Space Invaders on the N64 is one of several 1990s remakes/remasters of 1970s and 1980s arcade games. This one is a little different from the other two, as it was published by Activision instead of Crave. Taito wasn’t involved with this game, which marks the first time they didn’t have a hand in one of the entries in the series.
The game was released in 1999 on the N64, PS1, PC, and Game Boy Color. It would also find its way to the Game Boy Advance. I’ll be focusing on the N64 version of the game, because that is the one I have. I’d have to look if I have it on anything else.
Much like Robotron 64 and Asteroids Hyper 64, I’m not really expecting anything from this. Sadly, whenever I say this, I tend to be disappointed by something. I’m really confused about these games and why they weren’t released as a collection of arcade classics, similar to what Namco did.
TLDR: It’s a fancy looking game of Space Invaders. There isn’t anything else to this.
Narrative
Aliens are attacking the planet, and you have to stop them. Space Invaders does have a little cutscene to explain things, but it isn’t like there is a serious story here. It is exactly what you should expect to see from an arcade game from the 1970s.
Gameplay
This is the same as the original Space Invaders, but it does add a few power-ups. It is a regular vertical scrolling shooter that plays like a game from 1979, because it basically is. There is a serious lack of game modes, which makes the gameplay rather boring.
The developer tried to add a few power-ups and a super attack. While those are nice additions, they don’t make up for the more serious problem with this game. There just isn’t much to it.
You can play a single or two player game of Space Invaders. That’s it. There is no twist to the gameplay or anything aside from an arcade mode. It is a nice game of Space Invaders, but there were better ways to play this game in 1999, and there were several collections that had a version of Space Invaders.
Overall, this is a very disappointing N64 game. It all boils down to the same set of issues I had with the other arcade ports on the N64. There simply isn’t much to this game.
Visuals
Space Invaders on the N64 looks decent enough. There are some screenshots from what looks like an intro cutscene, which look nice for the time. This is a dark game, but it doesn’t look all that bad. It is essentially a 2D game with a 3D coat of paint.
I don’t like the 3D graphics that much. This game is really just a 2D game with a sloppy and dark coat of 3D paint. Animations on this look pretty good, the backgrounds are a nice addition, but overall, this is a middle-of-the-road N64 game.
It is really dark. Not to the point of being unplayable on a newer TV, but it is enough that you might want to turn the brightness up. There is some variety in the formations of your enemies, but they really don’t do much. Space Invaders doesn’t have anything that I can say looks great.
Overall, this is a pretty average looking N64 game. It doesn’t have a wow factor, or anything that I can point to as being great or standing out. This version of the game doesn’t really need 3D graphics. It would look better with pixel art. The graphics are just as tired as the gameplay.
Reviews of Space Invaders at the Time
The reviews for Space Invaders on the N64 are all over the place. I’m not really sure what to make of them in some cases. I looked at three publications for this.
Gamezilla gave the game an 85/100. The reviewer called this “a joy to play.” The review leans into nostalgia for the original and praises the improvements made between 1978 and 1999.
GameSpot gave the game a 3.3/10. The reviewer liked the gameplay, but called it too easy and too short. They recommended getting “a pack of classic games,” instead of getting this version of Space Invaders. They also called the graphics “boring.”
IGN gave the game a 7.8/10. The reviewer criticized the repetitive graphics and called them one of the game’s “definite shortcomings.” They “highly recommended” the game and called it a “solid update” of the 1978 Space Invaders.
After reading these reviews, I feel like it is a good time to remind people that these are just opinion pieces. This game in particular does a great job of pointing that out, as there is a wide range of them here. With a retro shoot’em up like this, I can’t really fault someone for liking it. If it was Galaga, then I would have a different opinion of it.
6/10. If there were more here, then I would’ve liked Space Invaders more than I did. The graphics are too dark, the controls are good, and there isn’t enough gameplay. I liked it more than Robotron 64 and Hyper Asteroids 64.
Pros
- Good Controls
- Fun Gameplay
- Lots of Power-ups
Cons
- Way too dark
- Lack of Gameplay options
- Boring
Conclusion
This would’ve been fine if it were a Game Boy game. As an N64 game, there isn’t too much here aside from the regular arcade game. Much like Asteroids, there were a ton of other ways to play Space Invaders in 1999, and this wasn’t the best option. It is competently made, but aside from a graphical upgrade, it doesn’t have much to offer.
I don’t see a reason for anyone to buy this game. Space Invaders on the N64 would’ve been a disappointing rental back in 1999. If this were a collection of Space Invaders games, then this would’ve been better.
This game should’ve been part of a Taito collection on the N64. Something like that would’ve been much better than what is here. It is the same way I felt about the other games I’ve played recently. On its own, this version of Space Invaders just isn’t worth it.
My biggest problem with this game is that they didn’t really try anything new. It shouldn’t have been a standalone game, especially since there isn’t much to it. After playing this, it made me want to play one of the other shooters from the late 1990s, most of which are better than what is presented here.
If you liked this post, check out some of my other posts about N64 games. Such as Hyper Asteroids 64 or Robotron 64.