Cliff Notes – Why the N64 will always be Nintendo’s best console – Reader’s Feature
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The Nintendo 64 revolutionised gaming with its introduction of 3D graphics and analogue control, setting a new standard that influenced future consoles and game design.
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Iconic titles like Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time not only defined the N64 era but also laid the groundwork for genres and mechanics that are still prevalent in modern gaming.
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Despite its mixed commercial success, the N64’s innovative contributions, such as force feedback and first-person shooters on consoles, ensure its lasting legacy in the gaming industry.
Why the N64 will always be Nintendo’s best console – Reader’s Feature
The N64 was one of a kind (Nintendo)
As fans dream of a Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake, a reader explains why the N64 is his favourite console and why, in his opinion, it can never be beaten.
What people say is their favourite video game console always has a lot to do with what whey got first as a kid. But my first console was a SNES and yet my favourite is what came out next, the Nintendo 64. The N64 is kind of unusual for Nintendo as it wasn’t a big failure or a major success. It was neither or both, but I consider it the most important console ever, and not just to me personally but gaming as a whole.
Before the N64, 3D graphics basically didn’t exist for most people. You could see some very basic looking things on PC and games like Daytona USA had just started to creep into arcades but the N64, and PS1, were at the bleeding edge of 3D tech in games and there is no question in my mind that Nintendo did far more with it than Sony did.
All we got for the PS1 launch was an okay-ish port of Ridge Racer and some tech demos but for the N64 we got Super Mario 64. Something so mind-blowing it may well be the most influential video game of all time. At the time, it seemed like a moving, interactive Pixar movie and completely reinvented what a video game could be. It was so advanced that for years after, everything that tried to copy it didn’t even get close.
But in a way I think Super Mario 64 gets too much credit. Not that everything that I just said wasn’t true but a lot of that was due to the console itself, where Mario 64 was far from the only groundbreaking game. Plus, the console itself made analogue control a thing overnight, to the point where Sony had to quickly redesign their controllers to include it.
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time was just as influential, maybe more. Rockstar has said it had a big impact on GTA 3 and, just like Mario 64, there was nothing even as remotely as good for years. Except Nintendo’s own follow-up Majora’s Mask. It still seems impossible that such amazing games, that still stand up today, could be made on such old consoles but even now fans are calling for a full remake, just for the chance to keep the game’s name alive.
Then consider the amazing graphics and water physics of Wave Race 64 or Lylat Wars, which introduced the concept of force feedback to console games. Or there was GoldenEye 007 that made first person shooters work on a console long before Halo, with Perfect Dark perfecting it further.
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Heck, talking of GTA 3, the game wouldn’t even have existed if not for Space Station Silicon Valley, which most of the same team worked on. Then there were tons of other great games like Pilotwings 64, 1080° Snowboarding, Mario Tennis, Pokémon Snap, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, and many more.
Anyone can make a list of games they like on an old console, but my point is that these games were inventing things that we’re still copying today. People talk about Super Mario 64 being the biggest leap from one generation to the next, but it wasn’t just that game. You can never do Mario 64 again, but you can also never do Ocarina Of Time again, or invent force feedback for a second time, or get first person shooter working on a console and make it seem new.
All these firsts were achieved by the N64 and until there’s proper VR or something nothing else can be as groundbreaking because there’s no other ground to break. I mean, what do you think is going to be the difference between the PlayStation 5 and 6? Will it be like the jump from Super Mario World to Super Mario 64? I don’t think so.
It’s not like the N64 is hated or anything but I do think it doesn’t get quite the attention it should nowadays, because some of its games haven’t aged all that well and the controller is weird. But without those games we’d never have the games we have today, controllers would still only use a D-pad, and force feedback wouldn’t be a thing.
That’s why it’s my favourite of all time and no matter how much better modern games are they’ll never be as influential.
By reader Onibee
Super Mario 64 influenced more than just a single generation (Nintendo)
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