This week I dusted off my Nintendo 64 and popped in a game that I haven’t played in ages: “Jet Force Gemini.” “Gemini” was created in that golden age of gaming when Rare made games for Nintendo, you didn’t need a memory card to save your files and controller rumble required two AAA batteries; everything was right in the world.
Now that Rare has been making games for Microsoft for a good number of years, Nintendo’s continuing game library has lost those occasional sparkling gems that Rare would so ingeniously deliver. Thankfully, titles like “Jet Force Gemini” are an enduring tribute to Rare’s work with Nintendo.
In this third person shoot/ platformer hybrid, you play a trio of intergalactic peacekeepers, known more specifically as Jet Force Gemini. The twins, Juno and Vela, along with their pooch, Lupus, are confronted with the task of defeating the mammoth insect Mizar and his armies of drones. Along the way, the trio must save every last member of the dwindling Tribal race (which look suspiciously like Ewoks).
“Gemini”‘s greatest appeal comes from its diversity. Taking into consideration this game was made seven years ago, the worlds and gameplay are impressively presented, with the unique, almost perverse, twist that Rare weaves into all its games.
Your weapon arsenal is also well fleshed out, with memorable destructives such as the tri-rocket launcher and (my personal favorite) the plasma shotgun. Each of your characters has their own distinctive abilities as well, such as Vela’s ability to swim to great depths and Lupus’s ability to hover.
One of the best aspects of this game is the amount of secrets and upgrades. There are few things I love more than a game bursting at the seams with hidden expansions and Easter eggs. Rare did a phenomenal job in adding a great amount of bonus content to keep gamers playing for many more hours than the main story would allow. From a hidden arcade to cheat options only obtainable by collecting a fair share of enemy heads, “Gemini” has a polished feel that is commonly attributed to many of Rare’s titles and rightly so.
Adding to this, “Gemini” has a great multiplayer mode as well. Up to four players can go head-to-head in anything from a death match to a king of the hill battle. If you’re not feeling up to fighting against your friends, one buddy can team up with you in a half-hearted co-op mode of sorts, but it’s not so great.
A negative of “Gemini” is how the game deals with “game overs.” Each planet is divided into different sections, with special “flag zones” between each. If you happen to use up your lives in a section, you’re returned to the “flag zone.” Sounds fine right?
Well, it would be except that your ammo isn’t replenished, and it’s a very good chance that the reason you died is because you ran out of a certain type of ammo. This can make certain parts of “Gemini” tedious and possibly be a hazard for those in the room that might happen to cross into the path of a controller throw out of frustration.
“Jet Force Gemini” is a shining star in the library of both Nintendo 64 games and Rare titles. With plenty of replay value and a solid multiplayer mode, this is a definite pickup if you’re bored and don’t want to dish out too much cash.
Even if you don’t have an N64, you could probably pick one up and this game for less than what you’d pay for a PS3 game alone. The bottom line: “Jet Force Gemini” for the Nintendo 64 8.5/10.