The N64 had a lot of fantastic titles grace the platform over its run. But as with any other console there were titles that got announced but never saw release for one reason or another. Some we have a lot of information about while others left us with nothing but a blurb in a gaming magazine. Let’s take a look at a few of those titles right now!
- . Street Fighter EX
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The Nintendo 64 had a lot of games and genres to choose from, but one genre that was lacking on the platform was the fighting game. That’s not to say that we didn’t get a number of them (Smash Bros. being the most well known) but most of the ones we got kind of sucked. There isn’t that much love for War Gods or Deadly Arts out there online.
So, the fact that we missed on a Street Fighter game on the N64 was a real shame. Street Fighter 2 was a game that changed the world and did so with a lot of help of the Super Nintendo, as it was one of the best ports you could enjoy at home. Street Fighter EX seemed like the perfect fit for the console with its chunky polygons and smooth fighting.
The game was announced for the N64, which made sense with the success SF2 on the SNES, but it was quietly canceled without notice. Maybe Sony got the exclusive rights for the game on the PS1, or maybe the team felt the N64 simply was too hard to work with thanks to using carts. We may never know but it would make Street Fighter 2 on the SNES the last core game to see release on a Nintendo console, something that still persists today.
- . Die Hard
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The history for the development of Die Hard was a weird one. Originally developed as an independent shooter game for the N84, the game known as Muzzle Velocity was forced to be adapted into a movie tie-in game when developer Bits Studios joined forces with Fox Interactive. This is pretty common for a game in development to be picked up and turned into something else, but it just so happens that that something else was an FPS tie-in for the film Speed 2: Cruise Control.
Not a series I’d peg for an FPS, but I suppose if the game had a number of mission for our hero prior to the cruise ship, with said ship being the final few stages, it might have worked. What didn’t work was Speed 2 in theaters. With the move bombing, the studio moved away from it and instead grabbed the Fox license for Die Hard. That made a lot more sense for an FPS and with Goldeneye showing it can be down the game shifted once again. Die Hard featured a multiplayer mode in the vein of Goldeneye and things looked promising.
But it seemed that time was not on the teams side, especially with the game changing concept three times. With the N64 lifecycle coming to an end the team tried to move to the Gamecube and change ideas by turning the Die Hard movie into a linear cinematic shooter. The game simply saw too many changes and implementation of new ideas that when it released as Die Hard: Vendetta is came out as just another generic shooter.
- . Mini Racers
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The N64 had a lot of fun arcade racers and even a couple of simulation racing games. While none of those were anywhere close to Gran Turismo, at least the arcade side of the racing world on on lockdown on the N64. Crusin’, Rush, Beatle Adventure and more were a lot of fun and fondly remembered today. Mini Racers from developer Looking Glass Studios may have been another of those fun arcade racers.
Heavily inspired by classics like Micromachines and RC Pro-Am, Mini Racers would have let 4-players race radio controlled cars around a bunch of tracks. The main feature of the game would have been the track editor, and if you wanted new races but didn’t want to build new tracks, a random track generator option was available as well. The camera would have been the really killer on a game like this and the team seemed to understand this.
During development they implemented a configurable camera that let you see the action in a couple of different ways. Stick to the traditional isometric view or pick a more classic top down view, the options allowed you to pick what you liked best. The game was seemingly canceled as by the time it got fully rolling the N64 was pretty much dead and the Gamecube was already on the way. A lot of interesting games get the axe when a console’s endgame is in sight.
- . Animal Leader
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Here’s a title most people probably have never heard of. Developer Marigul had it rough on the N64 as their big title Doshin The Giant released on the ill-fated Nintendo 64 DD add-on that never saw release outside of Japan. Well, it didn’t see much of a release inside Japan, but that’s a story for another day. Animal Leader is a simple concept that previewers seemed to enjoy. You take control on a tiny animal and it’s your job to survive in the wilds.
You eat, drink, and fight off other predators that live alongside you. As you eat food and other animals that you beat in battle, you have the chance to evolve into a bigger creature and take on the abilities of those you ate up. Think of it like a very early version of a game like SPORE. Previews seemed to really enjoy the overall concept and the fact that animals went about their own business around you at all times.
The forced sleep mechanic also added some challenge as you don’t want to be caught out in the open. One thing various outlets stated was that the game looked pretty awful with animals that remind us of the ones from Crossy Road. Still, a watered down SPORE game on the N64 would have been pretty awesome. Think of the possibility if Nintendo released the game and simply added Pokémon into the mix. At least the game got a second life and released on the Gamecube as Cubivore to middling reviews.
- . Echo Delta
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The N64 saw a couple of RTS games in the form of Starcraft and Command & Conquer, and while fine enough games, the system didn’t ever see an RTS designed specifically for the platform. Echo Delta was to be that game and even revealed to the world at Space World 2000. Alongside the RTS features, Echo Delta featured some action elements as well on your journey to recover a sunken ship while mining energy on the sea floor.
And underwater RTS sounds pretty interesting as I can only think of one other such title with the PC release of Submarine Titans. A prototype was eventually released online that gave us a pretty good idea of the basics of Echo Delta and showed how energy is collected, how your sub moves around, and some basic combat. As a huge fan of RTS games growing up, Echo Delta looks like it could have been something really unique on the platform.
The action and rescue aspect of the game makes the whole thing feel more well-rounded, especially as an RTS on a console was still pretty new and out there. Of all the games mentioned on this list, Echo Delta is probably the one that I wish we got the most as the controls would probably work better than he RTS ports we ended up getting.
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