If ever there is a game that has achieved legendary status far over and above anything it ever garnered on release, then that game is Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Those of you who are already N64 collectors and retro gamers will no doubt already be aware of Conker’s Bad Fur Day but for those of you just starting out, you will probably be surprised to find that the game goes for upwards of £100 on Ebay, making it probably one of the most expensive N64 games you can care to own.
There’s a few reasons for why Conker’s Bad Fur Day is so expensive but generally speaking, it boils down to two key reasons; a) it’s a very good game and b) it’s very rare and hard to find. Those two reasons combined means it has steadily grown in reputation and in price over the years. Conker’s Bad Fur Day is interesting in that it is a mature (very mature!) themed game from a period in Nintendo’s history when they really weren’t keen on having anything remotely family un-friendly in any of their games. Think of Mortal Kombat with the blood removed, think of Street Fighter 2 with blood recoloured to look like sweat and you get an idea of Nintendo’s approach to censorship at that time. This would all begin to change when the Gamecube arrived and their approach relaxed somewhat (arguably because it was costing Nintendo sales) but in the N64 era, Nintendo was still firmly in family friendly mode and were very hands-off anything that would damage that reputation.
If you were to look at a Conker’s Bad Fur Day screenshot in isolation, you would be forgiven for thinking it was just another cutesy performer; it looks like a Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie sequel. If you actually play it though, it’s a different story. The plot revolves around a red squirrel called Conker, who, after a bender at the local pub, staggers home to his girlfriend, Berri. Meanwhile, the panther king has spilt his milk due to his table being short one leg so his minions are tasked with fixing it. Their solution is to use a red squirrel as a replacement table leg. As Conker makes his way home, he finds himself embroiled in a series of comical situations.
The game features lots of (barely bleeped out) swearing, plenty of scatological references and all sorts of adult jokes, offensive humour and so forth. No wonder then that Nintendo America denied it’s existence, Nintendo Europe refused to publish the game and various outlets refused to stock it. In fact, I have to express surprise that it ever got the green light at all; it is incredibly sweary. At the time of release, right towards the end of the N64’s life, it only sold around 55,000 copies or so, which goes some way to explaining the current second-hand price; it is quite a rare (no pun intended) game. It is such a shame because the game has so much going for it.
Graphically, Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a tour-de-force. Conker’s facial expressions are superb – he really does convey a wide range of emotions. Facial animations are lip-synced with the speech. The game world itself is beautifully detailed, colourful and wonderfully expansive. Sound is amazing with tons of sampled speech; how they packed so much into a cartridge is mind boggling – you would expect this much speech to be on an optical disc game as opposed to a cart. Not only that but the speech is so well acted; from a drunken Scarecrow to some Scouse dung beetles, the characterisation is fantastic. Gameplay is also top-notch; rather than rehash Mario 64 moves, Conker’s Bad Fur Day uses context sensitive buttons that allow you to perform different actions according to the storyline – it means you aren’t limited to the same old, same old 3D platformer manoeuvres. For example, as you start the game, Conker staggers around with a bad hangover – standing on the first context sensitive button you find allows him to gulp an Alka-Seltzer and tame his headache. These context sensitive buttons are spread throughout the game at key locations.
Where Conker’s Bad Fur Day perhaps falls down is the length – most gamers will finish it within 15 hours or so. Replayability is therefore a bit of a negative; once you have seen and heard the jokes and gasped/groaned at the shock moments, it is unlikely you will find it as amusing second time around. Make no mistake though – Conker’s Bad Fur Day is a funny game and there are some properly laugh out loud moments and it doesn’t feel like the game is just sweary for the sake of it to be shocking – the swearing and adult references are all part of the character exposition and development.
The rarity and resale value of this game means that it is functionally unobtainable for the vast majority of retro enthusiasts and that really is such a shame. Conker’s Bad Fur Day really is a good game that deserves its time in the spotlight. For most of us, the only sensible way of getting to play this game will be via an emulator or Everdrive of some sort but if you can do so, I really would strongly recommend you give it a play – it isn’t the longest of games but it really is 15 hours well spent. I would go as far as saying it is probably one of the best games on the N64 as well.
The Retro Nintendo Vault 