Nintendo 64 Top 9

The Nintendo 64 is truely the first system that made me think the future was here. Yes the SNES was a great improvement to the classic NES, but it really improved the core foundations of gaming (graphics, sound, and gameplay). Not only did the N64 improve in all those categories, but it did what Nintendo does best…Innovate. The Sony Playstation and the Sega Saturn were both released a year before the Nintendo 64 came out, so although both those systems had advanced in the same way the SNES did, when the Nintendo 64 was released, you can bet both Sony and Sega were shitting themseleves, I know I was. The second you grabbed control of the analog stick(which Sony later added on to their controllers more than a year later), you felt like you could control the world. I wish I could relive the first time I controlled Mario outside the castle walls. Honestly, it was too much for me to take in, and this is why the Nintendo 64 will always have a special place in my heart.

 

   

#9 Conker's Bad Fur Day

Conker’s Bad Fur Day was a game Nintendo would’ve rather not seen released to the public. The game stood for everything Nintendo didn’t. Raunchy humor, Alcoholic references, and over-the-top violence forced Nintendo to put an advisory warning along with an M-rating. At age 14, that really seemed like the cool game to get. If you happened to play this game, or the updated version on the Xbox, you were in for a real treat. There was countless references to movies that would really make you just laugh, from the first boss being The Terminator, to the last boss being an Alien. To top it all off, the game was actually fun to play. It controlled like any other Rare platformer at the time, which was a good thing. If you haven’t played this game, or your parents wouldn’t let you get it because you were too young, don’t hesitate to pick it up or emulate it.

 

#8 The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

Ahh, the game you either loved or hated but either way beat it. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask took everything that made Ocarina of Time great and improved on it. Adding the time and mask system, there might not be a game out there that has more replay value then this, I mean before you know it you’ve played the song of time and started back at the beginning of the game. Although Majora’s Mask included only 4 major dungeons, they were long and actually difficult, even for Zelda masters. To top it all off there are so many sidequests, this game probably influenced the Final Fantasy games that came after. If you were like me and stuck through all the sidequests to get every mask and every stamp in your journal, etc., you were treated to the final mask in the game which is just too badass, and makes the final boss insanely easy. IMO this game is actually better than Ocarina of Time, but TripV tends to disagree, or just won’t admit it.

 

#7 Paper Mario

Paper Mario had fanboys everywhere salivating from its initial release announcement. This was most likely due to its billing as a sequel to the wildly popular Super Mario RPG. The game however couldn’t have been more different from its predecessor. It eschewed the long winded story lines and complex characters of Mario RPG, instead returning to the roots of the franchise. Bowser had once again captured Peach and Mario had to save her. This time Mario was aided by several auxiliary characters including a goomba aptly named Goombario and the cleverly named koopa, Kooper. Graphically, Paper Mario went with a 2-d style intended to imitate the look of a piece of paper. The game overflowed with charm and once again tested a player’s reflexes by requiring them to perform certain button combinations for each attack. The only downside to the game, besides promoting anorexia among children, is the extreme difficulty of the Peach segments, baking cakes is hard stuff.

 

#6 Super Smash Bros.

If you’ve ever wondered who would win in a fight between Link and Mario or Pikachu and Donkey Kong then Super Smash Bros. is the perfect game for you. Smash puts you in control of a beloved Nintendo mascot in a familiar locale, and leaves it to you to pulverize 1-3 others of the stage. It’s a brilliant premise that is only topped by its uncanny execution. Every character is balanced well and in the hands of a master has the ability to dominate, except ironically for Donkey Kong, he kinda sucks. Nevertheless the roster capitalizes on Nintendo’s most famous heroes (Mario, Luigi, Kirby, Link, DK, Fox, etc) and throws in a few fan favorites like Ness from Earthbound and Captain Falcon from F-zero. Plus how many Nintendo games do you know of that are played in tournaments for major cash prizes. Super Smash Bros has definitely established its legacy and earned a place in our top 9.

 

#5 Mario Tennis

Mario Tennis is in many ways a highly underrated game. It has a very simple control scheme that uses only two buttons, topspin and slice. However, different combinations of the buttons can be used to perform more advanced maneuvers like lobs or drop shots. The result is a pick up and play experience for newcomers, but still a deep and rewarding game for experienced veterans. The game is very cartoony and captures the charm of the Mario franchise, yet somehow it is the most realistic and playable tennis game to date. Other games like the Topspin and Virtua Tennis franchises use realistic graphics, but their gameplay always seems to pale in comparison to Mario Tennis’ superior system. If you haven’t played this game because you think tennis games are boring, or just missed it, I highly urge you to check it out or at least emulate it, if not just to experience the origin of Waluigi.

P.S. If you need a challenge, I am godly and dkn29 is way worse (unstoppable with Wario tho) than me.

 

#4 StarFox 64

“Star Fox, we are in your debt,” is exactly what I think when this game comes to mind. This is my personal favorite game for the system and if I had my way, this would be number one, but due to the games listed below I can’t do that. StarFox 64 is really a rehash of the original StarFox on the SNES, but it has way better graphics, awesome voice acting (well it has more heart than a lot of games today), as well as refined gameplay. I personally have gone through this game and got every medal award (normal and expert) 3 times. I’ve literally memorized every level, enemy rotation, music, and every word spoken, and thats no understatement. Not many games have that level of reply value, especially when the multiplayer, albeit a great idea, wasn’t fully fleshed out. If you don’t know who Andross’ nephew is, then you owe it to yourself to play this game. In the words of the late James McCloud “trust your instincts,” and play this game.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, this game introduced the world to Rumble technology…you’re welcome.

 

#3 Goldeneye 007/Perfect Dark

In the mid 90s gamers were divided between PC nerds and console badasses. For the most part the PC market dominated the FPS genre using the superior control of the mouse and keyboard combo. It took Goldeneye to show how a console FPS could not only work, but be on par with, if not more fun than anything the PC could crank out. The rest is history. I still remember the countless hours of facility and complex, and the rush to get the RCP-90 (best gun ever). When Perfect Dark came out it refined the Goldeneye formula but remained faithful to its predecessor resulting in an altogether superior experience. Just downright awesome. In truth Goldeneye and Perfect Dark not only set the standard for the FPS genre, but also paved the way for all future console FPS games. So if Halo knows whats good for it, it better bow down to its daddy.

 

#2 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

So dkn29 asked me to write about this game because he was game deprived throughout the mid 90s and this was his first experience with the Zelda franchise(more than a year after its initial release, tsk tsk).  Fortunately, I am here to save the day and rant on why this game rocks.  Where do I start, graphics, gameplay, fun factor, story.  No matter where I start (well maybe not story) the game is a perfect 10.  Everything about the game was simply astounding, the innovative Z-targeting system made fighting intuitive and fun.  The ability to map items to the C-buttons really streamlined the Zelda process by providing quick access to your favorite items.  Not to mention the first time Zelda puzzles could be translated into 3D environments.  All these things were great, but nothing was cooler than OoT’s ability to fully integrate the music of the ocarina (which was awesome) into every aspect of the game.  The only thing that could have made this game better would be the ability fly swat Navi, that annoying piece of shit, into faerie mush?

 

#1 Super Mario 64

I’ve never been married or had a child, but I’m pretty sure the first time I played Super Mario 64 trumps both of them on my fondest memories list. I couldn’t even start the game for a good half hour because pulling on Mario’s facial features was just too entertaining. Once I finally started the game I was, simply put, blown away. Everything in this game is perfect. I could never understand why magazine editors never gave this game perfect 10s. It was a game like none-other, there just was no equal at the time. Maybe the editors didn’t realize that this would pave the way for every 3D game ever released after it. It’s kinda sad to think that this game actually has a better camera than a lot of games out today, especially since it’s almost 12 years old now. I don’t really know what else to say here. I’ve gotten 120 (150 on the DS) Stars 5 times in my life now and plan to continuing doing it when I actually have some gaming downtime. If you haven’t played this game, kill yourself, then ask whatever you believe in to make you born sometime in the 80s so you can experience this game the way it was meant to.  Man, the ending theme still does bring tears of joy.

Now that we’ve listed our top 9, if anyone else is reading this, feel free to leave any comments or post your personal top 9.

~ by dkn29 on July 28, 2008.