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I think the N64 is Nintendo's worst machine and era
- Thread starter enigmatic_alex44
- Start date
Touche - I forgot Paper Mario.
Rhazer Fusion
Member
Did the Wii U really have bigger droughts and less third party support then the N64? I thought it had more support and games, at least initially if my memory serves me correctly. If it did, whoa that's scary.
entremet
Member
Gamecube was my least favorite Nintendo console. Zelda and Mario followups were weak and everything just felt like a prettier but less compelling version of the N64 originals.
Melee, F-Zero GX, TTYD and Prime were standouts for sure, but the rest of Nintendo's stuff was generally forgettable.
Melee, F-Zero GX, TTYD and Prime were standouts for sure, but the rest of Nintendo's stuff was generally forgettable.
Spyder_Monkey
Banned
The only reason why people prefer the N64 over the Wii is because of nostalgia.
The 64 was a complete transition to current era of gaming. So of course the games didn't age well, you could argue pong didn't age as well as Pac-Man. But one was the beginning of an era and the other was much later.
I feel like the N64 library was quality over quantity.
While Playstation was quantity over quality.
I feel like the N64 library was quality over quantity.
While Playstation was quantity over quality.
AuthenticM
Member
While N64 games have aged worse, if you take every generation at the time they happened and compare their "appreciation level", I think the Gamecube had the worst gen.
Captain Europe
Member
The Wii U has a much better first party offering than the Wii, and its games don't look like they're smeared with 50 jars of vaseline on HDTV's. I usually don't care too much about graphics, but that was tiring to look at after a while.
lol this photo illustrates pretty well how the N64 controller design didn't make any sense unless you had tiny hands.
I have big hands and I never ever had any issues with the controller. It always felt very comfortable to hold so I cannot relate to what you said.
JinjoUnchained
Member
This is one of those threads where everybody goes "the library sucks except Game X", but everyone has a different "Game X". Which means OP is wrong.
1080 Snowboarding
The controller is shit (use a gamecube controller if at all possible to play these) but the gaming library is arguably nintendo's best, some of the greatest games of all time came from this console.
List of good exclusive N64 games. Bolded IMO are in discussion for the best games ever.
Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Tooie
Ocarina of Time
Super Mario 64
Starfox 64
Paper Mario
Sin and Punishment
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Pokemon Snap
Super Smash Bros.
Killer Instinct Gold
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Michief Makers
Majora's Mask
Donkey Kong 64
Diddy Kong Racing
Body Harvest
Blast Corps
Wave Race 64
1080 Snowboarding
Mystical Ninja Staring Goemon
Goemons Great Adventure
Pokemon Puzzle League
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Harvest Moon 64
Jet Force Gemeni
Kirby 64 and the Crystal Shards
Mario Kart 64
Pilotwings 64
Dr Mario 64
F Zero X
Turok
Turok 2
Ogre Battle 64
Rocket Robot on Wheels
Space Station Silicon Valley
Star Wars Episode 1 Battle for Naboo
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
WWF No Mercy
Yoshi Story
Im sure there are more that I am forgetting.
List of good exclusive N64 games. Bolded IMO are in discussion for the best games ever.
Banjo Kazooie
Banjo Tooie
Ocarina of Time
Super Mario 64
Starfox 64
Paper Mario
Sin and Punishment
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Pokemon Snap
Super Smash Bros.
Killer Instinct Gold
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Michief Makers
Majora's Mask
Donkey Kong 64
Diddy Kong Racing
Body Harvest
Blast Corps
Wave Race 64
1080 Snowboarding
Mystical Ninja Staring Goemon
Goemons Great Adventure
Pokemon Puzzle League
Goldeneye
Perfect Dark
Harvest Moon 64
Jet Force Gemeni
Kirby 64 and the Crystal Shards
Mario Kart 64
Pilotwings 64
Dr Mario 64
F Zero X
Turok
Turok 2
Ogre Battle 64
Rocket Robot on Wheels
Space Station Silicon Valley
Star Wars Episode 1 Battle for Naboo
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer
Star Wars Rogue Squadron
WWF No Mercy
Yoshi Story
Im sure there are more that I am forgetting.
SonicMegaDrive
Member
I agree, OP. During the 32-bit generation, I played my Saturn and Playstation almost daily. However I only played my N64 once or twice a year, tops (and usually being bitterly disappointed in the few games I did get on top of that).
pawelranger
Banned
I disagree, graphics weren't shit in N64 actually it had a pair of advantages than the PS1 like texture filtering. N64 had very good quality games, yeah it doesnt had many games as Playstation had, but still was hell a lot better console than Sega Saturn and in my taste I loved more the N64 than PS1.
Roque Squadron
Golden Eye
Perfect Dark
Conquer Bad Fur Day
Waverace 64
Snowboard 1080
Mario 64
Star Fox 64
Paper Mario
Banjoo Kazoie
Mario Kart
Mario Party (when Mario Parties were actually good games)
F Zero X
Turok
etc..
Roque Squadron
Golden Eye
Perfect Dark
Conquer Bad Fur Day
Waverace 64
Snowboard 1080
Mario 64
Star Fox 64
Paper Mario
Banjoo Kazoie
Mario Kart
Mario Party (when Mario Parties were actually good games)
F Zero X
Turok
etc..
Vital Tundra
Member
Its Nintendos weakest console, but I wouldn't use the word "worse". I would say, "least great".
Yup. Makes me wonder about the Switch, as interested as I am in it....I can see it being another Wii U.
This was another huge disappointment to me. Hated waggle and the console received a metric-ton of shovelware...but it was still much better than the N64 and I have a pretty decent-sized library for it. That said...it's my least-played Nintendo console out of all time.
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
Was never much for "collectathon" games either. That's what turned me off to a lot of 3D platformers during that era.
The funny thing is, I still own more Wii U titles than I do N64 titles. It got more good games in a much less amount of time than the N64 did, even if it was a failure sales and support-wise.
Steve o 3000
Banned
Nope. The AKI wrestling games, Rare games, Mario 64, and the two great Zelda games make it my favorite console of all time. The quantity wasn't there, but the quality was there in spades for me.
To Far Away Times
Member
Analog stick, rumble, Mario 64 and Zelda: OoT.
That's a lot of major contributions to the industry for just one system.
That's a lot of major contributions to the industry for just one system.
N64 cannot be undersold for the way it legit changed the game in ways that no one was prepared for.
But that entire generation was plagued with the curse of aging badly, worse than the transition from 8 to 16 bit, with the exception of some of the 2D-oriented content coming out of the Saturn and PS in Japan (it was a great time to like Capcom arcade games, tri-Ace and Treasure).
Even the games that were the best in their class are just nearly unplayable now.
And looking at Nintendo specifically, it had a side-effect of influencing everything they made in every franchise afterward. Zelda was for many years OoT with a new setting stapled on. Mario 64 became the gold standard for 3D Mario games until 3D Land/3D World, which were largely rejected because they exist in a time where the Mario "formula" (sadly) wasn't "meant" to change. It's why games that didn't exist in that era in any meaningful way have struggled to get a footing, and why the expectations set by the first entry on the N64 (or in Metroid's case, the GameCube) have poisoned the well and made diversity within them impossible: Nintendo made great games that were taken as the "gold standard" that must be abided or it would be considered "trash" or "change for change sake", something Nintendo wasn't nearly saddled with to that degree during the change from NES to SNES to N64.
So yeah, I agree with the premise of this thread. One great upside that ends up with a whole lot of downsides.
Yes to both, N64 had a steadier stream of content than Wii U did by a country mile. Whether or not it was good or not is debatable.
But that entire generation was plagued with the curse of aging badly, worse than the transition from 8 to 16 bit, with the exception of some of the 2D-oriented content coming out of the Saturn and PS in Japan (it was a great time to like Capcom arcade games, tri-Ace and Treasure).
Even the games that were the best in their class are just nearly unplayable now.
And looking at Nintendo specifically, it had a side-effect of influencing everything they made in every franchise afterward. Zelda was for many years OoT with a new setting stapled on. Mario 64 became the gold standard for 3D Mario games until 3D Land/3D World, which were largely rejected because they exist in a time where the Mario "formula" (sadly) wasn't "meant" to change. It's why games that didn't exist in that era in any meaningful way have struggled to get a footing, and why the expectations set by the first entry on the N64 (or in Metroid's case, the GameCube) have poisoned the well and made diversity within them impossible: Nintendo made great games that were taken as the "gold standard" that must be abided or it would be considered "trash" or "change for change sake", something Nintendo wasn't nearly saddled with to that degree during the change from NES to SNES to N64.
So yeah, I agree with the premise of this thread. One great upside that ends up with a whole lot of downsides.
Yes to both, N64 had a steadier stream of content than Wii U did by a country mile. Whether or not it was good or not is debatable.
dreamlongdead
Member
I can definitely agree that the N64 controller is the worst, even without playing Wii and Wii U. The latter console at least has a Pro Controller, which appears to be really good.
I disagree with the graphics. The visuals were perfectly fine for that era, and some of the best games still look decent. A lot of third party games suffered from draw distance and framerate issues, but PS1 games aren't exactly gorgeous to look at either.
I also disagree about the games. Rare and Nintendo created several masterpieces on the N64, and they are still fun to play these days. The system also has many quality games in the FPS, sports, and racing genres. The lack of RPGs is a major weak spot for sure, but Gamecube and Wii U only have about 3 good ones each.
The system started a really bad downward spiral for Nintendo, but I can't say that it is their actual worst console.
I disagree with the graphics. The visuals were perfectly fine for that era, and some of the best games still look decent. A lot of third party games suffered from draw distance and framerate issues, but PS1 games aren't exactly gorgeous to look at either.
I also disagree about the games. Rare and Nintendo created several masterpieces on the N64, and they are still fun to play these days. The system also has many quality games in the FPS, sports, and racing genres. The lack of RPGs is a major weak spot for sure, but Gamecube and Wii U only have about 3 good ones each.
The system started a really bad downward spiral for Nintendo, but I can't say that it is their actual worst console.
NinjamicWZ
Banned
I don't hate the N64. It took me a bit to really appreciate Mario 64 and play the shit out of it many times, I was hyped out of my brain for Ocarina of Time that year (along with a lot of other incredible stuff in 1998) and it was so good for a very long time. Mishief Makers was my jam. Star Fox 64 and F Zero X were dope af. Ogre Battle 64 was pretty cool, and I played/enjoyed a handful or so of more middling titles on it, but I was never the Goldeneye or Rare maniac other people were. I hated paying $70 and tax for stuff like Turok (pretty fun) and Shadows of the Empire (hot garbage to me), only to feel like when I'd bought terrible NES games as an idiot kid, like Dick Tracy. Stuff like Yoshi's Story just made me sad. It was the system I cared about least that gen and I was still a pretty big fan of 2D games. Yeah, I hated the controller and control schemes too and most games had art styles or asset style combinations that just put me off. I had shelf space for it, and played it a lot, regardless and it did a lot for games in terms of exploring and normalizing 3D in logical, fun ways. It's also pretty impressive that 2D Zelda and Mario were translated into 3D competently, let alone so well.
For my tastes, I had a consistent flow of god tier games for PS1 from 1996 all the way up to 2001, and I was an RPG fan who still enjoyed fighting games so... and Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time, so... yeah. Even the mid tier, also-ran stuff is more my thing; with Bushido Blade and Twisted Metal 2 probably being to me what Goldeneye is to others. The Saturn had less games going on than the N64 to be honest, but among them are some of absolutely all time favorite games ever, Top 10 and 20 material. Legend of Oasis, Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Three Dirty Dwarves, Dark Savior are my baes. I played Guardian Heroes for 15 minutes in a local mom n mom game store, and bought a Saturn the next day. That's how much these games clicked with me and one reason why 1996 is my favorite year. Beyond those, I value stuff like NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon series equally with most of the good games on N64.
N64 was great, but probably me least favorite Nintendo home console. To this day, there's a massive taste and sensibility gulf between me and people who grew up loving the N64 to death, and have much more attachment to it. I'm Arin, they're Jon Tron.
For my tastes, I had a consistent flow of god tier games for PS1 from 1996 all the way up to 2001, and I was an RPG fan who still enjoyed fighting games so... and Symphony of the Night is my favorite game of all time, so... yeah. Even the mid tier, also-ran stuff is more my thing; with Bushido Blade and Twisted Metal 2 probably being to me what Goldeneye is to others. The Saturn had less games going on than the N64 to be honest, but among them are some of absolutely all time favorite games ever, Top 10 and 20 material. Legend of Oasis, Guardian Heroes, Dragon Force, Three Dirty Dwarves, Dark Savior are my baes. I played Guardian Heroes for 15 minutes in a local mom n mom game store, and bought a Saturn the next day. That's how much these games clicked with me and one reason why 1996 is my favorite year. Beyond those, I value stuff like NiGHTS and Panzer Dragoon series equally with most of the good games on N64.
N64 was great, but probably me least favorite Nintendo home console. To this day, there's a massive taste and sensibility gulf between me and people who grew up loving the N64 to death, and have much more attachment to it. I'm Arin, they're Jon Tron.
Agreed. At the time, it was good, but now, most of the games have aged soooo poorly. Not to mention, the terrible controller, even fewer RPGs than the Wii U, and so many trash games that were trying to make the most of the then new 3 dimensional gaming.
Still, it has some of the best games ever (The 2 Zelda's, Paper Mario, Banjo 1/2, Mario 64, etc.), but other than that, there is barely anything.
I prefer the libraries of the PS1 and the Saturn, although none of the games on those systems are quite as good as the listed N64 games.
Still, it has some of the best games ever (The 2 Zelda's, Paper Mario, Banjo 1/2, Mario 64, etc.), but other than that, there is barely anything.
I prefer the libraries of the PS1 and the Saturn, although none of the games on those systems are quite as good as the listed N64 games.
Wii U is easily the worst nintendo era. The few amount of games worth getting is ridiculously small and none of them are close to being the greatest games of all time except maybe Bayo 2.
Lets be honest the odds were against it when it had
The worst 3d Mario
The worst Smash
No exclusive Zelda
No good Star Fox
No Metroid
No good Paper Mario
Lets be honest the odds were against it when it had
The worst 3d Mario
The worst Smash
No exclusive Zelda
No good Star Fox
No Metroid
No good Paper Mario
facetheslayer92
Member
Nintendo first party was on fire during this period. Hit after hit unrelentless. I'll echo the same sentiment that many other people posted which is that N64 games have aged much better than PS-X games. Just look at the Rare games, namely Banjo and then come talk to me. Also, motherfucking Zelda, Mario 64, and Smash. I'd buy N64 any day over PlayStation, twice on Sunday.
The games don't hold up really (besides Paper Mario and Smash Bros, oh yeah and Mario Tennis). The controller was terrible, besides the trigger button. Awful, useless D Pad which didn't have a purpose because the games were built for 3D graphics pretty much exclusively, and due to the way it was designed it was not easily reachable as the stick was supposed to be the main attraction.. The control stick was cheap and easily broke, the c buttons are extremely cumbersome to use nowadays.
However at the time, the system was great. The graphics and controls in a 3D space couldn't be matched. Carts had noticeably less load time than the Playstation. Only console of the era with legitimate FPS games. Of course, OoT was simply an unforgettable experience as a kid. As was Mario 64. And Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Smash Bros with friends.
At the time the worst part about the console were the drought of games. Nothing has really changed on that front for Nintendo I guess.
Its the worst console now because 3D games were in their infancy. The PS didn't get sticks until way after the fact, the games weren't really built for dual shock nor could the PS create the same quality 3D graphics as N64, and the zero load times went well with multiplayer games.
Its not like all PS games hold up either. Ugly 3D, long load times, d pad for 3d movement.
However at the time, the system was great. The graphics and controls in a 3D space couldn't be matched. Carts had noticeably less load time than the Playstation. Only console of the era with legitimate FPS games. Of course, OoT was simply an unforgettable experience as a kid. As was Mario 64. And Goldeneye, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Smash Bros with friends.
At the time the worst part about the console were the drought of games. Nothing has really changed on that front for Nintendo I guess.
Its the worst console now because 3D games were in their infancy. The PS didn't get sticks until way after the fact, the games weren't really built for dual shock nor could the PS create the same quality 3D graphics as N64, and the zero load times went well with multiplayer games.
Its not like all PS games hold up either. Ugly 3D, long load times, d pad for 3d movement.
Correct answer is the Wii U, let's be honest.
Super Mario 64, Zelda OOT, Majora's Mask, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Rogue Squadron.....
Nothing on Wii U comes close to being as groundbreaking or innovative as these, maybe Splatoon and Super Mario Maker at a stretch.
Super Mario 64, Zelda OOT, Majora's Mask, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Rogue Squadron.....
Nothing on Wii U comes close to being as groundbreaking or innovative as these, maybe Splatoon and Super Mario Maker at a stretch.
TheRedSnifit
Member
I actually assumed this was a pretty common opinion.
There's Mario 64, OoT, Majora's Mask, and . . . ? It does have the most overrated game of all time in GoldenEye, which counts for something, I guess.
There's Mario 64, OoT, Majora's Mask, and . . . ? It does have the most overrated game of all time in GoldenEye, which counts for something, I guess.
Captain Europe
Member
I'll give you 3D Mario and 3D Zelda, but Mario Kart didn't really change a whole lot between MK and MK64, at least not to the point to call it groundbreaking.
TheRedSnifit
Member
3D World is better than 64, Mario Kart 8 is better than 64 (which is arguably the worst console MK game), and there are a ton of shooters on the Wii U that are better than GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, come on.
I'll give you Zelda and Rogue Squadron.
The bolded are all false.
GC had Super Smash Bros Melee, Metroid Prime, and the Wind Waker at least
Wii had both Super Mario Galaxy Games at least (the most glaring omission in your post IMO)
Wii U is probably the most likely but I'd argue Tropical Freeze and probably SSB4
Anyways looking back for me its hard to argue against OPs premise of the N64 being the worst. I totally get the quality over quantity argument but for me it has its limits and the N64's quantity is severely lacking . Also I don't completely buy the quality argument. I'm a both Galaxies are better than 64 and its not even particularity close kinda guy. In my opinion Ocarina has been surpassed by its successors more than once also. Say all you want about third party on the Wii and Wii U but the N64 was downright atrocious. There are less than 5 third party games I've ever wanted to play on the N64 but there are at least 15 for both the Wii and Wii U (I realize this is based on my subjective tastes though).
Salty Hippo
Member
I could take this thread remotely seriously if it wasn't for the Wii U. It trounces the N64's library? Give me a fucking break, OP.
...Not really?
If anything, the "gold standards" all came earlier.
Super Mario Bros 3
A Link to the Past
Yoshi's Island
Super Metroid
Donkey Kong Country 2
Every new Mario/Zelda/Yoshi/Metroid/Donkey Kong game is inevitably compared to those titles. Virtually every discussion on a Yoshi game past the first will talk about the game's quality compared to Yoshi's Island. Those games also set the "blueprint" for what people expect from the series. The New Super Mario Bros series is really the New Super Mario Bros 3 series.
Let's use Metroid as an example. Say Metroid Prime didn't come out and we went straight to Metroid Other M. Would Other M be well received? Well no, because Other M wasn't just being compared to Metroid Prime, it was being compared to Super Metroid, just like every other Metroid game made since 1994.
Captain Europe
Member
By that logic, the Wii U had the first proper 4-player 3D platformer, I'm not seeing a lot of differences here, the only thing the N64 has over the Wii U is that it was first with 3D gaming. We are probably never going to experience something like that switch in dimensions again, not any time soon at least.
TheRedSnifit
Member
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