Remember nintendo's arrogance during nintendo 64's release?

[Bojay1997]

Next Generation magazine looked nice and their interviews were interesting, but their predictions, reviews, and editorials were just as lame as GamePro, Gamefan, and EGM.

I had a small collection of old NG mags from the late 1990s. Before I got rid of them a few years ago, I browsed through them and couldn't believe I ever took their opinions seriously. Of course, now I know all of the video game magazines were in the pockets of some big publishers back then (Sony, Eidos, etc.).

That's the thing, I have never relied on magazines for game reviews as they were often outdated or based on pre-release version, even ten years ago. I enjoyed Next Gen because they were the only magazine that did in-depth interviews and studio profiles and also provided solid technical information about the capabilities of new hardware, etc...Yes, their editorial content and predictions were often off-base, but I ignored that stuff in every video game magazine anyway. I will say that at least they tried to provide some analysis which is more than most other magazines did at the time or do currently.

[soloman]

This, and online reviews place the N64's quality to crap ratio at close to 1:1, that is half the library.

Doesn't surprise me as N64 has fewer titles than the other 5th generation consoles and the production costs for cartridges were higher meaning less demand for easy shovelware.

[Aussie2B]

Whenever you see lists of N64 games 90% of them are either by Nintendo or Rare.

Frankly, I think that's because most N64 players aren't very well informed of what's available for the system. Personally, my two favorite N64 games, Goemon's Great Adventure and Wonder Project J2, are both third-party, and I can name plenty of other good third-party games. Heck, here's some just off the top of my head:

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mischief Makers
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Wetrix
Beetle Adventure Racing
All of the Bomberman games
Harvest Moon 64
Ogre Battle 64
Both Snowboard Kids
Hybrid Heaven
Rayman 2
Space Station Silicon Valley
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
WipeOut 64

And so on. I'm limiting myself to American games here too. Few know much beyond Sin & Punishment, but I've discovered quite a few great games that didn't leave Japan, many being third-party.

[soloman]

Frankly, I think that's because most N64 players aren't very well informed of what's available for the system. Personally, my two favorite N64 games, Goemon's Great Adventure and Wonder Project J2, are both third-party, and I can name plenty of other good third-party games. Heck, here's some just off the top of my head:

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mischief Makers
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Wetrix
Beetle Adventure Racing
All of the Bomberman games
Harvest Moon 64
Ogre Battle 64
Both Snowboard Kids
Hybrid Heaven
Rayman 2
Space Station Silicon Valley
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
WipeOut 64

And so on. I'm limiting myself to American games here too. Few know much beyond Sin & Punishment, but I've discovered quite a few great games that didn't leave Japan, many being third-party.

About half that list saw a limited/unadvertised release which didn't help the system's image. The better import titles are pretty friendly like Choro Q 2, Last Legion UX, and Bangai-O but again these all saw pretty limited releases even in Japan. Would be nice if someone made a translation patch for that Sakura Taisen game.

[frogofdeath]

Frankly, I think that's because most N64 players aren't very well informed of what's available for the system. Personally, my two favorite N64 games, Goemon's Great Adventure and Wonder Project J2, are both third-party, and I can name plenty of other good third-party games. Heck, here's some just off the top of my head:

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mischief Makers
Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Wetrix
Beetle Adventure Racing
All of the Bomberman games
Harvest Moon 64
Ogre Battle 64
Both Snowboard Kids
Hybrid Heaven
Rayman 2
Space Station Silicon Valley
Rocket: Robot on Wheels
WipeOut 64

Good list! Legacy of Darkness was actually good? I played the first outing, but could never get that into it, so I passed on Darkness.

Bold call on ALL of the Bomberman games. I absolutely love the first U.S. release and its under-appreciated multiplayer, but know many people loathe it with a passion. And yes, I am being serious about the multiplayer!

I would also add the THQ/AKI/Jakks wrestling games as some of the best-of-the-best. Few games capture the true feeling of their source quite like these games and I have yet to play a better wrestling game for any system. Though must say I'm not sure what the big deal is over Virtual Pro Wrestling 2. Good game? Yes. Worth importing? Only if you can't find WWF No Mercy.

[soloman]

AKI or Syn or whatever they call them now really knew how to make a good wrestling game. The Def Jam games were a pleasant surprise and probably my favorite wrestling games ever.

[Collector_Gaming]

AKI or Syn or whatever they call them now really knew how to make a good wrestling game. The Def Jam games were a pleasant surprise and probably my favorite wrestling games ever.

old def jam games or the newer ones?

i played one for the xbox 360 ( i borrowed it from my cousin) and fought myself to finish it cause i thought it was meh.

[soloman]

old def jam games or the newer ones?

i played one for the xbox 360 ( i borrowed it from my cousin) and fought myself to finish it cause i thought it was meh.

Icon (the one you played) was made by EA Chicago and not very good. The two AKI developed were supposed to be used for the next WCW game but EA lost the rights and took a leap of faith into uncharted territory. I'm not even a fan of wrestling titles but I loved the original DJ games.

[Aussie2B]

Good list! Legacy of Darkness was actually good? I played the first outing, but could never get that into it, so I passed on Darkness.

Bold call on ALL of the Bomberman games. I absolutely love the first U.S. release and its under-appreciated multiplayer, but know many people loathe it with a passion. And yes, I am being serious about the multiplayer!

Yeah, a few of those games can be kind of divisive. I know there are people out there that hate Castlevania and Hybrid Heaven also. As I wrote up that list, I was trying to think of games that are both good in my opinion and are generally well-liked by others. I could've included others that I like, such as Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth, Robotron 64, and Lode Runner 3-D, but I don't know if most players think much of them. I also left off ones that I don't have enough personal experience with (or fondness for the genre) to personally say are good. And I mostly avoided multi-platform releases if most people seem to prefer them on different hardware like Mega Man 64, Shadowman, Hydro Thunder, Resident Evil 2, etc., even if they're still good on N64. So, really, I could've come up with a much longer list if I wanted to. It may not even come close to the third-party support of the PlayStation, but I think there's quite a bit of interesting third-party stuff on N64.

[Rob2600]

I mostly avoided multi-platform releases if most people seem to prefer them on different hardware like Mega Man 64, Shadowman, Hydro Thunder, Resident Evil 2, etc., even if they're still good on N64.

Actually, the N64 version of Shadow Man is *vastly* superior than the PlayStation one. Rayman 2 is better on the N64 also, especially with the Expansion Pak. Mortal Kombat 4 and Acclaim's Wrestling games have better graphics on the N64.

And Resident Evil 2 is superior in a couple of ways: hi-res graphics with the Expansion Pak and Dolby surround sound.

[Doonzmore]

Winback: Covert Operations is also a great 3rd party title for mature gamers.

One of my favorite 3rd party contributers on the N64 is Midway:

NBA Hangtime - so it's not a graphic showcase, but my brothers and I played this for days back in the summer of 99. 4 player mode was ideal.

NBA Showtime - Same greatness as Hangtime but with 3D graphics.

NFL Blitz - 2001, Special Edition

Hydro Thunder

Mortal Kombat 4

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey

Cruis'n Series - Pretty popular in the arcades and were exclusive to the system

Quake

Whipout 64

Ready 2 Rumble Boxing 1 + 2

Rush 2049

[Doonzmore]

This.

One thing I never see many people who think PSX was the best talk about (besides the early CD drive fail-rate contributing to system sales) is that at least two-fifths of the PSX's library was either licensed games based off of movies/TV shows that were horrendous, badly made sports titles, or edutainment/licensed kids games. The N64 didn't have much of that, and some of its' licensed games (Rogue Squadron, Goldeneye) are amazingly well done games.

Sales figures mean nothing when put up against game quality.

You really hit the nail on the head here. Sure, the N64 had some god awful titles like Carmageddon 64, Batman Beyond (which was also released on the PS1) and Superman 64 (which was still a top ten seller when it came out) but being an expensive system to produce cartridges for meant being spared of garbage like Crow: City of Angels, VR Powerboat Racing, Batman and Robin, and the list just rolls along the floor.

[Aussie2B]

Actually, the N64 version of Shadow Man is *vastly* superior than the PlayStation one. Rayman 2 is better on the N64 also, especially with the Expansion Pak.

I was thinking of the Dreamcast versions for those. Same with Hydro Thunder.

[Gameguy]

And I mostly avoided multi-platform releases if most people seem to prefer them on different hardware like Mega Man 64, Shadowman, Hydro Thunder, Resident Evil 2, etc., even if they're still good on N64.

I forgot that Resident Evil 2 was available on the N64, I agree with avoiding multi-platform games for comparisons. I do have Beetle Adventure Racing, it is a very good racing game. I'm just not that into racing games so I tend to forget about them after awhile, same with most sports games.

Wonder Project J2 actually looks interesting, it's the one game that I would actually want to play on the system. Too bad it wasn't released in North America or in English so I can't play it on an actual system.

Actually, the N64 version of Shadow Man is *vastly* superior than the PlayStation one. Rayman 2 is better on the N64 also, especially with the Expansion Pak. Mortal Kombat 4 and Acclaim's Wrestling games have better graphics on the N64.

And Resident Evil 2 is superior in a couple of ways: hi-res graphics with the Expansion Pak and Dolby surround sound.

I had Shadow Man, I didn't like it. To me the story was pretty stupid and it felt like a generic type of game. I played it for about an hour before shelving it, I eventually sold it off. I've played the DS version of Rayman 2(Rayman DS) and couldn't get into it either, I didn't feel like tracking down a copy for the N64 after playing the DS version so I'm not sure if they play differently.

[soloman]

I first heard of Wonder Project in a big double page spread Nintendo Power had. I'm pretty sure it was within the same year as a big cover article on EarthBound 64 and Super Mario "RPG 2" for the 64DD (which ended up being Paper Mario). Probably the high point of the magazine IMO.

Rayman 2 ran best on Dreamcast/PC and then they released a definitive version on the PS2. I can't vouch for the DS version but being a 3D, resource heavy platformer I couldn't imagine it being very good on a handheld.

I think my final straw on the N64 was with Quest 64. It was $70 or $80 new and the commercial made it seem downright awesome with voice acting and kickass combat. What with the internet still being in its infancy, I bought the game day 1 and forced myself to like it. You can break the game easily with water + earth but good god was it painful. Apparently it was a success so I guess there were thousands of people like me who bought it thinking "Wow, N64 got a Final Fantasy killer!" and we couldn't overcome the denial.

[Famidrive-16]

August 1996:


May 1997:

Haha, fuckin Next Gen magazine. I had that first issue, I think in that one they even give SM64 the title of Greatest Game Ever, long before most people had a chance to play it.

edit: I can't read.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Whipout 64

Inches or centimeters? Either one, that would be most impressive, especially for a Japanese console. :@

I'd agree that the saving grace of the N64 is the handful of really good quality third-party exclusives along with most of the Nintendo first-party offerings. I'd take an inferior port on another system just to get away from the controller as a fair trade off. Still not as much there comparative to it's competition, but it does make the cut to be own worthy. In short, it doesn't have much, but what it has in the good is pretty damn great.

[Hep038]

I find it hilarious that this thread, which was created as a parody of another thread, has lasted this long. Did anybody else realize that Richter Belmount created this thread to make fun of Urzu's "Sony's arrogance with the PSP" thread?

I will say that this thread has become a pretty decent conversation but I don't think that's what the OP had in mind.

Anytime someone says anything bad about the N64 the usual suspects show up and start filling the thread with garbage and links about how great it was. TI is like they just cannot let it go. Even if someone is making a joke.

[Aussie2B]

Anytime someone says anything bad about the N64 the usual suspects show up and start filling the thread with garbage and links about how great it was. TI is like they just cannot let it go. Even if someone is making a joke.

The only "garbage" in the topic is the anti-fanboy bias, as if the N64 insulted somebody's mother or something. I don't see anyone gushing aimlessly. As for the "joke", I imagine a lot of people in this forum don't even visit Modern Gaming much, if at all, and even if the reference was caught, why not turn this into an actual worthwhile discussion than let it die a quick death as an unfunny joke?

[tom]

...being spared of garbage like Crow: City of Angels, VR Powerboat Racing, Batman and Robin, and the list just rolls along the floor.

I totally agree, Aussie2B

Actually no, now you guys just sound like....Oh I don't know what to write anymore, so I'm gonna put some anti-fanboy shit, usual suspects, all garbage etc. LAME.