Throwback Tuesday: Nintendo 64

Hiya Gamers and Friends! Today’s Throwback Thursday post will highlight one of my favorite gaming systems of all times, the Nintendo 64. The Nintendo 64 or N64 for short was released back in 1996 for both the Japanese and North American markets. N64 was the 3rd system released by Nintendo and brought with it some of the more revolutionary games, titles and advancements for it’s time. Let’s jump into some facts about our N64.

The Name: Not many people know why the console was called the Nintendo 64. Obviously the “Nintendo” part was branding the company but why the 64? Easy, the 64 referred to the (then) amazing 64 bit processing system that the console consisted of. It was light years above the Sega and Super Nintendo consoles and the graphics were amazing for that time frame.

The Composition: Another awesome feature of the N64 was the way it was built along with its capabilities.     The N64 in my knowledge was the first system I had that allowed more than 2 people to play at one time! We had 4 regular plug in slots!!!! It made waiting for your turn to play on relevantly non existence. Also the controller was a spectacle in itself. This controller was the first of it’s kind consisting of 3 handles and a joystick! I still remember trying to hold the controller for the first time and the trigger on the back is still one of my favorite features for ANY console.

The Games: The Nintendo 64 produced some of the more iconic games that still reign high up on a gamers list of favorites.      Some of these iconic games were Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64, Perfect Dark , Wave Race, Pokemon Stadium, Mario Party, Diddy Kong Racing(see Throwback Tuesday post here! )and Super Smash Bros. If you haven’t played some or any pf the games listed here then you are missing out!

Super Mario 64– Super Mario 64 to some may seem like just another Mario game, however, this game really pushed the boundaries of the gaming world. It was the first time that the gamer was able to explore different camera angles, movements and actions as compared to the Side Scrolling predecessors. Compare the difference below.

 

As you can see Mario used his Mushroom to upgrade to a revolutionary character in the Nintendo 64. Along with Super Mario was the introduction of one of the best racing game Mario Kart 64! Mario Kart 64 allowed you to race with your favorite Mario characters through customized maps like Donkey Kong Jungle and Yoshi’s Island! You were able to do a traditional race or a battle where your goal was to eliminate the other players. What made this game amazing was that you would use items from a traditional Mario game like Shells and Stars in order to slow down or get away from your opponents. Not only did you want to be a skilled racer (Yoshi with the smooth moves 🙂 ) but you also had to play strategically to not get hit or stop your opponents.

Since Mario 64 and Mario Kart were massive hits, why not continue this trend of Mario games by unleashing my all time favorite Nintendo game; Mario Party! Mario Party was a multiplayer digital board game that allowed gamers to play as their favorite Mario characters in mini games to earn coins and stars. You win the game by satisfying the win requirement or having the most Stars at the end of the game. Of course there were twists in the game like “Taking it to Boo!” I was a fair player until someone did me dirty, then I would take it to Boo and steal either coins or Stars from the person who double crossed me.     Mario Party is still one of my favorite games from Nintendo and I hope the new Nintendo Switch keeps the franchise alive!

Wave Race-      Wave Race was an awesome Jet skiing racing game in which you could either race or play the Trick mode. I played trick mode the most because I loved learning new tricks like he “Barrel Roll” and using them in a traditional race to show off! Wave Race was really fun traversing the different maps and trying to earn the most medals. Dolphin Park was my favorite map!

Goldeneye 007- I couldn’t end the post without mentioning the Godfather of all FPS games, Goldeneye 007. This game was so amazing from the use of the weapons to playing the missions to playing with your friends and family! I believe this game gave First Person Shooters their life. I can still remember having tons of fun making up rules like you can’t use odd job or the female scientist because they were HACKS!      Odd job was too short to aim at and the female scientist may as well have been the Flash with her speed. We also took out the Golden Gun because 1 shot kills with that thing were crazy, but occasionally we would play on License to Kill mode! Sometimes my brother and I would make challenges with our friends like rockets only (That was hilarious!). The DD214 was my favorite pistol and I had to find the AK-47 to mow down my enemies. Goldeneye, thank you! From a lover of FPS games thank you, you are where my love for a good FPS began.

There are plenty of notable games not mentioned like Snowboard Kids, Pokemon Stadium and the Wrestling games, however, I can’t mention all of them here. What did you like about the N64? What were some of your favorite games? Let’s talk N64!

Have a great day!

-Luna 🙂

 

I do not own these images