Asteroids Hyper 64 was one of the many remakes of 1970s and 1980s arcade games released in the mid 1990s. For some reason, Crave Entertainment slapped the 64 onto the end of the title, because heaven forbid an N64 game not have that! There isn’t much to this game.
The developers updated the graphics and added more weapons. I’m not hoping for much out of this game. All I really want is to play something fun. I was probably a bit harsh when I played Robotron 64, so I’m going to lower my expectations here.
Still, this game does feel like an obligation instead of making an updated version of the game. There are so many clones of Asteroids from the 1980s and 1990s that it’ll be hard for this one to stand out. Much like Robotron 64, a version of Asteroids Hyper 64 was released on the PS1.
It does feel like all these games should’ve been released as a collection of games. There has always been a market for these arcade games, which is why you can get them on everything from phones to consoles. Most of these games feel like forgettable weekend rentals to me.
TLDR: A disappointing port of an arcade classic.
Narrative
Asteroids Hyper 64 has a fairly lengthy story for an arcade game. It is one of the better things about this game, because I wasn’t expecting them to come up with something like this. It isn’t amazing, but I do like it.
The story in the game’s manual reads like a recruitment pitch, or a job advertisement. It is as simple as a company wanting to make money and needing you to work for them. The Astro-Mining Corporation is recruiting pilots to blast asteroids. That’s really it.
I’m not sure if Atari’s original arcade game had a story or not. This game adds one, which you should expect from a console game released in the 1990s. For what it is, the story is pretty good. It explains what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it.
Gameplay
It’s a game of Asteroids. If you’ve played any of the dozens of versions of this game, then you’ll know what to do. There isn’t really anything that makes Asteroids Hyper 64 stand out from any of the other versions of this game.
The controls are fine. It isn’t an overly complicated game to begin with, but the developers got the control scheme down. You rotate your ship either clockwise or counterclockwise, you shoot bullets, and there are thrusters. There are also some power ups to get in the game.
There are some options for which ship to use. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Here they are:
- Dagger
- Rapier
- Longsword
- Excalibur
In theory, this changes how the game is played. On the select screen, the stats for each ship are listed, and it doesn’t look like there is a significant difference between them. Some are faster, and others have more shields and firepower.
You can play with four players at once, which is something that Robotron 64 really needed. This alone makes it more of a party game, which is what the N64 was great at. I don’t see it pulling anyone away from all the other party games on the console, but it is nice to have this as an option.
Overall, the gameplay is fine, but there isn’t much to this game if you don’t have friends over to play it. This is simply a decent recreation of an arcade game from the 1970s. The controls are fine, there are some ship options, but there is a serious lack of single-player gameplay.
Visuals
I’m not a fan of the graphics. Asteroids Hyper 64 doesn’t really look impressive to me. This just looks like a regular game of Asteroids that was given a muddy coat of paint and some okay explosions.
The game is pretty dark, and your ship blends in with the occasionally good looking backgrounds. It can be hard to tell what is on the playfield and what is part of the background because of how dark it is.
While the power ups stand out, they look like they’re from a different game. The Asteroids are way too dark and blend in with the background. I do like the explosions when you blow up, but that is about it. If you told me this wasn’t finished, I’d believe you.
This game really suffers from the N64’s muddy graphics. It is way too dark for its own good, and you can’t always tell where things are. I know that I can brighten the game up, but I wanted to play it how I might see it back in the late 1990s.
Overall, I think the graphics are mediocre at best. Asteroids Hyper 64 looks like a generic N64 game from 1998. It doesn’t really do anything to stand out, and simply doesn’t look all that exciting. I would rather play one of the countless other Asteroid or Astroid clones that were already on the market in the 1990s.
Reviews for Asteroids Hyper 64 at the Time
Reviews for Asteroids Hyper 64 weren’t all that great. Nintendo Power gave it the best score, which was a 7.1/10. The other scores were between a 4 and a 7/10. I’ll be taking a closer look at four publications for this.
Nintendo Power had five people review the game. The average score was 7.1/10. There wasn’t an outlier that moved the score in either direction. They complained about a lack of balance and that the graphics were difficult to see at times.
N64 Magazine gave it a 53/100. I’m fascinated by this publication because they feel all over the place with their reviews. The reviewer here called this a “tiresome and repetitive shoot’em up.” They added that this game “deserves to remain as a fond memory.” So, they hated it.
GameSpot gave the game a 4.8/10. They called the game a rental. The reviewer continued by saying, “Unless you really, really love Asteroids you’d probably do best by passing.” A lack of “substantive features” is why they don’t recommend buying this.
IGN gave the game a 6.3/10. Much like the other reviews I looked at, this one questions buying the game at full price. They mention that there were “minor additions,” but it is basically a “direct translation of the original.”
It is rare to see the reviews I look at agreeing on this game being a rental. This is one of the games that is really just for completionists who want to play all the N64 games, or buy all of them. Asteroids Hyper 64 should really be part of a collection instead of a stand alone game. I used MobyGames for two of these reviews because they weren’t archived very well.
6/10. Asteroids Hyper 64 isn’t a very good game. The controls are fine, but there is a lack of gameplay and the graphics aren’t all that great.
Pros
- Decent controls
- Four-player mode
Cons
- Not enough new features
- Rough graphics
- Got boring quickly
Conclusion
Asteroids Hyper 64 is one of the games that isn’t really worth playing. There are so many versions of Asteroids out there that this one really isn’t needed. It is one of the games that is only for collectors or someone who wants to play all the N64 games. I guess it is also for idiots like me who want to review the games as well.
This game, along with Robotron 64, should’ve been part of a collection of retro arcade games. I’m not too sure it would’ve sold better, but it would’ve been worth it. Asteroids Hyper 64 is a decent version of a classic arcade game, but there are better versions of it.
What really bugs me about this game is that there were free versions of Asteroids that all look better than this one. This game didn’t need the fake 3D graphics. I’m sure the reviewers would’ve knocked the developers for not attempting 3D, but this is a game that really doesn’t need it. Asteroids Hyper 64 would’ve benefited if it used pixel art instead of forcing 3D polygons.
There is one more of these that I want to cover; then I’ll get back to other games. I’m also going to play a few horror games since it is October at the time that I’m writing this. We’ll see what happens next.
If you liked this post, check out a few of my other posts on N64 games. Such as Robotron 64 or Bust-a-Move ’99.