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Nintendo 64
Updated 11/29/10
Nintendo 64 (N64) was the third console from Nintendo, and was part of the fifth generation of consoles. It was the first Nintendo to use 3D graphics as a rule, and it was superior to PS1 in nearly every way, except it still used cartridges instead of discs. Cartridges are a lot more expensive to make, and hold a lot less data. While PS1 value line games sold for $19.95, N64 games never sold for less than $39.99. PS1 games never sold for more than $50, where N64 games could reach $80. The higher cost didn't help N64. Nintendo lost some major developers to PS1 because of the limitations of the cartridge format. That includes big names like Square that had previously been quite faithful to Nintendo. As a result, PS1 went on to dominate the fifth generation. PS1 sold 100 million units, where N64 sold only 32.93 million units. It was at least ahead of Sega Saturn, which sold only 10 million units. One of the features that makes N64 stand out in the fifth generation is its ability to do trilinear filtering on its 3D graphics, which gives the graphics a smoother look. PS1 and Saturn could only do nearest-neighbor filtering, which looks far more blocky. N64 also does perspective-correction on textures, which looks a lot nicer than PS1. The N64 has 4 controller ports, so there are a lot of multiplayer games available.
I really wanted to like this game, but Kazooie's potty mouth got old FAST. The gameplay is good enough, but the dialogue between the characters is absolutely grating. I won't let my kids play it, because I don't want them picking up on the language.
This game is OK. It's pretty fun to play. But what's up with the cuss word in the opening music?!? ESRB would rate it T if the game came out today.
I really didn't like this game. It is very repetitive by design. Like Groundhog Day, you keep repeating the same day over and over again. You have to complete objectives before the day runs out. If you fail to complete the objective, then you have to start all over again. Even when you complete an objective, you start the day over again. After a while, seeing the same people and locations over and over again becomes boring. Not the best Zelda game. But not the worst, either (Zelda II).
This is the first 3D Zelda game, and it made the transition well. It definitely feels like a Zelda game. Definitely worth playing.
This is the first 3D Mario Kart game. It's a lot of fun to play. The SNES game was translated well to full 3D. You race go-karts driven by characters in Mario games. You can pick up weapons along the way to use against your opponents. It's great with 4 players at once. I recommend it.
This is the first Mario Party game. It plays like a giant board game. You roll your die to move along a path. Your goal is to reach the gold star. When you reach it, you must purchase it with coins you win in the minigames. The minigames take place after each person has moved. Depending on where you land on the board, the minigame will be every man for himself, 2 on 2, or 3 on 1. At the end of the game, the person with the most stars wins. The later Mario Party games are more polished, but they are all fun, and everyone should own one.
This game is more or less the successor to Super Mario RPG on SNES. It's a fun RPG game with a great story line. Something that sets it apart from regular turn-based RPGs is that during battles, you must press buttons at particular times to improve your attacks. This keeps you engaged in the battles. I really enjoyed it. Easily the best traditional RPG on N64. Also one of the ONLY RPGs on N64.
This Star Wars game takes place between the 5th and 6th movies. It has a wide variety of gameplay, from flying snowspeeders to running around completing objectives. It's one of the better Star Wars games out there.
This is the first Mario to go 3D. In fact, it's one of the first 3D platformers, and it set a lot of standards that 3D platformers still use today. The game is HUGE. It will take a long time to beat all of the levels. You'll also find that the later levels are quite hard. I highly recommend it.
This is a fun but challenging water-based racing game. You race jet skis around a water course complete with nice-looking water effects.