Test footage can often be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can see the origins of some of your favorite games – with poorer graphics and launch mechanics – but on the other hand, you sometimes feel a loss of lag, especially when viewing scenes shot from a game that never saw the light of day.
We are currently in the phase of something like this after watching GameXplainlatest video of (thanks, Go Nintendo for those interested) breaks down footage from a Japanese promotional video for Super Mario 64 soundtrack – pfft, as if the batters needed a promotion. In addition to some pre-release Mario clips, the ad also contains a small number of clips from the canceled season Kirby’s Air Ride games on N64. Some of these videos have appeared online in the past, although the higher quality of this video really gives us a glimpse of what the console’s bouncy ball racer can do. .
Of course, Kirby’s Air Ride was later released on the GameCube (dropping the ‘s’ for a less proprietary final title, Kirby Air Ride) although the footage shown in the GameXplain analysis shows what the game would look like with the reduced graphics potential of the N64.
Aside from these obvious visual differences, the small amount of footage also teases that the mechanics of the N64 game could be a marked change from what we’ve seen on the released version. . It looks like the gameplay of this beta video is more like a downhill racer than the GameCube game’s ultimate Mario Kart-esque experience. Notice how Kirby and King Dedede are surfing on the warp stars instead of their final sitting position? Totally disgusting man!
Promotional video (originally posted to YouTube by Tank cap) also contains footage of the five-rider version of Wave race 64 (the Switch port which we currently can’t get enough of), the preliminary title is ‘Mario Kart R’ – will become Mario Kart 64 – with original items and character icons in place of their released versions and original footage of GoldenEye 007 and Blast Army. While some of these footage may not be new to us, we’ll never pass up an opportunity to see some of the unreleased mechanics – especially if it involves SSX-Kirby.
What do you think of this Kirby shot? Exit mouth-to-mouth mode and let us know in the comments!
