Welcome to a new article series that I’m calling ‘Remembering The…‘, which’ll chart the eras of video game consoles that I’ve engaged with in my lifetime, chronicling my thoughts and memories about each one. We’ll be going in sequential order, starting from the first console I ever remember using to the most recent. These articles might not necessarily be every single Saturday from now until the series ends, but I’ll definitely prioritize getting through them to wrap up this little series.
Up first, the Nintendo 64, or N64!
The Console
Essentially the pinnacle of cartridge-based home-console gaming. After this, disc-based gaming became the norm, but as the most refined-form of the cartridge-based system in this classical format, the N64 still has a lot of benefits.
On a silly note, there’s a certain tactile joy in grabbing a console, sticking it in the system, and then watching the game boot up (I especially love that little ‘click’ of slotting the console in place, that honestly sounds like you’re breaking something the first time you hear it). Alas, I suppose it’d be more accurate to say grab game, stick in, nothing works, take out game, blow on it, try again, nothing works, take out and blow harder, finally it works. But that’s part of the fun!
On a more serious note, cartridge-based games (at least until the advent of the Solid State Drive) always load faster than disc-based games, so the N64 enjoys near-instantaneous boot-up of whatever game you pick, alongside practically non-existent load times, which is awesome.
On the Audio-Visual front, the N64 won’t wow anyone with photo-realism (just ask the creepy faces from Goldeneye), but it does have a really appealing visual charm all its own. The N64 excels at bright, fun visuals. It’s got a decent sound chip too, though I do think it lacks a bit of identity, as N64 music tends to just sound like that era of gaming, and less console-specific (in contrast to that crunchy bass we know and love from the Genesis, or the bleeps and bloops of the NES). Still, the N64 can produce good music, and some shockingly competent vocal work if you’re the wizards responsible for Conker’s Bad Fur Day.
I also like having four controller ports included with the console. Really encourages multiplayer, which the N64 had a whole lotta options for. But speaking of controllers…
The Controller
So if the N64 has any flaw, it’s with the controller. Like, put your nostalgia aside for a second, and admit that it’s objectively a pretty awful controller.
I can only fault the design so much, because it’s clear that the developers of the N64 were paving the way forward for three-dimensional gaming, and had no idea how to bring about that design comfortably. They knew they wanted to include an analog stick and a way for the camera to be controlled, but also knew that some games would still want a D-Pad. However, unlike the refined controllers of today, Nintendo didn’t have a strong blueprint to use, and so settled on this three-pronged nightmare abomination of a controller.
You should never need to coach someone on how to even hold a controller, it should just be intuitive. But it’s a requirement for the N64 (for those not in the know, you grip the middle prong with your left hand and the right prong with your right, the left prong is functionally useless). The analog stick is a little rough too, though I’ll cut them some slack. I do like the chunky shoulder buttons and secret little Z button on the back. I’ve also always enjoyed the Start button being nice and prominent in the center.
Cultural Impact
What more can be said about the console that lead to the rise of three-dimensional gaming?
It actually lacked a bit in sales, but it made up for that in critical acclaim from most major reviewers, and adoration among the gaming masses. Nintendo completely revolutionized the video game landscape here, particularly with regards to three-dimensional movement. While the PlayStation (whose controllers lacked an analog stick) still trundled along with tank-movement and stilted platforming, all-time-classics like Super Mario 64 were paving the way for generations to come. This was mind-blowing stuff back then.
Internally within Nintendo’s own properties, the N64 also modernized so many of their classic franchises. Aside from Super Mario, series like Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, and Mario Kart all entered into new eras on this console, and all subsequent sequels and installments in these franchises can clearly trace their inspiration and roots back to their N64 incarnations. The N64 also lead to the birth of brand new long-running series, perhaps most notably Mario Party (which just released a new installment this year).
Favorite Games
The N64 is absolutely stuffed to the gills with incredible games that are still beloved to this day. Here are a few of my favorites:
Pokémon Stadium
The ever-popular Pokémon franchise, brought into three-dimensions. No longer were your favorite pocket monsters constrained to tiny (and kinda ugly) sprites, but they could be full 3D models duking it out against your opponent! And they could literally be your Pokémon, since this game enabled you to connect with your GameBoy in order to transfer your captured creatures from the mainline entry straight into this battle-focused spinoff. That’s super neat…even if I didn’t have a GameBoy, and so could only use temporary rental Pokemon.
There’s a single-player mode with a lot of options to play around here, but as a dumb small human, my brain couldn’t handle the level of strategy needed for that. So, instead, I spent all my time battling against my brothers and my friends (my favorite Pokémon to use was Gastly, because I loved his silly tongue taunting, and his tricky Confusion move). And if I wasn’t doing that, I was engaging in the plethora of Pokémon-themed minigames, which range from shockingly fun (the Lickitung one), to okay-enough (the reactionary Metapod/Kakuna hardening one), to infuriating (the Clefairy one).
Star Fox 64
The original Star Fox was a bit of a strange game, in terms of how it looked and how it played. Well, I’m glad they kept the series going on the N64, because they really knocked it out of the park with this installment, establishing a formula that kept this great series going for…like…three more games. Oops. Anyway, this is a great game, and it even has a pretty fun multiplayer mode (even if that bit felt a bit tacked on, it’s still enjoyable).
Obviously, the big star is the Single Player Campaign, and more so than that, the replayability and customizability of the campaign. There’s so many levels, but you can’t see them all in one go, so you’re encouraged to play multiple times (and a full playthrough is only about an hour, which is nice). There’s an absurd number of unique routes you can craft on your journey through the galaxy, and levels will change based on your accomplishments and how well (or poorly) you’re doing, so no two playthroughs are ever exactly the same!
(Also, I have to an insert an obligatory “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Star Fox!”.)
Bomberman Hero
This is a pretty weird game, and it’s also the only of its kind in the Bomberman series. I still love it, though! Unlike most other Bomberman games, it takes place in three dimensions instead of a top-down grid. And, unlike the previous 3D Bomberman on the N64 (Bomberman 64, naturally), Bomberman Hero plays like a typical platformer…only you blow up everything standing in your way with massive bomb explosions. As you do, of course.
I have to give credit to the developers for going all-in on what would inevitably be a bit of a flop for the Bomberman series’ one and only foray into the world of 3D platformers. This game is stuffed to the gills with expansive levels, tricky secret exits and bonus stages, and challenging boss fights. There’s an addicting score-based grading system to shoot for, and a bunch of vehicle levels to switch up the gameplay, not to mention levels themselves just deciding on the fly to change genre, like one stage being a tough platforming challenge, and then the next being a slow-paced puzzle-based stage. Also, this game’s soundtrack is one of a kind, feeling like it was ripped right off of a EDM DJ’s setlist.
Conker’s Bad Fur Day
Sometimes I think this game isn’t real, because honestly my brain can’t wrap itself around how a game like this even exists on the N64. Now, granted, it needed the Expansion Pak accessory in order to play (an additional product that, once attached to your N64, allowed for bigger and more expansive games to be played). But, even still, Conker’s Bad Fur Day is an absolute miracle, and my pick for the best N64 game ever made (even if, nostalgia-included, Super Mario 64 always has my heart and soul).
It’s a 3D platformer, with one of the largest and most in-depth worlds in any 3D platformer, even taking modern ones into account. There’s a near endless supply of new mechanics and gameplay segments to keep things interesting (turret sections, stealth sections, turning into a bat and flying around, survival horror zombie attacks, jetboard racing in a lava field, tank driving, and so much more). Graphically, it’s some jaw-dropping stuff for the N64, and it’s also the most musically complex soundtrack on the console. But, more than anything else, the entire game is voice acted! On the N64! How? How did they cram all that audio data onto the cartridge, this game has hours of dialogue!
And then there’s a super big, super thorough, and super fun multiplayer mode on top of everything else, the likes of which puts even games like Goldeneye to shame? How did those wizards create this?
N64 Memories
As the first video game console that I ever played, I obviously have a lot of cherished memories related to it.
I remember my first time finally beating Super Mario 64 after what felt like an eternity of struggling through that game as a little tyke. I remember 100% completing Banjo Kazooie, a monstrous feat given how punishing that game could be (re-releases on modern consoles made it easier, thankfully). I remember tearing it up across the galaxy as Mars Guo in Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, and getting nightmares from those dang infinitely respawning skeletons in Hyrule Field at night when I played Ocarina of Time for the first time.
I remember landing flying kicks as Mario and spinning slashes as Link in Super Smash Bros, and getting lost in the confusing darkness and secret-room-filled hallways of Goldeneye maps. I remember creating the dumb-but-fun Hide-And-Seek game mode with my friends in Mario Kart 64 that one party, and I remember taking the absolute worst picture of Mew you’ve ever seen in Pokémon Snap (I’ve since redeemed myself as an adult by taking some truly print-worthy shots, don’t worry). And who could forget betting all your coins on a Duel in Mario Party 2, only to get screwed over by a luck-based minigame not playing out in your favor?
Conclusion
To wrap up, I think the N64 is pretty stellar…though, if you want to experience it in the modern day, you’re absolutely best off either utilizing emulation or the expansive (and ever-growing) collection of N64 games available through the Nintendo Switch. It brought us a lot of amazing games, but that controller design and the finnicky nature of cartridges (though it hurts me to say) are aspects better left in the past.
The Contrarian Corner 