Welcome to The Jungle...

We have fun AND games...
Scan from a special Nintendo Preview (1999) of Rareware games Donkey Kong 64 and Perfect Dark.

Same pamphlet also features the GoldenEye 007 push button code for "64 Characters".
Third time they'd published the same code - But I just love the heading "Fresh Blood"
Favorite quote:

"Do the folks at Rare get together to play Multiplayer Mode?
If they do, do they choose their own characters or do they pick other characters?
We were just wondering."

Shark-Infested Waters... (to the "Secret Island" in GoldenEye 007)

Summer 1998: The Nintendo 64 was still "The Fun Machine".
Completed the one-player Missions of GoldenEye 007 and still felt hungry for more.

Finally "Conkered" Diddy Kong Racing, and had just finished a second playthrough of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

GoldenEye 007 was still shrouded in mystery.
Oddjob and Mayday rumored to be within the main game...
Moore, Dalton, Connery along with the Citadel...

And what was the distant "island" in the Dam mission for?

(Screen capture taken via GoldenEye Setup Editor)

Upon reading an article from Xpert Gamer magazine, it was decided that a Gameshark was absolutely essential to explore GoldenEye 007 to the fullest.




Here's the original code as it appeared in Xpert Gamer issue #51 (September 1998):

"We are very aware of the code for GoldenEye that allows the player to reach the extra island on the Dam level. The code was never meant for release as it is extremely glitchy and seldom works correctly. It was circulated among a few friends and may have been leaked onto the Web..."

-Statement from InterAct
(manufacturer of the Gameshark)

Drone gun turret

Guard tower

Ladder and "beta" glass

Looking out from atop the tower.

So much has been learned about this mysterious island since then.
(A brief summary of the "Beta Dam", hopefully to be re-added soon)

Spy Hard...

Graphics from the "Player's Guide Offer" inside the game box of GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64.

The actual guidebook itself was printed with a slightly different cover design than the one featured in the ad.

The Art of Mario...

Just for fun, here are the "Player's Guide Offer" sheets included within the game boxes of Mario Kart 64 and Super Mario 64.

Head Hunting...

"Call Me Jaded"

Just a brief mention of GoldenEye 007 in Nintendo Power Issue #108 (May 1998).

(incidentally, Ken Griffey Junior was also on the cover of NP #84 and NP#59)

Less than a year after the release of our beloved GoldenEye 007...

NP magazine was as campy as 1960s Batman (or even Batman & Robin starring George Clooney).

Their monthly feature "Classified Information" was no exception.
Newly discovered tips & tricks for "older" games tended to take a backseat to "newer" stuff.











By now the "64 Characters Code" is widespread knowledge - (does anyone even play GoldenEye via game cartridge anymore?)

In the summer of 1998, GoldenEye was still one of the hottest games.
Rumors were infiltrating the internet at a time when codes and secrets still spread by word of mouth...
Or occasionally appearing in print - In a very "rare" example like this:



In addition to all the guards you get from completing the Cradle mission, it's basically just a bunch of guys in Bond suits.

"Aaahh! It's Rosika, the killer cleaning lady! Run! Run like the wind"

Other ten-step button codes would be discovered (and abused) years later.




Also from that NP issue:
Article from E3 featuring "Zelda 64" (before it had an official title):

Two Thousand (Sixty Four)...

Couple pieces from the year 2000.
First is a quick scan from the Nintendo Power Bonus Issue featuring the "64 Characters Code" in GoldenEye 007:

From the same issue...
Previews of Perfect Dark and Zelda Gaiden (which would become Majora's Mask):

More Foreplay...

Finally found the magazine I was looking for.
It's Bond.... "Beta" Bond.

From GamePro Magazine (August 1997):
Two-page spread advertisement the month GoldenEye 007 was released.

Practically every single screenshot shows noticeable differences between the final version.

Boarded-up Walk & Park Place...

A few favorite moments from the Statue Park mission in GoldenEye 007:

"Confront and unmask Janus"
The dark turning point of the game.

Mishkin ain't seen nothin' yet...
Just wait until Bond tears up the Streets with the tank.

James Bond is escorted away in this scene....
The inept guards don't even confiscate the big-assed shotgun that he's carrying.

It's a Magical World...

Did a playthrough of Super Mario World a while back...
Almost forgot that I captured several hundred images.

A few favorite moments:

Underwater Ghost-Fortress.
Truly a level from hell.

Not a fan of the new "standard" Boo Diddly face...
But I do like the many faces of the Boo Buddies.

Knockin' Lakitu off his cloud

Still get a kick out of names like "Cheese Bridge", "Butter Bridge" and "Soda Lake".
Reminds me that I gotta re-stock the fridge.

World 6 (aka Chocolate Isand) seems to have the largest abundance of dinosaurs.
With very little vegetation, you may find a Triceratops eating a Twix bar.
(or possibly roasting s'mores)

Gettin' a sneak peak at Bowser's castle via secret areas (via World 2 and World 6).
As far as I know, this was unprecedented in Mario games.

More ghosties in the sunken Doom Ship.




(For those fascinated with shipwrecks, see the first worlds of Donkey Kong Country 2)

Just love that mystical MagiKoopa (aka Kamek).
Making his debut here in Super Mario World, he'd become a major antagonist in SMW2.
He was also slated to appear in "Mario Kart R" which evolved into Mario Kart 64.

"Mario Kart 64"
(Pre-Release Screenshot)

(Let's spontaneously start a rumor that Mario Kart R featured some explicit footage of Princess Peach deemed inappropriate for younger players)

The Dark Side of Podracing...

Sebulba!
(He always wins...)

Nintendo Power magazine from May 1999 (Issue #120).
This issue features a few pages from E3, including bits of Donkey Kong 64, Star Wars Episode I: Racer and Perfect Dark.

Possibly mentioned this before, but I still think it's neat...
Alternate covers for the issue of that month's magazine (May 1999 / Issue #120).

Some of these podracer pilots are more interesting than the characters in the main story.
(I just love it when Sebulba threatens to squash Jar Jar)

It's Ratts Tyerell!
"Splats" Tyerell fatally flew his racing pod into a stalagmite in a cave on Tatooine during the Boonta Eve Classic. He lives to race another day here in Episode I: Racer.

Seven Pages of 007 (Nintendo Power's "100 Greatest Ambushes")

"...GoldenEye is the greatest game in history."

Nintendo Power
Volume 100

Issue Number 100 of Nintendo Power is special - Not just for the abundance of ridiculous lists, but because it's from September 1997... Just one month after the historic release of GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64.


Favorite quote:

"There are two antagonistic camps at Nintendo - those who think GoldenEye is the greatest game in history and those who think the first group has been seriously warped by having too much fun shooting each other in the back.
The argument goes like this - GoldenEye hasn't been around long enough to prove its staying power, even though no one on the Power staff has slept in about two months because they've been playing GoldenEye..."

Have to realize that this was just one month after the game's release.
Granted, some of the NP staffers probably had their hands on copies of the game months before the general public (so their opinions might have been formed ahead of time).

Didn't technically get my own copy until 1998...
A borrowed copy of GoldenEye 007 was in my possession for months on end. It wasn't my intention to commandeer that cartridge - A fellow player wanted me to keep unlocking cheats for him!

Picked up a copy at that point because some of this stuff was REALLY difficult to unlock - And I wanted to work on my own game cart.

The screenshots from this issue are nothing special. The "Goldeneye Update" notice at the bottom right of the first page indicates "a few changes" that occurred since the previous issue (NP #99) went to press.
(Nothing major from what I recall. A few tweaks to the objectives perhaps, but still hoping to make it available at some point...)

Enough of my rambling. Here's the article in its' entirety:



"100 Best Ambushes (GoldenEye 007)"
From Nintendo Power #100


Ten Little Soldier Boys...

Even if there's really nothing "new" to see, it's still a blast to browse through an article that's a quarter century old.





Light Reading in the Bathroom...

Sticky notes adorn the Facility map... Must have been keepin' track of memory values.
If ever there was a game that was hacked to bits by fanatics, it's GoldenEye.





From the Archives, a Little Black Dress...

Thrills, chills, and promotional stills. Always liked the Bunker in Multiplayer (pretty sure you gotta meddle with the game to allow 4 players in the Bunker).
Archives was good too - Even with two players, absolute chaos!
(You'd think with everyone in the office packin' heat, the system would police itself)






Cleopatra's Castle...

As if the casual NP reader is actually going to unlock the Egyptian stage.
(this is WAY before knowledge of button codes)

I'll never forget when the other Mission levels were made accessible for Multiplayer via Gameshark.

Street Heat...

Statue and Cradle were first.
Followed by Silo, Aztec and Streets (if I remember correctly).


Fast forward to 2024: Searching for some completely unrelated information, stumbled upon someone mentioning a YouTube video with someone flipping through the mag.

Figured I could do one better, considering that a copy of NP #100 sits on my top shelf.
(the Instruction Manual is also found somewhere online as a PDF)
All this stuff should be made available for anyone craving a hit of nostalgia!




Editor's Note: Another piece of completely useless NP trivia from this issue:
The page numbers on the bottom corners include a tiny graphic representing previous NP covers.
The GoldenEye pages are 58 thru 66. Just for fun, the games featured on those issues:
58: Wario Land
59: Ken Griffey Junior
60: Super Metroid
61: Donkey Kong
62: Super Street Fighter II
63: Stunt Race FX
64: Mortal Kombat II
65: Illusion of Gaia
66: Donkey Kong Country