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Not counting the Wii U. Was the N64 the worst Nintendo console?
- Thread starter NuclearCake
- Start date
God no. How could you even think that?
The N64 was better than the Wii, Wii U, and GameCube. It's up there with the SNES.
The N64 was better than the Wii, Wii U, and GameCube. It's up there with the SNES.
N64 ushered in console first person shooter craze thats currently still popular today. N64 was the only place to play multi-platform games, when the PS1 was touting single player gaming experience. I wouldn't call it the worst.... hard for me to call it that.
I'll agree with people saying GameCube was the most boring console, including Wii U. The only games I really remember from GC is Metroid Prime and Wind Waker. I'm sure there were other good games but that's all that strikes me as memorable. Some of the other good games came out on Wii also and I played them on there (Twilight Princess and RE4).
In fact I became kind of a lapsed gamer during that gen, came back when Wii came out.
Also Wii U is a great console with some real gems on it.
In fact I became kind of a lapsed gamer during that gen, came back when Wii came out.
Also Wii U is a great console with some real gems on it.
What the hell, no lol. You're inventing complaints out of nowhere.
Many of the top games got very good PAL optimisation, though some (especially early) ones did not. Even lots of third party games had the screen space adjusted. Nintendo was always the best company of all at offering PAL optimisation, and given they and Rare (who also did very good PAL versions) were the majority of the top games on the system, it was the system that got the best ever PAL treatment of all time to that point.
That's better than could be said for most systems. Mega Drive had almost no PAL optimisation its entire history. PS1 had almost none too, apart from European developed games like those by Psygnosis. Tekken plays like complete crap in PAL with zero optimisation.
PAL was still in general not as good for games, but of all the systems to complain about it on, N64 is the wrong one.
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From best to worst
3DS
N64
GameCube
GBA
SNES
NES
Wii
DS
I just don't enjoy most old console games (even when I was a kid and they were new I didn't like SNES games) and the DS/Wii felt really unpleasant to use for due to the technology and controller design. I don't know anything about the Wii U. Obviously most people really like SNES games though, just my opinion
3DS
N64
GameCube
GBA
SNES
NES
Wii
DS
I just don't enjoy most old console games (even when I was a kid and they were new I didn't like SNES games) and the DS/Wii felt really unpleasant to use for due to the technology and controller design. I don't know anything about the Wii U. Obviously most people really like SNES games though, just my opinion
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Rare games had good optimization since they were a UK developer. Other than that NO. Mario 64, OOT as well as plenty of other games are just slow. Mario 64 at 50hz is a crime scene. If not for the fact that in our family i had access to the NTSC versions. it probably would not be one of my favorite games.
It was a joke when Nintendo chose to release these games at 50hz on the Wii virtual console in Europe. Mega Drive is bottom of the barrel when it comes to this stuff but just because it's not as bad as it does not mean it's good.
The N64 had so many great games. The GameCube did not, nor did the Wii or Wii U, in comparison. Not even close.
Goldeneye 007
Perfect Dark
Harvest Moon 64
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Diddy Kong Racing
Mario Kart 64
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Tooie
Star Fox 64
1080
Super Mario 64
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Paper Mario
Jet Force Gemini
DK64 (maybe not great, but good)
Rogue Squadron
Turok
Mario Party and sequels
Excitebike 64
Podracer
Smash Bros. (though I'm not a big fan)
Goldeneye 007
Perfect Dark
Harvest Moon 64
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask
Diddy Kong Racing
Mario Kart 64
Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Tooie
Star Fox 64
1080
Super Mario 64
Conker's Bad Fur Day
Paper Mario
Jet Force Gemini
DK64 (maybe not great, but good)
Rogue Squadron
Turok
Mario Party and sequels
Excitebike 64
Podracer
Smash Bros. (though I'm not a big fan)
I have no interest in list wars, but Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metroid Prime alone destroy your claim about the GameCube, as does Xenoblade, Super Mario Galaxy, and Twilight Princess for the Wii, and Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, DK Tropical Freeze, Smash 4, and so on for the Wii U.
Maybe one day gamers will finally admit to themselves that they've always had it pretty good.
Two and three games doesn't destroy my argument. It helps my argument. The N64 had far more good games than the GameCube or Wii.
Every single game on the N64 list was also far better than Bayonetta 2 and especially The Wonderful 101. That game got painful to play.
No, the point is EVERY console was bad, and the N64 was actually among the best, if not the actual best ever at that time. Some games had partial optimisation, like Zelda which had the black bars/squashed image reduced, but still ran slower.
Seems like the only reason you have the opinion is you had NTSC N64 games to side by side it with. Very few people had that. And if you'd done the same thing with Final Fantasy Tekken 1-3 you'd call them a crime scene too, they had NO optimisation, fully squashed and fully slow. Singling out the N64 is utterly ridiculous.
Well, the Virtual Boy is the most obvious choice but I don't think it really counts since it wasn't a true major Nintendo console.
The N64 is not appropriate either since it was home of some of the most acclaimed games of that generation, games that defined their respective genres and inspired tons of other series.
I think the Gamecube is the right choice here. I really like the GC but Lord knows that it wasn't Nintendo at its best (Metroid Prime aside), it saw derivative and rushed versions of previous popular games (Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine come to mind) and as a whole it felt like a very "safe" era for the company (Pretty much like the WiiU).
The N64 is not appropriate either since it was home of some of the most acclaimed games of that generation, games that defined their respective genres and inspired tons of other series.
I think the Gamecube is the right choice here. I really like the GC but Lord knows that it wasn't Nintendo at its best (Metroid Prime aside), it saw derivative and rushed versions of previous popular games (Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine come to mind) and as a whole it felt like a very "safe" era for the company (Pretty much like the WiiU).
I made the list wars comment specifically because I'm not going to waste my valuable time compiling lists to prove you wrong. A quick glance at the Wikipedia page for each console's library is enough to do that.
I did grace you with a handful of greatest hits though. You're welcome.
Fucking clownshoes. Can't do anything about bad taste.
Jet Force Gemini is better than Bayonetta 2? Donkey Kong 64 is better than Bayonetta 2?
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I'm singling the N64 out because it was the first instance where this kind of thing annoyed me to no end. Generally with PAL systems you could at-least make the argument that they had better image quality than the NTSC consoles thanks to RGB being widely supported in PAL territories but the PAL N64 supported only composite and it looked like crap. If not for the fact that most, especially later N64 games already had near unplayable performance then 50hz might not be so bad but it is. F Zero X and Paper Mario were pretty alright all things considered but those games were mostly stable and were an exception to the rule.
What was the frame rate of Zelda and Wave Race in PAL? In NTSC they ran at 20 FPS, or 1/3 of the NTSC standard. But in PAL there's no way of splitting that evenly into 1/3.
But yes, though I love the GameCube, the answer is that. I felt like my absolute favorite Nintendo games on prior systems had disappointing follow-ups on GC, in particular, Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Star Fox, Kirby's Air Ride (if that counts) and Wave Race.
Everything else was actually pretty great, but those games still soured me on the system in general. Basically my perception of the GameCube is that I generally had to look for new favorite franchises, and I couldn't rely on my old favorites. Still a great system with an amazing library, even if I like it the least of Nintendo's consoles (not handhelds).
Not sure if I like the Wii U more or less; time will tell. Pretty much everything on Wii U was great, so I never felt soured by it.
But yes, though I love the GameCube, the answer is that. I felt like my absolute favorite Nintendo games on prior systems had disappointing follow-ups on GC, in particular, Mario Sunshine, Wind Waker, Star Fox, Kirby's Air Ride (if that counts) and Wave Race.
Everything else was actually pretty great, but those games still soured me on the system in general. Basically my perception of the GameCube is that I generally had to look for new favorite franchises, and I couldn't rely on my old favorites. Still a great system with an amazing library, even if I like it the least of Nintendo's consoles (not handhelds).
Not sure if I like the Wii U more or less; time will tell. Pretty much everything on Wii U was great, so I never felt soured by it.
Compared to the other Nintendo consoles now, I'd say the NES library holds up worse apart from a few standout examples (your Marios, your Zeldas, your Mega Men, your Castlevanias - and even those have all aged to some degree). I'd also put the GameCube below it.
At the time though, and relative to its competition I can totally see it. The NES was practically the only game in town, the SNES had Nintendo and third parties firing on all cylinders, the Wii had enough unique experiences to justify buying it in addition to a PS3 or 360, hell I'd even say the Wii U held up well as a complementary console (even though the market clearly disagreed). The only console I feel is really comparable is the GameCube.
Like someone mentioned the "I only buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games" trend started with the N64, and not even the Wii really shook it off. That only now seems to be changing somewhat with Switch.
At the time though, and relative to its competition I can totally see it. The NES was practically the only game in town, the SNES had Nintendo and third parties firing on all cylinders, the Wii had enough unique experiences to justify buying it in addition to a PS3 or 360, hell I'd even say the Wii U held up well as a complementary console (even though the market clearly disagreed). The only console I feel is really comparable is the GameCube.
Like someone mentioned the "I only buy Nintendo consoles for Nintendo games" trend started with the N64, and not even the Wii really shook it off. That only now seems to be changing somewhat with Switch.
Not only was The Wonderful 101 uncomfortable to play and control, but its plot was silly, its gameplay was tedious and it just dragged on and on and on. I hate dropping games and tried to finish it, but after so many fake endings I just gave up and played something enjoyable.
The first Bayonetta was okay, but it wasn't as good as Darksiders. It's a bit too out there.
Arguably, unless you really don't care about quantity in your library at all. Straight at the beginning, between Mario 64 and Goldeneye, there was a WiiU-esque drought for a year, lots of IPs were missing. Entire genres like RPGs were absent, excluding maybe single titles (Paper Mario). What saves it is the generation defining quality of its few classics, unlike WiiU which didn't exactly have games with the legacy of OoT or Mario 64. :lol
I grew up with N64, but it's not that hard to reflect. Despite me not wanting to miss a couple of N64 games, it wasn't very good and only tolerable because I couldn't afford more than a couple of games anyway. On the other hand, PS1 retroactively became one of my favorite systems through bc/digital options (not to mention SNES too).
I grew up with N64, but it's not that hard to reflect. Despite me not wanting to miss a couple of N64 games, it wasn't very good and only tolerable because I couldn't afford more than a couple of games anyway. On the other hand, PS1 retroactively became one of my favorite systems through bc/digital options (not to mention SNES too).
Once again, just because 'it was the first instance where this kind of thing annoyed' you does not make it a valid point when trying to make an objective argument. And doesn't mean you get to call it 'unplayable'. Every non-Nintendo console to that point was objectively worse for PAL adjustment.
You also fail to realise that the slower speeds and output framerates of slower PAL games meant certain PAL games actually had more stable framerates and less slowdown than their NTSC counterparts, due to it being the exact same hardware running the same game slower.
In terms of sales, it the GameCube. And the N64 has Mario 64, OoT, Goldeneye, and several other big games that are revered and fondly remembered. The N64 has the worse quantity of Nintendo's consoles, but it has some very ledgendary games within its limited selection.
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I did not say that the PAL SNES wasn't worse than NTSC SNES because it was, i just never owned a PAL Super Nintendo so i did not care but plenty of people around my area did and there was a striking difference.
Still playing SNES games which normally ran at 60 FPS and playing them at 50hz was not as bad as playing Mario 64, a game which was rough even by normal circumstances that was made much worse in the PAL conversion because the framerates weren't even that high even on NTSC version. A more "stable" framerate is really not important when the speed of the games is so slow it really feels like you are playing them in slow motion. That is what all games in the PAL regions suffered from but it felt downright unacceptable on the N64 and PS1 for that matter. I would really love to know how many Europeans owned a compatible 60hz tv at the time but sadly i don't think there is a source on this.
Also i never set out to make an "objective argument" the PAL N64 felt unplayable to me and i can in fact call it unplayable. Do i need to put "IMO" at the end of every sentence?
Some of these posts make me feel like I grew up in an alternate universe and played a different N64.
SNES>NES>Switch*>N64>Gamecube>WiiU>Wii
*Switch is actually a portable but seems to be their only offering now
N64 will always be highly regarded for bringing Mario and Zelda and Mario kart to 3D brilliantly, plus invention of Smash and Party. Lots of the sports titles jumped to 3d here too. Also n64 was the birth of 4 player couch multiplayer especially the emergence of the FPS in GoldenEye and Perfect Dark. Oh and it brought us the analog stick which is industry standard.
*Switch is actually a portable but seems to be their only offering now
N64 will always be highly regarded for bringing Mario and Zelda and Mario kart to 3D brilliantly, plus invention of Smash and Party. Lots of the sports titles jumped to 3d here too. Also n64 was the birth of 4 player couch multiplayer especially the emergence of the FPS in GoldenEye and Perfect Dark. Oh and it brought us the analog stick which is industry standard.
The N64 had a couple of things going for it.
1. It was a time when Nintendo was ushering in a revolution in 3D game design with a lot of grand scale games.
2. It outsold the GameCube by 10 million units
3. It had a much better first party line up than the GameCube.
1. It was a time when Nintendo was ushering in a revolution in 3D game design with a lot of grand scale games.
2. It outsold the GameCube by 10 million units
3. It had a much better first party line up than the GameCube.
Nahhhhh, it was gamecube. Nintendo was amazing, DESPITE all its shortcomings and bad decisions made by nintendo. Gamecube is when the bad decisions finally became too much.
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Are you seriously going to tell me that Mario 64 had amazing framerate?lol
When I would rank my very own enjoyment of Nintendo Systems it would go:
SNES
N64
Switch
Gamecube
Wii
Wii U
NES
I had a C64 growing up and went straight to a SNES/Game Boy combo. NES has good games, no questions asked, but all of them were 1up'd by the SNES for me. I couldn't go back. And the SNES had them all. From story driven games to platformers to multiplayer games. Everything. Fantastic licensed games that were never that great again with the Disney titles from Goof Troop to Maui Mallard. Illusion of Time and Secret of Evermore were great RPGs and Mario World, Mario Allstars, the Donkey Kong Trilogy and Super Mario Kart made that system.
N64 was a local multiplayer powerhouse for me. Mario Kart 64 is still my most played Mario Kart and it's also my favorite iteration. Mario 64 also was a revelation when I finally played it. I like everything from the console - from design and the uniqueness of the controller to the console itself and the cartridges. Everything about the system was amazing to me. It clicked more with what I wanted from a console than any other console before and since. 3D platformers being at an all time high during this generation helped a lot though. Platformers are just a fantastic genre and the N64 had all the best. Add Bomberman 64 which is a game that still has not been revisited, the beginning of Smash Bros, Banjo, Blast Corps and Conker... I felt at home with this system. Everything from Nintendo felt like a great experiment and most the titles succeeded.
Switch is the first Nintendo system that manages to recapture this feeling for me.
Gamecube started out strong, but I felt disappointed by the one theme Mario Sunshine. Zelda was nice, but also a bit underwhelming. Nintendo focused on gimmicks I didn't mind, but that also didn't blow me away - like the microphone with Odama or the Donkey Konga and Jungle Beat games (Jungle Beat was fantastic, but needed a proper control scheme for me). The console had many good games, but from a Nintendo perspective, it was a Smash Melee console first and foremost.
Wii was a little bit too casually oriented for me to be placed higher. Didn't like the Wiimote dpad or the forced wiggle with many games that didn't need it. Smash felt the need to trip and Mario Kart was the worst it has ever been. The Galaxy games were something to behold of though. I'm still hoping for a HD remaster sometime.
Wii U had a great start with Nintendoland (which was also hampered by the Wiimote) but Nintendo felt really unfocused on what they wanted to do with the console. Great Pro Controller though. Even if it was severely under-supported by Nintendo themselves. Worst Mario 3D title. Didn't feel like it had vision, it felt like they knew what people would like (cat suite) and ran with that. It also is the worst controlling 3D Mario to date - thanks Wiimote. Great level design though.
SNES
N64
Switch
Gamecube
Wii
Wii U
NES
I had a C64 growing up and went straight to a SNES/Game Boy combo. NES has good games, no questions asked, but all of them were 1up'd by the SNES for me. I couldn't go back. And the SNES had them all. From story driven games to platformers to multiplayer games. Everything. Fantastic licensed games that were never that great again with the Disney titles from Goof Troop to Maui Mallard. Illusion of Time and Secret of Evermore were great RPGs and Mario World, Mario Allstars, the Donkey Kong Trilogy and Super Mario Kart made that system.
N64 was a local multiplayer powerhouse for me. Mario Kart 64 is still my most played Mario Kart and it's also my favorite iteration. Mario 64 also was a revelation when I finally played it. I like everything from the console - from design and the uniqueness of the controller to the console itself and the cartridges. Everything about the system was amazing to me. It clicked more with what I wanted from a console than any other console before and since. 3D platformers being at an all time high during this generation helped a lot though. Platformers are just a fantastic genre and the N64 had all the best. Add Bomberman 64 which is a game that still has not been revisited, the beginning of Smash Bros, Banjo, Blast Corps and Conker... I felt at home with this system. Everything from Nintendo felt like a great experiment and most the titles succeeded.
Switch is the first Nintendo system that manages to recapture this feeling for me.
Gamecube started out strong, but I felt disappointed by the one theme Mario Sunshine. Zelda was nice, but also a bit underwhelming. Nintendo focused on gimmicks I didn't mind, but that also didn't blow me away - like the microphone with Odama or the Donkey Konga and Jungle Beat games (Jungle Beat was fantastic, but needed a proper control scheme for me). The console had many good games, but from a Nintendo perspective, it was a Smash Melee console first and foremost.
Wii was a little bit too casually oriented for me to be placed higher. Didn't like the Wiimote dpad or the forced wiggle with many games that didn't need it. Smash felt the need to trip and Mario Kart was the worst it has ever been. The Galaxy games were something to behold of though. I'm still hoping for a HD remaster sometime.
Wii U had a great start with Nintendoland (which was also hampered by the Wiimote) but Nintendo felt really unfocused on what they wanted to do with the console. Great Pro Controller though. Even if it was severely under-supported by Nintendo themselves. Worst Mario 3D title. Didn't feel like it had vision, it felt like they knew what people would like (cat suite) and ran with that. It also is the worst controlling 3D Mario to date - thanks Wiimote. Great level design though.
What you say is nonsense.
It was perfectly playable the PAL system, what are you talking about?
Also we played countless MK64 multiplayer matches. The best balloon matches of all the mario karts it has.
It was perfectly playable the PAL system, what are you talking about?
Also we played countless MK64 multiplayer matches. The best balloon matches of all the mario karts it has.
