, also referred to as ''Neon Genesis Evangelion 64'', is a 1999

fighting game The fighting game video game genre, genre involves combat between multiple characters, often (but not limited to) one-on-one battles. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappling, counter- ...

released for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

in Japan by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered ...

. It is based on the

Gainax Gainax Co., Ltd. (stylized as GAINAX; , Hepburn: ) was a Japanese anime studio famous for original productions such as '' Neon Genesis Evangelion'', '' Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise'', '' Gunbuster'', '' Nadia: The Secret of Blue ...

anime series ''

Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and Tatsunoko Production, and directed by Hideaki Anno. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo and its affiliates from October 1995 to March 1 ...

'' and the 1997 film that serves as its conclusion, ''

The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese anime Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, apocalyptic science fiction film written by Hideaki Anno, directed by Anno and Kazuya Tsurumaki, and animated by Gainax and Production I.G. It serves as an alternate ending to ...

''. Players control a mech named Evangelion Unit 01 to destroy a race of aliens known as the

Angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

before they eradicate the rest of the human race. The game is known for its alterations to the source material in order to make its dystopian and unsettling atmosphere suitable for an action game, and features unique endings and plotlines not present in other ''Evangelion'' media. ''Evangelion 64'' was developed by BEC, a company formed as a joint venture between Bandai and

Human Entertainment was a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher founded in 1983. The company produced games for a number of platforms, including home consoles, portable consoles, and personal computers. Human declared bankruptcy in 2000 ...

, and supervised by Gainax. The game received mixed reviews, though it was a moderate commercial success. Reviewers were primarily critical of its lack of player involvement and reliance on button-tapping sequences. Several have identified its graphics and cutscenes as being of higher quality than other games on the Nintendo 64, with some saying it was one of the system's best from a technical standpoint. A

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

sequel, '' Neon Genesis Evangelion 2'', was released three years later.

Gameplay

''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' is based on the anime of the same name, taking place in 2015, where 50% of Earth's population has been wiped out by a catastrophe known as the Second Impact. The organization Nerv assigns three teenage pilots—

Shinji Ikari is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. He is the franchise's poster boy and protagonist. In the Neon Genesis Evangelion, anime series of the same name, Sh ...

Rei Ayanami is a fictional character from the ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. In the anime series of the same name, Rei is an introverted girl chosen as the enigmatic pilot of a giant mecha named Evangelion Unit 00. At the begi ...

, and

Asuka Langley Soryu is a fictional character from the Neon Genesis Evangelion (franchise), ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' franchise created by Gainax. She first appears in the Neon Genesis Evangelion, original anime series, and also appears in the franchise's animat ...

—to pilot a

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Evangelion to destroy alien beings known as the

before they eradicate the rest of the human race. The player controls one of these pilots through a series of levels, each being based on a specific episode of the anime. The pilots' faces can be seen during battle and change their facial expression in reaction to events just like in the original anime. The Evangelion must defeat an enemy Angel through melee attacks, while preventing the Angel from inflicting damage on the Evangelion. The Evangelion begins with standard kicking and punching attacks; later levels allow it to use weapons such as the progressive knife. The player has to be aware of several other factors in battle. If the Evangelion is at low

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, it can become "berserk" and temporarily increase its strength and power. Also, the Evangelion is powered by an

umbilical cable An umbilical cable or umbilical is a cable and/or hose that supplies required consumables to an apparatus, like a rocket, or to a person, such as a diver or astronaut. It is named by analogy with an umbilical cord. An umbilical can, for example, ...

. If the cord is severed by taking too much damage, the Evangelion will only have five minutes of battery power to operate. Additionally, a temporary shield called an "AT Field" can be generated to defend against attacks, an ability shared with the Angels. Through a

quick time event In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen instruction/prompt. It allows for limited control of the ...

, the player can neutralize the opposing Angel's AT Field with their own, making the latter unable to use AT Field for the rest of the battle. In addition to the health bar, a "synchronization rate" that shows the bond between the pilot and mech is indicated by a graph on the screen. It increases with successful attacks, giving the player more powerful attacks, including the ability to deploy AT Field. Outside the main game, meeting certain conditions will result in unlocking additional gameplay modes. Simulation mode is a shooting gallery minigame where players use the Evangelion to shoot formations of Angels. A 2-player versus mode was planned but ultimately scrapped. The player can also play as Rei and Asuka. After progressing through the game, players are given a mode to view

3D models In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based representation of a surface of an object (inanimate or living) in three dimensions via specialized software by manipulating edges, vertices, and ...

of all characters in the game.

Development and release

The ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' anime was a hugely popular series after its release in Japan making video game adaptions inevitable. ''Neon Genesis Evangelion 64'' was developed for the

by BEC, a video game development subsidiary of Japanese toymaker

. BEC was founded in 1990 as a joint venture between Bandai and

, with most of its staff being employed from Human's game design school. ''Evangelion 64'' is a loose adaptation of the

-produced

anime series is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

and its 1997 film adaptation ''

''. Most video game adaptions of robot anime series tend to be action-focused, but ''Evangelion 64'' instead opted to reproduce scenes from the anime, which, depending on the player's choices, could produce a different outcome. The game is known for its heavy alterations to the source material to make the anime's dystopian and unsettling atmosphere suitable for an action game; as such, it includes plotlines and endings that are not present in other ''Evangelion'' media. Gainax supervised its development, with company co-founder Shin Unozawa being assigned to project director. Bandai worked to implement most of the characters from the series into the game, though several were relegated to small background cameos. The game's audio was created by Jun Enoki,''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' (Nintendo 64) end credits who replicated a number of musical themes from the anime in

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

. However, the game lacks the song "

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...

" from the show's closing sequence. The audio incorporates archive footage of the characters' voices from the anime, which was limited in use by the low storage size of N64 cartridges. ''Evangelion 64'' was announced in October 1998 and demonstrated at the

Tokyo Game Show , commonly known as TGS, is a video game trade fair and convention held annually in September in the Makuhari Messe, in Chiba, Japan. It is presented by the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (CESA) and Nikkei Business Publication ...

the same month, where it generated the longest player lines at the tradeshow. The game was released in Japan on June 25, 1999, and was bundled with a pack of three ''Evangelion''-themed cards that were compatible with ''

Carddass is a name given to Bandai's card vending machines and, thus, a generic term given to the cards sold by these machines. The name was inspired by AMeDAS (Automated Meteorological Data Acquisition System), a system in Japan used for gathering weathe ...

'' card vending machines for

amusement arcades An amusement arcade, also known as a video arcade, amusements, arcade, or penny arcade (an older term), is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchand ...

. A strategy guide published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines ...

was also released for the game that included an overview of each mech in the game, as well as gameplay tips. Bandai's North American division considered releasing ''Evangelion 64'' in the United States if it deemed its gameplay suitable for Western audiences. Ultimately, the game was not released outside of Japan.

Reception

Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...

'' reports that ''Neon Genesis Evangelion 64'' sold over 38,000 copies by the end of 1999. Reviewers were primarily critical of the game's lack of player involvement. Christian Nutt of ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' believed its redeeming qualities were overshadowed by the limited interactivity: "The serious problem here is that the game fails to do what a game should do — deliver an engaging play experience." Nutt disliked its combat and button tapping sequences. ''

N64 Magazine ''NGC Magazine'' (''N64 Magazine'' until October 2001 (issue 59)) was a British magazine specialising in Nintendo video game consoles and software. It was first printed in 1997 and ran until 2006. It was the successor to ''Super Play'', a maga ...

'' writer Jes Bickham had the same opinion and showed disappointment in its quality. Nick O'Shea, a reviewer for ''

Hyper Hyper may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hyper'' (2016 film), 2016 Indian Telugu film * ''Hyper'' (2018 film), 2018 Indian Kannada film * ''Hyper'' (magazine), an Australian video game magazine * Hyper (TV channel), a Filipino sports c ...

'', described the game as "interactive anime" with limited moves in combat and battles that often were reduced to "button mashing". Reviewers for ''

GameFan ''GameFan'' (originally known as ''Diehard GameFan'') was a publication started by Tim Lindquist, Greg Off, George Weising, and Dave Halverson in September 1992 that provided coverage of domestic and imported video games. It was notable for it ...

'' echoed these same complaints, and suggested it would have been much better as a standard fighting game. Multiple reviewers have found ''Evangelion 64'' impressive from a technical perspective. ''Gamers' Republic'', which listed it as being among the best import games in its ''1999'' ''Video Game Buyers Guide and Y2K Preview'', commended Bandai for successfully translating the anime's atmosphere and drama into a video game. Nutt showed admiration towards the voice acting and graphics for being "surprisingly well represented" by the Nintendo 64's limited capabilities. Several believed only fans of the series would enjoy it. Lionel Coen, writing in ''X64'', remarked that those with no knowledge of the series would have very limited interest in the game while those who are fans would delight in seeing scenes from the series translated into a video game. Bruno Sol of ''Superjuegos'' also commended the title for faithfully reproducing most of the events from the anime series and the film '' Death & Rebirth''. Retrospective commentary has been equally mixed. Some reviewers regretted that the game was not released outside of Japan. ''

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

'' magazine went so far as to say that it was "sheer madness" that the game was not released outside of Japan and listed it as the 10th best anime game of all time. Daniel Quesada of ''

Hobby Consolas ''HobbyConsolas'' is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE Axel Springer SE () is a European multinational corporation, multinational mass media, mass and online media company, based in ...

'' felt it was a good adaption of the series with well-designed graphics, and more interesting than the majority of ''Evangelion'' video games. Others were more critical, such as ''

USgamer Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...

'', which called the game mediocre and suggested ''Evangelion'' fans should play ''

Super Robot Wars V is a tactical role-playing game developed by B.B. Studio and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. Released as part of ''Super Robot Wars'' 25th anniversary, it is the eighth standalone entry to the ...

'' instead. ''

Kotaku ''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier. History ...

''s Richard Eisenbeis was critical of its button-tapping sequences and the slow movement speed of the Evangelion. Writing for ''Hardcore Gaming 101'', Brian Crimmins found its cutscenes and graphics impressive for the console, and saw it as a game that could have potentially given the Nintendo 64 an edge over its competitors. Despite this, Crimmins was critical of the game's handling of its source material, particularly removing the anime's unsettling and psychologically dampening tone in favor of one that was more lighthearted. He described it as being "best remembered as a technical curiosity, and perhaps as a lesson in how to adapt existing franchises to video game form".

Notes

References

External links

Neon Genesis Evangelion
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{Neon Genesis Evangelion 1999 video games Bandai games Fighting games Japan-exclusive video games 64 Nintendo 64 games Nintendo 64-only games Video games developed in Japan Multiplayer and single-player video games