Nagano Winter Olympics '98

by PS1

Product Features

• PS1

Product Details

• ASIN: B00002STSG
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,110 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Nagano Winter Olympics '98 feels like it was thrown together at the last minute. Graphically inept, with glaring gameplay problems, Nagano '98 should be avoided at all costs.

To start with, the downhill races are garbage. Skiing, snowboarding, bobsledding, the luge - they're all essentially unplayable. The non-rail racers (skiing, snowboarding) are horrible to look at. Each time you tap the D-pad, even just to make a slight change in heading, the entire view jumps. It's like every time you blink the whole world is bumped over three feet. Plus, there is absolutely no sensation of speed. It's so slow in fact, if it weren't for the speedometer, you'd think there was an acceleration key you weren't pressing. Despite this sluggishness, however, it's still difficult to make the gates. They're so two-dimensional that gauging their depth is nearly impossible, and control is so awkward that the simplest rotation is thoroughly vexing.

The problem with the rail racers is that there just isn't anything to do. Once you're up to speed and in the bobsled or luge, all you do is follow the track. You don't even steer around corners. All you do is push the D-pad left or right to avoid flipping over or losing speed by hugging the near wall too tight. And again, crude graphics and a poor frame rate make this oversimplified experience a drag to look at too.

Unlike the N64 version, the PlayStation one doesn't offer a snowboarding half-pipe, so there's only one freestyle competition. It's odd enough that it still bears mention. As might be expected, aerial freestyle skiing is a combo-driven event. Rather than memorizing various combos and linking them together yourself, though, you select your tricks in advance. It's a design that doesn't allow for much freedom or creative control. During play, the required series of key presses appears onscreen in a little window, and you enter them from right off the screen. There's no real timing involved either; you just enter the code as fast as you can.

There are a few events that aren't entirely abysmal. Ski jumping is pretty standard, with your basic press-and-hold power-up for the jump and a one-button landing. A nice touch is the wind meter, and on higher difficulty levels, it's useful to keep from being blown over. It would have been nice if they'd included the skier angle meter from the N64 version for an added dimension to gameplay - lean forward to gain speed at the expense of altitude, lean back for the opposite, and be careful not to overdo either or you'll crash. The little-known and less-understood sport of curling is actually the most tactically interesting event offered in the package (go figure). It's testament to the lameness of Nagano Winter Olympics that its best game is a bizarre form of ice-shuffleboard involving brooms and walking real slow.

Ultimately, Nagano Winter Olympics '98 feels unfinished. Though the controls are different for each competition, and different engines are employed throughout, the same lackluster 16-bit-looking graphics plague the whole lot of 'em with a distinct fuzziness and lack of detail. Athletes are choppy, and views change with all the smoothness of a Dexedrine-addicted gaffer filling in for the lead cameraman on his first day on the job. Even if you actually liked this game, replay value would be almost nil, since each race offers a whopping one track. That shouldn't be a problem, however, since the initial exposure should fend off 95 percent of gamers within the first ten minutes. --Josh Smith
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

This is the game Nagano Winter Olympics '98 for the Playstation 1. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.You can read details about our guarantee

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Game Rocked, December 26, 2001

By 

Liona (Northern CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nagano Winter Olympics '98 (Video Game)

I have N64, and this game rocked. It is so cool, and the only thing that could make it better is adding figure skating. It's a winter sport too, and it's actually the one that draws the biggest crowds. I see how that could be hard, though. Anyway, I thought that this game was the bomb, because the sports are so easy to beat. I've beaten all of them except for curling. I can't get it! Speed skating 1500 meter is the easiest. Speed skating 500 meter is really easy too, along with Freestlye Skiing, Arials. It is also cool to make your own player. It kinda (stinks) that they're all guys, however.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original Nagano Olympics, December 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Nagano Winter Olympics '98 (Video Game)

I owned the Japanese version of this game when I lived in Japan. I didn't have any problems mastering the skiing or bobsledding competitions and I couldn't even read half of the directions. I even aced the jumping comp. From my experience, the operational button default is often reversed when converting Japanese games to export, i.e. the "X" and "O" buttons may be reversed. It was hard re-learning other games like Tekken and Parasite Eve.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The Boringest Game Around In The Universe, March 4, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Nagano Winter Olympics '98 (Video Game)

Oh my gosh! This game is the worst game ever made in the whole world. It had the most boring games in it. Instead of playing that non-fun game for 15 minutes, I would rather make bean sprouts my favorite food. If you hate boring and stupid games, I would suggest you not to buy or rent this game. If you already have it, tough luck!