Jubenhimer
Member
I see the irrational Wii hate hasn't quite died yet. Oh well, shame people can't see the good the console did because "Herp a derp casualz r evil!"
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I think the N64 is Nintendo's worst machine and era
- Thread starter enigmatic_alex44
- Start date
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
The PS2 looks like a real piece of shit as well when all you focus on is the shovelware.
icecold1983
Member
n64 was awesome for its time. wii and wiiu are complete trash in every way tho.
StarStabbedMoon
Member
I think you lost me right around here.
Jubenhimer
Member
To be fair, it's easier to forget the PS2 shovelware when that console had the biggest 3rd party blockbusters on the market, such as all multiplatform releases. The Wii lacked multiplatform games, thus the shovelware sticks out more. It's like the iOS/Android or Atari, a great platform with geeat games, but was sadly taken advantaged of by greedy publishers.
kingpotato
Ask me about my Stream Deck
Came here to post a lengthy "Sorry you're wrong" rebuttal about the current hardware (U know who), but then saw the thread was already 5 pages long :/
Professor Beef
Banned
You might not count it, but I am absolutely counting the Virtual Boy.
Agree with the OP. And you can go ahead and throw the Virtual Boy in there too- post-SNES was Nintendo's worst era. I was even let down by the Gameboy Color since most of the best games were just colorized ports.
I can't say that I cared much about what the system was lacking, though. I was too busy with all the awesomw Playstation and Saturn games. NeoGeo CD and AES too. The NeoGeo Pocket and then the NeoGeo Pocket Color became my handheld of choice.
Things got much better with the Game Cube and GBA.
I can't say that I cared much about what the system was lacking, though. I was too busy with all the awesomw Playstation and Saturn games. NeoGeo CD and AES too. The NeoGeo Pocket and then the NeoGeo Pocket Color became my handheld of choice.
Things got much better with the Game Cube and GBA.
Corronchilejano
Member
SpartanN92
Banned
I was very young and didn't have a PS1 to compare but I have incredibly fond memories of the N64!
Mario 64
Turok
Pokémon Stadium
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Bomberman
What I wouldn't give for a Wii U remaster of Mario 64
Mario 64
Turok
Pokémon Stadium
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
Bomberman
What I wouldn't give for a Wii U remaster of Mario 64
Shadowheart
Member
If you've only got 4 of its games you've missed out on some of the best games ever produced, simple as that. Graphically it hasn't aged well (neither has PSX) but the gameplay is still there.
I have 2 brothers and a sister and I was 10 and the youngest was 5 when we got the N64 so it was the perfect machine for my family. We were too poor for a nice computer so it was my only chance at playing multiplayer FPS games besides visiting my well off aunt and uncle. We didn't have a gameboy so my Pokemon memories are tied to the N64 and the transfer Pak as well.
We eventually got a PS1 as well but in my mind PS1 is always cemented as the console I used when I was stuck by myself or no one wanted to play N64 with me.
We eventually got a PS1 as well but in my mind PS1 is always cemented as the console I used when I was stuck by myself or no one wanted to play N64 with me.
AdventureRacing
Member
I feel like you could start this thread about any nintendo console and get the exact same response. One of nintendos consoles has to be the worst. Personally i love the 64 because i love local co-op/MP and it was the king of that. That plus i prefer quality to quantity, it may have had only 20 or so games i lied but those games were amazing.
Also beetle adventure racing.
Also beetle adventure racing.
JonnyDBrit
Member
Since OP took the effort of separating the two notions, I'll go with saying it was its worst machine relative to its competition (yes, even counting the Wii), but its certainly not its worst era - certainly not in terms of impact.
The biggest thing with a lot of N64 games is how visibly hamstrung they are by the hardware. The biggest exception, in a feat of techno wizardry I'm still not entirely certain of, is Conker's Bad Fur Day, but even its most famous titles have not aged gracefully. Ocarina of Time performs poorly while not really looking great - though at least manages a great deal of scope - especially when compared to other games released the same year.
But as mentioned, a number of Nintendo's most iconic and influential games - particularly those that influenced its current core fanbase, as well as many members of the industry - come from that era. The Souls series is built on lessons learned from Ocarina of Time. Mario 64 started a wave of 3D platformers, and its chiefly Mario who is still standing. Goldeneye solidified competitive first person shooters on consoles, which has become one of the most emblematic genres of that platform choice. Rogue Squadron helped pave the way for Star Wars games that increasingly looked and felt like they were cut from the same cloth as the movies that inspired them. Super Smash Bros said yes, your favourite characters from the same company could actually exist together in the same game. It was a generation that laid a lot of the foundations for the current status quo. Even if it were Nintendo's worst era, that would simply tell you how high the damned bar is set.
The biggest thing with a lot of N64 games is how visibly hamstrung they are by the hardware. The biggest exception, in a feat of techno wizardry I'm still not entirely certain of, is Conker's Bad Fur Day, but even its most famous titles have not aged gracefully. Ocarina of Time performs poorly while not really looking great - though at least manages a great deal of scope - especially when compared to other games released the same year.
But as mentioned, a number of Nintendo's most iconic and influential games - particularly those that influenced its current core fanbase, as well as many members of the industry - come from that era. The Souls series is built on lessons learned from Ocarina of Time. Mario 64 started a wave of 3D platformers, and its chiefly Mario who is still standing. Goldeneye solidified competitive first person shooters on consoles, which has become one of the most emblematic genres of that platform choice. Rogue Squadron helped pave the way for Star Wars games that increasingly looked and felt like they were cut from the same cloth as the movies that inspired them. Super Smash Bros said yes, your favourite characters from the same company could actually exist together in the same game. It was a generation that laid a lot of the foundations for the current status quo. Even if it were Nintendo's worst era, that would simply tell you how high the damned bar is set.
UberTag
Member
It's the only Nintendo platform I've never bothered to own outside of the Virtual Boy. I don't believe it has aged well over time but it had its place in history at the time - mainly for what it brought to the table in multiplayer prior to widespread high-speed Internet and Halo.
I kept thinking that with the Wii U, we'd get HD remakes and/ports of the previous 3D Marios, like with Zelda. But nope. Odd.
I love the N64 so much! It is my favorite console of all time: Ocarina of Time had the feels, Mario 64 was magic, F-zero X was the original 60 fps racer, WCW/NWO Revenge was always a party, and Goldeneye on 007 difficulty was so intense. Above all else is Blast Corps, too good!
Rhazer Fusion
Member
Yeah, N64 for me ranged from pretty lackluster to bad, but I still think the Wii was the worst console Nintendo ever released. The software library of the Wii was putrid. Sure, it had a few gems here and there, but the endless sea of shovelware was the most I've seen on any console by a significant margin. Also, at least the N64 was comparable to PSOne andSaturn's technology unlike the Wii.
Now, the reason I said the N64 was lackluster was because I was really into fighting games and JPRG's back in the day and it lacked both. The few fighters it had were deplorable and the drought was the nightmarish. The console lacked too many genres and the drought didn't do it any favors. Cartridges not only had limitations, but caused exorbitant prices. Now I will admit that at least the N64 paved the way for certain games and genres in the 3D era like Mario 64, Killer Insitinct Gold, StarFox 64, Turok 2, Zelda, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and of course the N64 wrestling games which imo will always be the best from a gameplay perspective.
Now, the reason I said the N64 was lackluster was because I was really into fighting games and JPRG's back in the day and it lacked both. The few fighters it had were deplorable and the drought was the nightmarish. The console lacked too many genres and the drought didn't do it any favors. Cartridges not only had limitations, but caused exorbitant prices. Now I will admit that at least the N64 paved the way for certain games and genres in the 3D era like Mario 64, Killer Insitinct Gold, StarFox 64, Turok 2, Zelda, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and of course the N64 wrestling games which imo will always be the best from a gameplay perspective.
I play this console all the time with my friends to this day. Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Super Smash, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Goldeneye, Banjo Kazooie, DK64, Super Mario 64, Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Puzzle League, Pokemon Snap.
Best console ever. You can maybe throw in the PS2 out of just game library, but N64 has games you can still play today that feel just as awesome as when they released.
Best console ever. You can maybe throw in the PS2 out of just game library, but N64 has games you can still play today that feel just as awesome as when they released.
If every Nintendo game gets the Turok HD PC treatment, the N64 would be how everyone remembered it. The controls for early 3D games are hard to go back into. It wasn't until the PS2 when controlling games was less of an issue. N64's visuals are still amazing. If you watch a vid or play an emulator, it looks kind of unnatural.
Booya_base
Member
No need to be sorry about your opinion, it is the worst after the Wii U.
Rhazer Fusion
Member
While the PS2 did have it's fair share of shovelware, it had many, many, many good to great games to balance it out. Wii didn't have this luxury.
OP is judging the N64 for what it didn't have, not for what it had. Forget RPGs, it isn't a machine for that. Having owned both a PS1 and a N64, i have to say that i choose the N64 best games over any PS1 game. The 3 Rush games alone are worth owning the console, my favorite one, Rush 2, is exclusive to the machine.
The controller was great, the only problem it had was the fragile analog stick.
The controller was great, the only problem it had was the fragile analog stick.
captainraincoat
Banned
N64 was definitely a different sort of console compared to the competition at the time but it certainly wasnt the worst.
Graphics wise you had the choice of jaggy triangles on ps1 or smooth aa polygons on n64
The ps1 definitely beat it in the sound department but the trade off was loading screens and disc scratches fucking your shit up.
As for the other competitors
3do...too expensive
Neogeo....too expensive
TurboGrafx...on its way out
All that was left is sega
Sega was really on the way out and was doing a similar thing that sony is doing right now with the ps4 with its 32x...mega cd/saturn confusing consumers and pretty much sending sega to where it is today.
The controller...definitely was a love hate thing depending on the game....fighting games it sucked ass but 3d platforming this thing was made for and if you hold it any other way than if your holding your dick and going for a piss your doing it wrong.
Games...probably the last time we saw good third-party support on a Nintendo home console but its first party was unmatched
Personally i think Nintendos worst was the wii as it was the confirmation that Nintendo went down a different path to the rest of the gaming world and it led us to a treasure trove of shovelware and minigames.
Graphics wise you had the choice of jaggy triangles on ps1 or smooth aa polygons on n64
The ps1 definitely beat it in the sound department but the trade off was loading screens and disc scratches fucking your shit up.
As for the other competitors
3do...too expensive
Neogeo....too expensive
TurboGrafx...on its way out
All that was left is sega
Sega was really on the way out and was doing a similar thing that sony is doing right now with the ps4 with its 32x...mega cd/saturn confusing consumers and pretty much sending sega to where it is today.
The controller...definitely was a love hate thing depending on the game....fighting games it sucked ass but 3d platforming this thing was made for and if you hold it any other way than if your holding your dick and going for a piss your doing it wrong.
Games...probably the last time we saw good third-party support on a Nintendo home console but its first party was unmatched
Personally i think Nintendos worst was the wii as it was the confirmation that Nintendo went down a different path to the rest of the gaming world and it led us to a treasure trove of shovelware and minigames.
I kinda agree. I don't like the N64 that much. It hasn't ages well in the slightest. Also, I don't think it's library is nearly as impressive as either the SNES or Gamecube. There are a few games on the n64 I really enjoy like Majora's Mask and Paper Mario, but it's probably the Nintendo system with the least amount of games that I like.
It's definitely my least favorite Nintendo console, but it's not the worst console.
It's definitely my least favorite Nintendo console, but it's not the worst console.
User 479360
Banned
It's a personal favourite and full of nostalgia/favourite games for me. So I disagree, politely.
I was one of the weirdos who held the controller the wrong way, too.
I was one of the weirdos who held the controller the wrong way, too.
Heh. There was a famous Next Gen magazine article on the N64 that said "Quality Vs. quantity? We don't think so," accompanied by pics of less than stellar games.
Sure when it's all said and done, you can look back and find a decent amount of good games, but back then, it was usually a drought of games, period, followed by third party crapware and the occasional good Nintendo release.
I worked retail during this time. Other consoles like the Playstation had a steady stream of games while the N64 would have some months with nothing or nothing worth buying. But when there was a release like Mario Kart or Goldeneye, people went nuts. Usually we'd have a ton of used systems and they'd all sell out when something actually good came out.
harriet the spy
Member
It turned me away from Nintendo until the DS. Hated it! I know it's anathema here, but I love all 2D zeldas but could never really click with ocarina of time. My biggest gaming disappointment of all times. Turok was a blurry mess and after those two I just sold my n64. I did like Mario 64 though!
blame space
Banned
i love the Nintendo 64 and think sm64 is the best game of all-time, but i can't disagree with this.
it was my first home console and i love it to this day, but it's their worst system.
it was my first home console and i love it to this day, but it's their worst system.
SpartanN92
Banned
When was the last time Nintendo did things that made sense though?
I mean even as a casual Nintendo fan the majority of their decisions for the past 8+ years have been odd to say the least.
PeakPointMatrix
Member
Yeah, the Wii-hate is really confounding, especially considering the trash fire that is the WiiU.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
I would have agreed until the Wii U.
To this day I still vastly prefer Nintendo's 2D offerings to their 3D ones. I loved A Link To The Past and Link's Awakening but have never been able to get into any of the 3D games. Something always felt off to me.
I'm also insane in that I don't care for Mario 64. My shop imported the N64 and Mario in the summer of 1996, and while people went nuts for it, I was way more impressed with Jumping Flash 2, heh.
I'm one of those people who really doesn't like Mario 64 or Zelda OoT. Always felt like those games were beyond the hardware and design constraints of the time. However the influence of the best N64 games is huge compared to the trashfire that is the WiiU which is mostly certainly the worst.
One thing that helps the PS1 when looking at how its games hold up today is that it has a lot of games that are prerendered or 2D. Like it's easy to laugh at FF7's block map models but the environments are timeless. Or Symphony of the Night. So it doesn't have to rely completely on its ugly early 3D.
The N64, on the other hand, has almost no 2D or prerendered games of note besides Ogre Battle and Mischief Makers (EDIT: I forgot Paper Mario). And while some of its 3D games hold up like Mario 64's clean simplicity, many do not.
The N64, on the other hand, has almost no 2D or prerendered games of note besides Ogre Battle and Mischief Makers (EDIT: I forgot Paper Mario). And while some of its 3D games hold up like Mario 64's clean simplicity, many do not.
I 100% disagree with that. The worst right now is the Wii which had a mix of shovelware and games that all got forgotten about when their sequels came. The only games that even stand out in current conversations about greatest Nintendo games are SMG1, SMG2, and Xenoblade. It might end up looking more favorable though since at least motion controls give it a legacy unlike the Wii U. For as good as the quality of the Wii U library is, at the end of the day most of the games are highly derivative in their game design of games from the 3DS and Wii except for only a handful of games.
N64 games not holding up today amounts to zilch when it was in the pioneering generation of 3D gaming. Of course its games won't have aged as well as those from generations where devs had years of experience with 3D. Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye all becoming pioneers of their genres did a hell of a lot more to change gaming than anything Nintendo released in the last two generations other than Wii Sports. The system also started several new IP like Super Smash Bros., Banjo-Kazooie, Animal Crossing (Japan-only) and Perfect Dark.
N64 games not holding up today amounts to zilch when it was in the pioneering generation of 3D gaming. Of course its games won't have aged as well as those from generations where devs had years of experience with 3D. Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, and GoldenEye all becoming pioneers of their genres did a hell of a lot more to change gaming than anything Nintendo released in the last two generations other than Wii Sports. The system also started several new IP like Super Smash Bros., Banjo-Kazooie, Animal Crossing (Japan-only) and Perfect Dark.
secretanchitman
Member
I respectfully disagree.
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Super Smash Bros
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Jet Force Gemini
F-Zero GX
Mario Party
I would say that the Wii or even the Gameboy had a worse lineup than the N64. Call it a terrible system but the worst from Nintendo? No way.
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Super Smash Bros
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Jet Force Gemini
F-Zero GX
Mario Party
I would say that the Wii or even the Gameboy had a worse lineup than the N64. Call it a terrible system but the worst from Nintendo? No way.
ProtomanNeo
Member
Though it's library has not aged well, and Nintendo's choice of media and treatment of 3rd parties hit it pretty hard. I would argue that the revolutionary nature of what the system did i.e. rumble, introducing analog, Mario, Zelda etc. save it. If I had to choose one obviously the first choice is Virtua Boy, but real talk its the Wii U. The concept was there, the idea of second screen for not just video games but media consumption in general still has not fully been realized. I always said if a company like Samsung co developed the Wii U, its UI etc. It would have faired better.
Jubenhimer
Member
Yeah, the Wii U is a much worse system (even then, it be a stretch to call it "bad" per-se). Yet somehow, some Nintendo fans claim that it's better than the Wii because it has more "hardcore" games. Why should the fact that a game is casual or hardcore be a problem with gamers, if it's good, it's good. Who care if it targets people who never touched an Xbox controller in their life? If the game is good, then that's what should really matter.
Suzushiiro
Banned
The N64 had some of the greatest, most industry/genre-defining games of all time (Mario 64, Zelda OoT, arguably Goldeneye) and a handful of other 9-10/10 games. The rest of its library was decent but forgettable at best and garbage shovelware at worst.
Gamecube and Wii struck a somewhat better balance between quantity and quality, but arguably lacked anything that was as HOLY SHIT AMAZING as the N64's top games. The Wii U wound up with both that factor and the N64's quantity of good games, though, so I'm not sure how you'd argue that the N64 was the worst.
Gamecube and Wii struck a somewhat better balance between quantity and quality, but arguably lacked anything that was as HOLY SHIT AMAZING as the N64's top games. The Wii U wound up with both that factor and the N64's quantity of good games, though, so I'm not sure how you'd argue that the N64 was the worst.
harriet the spy
Member
And I thought I was the only one ! I even tried again on ocarina 3D, but noped out of it. Mario 64 to be fair initially disappointed me because it was much more about exploration and much less about tough platforning, but I forced myself and eventually enjoyed finding the stars. Doesn't hold a candle to Mario 3/4 though
Super Smash Bros Melee blows every multiplayer game on the N64 out of the water.
Though you are certainly right that not pushing online multiplayer ended up hampering them that generation.
I think the best looking 3D N64 game is Paper Mario. The visual design it was going for could easily be attained with the hardware.
Spieler Eins
Member
It was until the WiiU. Which had even bigger droughts, much less 3rd party support and zero truly spectacular titles. While the few great games N64 got at the very least were industry defining milestones.
kunonabi
Member
Gamecube for me. Nintendo's first party stuff was pretty weak aside from the first Prime and 4 Swords Adventures. Third party stuff was pretty abysmal too aside from Capcom, SEGA, and Lucasarts to a lesser degree. Going over my Top 100 games there are actually a large number of N64 games that I still go back to.
Wii and SNES are easily top 2 for me. third place is pretty much a three way battle between N64, Wii U, and the Famicom.
N64 - has a lot of my favorites and is the most nostalgic for me
Wii U - very small library but the quality is exceptionally high for the most part
Famicom - The sheer number of quality titles is really hard to ignore.
GC just doesn't have any particular quality to compete with them aside from maybe a really strong multiplayer library.
Wii and SNES are easily top 2 for me. third place is pretty much a three way battle between N64, Wii U, and the Famicom.
N64 - has a lot of my favorites and is the most nostalgic for me
Wii U - very small library but the quality is exceptionally high for the most part
Famicom - The sheer number of quality titles is really hard to ignore.
GC just doesn't have any particular quality to compete with them aside from maybe a really strong multiplayer library.
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