quite a lot of video games have been described as an "experience"; to me, an "experience" is something you never really forget, whether in real life or video games. for video games, what people view as an experience really depends on who you ask; people fondly look upon platformers like Spyro and Banjo-Kazooie for their colorful worlds and cast, adventure/RPGs like Final Fantasy 7 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time for their epic scale and story, and games like Doom and Mortal Kombat for being those types of games that you played when your parents weren't around to scold you for playing violent stuff like that (or if you were particularly unlucky, you got scolded for playing them anyway).
well, it'd probably be a stretch to call Conker's Bad Fur Day as epic a story as FF7, but it's definitely got some colorful characters that also tend to use equally-as-colorful language. alongside some other things that parents would probably yell at their kids for seeing/hearing. and yet said kids still played it anyway because it had a cartoony squirrel as a playable character. also bathroom jokes. how they managed to get ahold of copies of the game is a mystery, though probably not one that's too lost to time if we have 12-year-olds playing Call of Duty and GTA and all that.
so while i work on the next segment of my Disgaea 1 manga readthrough, why don't we give this game a bit of a look-at? though keep in mind, this game is M-rated for a reason, and the warnings on both the ESRB rating and the box itself will remind you of that (front cover/back cover ; images courtesy of DKvine).
so yeah, unless cursing, cartoony bloody violence, sexual themes, and poop jokes are your bag, steer clear for the now.
before we actually get into playing this, it's probably worth noting that Bad Fur Day had its origins as a more kid-friendly platformer known as Conker's Twelve Tales/Conker's Quest, though Rare ultimately ended up scrapping the project and completely overhauling it as Conker's Bad Fur Day. that's another subject for another day, but Yuriofwind touched upon the subject some time ago for those interested.
as far as genres are concerned, CBFD is a pretty odd game to concretely categorize. for the most part, it has platformer-style gameplay and even atmosphere comparable to a Banjo-Kazooie title, but the later half of the game and even the multiplayer mode gravitate towards a shooter genre. it's also a bit of an oddity of a platformer in that the progression for the most part is pretty linear, but i'll get into that later.
to sum up the concept of the game's premise, think of it as a furry version of The Wizard of Oz as done by the people who did South Park. after a couple rounds at the local pub, the titular squirrel Conker wakes up the next day far from home, sporting the worst hangover ever. after he recovers with a bit of help from a not-at-all-bearded scarecrow, Conker sets off on a journey to head home and take a nap. naturally, this isn't an easy task, as there's a wide variety of odd characters along the way who demand you stop and help them because you're the only competent bloke in this neck of the woods.
as i've said before, the game is rather straightforward and linear. the game is split into 'chapters', with each chapter taking place in its own world with its own missions to solve. task 1 leads to task 2, chapter 1 leads to chapter 2, and so forth. while there are collectathon elements such as getting cash for most of the tasks, i wouldn't necessarily classify it as that because of the rather linear path it takes. not a bad thing by any means, especially since there's quite a bit of variety as far as gameplay is concerned. the latter half of the game even has some shooter elements sprinkled in.
the missions in the early part of the game are pretty standard, such as rescuing a beehive from wasps or fetching cheese for a mouse, though later on they delve into the more complex and bizarre. solving a puzzle at a golem nightclub, a brawl with a brass-bollocked boiler, and a trek through a zombie-infested spooky mansion are just a pinch of what you'll face in the game. while i won't spoil the entire game, i will run down through a few of my favorite bits, just to give you a taste.
also on the list of things about this game that require mentioning: the boss around this area is a literal singing pile of poo. arguably the most memorable thing in the entire game, and it must be seen to be believed.
while similar to the bullfight, the raptor definitely controls better. around the arena, you'll have to deal with pesky cavemen running about, some even toting weapons. you can eat them up, ram them into the lava moat, or ram them while someone's in your mouth. as far as any bigger foes are concerned, you'll probably end up being a pain in their ass than they will be to you.
... okay, honestly, the boss fight for that part is kind of tricky, but i wanted to make a joke there, okay? you really do bite his butt.
while i could never legitimately beat this chapter since it honestly scares me, that's the beauty of it. there's a creepy atmosphere present throughout a big part of the chapter, particularly in the background ambience and music. combined with the zombies hunting after you in the first and third parts of the chapter, it's pretty terrifying.
despite that, there are other multiplayer modes that aren't heavily focused on shooter gameplay. Race is a particular fave of mine, and Raptor is also fun since you can (obviously) play as a raptor in it. multiplayer can be played with friends or solo; there's support for computer-controlled players if you don't have any extra controllers/friends to play with.
Conker is definitely one of the most bizzare games i've come across as far as the N64 library is concerned. while it's not my top favorite on the console, it does have a certain charm to it. the referential humor and dirty jokes might be a hit-or-miss for some, but Conker himself is a pretty fun protagonist if because of his straight-man contrast to a lot of the game's oddball characters. well, that and he can be a little jerk himself sometimes. quite a bit, really.
bit of stressing that this really isn't a kid's game, though not because of the content. kind of arguable if this would be a flaw, but the game can get pretty difficult for a 3d platformer. most of the first half of the game is pretty straightforward, but there are moments where things can get pretty tricky and a bit of trial-and-error puzzlesolving will be in order. don't get distraught if you end up losing all your lives; you can just reload and try again. or look up a video guide. your call.
as far as acquiring the game goes... eh, good luck with that. while you could just emulate a ROM of the game, there's a few cutscene effects that won't render properly even in the latest Project64. if you're aiming for the full experience and own a Nintendo 64, you could try looking at Ebay or Amazon for a copy of Conker's Bad Fur Day if you're willing to shell out 50~100 USD for the cart. for 25~75 dollars there's also a Xbox remake titled Conker: Live and Reloaded, though while it's a graphical overhaul compared to the original version, it's also more heavily censored. some of the puzzles/combat was also changed, and the multiplayer mode is completely different than the N64 version (also, you can't play it online anymore).
while not as popular as Banjo-Kazooie before it, Conker's still remembered fondly by N64 fans, and has a bit of a cult following even to this day. shame we never got a proper sequel, but the game's still a hell of an experience on its own. if you don't mind the potty jokes and linear storyline, i'd really recommend you give it a shot! it's still pretty darn fun, and the multiplayer mode is always a blast whether it be solo or with friends.
a longplay of the game can be seen here if you'd rather watch through the story. there's also a playthrough by the director, though it hasn't updated in a year as of this writing.
oh yeah, there's also some Conker fansites still around: Conker's Homeland, and the inactive-but-still-a-relic Conker's Crib. there's also a in-progress remake of the multiplayer mode currently on ModDB if that catches anyone's fancy.
anyhow, hope you enjoyed this first little recommendation thingiter, and hope i'll try to arse myself to getting these types of things done in a more timely manner. till then, best of luck, stay rad, and stop whining about Project Spark. <3
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