The good old Nintendo 64

[Fryguy64]

As seems to happen to every Nintendo fan in a console generation, you look back to the last generation with a slightly hazy love. When the N64 was at its peak the SNES seemed to me to be the best console ever made. Now we are into the Gamecube generation I am looking back with fondness at the N64 -- and find myself loving it more every day.

For a start, I'm actually playing my N64 more than the Gamecube. I seem to be stuck in a perpetual previous-generation mechanism.

Anyway... here we shall discuss the N64 and its games. What were your best N64 moments? What games got played all the time?

One thing I would like to discuss at length is the comparison between Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Now, since MK:DD was released it has come in for what I think is an unfair amount of criticism for not being as good as MK64, for lacking certain sheen, for having unimaginative levels, and for feeling more like a multiplayer game than a proper racing game. Now, my memory isn't that great, but I remembered one thing about the release of MK64:

EXACTLY the same arguments were put forward for why MK64 wasn't as good as Super Mario Kart on the SNES. Nowadays MK64 is considered a classic game in every sense of the word. It is beloved by all, and still has fans trying to beat the high scores, though many of them have since migrated to MK:DD. This bodes well for Double Dash. It is following the exact same path as its N64 predecessor. Is it due to be as much of a classic as MK64 was? I expect it will be remembered just as fondly in a couple of years time, when the internet time trial scores are just as unbeatable, and when every last smidgeon of life has been squeezed out of it.

After all... for all the criticism MK:DD got for the simple oval track "Baby Park", it's still a darn sight more exciting than Moo Moo Farm :P

Anyway, more N64 love please! Smear it here!

[Xeno82]

Come on, Moo Moo Farm was great! A racing game needs a good odd ball track once in while.

Anyway, as a Mario fan, playing Super Mario 64 was one of the greatest gaming experiences of my life. For this game alone, the N64 deserves a place of honor among other consoles.

And things only got better. Super Smash Bros.? This game was so good, a lot of my friends ignored Melee when it was released because they didn't think it could possibly be as good as the original.

I also have to admit that I love Yoshi's Story. The game can be a bit tedious at times, but it is beautiful to look at and trying to get high scores in all of the levels is still a fun challenge.

Finally, almost as if they wanted to bracket the system's games with innovative Mario ones, Nintendo releases Paper Mario, an RPG that almost works as a deconstruction of the genre by emphasizing its storybook element to an interesting and fun-filled extreme.

Yes, I love the N64.

[Fryguy64]

Ahh, indeed. Let's not forget that Goldeneye rewrote the rules on First-Person Shooters (without it, where would Halo and Timesplitters be?) and Ocarina of Time rewrote the rules for third-person adventures. Super Mario 64 basically invented the 3D platformer!

Some of my friends were equally suspicious of SSBM even though they loved SSB to death. Thankfully, even more of my friends were possibly more excited about it than I was

At the same time... I'm kinda hoping the Nintendo DS doesn't just port a load of N64 games. I want a whole new Snowboard Kids and Mystical Ninja game. The N64 editions were fantastic, but I want more of the same kind of thing... not the exact same thing.

[Blueberry_pie]

Ah yes, good ol' N64...

I got mine on my birthday, together with Super Mario 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. I loved Diddy Kong Racing, and SM64 was great too, even though I wasn't very good at it back then

Let's see... Ah yes, a while later I wanted to buy a new game for the N64. I was originally going for Yoshi's Story, I saw that game in some magazine or something and I was really excited about it.
But when I was in the store, another game got my attention.. I can't really remember which it was, I think it was Starshot or something...
I can't remember why I did it, but I bought that game instead of Yoshi's Story.
And I found it to be very disappointing... I never even got through the first level, I think it was because the game was so buggy (and probably also because I wasn't very good at games at that age ).

After a while, I didn't really play on the N64 much anymore. So when I was over at a friend house once, my father sold the N64 and bought a used SNES for me, with Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars.
Well, I'm glad he did I still play on the SNES every now and then... But I'd like to play on the N64 again once

[Morgan Lamia]

I remember the day I first took home my N64, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The N64 was the first real console I could call my own. Sure, we had a Sega Master System II for years before, but my sister was always hogging that...
I had to hook up the N64 to my sister's tv since I didn't have my own at the time.

I slotted in the SM64 cartridge and I was blown away. The graphics, the gameplay, everything about it was truly mind-blowing.
I don't think I'll ever forget playing the first course on Bob-omb Battlefield. Lol, it took me quite a while to work out how to defeat the King since I just kept throwing him off the mountain.

I still go back and play my N64 every now and again. There's nothing like a good game of SM64, Yoshi's Story, MK64...
...Rugrats Treasure Hunt, however, can stay in its box though, I think...

[Ace_ETP]

I was trying to find the right words to describe how I felt the first time I played SM64, but I simply can't. In order to get that feeling again, I would have to skip a console generation (like I did with the SuperNES) and be surprised with what is possible to do with the next one again.

Oh, all those hours trying to get to the door under the moat...

[Fryguy64]

I got it for my birthday, but was allowed to play it five days early (it came out on the 1st March and my bday is on the 6th). Super Mario 64 was astounding, though I don't think my mum appreciated the fact I'd beaten the final Bowser before my birthday even rolled around

[TrustTheFungus]

I love the N64. I will never understand how the playstation did so much better than it. Ocarina of Time, Paper Mario, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros., Pokemon Stadium, and of course Super Mario 64. I've talked about this game before on this forum, but it's so great it's worth talking about more. It's the game that brought me back to Nintendo after being a Sega fan for a few years. I've played through and beat it so many times...

Also, the N64 was way better for multi-player then the playstation. Two freinds didn't have to sit out while the other two played.

[Wildcat]

Hm. I may be one of the only people who didn't care for Super Mario Kart. *shrugs*

Anywho...I have fond memories of my N64. 2 of my 5 favorite games came out on it (Zelda: OoT and SM64), as well as many other favorites (Goldeneye and Paper Mario being the other Nintendo published ones). Recently, I rebought Banjo-Kazooie at a yard sale, and it still holds up, amazingly. I would like Bomberman 64 back...I wish I didn't sell that game. But I have many fond memories of my N64...it was a good system. ^^

[SuperLuigi64]

Throwing the Bob-Omb King off the mountain was one of the best things EVER ^_^

But my favrite experience was the first time I raced Koopa the Quick, since I didn't know about any of the shortcuts. Well....okay, that's not entirely true, I knew about the warp in the two mountain holes, but I didn't think about them at the time. Barely beating him to the end made the victory that much sweeter ^_^

I was alsoblown away by the greatness that is Banjo-Kazooie. When that game first came out, I was like "hey....it's the bear off of Diddy Kong Racing! So who's the Kazooie they mentioned?" The game becaame horribly addictive to me from Day One, and the sequel was just as entertaining ^_^

Ah, yes, let's not forget Harvest Moon 64, the only game that ever hooked me to the point that I would jump on people who said it was "just a farming game". HM64 remains right up there on my Top Five Games list ^_^

[Volray]

Ah yes, the N64, where do I begin?

My mom gave it to my dad as a Christmas present in '96 (ironic that it now sits in my room) and we got Super Mario 64 and Wave Race 64, two great games (we also got a not so great game that I can't remember...oh well). Anyway, as much as I hate to admit it, I was a stupid little kid then that couldn't understand what a good game was. But time passed, and Mario Kart 64 came, that's when I understood how fun video games can be. Unfortanetly, my stupid little kid syndrome lasted throughout most of the N64 era, most of the games I bought were solely based off the fact that I knew the stars of those games. But anyway, some of my favorite games are on that system.
Super Mario 64-Quite possibly the greatest game ever created.
Mario Kart 64-I say it's better than Double Dash!!, DD just didn't have the same feeling that MK64 did, I can't really describe it.
Star Fox 64-This game has some of the best text I've ever seen. "Hey Einstien, I'm on your side!"
Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo Tooie-These games are just so addicting I just can't stop playing them once I start.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask-These rank as number 1 and 2 of my all-time favorite Zelda games. If you're wondering, Wind Waker is near the bottom of the list.
Donkey Kong 64-Everyone hates this game, but I don't care, I still love it! Best Donkey Kong game to date!
Paper Mario-When I heard the announcement of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for GCN, I went back to play this game, mostly because I have a habit of trying to beat a prequel again when I hear about a sequal. But when I started playing, I became totally immersed. I forgot the whole reason I was playing was because a sequal was coming out. This game is just great. (Oh, and I like The Thousand-Year Door better if you're wondering).
Well I'm totally rambling at this point so I guess I better rap it up. The N64 is one of my favorite systems, and many of my favorite games are on it.

[jyunx]

I started playing the N64 way back in 1998, and I enjoyed it a lot with some of the best games ever made during the years such as Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, WCW/nWo Revenge, and many other well known games and imports. I still play the N64 sometimes, now with the use of my official Nintendo S-Video Cable for better picture than regular AV Cable.

[Adlubescence]

I still play Bomberman 64... One of the greatest games ever.
Regulus is still the best character ever, good or evil. Most likely because he was both.
<_<
>_>
Does anybody know what the heck I'm jabbering about?

[kirbychu]

Um... sort of. I have Bomberman 64, but I never quite finished it. Damn that Black Fortress mini-boss!

[Old Man Rupee]

One of my earliest spine tingly moments was seeing Mario 64 in action on some TV show like Blue Peter, where they were showcasing videogames through the ages, and this was supposed to be "the future"...it was at that moment that I decided to get one. My next ever spine tingly moment was hearing Bowser shout "go away" (or get out?) when you first stepped into Peach's Castle. But the one memory of the system that has stuck with me as its defining moment was when you booted up Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and heard THAT music, do-do doooo, do do-bi-do-bi-diiiiiiiii...and you just knew in your soul that "this is going to be GOOD". Great times.

In fact, I loved that system so much, I bought 2 of my favourite games for it during a dull spell for the gamecube: Donkey Kong 64 and Majora's Mask (both on Ebay of course).

Other fave games: Bomerman 64 (for the manic multiplayer)
Starfox 64 (for the manic shooting and killing)
Worms Armaggedon (again, for the multiplayer, just played it yesterday actually)