island with a village centered inside the half crescent island. There is a town with a church bell ringing continuously on the east side of the island and a cave nearby. Another village is located on the North Western side near the river exit of island with a fire which will surely burn a character that passes too close.
- Little States- Is a miniature version of the lower 48 states of the USA surrounded by water. The island has many famous cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Chicago, St. Louis, Washington D.C., and New York City and many of their associated monuments. Two buildings in Seattle and New York City have small entrances that, when you enter and exit out the other side, will transport you to either city. If you go down to Florida make sure to check out the John F. Kennedy Space Center, to see what vehicle can reach the launching Space Shuttle before it goes too high. There is a gas station near Florida and if you need fuel just land and move around the parking lot slowly until you are given a full tank. The "gas station" is essentially the city of Atlanta at its relative geographic location. Also of interest is that at Mount Rushmore, instead of Washington's head on the far left, the player is treated to a carving of Mario. Upon being shot at by the gyrocopter's missiles or the cannon, it becomes a carving of Wario.
Characters
- Lark (a.k.a. Nester)
- Kiwi
- Hawk
- Ibis
- Goose
- Robin
Rave Reviews
For its time, Pilotwings 64 set new standards for 3D graphics on a home console.
- Next Generation Magazine proclaimed, "...so far ahead of anything yet seen on a next-generation system, it defies belief...easily the most impressive 3D ever seen on a console." (July 1996)
- GameFan magazine said, "...in a league of its own, begging no comparison with other series." (September 1996)
- Edge magazine gushed, "...it's a stunning piece of technical showmanship...a fine example of how designers have flourished with the creative freedom afforded by both the technology and expertise of a leading 3D graphics company." (July 1996)