POLL - N64: Good, Bad, or Overrated?

[neo_mao]

Is this really another N64 thread...I'm almost positive we've had this same conversation AT LEAST half a dozen times...THIS MONTH; right down to the same members writing the same great game lists out and the same other members saying what a hot mess it was. Is this a spoof thread and i'm really missing something...or are we all goldfish?

I voted "Good" because the n64 is the best thing to happen to this forum since Tonk.

 

[Colorado Rockie]

Kids games (yes, this isn't as bad as the LAMEcube's selection, but it was still pretty bad)

Bitch please, GC has plenty of non-kiddie games that still hold up today.

 

[WoodyXP]

I voted 'bad'. Back in 2000 I tried to give a system and a pile of games away but couldn't get anybody to take it. Lately it seems its making a resurgence among the retro crowd, but I don't feel the need to revisit.

 

[GhostSeed]

It had enough great games at the time to make the system worth owning so, "Good". It was pretty much my go to system in college. You couldn't beat the N64 for multi-player games in those days.

 

[Electric Grave]

I'd bet your list of games for the PS and Saturn are much longer.

I'm not in the bad camp but your list is typical. There were some excellent titles.

I judge it by the beforehand hype, odd controller with a poorly designed analog stick, poor launch title selection, sporadic title release initially and poor third party support.

I wish I could stick my head in the ground and ignore the facts like some of you but I can't.

Of course my list is typical, why would I post a list of bad games? All that matters about any system is how much fun you have with it and I have had lots of fun with it. The controller might look weird but it's not uncomfortable, the analogue response is actually really good, so I dunno what you are on. Third party support would have been nice though. The thing is you people bitch and bitch about silly shit. I'm not saying the N64 is the best system ever, it isn't, yes the selection of great games is short but I'm happy with just that, I don't really need more. Stick your head in the ground? IS that what you call it? What facts? Sounds more like you're just trying to find excuses to dislike it rather than enjoy the good about it...now that sounds more like sticking your head in the ground.

 

[ResO]

Starfox 64.



*drops mic*

*drops panties*

 

[Atro]

It's good enough just for Mario 64, F-Zero X and Majora's Mask.
It's bad enough coz it does not come RGB ready (except some of the first models).

@EG : Diddy Kong R? It could be nice if it didn't crawl at 5fps!!!!

 

[smokehouse]

I won't vote...my vote is irrelevant.

I'll say this, that I've seen, one's perception of the N64 is mostly based on their age in Sept of 1996.

The people that were younger at the time tend to love the system, the opposite is often true for those that were older at the time.

At 20...I was too cool for school. I wanted new tech, I wanted "adult gaming", I wanted "cool". The plastic-y N64 with it's gaudy controller, antiquated carts, and ocean of games geared towards 12 year old kids was not up my alley.

I'm beginning to soften up on the system simply based on this fact...my perception of the thing is based on my reality of the time.

 

[@M]

I went with good. There are a lot of mediocre games on the N64, but the top tier stuff is really great. The library really needs more games and genre variety than it has though. I sometimes wonder, if, in an alternate universe, Nintendo went with CDs rather than cartridges for the N64, what the outcome of that generation of gaming would have been--could it have toppled the Playstation?

 

[fenikso]

Yeah, going cartridge based was a huge mistake. I doubt even the biggest N64 fans would argue that point. Coming out of the high of the 8 and 16-bit era with a cd drive, I think the N64 would have dominated, even with its wacky controller (even though I hate the system, I'm one of the few who actully likes the controller). Cartridges pissed the third party developers off, couple that with the big N's usual arrogance and dickishness, and everybody flocked to Sony.

 

[LoneSage]

Anyone else remember those pre-rendered screens of Killer Instinct and then game mags said some BS like "this is the power of the Ultra 64"

wankers

 

[Atro]

I sometimes wonder, if, in an alternate universe, Nintendo went with CDs rather than cartridges for the N64, what the outcome of that generation of gaming would have been--could it have toppled the Playstation?

Final

Fantasy

VII.

It was the turning point in the gaming history.
The Playstation was already doing well, but the loss of Square to Sony has sealed the fate of the N64.
There was a complete craze about FF VII back then. Nintendo could have had a better fate if they kept
Square on their side. They'd possibly be a 2nd party Nintendo branch nowadays.

It was a very well done move by Sony. Sega couldn't even dream of it too.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Anyone else remember those pre-rendered screens of Killer Instinct and then game mags said some BS like "this is the power of the Ultra 64"

wankers

You know what? Yeah Nintendo pissed me right the fuck off by releasing a version of KI2 rather than sticking with 1 first.

I think a lot of people would have had a more positive outlook on the N64 if it stayed the Ultra 64 and they released all the arcade games they promised.

 

[Lemony Vengeance]

I won't vote...my vote is irrelevant.

I'll say this, that I've seen, one's perception of the N64 is mostly based on their age in Sept of 1996.

The people that were younger at the time tend to love the system, the opposite is often true for those that were older at the time.

At 20...I was too cool for school. I wanted new tech, I wanted "adult gaming", I wanted "cool". The plastic-y N64 with it's gaudy controller, antiquated carts, and ocean of games geared towards 12 year old kids was not up my alley.

I'm beginning to soften up on the system simply based on this fact...my perception of the thing is based on my reality of the time.

not true. I was 13 when it came out, and hated it then. :|

 

[GohanX]

*drops panties*

My rumble pack still works...



Played through most of Starfox 64 yesterday. It's still a fantastic game.

 

[smokehouse]

I was going to quote a ton of you...but there was too much to simply puke back on the screen.

-Yes, the "stick with carts" idea was a horrible, HORRIBLE move...the largest mistake they could have possibly made.
-The swing of Square from Nintendo to Sony cost them infinitely...more than the arrogant Nintendo thought at the time. The second I saw FFVII move to Sony, the nail was in the coffin for me.
-The initial N64 games were pathetic when compared to the promises of the arcade games. KI and Crusin' USA were just horrible on the N64. I was actually a Crusin' USA arcade fan...the N64 version of the game was fucking terrible unlike PS1 Ridge Racer, which was quite good at the time.

not true. I was 13 when it came out, and hated it then. :|

yeah...it isn't a one size fits all remark, there are exceptions. it just seems to me that many of the people I know that adore the N64 are 7-10 years younger than I am.

 

[tacoguy]

Yeah, going cartridge based was a huge mistake. I doubt even the biggest N64 fans would argue that point. Coming out of the high of the 8 and 16-bit era with a cd drive, I think the N64 would have dominated, even with its wacky controller (even though I hate the system, I'm one of the few who actully likes the controller). Cartridges pissed the third party developers off, couple that with the big N's usual arrogance and dickishness, and everybody flocked to Sony.

Going with the cartridge medium was definitely their most hurtful move than anything else they did. Because even if Nintendo were dicks to 3rd party devs, they still would have made the effort to develop for the system or at the very least port games. Though I still think Square would give them the finger for that generation. Aside from the smaller storage space, the biggest thing cartridges had going against them was manufacturing cost and higher licensing fee. This one hurt the smaller sized publishers and developers the most.

 

[Electric Grave]

Final

Fantasy

VII.

It was the turning point in the gaming history.
The Playstation was already doing well, but the loss of Square to Sony has sealed the fate of the N64.
There was a complete craze about FF VII back then. Nintendo could have had a better fate if they kept
Square on their side. They'd possibly be a 2nd party Nintendo branch nowadays.

It was a very well done move by Sony. Sega couldn't even dream of it too.

Final Fantasy VII was the Nirvana of video games...it closed an era and began a new one and just like Nirvana...it's overrated.

The sole reason I even consider it was 'cause I was inking comics and assisting backgrounds at the time and Joe Madureira swore by the damn game like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread...oh god...all that gift...and no sense of greatness.

 

[smokehouse]

Final Fantasy VII was the Nirvana of video games...it closed an era and began a new one and just like Nirvana...it's overrated.

The sole reason I even consider it was 'cause I was inking comics and assisting backgrounds at the time and Joe Madureira swore by the damn game like it was the greatest thing since sliced bread...oh god...all that gift...and no sense of greatness.

Yeah and no...FF VII was an amazing game back in 1997, easily on par with IV and VI in my book. I was a drooling FF fanboy at the time and I was extremely pleased with the game. It had a great plot, was beautiful (for the time), had great mechanics and tons of content. I really do not feel there was much that could touch it summer of 1997.

I think the people that claim it is the second coming are obviously overrating it and I think its because of that fact that so many love to hate it now...but it doesn't stop it from being an epic title.

With that said...I fucking hated VIII...so much in fact that I completely skipped IX and have never played it through to this day.

 

[Electric Grave]

I hate it 'cause is some dumbshit RPG that pretty much started a heavier trend in the genre. Everyone and their momma wanted to play these POS games...as always and forevermore RPGs are for the weak.

 

[smokehouse]

I hate it 'cause is some dumbshit RPG that pretty much started a heavier trend in the genre. Everyone and their momma wanted to play these POS games...as always and forevermore RPGs are for the weak.

LOL...yeah, forgot about your disdain for RPGs....

Hate away, my friend...

 

[Danthor]

Going with 'good'. I still love the N64. Loved it then, love it now, it got a MUCH bigger slice of my buying than my PS1 ever did (my N64 library more than doubles my PS1 library). At the time, I was all about FPS and adventure games, so the N64 definitely had my back. I still remember renting one first, I rented Mario 64 and Shadows of the Empire, and fell in love immediately. Turok, Doom 64 and Goldeneye being the next games I played just cemented it firmly, Doom especially. Everything else that knocked me over at the time was pure gravy (Mario Kart 64, Blast Corps, OoT, Starfox 64, F-Zero X, and the list goes on for me)

Nowadays, I do feel the system got a touch overrated, but what doesn't eventually get there. Especially since now so many of my favorites have all be re-released, with touched up visuals, so well there's not much reason to go back to the original versions, and I'm not talking about VC re-releases that are slightly sharper, I mean like OoT/MM 3D, Starfox 64 3D, Doom 64 EX (user made mod, because Doom community, and amazing), The recent Turok re-release on Steam, so on and so forth. And I loved Mario Kart 64. The tracks remain my favorite of the series. Gameplay? Has NOT aged well. Reaaallly hard to go back after digging into Mario Kart 7 and 8.

Despite this, I still have lots of reasons to go back and play it, so it's one of my retro systems that never gets unhooked. F-Zero X, Blast Corps, the rest of the Turok games, Shadows of the Empire, Paper Mario, that port of Quake 2 that has a completely different set of campaign levels that are a lot of fun still, Blast Corps, Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, and so on and so forth.

TL/DR;
I love the N64. It's a good system. But there's no doubt lots of folk have their rose coloured glasses on way too tight.

 

[Electric Grave]

To me he N64 has its merits and its flaws. Most people think that 'cause we like it that we consider it the best thing ever, lol.

 

[Wachenroder]

I used to hate the N64.

I bought it over a Playstaion and a Saturn back when i was the biggest Capcom SEGA and Fighting Games fan in general also a big RPG fan.

I bought the N64 mainly for Zelda, Bomberman, Mischief Makers, Goldeneye and of course Mario 64. While those games are amazing and gave me great coach coop/competitive with my friends and family, its just not what I really wanted

It still has amazing games and while most games have aged poorly, the great ones stayed great. I dont think it deserves the shit that it gets but its super praise worthy either. Its somewhere in the middle. Good system held back by weird ass Nintendo and their choices.

 

[pegboy]

On it's own terms the N64 isn't 100% awful, but when you compare it against the legendary NES & SNES it's a pile of crap. Voted bad.

Horrible controller, games have aged very poorly, no good 3rd party games, no shmups, etc.