A Decade of Nintendo 64

[Apollo Leader]

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3153750&did=1

Nintendo 64 turns 10 years old. Japanese gamers got their hands on it first during the summer of 1996 while those us here in the United States got our hands on it in late Septemeber. For me, it was the first Nintendo console I bought at launch.

Though I got rid of my system and remaining games last September, some of my most memorable gaming moments were with this system. Games like Super Mario 64, Turok, Goldeneye, and Mario Kart 64 made for some great single player and multiplayer experiences.

Though the system was hindered by the limits of its cartridge format, costs of said 64bit cartridges, and a dwindling third party support, there is no denying that there was a lot of good things going for it. Besides some real great games, some of which defined the future of console gaming (such as Super Mario 64, The Ocarina of Time, and Goldeneye), it was the N64 which made standard the ability to handle 4 or more controllers off the bat (*cough*cough* PS2), the use of 1 or more analog controllers for 3D gaming, and a "rumble" feature for controllers (a big time *COUGH*COUGH*COUGH* PS3).

Happy 10 year anniversary to the last major home console cartridge system, the Nintendo 64.

Edited September 26, 2006 by Apollo Leader

[yellowlightman]

I bought it in anticipation of Robotech: Crystal Dreams, and I'm still kinda bummed that never came out.

I haven't touched my N64 in years, though. The graphics really don't hold up to well, and for the life of me I can't go back to playing Goldeneye on that controller after getting used to the Xbox controller for FPS games.

[Ladic]

worst console I ever owned.

[Twoducks]

Ten years already!!

Mario 64... one of the best games EVER IMO. The experience of years playing 2D games and then jumping to Mario 64 was priceless. The SNES still ranks as king in my book but I had a great time with this system.

Now Robotech: Crystal Dreams was one of the must have game in my list. The videos of the game now look like puke but I would have forked the money happily had it been released.

[bandit29]

Never owned one. My nephew had one. I used to play his. Nothing on it, except a few Mario games, really interested me. Plus I really didn't like that controller. 1996... still full of hopes and dreams...10 years already.... old man....

[Noriko Takaya]

I love my N64 and will probably never part with it. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is perhaps one of my favorite games of all time, with GoldenEye and Perfect Dark counted in among them. Until it blows up, I'm keeping mine.

[areaseven]

Despite owning GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, I don't have an N64 console (the used one I bought at GameStop turned out to be a dud, so I returned it). Maybe when I have more spare time, I'll go hunt down one that works.

[KingNor]

supersmash bros was an unrivaled good time, that and golden eye of course, KLOB for llife

[Wes]

First and last system I bought at lauch. It was awesome for mult-player.

[Wes]

And no N64 topic would be complete without:

N64 Kid - Remix

[JELEINEN]

Perfect Dark is one of the few FPS's that I could actually do well at and really enjoyed. I'm hoping it's one of the titles I can download for the Wii.

[yellowlightman]

Perfect Dark is one of the few FPS's that I could actually do well at and really enjoyed. I'm hoping it's one of the titles I can download for the Wii.

If they do that I sincerely hope they clean the game up a bit. The frame rate and muddy graphics coudl do for an improvement. Not to mention I'm not even sure if they could get it on the Wii, since it's a Rare property and everything.

[Fort Max]

There are so many of my favourite games on this machine, Mario 64, the Zelda's, Goldeneye and my all time most "out there" fave, Blast Corps!

J-Bomb forever...

[Radd]

I was also one of those kids who bought the system primarily for the Robotech game that wound up never seeing the light of day.

First and last system I bought at lauch. It was awesome for mult-player.

Yeah, the N64 really set up Nintendo as the home multiplayer console, the Gamecube brought that to the forefront even more, and it looks like the Wii will expand that even further, and bring it online (though Nintendo will have a tough time making a system as nice as Microsoft's excellent Live system).

I wrote up a huge rant about the system, but really...it did have some great games, undoubtedly the best 3D platform games of its generation. Also, it did push analogue sticks back into mainstream gaming. We'd probably still be using d-pads right now if not for the N64. Then again, Sega might have still gone with an analogue stick for the Dreamcast. Howver, we might still be without rumble pack controllers.

The N64 also taught Nintendo that they couldn't sit on their laurels, trying to hold the industry still while milking its fanbase for ever increasing game costs simply because they wanted to set their prefered media format.

I'm not certain the subsequent loss of market share made up for how Nintendo's bigwigs gimped Gunpei Yokoi's virtual reality console idea, leaving him with the lousy Virtual Boy, and then laying the blame for its failures squarely on his shoulders. Truly a low point for Nintendo.

[Hoptimus]

I loved mine. When the games were good they were phenominal.

Mario 64,Zelda,Goldeneye,WaveRace,F-ZeroX,Rogue Squadren..ETC.

It was a great machine but you couldnt live on just the 64. I had my Neo-Geo,Saturn and Playstation to get me my 2d Fighters,Mech games and hold me off during the N64 dry spells.

[myk]

I'll never forget the first day I turned on Mario 64, playing it for a few minutes and just saying....."wow". I haven't had that experience with any other system since then. Long live the '64!

[Ladic]

eh doublepost

Edited September 28, 2006 by Ladic

[myk]

Shoot, I was the same way when I got mine home...

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

For me Goldeneye was its best game. So many hours I spent trying to perfect times and unlock all the modes. And the missions were like: "if you screw up one little thing, you got to start the mission fresh. No save points for you weaksauce gamer!" Rare difficulty makes a man out of you.

Zelda would be next. Seriously all of nintendo's AAA+ titles are the reason you buy thier console not the other way around. (buying the console in hopes the games flow to it because developers want to take advantage of high userbase)

That's the thing I respect about nintendo: they do support thier own system regardless of if the third parties abandon it. Not too many others would be able to survive alone imo because they don't necessarily have the strong software to let them survive under the software drought condition. This means if you buy a nintendo console you at least have quality. The only problem is like others have mentioned a hardcore gamer wants more. You can't live on a nintendo games alone and you need your diet of 2d fighters, shooters, rpgs etc as well.

Overall the thing that stood out for me was how fun multiplayer games were with the extra controller ports. It was a good idea because for many people like me who used to devote hours of playtime on games on the snes like superbomberman, secret of mana and such, having to buy a peripheral just to access the multiplayer modes (and the fact that not all games make use of third party peripherals) was a barrier of entry for many who would rather spend money on a new game than another peripheral.

One big problem with nintendo 64 though is unlike the pixelisation problem of the ps1, it has the opposite extreme: very very blurry textures. Everything looks out of focus and for some games like Perfect dark, (where they have added motion blur for some bits to make it even worse) it can really make you sick.. (just moving the camera is a mess)

Of course we can look back and say how crap the framerates are now, but for me, the nintendo made titles were some of the best pieces of software ever crafted for thier time. I think next-generation agazine had Zelda TOOT at like number 1 of all time greatest games or something at some point all those years ago. (they did all the way up to top 100 "of all time", and I have to say I agree with a lot of thier choices.)

Since time doesn't stand still lets all hope they can outdo themselves.

As for games like mario kart 64: I actualy did not like this as much as the snes original since it focused less on racing and more on weapons. It bolted on extra stuff but somehow felt less satisfying when you win a race.

I guess it is similar to how some people love 2d fighters but just not the "VS" style of play where the novelty (all the fighters from different universes having a party and fighting each other) is what draws you more than the gameplay. (emphasis on skills and knowledge of the engine, not just button mashing and repeating a overpowered super move ) I felt that MK 64 was a dumbed down mario kart in a sense because it felt like you could win even if you had crap skills. It is one of the few nintendo titles I felt lost some "magic" as it progressed.

Edited September 28, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[Wes]

Anyone play Bomberman 64? Haven't heard that one mentioned. My friends used to hate how awesome I was in that one.

[BoBe-Patt]

ahhh the good ol 64.... many memories. I didn't really buy my own till waaaay later, and I mean waaaay later. Like almost when the gamecube was about to be released. I only bought it because I was tired of going to my friend's houses to play all the time. The times I did play it was always multiplayer games we would play. Killer instinct, starfox, turok, Goldeneye of course!, perfect dark, bomberman, mariokart, tetris sphere? (it was basically tetris on a ball). When I finally bought mine, first game I bought was Zelda. Awesome game. Played that game for like ever! Happy anniversary 64!

[Radd]

One big problem with nintendo 64 though is unlike the pixelisation problem of the ps1, it has the opposite extreme: very very blurry textures. Everything looks out of focus and for some games like Perfect dark, (where they have added motion blur for some bits to make it even worse) it can really make you sick.. (just moving the camera is a mess)

The blurry textures came from the fact that the cartridges did not have enough space to fit the games, and enough textyures to properly texture said games. So you got the N64 look, fewer textures, repeated everywhere. Sometimes pulling double duty.

Eventually, towards the end of the system's life, they had gotten compression techniques down to the point where they could get PSX games like Resident Evil 2 onto the console, without losing anything and in-fact looking better than the PSX version, but by then most people didn't care.

It really makes you wonder, what if Nintendo had gone with CDs back then?

[cobywan]

I was working at UPS here in Seattle when it was released. Thier main whearhouse is located nearby. You guys would just soil yourselves at the number of units that we would move every night for that rollout. There were dozens of truck trailers packed solid with Nintendo system cases and game cases. It was fun moving such nicely uniform boxes for a change.

Never owned a Nintendo system untill DSLite came out.

[Duke Togo]

Ocarina of Time was one of the best games I've ever played. Mario 64 was a blast, too.

[lechuck]

Well my memories of this system are not so fond.

This console had me learn a lesson the hard way, namely never to buy console solely on

hardware specs. Third party support was horrible. There is something eminently wrong when

everybodys playing some nice (and far more) fighting/rgp/action/horror games and all I can

counter with is "It's Me Mario!"...

Anyway because of this console I went into gaming abstinence for 4-5 years and eventually

got my self a ps2 and still enjoy it to this day.

[Major Blah]

N64 smash....best game ever!!

I think I spent a good 20% of my entire year smashing away during my university years

[Duke Togo]

Oh wait! Rogue Squadron! How could I forget!? God know show many hours I sunk into that thing getting all Gold Medals. Loved that game.

[Phyrox]

Some of the best nights of my life were me and my roomies staying up to all hours of the night in never-ending Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 64 tournaments.

Truely a great system with some phenomenally fun games. Not a great single player system (which is why I had a PS1), but for what it was it has still not been surpased.

[Hikuro]

oh man I remember christmas eve with my dads side of the family, my dad, my uncle steve, my cousin griffin and I were all playing the 64....course it was my cousins at the time and I pretty much went "blah" towards it. It wasn't until August of that year my mom got me the 64 with Starfox (rumble pack 0_o) and Mario......those were the ONLY games I owned cause the rest were turn offs to me...but I use to play alot of Golden Eye......I also remember when Crystal Dreams was suppose to be out, I think I was in the 8th grade, then it was early in my 9th grade year they canceled it.......man was I pissed.

[Keith]

I still remember those aweful preliminary pictures of crystal dreams, it looked like trash. Hell, the 32X had better looking polygon rendered games than CD.

[Radd]

Yeah, but we naive Robotech fans of the time were starved for something, anything.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

Oh wait! Rogue Squadron! How could I forget!? God know show many hours I sunk into that thing getting all Gold Medals. Loved that game.

Rogue squadron kicks ass. I was surprised how much speech they crammed into that game. I remember getting the little memory expansion thing so I could play this and turok 2 in high res.

Edited October 5, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[myk]

I'm seriously pulling mine out and replacing my '360 with it...