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The Nintendo 64 has aged surprisingly well

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    #16
    I've never been a big fan of the N64 (even back in the day), because it didn't have huge third-party support and relied very heavily on you being a fan of their exclusive franchises.

    When discussions come up about it, it tends to boil down to the same dozen or so games. Some heavy-hitters among them but I can't think of that many I actually like, maybe Wave Race. Never liked Mario 64 but before I get chased off the forum with pitchforks I can't think of many 3D platformers I like.

    However - San Francisco Rush is superb and Mystical Ninja is worth it for the ridiculous "I am Impact" bit with the giant robot being introduced with over the top karaoke music.

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      #17


      You see, there's more game play packed into this JPG than the entirety of the PS4/XB1/Switch generation combined. There's no getting me off of any of these for at least an hour once I start. It doesn't even have Zelda, Mario, Perfect Dark/Goldeneye, etc.

      It may not handle distance very well any more, but it was the first time distances and LOD scaling were ever really handled effectively to begin with. Pilot Wings 64's landscapes and Goldeneye's sniper zoom function were revolutionary at the time.

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        #18
        Astonishing we don't have a modern day Pilotwings. A proper one not that 3DS cutesy junk.

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          #19
          Originally posted by importaku View Post
          PS1 totally annihilates the N64 library in volume and variety.
          That's certainly true -- the PS1 library is like an Aladdin's cave of good games, whereas the N64 library of good games could fit in Aladdin's cupboard.

          But I really loved my import N64 back in the day. The games I got with the machine -- Mario 64, Pilotwings 64, Wave Race 64 -- were totally awesome!

          Just the memories of playing those three for years would be enough to make me have lots of fondness/nostalgia for the system. They were games with their own distinct look and vibe away from the PS1 & Saturn. The N64 managed to bring something different to the table. The PS1 & Saturn couldn't run Mario 64 -- so that monumental creation was at least revolutionary. Nintendo always managed to show off the good points of the N64 during its lifetime.

          Now... that difference would become a problem for various reasons. Publishers didn't like the cost of cartridges and lots of devs struggled to make the most of the hardware. The gulf between the best and average N64 games was a big problem. It meant that most third party games N64 were pretty poor. I guess Nintendo didn't help devs enough. Nintendo probably weren't that bothered about third party games.

          Away from Nintendo's games -- I really liked what RARE created. GoldenEye was pretty amazing for the time. Blast Corps was something different and well crafted. Diddy Kong Racing was top quality and better than Mario Kart 64. Banjo-Kazooie looked stunning and had a magical atmosphere.

          Konami's International Superstar Soccer games were really good. Mystical Ninja is a fun game, despite being a bit dodgy technically.

          Away from the aforementioned -- I really liked 1080 snowboarding. Ocarina of Time, Star Fox 64, Doom 64, Forsaken, and Excitebike 64.

          So, as much as there weren't loads of good to great games for the N64, the small amount that I did really like were top quality. I'm glad I owned an N64 alongside my PS1 and Saturn, because all of those gems were a lot of fun and gave me great memories. These days -- I have a 'de-blur' N64 that works well with a scaler or CRT. There aren't many games that compel me to use my N64, but a few keep me coming back for more.

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            #20
            Out of the three consoles of that generation the PS1 is the console with the least number of games I'd want to revisit. Compared to the Saturn and N64 the vast bulk of its games have aged or been rendered obsolete long ago. For a long time it was the king but these days I'd struggle to think of much that I still value that highly compared to the other two.

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              #21
              Originally posted by dataDave View Post

              It may not handle distance very well any more,
              Sham it didn't handle frame rates or screen res very well, even back in the day . Pilotwings was 20fps and Golden Eye or Wave Race barely got past 22 fps.

              Even back in the day most N64 games looked a blurry mess, with washed out colours and low res graphics . Didn't matter when games like Wave Race , Pliotwings or Golden Eye were so much fun to play . I also loved the Turok games back in the day you

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                #22
                Originally posted by Neon Ignition View Post
                Out of the three consoles of that generation the PS1 is the console with the least number of games I'd want to revisit. Compared to the Saturn and N64 the vast bulk of its games have aged or been rendered obsolete long ago. For a long time it was the king but these days I'd struggle to think of much that I still value that highly compared to the other two.
                I remember really enjoying all three consoles. They all had plenty of games to keep me busy. I liked that each had their own distinct library of exclusives, so it made my gaming life really interesting. It was a joy to be an import gamer back then.

                These days -- the Saturn is the machine I'm most fond of. I also have a soft spot for the PS1 because it has a lot of retro style games that appeal to me. The N64 has a small selection of games that stand the test of time, but I get fun out of them.


                Originally posted by Team Andromeda View Post
                Sham it didn't handle frame rates or screen res very well, even back in the day . Pilotwings was 20fps and Golden Eye or Wave Race barely got past 22 fps.

                Even back in the day most N64 games looked a blurry mess, with washed out colours and low res graphics .
                Even lots of modern era games only run at 8-10 more frames per second.

                The frame rates in Pilotwings and Wave Race have never bothered me at all. As you say -- they're still fun to play.

                Nintendo did manage 60fps with F-Zero X, but the graphics had to be very minimal. But there's something attractive about an F-Zero game looking really abstract.

                I'd say an import RGB N64 on a nice CRT shows off how pretty nice the graphics are in the best games.

                People who had a PAL machine running through RF must have gone to the doctor saying they're going blind.

                Originally posted by Team Andromeda View Post
                I also loved the Turok games back in the day you
                I remember thinking the first Turok had an interesting atmosphere, but the fog spoiled things. Then Turok 2 looked nice and shiny, but the frame rate was clunky. Turok: Rage Wars was a fun multiplayer game though.

                That era of consoles was like previous eras, in the way each console had its good & bad points that gave them a distinct vibe. It certainly made gaming more interesting, but that sort of situation wouldn't happen again. No, mainstream consoles do essentially the same stuff these days.
                Last edited by Leon Retro; 07-07-2020, 10:26.

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                  #23
                  I miss being able to play Pilotwings 64 Wish Nintendo had made it available on VC or something.

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                    #24
                    I've never been much of a fan of the N64, but there's some seriously superb box art in [MENTION=39]importaku[/MENTION]'s photos.

                    Mario Tennis and Golf, F-Zero X and the Zelda games are real standouts.

                    What is the game next to Mario Kart?

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                      #25
                      Originally posted by wakka View Post
                      I've never been much of a fan of the N64, but there's some seriously superb box art in [MENTION=39]importaku[/MENTION]'s photos.

                      Mario Tennis and Golf, F-Zero X and the Zelda games are real standouts.

                      What is the game next to Mario Kart?
                      denryu irairabou, basically irritating stick. Navigate an electrified maze game.

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                        #26
                        Hah, that irritating maze game is cool.

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                          #27
                          God, I'd love a new Blast Corps.

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                            #28
                            Originally posted by Leon Retro View Post
                            Even lots of modern era games only run at 8-10 more frames per second.
                            I wouldn't quite go that far myself LOL

                            I remember thinking the first Turok had an interesting atmosphere, but the fog spoiled things. Then Turok 2 looked nice and shiny, but the frame rate was clunky. Turok: Rage Wars was a fun multiplayer game though
                            Fogging, low res and blurry graphics was a hallmark of a lot of a N64 apart from Mario 64. Gameplay won through and as a 2nd system, I really loved my N64. I enjoyed Pliotwings 64 more than Mario 64, GoldenEye was incredible and I was one of the few who loved Mario Kart 64; I loved its handling model and how the karts actually looked like karts.

                            The output display of the N64 was terrible mind, even with an RGB mod

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                              #29
                              Originally posted by nakamura View Post
                              The N64 does feel really solid though, it's true it's more solid than PS1 or Saturn.
                              You mean the physical console? I mean, it would be strange if it didn't; it has no moving parts!

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                                #30
                                Originally posted by Atticus View Post
                                I miss being able to play Pilotwings 64 Wish Nintendo had made it available on VC or something.
                                It’s the reason why I picked another N64 up. It’s criminal that it’s still locked to the system.

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