Nintendo 64: Decade Retrospective - Your Thoughts

[buster_broon]

at the moment this is my 2nd most heavily collected for console with over 100 games (1st being the saturn)

just love it to death - it has some of my most favourite games on it and after trying out my pal machine which i sadly sold i still love it - these 10 games are the pinnacle of greatness on teh N64

Blast dozer
Perfect Dark
Goldeneye 007
Super Mario 64
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina
Pilot Wings
F-zero X
Sin and Punishment
1080 degrees
Animal Forest

[Keitaro]

The N64 is one of my all-time favorite consoles, one that could have possibly either trounced or given the Playstation a run for its money had it been CD based rather than cart-based.

The magic that was worked by those who did develope for the system though is just amazing. Nintendo and Rare being some of the biggest hitters (naturally) on the system.

Sadly Rare has become a joke these days, I really hate to speak ill of them but they've just become a shadow of what they were late Super Nintendo and through the entirety of the N64 days. Star Fox Adventures was a piss-poor send off. Although, in their defence, I enjoyed Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge on GBA.

The irony that that game, for GBA, was the first game released by them after being bought by Microsoft never grows old on me. At the very least I smile at how amusing that is.

[Oh! My Car!]

can't forget some of the N64's later titles... Conker's Bad Fur Day was amazing, still one of the best multiplayers ever.

Also picked up Hybrid Heaven recently although haven't played to much of it yet.

Body Harvest was and is superb, absolutely rock hard too - I remeber after cheating to get to the last level I still didn't manage to finish the game even with action replay and in-game cheats on!!! and if you think the graphics look dated now they were dated when it came out! (iirc it was in development for 4 years!) I love how in retrospect you can also see how it was the precursor to GTA3...

[fumi]

I have very fond memories of the N64 and can still remember sitting in my back garden on a balmy morning in June 1996 waiting for a courier to deliver my machine. I was really into gaming back then. I had a machine here in England four days after the release in Japan.

?800 with a copy of Mario from a games shop in Bournemouth (cannot remember the name).

My friends loved it and for weeks we marvelled at Mario and just how bloody amazing it was.

'It was back in June 1996 that a friend of mine on seeing the intro sequence for Mario 64, turned and asked with a sense of almost child-like wonder "Is the whole game like this?"
He meant in 3-D of course. At that time, nobody had dared to tackle the issue of bringing NCL's mascot into a three dimensional space. Six years on, and the landscape of interactive entertainment has changed almost beyond recognition.'

It was a great few years of gaming.

[Wools]

please avoid the Pal release - it has massive borders top and bottom

unsure if a rgb modded console helps this, but it wastes it completely

Not at all sir.

The game still shines through and you've got to be really picky to bemoan that.

[AdamJW]

One of my faves too - what a classic!

Quality!! I thought I would be the only one. OB64 should be in the must have 64 games list along side Nintendos own, but because its a niche game it always gets overlooked.

This one game alone makes up for the lack of any decent RPGs on the 64 all on its own. I couldn't agree more its an 'absolute classic' game - regardless of these niche things people like to put games into.

[MattyD]

Anyone remember how the early N64 games made mahoosive nuclear explosions the must-have gimmick for about five minutes? I think we can blame Turok (great weapons, shame about the game) and the absolutely superlative Blast Corps for that.

Blast Corps was really overlooked back in the day but I thought it was ingenious. It's still one of the only games ever to convince me to complete every single level with the highest grade (I can't remember if it was gold or platinum now).

I also remember a long, hot, and well-wasted summer, sitting indoors and getting a Transylvania Tan whilst playing Ocarina of Time

[Dezm0nd]

My favourite games machine of all time is 10 years old, bloody hell. Let's hope the Wii can offer an equal gaming experience over its lifespan.

[parkinho]

What a console! For me the N64 was a golden age of gaming and one that I imagine will never be bettered. The inclusion of four controller ports really brought alive multiplayer gaming like never before. I dread to think how many hours we spent playing GoldenEye, PD, F-Zero X, Mario Kart, Quake 2, THQ's wrestling games, Snowboard Kids, etc.....

AdamJW - just wondering where exactly you live. I am from Burnley originally though currently exiled in Lincoln. There are quite a few Burnley-boys on this board!

[Neon Ignition]

The first time I saw the N4 in person was in a games store just a week or two after the Japanese release. It was running in black and white and slightly fuzzy with the guy behind the counter (who wouldn't let us play ) running Mario about, keen to show off their latest delivery but clearly crap at controlling the game despite having 'spent hours' on it. Never has a poor image of Mario running into walls been so mesmerising. As with many I had the usual problems with launch chasing, the store had taken my preorder and then sold it to someone of the street for the immediate cash and only ended up with one about 3 weeks later.

Only had Mario at first but that seemed like a lifetimes worth of gaming. Soon tried out some other stuff with only Waverace and Pilotwings standing out for me but the stream of other games, especially the Rare stuff was great. Nearly everything was delayed but just in time before you lost interest in the system. I even remember liking some lesser releases like Beetle Adventure Racing, it was simple but made me pray unanswered for Stunt Race FX 2.

For me, despite its successors decent efforts, a far superior generation to the Gamecube's. A gem for 'those in the know'. Don't think I owned a PS1 during its lifespan, just survived on this and the Saturn. A shame it has a reputation for being 'a failure'. Was Nintendo last at its best before the the mishandling of the GC and the untapped possibilities of the GBA

[spikecast]

I remember how good those days were, we used to have "Goldeneye" nights nearly every night, not one person including the girls did not like Goldeneye. Also really enjoyed Snowboard kids although I never got round to owning that. My brother was 4-5 at the time and he loved his N64 especially as he could run rings round us on World Cup 98! Perfect Dark was everything I wanted it be after getting over the initial disappointment of a sequel to Goldeneye set in the Bond universe (and remembering how bad Tomorrow Never Dies was on the PS). PD still in my eyes has the best bots I've played in a multiplayer game, various things such as the laptop gun made the multiplayer mode genius. Farsight anyone? I could own all with that weapon. Seeing this thread has got me right in the mood to get in the bay and buy another one!

[Bib]

I loved the N64.

The one and only thing I hated about it was the astonishing decision by Nintendo to leave out RGB support.

[giogi]

I totally remember the first time I saw Mario 64 running and thought I have to own this console.

I got the US version with a copy of Mario 64 and simply didn't need another game for some time such was the uniqueness of both console and game.

Backed up by Zelda:OOT, Goldeneye, Waverace and Banjo Kazooie to name a few, my PS1 soon ended up covered in dust. These were games with endless depth, unique control (at the time) and instant plug in and play (CD's at the time seemed like a step backwards with slower loading times).

I think the thing that defines the N64 as a classic for me is that 10 years on, it is still sitting under my TV, with some games still to finish (Banjo Kazooie) and some to actualy start (Zelda: Majora's Mask). I think it will still be under my TV for another 10 years.

[Team Andromeda]

I totally remember the first time I saw Mario 64 running and thought I have to own this console.

I got the US version with a copy of Mario 64 and simply didn't need another game for some time such was the uniqueness of both console and game.

Spot on, When you had Mario and Pioltwings you didn't need anything else, I remember just loving the fact that you can move and play Mairo with just one hand (to a point) The 3D and level of freedom I doubt will be matched by any game ever , it was a massive step up what was around at the time . I when I heard that music and saw the eye's on the blocks I just feel in love.

And still to this day me and a few mates have a games day every Christmas and Golden Eye and Mario Kart is always the 1st to be played whilest havinga good drink. You just can't beat it, and I one of the few that like the N64 version of Mario Kart the most, if only for the multi player modes

[Dogg Thang]

Of all the consoles I have owned, the N64 falls in a strange position in that it has some of my all-time favourite games that blew me away more than any other console games (M64, OoT) and yet was easily the console that gathered the most dust. Outside of the top few stunners, I thought most N64 games just didn't deliver and the selection slowed to a trickle really quickly. I'll never regret buying the N64 but it had very little for me beyond the heavy hitters.