Jet Force Gemini
Corrected version of the NA release cover.
Developer(s)	Rare
Publisher(s)	Rare
Engine	Enhanced Diddy Kong Racing
Release date(s)	NA October 11, 1999 EUR November 2, 1999 JPN December 1, 1999
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Media	64-megabit cartridge

Screenshot of gameplay. Here, Juno is aiming in a first-person view and appears translucent.

Jet Force Gemini (Japanese: スターツインズ, Star Twins) is a science fiction third-person shooter game for the Nintendo 64 developed and published by Rare that was released on October 11, 1999. The single-player adventure spans many varied planets as the player assumes the role of the Jet Force Gemini as they try to stop the evil plans of the bug dictator Mizar. The game is unique in that it employs the rare cooperative style of gameplay, where two can play the story mode at once. Multiplayer modes can be unlocked, including the traditional death-match and survival matches. Also available in multiplayer are racing games, as well as the firing range mode, which is similar to a rail shooter game. Jet Force Gemini shares elements with platform games, first person shooters, and run and gun games. Jet Force Gemini box art for N64 This is the cover art for a video game. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Rare, Ltd is a United Kingdom-based video game development company. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... Diddy Kong Racing is a racing game for the Nintendo 64 developed by Rareware. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the country in East Asia. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... Online gaming redirects here. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States. ... The Nintendo 64 ), often abbreviated as N64, was Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... The Megabit is a unit of information storage, abbreviated Mbit or sometimes Mb. ... In various types of electronic equipment, a cartridge can refer one method of adding different functionality or content (e. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... The Nintendo 64 ), often abbreviated as N64, was Nintendos third home video game console for the international market. ... Rare, Ltd is a United Kingdom-based video game development company. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A run and gun (also known as run n gun or for some variants, overhead shooter) is a sub-genre of video games that incorporates elements from shoot em up games and platform games. ...

Main characters

• Juno — The first playable character. A human male whose parents were killed by space pirates who invaded his home station. He has the ability to walk through magma safely. He is named after 3 Juno, the third asteroid to be discovered by humans.

• Vela — Juno's twin sister and the second playable character. She has the ability to swim underwater indefinitely. She is named after the constellation Vela.

• Lupus — the third playable character. The twins' wardog who is outfitted with a gun mounted on his armored back and jets on his feet that allow him to hover for a short period of time. He is named after the constellation Lupus. Later in the game he is fitted with something that seems to be a small tank's base.

• Floyd — A robot who used to serve under Mizar before being shot by drones for insubordination. A player using the second controller can control Floyd to assist the first player by shooting an unlimited amount of weak energy blasts, but he must follow the first-controller character. Floyd was originally named Pyxis, the Compass of the celestial Argo, but his name was changed because Rare thought "Floyd the Droid" was amusing. Floyd is also the name of the player's robot sidekick in the game Planetfall.

• Jeff — the leader of the Tribals, and by all appearances the shaman. He has many magical powers that the Tribals admire him for. He has a brother named Barry. He wears regular clothing, but has a Drone's flayed skin as a cape and hat. A Drone's skull is also fixed on the top of his magical staff. He has the uncanny ability to evade death. When Goldwood was invaded, a Drone carrier landed right on top of him with the strength of an asteroid. He was also shot by a Drone on Tawfret.

Jeff is responsible for turning Tawfret into the zombified wasteland it is. He shows an event when he walked amongst a group of drones and zombified them with a beam similar to the Shocker weapon. He was shot, and his beam went astray, hitting the earth and changing the land into a desolate bog. He helps the Jet Force on many occasions, giving items and also offering to transport the Jet Force to Mizar's Asteroid using an ancient Tribal spacecraft. Magma is molten rock located beneath the surface of the Earth (or any other terrestrial planet), and which often collects in a magma chamber. ... Juno (IPA: ), designated 3 Juno in the Minor Planet Center catalogue system, was the third asteroid to be discovered and is one of the largest main belt asteroids, being the second heaviest of the stony S-type. ... 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vela (IPA: , Latin: ) is a southern constellation, one of the four parts into which Argo Navis was split (the others being Carina, Puppis and Pyxis). ... It has been suggested that Last Call Poker be merged into this article or section. ... Levitation is the process by which an object is suspended against gravity, in a stable position, by a force without physical contact. ... Lupus (Latin for Wolf) is a southern constellation. ... Pyxis (Latin for compass) is a minor southern constellation introduced by Nicolas Louis de Lacaille under the name Pyxis Nautica. ... Planetfall is a 1983 science fiction text adventure by Steve Meretzky of Infocom. ...

• Mizar — The ruler of the Drones and the main villain of the game. He is named after Mizar, a star in the constellation Ursa Major. His first target to invade was the Tribal homeworld of Goldwood.

Mizar is actually a machine that is controlled by Jeff's brother, Barry. He uses Mizar to wreak vengeance on the Tribals because Barry was always being pushed below Jeff because of Jeff's powers. Ursa Major (IPA: ) is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. ...

• Although not a main character it is interesting to note that through the use of an in game cheat Mr. Pants appears in place of basic drones.

Mr. ...

Weapons

Pistol — standard-issue Jet Force armament. Medium rate of fire, weak strength, high accuracy, medium range. This weapon is small, and has the ability to fire six consecutive rounds every second for when the trigger is held down. After six rounds, the weapon overheats, and a shot is fired every other second. When all ammo is used up, a back-up power-cell is used. These shots are not blue like regular pistol shots, but a sort of orange color. The pistol, when using actual ammo, is relatively weak, but it is powerful enough to kill a Drone with headshot. The weaker orange shot will kill, but it will take a while, even if the enemy is shot in the head.

Machine Gun — a more powerful and faster weapon than the pistol. High rate of fire, medium strength, medium accuracy, short range. It trades speed for accuracy, but is nonetheless an excellent weapon when faced with multiple foes (such as air force) or one weak enemy. The Machine Gun is Juno's favored weapon. The weapon is unwieldy in that ammo is drained incredibly fast. Best for short spurts until more ammo cartridges or ammo expansions for it are picked up.

Homing Missile Launcher — as suggested, it's a hand-sized cannon that fires one homing missile. Slow rate of fire, high strength, medium accuracy, long range. The weapon is best used over long distances as the explosion radius is large. When used in close-quarters, the effect can be deadly for both in close proximity. Suggested uses are for closely grouped enemies or fast-moving air-borne enemies.

Plasma Shotgun — a small, box-shaped weapon that fires two ball of plasma that rotate around each other until they hit a target. Slow rate of fire, medium-high strength, high accuracy, medium range. The weapon is unique because the longer the trigger is held down, the more powerful the plasma becomes. One fully charged shot will blow any drone unfortunate enough to stand in its way into far-flung pieces.

Tri-Rocket Launcher — arguably the most powerful weapon in the game, it is a small weapon that fires three simultaneous rockets that spiral around each other. Medium rate of fire, high strength, medium accuracy, short range. Whether one rocket hits a target or all three, the user can be assured that blood will paint the walls. The Tri-Rocket launcher is Vela's favored weapon. This weapon is suggested against heavily shielded enemies, bosses, large drones, and anything that the player feels like. The downside is that there is not much ammo contained within it. The weapon also serves to blow away gates in the player's way, although not all gates can be blown apart.

Sniper Rifle — a handheld weapon that has a sizeable scope on top. Slow rate of fire, medium-high strength, high accuracy, medium-long range. Unlike other weapons, when aiming in first-person, the player cannot move forward, they can only strafe. Pressing forward in first person activates the zoom function. This weapon is very good against far-away opponents, and is tricky when aiming for opponents who move a lot.

Shocker — a weapon that delivers a weak short-range electric shock to enemies. Rather useless, except as a novelty, and against shield drones as the electric current negates the shield.

Flamethrower — though powerful, this weapon literally runs out of ammo in seconds, and its range is extremely short. On top of that, an enemy engulfed in flames is likely to go berserk and injure the player, making this weapon almost useless.

Grenades — these are powerful, thrown weapons. However, their power comes at a downside, as it's difficult to get them where you want them, especially under fire.

Timed Mines — these are simply proximity mines if just thrown, but the mine can be set to go off after a limited amount of time. To do this, the trigger is held the desired number of seconds, and released.

Remote Mines — these are powerful explosives which can be remotely detonated by the player. They make good booby traps.

Cluster Bombs — thrown like grenades, but a much more devastating effect. When it detonates, it launches many smaller bombs on parachutes into the air, which come down and rain destruction on enemies. Lupus' preferred weapon is depicted to be the launcher with which he fires the weapons Juno and Vela normally throw, but out of these thrown weapons, the Cluster Bomb is the only heavy-class weapon, so it can be assumed that the Cluster Bomb is Lupus' preferred weapon (Juno and Vela's preferred weapons are both heavy-class).

Shurikens — one of the more useful weapons, a shuriken, when thrown, can track an enemy somewhat. They're good for decapitating foes, and they can be retrieved when they land. Shurikens that land on the ceiling or other surface unreachable by the player can be shot to make them unlatch.

Flares — while they can't be used to attack at all, flares aren't useless. They can be used to illuminate dark areas, and can be either thrown or carried (Lupus can't carry them). When they're first found, the description amusingly states "not the fashion accessory".

Fish Food — nothing more than a joke, the fish food can only be used for the obvious; feeding fish. However, fish food can be used to detonate mines placed by the enemy in order to not use up any useful ammunition. It can even be used to distract Cokaroaches and the attack dog guarding the mine.

Locations

Jet Force Gemini features a number of levels, all of which are different planets, spaceships or asteroids. Many levels must be unlocked after finishing a certain area or task.

• Goldwood - The forest homeworld of the Tribals, it was invaded and occupied by Mizar's drone soldiers. The Tribals were then transferred to other planets and vessels to be used as slave labor.

• SS Anubis - A bright yellow cargo vessel that Mizar captured and employed for his own uses. Named after Anubis of Egyptian mythology.

• Tawfret - Swampy marsh world which was the site of a Tribal colony, where it is constantly raining. The inhabitants live in treehouses to avoid being flooded, as well as various ruins. This planet was once a beautiful paradise similar to Goldwood, but due to a horrid incident, it has been condemned to a perpetual curse.

• Sekhmet - A large, red battle cruiser filled with Mizar's drone army. This was the vessel that attacked and conquered Goldwood. It is named after Sekhmet, a war goddess of Egyptian mythology. The ship has a large water channel, possibly for easier transport of heavy objects bound to be found in a warship.

• Cerulean - Beautiful blue desert world, it has a twisting cave system where plants live and young insects grow in cocoons. Cerulean is a shade of blue, hence the name.

• Ichor - Military base for Mizar's forces. It is a seemingly impenetrable fortress where the strongest Drones, such as the red Cyborg Beetles, are stationed. Ichor refers to "blood", which fits the level quite well; Ichor is nothing but a shootout from start to finish. Ichor's military base also houses a disco for drones.

• Spawnship - The vessel that spawns the Drone army. It has numerous watery areas that make it a more suitable place for the creation of Drones.

• Rith Essa - Tropical mining planet whose facilities Mizar has conquered in order to fuel the creation of his armies' weapons. It is a vast world, with huge cliffs, mountains, and canyons.

• Echebone - Hot, inhospitable planet almost covered in lava. It is also the home of a huge maggot-like creature, of which the majority of the stage is inside.

• Mizar's Palace - A magnificent palace shaped like a pyramid and covered with hieroglyphics. Mizar lives in the central, smaller pyramid. Mizar's palace consists of one level for each character -- the flume (Vela), the lobby (Juno), and the chasm (Lupus).

• Walkway - Planet notable for a large peak spanning above the clouds that serves as a landing pad, walkway, and a structure.

• Gem Quarry - Tribal world similar to Goldwood, used for mining gems.

• Space Station - Large, partly ruined space station, filled with dark tunnels and drones.

• Water Ruin - Beautiful planet with a large ocean and partly submerged ruins.

• Asteroid - The last level and the site of the final battle. Mizar and the remnants of his troops flee here to begin their kamikaze final strike at Earth.

For other uses, see Anubis (disambiguation). ... Two statues of Sekhmet (standing) in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. ... Two statues of Sekhmet (standing) in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin. ... Cocoon has a number of meanings. ... Cerulean is a range of colors from deep blue, sky-blue, bright blue or azure color through greenish blue colors. ... In Greek mythology, ichor (Greek ) is the mineral that is the Greek gods blood, sometimes said to have been present in ambrosia or nectar. ... This article is about architectural pyramids. ... Hieroglyphs are a system of writing used by the Ancient Egyptians, using a combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements. ... This flume diverts water from the White River in Washington to generate electricity A flume is a waterwork with open water table, that leads water from a diversion dam or weir completely aside a natural flow, often an elevated box structure (typically wood) that follows the natural contours of the... A lobby can be: An entryway or waiting area, such as a foyer, from the Latin word lobium, or vestibule. ... USGS image In geology, a rift is a place where the Earths crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart. ... 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ...

Storyline

The game begins with Juno, Vela, and Lupus witnessing an attack on Goldwood by Mizar's forces. Soon afterwards, their spaceship is attacked by the Spawnship and boarded by drones. Since they're the last Jet Force ship left (the fleet being destroyed by Mizar), they decide to not to wait for orders and act on their own. The three abandon ship and go off their own separate paths to stop the invasion and confront Mizar. In the beginning, Juno is the only playable character, following a set path towards Mizar's Palace. As the game progresses, Vela's and Lupus' paths to Mizar's Palace can be unlocked, as well as a cooperative mode when the player fixes Floyd. The game progresses as the characters travel to different planets and spaceships, defeating Mizar's forces.

After reaching Mizar's lair, the three finally confront Mizar and defeat him. However, Mizar escapes to a nearby asteroid, were he sets course to impact with Earth. King Jeff, the leader of the Tribals, can help the Jet Force team by providing an ancient starship that can quickly catch up to Mizar's asteroid. However, the team needs to locate several vital parts scattered throughout the game, as well as rescue all the enslaved Tribals. Also, King Jeff upgrades the characters with Jet packs that allow the characters to fly if they have fuel available and gives the team new armor. From this point on, the player can play with Juno, Vela, and Lupus on any level.

After all the Tribals are rescued, and the parts found, the Jet Force team, along with King Jeff, goes to Mizar's asteroid. After a rough landing, Juno fights through Mizar's army and finally confronts and defeats Mizar himself (who is actually a robot controlled by King Jeff's brother, Barry). However, to save Earth, Floyd sacrifices himself to destroy the asteroid. Afterwards on Earth, the Jet Force team are honored for their accomplishments.

Development

Juno and Vela were originally designed as younger and more cartoon-like with large heads. They were later changed to their more mature versions. However, a similar set of childish models can still be played with via an in-game cheat.

Jet Force Gemini does not support the 4MB Expansion Pak, although Rare had considered the possibility.^[1] This led to some confusion as the box cover for the original release stated that it did support the Expansion Pak. Nintendo provided a quick-fix to the mislabeled covers by providing stickers declaring its rumble pak compatibility and fixed later printings of the boxes.^[2] The 4MB Expansion Pak The Expansion Pak is a RAM add-on for the Nintendo 64 game console, released in 1998. ... A Nintendo 64 gamepad with the Rumble Pak attached. ...

Jet Force Gemini was originally planned for release on August 31, 1999, but was pushed back to September 27 in order to give the programmers time to polish up the game.^[3] It was then pushed back even further to October 11 due to manufacturing delays.^[4] is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Jet Force Gemini was localized as Star Twins (スタ・ツインズ, Star Twins^?) in Japan due to Nintendo's opinion that "Jetto Fōsu Jeminai" (the Japanese pronunciation) was too difficult to pronounce.^[5]

4Kids Entertainment obtained the rights to merchandising both Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark toys, movies, and other recreational products, but nothing seems to have been done with the deal.^[6] 4Kids Entertainment (NYSE: KDE) (commonly known as 4Kids) is an American film and television production company specializing in the acquisition, production and licensing of childrens entertainment around the world. ... Perfect Dark is a 2000 first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 game console. ...

Critical response

Jet Force Gemini released to generally good reviews from critics, though not as high as Rare's other N64 games such as GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. IGN gave Jet Force Gemini an 8.1/10, earning it an Editor's Choice award^[7], and GameSpot gave the game a "great" review of 8.8/10.^[8] Overall, it holds a score of 8.3/10 at Gamestats.com and ranks in at #30 among all Nintendo 64 games.^[9] GoldenEye 007 is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed by Rareware for the Nintendo 64 video game console, and based on the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. ... Perfect Dark is a 2000 first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo 64 game console. ... For other uses, see IGN (disambiguation). ... GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. ...

References

External links

• JFG APEX: Info, Forum, JFG2 Project
• Nintendo.com information
• DMOZ.org directory
• GameFAQs information
• GameRankings information
• GameSpot information