Support NeoGAF

[Ōkami]

How time flies, huh?

The Nintendo 64 was originally unleashed in Japan on June 23rd 1996, today marks the 20th anniversary of that day (also the release of Super Mario 64).

Given the timing of the release date I guess a lot of Gaf is familiar with the system, and either grew up with it or at least around the years it was around so I guess I don't need to explain how human being used that controller.

I've found that that it's rather difficult to go back to the system though, at least for the most part, if you don't have nostalgia for certain games it's rather hard to go back, and sometimes even if you do. This rather applies to the early 3D games as a whole and there are plenty of PlayStation games with the same issues.

I did however beat the campaing of Goldeneye for the first time a few months ago, that game is still lot of fun.

I guess I didn't have much to write here after all.

Heh, at least some N64 recomendations, will leave out the more obvious popular games.

Winback
Mischief Makers
Doom 64
Beetle Adventure Racing
Wonder Project J2
Tetrisphere
Both Goemon games
The Custom Robo games
Sin and Punishment

That's it I guess, here's my N64.

 

[CriterionDog]

One of the best consoles ever! I wish more consoles had as much colors and transparency as this one! I <333 N64!

 

[buttery fistful]

i'll never forget the first time going to my friend's house and playing wave race / mario. the graphics and the controller blew my young little mind.

 

[Vinnk]

That makes me feel crazy old. I was a high school Junior when that came out.

 

[rardk64]

I remember the feeling of just seeing the box for the N64 console itself. Those renders still bring back nostalgia.

 

[privitsan02]

There are pornstars younger than this thing...

 

[Kyoufu]

I'll never forget the amazing time I had playing Revenge and No Mercy together with my best childhood friends. Thank you, N64.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Right before our freshman year of college, a friend of mine decided he didn't want to wait for the North American release of the N64 and imported it from Japan instead. Super Mario 64 he could figure out how to play without any trouble, despite everything being in Japanese. Pilotwings 64, on the other hand...

This also means I started college twenty years ago. I don't want to be old!

 

[AmyS]

Dash to Honor 20th Anniversary of Nintendo 64:

On Thursday, the Winston-Salem Dash (High A; Carolina League) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nintendo 64 with an elaborate tribute. Several promotions and activities will be staged at BB&T Ballpark during the game, which begins at 7:00 p.m.

Fans will be able to play Nintendo 64 on the concourse behind the Customer Service Booth near Section 109. Several Nintendo-based characters will be on hand, including Mario and Luigi, the latter of whom will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

A few between-inning contests and games will revolve around Nintendo 64, including a trivia contest and a special race. Two Dash players-Spencer Adams and Matt Cooper-will square off in a pre-recorded battle of Mario Kart.

Tickets for Thursday&#8217;s game are available by calling (336) 714-2287 or clicking here. It is also a Lowes Foods Thirsty Thursday, with $1 beers available through the seventh inning.

Nintendo 64 Night kicks off a jam-packed homestand for the Dash. On Friday, former Wake Forest All-American Chris Paul will make an appearance, and a spectacular fireworks show, presented by NC By Train, follows the game. Saturday is Energize the Ballpark Night, presented by Eanes Heating and Air, which features a postgame concert from Danny Gokey. Full details are available on wsdash.com.

http://ballparkdigest.com/2016/06/22/dash-to-honor-20th-anniversary-of-nintendo-64/

I got my import Nintendo 64 in July 1996, so after Japanese launch but before U.S. / NA launch. Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64!

 

[Mozz-eyes]

Such fond memories; I still play mine too!

If I had to pick only 1 console to play for the rest of my life, it would be N64 without a doubt.

Also because the library is comparatively small, I own nearly every single game I'm interested in for the system!

 

[2SeeKU]

Still my favourite system. I collect loose cartridges (don't care for CIB) and have amassed over 100 so far.

So since it's been 20 years, can someone now legally make something like this:

 

[The Main Event]

Pre-ordered at Walmart, picked it up first thing in the morning at launch but couldn't play it until later that night. The feeling when Mario 64 booted up...one of the most joyous moment ever experienced.

 

[legacyzero]

Still the best damn console ever.

 

[Nosgotham]

heavy nostalgia with N64, guys. it gives me joy remembering those first few years of N64. Killer Instinct, Shadows of the empire, wayne gretzky 3D hockey. i hustled hardcore to buy those 86.00 dollar games.

Rare was on point during that era... i want to feel excited for a new system like i felt back then. i want to experience that true next step in gaming...

 

[Balb]

My personal favorite console, even though its library is pretty limited compared to other greats. I hope Nintendo embraces N64 nostalgia soon, but they seem to only care about the NES/Famicom.

 

[Phediuk]

what the fuck happened to the last 20 years of my life

 

[MulderYuffie]

I love this system first system I ever owned I turned 4 on October 5th 1996 and this system had just released like a week prior and it's what I got for my birthday that year loved it then and always will.

 

[Lionel Richie]

Ah my childhood :') no gaming related feeling is ever going to be as strong for me as the first time I saw and then luckily played Super Mario 64.

 

[Mossybrew]

Worked in Target electronics when this thing released. Ugh. The demo station was constantly swamped. I caved sometime later and bought one. Can you believe I just threw it in a dumpster during a move some years back? Dumb.Anyway this might have been called the Goldeneye 64 for my purposes. Many great games with drunk buddies back in the day. And Starfox too. Mario was eh. Fun but never felt that worshipful love that seems so prevalent.

 

[Flowmoney]

One of the best Nintendo consoles next to the SNES and GameCube.

 

[illadelph]

N64 renders scratch my nostalgia itch like no other

 

[Phediuk]

Worked in Target electronics when this thing released. Ugh. The demo station was constantly swamped. I caved sometime later and bought one. Can you believe I just threw it in a dumpster during a move some years back? Dumb.Anyway this might have been called the Goldeneye 64 for my purposes. Many great games with drunk buddies back in the day. And Starfox too. Mario was eh. Fun but never felt that worshipful love that seems so prevalent.

At the time, I much preferred Crash Bandicoot over Mario 64 because it was a lot closer to what I had imagined a 3D Mario game to be like.

 

[Aisen]

N64 was the first system I preordered. I still have the Mario shirt I got with it.

 

[Fou-Lu]

I believe it is still the best selling console of all time in my country! (Canada)

 

[Lord of Ostia]

My first home console, and what a console it was! I loved that black box

 

[Phediuk]

I believe it is still the best selling console of all time in my country! (Canada)

[citation needed]

 

[Ōkami]

Shadows of the Empire was the game I got with my system and was the only one for months.

I replayed that game with a friend a few years back and man, it has aged poorly.

2016 is a big anniversary year for Nintendo, 30 years of Zelda and Metroid, 20 years of N64 and Pokémon, 15 years of GameCube and Melee and 10 years of Wii.

Interesting that they didn't mention the anniversary on social media, I get why NOA didn't do it, N64 launched in NA in September, but there was no mention of it from the Japanese channels.

 

[kamineko]

When N64 dropped I had just graduated college. My degree in English and Philosophy wasn't landing me any hot job offers. My friends and I all were poor. The first time I saw an N64 outside of a store was in a drug dealer's house. We watched that dude play Mario for an hour, and I was just blown away.

I knew I had to have one, so I started saving right away. It was the first nice thing I had bought for myself in a long time. I really cherished it for that reason.

Some Sundays, when the restaurant where my roommates and I worked was closed, we'd invite everyone over for these massive Goldeneye tournaments. Shit was full-on ridiculous, the whole neighborhood came.

I think that whole period of my life was pretty great.

 

[Josh5890]

It will always be my favorite system. It has three of my top five favorite games of all time (Mario 64, Kart, and Star Fox). That doesn't include everything else that rocks about it. Nintendo and Rare made that system legendary.

 

[Anth0ny]

majora's mask
ocarina of time
mario 64
banjo kazooie

N64 will always be the GOAT

 

[illadelph]

I love this system first system I ever owned I turned 4 on October 5th 1996 and this system had just released like a week prior and it's what I got for my birthday that year loved it then and always will.

yooooooo dude I turned 7 and got my N64 on that same exact day, October 5th is the greatest dawg

 

[Lothar]

what the fuck happened to the last 20 years of my life

Ha, same.

I kind of feel bad though for people that we're around for N64 in college. That's still the best party system. Best college system.

Best N64 Games:
1. Conker's Bad Fur Day
2. Mario Kart 64 (For the endless amount of multiplayer fun)
3. Zelda: OoT
4. Banjo Kazooie
5. Goldeneye
6. Mario64
7. F-Zero X
8. Blast Corps
9. Majora's Mask
10. Killer Instinct Gold

 

[Cess007]

My favorite Nintendo console ever.

- Smash Bros 64
- GoldenEye
- Perfect Dark
- Turok Rage Wars
- TLoZ: Majora's Mask
- Star Fox 64
- Pokemon Snap
- International Super Star Soccer 2000

Amazing machine with amazing games.

 

[JinjoUnchained]

I mean, look at my user name, of course I love the N64. Got my system and all the classic games, plus plenty of niche titles too. I've long given up on a new Banjo game, but we've got Yooka Laylie coming up!

My only problem is how all the home consoles after that went away from 2D platformers entirely. I still don't know why we had to completely burn that bridge.

 

[greycolumbus]

Recently played N64 with a friend and it actually made me want to build a collection and setup for playing on an HDTV. I want to try a modded controller (or a decent third party controller) on her system since all of the joysticks kicked the bucket.

Virtual Console games look like crap

 

[Ghekkus]

I remember saving up birthday and Christmas money and reserved one at Babbages. About a week before it's scheduled release my mom told me to go get some milk out of the trunk of the car for her. I went and got the milk and as I was shutting the trunk I saw the box and Mario 64 sitting in there and almost smashed my hand trying to stop the trunk lid from shutting, lol.

That was my first experience with a broken street date and it was grand. No one at school believed me until whipped out the Mario 64 booklet and they were in awe. Good times.

 

[chubigans]

Man I remember seeing Super Mario 64 for the first time at a Blockbuster kiosk. It was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe it.

I think the last time my jaw hit the floor like that was with VIVE VR. Man, what a system.

 

[Reversed]

You guys reminded me of these things. I think the last time I saw them was in 2002 or 03

 

[psyfi]

holy shit I always forget how cool the Japanese N64 box art looked

 

[Josh5890]

I remember saving up birthday and Christmas money and reserved one at Babbages. About a week before it's scheduled release my mom told me to go get some milk out of the trunk of the car for her. I went and got the milk and as I was shutting the trunk I saw the box and Mario 64 sitting in there and almost smashed my hand trying to stop the trunk lid from shutting, lol.

That was my first experience with a broken street date and it was grand. No one at school believed me until whipped out the Mario 64 booklet and they were in awe. Good times.

Dude, you have to follow up that story with how it happened!

 

[Josh5890]

holy shit I always forget how cool the Japanese N64 box art looked

I've said it before and I will say it again, if I could go back in time I would slap my younger self for destroying all of those glorious boxes.

 

[Patapwn]

I've said it before and I will say it again, if I could go back in time I would slap my younger self for destroying all of those glorious boxes.

I can slap you right now if you want

 

[AmyS]

N64 renders scratch my nostalgia itch like no other

Damn, those are amazing! Thanks for posting them.

Spoiler

That should be NO PROBLEM for NX to do real-time in games!

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I remember thinking the Nintendo 64 was a crazy supercomputer from the future. I miss the days when I was uninformed enough to not know the limitations of hardware.

 

[VendettaRed07]

N64 renders scratch my nostalgia itch like no other

These are amazing

I need more

 

[BKatastrophe]

My favorite console. Truly.

 

[Torokil]

The first console I ever bought with my own money. Worth every penny. good times with Mario 64 at launch and Smash Bros later in it's lifecycle.

 

[Feltrol]

My first console; it introduced me to the world of Nintendo and specially Zelda!

 

[AmyS]

Electronic Gaming Monthly on Nintendo & Silicon Graphics partnership for 'Project Reality'. -- Late '93 / early '94.

GamePro on Project Reality.

 

[Cormano]

Still the best damn console ever.

Lol. No.