Console Debate #16 Nintendo 64

[peg | 370]

The only reason it's a 2/10 is because the Wii exists.

[MegaMan52 | 2,445]

2 hours ago, peg said:

How many of you giving this a high grade have even turned it on in the last six months let alone slogged through one of its awful games?

I played Donkey Kong 64 last week.

[Gloves | 11,776]

9 minutes ago, peg said:

The only reason it's a 2/10 is because the Wii exists.

Did you prefer the WiiU to the Wii?

[peg | 370]

No, never played it.  I do think the Switch is easily their best system since the SNES though.

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

3 hours ago, peg said:

The only reason it's a 2/10 is because the Wii exists.

The Wii U would be a 0/10 then.

[OptOut | 8,883]

Goddamn it @Splain

You had ONE job. 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

Not one of their best efforts, but also not one of their worst.  It's not the badass best but also not just with only a few games that would be a must play either so that cancels the 9 and 7, so I gave it an 8.

I'd give it a 9, had the old buffoon who ran the company for half a century hadn't been suffering likely from dementia and paranoia around said dementia during the time of its development.  Carts over using CDs made this thing Sony's bitch, stop, period, end of story right there.

Yet despite that, the system with its decent but in retrospective piddly 300~ game US library (maybe what, 350 using Japan, maybe 375-400 rolling in other regions? It's not terrible, it's just not really big, and that lack of big (and I mean big library AND big storage) created problems, holes, gaping in some cases that did some harm. The system itself was fantastic, and what it did well it did shockingly great, better than the rest, but where it sucked, it ranged from thin to non-existent.  In those cases you had the genre supported by average/good (Quest 64) to great (Ogre Battle64) stuff, but also just abysmal crap like Shadowgate and Aidyn's Chronicles if you were an RPG/SRPG type of player.

But if you got away from the obviously thin stuff to the meat of it...wow.  Platforming in 3D, Wrestling, Racing (real, scifi or kart), FPS, other style shooter stuff, puzzles, 1on1 fighting, adventure games, it had that stuff in great supply, total aces.  Sad thing is some of it was over represented too if you take sports (and choose to roll in wrestling and more 'real' racing) that's over a 1/3 of the library -- ouch.  Maybe that's partly why it was such a fan favorite in college dorms of the 90s?

Either way the system did a lot right, plenty right, into what it was shoehorned into.  But it also was a shitty mess if you wanted stuff it got little of, or none of, then it was crap by default.  I recall in the day I had that problem at times because I don't like Rare platformers, asinine collect-a-thons to get a 100 or 1000 stupid items to wash rinse repeat and it kept them going for like the 3rd and 4th year of its life nearly on their own.  I'd go 4-6mo without a game, N64 made me go multi-console right into a Turbo Duo, and then a Neo Geo Pocket Color and Dreamcast in late Sept 99.  So I guess, not all bad.   But also doesn't help it score a 9 or 10 either.

[YOURTURN | 1,256]

A solid 6 out of 10 for me.

I traded in my first PlayStation for a used N64 and Pokemon Snap. Which is sill my favorite Pokemon game. But every other game I got to play after I traded it in did no give me the same level of enjoyment. Which is why I gave a 6 since it was all about Pokemon Snap and not about the other games that were improved after they were re-ported to other consoles.

[Splain | 2,569]

31 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Goddamn it @Splain

You had ONE job. 

I know, I know. N64 is one of the only things I actually play anymore, but I love the Switch and I just can't say that the N64 is better, with a straight face. I hereby resign, effective immediately.

[OptOut | 8,883]

2 minutes ago, Splain said:

I know, I know. N64 is one of the only things I actually play anymore, but I love the Switch and I just can't say that the N64 is better, with a straight face. I hereby resign, effective immediately.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

7/10. A few of the all-time greats sit at the top of the library, but the quality falls off fast. The lack of third party support almost led to the downfall of Nintendo. Thank God their portables carried them to the Wii which kept them in the game long enough to make the Switch. 

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

3 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

7/10. A few of the all-time greats sit at the top of the library, but the quality falls off fast. The lack of third party support almost led to the downfall of Nintendo. Thank God their portables carried them to the Wii which kept them in the game long enough to make the Switch. 

That's a good point. There third party support for the N64 was fairly low. The high quality first party titles really carried the system.

[docile tapeworm | 4,198]

i use to not care for the way pegboy stated his/her(?) opinions... but now i enjoy it..

edit: added an s to opinion

Edited February 21, 2021 by docile tapeworm

[RH | 4,903]

7 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

7/10. A few of the all-time greats sit at the top of the library, but the quality falls off fast. The lack of third party support almost led to the downfall of Nintendo. Thank God their portables carried them to the Wii which kept them in the game long enough to make the Switch. 

...which is still another portable.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

21 minutes ago, RH said:

...which is still another portable.

Haha. While you're not completely wrong, the 100s of hours I've spent playing on my television say otherwise.

[Tanooki | 4,933]

22 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

Haha. While you're not completely wrong, the 100s of hours I've spent playing on my television say otherwise.

He's more right by far than wrong.  Switch and Switch Lite, which can't dock.  The dock is just there for those who don't want a handheld, or want to play it like a hybrid and go big on both.  The handheld hybrid does have enough power going on it can present beautifully on a HD tv thankfully.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

7 minutes ago, Tanooki said:

He's more right by far than wrong.  Switch and Switch Lite, which can't dock.  The dock is just there for those who don't want a handheld, or want to play it like a hybrid and go big on both.  The handheld hybrid does have enough power going on it can present beautifully on a HD tv thankfully.

Handheld/console hybrid is definitely a better description. No previous Nintendo portables had a dock like the Switch does, so it certainly deserves to be recognized as something unique. Calling it a pure portable is misleading at best (unless you're talking about the Switch Lite, of course).

[Tanooki | 4,933]

5 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

Handheld/console hybrid is definitely a better description. No previous Nintendo portables had a dock like the Switch does, so it certainly deserves to be recognized as something unique. Calling it a pure portable is misleading at best (unless you're talking about the Switch Lite, of course).

Definitely, it's new.  They have been a console maker since the mid 80s and handheld from the beginning with the G&W and late with Gameboy.  Due to how awful the PiiU was, how it should have killed the company if their Poke-bucks from that franchise along with the 3DS kept them from bleeding to death, this system is the result of that.  They axed their console R&D division entirely over how much of a crap hole they went down and moved the good staff to the handheld department.  That's WHY it's a hybrid.  You can play it as a console.  You can play it as a handheld.  Handheld had been their lifeblood since the birth of Pocket Monsters and other goodies since, sales don't lie, despite the anomaly of the Wii, the DS still trounced it with some ungodly big numbers up against the mobile phone revolution Apple brought(and then Google.)

It just is what it is, the logical step, and one I don't see them ever pulling back from as it just works.  Make a system so powerful it's on par with the current phones and tablets, and then some, one that works great on a TV but really rocks it on the go.  Give it a stupid easy OS based on one many are comfy with, make it easy to use any modern gaming engine that can scale, and you have a great recipe to win and win they did.  Look at Switch, then look at MS/Sony sales in the same period and it really makes you question the industries trajectory.

[AstralSoul | 502]

Easiest 10/10 I've ever given. If I could give it higher than a 10 I would. I've never been more impressed with a piece of technology more than I was in 1996 with the n64. I know it's not objectively the best console out there, but for me there is nothing better. Okay so it's basically tied for first with SNES but they both offer very different experiences and the perfect compliment to one another. N64 has so many fantastic games, and despite what many people seem to think I think the console has aged just fine. The console design is my favorite of any console as well as the controller design. The 4 controller ports were revolutionary as well as the rumble pack. When I think back to the best days of my life I think back to being a teen and playing GoldenEye or Smash Bros with my friends until 5 am every other night. There is no greater source of nostalgia for me than this system. I could honestly sing my praises about it for hours but I'll end it with this: quite simply one of the most iconic consoles and gaming experiences ever conceived with some of the most beloved masterpieces of all time. 

 

[Tanooki | 4,933]

43 minutes ago, AstralSoul said:

Easiest 10/10 I've ever given. The 4 controller ports were revolutionary as well as the rumble pack. When I think back to the best days of my life I think back to being a teen and playing GoldenEye or Smash Bros with my friends until 5 am every other night. There is no greater source of nostalgia for me than this system.

Can't say I agree on the 10 let alone the nervy opinion it's parallel to the SNES, but you did point out something not too many including myself did in any explanation.  Nintendo with the N64 set some real standards, broke some barriers down too, and opened up a new world of play among others.

Nintendo typically has always been about using withered technology to put out a system for people to experience they can profit on.  With this one, somehow they still did, despite NOT doing that for once, I mean they stripped down a SGI workstation for a game console.  Think of the limits they'd really have crushed had the old fool went with CDs!  But that said, rumble packs, swappable modules on a controller, transfer pack with another system (GB/C) to play games or swap data to-from, the obvious 4 ports on the front for more players.  And in turn, those 4 ports gave you single system 4 player play on one TV which was nuts, only got that in arcades before hand.  So much they did, Sony turned around and swiped from them (during the generation) as did a dying Sega too with the 4 ports on the DC.

 

Now go Mr 10/10 go play Dinosaur Planet.

[nrslam | 474]

C'mon,the Atari 5200 and early 400/800 computers had 4 controller ports, and even the 2600 gave 4-player play with Warlords since you could hook 2 paddles to each of its two ports.  I love the N64, but 4-player was hardly revolutionary.

[fox | 1,667]

1 hour ago, nrslam said:

  I love the N64, but 4-player was hardly revolutionary.

There were attempts before, but N64 really pushed 4-player games as not just a gimmick, but as the stardard for every multiplayer game and console to follow.  This was a game changer.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,088]

 

4 hours ago, AstralSoul said:

Easiest 10/10 I've ever given. If I could give it higher than a 10 I would. I've never been more impressed with a piece of technology more than I was in 1996 with the n64. I know it's not objectively the best console out there, but for me there is nothing better. Okay so it's basically tied for first with SNES but they both offer very different experiences and the perfect compliment to one another. N64 has so many fantastic games, and despite what many people seem to think I think the console has aged just fine. The console design is my favorite of any console as well as the controller design. The 4 controller ports were revolutionary as well as the rumble pack. When I think back to the best days of my life I think back to being a teen and playing GoldenEye or Smash Bros with my friends until 5 am every other night. There is no greater source of nostalgia for me than this system. I could honestly sing my praises about it for hours but I'll end it with this: quite simply one of the most iconic consoles and gaming experiences ever conceived with some of the most beloved masterpieces of all time. 

 

10/10?!? Pfff.... This isn't even the best video game machine with a '64' in its title...

Edited February 22, 2021 by Dr. Morbis

[DefaultGen | 5,401]

9 minutes ago, Dr. Morbis said:

 

10/10?!? Pfff.... This isn't even the best video game machine with a '64' in its title...

Yes! Finally Atari Flashback 64 getting recognition. Space Invaders is included!

Edited February 22, 2021 by DefaultGen

[GPX | 1,369]

20 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

7/10. A few of the all-time greats sit at the top of the library, but the quality falls off fast. The lack of third party support almost led to the downfall of Nintendo. Thank God their portables carried them to the Wii which kept them in the game long enough to make the Switch. 

I think this is the core issue - lack of third party support. And for what support there were, the only 2 companies that seem to understand the console intricacies were Nintendo themselves and Rare. 

Other companies were seemingly pumping out generic titles or were probably more focused on the PlayStation 1.

Thankfully Nintendo were still at their inventive best and games like Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Zelda Ocarina, Smash Bros ensured Nintendo fans were still kept interested. Without the interest, the GameCube may not have happened, and perhaps then no Switch! 

Another point is that the N64 was like a pilot console for the 3D venture in gaming. Technology was still raw back then so it’s worth to give it some kudos points. Any comparisons with the SNES is sort of unfair, as Nintendo had the NES to perfect the 2D gaming ventures.