Console Debate #16 Nintendo 64

[Andy_Bogomil 395]

I don't play the system much anymore since it was a local multiplayer machine but think it is/was a great system. My favourites still hold up like GE, Wave Race, OoT and Mario 64. Even if they have 'aged' they're still solid to play in my opinion. Multiplayer games such as Mario Kart, Mario Party, and I guess GE too really shine with 4 players. A lot of other games I liked back in the day definitely play better in my mind than they do in reality (Shadow of the Empire, Winback, Mission Impossible) - usually due to poor controls/camera or extremely poor graphics/fog. Still alright for the time though.

Although the library is small, it is also dense in quality, especially for 1st party titles. 64 and Wii U would be close together in 3rd behind SNES then NES.

SNES>NES>64/Wii U> Switch> Wii/GC

 

 

[BriGuy82 476]

There was a time when goodwills were littered with n64s by me. I always passed on them and I kinda regret it now. 

[Reed Rothchild 3,849]

4 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

Hey now, N64 made the top side of average because we’re covering all consoles! Just be happy this isn’t rate Nintendo consoles or N64 would be scapping for the bottom spot with Switch!

[Strange 1,169]

I gave it a 5 but that seems a little low to me, idk. I really do like the system but my opinion remains that it’s top heavy for sure. I’m so nostalgic for it and I really do like it but aside from the hits I don’t really have a desire to explore that library save for a few outliers. It’s like the hits are 8s 9s and 10s for me but the desire to play the rest of the library is low. How do you rate that lol

I’ve always maintained that if they made the N64 mini it would very likely have every game I want to play from the N64 library.

[Strange 1,169]

Btw I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Mario 64 is a game I could play forever

[twiztor 204]

i don't play my n64 very much anymore, for a variety of reasons, but for me, it's one of the best ever. I rated it a 9.

As others have said, game quality wise, the system has a definite drop after the top tier. But that top tier is amazing. For a kid like me to go from NES to n64 (my family skipped the SNES generation because I "already had a Nintendo"), it was mind-blowing. Seeing Mario and Link run around in 3D environments was already awe inspiring, but for each of those games to be absolutely essential was next level. And the (local) multiplayer will never, ever be topped. Between Goldeneye, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, Mario Party, Bomberman, Star Fox, and the absolutely god-tier wrestling games, there was nothing better.

I don't even have to mention the host of other standouts: Donkey Kong, Banjo-Kazooie, F-Zero, Blast Corps, Wave Race, hell even Mario Tennis was awesome, and i have zero interest in Tennis. Plus, while it wasn't what we were really looking for, Pokemon Stadium and Snap both had their own charm. 

also, there were a relatively lot of really bad fighting games. 

[Splain 917]

Does having a bad game make a console worse? Like if 2 consoles had identical libraries, except that one of them also had 100 crappy games that nobody likes, does that console lose points for having a lower "average" score, or does it gain points for having a bigger library? This is a huge problem with the GBA, where the HUNDREDS of bad games make a lot of people think it's a completely skippable library, while the high end is actually pretty great. Obviously, trimming the fat from the N64 library leaves it with a much smaller library than many other consoles, just by numbers alone.

I guess I've never decided what my personal GOAT console is. I feel like I need to climb a mountain and sit at the top and meditate for a week before deciding. Should I spend my one and only 10 on the N64????

[LeatherRebel5150 428]

I go 9 out of 10. Honestly it's my favorite console and I don't know what it would take for me to give a console a 10 but I'll know it when I see it one day. 

I love the fact they stuck with cartridges' otherwise I would have never collected it. Everyone else can collect all those discs that might have a micro scratch that doesn't make itself apparent until the final crescendo  of a game and it freezes. I'll stick with my indestructible plastic bricks.

I also think the controller was just fine. If you can't figure out how to use it then you've gone past brain fart and moved into brain shart territory. It's also a the last good stock controller Nintendo has ever made. The Wii stick is stupid, the WiiU pad is a disaster if it breaks, the Switch joycons have drift and are sized for tinkerbell, and it's WAY BETTER than that god awful Gamecube pad.

[Sumer 167]

6.

By this time, after home console-ing with Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Genesis/Sega CD, I moved over to PC gaming fully by 1995 or 1996.  I totally ignored the N64, though my little brother did get one and I played a very little bit with him.  I am not enamored with Mario 64 like many are...2D Marios are just so much more preferable to me, though Odyssey was a fun one.

The controller was also not very good in my opinion.  Sure, it was made with 3D games in mind, but, it really was awkward to play.  

The few times I DID have a really good time with a N64 was in college in the late 90s at a buddy's apartment.  Mario Kart 64 was a blast while drinking...it was a ritual for poor college kids: Get drunk while drinking cheap beer (Natty Light!) and play Mario Kart 64 before hitting the bars and clubs later that night already toasted and not having to pay the steeper bar/club prices.  

We also enjoyed Mario Golf with some brewskis too.

Edited February 19 by Sumer

[elprincipe 53]

7

I've always loved the 64, but it is not among the very best for me (at least not anymore). Strangely, a lot of the games people praise the most I feel are overrated - good, but overrated - such as Mario 64, Zelda OOT, Goldeneye, Super Smash Bros. All these games I've played a ton and beaten, and played oodles of multiplayer Goldeneye and SSB, but really none of them is even 8/10 for me individually. I had more fun with some of the less-praised games like Goemon's Great Adventure, NBA Hangtime (well, the arcade version is my favorite game ever...), Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, Rogue Squadron, etc. Add in incredible games like Mario Kart 64, Mario Tennis, Wave Race, and more and it's easy to understand why so many people love it.

I love the controller. Multiple ways to hold it was innovative and it feels good in your hands. I do wish the sticks were more durable of course, like everybody else. The graphics on most of the games are disappointing and worse than the previous generation of systems as early 3D graphics are just ugly for the most part. I for one was happy that they kept the carts as that kept load times to a minimum whereas stuff like the Playstation you have to often wait what seems like forever for the game to boot up and load.

[Jicsan 339]

Went with 6/10 Good. You might occasionally enjoy playing it.

I feel bad giving a Nintendo system a 6 but the words perfectly describe the N64 for me.  The controllers never bothered me, at least bothered me beyond my 'friends' totally destroying them all playing the first Mario Party.  There are some solid games (10/10's Super Mario 64,  Ocarina of Time, and StarFox 64).  

[DefaultGen 1,801]

49 minutes ago, Splain said:

Does having a bad game make a console worse? Like if 2 consoles had identical libraries, except that one of them also had 100 crappy games that nobody likes, does that console lose points for having a lower "average" score, or does it gain points for having a bigger library? This is a huge problem with the GBA, where the HUNDREDS of bad games make a lot of people think it's a completely skippable library, while the high end is actually pretty great. Obviously, trimming the fat from the N64 library leaves it with a much smaller library than many other consoles, just by numbers alone.

I guess I've never decided what my personal GOAT console is. I feel like I need to climb a mountain and sit at the top and meditate for a week before deciding. Should I spend my one and only 10 on the N64????

I think identical console plus more bad games makes the console worse (assuming they truly have no redeeming qualities and aren’t delightfully bad like Action 52). If anything it makes it harder to find the good games. Wii probably has plenty of good games I don’t know about in the bulk because all the budget stuff dilutes it so much.

It could lead to people congregating around the “known good stuff” because digging through the library is too much effort. GBA for example, everyone’s knows Pokemon, Zelda, Castlevania, Metroid, but few people go back to Lilo & Stitch, apparently a fine Metal Slug-ish game, because it blends in with the background noise.

[RegularGuyGamer 1,063]

@foxAre we going to get some handheld action into the mix? Or are those not consoles yet?

[Hammerfestus 1,043]

6.  Absolutely dominated in its generation by the PlayStation.  Still a handful of really good games.  I will forever love my time playing Mario Tennis in college at my buddies apt.  I fancied myself something of a beast on the net.  Also has one hell of % of quality titles in the library.   Only 9 decent titles?  No worries.  There’s only 36 games.  

[Bearcat-Doug 2,421]

1 hour ago, Sumer said:

6.

By this time, after home console-ing with Atari 2600, NES, SNES, and Genesis/Sega CD, I moved over to PC gaming fully by 1995 or 1996.  I totally ignored the N64, though my little brother did get one and I played a very little bit with him.  I am not enamored with Mario 64 like many are...2D Marios are just so much more preferable to me, though Odyssey was a fun one.

The controller was also not very good in my opinion.  Sure, it was made with 3D games in mind, but, it really was awkward to play.  

The few times I DID have a really good time with a N64 was in college in the late 90s at a buddy's apartment.  Mario Kart 64 was a blast while drinking...it was a ritual for poor college kids: Get drunk while drinking cheap beer (Natty Light!) and play Mario Kart 64 before hitting the bars and clubs later that night already toasted and not having to pay the steeper bar/club prices.  

We also enjoyed Mario Golf with some brewskis too.

This is true.

[RH 1,615]

1 hour ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

This is true.

This was the 64th comment. Just sayin.

[rdrunner 159]

8/10 - Another top heavy library, but it gets a pass when the best games rank among the best of all time!  The two Zelda games alone were system sellers for me.  That and pretty much every RareWare game.

I love more than just the "classics" as well.  For example, I'm part of the camp that considers Castlevania 64 a great game.  And there isn't another puzzle game in existence quite like Tetrisphere!

The Mario games were hit and miss for me, as I made the mistake of playing Mario 64 after first completing other games that improved upon the formula.  He made up for it with the three Mario Party games, which remain the best of the whole series.  I also think this system has the best version of Mario Tennis.  Now if only I can figure out what people see in Mario Kart 64. 

The only things holding me back from giving it a 9 are the problems I've had with replacing joysticks (lots of broken ones out there).

Oh, and did people mention carts without side labels? I have no idea what they mean...

[Reed Rothchild 3,849]

3 hours ago, LeatherRebel5150 said:

I go 9 out of 10. Honestly it's my favorite console and I don't know what it would take for me to give a console a 10 but I'll know it when I see it one day. 

I love the fact they stuck with cartridges' otherwise I would have never collected it. Everyone else can collect all those discs that might have a micro scratch that doesn't make itself apparent until the final crescendo  of a game and it freezes. I'll stick with my indestructible plastic bricks.

I also think the controller was just fine. If you can't figure out how to use it then you've gone past brain fart and moved into brain shart territory. It's also a the last good stock controller Nintendo has ever made. The Wii stick is stupid, the WiiU pad is a disaster if it breaks, the Switch joycons have drift and are sized for tinkerbell, and it's WAY BETTER than that god awful Gamecube pad.

They were fine when they worked.  Mario Party annihilated the entire population of them.

Also, a 10 is your favorite console.

[Bearcat-Doug 2,421]

1 hour ago, RH said:

This was the 64th comment. Just sayin.

This is the way.

[OptOut 3,040]

@Splain you know what to do!

[Inzoreno 39]

I give it a 6/10. Honestly, I just don't think there is that many games really worth going back to in this day and age. There's a handful of great games, mostly from Nintendo or Rare, and the rest if just a bunch of stuff that might have been good back in the day, but just does not hold up today. This is also the point where Nintendo lost a huge amount of third-party support, so it misses out on a lot of great games from the era, like Final Fantasy VII. 

[OptOut 3,040]

Final fantasy VII sucks balls. Aidyn Chronicles is way better. 

[Reed Rothchild 3,849]

17 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Final fantasy VII sucks balls. Aidyn Chronicles is way better. 

 

To be fair, it is a pretty close battle

...and:

 

[RH 1,615]

Time for a personal Wall of Shame story.

I always considered the SNES my "dark age" of gaming because I didn't own a new console for that whole generation. This was because one Christmas we got Dr. Mario and my mom was legit addicted to it. I kid you not, she could murder that game on any setting, practically blindfolded, and was undefeatable, but that's a different story.

Anyway, after seeing how addictive games could be, my mom vowed never to buy another system, but she would let my brother and I get games for the systems we had--the NES, our Game Boys and later a Game Gear I saved up to get for over a year. So, from about 1990 to 96, games were sparse.

Around 1995, Project 64 was being hyped in magazines and I'd read about it from my friends copies of Nintendo Power. Then there it was one day--screenshots of a potentially new Final Fantasy game for the new Nintendo system. I fell in love with Final Fantasy when I picked up a copy of Final Fantasy Adventure around 1993 from a flea market. It became my favorite game. I really wanted to play Final Fantasy II and III but without a SNES, I decided to be patient, save up and get the N64.

So I did. But, being that I didn have magazines or the internet, I had no clue that in the mean time, Squaresoft jumped the Nintendo ship to develop exclusively for the new PlayStation. I was devastated.

I'll spare the details but 1996 for me was the year of the N64 and I quickly came to love the system. I still do, and I stand by my 10 of 10. But, that score is 100% by accident. Had I known about Square's move, I would have just gotten a PS1 and would have had no clue how good the N64 library really was.

Anyway, in 1997 my dad got me a PS1. I've written about that before on the Christmas Memories thread, but basically my dad saw how I had been working hard and saving money and he decided to just buy me the console. My mom was cool about it too. They were divorced but she didn't discourage my dad from buying the PS1 because she knew I was a hard worker in school and chores.

Anyway, that's why I think I love both of these systems that much. There's tons of love and nostalgia around both of them than any other console. It was a good gaming era for me and it's tough to pick one over the other.

[OptOut 3,040]

1 minute ago, Reed Rothchild said:

 

To be fair, it is a pretty close battle

Pshhhhh....

RPGs suck. I'm GLAD there aren't any on N64.