Conker's Bad Fur Day

"I could insert a poo joke here, but..."

When the Nintendo 64 launched into the next world of video games, a little company in Europe called Rareware answers the call to big game company Nintendo. Famous for their stellar work in the Donkey Kong Country series, Rare created some of the most amazing and creative games for the system. Hits like cute platformer Banjo-Kazooie and its respective sequel Banjo-Tooie made amazing marks for the system. The company secretly showed a new project, though: a platformer featuring cute squirrel Conker was in the works. Fans grew skeptical; another cute platformer from Rare? But Rareware didn't create the aforementioned Twelve Tales: Conker 64 as planned. Stunned by the criticism, Rareware created a new game. As the Nintendo 64's console lifespan grew to a close, Rare unleashed one heck of a monster to the system. The monster was a deep, dark look into the twisted mind of an alcohol-drinking, shotgun-toting, foul-mouthed little squirrel named Conker. The game was Conker's Bad Fur Day.

What is easily the game's most defining feature is the blatantly mature content throughout. The joke transcends simple gaming edge and evolves into a game so filled with mature content that Rare actually needed to make the ESRB “M for Mature” label bigger than normal to make their point. The box itself is cluttered with so many warnings of mature content, and if Conker holding a nice glass of alcohol on the cover doesn't convince you, the rest of the game will. Conker's Bad Fur Day is what happens when game designers ignore the fundamentals of family-friendly platforming and make a truly mature game. Conker himself is a cursing, alcohol-loving squirrel just looking for his way back home. Along the way, the game mixes in some foul-mouthed characters with a penchant for fetch quests and bad language along some classic toilet humor mostly revolving around some sort of excrement. And, yes, there is a boss who is named the Great Mighty Poo who sings opera while he throws feces at Conker. For good measure, the developers also threw in some random bloodshed throughout: a fall from a tall cliff leaves Conker exploding into pieces of flesh; many level goals entangle the method of beating the snot out of something. The game's humor, as scatological and crass as it is, makes for a surprisingly compelling concept. The sense of humor remains rather lowbrow, but it's difficult to not crack a smile at seeing the many characters sound off at Conker's approach.

The mature content also lets the designers throw in some random satire. From the start, Conker's legacy begins a la A Clockwork Orange, with him sitting atop his throne holding a glass of milk. Barely halfway through the game, the characters start being the parody factor for modern films. The fact that Conker and his buddies constantly break the fourth wall makes for a good look at where the game's coming from. Conker and crew make fun of the platforming genre, modern film, and practically whatever they can think of. It sounds pretty rough around the edges, but if the toilet humor doesn't make you laugh, you'll no doubt get a kick out of the constant satire and parody. It's a great concept, and works brilliantly.

The story is as ridiculous and strange as the humor is. The story picks up with Conker, of Diddy Kong Racing and Pocket Tales fame, partying with his war-bound friends at a local bar. After drinking too much, Conker stumbles out of a bar into a foreign land. Awoken by scarecrow Birdie, Conker learns of his whereabouts and skills, and begins his journey of reuniting with his girlfriend Berri and finding his way home. Along the way a crew of weasels under the rule of the Panther King is out to get Conker. Why? Because the King's milk keeps spilling and he needs a squirrel to hold the table up. That's seriously what the story is. The story is pure plothole-pushing slop and the game manages to hide its ridiculous story with its shock value and mature content. It works, but it doesn't stop the story from being a convoluted mess.

Being one of the last big-name games released on the Nintendo 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day is by far one of the most technically superb. It's easily one of the best looking Nintendo 64 games seen yet; intricate shadows, excellent lighting effects, and a huge amount of well-voiced acting is throughout the game. Even compared to the graphically superb Playstation, the game just manages to astound and push polygons to the absolute limit. The acting, as silly and odd as the writing is, is practically constant. Conker, Berri, and nearly every serious character in the game will say something. Conker sounds off when attacked, the enemies announce when he approaches. There's rarely a time throughout where some method of brilliant sound design is being used and used well. Conker is voiced amazingly by designer Chris Seavor, who puts so much edge in Conker's speech while still making him sound like he has a conscience. The voice acting is a major cause of the game's humor: it's always there and always making some sort of crazy situation for Conker and crew.

But enough about the presentation, what about the gameplay? This is Rareware, after all, the creators behind some of the Nintendo 64's greatest platformers. Despite its humor being anything but from a Super Mario 64, the game borrows a great deal of its mechanics from traditional platformers like Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Conker's arsenal of platforming mainstays is surprisingly low compared to others, but still manages to cover the essential skills. Control Stick to run, A to jump, B to attack, Z to crouch, Z + A to High Jump, C buttons to control the camera. The remaining controls, ranging from an up-close view with R and concepts like swimming and the “helicopter-taily thing” all are generally easy and good to learn. The rather small list of techniques masks some incredible game design throughout, and the simple start hides what Rareware games are known for: depth.

Conker's world is generally a collection of randomly assembled concepts that connect around the game's crass and over-the-top humor. A tremendous mound of poo exists next to a local stream. A swirling lake leads to an underground pipeline. The fact is that barely any of these locations show any connection to the game's story or practically anything else in the game. A good example of the game's scatter-brained agenda is one of the major aspects of the game: the context sensitive buttons. Throughout the game, different B pads or certain situations will appear, letting Conker do some random actions. The actions can range from getting drunk, taking aspirin, using a slingshot, throwing toilet paper, or many, many other options. Why Conker gains these skills is never explained, and the game makes it a habit to randomly bombard you with these different situations. It really is baffling as to why Conker cannot use many of these skills outside of the context sensitive areas, but Conker's Bad Fur Day isn't about making connections. One of the game's biggest weaknesses is that it doesn't manage to tie the different concepts together, both in story and in gameplay. Don't get me wrong; the sequences are a blast to play (most of the time), but the game feels like a scrambled mix of gameplay modes, some good, some bad. On the whole, however, the game's rapid-fire collection of modes and sequences turn out to be plenty fun, as random as they may be.

But all is not well in Conker's kingdom; the game has its collection of minor problems. One problem is the camera, which surprisingly, is much more difficult to handle compared to other Rare platformers. The game manages to stick with some downright awful camera angles, and even when the game allows you to control the camera, is doesn't offer full control. Especially when wielding specific weapons, the game's camera control can grow from simple nuisance to a downright mess. It's strange that this occurs, because in Rare games like Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, the camera is rarely ever a problem. Perhaps Rare was too focused on the game's shock value to deal with it, but it can become much more of a problem than it should be. The game also lacks the serious replay value of other Rare games like Banjo-Tooie. Although the game's multiplayer is a clever inclusion, there just isn't as much to collect in the game. In other Rare offerings, there were plenty more objectives and items to find. After Conker's Bad Fur Day ends, the storyline seems to be the only serious way to find more gameplay. Conker's Bad Fur Day is plenty funny and has some really enjoyable moments. It's just a shame that it doesn't possess the longevity and extras of its pedigree.

Pros
+ Rock-solid platforming mechanics
+ Incredibly nice graphics
+ Good sound design
+ Interesting multiplayer
+ Lots of different gameplay styles
+ Easily one of the funniest games in recent years

Cons
- Camera is sometimes a chore to control
- Not all the styles of gameplay work
- Doesn't do a good job of tying elements together
- Toilet humor won't appeal to everyone

If any other of the Rareware N64 games didn't convince you of the developers' sheer ingenuity and talent in the way of making interactive entertainment, then Conker's Bad Fur Day is the serious kick in the pants you needed. The fact that Conker's Bad Fur Day manages to throw in so much incredibly crass and sloppy humor and still shows to make the gameplay worthwhile and fulfilling is beyond anyone's guess. It's by far one of the most daring of all Nintendo 64 games. It isn't the best out of the Rareware bunch; a staggering camera and some generally random elements make for some annoying moments. The toilet humor will most likely turn a few gamers off from the start as well. But anyone looking for a laugh-out-loud, fully functional, mature-rated platformer will find Conker's Bad Fur Day to be the perfect choice, regardless of the genre's scarcity. It's a refreshingly satirical look at platform gaming as a whole and is easily one of the funniest games in recent memory. Fans of platformers like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie will find the mechanics to be familiar territory, even if the content is blatantly mature; its shock value is second only to its hilariousness. If you can find this gem of a platformer, consider it a must-play. Even years since the N64's console departure from the console race, Conker's Bad Fur Day stands tall as a marvelously mature platformer for an amazing system.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/07

Game Release: Conker's Bad Fur Day (US, 03/04/01)