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[Synth]

I can't imagine someone being N64-only during those years.

To be fair, I'd apply this to Nintendo basically every generation post-SNES... with the possible exception of the Gamecube.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

To be fair, I'd apply this to Nintendo basically every generation post-SNES... with the possible exception of the Gamecube.

Gamecube at least had a little more third party parity and less software droughts but yeah, much like the PS1 (probably even moreso) the PS2 had too many gems to ignore.

 

[Tyrus]

Not if you consider the controllers.. those analog sticks aged horribly

True. I forgot about the analog sticks. Mine haven't done so well (fucking Mario Party) but I bought two controllers in 2011 from some Japanese collector that are as good as new.

 

[psyfi]

That doesn't seem like a very controversial statement. The only one that was worse was Wii probably.

 

[Aters]

...

The Wii U has had no Fire Emblem and no Metroid, and less notable 3rd party games than the N64.

And uh... The fuck? No Pokémon? Stadium 1 and 2? Snap? Pokémon Puzzle League? Hell, even Hey You, Pikachu!. Whatchu smoking bro? N64 was the best Nintendo home console by a huge margin when it comes to Pokémon games. Wii U just has Pokken and the garbage that was Rumble U.

I don't care about those Pokemon spin-offs. Also WiiU has virtual console.

 

[Omnii-chan]

It holds a special place in my heart for Goldeneye, Pokemon Snap, Mario Kart 64 and playing Pokemon Yellow on the tv, but that's really it... and the controller is terrible. The joysticks wore easily and you had to move your hand back to the first grip to use the d-pad.

 

[Lothars]

Gamecube at least had a little more third party parity and less software droughts but yeah, much like the PS1 (probably even moreso) the PS2 had too many gems to ignore.

Agreed, as much as the 64 is a special system to me. The PS1 and PS2 are in the running for best system ever to me.

 

[Already Torn]

The list I posted wasn't a list of the best Wii games, but simply a list of good games period. Elebits got a decent score, therefore, it's generally considered a decent game.

Is that every Wii game that got above a 70 then? That list of line 20 games?

 

[TriAceJP]

It was the only Nintendo console I didn't own during its generation simply because I didn't want it.

My brother had one and we would swap (I had a ps1 and a Saturn) when I had a game I really wanted to play.

We didn't swap often.

 

[Voysa Reezun]

It can't be the worst when it had games of the generation Metroid Prime, Pikmin 2, and Paper Mario: TTYD on it. Not to mention Wind Waker which is arguably better than Ocarina of Time

Metroid Prime alone is better than every single virtual boy game, and there's two of them.

I hate Metroid Prime with a fucking passion. It doesn't at all duplicate the joy of platforming that the 2D Metroid games have, and as a FPS with photographable/scannable enemies, I'd much rather play Bioshock, which is a far better FPS with a far better story. And Bioshock ain't a great FPS.

Metroid Prime might be the game that I most have a difference of opinion on with critics. Holy shit, is it a fucking mess. I don't blame Retro because they clearly can make a good platformer considering Tropical Freeze (and Returns would have been good if they didn't have to shoehorn in the awful motion controls). It's just that Metroid is shit in 3D.

As far as the Gamecube, it has Melee and F-Zero X and, as a game that I really love but that I wouldn't call great, Jungle Beat. The rest of the first- and second-party stuff is mediocre-to-actively bad. The controller is also hands-down the worst shit ever. Boy, do I fucking hate Gamecube. Coming on the heels of the N64, which I loved, it was shocking how much I hated that console. Holy shit, it sent me packing right into the arms of Microsoft and the OG Xbox.

I got a Gamecube for Billy Hatcher and an Xbox for JSRF and later Panzer Dragoon Orta, and I just sold the Gamecube a couple years back because all I used it for was Melee, and I was done with single-player melee at that point. It's the only console that I've actually ever sold.

 

[Varg]

The best wrestling games ever made

The best console shooters for the time

History defining games which to this day people love (Mario 64, Zelda oot, mm, smash bros)

Best multiplayer party machine (Mario party, blitz, hangtime, Mario kart)

You people are nuts man.

 

[Seik]

OP, you can have your opinion about the games and all that, that's your right.

You say the console is ugly though? That's bad taste, dude. If you compare it to the NES and SNES, it looks way more slick and modern.

 

[TriAceJP]

OP, you can have your opinion about the games and all that, that's your right.

You say the console is ugly though? That's bad taste, dude. If you compare it to the NES and SNES, it looks way more slick and modern.

Am I the only person who thought the SNES looked cool?

 

[Synth]

Gamecube at least had a little more third party parity and less software droughts but yeah, much like the PS1 (probably even moreso) the PS2 had too many gems to ignore.

Heh, if we're just talking about other consoles having too much great shit to ignore, then tbh there's never been any console that I'd be happy to have on its own. I was more just talking about the console's having enough of a selection so that if the other consoles were to not exist at all, you wouldn't think the industry had died, lol.

 

[GSG Flash]

what

the Galaxy games were absolutely generation defining. Gamecube had Wind Waker. Wii U may not have anything 'generation defining' but it has games like Bayo 2, Splatoon, and 3D World, which are all incredible.

I love the Galaxy games, I believe they're two of the best games ever made, but how is the Galaxy series genre defining? Nintendo took the same platforming principles that SM64 defined and applied it to spherical play areas.

The term "genre defining" should only be reserved for games that literally created(or defined) a whole new genre (SM64, OOT, Metroid Prime, GTA etc.).

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

The N64 had the three greatest multiplayer games of that era.

One of those has yet to be topped, over 15 years later.

 

[Firemind]

People are out of their minds when they say the Wii U library has a better library than the N64. Not only is the N64 library almost double that of the Wii U, it also has many classics that are enjoyable to play nearly twenty years later. I can count maybe three Wii U games that are going to be bonafide classics twenty years down the line. For N64 I can name ten easily.

 

[Seik]

Am I the only person who thought the SNES looked cool?

I love the SNES too, but Black/Grey > Grey/Purple. I prefer the curvy design of the N64 too.

 

[Hatty]

The controller is also hands-down the worst shit ever.

those are some fightin' words. I mean, have you held an N64 controller lately?

 

[Zimmy64]

I think some people really have thick nostalgia glasses on when it comes to the Wii. Either that or they're young and the Wii was their first or second console.

If you look at Metacritic, outside of the Wii U, objectively Wii is the worst mainline Nintendo console ever.

Subjectively, it had garbage controls, garbage eye bleeding graphics in an HD era, and, outside of the Galaxies and Mario Kart, some of the worst Nintendo output ever, including some of the worst games of Nintendo franchises. Not to mention garbage tier Nintendo games like Wii Music.

I swear people are making statement based on what seems true rather than going to the actual data

There are 105 Wii games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 124 GC games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 43 N64 games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 75 Wii U Games with 80+ Metacritic averages.

If you look at Metacritic, "objectively", the N64 is the worst mainline Nintendo console (and the Wii and GC beat the N64 and Wii U by a noticeable margin). On a side note I don't believe in Metacritic as the be all-end all but the word objective is being thrown around a lot and if we want to talk about objectivity we need some criteria and contrary to popular belief what the majority thinks is not objective, consensus is not objective. The aggregation of subjective opinions does not make the ending result objective

 

[Hello? This is Hailun!]

64 3D games have aged significantly better than PSX 3D games.

 

[DeuceGamer]

The more I think about it, I'm not sure which Nintendo Home console I'd rank as worst. The truth is I've enjoyed all of them and see redeeming qualities in all of them. I think N64 can be tough to revisit for some people, but the truth is the N64 has multiple games that belong in the top 10 games of all-time. Probably 2 that belong in the top 5 on the majority of major lists. As I've dug deeper into the N64 library while collecting I've found more quality titles than I would expect outside of the major titles at the top. Games like Mischief Makers, Star Soldier, Rocket Robot, Space Station Silicon Valley, Goemon Games, Flying Dragon, Ogre Battle etc...

I also really like the other home consoles and would have to do some serious thinking to decide which I deem as their worst console outside of Virtual Boy and OG Gameboy (loved it at the time).

 

[Jubenhimer]

Is that every Wii game that got above a 70 then? That list of line 20 games?

No, these are just the one off the top of my head.

 

[Romars202129]

Most I've ever enjoyed playing games was my N64 days. I guess I disagree?

 

[Voysa Reezun]

those are some fightin' words. I mean, have you held an N64 controller lately?

Yeah (mine is hooked up right now with WCW/NWO Revenge sitting in the cart slot), and I actually like it. The issue is that if you don't have big hands, it sucks to play, say, the AKI wrestling games because they use the pad for movement.

But for Starfox or Mario 64, it is so comfortable and feels great. Having my left hand around the analog really worked for me. I do get why people would find it awkward, though. I bet left-handed people really hated having to tap most of the face buttons with their weaker hand.

The tiny-ass Gamecube controller with random buttons sticking out of places where I tapped them accidentally while hitting another button sucked. Just awful. I have never read or heard an argument about why it was so good that made sense to me.

 

[pdog128]

Everyone can have opinioms, OP, but yours is wrong.

Like others have pointed out, Mario 64, Zelda OoT, Goldeneye were all genre defining games. Not to mention hardware innovations like analog controls, controller rumble.

 

[Branduil]

The Wii U is worse. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask versus zero exclusive Zelda games(other than a remake of Wind Waker, which is great but no substitute for a new Zelda). SM64 is also better than 3D World.

 

[TriAceJP]

SM64 is also better than 3D World.

Woah woah woah, let's not say silly things now.

 

[Salty Hippo]

According to Metacritic there are 57 third party Wii U games with 80+ averages and only 20 third party N64 games with a 80+average. I don't see why they have to be retail. A key part of my argument was that a reason that Wii U's third party library is better than the N64s was because of indie and downloadable games, which are no less real games than the N64's retail games (Here are the lists so you can double check my math, http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/available/wii-u/metascore and http://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/release-date/available/n64/metascore).

The point I was trying to make is that a question like this depends on a person's subjective tastes and opinions. I'm aware there were third party games on the 64 (I knew the existed) but I'm not exaggerating when I say I don't want to play any of them (I reviewed the entire list of N64 games before typing that because I figured there had to be at least one). Depending on the day I might prefer Super Mario 3D World to Super Mario 64 and Bayonetta 2 to Ocarina of Time. At the same time I realize that some people really liked Goldeneye, Rare Games, and Collectathons (I didn't) so I can understand why some people really like the N64. Your tone seems to suggest that "wild personal taste" is an unacceptable metric and I would disagree with that.

That Metacritic list is very incomplete, which is why I used GameRankings. I just checked the site again and counted twenty N64 80+ third-party games just in sports games alone. And we'll have to disagree about retail mattering more than the shovelware titles that infest the Wii U's library. It does to me. And Rare is technically a third-party too, Nintendo was never a majority shareholder and never controlled the studio. Sony used to own Square-Enix stock and that didn't make them first-party. And finally, I also think Nintendo's first-party offerings were in bigger quantity, better quality, and way more original on the N64.

 

[Hatty]

SM64 is also better than 3D World.

I'd say SM64 is only better than Sunshine

 

[DeuceGamer]

The Wii U is worse. Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask versus zero exclusive Zelda games(other than a remake of Wind Waker, which is great but no substitute for a new Zelda). SM64 is also better than 3D World.

Just to play devils advocate, Wii U also has the better Smash and Mario Kart. It also will have a new Zelda, though admittedly it will get a Switch port along with both WWHD and TPHD (you only mention WWHD).

 

[Art Vandilay]

Couple things... Doom 64 is NOT a port but an original game.

Also, Wii U has more shooters than Splatoon.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2
Call of Duty Ghosts
Devils Third
Splinter Cell
Couple Hunting Games

Ah, what a game.

 

[Nose Master]

I'm actually gonna go with Gamecube on this one. It was a poor mans PS2. N64 actually had some amazing exclusives that people cared about. Gamecube? Not so much. It had third party leftovers.

 

[GSG Flash]

I swear people are making statement based on what seems true rather than going to the actual data

There are 105 Wii games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 124 GC games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 43 N64 games with 80+ Metacritic averages.
There are 75 Wii U Games with 80+ Metacritic averages.

If you look at Metacritic, "objectively", the N64 is the worst mainline Nintendo console (and the Wii and GC beat the N64 and Wii U by a noticeable margin). On a side note I don't believe in Metacritic as the be all-end all but the word objective is being thrown around a lot and if we want to talk about objectivity we need some criteria and contrary to popular belief what the majority thinks is not objective, consensus is not objective. The aggregation of subjective opinions does not make the ending result objective

Should've mentioned that I used Gamerankings(and not Metacritic, that was my bad) with >10 reviews as the criteria since Gamerankings has a more complete list. Metacritic is missing games like 1080, and a whole bunch of sports titles and wrestling games which skews the average against the N64.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

The N64 was responsible for me largely ignoring Nintendo for the next 15 years or so. I also think I didn't miss out on anything by not owning that console.

The significant first party titles for that console (SM64, OoT, MM) I can play on my 3DS, with much better visuals and framerates that aren't shit. The Wii U has better versions of Mario Kart and Smash. And I never cared about Goldeneye, for me the FPS revolution on consoles started with Halo.

 

[WhiteRabbitEXE]

I don't care about those Pokemon spin-offs. Also WiiU has virtual console.

... what Pokémon spin-offs do you like? Unless you're a huge Colosseum or XD fan I'm not sure what Nintendo home console is topping the N64's output, when two of them predate that series; the Wii had the mediocre PokéPark games, a legitimately bad faux "Stadium game", a glorified box app, and freaking Rumble; and the Wii U had another bad Rumble game and Pokken, which was alright. I don't get how anyone could possibly use Pokémon as a knock against the N64 with a comparative line-up like that.

And backwards compatibility/the Virtual Console really, really shouldn't count in the context of this thread.

 

[DeuceGamer]

Ah, what a game.

Not going to argue how good they are as I've not played them (have you?) but lets get the info right. Not even arguing against his point, just pointing out the statement was off.

Edit: I even pointed out a different error in the same post that is beneficial to his argument, IMO. Doom 64 being a new game not available elsewhere probably helps his point more than adding in those Wii U games.

 

[Corronchilejano]

I'm actually gonna go with Gamecube on this one. It was a poor mans PS2. N64 actually had some amazing exclusives that people cared about. Gamecube? Not so much. It had third party leftovers.

What the fuck.

It had Smash Brothers Melee, which may or may not be the best Smash game ever made.
Two Great Zeldas. Not one, TWO.
Metroid Prime 1 and 2.
Resident Evil 4 (which was then ported to every console made after).
Double Dash, the only Mario Kart to vary the formula a bit (and my personal favorite).
F-Zero GX, arguably the best futuristic racer ever made with the best soundtrack ever made.
Eternal Darkness.
Rogue Squadron II
Pikmin.
Baten Kaitos

I mean, I could go all day. The GameCube was the Nintendo Machine and one of the most underappreciated gems of its time.

 

[Firemind]

Are you saying the N64 doesn't have two great Zelda games?

 

[Corronchilejano]

Are you saying the N64 doesn't have two great Zelda games?

Brain fart. I always forget Majora's Mask (even though it's one of the most disturbing and exciting Nintendo games)

 

[Art Vandilay]

Not going to argue how good they are as I've not played them (have you?) but lets get the info right. Not even arguing against his point, just pointing out the statement was off.

Edit: I even pointed out a different error in the same post that is beneficial to his argument, IMO. Doom 64 being a new game not available elsewhere probably helps his point more than adding in those Wii U games.

I was just poking fun at how you capitalized "Couple Hunting Games" in your list. No need to take offense. I personally think OP is taking crazy pills.

Edit: I think OP for reasons previously stated in case anyone is wondering.

Plus rumble and Starfox 64, as others have mentioned.

 

[Bolivar687]

Best Smash tho

 

[Firemind]

Brain fart. I always forget Majora's Mask (even though it's one of the most disturbing and exciting Nintendo games)

Which is exactly why there's a case of the Wii U being the worst. Not even one original Zelda (yet). No Hyrule Warriors doesn't count.

 

[psyfi]

Yeah, Gamecube is amazing. Metroid Prime, F-Zero GX, Smash Bros Melee, and two solid though definitely flawed Zelda games. Those alone make it a dream console, plus there are tons of other great games.

 

[Polari]

I'd agree. The good games were great but the library overall was pretty thin. Carts were expensive, and meant the system couldn't match more cinematic offerings like Final Fantasy on PSX. Controller was shit too

 

[FLAguy954]

Hell no.

The N64 had three generation defining games. That's more than can be said for all of their subsequent consoles. Nintendo as a software developer fell off dramatically after the N64.

Exactly this. Nintendo of the last 10 years has been incredibly disappointing save for a few gems like Kid Icarus Uprising and the Super Mario Galaxy series. I haven't considered a Nintendo console since the GameCube.

 

[Zimmy64]

That Metacritic list is very incomplete, which is why I used GameRankings. I just checked the site again and counted twenty N64 80+ third-party games just in sports games alone. And we'll have to disagree about retail mattering more than the shovelware titles that infest the Wii U's library. It does to me. And Rare is technically a third-party too, Nintendo was never a majority shareholder and never controlled the studio. Sony used to own Square-Enix stock and that didn't make them first-party. And finally, I also think Nintendo's first-party offerings were in bigger quantity, better quality, and way more original on the N64.

I just checked that Gameranking list and only counted 53 games (which is still less than the Wii U had and given their Metacritic N64 list was incomplete its not a stretch to assume their Wii U list is incomplete too). Rare is not a third party developer they are a second party developer. If you count Rare as a third party developer than you would also have to treat Retro as a third party developer when they developed Metroid Prime because at the time Nintendo did not fully own Retro.

Characterizing Non-Retail titles as shovelware is also ridiculous. The fact they have 80+ scores make them not shovelware. What makes something shovelware is its quality, which we are judging by its metacritic/gamerankings score, not whether you go to the store and buy it or download it at home

Your last point is very subjective but I'll give it a go. Donkey Kong and Yoshi had way better entries on the Wii U than the N64. The N64 doesn't have anything like Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, The Wonderful 101, or Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Smash 4>Smash 1
Kart 8 > Kart 64
Super Mario 64 > 3D World but its really close
OOT > Having No Exclusive Zelda (Hyrule Warriors is its own thing)
DKCTF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>DK skin for Banjo-Kazooie
Platnium's Wii U Output>Rare's N64 Output (which is very overrated)
Star Fox 64>Star Fox Zero
Pokken>Stadium Games
Super Mario Maker and NSMBU> No 2D Marios
Kirby:RC=Kirby 64
Goldeneye=Spatoon
Wooly World>Yoshi's Story
OG Paper Mario >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Color Splash

The N64 had better non-Mario racing games (F-Zero X/Diddy Kong Racing) but the Wii U has better non-Mario RPGs (Xenoblade Chronicles X/Tokyo Mirage Sessions). I'd say there pretty much even and 1 or 2 preference shifts could tip the scales. If you liked Racers/Shooters/Non-Linear games (where I think you are) you'll prefer the N64, if you like RPGs/2D platformers/Linear Games(where I am) you'll prefer the Wii U most likely

At the end of the day we'll just have to agree to disagree. I have to study. I probably shouldn't have argued this long (such is the curse of the Philosopher), so I'll let you have the last word.

 

[Salty Hippo]

I just checked that Gameranking list and only counted 53 games (which is still less than the Wii U had and given their Metacritic N64 list was incomplete its not a stretch to assume their Wii U list is incomplete too). Rare is not a third party developer they are a second party developer. If you count Rare as a third party developer than you would also have to treat Retro as a third party developer when they developed Metroid Prime because at the time Nintendo did not fully own Retro.

Characterizing Non-Retail titles as shovelware is also ridiculous. The fact they have 80+ scores make them not shovelware. What makes something shovelware is its quality, which we are judging by its metacritic/gamerankings score, not whether you go to the store and buy it or download it at home

Your last point is very subjective but I'll give it a go. Donkey Kong and Yoshi had way better entries on the Wii U than the N64. The N64 doesn't have anything like Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, The Wonderful 101, or Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Smash 4>Smash 1
Kart 8 > Kart 64
Super Mario 64 > 3D World but its really close
OOT > Having No Exclusive Zelda (Hyrule Warriors is its own thing)
DKCTF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>DK skin for Banjo-Kazooie
Platnium's Wii U Output>Rare's N64 Output (which is very overrated)
Star Fox 64>Star Fox Zero
Pokken>Stadium Games
Super Mario Maker and NSMBU> No 2D Marios
Kirby:RC=Kirby 64
Goldeneye=Spatoon
Wooly World>Yoshi's Story
OG Paper Mario >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Color Splash

The N64 had better non-Mario racing games (F-Zero X/Diddy Kong Racing) but the Wii U has better non-Mario RPGs (Xenoblade Chronicles X/Tokyo Mirage Sessions). I'd say there pretty much even and 1 or 2 preference shifts could tip the scales. If you liked Racers/Shooters/Non-Linear games (where I think you are) you'll prefer the N64, if you like RPGs/2D platformers/Linear Games(where I am) you'll prefer the Wii U most likely

At the end of the day we'll just have to agree to disagree. I have to study. I probably shouldn't have argued this long (such is the curse of the Philosopher), so I'll let you have the last word.

There's a lot that is just plain wrong in your post but that one is absolutely hysterical. Good job.

Yes, let's agree to disagree. I have way better things to do too.

 

[Calamari41]

I would definitely agree that in a cold and clinical sense, the N64's games have aged the worst of all of their systems (NES is a contender too), but in context? I'm struggling to think of games that had more impact at the time of their release than Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time.

The only games that really come close are the groundbreaking NES games like the original Super Mario Bros and Zelda.

 

[Suzzopher]

I agree Op. It's the first time I was ever left disappointed by a console. I was 17 when I got the system hyped as hell. Mario 64 was glorious but man cannot live on Mario alone, looking at my brother's PlayStation where not a month went by without a great game releasing where as I had to wait six months for the next hit (or so it felt).

All I wanted was a better SNES from Nintendo instead I had to buy a PlayStation. I also much prefer the Saturn to the N64.