Here's what the Xbox port would look like if it was a magazine ad
Glitter is a platform game based on the 2001 film and album of the same name starring Mariah Carey, co-developed by Traveller's Tales and Eurocom Entertainment Software, and published by Activision, Sega and Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for 5th and 6th generation consoles including the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Sega Dreamcast, PC and a launch title for the Xbox and Nintendo GameCube. The game was released on October 20th, 2001 in North America, November 2nd, 2001 in Europe and January 10th, 2002 in Japan. The Xbox release was on November 15th, 2001 and the US GameCube release was November 18th, 2001.
The game follows the plot of the movie with minor differences including a new character with the voice and likeness of professional wrestler Chris Jericho named Lloyd Stevens as another love interest of main character Billie Frank.
SPOILER ALERT: The ending lets you choose who to be with. If you choose to be with Dice, the game ends just like the movie. He gets shot and killed by Timothy Walker and Billie does one more live performance as "Never Too Far" plays, the game's credits roll but if you choose to be with Chris Jericho's character, Lloyd Stevens, Dice only gets shot in the arm and you play as Lloyd in the final battle against Timothy on behalf of Billie and the game ends with a live performance of a rock ballad/hip-hop duet between Billie and Lloyd while Timothy gets arrested and Dice is in the hospital watching the concert on PPV and enjoys it and smiles while the credits roll. The last cutscene after the staff roll in both endings has Billie reuniting with her mother.
All versions of the game feature FMV cutscenes from the movie except for the N64 version due to the console's limitations. The N64 instead uses comic-styled still frames from the movie along with remixes of the songs "Loverboy", "Lead the Way", "Reflections (Care Enough)" and "Never Too Far"
(GBA, GBC)
The plot is completely different from the movie. Billie Frank has to do many errands by collecting items in preparation for a local gig at bar to attract a music producer for a new record deal.
Levels[]
There are 13 levels in the entire game (14 if you play both endings)
Tutorial: Billie has to learn the basics and then meet up with her foster friends
Showtime!; Sing better than Sylk (Rival level)
Writing Music; Do errands and get ideas for music with Dice (Time limit level)
Rock On!; Follow Lloyd Stevens around and collect as many items as possible
Uh-Oh, Danger!; Run away from a scary wrestler but don't worry, Lloyd will help you (Chase level)
Loverboy Hits!; A collage of mini-games and puzzles to deal with while Loverboy becomes a hit (Time limit level)
The Ceremony: Time to perform on a live Awards show with other singers (Rival level)
Leaving Dice; After an argument and breakup, it's time to focus on music, not romance
A New Chore; Billie has to impress other singers by being quick and good (Time limit level)
Want You; Meet up with Rafael and write a new song
Reconciliation; Look for Dice
Almost Time; Timothy Walker apparently shot Dice and now he's looking for Billie. Get Billie to the last show on time (Stealth level)
One Last Show; Billie finds out Dice was killed and changes songs from "Loverboy" to "Never Too Far"
What If; Billie calls Dice and tells him she's seeing Lloyd now and then Timothy shows up and shoots Dice's arm and Lloyd shows up to the rescue, takes Billie out to safety and fights Timothy (Boss level) Note: The only time you play as another character
Gameplay[]
(PS1, PS2, N64, GameCube, Xbox, Dreamcast, PC)
It's a 3D platformer with music themed levels along with a hub-world of New York City and the game's full of mini-games with puzzles featuring songs from the movie and the entire soundtrack/album as well as several classic Mariah Carey songs like "Always Be My Baby", "Vision of Love", "Fantasy" and "Hero". Billie Frank can attack enemies with the power of singing and musical instruments at its loudest as well as toy water guns to stop fires and BB guns. Items of the game to collect are musical notes, CDs, microphones, portable DJ systems and sheet music. In all versions of the game (except for the N64 version), special CDs are collectible to unlock bonus content including trailers for the movie, trailers for other games, commercials for the album/soundtrack and still frames from the movie. The game starts with 3 lives. Health and power-ups include food and first-aid kits. Billie can collect hearts which are lives and she can have up to 20 lives and if all lives are gone, it's game over. Due to it being developed by both Eurocom and Traveller's Tales, collect the letters that Spell "BILLIE" similar to the Disney games "Tarzan", "Hercules" and "A Bug's Life". But unlike those games, there's unlockable extra features, including extra movie clips, unused storyboards, sound tests and behind the scenes features of the development of the game. (The N64 version only includes the storyboards and sound tests)
In addition to the main story, all versions (except PC) of the game feature multiplayer mini games (2-4 players) ,including musical chairs, Kick It (A DDR clone), Rock n Roll Simon Says, and many more. Certain multiplayer mini-games need to be unlocked by progressing Story Mode.
Items:[]
Music Notes
CDs
Microphones
Portable DJ Systems
Sheet Music
B-I-L-L-I-E (Spell Billie to unlock extras)
Health/Power-Ups:[]
Hearts (Gain a life)
First Aid Kits (Fills 100% health)
Pizza (Fills 75% health)
Apples (Fills 15% health)
Hot Dog (Fills 15% health)
Soda (Fills 25% health)
Donuts (Fills 35% health)
Cheeseburger (Fills 50% health)
Salad (Fills 65% health)
Invincibility (Makes Billie temporarily impossible to get hit)
Slow down (Helps Billie Attack fast enemies)
Speed Up (Helps Billie go faster in time limit levels)
(Note: The Dreamcast version replaces the Invincibility and Speed Up Music with "Still Invincible... No Fear" and "Hey You! It's Time to Speed Up Again!!!")
Abilities/Upgrades[]
Honey Voice (Billie's improved singing call can stun enemies)
Microphone whine (It helps distract enemies in stealth missions when collecting microphones)
BB Guns (A harmless but lethal weapon with endless ammo)
Toy water-guns (After the house fire as a girl, Billie got a water gun to keep with her to stop fires)
(GBC, GBA)
Due to limitations on the handhelds, Glitter is a side-scroller a'la Super Mario Bros. Billie Frank has to collect many different items throughout each level before time runs out. Avoid enemies at all costs. Health consists of junk food like french fries, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pizza and soda. Unlike the console versions, Billie Frank has unlimited lives and can continue at any time. Both the GBC and GBA versions are one player games as well.
Reception[]
Here's what the game would've looked like as a Nintendo 64 cartridge
Glitter received mixed to negative reviews by critics. Critics thought the game was too easy and short to complete in all versions. However, casual gamers and fans of Mariah Carey praised the game for its intuitive and bright themes as well as the inclusion of songs from the movie. The N64 and GBC versions received the worst reception for their short length and poor graphics. The PS1, PS2, GameCube and PC versions were considered the best for the upbeat gameplay and improved graphics and extended levels. The Xbox version is polarized because it got criticized for its glitches and long load times but also praised for its improved graphics. The GBA and Dreamcast versions were considered average at most from fans.
Trivia[]
This is the promotional poster on what if the movie/album had announced its adaption as a video game on multiple consoles
The game was originally going to have a September 19th release but due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City (also the same day the "Glitter" album came out), the game was delayed to an October 20th release by removing the World Trades Center in the game. The same happened with Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro
This game was one of the last games to be released for Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Color in North America and Europe
The game was bundled with the Xbox and GameCube during both their initial launches respectively.
Even though the North American/US release was October 20th, 2001 for all consoles, the Xbox and GameCube versions were released on November 15th, 2001 and November 18th, 2001 respectively
The PS1, GBA and GameCube versions of the game became best sellers and were re-released under their "Greatest Hits" and "Player's Choice" labels respectively
The GBA version sold over 2 million copies, the GameCube version sold nearly 1 million copies and the PS1 version sold around 8 million copies
This is the only video game to star Mariah Carey and her only overall video game appearance
This is Chris Jericho's only video game appearance that's not wrestling-related
Mariah Carey herself enjoyed the game far more than the movie due to the film's infamous reputation of its poor reception of being one of the worst films of all time.
Mariah Carey also promoted the GameCube and PS2 release of the game throughout the summer of 2001
Carey also made an unexpected guest appearance in E3 2001 to announce the game and its features and release date.
Each version of the game all have different cover art designs
The PS1, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color versions are similar to the DVD/VHS covers. The PS2, GameCube, N64 and PC versions are similar to the album/soundtrack and the N64 and Xbox are similar to two of the promotional posters. The N64 cover is based on the album poster and the Xbox version is a poster with a green filter to solidify its inclusion in the Xbox library including its print ad
Here's what the mini disc of the GameCube port looks like.
The N64 is the only version to have two different covers as the other one is similar to the album cover and its alternative title is Glitter 64 making this game the final game on the N64 to feature "64" in its title
The Xbox and GBC versions were a North American exclusive release while all the other versions were released in North America and the rest of the world
The Dreamcast version features billboards of Sonic the Hedgehog (the character) and Sonic Adventure 2 (the game) as well as an unlockable trailer of Sonic Adventure 2
The Dreamcast version is also the only version to be published by both Activision and Sega while the PS1 and PS2 versions were published by Sony and all the other versions by just Activision
The PS1 and PS2 versions feature Easter eggs of PlayStation characters like a Spyro the Dragon action figure, a Crash Bandicoot plush, several Gran Turismo toy cars and posters of Tekken 3 (PS1 version only) and Tekken Tag Tournament (PS2 version only)
The GameCube and N64 versions have Pokémon trading cards in the background of the hub world as well as a Super Smash Bros billboard and Mario and other Nintendo characters in plush forms scattered throughout the game
The N64 version is the only version of the game to have low quality versions of the songs from the movie/soundtrack due to the limitations of the system hence why there were remixes of the songs in the cutscenes.
In the Lloyd ending, an original metal/rock ballad/R&B/Soul song sung by Chris Jericho and Mariah Carey was made exclusively for the game and was never in the movie nor its album/soundtrack. It never had a public release until 2021 by popular demand when the movie Glitter had its 20th anniversary.
