N64 shoot-em-up Viewpoint 2064 was never released, but 25 years later a final version of the game is now playable thanks to game preservation efforts.
Originally published by Sammy (now part of Sega), the shooter is a follow up to the Neo Geo space shooter Viewpoint, switching its isometric perspective for something more akin to Nintendo’s Star Fox, or even Panzer Dragoon.
However, after being shown at Nintendo’s Spaceworld event in 1999, the game mysteriously disappeared without a proper cancellation and was never released. It remains unclear why.
Still, back in 2020 game preservation YouTube channel Hard4Games received a beta version of the game. And now, a few years later, an apparently final “master” cart has been discovered and sent to the channel thanks to an anonymous individual.
As such, Hard4Games has released a new video comparing the two versions to show what the game would have been like had it been released. It’s something of a hybrid of old school shmups and the 3D approach of Star Fox, with a viewpoint behind a spacecraft that travels into the screen but is unable to move up or down. It’s got planet and space environments, big bosses, and branching progression.
Viewpoint 2064 has now been made available to download and play, should anyone wish to check it out all these years later.
The original developer of the game was Racjin, formerly known as Racdym, which also made N64 series Snowboard Kids published by Atlus. It’s now a support studio, having worked on Fantasy Life i most recently.
If you’re still pining for the days of Star Fox on the N64, then Giles Goddard’s forthcoming Wild Blue will certainly tick the box – it’s a brand new shooter heavily reminiscent of the Nintendo barrel roll simulator.