History VideoGame / Doom64

* EasterEgg: If you wait several seconds after dying, you will see some taunting text at the top left corner, such as hysterical laughter or the ever so profound observations of things like demons' feet or the immortal "Look at me! I'm flat!". [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=_UD_qpCG_cE&t=10m46s Certain maps also hide secret self-deprecating text]] left in by the map designer, though you'll be lucky if you found it by accident.

''The end.''[[note]][[spoiler:[[EasterEgg LOOK AT THOSE DEMON FEET!]]"]][[/note]]

''The end.''

----

** Interestingly, Level 13, "Dark Citadel", has a section that is an underground library complete with bookshelves full of literature.[[note]]Though, with most of the 'residents' of Hell in Doom 64 being mindless monsters, [[FridgeLogic who actually reads those books]]?[[/note]]

* GrandFinale: ''Doom 64'' effectively served as this for the classic ''Doom'' games since Id had already moved on to the ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' series. A sequel was originally planned, but it was cancelled since Midway had turned its its attention to porting ''Quake'' to the Nintendo 64. However, as revealed later in ''VideoGame/DoomEternal, [[spoiler:it wouldn't be the end of Doomguy's story. The Doom Slayer introduced in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' is in fact the original Doomguy; long story short, he ended up dropping in an alternate dimension sometime after the end of ''64'']]. ''Doom Eternal'' also has the two-part DLC pack ''The Ancient Gods'', which shows the Doom Slayer trying to revive [[GreaterScopeVillain the Dark Lord]] for the FinalBattle.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Doomguy kills the Mother Demon, but decides to remain in Hell indefinitely in case the demons ever come back. Bad for him, good for the rest of humanity. But given that Doomguy is implied to be a massive BloodKnight, it doesn't really seem so bad for him. [[spoiler:Then ''VideoGame/DoomEternal'' reveals that willingly staying in Hell actually took a huge toll on his sanity, and left him a broken shell of a man... though it also led to him being in the right place to stop TheLegionsOfHell when they invade Earth again. It really is a mixed bag.]]

* CurbStompBattle: The game's opening cinematic, rendered using the in-game engine, sees a small force of marines taking on a host of high-level demons, including Cyberdemons, Mancubi and Arachnatrons. None of the marines are armed with anything heavier than a chaingun. The result is gruesomely predictable, perhaps best summarised when a marine charges recklessly down a corridor towards a Cyberdemon, who reduces him to LudicrousGibs with one well-aimed rocket. We don't even get to see [[CurbStompCushion a single demon go down]], and the camera rises into the air to reveal the structure the battle takes place around is none other than the [=DooM=] logo while the music becomes more somber and potentially disturbing.

** The FinalBoss of the Lost Levels, the Resurrector (which is essentially the Mother of Demons again), is made this due to the level's design itself. First, you are required to acquire a fully upgraded Unmaker before facing her due to the demon keys. Once you gather the 3 keys to unlock the door, Ressurector's gate pillars will lift up and she will move to the teleporter after less than a second. Due to a small gap and having enough ammo, you can spam the Unmaker long enough before she can reach that teleporter, instantly ending the fight. Even if you ran out of ammo, the narrower and more corridor-based arena means her deadly homing projectiles are ''much'' easier to avoid due to exploding on walls before it reaches you. If you decide to ignore the enemies and speed through the level, you can pit the Ressurector against a Cyberdemon, who can defeat her quickly.

** ''Doom 64 Absolution'', a total conversion mod for ''VideoGame/DoomII'' created with data extracted from the Doom 64 ROM file. There are some differences in level order to go along with Doom II's level sequence and three new campaign maps, along with two bonus maps. There was also two new custom enemies added in, the Nightmare Spectre and Nightmare Cacodemon, and the maps were altered, sometimes significantly ("The Lair" for example is nearly an entirely new map).
*** It was then succeeded by ''Doom 64 EX'', which aimed to restore some features that were left behind in ''Absolution'', and provide a much more faithful recreation of Doom 64, removing all the custom content and map alterations from ''Absolution'' while providing a near identical PC port of the original game. It was so impressive, that its creator, Samuel Villarreal (known within the Doom community by his tag "Kaiser"), would end up joining Nightdive Studios and heading the official 2020 ports, over a decade after he first created ''Absolution'' and ''64 EX''.
** ''Doom 64 Retribution'', another Doom II TC made specifically for the [=GZDoom=] source port. It follows the original level sequence with altered maps and enemy placement, though it includes the extra levels from ''Absolution'' as a bonus episode. ''Retribution'' would ultimately form the basis for ''Doom 64 Consolation Prize'', which replaces the Doom 64 monsters, weapons, and powerups with their Doom/Doom II counterparts, allowing it to be used with gameplay mods like ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' and ''VideoGame/{{Demonsteele}}''.
*** ''Retribution'' would be succeeded by ''Doom 64 CE'', a [=GZDoom=] port that utilizes the IWAD file from the official 2020 PC port to provide a faithful experience within [=GZDoom=], but with a bevy of customizable options to modify the gameplay and aesthetics, and compatibility with popular [=GZDoom=] mods. It also inherently includes popular mods such as Nashgore and Smooth Doom among the toggable options, customized specifically for Doom 64. On top of all that, it optionally includes all the cut Doom 2 enemies (aside from the Icon Of Sin) who are all redesigned to fit the game's art style (for example, the Arch-Viles now look like {{Mook}} version of the Mother Demon, retroactively making her a [[KingMook Queen Mook]] to them) and the custom enemies from ''Absolution'', which can individually be enabled, as well as the The Lost Levels maps from the 2020 rerelease, the new maps from ''Absolution'', and several other episodes of custom Doom 64 maps that were originally made for ''Absolution''.

* GrandFinale: ''Doom 64'' effectively served as this for the classic ''Doom'' games since Id had already moved on to the ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' series. A sequel was originally planned, but it was cancelled since Midway had turned its its attention to porting ''Quake'' to the Nintendo 64. [[spoiler:However, it wouldn't be the end of Doomguy's story.]]

** Arguably the third upgrade for the Unmaker, which adds additional bolts fired off to the sides that fan outwards when you fire and converting it from a pinpoint-accurate laser minigun into a wild-firing laser spread gun. While this increases its effectiveness against hordes of enemies at short to medium range (which is something you'd probably prefer the BFG for anyway), it results in a lot of wasted cell ammo when shooting at the Unmaker's preferred targets: large single enemies like Cyberdemons kept at a safely long range.

* SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity: Level 17, "Watch Your Step", starts with you in a large open arena, empty of enemies, with an array of most of the game's weapons and copious amounts of ammo strewn around the perimeter, with a side passage leading into another section with even more weapons, including a BFG 9000. Enemies start spawning in here, in moderately threatening numbers, but it's when you return to the central area again that you get thrown into a [[TheWarSequence massive pitched battle]] against a vast host of enemies, culminating in the game's first encounter with a Cyberdemon (or on "Watch Me Die", ''two'' Cyberdemons!).

* SymbolSwearing: Doomguy's reaction upon finding the Unmaker: "What the !@#%* is this!"

* StealthPrequel: When the Nightdive remaster has been released alongside ''Doom Eternal'', it's been revealed that it was not only a sequel to ''Doom II'', but also a prequel to ''DOOM (2016)'', the latter starting where the former ended.

*** ''Retribution'' would be succeeded by ''Doom 64 CE'', a [=GZDoom=] port that utilizes the IWAD file from the official 2020 PC port to provide a faithful experience within [=GZDoom=], but with a bevy of customizable options to modify the gameplay and aesthetics, and compatibility with popular [=GZDoom=] mods. It also inherently includes popular mods such as Nashgore and Smooth Doom among the toggable options, customized specifically for Doom 64. On top of all that, it optionally includes all the cut Doom 2 enemies (aside from the Icon Of Sin) and the custom enemies from ''Absolution'', which can individually be enabled, as well as the The Lost Levels maps from the 2020 rerelease, the new maps from ''Absolution'', and several other episodes of custom Doom 64 maps that were originally made for ''Absolution''.
** ''Doom 64 for Doom II'', which recreates Doom 64's levels using Doom II's assets. Like ''Absolution'', the level sequence has been changed and maps have been altered. It also keeps the Chaingunner, Revenant, and Archvile.

* DiscOneNuke: The Unmaker and its Demon Keys upgrades. If you decided to go to the first secret level in the game (after Map 4), you will get the Unmaker and one of its Keys. The first Demon Key makes it shoot powerful lasers rapidly on top of each laser already dealing up to nearly-quadruple the damage of a plasma bolt, thus making the Plasma Gun that you get later in the game obsolete for the entire game.

* SecretLevel: Like previous editions of Doom, there are multiple secret levels to be found. This time however, the three secret levels in the main campaign provide tangible rewards found nowhere else. Each gives one of three Demon Keys to power up your Unmaker weapon, provided you solve a puzzle in each level. You can also find significant perks, such as an Unmaker as early as the first act of the game. [[spoiler: Each Demon Key also reduces the difficulty of the final level ''significantly'' by allowing you to close one demon portal per key.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG0xYs46ZoM "Wait For It"]] (the track for level 15: Dark Entries in the main game)is basically a musical version of this. Despite being minimalist and ambient (and nearly silent at times), it's still very creepy.

** The Unmaker. Yes, it's a powerful PurposelyOverpowered when upgraded with demon keys and will trivialize any combat in the game even without having all three of the keys. However, it also uses the same power cell ammo used by the BFG, which is additionally ''very scarce'' in Doom 64 (you'll be lucky to find more than 100 cells in any level, and they're often hidden in secret areas too that you can easily miss). And, the Unmaker burns through ammo quite quickly if you just hold fire to spam it instead of carefully using as much shots as you need to kill each enemy (while being less ammo efficient than the BFG against sufficiently large hordes of enemies). So if you rely on it too much you'll easily run out of ammo and be left unable to use it at all for quite the while. You might find yourself wondering if you should use it or not on large numbers of "pest" enemies (like Demons/Spectres, Imps, Cacodemons, etc.) ''if'' there might be a more urgent use for it later (e.g. a Pain Elemental ambush or a Cyberdemon), and indeed, there ''are'' high-threat encounters that are worth saving the Unmaker for.

** All hitscan weapons now fire instantly, unlike the original two Dooms where they had a 144 millisecond delay before firing.

* BalanceBuff:

** The Fist also had its hit detection issues fixed, making it and the Berserk Fist quite easier to effectively utilize, especially against larger enemies.
** Doomguy reloads his Super Shotgun faster than before, taking only slightly longer than the pump-action shotgun's time. It also allows you to view the screen better since in Doom II, you had view blocked due to the reload. As a result, you'll drop mid-level enemies and beyond that much quicker. With enough practice dodging, it's a usable weapon against even the final boss.

** The Chaingun isn't any more powerful than its classic counterpart, but it now reverberates and shakes as you fire it to enhance the thrill of letting it rip on a hoard of monsters, feeling more like the light machine gun it's meant to be.

* PaperTiger: The seemingly-improved Pinky Demons look more dangerous, with their larger size, newly-added hand claws, and bigger teeth, but they're no deadlier than the classic Pinky Demon, with the same exact stats and method of attack as before. In fact, your new double-bladed Chainsaw makes even quicker work of them and your Super Shotgun will still one shot them with ease.

* YouDontLookLikeYou: While the other monster redesigns at least look similar to the designs from the previous games, the Cacodemon and Pain Elemental have been radically altered. Cacodemons are now dark brown in color, have yellow eyes with cat-like pupils, and have arms with [[ChainedByFashion chains dangling from the wrists]] (their backs have stretched, torn open skin exposing red flesh similar to the original Cacodemon design, possibly implying the new look are flayed Pain Elemental skins ''stretched over'' the old Cacodemons). Pain Elementals are colored purple instead of brown, their eye is green instead of red, and they have two mouths on each side of their body. Also, the [[TheGoomba trooper]] and shotgun sergeant look identical (rather than the sergeant being [[BaldOfEvil bald]]) due to space limitation on the original cartridge, meaning they are indistinguishable until they shoot or you kill them and see what they drop.

** ''Doom 64 Absolution'', a total conversion mod for ''VideoGame/DoomII'' created with data extracted from the Doom 64 ROM file. There are some differences in level order to go along with Doom II's level sequence and three new campaign maps, along with two bonus maps. It was succeeded by Doom 64EX, which aimed to restore some features that were left behind in ''Absolution''.
** ''Doom 64 Retribution'', another Doom II TC made specifically for the [=GZDoom=] source port. It follows the original level sequence, though it includes the extra levels from ''Absolution'' as a bonus episode. ''Retribution'' would ultimately form the basis for ''Doom 64 Consolation Prize'', which replaces the Doom 64 monsters, weapons, and powerups with their Doom/Doom II counterparts, allowing it to be used with gameplay mods like ''VideoGame/BrutalDoom'' and ''VideoGame/{{Demonsteele}}''.
** ''Doom 64 for Doom II'', which recreates Doom 64's levels using Doom II's assets. Like ''Absolution'', the level sequence has been changed.

** Arguably the third upgrade for the Unmaker, which adds additional bolts fired off to the sides when you fire and converting it from a pinpoint-accurate laser minigun into a wild-firing laser spread gun. While this increases its effectiveness against hordes of enemies at short to medium range (which is something you'd probably prefer the BFG for anyway), it results in a lot of wasted cell ammo when shooting at the Unmaker's preferred targets: large single enemies like Cyberdemons kept at a safely long range.

* PowerupLetdown: The Partial Invisibility powerup just like in the original, since it randomizes what direction enemies fire in, making it no longer possible to predict where they'll fire and making it all the more likely you'll strafe into enemy projectiles instead of dodging. It's still useful against hitscan enemies as you can't dodge their instantaneous fire anyway and thus the powerup can save you some unavoidable damage against them, but this in itself is of limited use, since the only hitscan enemies in the game are the lowly Zombiemen and Shotgun Guys - no Chaingunners or Spider Masterminds - and they're never placed in a way to really exploit that hitscan ability.

* ObviousRulePatch: Monster Infighting between different types of demons when they hit each other is one of classic Doom's most novel features, but it had the tendency to neuter enemy crowds if they consisted of various enemy types. While custom map makers would find ways to work around (or ''with'') this problem to create interesting and difficult combat scenarios involving masses of different enemies, ''Doom 64'' would instead add a new programming flag that when set on certain levels will prevent Monster Infighting altogether, namely in the arena-styled maps where the main obstacle is fighting a large horde of enemies in a compact map, which would have been otherwise trivialized if Monster Infighting was present in those maps (as seen in some of the fan ports that did not implement that flag, most notably making the final level a joke before the Mother Demon).
* OhCrap: You thought Cyberdemons in the previous game were hell to fight? At first glance, this may be the same Cyberdemon you fought before. The stats are the same.... but it will shoot a rocket based on your prediction movement. In other words, if you think the old circle strafing is going to work, the Cyberdemon will shoot the rocket at the planned predictable spot. Your movements will need to be more precise this time.

* The FinalBoss of the Lost Levels, the Resurrector (which is essentially the Mother of Demons again), is made this due to the level's design itself. First, you are required to acquire a fully upgraded Unmaker before facing her due to the demon keys. Once you gather the 3 keys to unlock the door, Ressurector's gate pillars will lift up and she will move to the teleporter after less than a second. Due to a small gap and having enough ammo, you can spam the Unmaker long enough before she can reach that teleporter, instantly ending the fight. Even if you ran out of ammo, the narrower and more corridor-based arena means her deadly homing projectiles are ''much'' easier to avoid due to exploding on walls before it reaches you. If you decide to ignore the enemies and speed through the level, you can pit Ressurector against a Cyberdemon, who can defeat her quickly.

* VideoGameDemake: [[https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/d64d2 Doom 64 for Doom II]], a recreation of Doom 64 under the limits and feel of the original ''Doom'', with liberties taken where necessary. There is no Unmaker, but the Mother Demon was recreated and has the attacks of the Mancubus, Arch-Vile, Cacodemon, and Pain Elemental.