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N64 turns 25


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I hard to believe it has already been that long. I'll never forget getting my N64. I may not be as big of a gamer/Nintendo fan if I had never gotten it...

 

 

Back in the day I owned an NES and Game Boy and at day care we had an SNES and a Genesis, which I played the hell out of. Though, for some reason I never asked my parents for either of these systems. I guess I was just content with my NES/Game Boy. The first time I ever heard of the Nintendo 64 was when I was sent that N64 promo VHS (see video above), that was sent out to Nintendo Power subscribers back in the day. For some reason I got that and the Star Fox 64 VHS in the mail and I never had a NP subscription. I guess Nintendo knew the right person to send those to, because I also ended up getting SF64 because of that VHS?

 

So, one day my parents and I went to TRU (was a TRU Kids World at this time) to get some baby stuff for my little brother who was only a few months old at the time. While there, my dad disappeared for a few minutes and came back with one of those tickets you need to buy games/systems and held it up and said let's get this. Me and my mom were like "OK?" as we were confused as to what he actually wanted to get. Then me and my dad head back to the gaming section while my mom was with my baby brother still looking at baby stuff. My dad says to me we need a game and proceeded to the N64 games. Right when I saw the selection of N64 games I knew what I was in for. There wasn't much to choose from, as I believe the N64 had only been out a few months at this time, so I chose Super Mario 64, since I had seen it in that N64 promo VHS mentioned above. So, we get up to the customer service counter and hand the employee the tickets for SM64 and the N64. When the employee put that N64 box up on the counter, I stared in awe.

 

The next morning I wake up and as I'm heading down stairs I hear the Bob-Omb Battlefield theme and see my dad plopped in front of TV playing SM64. I sat down next to him and watch for a few mins and then he hands me the controller and the rest is history. I'm not sure why my dad randomly decided to get buy a N64. It wasn't my birthday or anything. Maybe he saw that VHS and thought it looked pretty neat. IDK!  That morning after we got the system was one of the few times he ever played the thing. 

 

Happy 25th N64! 🥳

 

 

Edited by alienboyva
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20 minutes ago, EH_STEVE said:

I still have my N64 promotional VHS

 

I think I might still have it in a box of old VHS tapes. Not sure about the SF64 one though.

 

Speaking of the SF64 one... It's great and full of lots of cheese. :D 

 

iQuOitX.gif

Edited by alienboyva
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1 hour ago, purple_beard said:

Forgot about...

 

SF64 

DK64 multiplayer was legit

PD64 was only fps I could get into 

 

Also first system I went advanced with av hook ups--ran s-video for clearer picture and man did it make a difference over coax or composite.

 

Also got into controller extension cables.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of my favs that I own are...

 

Wave Race 64

1080°

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Super Smash Bros.

KIrby 64: The Crystal Shards

Star Fox 64

Pokémon Snap

Pokémon Stadium

*I was massively into PKMN back then* 

 

Yeah, I also have an extension cable for one of my controllers.

 

For some reason I never owned Mario Kart 64, despite renting it a few times. Same with Pilotwings 64. Now would be the perfect time to put N64 games on NSO. I'd love to play some of these games again (plus ones I don't own) without having to bust out my N64.

 

BTW, speaking of Pilotwings 64, its soundtrack is damn good. Mmmm.... 

 

*FULL  SOUNDTRACK <-- click

 

 

That hang glider theme captures the feeling of flying (in musical form) so perfectly. :) 

Edited by alienboyva
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@alienboyva

 

Rented Wave Race 64 when it was a current game and got it on WiiVC--I liked the game a lot.

 

Smash Bros I never got but I did play it at a friends house a few times...I liked what it was but since my friend was a "pro player" he was way too good and had the time to practice on it so going against him wasn't that fun.  However when Melee came out I got it at the same time others did so I could keep up.

 

Pokemon Stadium my brother had and I did actually like that game.

 

****

 

Well at the time the N64 hit I was in college so I had my PO in for all my stuff and went to GS (aka Electronics Boutique at that time LOL) right after class and took home all my stuff.

 

Also, on that end, I had MK64 PO'd at EB but TRU got the games in early and my brother was cool with their $10 higher price to go ahead and start playing instead of waiting on EB to get theirs in.

 

I also fondly recall waiting in line to pick up my POs of OoT and MM to make sure I got the Gold Cartridge.... as our NES Zeldas were both Gold as well.

 

 

**********

**********

 

Forgot to mention....

 

I also had the gold and clear purple controllers too.  When they released the Gold one I knew I needed it for Zelda game playing LOL.  I love purple and that was the only purple option.

 

Brother had the Transfer Pack and due to circumstances had the DK64 Jungle Green N64 along with the yellow controller ( we got that so he could have a banana colored controller to go with the DK/Jungle theme)

Edited by purple_beard
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https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/best-nintendo-64-games

 

Damn.....

 

I got Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64... loved the humor and parodies in it....  definitely M rated LOL.

 

Didn't get Paper Mario till WiiVC but that game was solid.

 

Never owned Ep 1 Pod Racer originally but did play it but I do have that remake that came to Switch last year.

 

Blast Corps is underrated and was one of the most unique gaming experiences on the system.

 

I got Jet Force Gemini from a used game store and wasn't really feeling it.

 

I also liked Wetrix.

 

I also thought Tetrisphere.

 

F Zero X was a great follow up to the SNES original.... and those 3D track designs along with that randomized Joker Cup.

 

I f*n hated Goldeneye...never owned it to get good at it but all the people I knew had it and were impossible to beat...hell, one guy at work bought a 65" tv just so he could do legit 4p local multi in the game and would have game nights dedicated to it....And that was the old school 4:3 aspect ratio tvs.

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First, I ever heard of this VHS promotional tape. With Steve having one and lives in Canada like I do, I am not concerned I don't have one just never heard of this before.

 

Anyways....I wanted my first 64 game to be SM64 but I end up going to a local video rental store and bought Mischief Makers, I eventually did get SM64. (I'd play this game at dept store kiosks and at friends house before owning)

 

2 of my greatest memories on the the Nintendo 64 are Ocarina of Time and Banjo-Kazooie, not only do I remember my time vividly but I played during a time when I had a lot of free time more than usual as a kid at the time to play those titles and it was great having those extended hours of play with those games at that time. Nothing can almost compare with the times I had with those titles at time. it was magnificently magical.

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Wild that much time has already passed.  I still remember my first exposure was at a Blockbuster.  I had so much trouble controlling Mario with the stick at first, wild to think there was a learning curve to that, lol.  I remember being super disappointed when we didn't get an N64 for Christmas and my mom knew it. (I was admittedly an uncultured brat for that, I'd love to go back in time and punch that jerk in the sternum XD)  But we managed to get one a few months later around tax time with a few games.

 

I don't know if I can go over everything that was awesome about it, but the big staples (just about any first party and Rare game) were just top notch.  But I also really loved some of the more niche games (at the time) games that I played.  I'm talking stuff like Tetrisphere, Wetrix, Chameleon Twist, Mischief Makers, Aerofighters Assault, Body Harvest, Quest 64 and so on and so forth.  Some other gems too.  Turok was awesome through to Rage Wars (Turok 3 wasn't all that memorable to me), in lieu of some of the cool fighters Playstation was getting there were some gems Krazy and I enjoyed like Fighter's Destiny and Flying Dragon.  Wrestling games were just... the best.  I wasn't too keen on WWF Warzone, but you better believe once AKI came into the picture with WCW vs NWO World Tour, Revenge, Wrestlemania 2000 and WWF No Mercy, that was it.  It was over.

 

So many great memories, not enough time to share them all XD

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3 hours ago, Ridley Prime said:

Oh yeah, Diddy Kong Racing was the game that I randomly got a promotional video tape for. Was already anticipating it at the time anyway, but that made me more hyped for it than I otherwise would've been.

 

Have too many loved games on the 64 to name off the top of my head, but still amazes me how Rare largely carried the library.

 

Well, Nintendo couldn't get the 3rd party support because of not going with cds and some other mess.  But yeah, it was basically Nintendo and Rare carrying the platform for its duration in terms of most of the top tier games.

 

I really did love Diddy Kong Racing though... but I sucked with the planes for some reason.   I loved the DS remake and its vehicle customization allowed me to get plane and hovercraft setups that I could actually control at high speeds.  ...still pissed that the last character of WizPig was all I lacked in that game but I couldn't get that darn hovercraft needed for balloons  to work with the blowing action for the final balloon to get me that far for that unlock.  That N64 game had a lot of solid courses though.

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The N64 was around the time I started getting my own games (re: asking my parents to buy me games) rather than just playing whatever my older siblings got. Which is not to say their taste was bad, we had a ton of classics on the SNES, but it felt more special to be picking out games myself. Granted at the time that meant games like Hey You, Pikachu! but still, it was my own!

 

Collectively my siblings and I went through all the classics, Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, and all the multiplayer greats—Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye, Smash Bros., Perfect Dark, etc. One weird thing I remember: we never actually bought Star Fox 64. Instead my brother borrowed it from a friend in exchange for Killer Instinct Gold for like, six months or something. We played through SF64 a ton in that time frame but it was still nice to get a copy of the game for myself when the 3DS edition came out!

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