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.