Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate

Last updated
Xena: Warrior Princess:
The Talisman of Fate
Xena - Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate Coverart.png
North American Nintendo 64 cover art
Developer(s) Saffire
Publisher(s) Titus Interactive
Designer(s) Steven H. Taylor
Walter Park
Alan Tew
Artist(s) Walter Park
Shane Olson
Alan Tew
Ryan Wood
Lauriann Wakefield
Composer(s) Eric Nunamaker
Platform(s) Nintendo 64
Release
  • NA: December 6, 1999 [1]
  • PAL: December 17, 1999
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate is a 1999 fighting game developed by Saffire and published by Titus Interactive for the Nintendo 64. It is based on the television series, Xena: Warrior Princess , which aired from 1995 to 2001. [2] [3]

Contents

Gameplay

Graphics and gameplay Xena The Talisman of Fate screenshot.jpg
Graphics and gameplay

The player chooses from the cast of characters and then, in a random order, fights the other characters (including the player's character). Xena will usually appear as the sub-boss. The final boss is Despair, a character original to the game, who is Dahak's champion. After defeating Despair, the player's character's individual ending will take place, with varying dialogue depending on the difficulty selected. The game also has a roster mode, where the player selects a team of up to five characters and enters a free-for-all against other teams. Also, players can arrange teams and fight against other teams. Each character has their own special moves (such as Xena's chakram and Callisto's fire blast), and is able to perform weapon combos, after which Xena may shout either "wow" or "excellent", or the crowd may boo.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. [4]

Matt Casamassina of IGN wrote that the game's graphics were "highly detailed and varied." Casamassina also wrote that the game's 3D polygonal characters "look right on par with their television counterparts. Meanwhile, the game's 3D arenas, also modeled after recognizable locations from the show, look splendid with crisp textures, animated background effects and lots of variation." Casamassina also praised the game's camera system and "super smooth framerate", but criticized the fact that none of the actors from the television series lent their voices to the game. [3]

Casamassina was also disappointed that the characters only had "roughly a handful of special moves" each, and noted that "some of the character animation is a bit awkward looking. Xena and friends move almost too fast at times and some moves come off as robotic and stiff." Casamassina concluded that the game "is a surprisingly good fighter that brings the license to Nintendo 64 in top form. Featuring a remarkable 3D engine, pretty graphics and an outstanding four-player mode to boot, the game has a lot to offer and does its best to disprove the theory that all licensed videogames are doomed to be poor. But at the same time, the game fails to deliver a long, challenging quest with only 11 playable characters and arenas to choose from and a simplistic (though fun) fighting engine that's just not very deep." [3]

Doug Trueman of GameSpot wrote, "Almost everything in this game is done poorly, except the music - but twice while playing this title (the final, retail version, mind you) the sound effects and musical score cut out completely at the end of a match for no reason. Restarting the game is the only way to resurrect the audio." Trueman criticized the game's "atrocious" collision detection and "awful" animation, but noted its "well-drawn" backgrounds. [2]

GamePro 's The Freshman wrote in one review, "The fairly-simple models don't move as well as they look," and noted "the various moves and attacks suffer from a bit of jerkiness." The author also wrote, "Good music and various battle-sounds pepper the battlefield, but they're clobbered by annoying shrieks, grunts and oomphs." They noted the game's "fairly good four-player beat-em-up", but described each character's special moves as "awkward and slow to use". [14] [a] In another review, Miss Spell concluded, "Overall, the experience is frustrating. Even given the slim lineup of N64 fighting games, Talisman isn't your best fate." [15] [b]

Scott Alan Marriott of AllGame wrote, "The most compelling aspects of the game are its graphics, tight control and ability to support up to four players at once, with the latter feature almost worth the price of admission alone." Marriott praised the music and some of the voiceover work, but said the sound effects "seem muffled." Marriott also praised the game's detailed environments, and wrote, "All the characters are recognizable as their television counterparts, which is a far cry from the blurry, grainy graphics of other fighting titles on the system. While there is some blockiness and rough edges here and there, the polygonal models are quite good and make you believe you are fighting with the stars of the series". [5]

Marriott was disappointed that "more freedom wasn't given to the player to pick up objects, climb more than just walls or negotiate other elements that could have spiced up the action. Another area of improvement would involve increasing the number of moves offered to each character. Aside from the basic slashes and kicks, there isn't much depth involved in the fighting system". Marriott wrote "there aren't enough features or options to keep you occupied after going through the Quest mode a few times," although he praised the multiplayer mode, saying the game "almost becomes an entirely new experience with three of your friends playing along." [5]

Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen wrote that The Talisman of Fate was "Not a bad fighting game, hampered by sloppy mechanics, which uses its license either well or badly depending on your level of fandom." [12]

Notes

  1. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 4/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 3.5/5 scores for control and overall fun factor in one review.
  2. ↑ GamePro gave the game two 3/5 scores for graphics and overall fun factor, and two 2.5/5 scores for sound and control in another review.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xena</span> Fictional character from the TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess"

Xena is a fictional character from the Xena: Warrior Princess franchise, portrayed by New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless and co-created by Robert Tapert and John Schulian. She first appeared as a villain in the 1995–1999 television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys before joining forces with Hercules. Xena was popular with fans, so the producers decided to create a spin-off with the character in the starring role. She later appeared in the subsequent comic book of the same name, as well as the spin-off animated film The Battle for Mount Olympus, and non-canon expanded universe material, such as books and video games.

<i>Xena: Warrior Princess</i> American fantasy television series (1995–2001)

Xena: Warrior Princess is an American fantasy television series filmed in New Zealand, which aired in first-run syndication from September 4, 1995, to June 18, 2001.

<i>Mario Party 2</i> 1999 video game

Mario Party 2 is a 1999 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. The second game in the Mario Party series, it was released in Japan in December 1999 and worldwide in 2000. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the improvements over the original, as well as the multiplayer and minigames, but criticized the lack of originality, while graphics received a better but otherwise mixed response.

<i>Mortal Kombat 4</i> 1997 video game

Mortal Kombat 4 is the fourth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series of fighting games developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, Mortal Kombat 4 is the first title from the series, and one of the first made by Midway overall, to use 3D computer graphics. It is also the last game of the series to have an arcade release. It was later ported to the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, and Game Boy Color the following year, as well as an updated version titled Mortal Kombat Gold released exclusively for the Dreamcast.

<i>Superman 64</i> 1999 action-adventure video game

Superman: The New Superman Adventures, commonly referred to as Superman 64, is a 1999 action-adventure game developed and published by Titus Interactive for the Nintendo 64. It is based on the television series Superman: The Animated Series and is the first 3D video game featuring Superman.

<i>Sonic Shuffle</i> 2000 video game

Sonic Shuffle is a Sonic the Hedgehog-themed party game developed and published by Sega for the Dreamcast in 2000. The game plays like a board game much in the same vein as Nintendo's Mario Party series, with up to four players moving their characters across a game board filled with a variety of spaces which can trigger different events. Some spaces will launch minigames that pit the players against each other in short competitive events.

<i>18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker</i> 1999 video game

18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, known in Japan as 18 Wheeler, is an arcade game developed by Sega AM2 and distributed by Sega. The game was released in arcades in 1999 and ported to the Dreamcast in 2000. It was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and GameCube in 2002 by Acclaim Entertainment. Sega followed up on the success of 18 Wheeler with a sequel, The King of Route 66, which was released in the arcades in 2002 and ported to the PlayStation 2. This was one of the final arcade games to be ported to the Dreamcast after its discontinuation, before Sega became a third-party developer.

<i>War Gods</i> (video game) 1997 video game

War Gods is a 3D fighting video game originally released to arcades by Midway Games in 1996. Ports for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation and Windows were released in 1997. In the game, players control one of ten fighters who have been given great power by a mysterious ore that crashed-landed on Earth from outer space. The object of the game is to defeat all the other fighters to become the most powerful warrior on the planet.

<i>Mace: The Dark Age</i> 1997 fighting arcade game

Mace: The Dark Age is a fighting video game released by Atari Games for arcade machines in 1997 and later ported by Midway Games to the Nintendo 64. Like many fighting games of the time, its style is marked by extreme violence, with characters graphically slaying defeated opponents. Utilizing 3dfx Voodoo chips for the hardware, the game received attention for its cutting-edge graphics and turned Atari a profit in the arcades. Critical response to the gameplay was much less enthusiastic.

<i>Fighters Destiny</i> 1998 video game

Fighters Destiny, known in Japan as Fighting Cup, is a 1998 video game developed by Genki alongside Opus Corp for the Nintendo 64. It closely models the 3D fighting game standard set by Sega's Virtua Fighter, but integrates a unique point scoring system. The game's generic characters and unoriginal presentation have been panned by critics, but reviewers praised its point system and consider it to be one of the best fighting games on the Nintendo 64. It was followed by a sequel, Fighter Destiny 2, released in 2000.

<i>Duke Nukem: Zero Hour</i> 1999 video game

Duke Nukem: Zero Hour is a 1999 third-person shooter game in the Duke Nukem series, developed by Eurocom and published by GT Interactive for the Nintendo 64. The game uses a relatively large 32 megabyte cartridge and can also use the Expansion Pak to improve graphics, though this slows down the frame rate. It features a 4-player split-screen multiplayer mode that uses a first-person view.

<i>ECW Hardcore Revolution</i> 2000 video game

ECW Hardcore Revolution is a professional wrestling video game released by Acclaim Entertainment, based on the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The game was released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Game Boy Color, and Dreamcast in 2000. It was the first wrestling game to be based on ECW, as well as the first professional wrestling video game to receive a Mature rating from the ESRB, although the Game Boy Color version was rated Everyone. Acclaim followed this title with the release of a sequel, ECW Anarchy Rulz, in August 2000.

<i>Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.</i> 1999 video game

Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M., known as Armorines in Europe, is a 1999 first-person shooter developed by Acclaim Studios London and released for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and PlayStation. It is based on the Armorines comic book from Valiant Comics, which was bought by Acclaim Entertainment.

<i>California Speed</i> (video game) 1998 video game

California Speed is a racing video game developed and published by Atari Games. The game was first released in arcades in 1998 and was ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1999 by Midway. The Nintendo 64 version of the game contains support for the Controller Pak and the Rumble Pak.

<i>G.A.S.P!! Fighters NEXTream</i> 1998 video game

G.A.S.P!! Fighters' NEXTream, known in North America as Deadly Arts, is a 1998 fighting game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Osaka and published by Konami for the Nintendo 64. The story follows a series of fighters that have each received a mysterious letter to compete in a legendary contest, and about a champion that has disappeared. The story and the player profiles do not appear in the instructions for the North American version; except for the title, it is basically the same as the Japan and Europe versions, with slightly changed voice messages, and different character nameplates.

<i>Hot Wheels Turbo Racing</i> 1999 video game

Hot Wheels Turbo Racing is a racing video game released for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation in 1999. It features 40 cars based on the Hot Wheels series of toys. It also features Kyle Petty's 1999 NASCAR stock car, as it was sponsored by Hot Wheels. The game features music from artists like Primus, Metallica, The Reverend Horton Heat and Mix Master Mike.

<i>Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue</i> 1999 video game

Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue is a 1999 platform game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Activision and Disney Interactive. Based on Disney/Pixar's 1999 computer animated film Toy Story 2, it was released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, and Macintosh in late 1999, while a Dreamcast version followed in 2000. The computer versions were released under the title Disney/Pixar's Action Game, Toy Story 2. A different version, a side-scrolling platform game titled Toy Story 2, was also released for the Game Boy Color in 1999.

<i>Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000</i> 2000 video game

Jeremy McGrath Supercross 2000 is a motocross racing video game developed by Acclaim Studios Salt Lake City and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their Acclaim Sports label for Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, PlayStation and Dreamcast. It features eight stadium tracks, eight outdoor tracks, and an option for players to create their own custom tracks. In addition to having a racing game mode, players could perform dirt bike tricks in a stunt mode.

<i>Wizards & Warriors</i> (2000 video game) 2000 role-playing video game

Wizards & Warriors is a role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows designed by David W. Bradley.

<i>Xena: Warrior Princess</i> (video game) 1999 video game

Xena: Warrior Princess is a hack and slash video game developed by Universal Studios Digital Arts and co-published by Electronic Arts and Universal Interactive Studios for the PlayStation in 1999. A Game Boy Color version was developed and published by Titus Interactive in 2001. Each version is based on the television series of the same name, which aired from 1995 to 2001.

References

  1. ↑ Sam Kennedy (December 6, 1999). "Xena Ships for Nintendo 64". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on July 8, 2000. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Doug Trueman (December 20, 1999). "Xena: Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on January 4, 2005. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Matt Casamassina (December 7, 1999). "Xena: Warrior Princess, The Talisman of Fate". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate for Nintendo 64". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 Scott Alan Marriott. "Xena: Warrior Princess -- The Talisman of Fate - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Peyton Gaudiosi (January 14, 2000). "Xena Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  7. ↑ Arioch; Zano (December 1999). "Xena, la guerrière". Consoles+ (in French). No. 95. pp. 148–49.
  8. ↑ Miguel Lopez (April 13, 2000). "Xena [Warrior Princess]: The Talisman of Fate". The Electric Playground . Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on July 15, 2003. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Xena: [Warrior Princess - The] Talisman of Fate". Game Informer . No. 81. FuncoLand. January 2000.
  10. ↑ Levi Buchanan (December 8, 1999). "REVIEW for Xena: [Warrior Princess - The] Talisman of Fate". GameFan . Shinno Media. Archived from the original on May 17, 2000. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  11. ↑ Arthur Adam (February 2000). "Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate". Hyper . No. 76. Next Media Pty Ltd. p. 94. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Jeff Lundrigan (May 2000). "Xena: [Warrior Princess - The] Talisman of Fate". NextGen . No. 65. Imagine Media. p. 98. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Xena: [Warrior Princess - The] Talisman of Fate". Nintendo Power . Vol. 127. Nintendo of America. December 1999. p. 160. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  14. ↑ The Freshman (December 29, 1999). "Xena: [Warrior Princess - The] Talisman of Fate Review for N64 on GamePro.com". GamePro . IDG Entertainment. Archived from the original on August 14, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  15. ↑ Miss Spell (January 2000). "Xena: Warrior Princess - The Talisman of Fate". GamePro. No. 136. IDG Entertainment. p. 105. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.