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    Back to the N64

    I used to have one of these back in the day and I used to love it. Me and my brother used to play it all the time, there are so many good multiplayer games like Goldeneye, Mario Kart, ISS98, WWF No Mercy and single player games like Zelda, StarFox 64, Mario64, Banjo-Kazooie etc. I also loved the N64 version of Ridge Racer

    We ended up trading it for a Dreamcast which I don't regret because I still play the DC regularly and its probably my favourite console of all time. I was just looking on ebay and N64's are going for ?10 and less, and the games are dirt cheap too, so I'm gonna buy one ASAP. Just wondering if anyone else has picked an N64 up or gone back to it and what its like playing these games now. My instincts tell me the graphics aren't gonna be anywhere near as impressive as they seemed at the time, and apparently a lot of the PAL conversions are pretty sloppy (but I didn't even realise at the time!).

    The N64 seems like a forgotten console in comparison to the PS1 which is unfair because there are so many great games on it

    #2
    Guess what? It's still great! Yea, graphics aside (which have a very distinct look to 'em, very N64) most of the games still play great... including the 5FPS Perfect Dark

    Best of all, and a regular here? Pilot Wings... simple awesome. Starfox '64 is another regular title I play, highly replayable and seeing them chaps see me off after the ID4 level still gives me teh bumps

    Probably the oddest experience though is using the N64 controller; it fits perfectly to my hands, I have very little trouble using it... it is certainly very natural to hold. When I haven't played another system for a while, it fells like... I dunno, like having a wank with my left hand... Not a problem with the N64 pad, it's almost like somebody else is jerkin' me off

    I don't feel it's a forgotten system though...
    Last edited by Commander Marklar; 07-07-2004, 08:09.

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      #3
      The N64 is a great system, that's for sure.

      But the main problem I have with the machine is exactly the pad. Not how it handles... More the durability with which it lasts, in that they don't seem to stand up well.

      I've been through a number of them, but the stick always wares out and loses a lot of its subtle grip, making control in games such as Super Mario 64 a less pleasurable experience.

      I can evisage the problem in the next 10-15 years for decent, fresh N64 pads becoming a significant concern, unless Nintendo does the smart thing and re-issues some at a point in the near future.

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        #4
        I've not had any major problems with N64 pad durability. If the sticks have become a little loose with use, it's nothing compared with the depressingly flimsy GameCube pad analogue.

        PAL versions aren't too bad, either. Well, on those Nintendo-published games released after the horror show double feature that was Wave Race/Mario Kart 64.

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          #5
          I've had problems with five pads. And it's not that the sticks really become loose, but that they tend to lock up and generally aren't as responsive, even though I clean them regularly.

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            #6
            Bleh, the N64 pad's have a real life-span problem; if the stick doesn't get eroded by the salt deposits that collect in it's grooves (a real problem for sweaty-handed gamers ), leaving it effectively disabled, then the rubber band or whatever it is that keeps it taught snaps, rendering it absolutely useless. Which is a shame, as the 64 is host to some of the finest games of all time: Mario 64, Goldeneye, Zelda OOT and Majora's Mask, Pilotwings 64, Starfox 64...

            Unfortunately, most of them look awful now, but they still play like a dream.

            Oh, hi I'm new btw, I've been registered for ages but haven't got round to posting 'till now. Still, this seems like a cool forum. Apologies for going off topic.

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              #7
              My N64 was dusted of the other week. I have got into the GBC Pokemon games and obtained Stadium cheap (I wanted a second Transfer Pak). The first use for a while was with Stadium 2 (with Pak). This was not cheap. Both off eBay. Unfortunately I could not find the AV lead or RF lead. On the off chance I tried the GC AV lead that comes with the machine and it worked perfectly. I will be dusting off some games now. I just bought a cartridge to play imports so I may see what I can get off eBay. There are a couple of titles I'd like to try and get. I suppose I ought to get another memory card to be on the safe side.

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                #8
                If you are thinking of getting an N64, why not get a US/Jap version? At least the games will run at full speed. Games like 1080 are soooo much quicker on the ntsc version. Getting hold of the games might be trickier, but ebay.com works for me, especially if you aren't bothered about boxes and just want the carts.

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                  #9
                  I just found an RGB moddable N64! I've come to realise that there is no way I can be without Starfox, I've had 2 JPN copies sitting there at home for ages but no N64 >_<

                  It's blatantly one of my favourite games of all time, it just never gets tired - the stages are so varied and the enemy waves and scoring system are incredibly well thought out. While accesable to new players it's also very challenging to pros cos of the medal system (a certain score must be gained on each stage to earn a medal which unlocks a revised game, there arent enough enemies on a stage to get the score so you have to use the lock-on combo system to boost it). I dont think Starfox will ever be this type of pure shoot em up ever again, imo nothing in this genre touches Starfox64 and it's a big mistake for Nintendo to drop the genre and have Rare and Namco wankify it.

                  I got the N64 for ?40 and bought the games both boxed and in good condition (big box with rumble pack) for ?6 each. Only awkward thing about buying an NTSC machine is making sure you get one that can be RGB modded; there is a serial number range to look out for.
                  Last edited by Saurian; 07-07-2004, 08:59.

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                    #10
                    Is it true that only the early editions of the N64 can be RGB modded? Since my TV won't accept S-Video I've been having to use standard AV.

                    T'hasn't been great like.

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                      #11
                      Yeah from what I've seen only NTSC models with the serial number range:

                      NUS/NUJ10XXXXX... or NUS/NUJ11XXXXX... can be RGB modded as the R, G and B can be taken as separate lines off the encoder.

                      The ones that definetly cant be modded are NUS/NUJ13XXXXX...
                      Last edited by Saurian; 07-07-2004, 09:03.

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                        #12
                        Glad you found an N64 in the end Saur

                        Oh and don't worry - I won't mention to anyone about the one you modded for me

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                          #13
                          Out of all the japanese mainstream machines (Famicom, Master System/Mark III, Megadrive, Super Famicom, PC Engine, Mega CD, Super 32X, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, 3DO, FM Towns Marty, PC-FX, Saturn, Playstation, Nintendo 64, Playstation 2, Dreamcast, Xbox and Gamecube) can you guess the machine I don't own?

                          That's right Nintendo 64....

                          Although the machines has some great games (for example there are more Nintendo 64s in Game On then Megadrives for example...), I just can't get excited about the machine. Unlike the Famicom and Super Famicom (and even Gamecube) there are a fair lack of hidden treasures and a lot of blurry, half hearted games. Not to say I won't buy one, but I think I'll only ever buy one if a decent package comes along.

                          There are games I really want like PuyoPuyoon Party, Mario 64, Excitebike 64, Star Fox 64, Goldeneye but then I start to hit walls coming to fairly poor games or games I rather play on other formats.

                          The Nintendo 64 still sold rather well but it was being outsold by the Saturn in Japan for a while... probably not going to make third party developers jump on board. The number of games on the machine is still rather small in fact I think I am right in saying that in Japan, apart from the Mega CD, PC-FX and Super 32X it has the smallest number of published games of any mainstream machine.

                          Just think how different it would be if Nintendo had skipped the N64 and brought out a moddified N64 a year before the DC...

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                            #14
                            The N64 was a great machine and the last of its kind (what with the carts and all).

                            Mario 64 and Majora's Mask still look surprisingly good today.

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                              #15
                              I'll be interested to see how the PAL N64 plays NTSC cartridges. Must try to find a cheap one. My TV is happy with a composite NTSC signal (Sony).

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