#1 N64 game: Mario 64 or Ocarina?

[Nintegageo | 582]

Hey guys,

not super original, I know. These two games are generally considered THE N64 games, just curious which you think can claim the #1 title?

Personally, I choose Mario. You are never not enjoying the game, even just jumping your way around the Castle is a good time. Ocarina has times it is a slog to play, like running through the fields and switching your gear.

[Gloves | 11,830]

There's at least 1 other Zelda game on the N64 that's better than Ocarina, so...

[TDIRunner | 2,771]

Paper Mario is the best N64 game.  

[Mega Tank | 974]

I can't say I ever finished Mario 64, but I did finish OOT and that was a great game. Time to fire up Mario 64 lol

[The Count | 531]

I'll pretend Goldeneye doesn't exist and say OOT.

[twiztor | 855]

i will always vote OOT in this poll.

that being said, i finished OOT back in 1998 and have never touched it again. I bust out Mario 64 every couple of years. 

[cj_robot | 546]

Ocarina of Time never clicked with me. But SM64 is just plain fun. I've completed it several times.

[Webhead123 | 687]

My personal favorite N64 game is probably Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart 64 but if I had to pick between these two, I suppose I'd go with OoT. While Mario 64 certainly wowed me back on release, I don't think it had quite the staying power, especially into the later stages which became less sandbox-y and more linear. Combine that with the rough camera control and it's not a game that withstands much scrutiny. These days, by the time I'm about 6-7 stages in, I find I'm ready for it to be over.

OoT isn't perfect either but it says something that it was the game that made me finally drop what I was doing and buy an N64. I remember spending hour upon hour pouring through the game, looking for secrets and solving puzzles. It felt quite free and expansive for its time. When I try going back to it today, I find it slightly more forgivable and fun than Mario 64.

So yeah, OoT it is, for me.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Webhead123

[jonebone | 1,307]

Goldeneye

[Mega Tank | 974]

Just now, jonebone said:

Goldeneye

 

[CodysGameRoom | 2,008]

It's like making me pick between my two kids. They are both great and I can't really choose.

But I went SM64 because I re-play it more often. But Ocarina of Time is a masterpiece. So it's tough. I do agree these are the top 2 N64 games though for sure. Get that Goldenye outta here. 

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Ocarina of Time and it's not even close. I played through SM64 earlier this year and found it more frustrating than fun. OoT is an enjoyable playthrough even now.

[Tanooki | 4,952]

Wow how is that not even close?  Overrated of Time isn't bad, it's actually quite good, but it's the N64's FF7 where fanboy illogic wins out time and again when that title gets polled despite the various shortcomings then and warts developed over time since.

[DefaultGen | 5,432]

SM64 is way more replayable. I'd rather play ROM hacks of Mario 64, speed run Mario 64, or just bust out Mario 64 and run through 120 stars in a single sitting than I would replay OOT over and over, but I'd still give the edge to OOT. Just moving around in SM64 is super fun, and I don't think Mario felt better until Odyssey.

Goldeneye is awesome too, but when you're busting through some explosions or shooting down sights at 3 frames per second, I think it's easy to see it's the game ancient N64 technology has been least kind to.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,583]

24 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

Wow how is that not even close?  Overrated of Time isn't bad, it's actually quite good, but it's the N64's FF7 where fanboy illogic wins out time and again when that title gets polled despite the various shortcomings then and warts developed over time since.

If either title is warty nowadays, it's SM64. That camera!

[DefaultGen | 5,432]

17 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

If either title is warty nowadays, it's SM64. That camera!

What! You don't have the skills to grapple with the most skill intensive camera of the Mario series??

[MegaMan52 | 2,460]

Mega Man 64.

[Webhead123 | 687]

37 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

If either title is warty nowadays, it's SM64. That camera!

Yeah, that camera control on SM64 is the biggest obstacle to enjoying it in the modern day. The game still manages to be fun in the early courses in spite of the janky camera but my tolerance stretches only so far. It was tough to stick through the game to the end and I ended up just going for the bare minimum number of stars required.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

Yeah, what it comes down to is that OOT is not ALL about the action, so it's warts are more forgivable.  It's great fun just going back and immersing yourself in that game world.  SM64, on the other hand, I still do love it, but when I replayed it this last Christmas, I found myself yelling out loud at the camera numerous times and ended up loading up on early level stars and not even playing a lot of the later levels just to mitigate the camera fustration.  Once I hit 70 stars, I was outta there.

I definitely replay SM64 more often, but for overall enjoyment of the experience in the present and moving forward, I had to vote for OOT...

[OptOut | 8,892]

GOLDENEYE

[Brickman | 4,013]

11 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

SM64 is way more replayable. I'd rather play ROM hacks of Mario 64, speed run Mario 64, or just bust out Mario 64 and run through 120 stars in a single sitting than I would replay OOT over and over, but I'd still give the edge to OOT. Just moving around in SM64 is super fun, and I don't think Mario felt better until Odyssey.

Goldeneye is awesome too, but when you're busting through some explosions or shooting down sights at 3 frames per second, I think it's easy to see it's the game ancient N64 technology has been least kind to.

This actually sums up my feelings perfectly haha. 

Also I must be one of the few that think PD > Goldeneye. Goldeneye is great, but it's no PD.

[OptOut | 8,892]

17 minutes ago, Brickman said:

This actually sums up my feelings perfectly haha. 

Also I must be one of the few that think PD > Goldeneye. Goldeneye is great, but it's no PD.

I somewhat agree with the contention that Perfect Dark is better than Goldeneye, certainly in many, many ways it IS undoubtedly the superior game. However, for me, the one thing that really clinches it is I think the level design and overall mission design is better in Goldeneye.

There are several levels in Perfect dark which are either unnecessarily convoluted, overly long, or otherwise unsatisfying in one way or another. Whereas, I don't really think Goldeneye misses a step with its level design, there are a COUPLE of clunkers in there maybe, but overall I feel they are way more focussed and better structured and paced than PD.

There is definitely an easy argument to be made that Perfect Dark is the better game, no doubt there, and when both games were new I may have agreed with you. But over time it has never quite managed to squeeze Goldeneye out of that place in my heart, personally.

[Brickman | 4,013]

37 minutes ago, OptOut said:

I somewhat agree with the contention that Perfect Dark is better than Goldeneye, certainly in many, many ways it IS undoubtedly the superior game. However, for me, the one thing that really clinches it is I think the level design and overall mission design is better in Goldeneye.

There are several levels in Perfect dark which are either unnecessarily convoluted, overly long, or otherwise unsatisfying in one way or another. Whereas, I don't really think Goldeneye misses a step with its level design, there are a COUPLE of clunkers in there maybe, but overall I feel they are way more focussed and better structured and paced than PD.

There is definitely an easy argument to be made that Perfect Dark is the better game, no doubt there, and when both games were new I may have agreed with you. But over time it has never quite managed to squeeze Goldeneye out of that place in my heart, personally.

Yeah some of those alien levels were a  real pain but as you said Goldeneye also had some dead weight.

I couldn’t stand that level with Boris, especially on the hardest difficulty. Along with the Statute level. Giving me horrible flashbacks just thinking about it haha. 

Both had fantastic multiplayer but I enjoyed PD multiplayer more and despite a few flaws I like the story more in PD.

Having said all that, I can’t fault you for liking Goldeneye more. Both games are miles ahead of the majority of what was on the PS1, except for maybe MGS, but not much can touch that masterpiece haha.

[OptOut | 8,892]

1 minute ago, Brickman said:

Yeah some of those alien levels were a  real pain but as you said Goldeneye also had some dead weight.

I couldn’t stand that level with Boris, especially on the hardest difficulty. Along with the Statute level. Giving me horrible flashbacks just thinking about it haha. 

Both had fantastic multiplayer but I enjoyed PD multiplayer more and despite a few flaws I like the story more in PD.

Having said all that, I can’t fault you for liking Goldeneye more. Both games are miles ahead of the majority of what was on the PS1, except for maybe MGS, but not much can touch that masterpiece haha.

I believe you are talking about Control, the one where you have to protect Natalya while she is typing on the computer? I USED to hate that level, as a kid, but actually there are a couple of set-up strats you can do before you let her into the room that can REALLY help you to keep her alive. Once I had perfected my strategy on that level, I now actually really love that level, it's definitely one of the most thrilling parts of the game!

Statue is confusing, but it's not THAT bad tbh, I think the two worst levels are probably Cradle and Egyptian. Other than that, I would say the line-up is pretty strong. Perfect Dark has mostly strong levels too, but I think a lot of them are less enjoyable to replay, like the Chicago levels where you have a couple fiddly objectives to complete like reprogramming the taxi and things, it's quite easy to fail, and the one where you have to go through airport security, it's not quite as satisfying to replay when you need to be quite specific and careful about how you complete certain objectives. And yeah like the Alien levels mostly drag the game down in the final third of the game, I would say too.

Again, not to drag on the game that much, it is an absolute masterpiece. But I think the main strengths of PD compared to Goldeneye are in just how much MORE the game does, rather than the main campaign.

 

When I think of reasons PD is better than Goldeneye, I think of the fully voiced cinematics, the deathmatch bots, the deathmatch challenges, the firing range and exploring the Carrington Institute in general, the MASSIVE improvement in the number and variety of weapons, the better graphics (although I would argue EVEN WORSE framerate issues)... Some cool gadgets and some real standout levels do also help tip the scales also, I won't deny that.

BUT, after all of that, I just prefer Goldeneye's levels and game design, it's just better IMO straight up. The levels are more concise and to the point and the objectives rarely feel overwrought or overly complicated, it all just fits together more satisfyingly for me than PD does, ultimately. It's for that reason I find myself much more inclined to replay Goldeneye over and over again, whereas PD doesn't really draw me back the same way.

 

But yeah I mean it really is personal preference at the end of the day, we're talking art-appreciation here, not a hard science!

 

[RH | 4,966]

Here you all are debating about your A-list titles, and which is best and I’ll just take my copy of the real superior game and head home.

Virtual Pool 64