Xeogred wrote:The infamous "Nintendo 64!!!" Christmas kid is no joke, that was all of us in the 90's.
I remember having a spaz attack when a commercial aired on the Nickelodeon channel announcing that select N64 games were now only $29.99.
Xeogred wrote:I got Donkey Kong 64 when it hit too, with the expansion pack I believe? In retrospect, I don't have the best memories of this game because I played it when I think I had mono or a severe fever. So even thinking about the game nowadays makes me feel a little weird. The thing I dislike about the Rare platformers compared to Mario 64, is that they were so claustrophobic with a lot more dark caves and interior sections. Something about that makes me weirdly sick just thinking about it, but it could be the DK64 connection. Banjo Tooie admittedly is a lot more open. But I just still think Mario did it better.
Yeah, all copies of DK64 had the Expansion Pak included with the game. That's how most of us got the Expansion Pak back in the day. I'm sure there's people that bought one specifically for Majora's Mask or Perfect Dark, but I feel like the majority came from DK64.
I know exactly what you mean about the Rare platformers feeling claustrophobic compared to Super Mario 64. Nintendo focuses on things that every other developer would overlook.
That sucks that DK64 gives you bad memories. It really is a good game. I'm kinda in the same boat with you tho, as the last time I was playing it I got very sick. I just couldn't bring myself to continue it after I got better.
Xeogred wrote:I think Perfect Dark was the first M game I ever owned. [...] I personally like it even more than Goldeneye. Had hundreds of hours on multiplayer with my memory card saved records or something.
I remember the first time I saw Perfect Dark. I was over a friend's house, someone who I've played a ton of Goldeneye with. He was telling me about this awesome new game that's the same engine as Goldeneye but better. We played it for a little while, and it was kinda neat, but I wasn't blown away. I accepted that there was some additions that were a lot nicer, like reloading animations, but there was just something off. I eventually got a copy of the game during the next console generation and spent some time with it. As I explained above, I enjoyed the hell out of the single player of Goldeneye. It was more than just a FPS to me, it felt like an adventure game. Perfect Dark, the single player didn't do it for me. Some how the graphics didn't look as nice, and it just lost some sort of magic that Goldeneye had.
alienjesus wrote:Pokémon Stadium had come out that year, and I wanted it so bad.
I was really into the GB Pokemon game, and a friend had Pokemon Stadium. It seemed pretty awesome, so I used my birthday money that year to get a copy for myself. I told my dad I was using my birthday money to buy a new N64 game. I remember him being pretty pissed at the price of the game, and I had to explain to him that it came with the Transfer Pak which is why it costs a little more than most games.
alienjesus wrote:Yoshi's Story was fun, but too short and too easy. My brithday, being the day before christmas, gave me money for more, and on boxing day I ran into town eagerly anticipating Pokemon Stadium, but it had sold out! Instead I bought Pokémon Snap, a game I still adore to this day.
Ah, Yoshi's Story and Pokemon Snap were two games that I rented back in the day. I really enjoyed both, but didn't end up owning either until eBay rolled around. They're definitely favorites of mine for the console, just not my top favorites.
alienjesus wrote:The friend who lives with us then got Ocarina of Time, which I became obsessed with, to the point where I made it my 3rd purchase for the system. It's still my favourite game of all time.
I remember being in 6th grade and having a classmate excitedly explain to me how his mother was taking him to go pick up a gold Ocarina of Time cart after school. The game had just launched. I don't know why, but I never had an interest in 3D Zelda as a kid. I didn't play any of the 3D Zelda's until my adult life.
alienjesus wrote:Nowadays I'm trying to round out the 'big wants' from my list - big name expensive titles for the system that I couldn't afford back in the day. Some of them I probably can't afford now either, stupid Mario Party 3
Luckily, I was able to beef up my collection before the prices started to go up. Now, a lot of the games are just too expensive. I got myself an Everdrive 64, and it's been great!
alienjesus wrote:Looking through your collection, could you give me your opinions on some of these games?
Army Men
Castlevania
Mickey's Speedway USA
Shadows of the Empire (how does it hold up now?)
Tony Hawk's (how is it on N64 compared to other platforms?)
Army Men, the N64 games anyway, are 3rd person shooters. They're not the best games ever made, but there's something fun about them. Watch a YouTube video and you'll have a perfect idea if you'd like it or not. It's one of those games where what you see is what you get.
Castlevania 64 seems to be well hated. As for a 3D platformer, it really sucks if you compare it to Super Mario 64. But for what it is, it's not terrible. The controls might not be as nice as Mario, but it's not unplayable. It's worth checking out if your a fan of the series, but otherwise you can probably just skip it.
Mickey's Speedway isn't terrible, but it's no Mario Kart 64 or Diddy Kong Racing. Feel free to skip. The only real reason I keep my copy is because I own every Rare release for the N64.
Shadows of the Empire is awesome. I'm not sure, objectively, how the game itself holds up today. It's a (mostly) 3rd person shooter, and I never felt the controls were perfect. It's a fun game though, and a Star Wars fan service. The music is great. The story was pretty good, as part of the (now not canon) expanded universe. Definitely worth playing if you're a Star Wars fan, though if you aren't I'm not sure. FWIW, it's on GoG now too.
The N64 port of Tony Hawk definitely isn't the best. It has the most cut, having to fit on a cartridge and all. It's missing some tracks, and some songs have shorter loops. But all the levels are there, and it plays great. This was the first version of the game I ever played, and it didn't stop me from loving it. The N64 D-Pad works great for it. I couldn't afford a copy for the N64, but I got a copy for the Dreamcast some years later. The DC version has much better graphics, and all the music, etc. But the DC D-pad is just awful for the game, makes playing it less fun. The PS1 version is some where in between. Has content missing from the N64 version, but graphics closer to N64 than DC, and the PS1 D-pad is excellent for the game. So, chose your poison I guess.
