Neon Genesis Evangelion

"Bandai revists the Evangelion TV series in this 3D action game for the Nintendo 64."

This was the first and only Evangelion game to be released on the Nintendo 64. It is also the
newest Evangelio game to date to be released on any platform. It was released in 1999 under
a lot of waiting and expectation from the gaming and anime public, only to prove the age-old
saying: ''Expect the unexpected''. Initially, it looked like this game could be the greatest thing
since sliced bread (for an Evangelion fan, anyway), yet when it finally came out, it turned out
to be something quite different.

Evangelion 64 was developed by Bandai, unlike the other efforts by Sega and Gainax. With the
different company came a different focus. Unlike the previous Evangelion games, this one was
not going to be a side story. Instead, it was a culimination of all of the key battle scenes
in the TV series made fully interactive. Finally, it would be you that would pilot Unit-01 and
bring about the destruction of the Angels. Now you could really show Shinji how it ought to be
done!

Bandai must have learnt something from the success of its Gundam action games, as they ditched the
''interactive episode'' approach and made the game fully interactive, allowing you to control all
of the Evas movements and attacks. So far, so good. The game engine was done entirely in 3D,
and the models for each Eva and Angel are much sharper and detailed than in 2nd Impression.

The sound and music is usually a weakness with the N64, but speech samples straight out of the
TV series make an appearance during the battles. There's even some FMV cutscenes ripped out from
the series and stuck on the cartridge. This is getting better with every moment. However,
due to the space restrictions on an N64 cart, the music is digitised, roughly of the same quality
as in Girlfriend of Steel. It's recognisable, and it's not annoying, but nothing else.

So what does that leaves us with? The controls. The sadest thing about this game is that it
had so much potential, yet it was nearly all wasted. While you get to play the game in an
unrestricted real-time battle engine, the battle mechanics are so poor, you'd wonder why they
even bothered making it real-time and not turn-based.

The main gameplay takes place as a one-on-one battle with an Eva (usually Unit-01) against an
Angel. The best way to describe this mode is a 3D fighting game on a 2D plane. But the controls
are limited to only a few actions. You can move forward and backwards with the analogue pad, but
you can't crouch and you can't jump. That's right, you can't jump! You are limited to one attack;
pressing B will make your Eva slap the Angel. Button A just makes your Eva cover its face with its
arms. Don't know what the use of it is, as the Angel's attacks go through it. Pressing B and A
together will make your Eva create a ''power attack''. You'll alway use this, as the slap doesn't
do jack all damage.

Sure, you can generate an A.T. Field (although, I still have yet to see a good use of this in
the game), but the game falls down to nothing more than a simple repeat of commands. Approach
Angel, Press A+B together, Angel takes damage, repeat until Angel dies. The severe lack of moves
and attacks makes these battles nothing more than a nusance, just a means of progressing. Where
is the fun in that? Beats me.

Some Angel battles are not fought out through the 3D fighting game. Instead, some battles are
button mashing contests (the Jet Alone mission), timed button presses (8th Angel), and targetting
attacks (5th Angel). They are a welcome addition, as they break up the monotomy of the game and
make you forget about the terrible battle system. For a while, anyway. But some decisions to make
certain Angel battles not run through the 3D fighting system were questionable. Surely the battle
against the 14th Angel would have been more fun if you controlled Unit-01?

The graphics and sound elevate this game above the rest. But once again, it ends up being another
''could have been awesome'' game. It had the potential, but it never explored it to its full extent.
One can only imagine what fun could have been had if the battle system was more like the one in
Tekken 3. Evangelion 64 is by no means a bad game, only its flaws stop it from being exceptional.
There's a lot of fun to be had from this game, there's no doubt about that.

If you overlook the battle system, it's good fun for a while. But the simplicity of the battles
will frustrate some to no end. You might want to play it just to take on the Mass Production
Model Evangelions near the end of the game. I think I forgot to mention that the End of
Evangelion battles are also included in the game, along with a special battle at the very end.

Graphics - 5.0/5.0

What can I say? High quality polygon models of the Evangelions and Angels, and the backgrounds
look straight out from the TV series. The regular fogging and over-filtering present in N64
games is suprisingly absent here, making it not only the best looking Evangeliom game, but
most probably one of the most advanced N64 games. An awesome achievement by Bandai.

Sounds - 4.0/5.0

Sound and speech is straight from the TV series, immersing you in the game in a way you
have never known before. The music is digitised, but the quality is no worse than in Girlfriend
of Steel. Also a good achievement for the N64.

Controls - 2.0/5.0

The controls are responsive, and it's all in real-time, but the attack and defense options
are limited to one or two actions. There's just not enough attacks and movement paths to
make this game enjoyable. The battles quickly become a farce because of this.<p>

Fun Factor - 4.5/5.0

It look goods, it sounds great, and it's fun. It's also one of the best Evangelion games
to be released which makes this a must have for a fan of the TV series. It's as close as you'll
ever be to a religious experience when playing an Evangelion game. It has its flaws (like the
other games), but in the end, it's a very playable Evangelion which deserves a go.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/01, Updated 03/13/01