Nintendo 64.

[Host Change]

I never really owned my own Nintendo 64 until after it's glory years and I had a GameCube shortly after, but I have fond memories of games like Mario Kart 64, Mario Party, Kirby 64, Zelda OoT, and Smash as well as a few others.

Good times.

 

[Segtendo]

I had an N64 Gameshark.

I had problems getting it to work with Paper Mario though.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

During the early days of the Nintendo 64, I still had a Super Nintendo.

I asked my dad if he could find Mario Kart for Christmas.

He must have misunderstood, because he bought me a Nintendo 64 and Mario Kart 64 (Also Glover, which turned out to be a good game)

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

Here is a picture of my N64 Gamesharks which are actually becoming somewhat collectable.

The only one I had was the one on the bottom left. If I remember right they were feeble and broke easily. Mines didn't last too long...

 

[F8AL]

I have the bottom right one. It doesn't work half the time.

 

[Grizzmeister]

During the early days of the Nintendo 64, I still had a Super Nintendo.

I asked my dad if he could find Mario Kart for Christmas.

He must have misunderstood, because he bought me a Nintendo 64 and Mario Kart 64 (Also Glover, which turned out to be a good game)

Your dad sounds like a great guy! Did you guys ever play Mario Kart 64 together?

 

[ryuu seika]

Mario Kart really isn't that great IMO.

 

[Luigitoilet]

I actually had more fun with Mario Kart Wii than any of the others. I was surprised to see that it is generally hated.

 

[Grizzmeister]

I actually had more fun with Mario Kart Wii than any of the others. I was surprised to see that it is generally hated.

I love Mario Kart Wii! Then again I like all the Mario Karts except for Super Circuit.

Mario Kart 64 was AWESOME back in the day if you played with 2 or 3 other people. As a single player game it's not that great.

I still haven't purchased a 3DS but if I do it'll be to play the new Mario Kart.

 

[Segtendo]

I just love doing the glitchy shortcuts in Mario Kart 64.
Wario Stadium's and Rainbow Road's are my favorites.

 

[Segtendo]

EDIT: Crap, accidental double post. Ignore.

 

[LivewiresXe]

I just love doing the glitchy shortcuts in Mario Kart 64.
Wario Stadium's and Rainbow Road's are my favorites.

Oh man, I remember that. And there was just something amazing about that 4 player battle mode that I can't even explain, lol.

 

[Grizzmeister]

I am now the proud owner of a CIB copy of Chou-Kuukan Night Pro Yakyuu King (King of Pro Baseball).

I played a little and it's much more fun than Major League Baseball featuring Ken Griffey JR. The only problem is that it is very heavy on Japanese text so it's gonna take me a while to get the hang of everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmeEw3MuU88

 

[Segtendo]

Man.
I want my N64 back T.T

 

[Luigitoilet]

Played through Mission:Impossible 64 the other day.

What a piece of crap. How did I ever play that game over and over again when I was a kid?

 

[Zook]

I just bought an N64 for $25 at a yard sale today. All I can say is wow, that thing has not aged well. I only had an SNES growing up, so without any nostalgia goggles to look through while playing it, it's pretty bad.

Mario 64 is still wicked fun though.

 

[Delta-cod]

I feel like the main reason it wouldn't have aged well is because it was the first of the consoles to enter the 3D graphics era. Each new generation has improved on this same graphical presentation, so we're now used to much more refined 3D models than the polygons of the N64. On the other hand, with the NES/SNES, they're both in 2D, and there weren't many iterations of improvement with them (8-bit to 16-bit). Since they're both in a different presentation style, they can be said to have aged well because they're well done for that type of style.

Either way, I tend to play old games for their gameplay, not graphics. While the N64 hasn't aged well graphically, I'd definitely argue that its major titles are still amazing to play, even to this day.

 

[ryuu seika]

Graphically, I see no major improvements in recent years but the difference between the N64 and the Gamecube are blindingly obvious. If you really do prefer graphics to gameplay then the N64 is not for you but if you can look past skin deep you'll find few games better than those of that era.

 

[Zook]

The controls for most games are extremely bad, and the poor graphics make it extremely difficult to tell whats going on at times. I literally could not play through Resident Evil 2 because I couldn't tell what I was aiming at. The major titles are fun, yeah, but they're not as good as their modern counterparts. Mario 64 doesn't have anything on Sunshine, or Galaxy.

 

[Luigitoilet]

What the hell? SM64 is a hundred times better than Mario Sunshine.

The graphics weren't THAT bad. RE2 is not completely unplayable because it's so ugly. I know, I just recently played the N64 version through. You're being pretty hyperbolic I think. I also feel the N64 Zeldas are way better than the Gamecube Zeldas.

 

[Zook]

What the hell? SM64 is a hundred times better than Mario Sunshine.

The graphics weren't THAT bad. RE2 is not completely unplayable because it's so ugly. I know, I just recently played the N64 version through. You're being pretty hyperbolic I think. I also feel the N64 Zeldas are way better than the Gamecube Zeldas.

It's all a matter of opinion, so there really isn't any point in debating any of this.

 

[Delta-cod]

Graphically, I see no major improvements in recent years but the difference between the N64 and the Gamecube are blindingly obvious. If you really do prefer graphics to gameplay then the N64 is not for you but if you can look past skin deep you'll find few games better than those of that era.

I can see an appreciable difference between GC and the Wii, but it's not major enough to make me think that GC games look awful. Everything is definitely more refined.

The controls for most games are extremely bad, and the poor graphics make it extremely difficult to tell whats going on at times. I literally could not play through Resident Evil 2 because I couldn't tell what I was aiming at. The major titles are fun, yeah, but they're not as good as their modern counterparts. Mario 64 doesn't have anything on Sunshine, or Galaxy.

I really can't see how the controls for most games are bad. I'd argue more that the controller is what's bad (mainly the joy stick for being really obnoxious). But I have never had an issue with any of the control schemes. Mario 64 had very good controls. Zelda played fine. Kirby 64 played fine. Bomberman did too. Mario Spin Offs, Banjo Kazooie games, even shooters played fine. The issue was never with the control schemes, but more so with the joystick being really loose and having really low sensitivity.

The graphics really don't make anything unplayable, either. I've never played RE2, but I really haven't ever had any trouble identifying what I was doing the entire time I've played games on the N64. Everything looks pretty clunky, but it's definitely not a cluster**** of shapes that are impossible to decipher.

I'd argue that the major titles actually do still have an ability to contend with their counterparts. Taking the Mario series, for example. Mario 64 is a totally different game than Sunshine, which is still completely different from Galaxy, and even Galaxy is different than Galaxy 2. They each have completely differeny styles. Mario 64 had a lot of exploration and non-linearity. Sunshine was somewhat more linear, but it had FLUDD and some neat little Shine challenges (Red Coins, the hidden areas without FLUDD, etc.) Galaxy was HUGE. Galaxy 2 was more linear and more of a straightforward platformer, but that's still a different premise than each of the major titles before it. I play different games in the series depending on what I'm in the mood for. I definitely play 64 more than Galaxy, that's for sure.

 

[Luigitoilet]

It's all a matter of opinion, so there really isn't any point in debating any of this.

I don't think it's a matter of opinion that "RE2 is unplayable because you can't tell what anything is" honestly.

don't get me wrong, the game is hideous, but I can certainly tell what everything is supposed to be.

but, you probably just meant that "this is so ugly, I don't want to play this" rather than "the graphical assets look nothing like what they're supposed to represent" and I'm sperging out on your word choice

 

[ryuu seika]

I can see an appreciable difference between GC and the Wii, but it's not major enough to make me think that GC games look awful. Everything is definitely more refined.

I can hardly see any. IMO there is no real point in further graphical improvement.

 

[Luigitoilet]

I wish developers would use improving technology to revolutionize breadth of gameplay over graphics or aesthetics.

 

[Delta-cod]

I can hardly see any. IMO there is no real point in further graphical improvement.

I don't really see anything in terms of making models looking less blocky. It's just more in the resolution to me. It could just be differences in art styles though, but, for example, I see really big differences in the graphical presentations between Sunshine and Galaxy. The difference doesn't really matter, but it's there.

I'd always agree that gameplay should always be improved upon over the looks of a game.

 

[Zook]

I can see an appreciable difference between GC and the Wii, but it's not major enough to make me think that GC games look awful. Everything is definitely more refined.



I really can't see how the controls for most games are bad. I'd argue more that the controller is what's bad (mainly the joy stick for being really obnoxious). But I have never had an issue with any of the control schemes. Mario 64 had very good controls. Zelda played fine. Kirby 64 played fine. Bomberman did too. Mario Spin Offs, Banjo Kazooie games, even shooters played fine. The issue was never with the control schemes, but more so with the joystick being really loose and having really low sensitivity.

The graphics really don't make anything unplayable, either. I've never played RE2, but I really haven't ever had any trouble identifying what I was doing the entire time I've played games on the N64. Everything looks pretty clunky, but it's definitely not a cluster**** of shapes that are impossible to decipher.

I'd argue that the major titles actually do still have an ability to contend with their counterparts. Taking the Mario series, for example. Mario 64 is a totally different game than Sunshine, which is still completely different from Galaxy, and even Galaxy is different than Galaxy 2. They each have completely differeny styles. Mario 64 had a lot of exploration and non-linearity. Sunshine was somewhat more linear, but it had FLUDD and some neat little Shine challenges (Red Coins, the hidden areas without FLUDD, etc.) Galaxy was HUGE. Galaxy 2 was more linear and more of a straightforward platformer, but that's still a different premise than each of the major titles before it. I play different games in the series depending on what I'm in the mood for. I definitely play 64 more than Galaxy, that's for sure.

I got a bunch of shooters with the N64, and they're all really hard to play due to the lack of a second analog stick and the graphics. Everything is really dark, and kinda blend together. And with RE2, I couldn't aim for ****. lol That's what I was talking about in regard to the graphics/controls.

Yeah, I agree with that last part.

I don't think it's a matter of opinion that "RE2 is unplayable because you can't tell what anything is" honestly.

don't get me wrong, the game is hideous, but I can certainly tell what everything is supposed to be.

but, you probably just meant that "this is so ugly, I don't want to play this" rather than "the graphical assets look nothing like what they're supposed to represent" and I'm sperging out on your word choice

That's true, too, but I was mainly talking about how hard it was to tell what I was aiming at. lol But yeah, I would probably get used to it if I played it a bit more. I was feeling a bit snarky last night.

Anyone have some N64 recommendations? Right now I have Mario 64, OoT, a bunch of sports games, and I'm borrowing Pokemon Snap, DK64, F Zero X (actually really fun, loving it so far), and Turok 2.

 

[Delta-cod]

Well naturally shooters are better with a second analog stick. Those are probably the only games I'd say didn't have their controls age well. They still don't require THAT much precision, though.

But moving on! I'd say that you should definitely get Majora's Mask. It's probably my favorite Zelda game next to Zelda II. You should also get Paper Mario. Banjo Kazooie/Tooie are good games as well. A less renowned title would be Glover. It's a really interesting game, and I find that it's EXTREMELY fun. I did a 100% run of it over the summer. Kirby 64 is good too. If you're even remotely interested in Mario Party, you should at least try the first and second ones. I think they're the best in the series. Yoshi Story is another really great game, but it's really hard on your hands since joystick sensitivity for it is AWFUL.

 

[ryuu seika]

Yoshi's Story on the Wii virtual console lets you use Cstick smashes for eggs. It's really rather handy until you forget and try to adjust the camera. Or do smash attacks...

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

If they ever brought Duke Nukem 64 or Zero Hour to the Wii store I would be happy. Maybe Clay Fighter 63 1/3 as well.

 

[ryuu seika]

Surely Clayfighter 64 would be preferable to 63 1/3?

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

Surely Clayfighter 64 would be preferable to 63 1/3?

Interplay did that. They changed the 64 to 63 1/3. It was probably for comedy reasons.

 

[ryuu seika]

Interplay did that. They changed the 64 to 63 1/3. It was probably for comedy reasons.

Actually no. They had an unavoidable release date to meet and left several characters and minor details out of the original release, giving it the (somewhat funny I'll admit) title "63 1/3" to denote its unfinished state. It was then later rereleased as 64 with all the cut content but this version was rental only (to my knowledge this is the only time there has been a rental bonus on a game).

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

Actually no. They had an unavoidable release date to meet and left several characters and minor details out of the original release, giving it the (somewhat funny I'll admit) title "63 1/3" to denote its unfinished state. It was then later rereleased as 64 with all the cut content but this version was rental only (to my knowledge this is the only time there has been a rental bonus on a game).

Thanks for clarifying that. I didn't know all the details.

 

[Segtendo]

Thanks for clarifying that. I didn't know all the details.

Which was renamed "Sculptor's Cut"

 

[ryuu seika]

It may have been "Clay Fighter 64: Sculptor's Cut" or re-released later under that name but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered if it hadn't come out under the title "64".

 

[SupaSairentoZ7℠]

Didn't the Sculptor's Cut come out after the first game? I can't remember.

 

[Grizzmeister]

Watch this:

http://www.g4tv.com/videos/55487/nintendo-64-15th-anniversary/

 

[Grizzmeister]

The N64 Cartridge​

We live today in the virtual world were physical media is slowly becoming a thing of the past. It’s for this reason that I love the anachronistic N64 cartridge format.

Some might argue that cartridges were already obsolete by the time the N64 was released. That’s probably true as the Sony Playstation opted to go with optical media, in the form of Compact Discs (CD’s), which are substantially cheaper to produce and store much more data. The PS pointed the way to the future while Nintendo’s insistence on sticking with cartridges cost them dearly. No longer would the name “Nintendo” be regarded as the euphemistic moniker for video gaming in general as Sony’s console with its less expensive games became the de facto standard of the era.

Realizing ‘cartridges versus CD’s economics’ and that profitability meant making each game count Nintendo adopted the mantra “quality over quantity” and therein lies the reason why the Nintendo 64 is held in such high regard even to this day. Almost every N64 first-party title is masterpiece because ultimately they had to be to justify the cost of developing them and publishing them on a cartridge.

Today an N64 cartridge is roughly the same size as a hard-drive with the latter holding infinitely more data. For this reason, many modern gamers can’t justify allotting the space in their hovel to store their classic N64 cache and instead opt to go virtual via emulation. But I love the tangible and tactile thrill of holding a real N64 cartridge no matter how much space it takes up and for this reason I’ll never part with my Nintendo 64 experiences that reside ever so neatly on nearly indestructible cartridges.