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WTFriday: The Star Fox 64 Promo Video

Posted by Bob Mackey

Note to readers: WTFriday is a weekly feature where I find something stupid about video games and get you to laugh until it goes away. Please try to forget this is what I normally do every day of the week.

When you're advertising your game, you definitely want to buy some Internet ads. TV spots are a must if you've got a big budget. And if you really want to go all out, you should definitely create a narrative about two Brooklyn wiseguys/corporate representatives kidnapping a skydiver and a scientist. Makes sense, really.  Also, don't forget to steal the eyeball-popping torture scene from Martin Scorsese's Casino!

This approach may seem insane, but back in 1997, the aforementioned madness is how Nintendo chose to promote one of the N64's best games, Star Fox 64. We've seen a few promo videos so far on WTFriday, but this may be the goofiest--even if its intentions are pure. I'm sure Nintendo would like to bury this infomercial along with the very idea of the Virtual Boy, but YouTube is a source of inescapable shame. Just watch:



My favorite moment out of all this mess comes at 5:44, when the dollar store version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" kicks in. Did a lawsuit from the estate of Kurt Cobain prevent Nintendo from making further--possibly copyright infringing--promotional videos?  Of course not.  Jon Lovitz needed something to do after The Critic.  I like to think of a hung over, out of work Jay Sherman narrating that one. 

Related Links:


WTFriday: Mega Man A Cappella
WTFriday: The Mario Paint Music Showcase
WTFriday: The Chrono Trigger Anime


Comments

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:

I still have this video, and would occasionally pop it in when I had a working VCR.  I still cry for what those bastards did to Mario in my sleep.

But seriously, though, I miss stuff like this.  Guess the internet might have made it outdated, and that's kind of a shame.  On the other hand, Nintendo Power hasn't done squat with their website since Future took over.

But I digress; I rather enjoyed the Donkey Kong Country video.

On another note: The Critic is infinitely awesome, and never got the respect it truly deserves.  It should still be airing today.

Buy my book and vote for Duke!

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

November 7, 2008 1:15 PM

Bob Mackey said:

I would have paid good money to hear Charles Napier narrate a Donkey Kong 64 video.

November 7, 2008 1:40 PM

LBD "Nytetrayn" said:

Actually, given Duke's affinity for hillbilly bears, it seems like Banjo would've been the natural choice for him.

--LBD "Nytetrayn"

November 7, 2008 4:30 PM

Ian said:

Hahaha, I remember this video.

Good times man, good times.

November 7, 2008 10:39 PM

Odin said:

I, too, still have this video (and the DKC one).  I don't know how many times I watched them as a kid, psyching myself up for awesome Nintendo games.  Looking back I can see the shallow marketing ploys for what they are, but my nostalgia glasses sidestep all that with alarming ease - Mario's gonna be electrified by SEGA and Sony, and some guys really like bananas.

November 9, 2008 1:11 AM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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