Star Fox 64 and Uselessness

On 04/12/2013 at 02:28 AM by Super Step

So some of you may remember a week or so ago I had fired up the N64 and found that Donkey Kong 64 and 1080 Snowboarding would glitch after a few minutes of playing. I mentioned that I had been fiddling with the A/V cables (now that I remember red goes in the middle, there should be a lot less of that in the future) and turning the console on/off several times trying to get it to work, as well as the fact for some reason I always seem to have to turn the DVD player on then off to get full image and sound... I actually don't think that's entirely true, and next time without any A/V cable troubleshooting, I don't think that'll be the case. I need to work on getting my color-coded wires down before I fail to diffuse a bomb and kill myself. After that stunt I pulled on my neighbors with the HAL 3000 two blogs ago, It's only a matter of time, really.

Maybe watching Queer Eye for the Straight MacGyver can help

Well, I was playing Star Fox 64 this time, for quite a while, but then it froze I believe right at midnight, or close to it, cause I pressed the TV/Video button after turning it off, and Daily Show was just starting. So what I'm thinking is this may have something to do with the fact I was recording a re-run of Conan at 11:30, then recording a Daily Show re-run at midnight, while Conan was still going, and I'm thinking because the TV I play on is hooked up to the DVR, maybe that was too much going at once, hence the game freezing? It is overkill, so something to think about.

Pictured Above: Men deep in thought

... about bomb diffusion and what a metrosexual MacGyver might look like

As for how far I got in the game itself, I was on the right (re: red-lined) path until Slippy died in the toxic waste planet. I had just the level before been thinking, "actually, annoying as that toad is, the submarine did have unlimited torpedos, and Falco and Peppy are being kinda disrepec..." *cut to next level* "Fuck you Slippy, I was having a great run! ASSHOLE!" So I had to beat the pirate guy boss without a health bar showing up for him. On the bright side, Kat showed up in Macbeth, the tank level I was taken to for failing.... or so I thought was a bright side, but she said she'd take the switches on the left if I got the right. Well, from what I could see, I got all the switches on the right, yet somehow still wound up with one or two swicthes showing up as red on the master switch at the end, and fighting the "bad-ending-to-the-level boss." So I restarted. A lot. Gets a little old having Falco say "I guess I should be thankful." Yes jackass, you should be; it was ONE SMALL ENEMY, and I saved your dumb ass from more damage pretty quickly.

So to recap:

Seemingly Useless (picture courtesy of Falco's remake of Titanic, subtitled "Going Down")

Definitely Useless (and apparently licks other toads before flying;

just cause Denzel can do it doesn't mean you can!)

Total ungrateful asshole, obsessed with cat porn

Anyway, I took into consideration some advice I was given last time:

Pixlbit's PB&J host, Jason Ross, said it was an issue with pins in the N64 itself not connecting to the cartridge correctly. I hadn't thought of that, but it seemed in there pretty tight this time, so I don't think that was it.

Coolseltzer was kind enough to give me a number to call and see if Nintendo would clean it. It does need to be cleaned further, so regardless, I'll be doing that as well, and calling if major problems persist.

teemurro77 had said to blow in the cartridge. Oh believe me, I grew up with cartridge-based Nintendos, I know the drill! lol so I don't think that's it, but I did like the comment.

Thanks to everyone that was kind enough to comment that blog with helpful troubleshooting tips on that blog, and if you don't think my DVR overkill hypothesis holds water and want to help me be less of a jackass when troubleshooting my consoles, or just want to share some thoughts on Star Fox 64, feel free to leave a comment.

Ranger1

04/12/2013 at 07:19 AM

Yeah, I got nothin'. Sorry.

Super Step Contributing Writer

04/12/2013 at 12:28 PM

Neither do I

Matt Snee Staff Writer

04/12/2013 at 09:33 AM

well, the N64 is old. I don't think they have a shelf life of 2,000 years or anything, like twinkies. I wouldn't be surprised if it had just had it. You could get a used N64 console on ebay for pretty cheap...

04/12/2013 at 12:30 PM

I actually really doubt it's done for, considering the outside factors whenever something has gone wrong. But eBay is always an option if it's truly kaput.

Patrick Kijek Contributing Writer

04/15/2013 at 12:37 AM

Did you know that Twinkies are coming back? It was all in the marketing plan, I say.

04/15/2013 at 12:54 AM

The reason I knew that is cause they're made from pieces of my body, and are also sometimes used to keep Keith Richards living. He too now has a creamy center.

04/23/2013 at 12:56 AM

Chris Iozzi Staff Alumnus

04/12/2013 at 10:44 AM

I picked up Eternal Darkness recently and was pumped to finally play it. I dug out the gamecube and the darn thing keeps freezing on me. I cleaned the lazer and tried a few other games, about 10 minutes and ZOINK. Annoying.

04/12/2013 at 12:31 PM

That sucks, Eternal Darkness is an awesome game. I should be thankful my Gamecube is not freezing; knock on wood.

BrokenH

04/12/2013 at 11:45 AM

I think we have ourselves a furry pimp here,boys! White knights....RUSH! Imaginary cat women need liberation from this horrid objectification!

Wait, this was about Star-Fox 64 not working at 100% and how to possibly fix it? Oh, sorry bout that then! Remember, noone suspects the White Knight inquisition!

04/12/2013 at 12:33 PM

I just want to be clear on this; the location behind the SPCA is mine and is for my furry bitches and cocaine. Having said that, I still wish to be friends. Please enjoy this video.

True Gamer At Heart

04/12/2013 at 01:17 PM

Have you tried to open up your games and clean them?? Maybe that is causing it??

04/12/2013 at 03:17 PM

I'll try that. I don't think that's the case, but it's definitely a possibility.

04/12/2013 at 03:38 PM

Any plans to do one of your cleaning blogs on N64 games? I know I bought a cleaning kit for the system a long time ago, but not sure I'll be able to find it, and any DIY advice would be appreciated. Thanks for the comment!

smartcelt

04/12/2013 at 04:08 PM

Ya...Falco is not amused by you oont yer sarcasm...he vants to slap you! That picture of him creeps me out. No matter how I turn my head it's like he's staring at me! The N64 may be an addition to my gaming rig this summer. I really miss games like Star Fox 64. Hope you can get all your technical issues worked out so you can play it hassle free.

04/12/2013 at 05:40 PM

Yeah, I do too. I know it seems crazy, but the fact it froze right as one show began recording as another recording was in progress on the DVR seems like more of a coincidence to me. Well, third time's a charm right. Also, Falco has something to say.

Oh smartcelt, I know when you're sleeping and when you're awake; and I'm putting you on my naughty list.

I apologize for that; Falco's a creepy bastard.

04/12/2013 at 04:09 PM

At the moment i do not even have any..well scratch that..I do have a n64 game lol!! But to be honest it should be the same way as the nes games, but i can write a diy version not a prob!!

04/12/2013 at 05:37 PM

Reason I ask is cause the two gold things things atop the back of the cartridge don't look like a screwdriver would be the thing to get them out, since they don't have screwdriver head shaped indentions. Once I figure out what tool is needed to get those out (maybe one of those really small cylindrical headed hand tools used for nuts? Name escapes me, but we have them at work and probably in the house) I imagine it's pretty similar to NES cleaning.

Aboboisdaman

04/12/2013 at 04:50 PM

Every once in a while my N64 comes on but the game doesn't boot up. I usually just make sure its inserted properly or re-insert it and then it works. Sometimes I press down on the contacts. Cleaning them or your system would probably help. I'm sure there's a video on how to do it on youtube. Slippy sucks. Actually, all of Fox's team sucks lol.

04/12/2013 at 05:41 PM

Well I've always liked Peppy, at least personality-wise, but yeah they all kind of act like Fox is their dad or something.

daftman

04/13/2013 at 04:06 AM

Man, anything that interrupts a run through Star Fox 64 is a bummer, it's such a great game. I wanna get the 3DS rerelease but the game doesn't seem to be coming down in price at all But anyway, I hope you're able to resolve your N64 woes.

04/13/2013 at 04:19 AM

I actually was. Got the ending with James McCloud not thirty minutes ago. lol

Chris Yarger Community Manager

04/15/2013 at 06:58 AM

I just played through Star Fox on the 3DS recently. There were a few additions such as the ability to save and backtrack, but the best part of it was being able to fight bots in the Versus mode. Unfortunately though, they nixed the tanks from Versus mode.. Bummer...

04/15/2013 at 07:02 AM

Yeah, I started up a game of versus mode on my N64, cause I remembered having fun playing it, but I thought there would be a bot to fight, but no. Four screens of me from different angles...

Sucks about tanks, but to be honest, I think when we played, the guy that chose the tank was first to be blown apart. lol

PixlBit

Star Fox 64 and Uselessness

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