Nintendo 64 Black Console

Nintendo was a company, on a mission. With the emergence of Sega's CD add ons for their popular Genesis console, Nintendo was a bit worried that they would miss out on a possible revolution with the CD format for games. Thus they set to work with their business partner Sony (who developed the sound chip for Nintendo's console) to create an add-on to their current 16-bit system, the Super Nintendo. This add-on began it's development cycle known as the SNES CD. What revelance does this serve to this review? Well after scrapping the idea (Sega's failures with CD add-ons probably scared Nintendo) Sony was a bit aggrivated, and set to work on a CD based 32-bit console. Nintendo scrapped the idea of CDs and set to work on their next generation system which would run cartridges. Needless to say, this enraged most of Nintendo's biggest supporters. The limiting cartridge format was a thing of the past, and developers didn't want to be limited by it any longer, thus many jumped ship to Sony and Sega's consoles. This console of Nintendo was named the Nintendo 64, and is a testament to the companies mistakes. Was it worth owning, and is it still? Read on to find out.

Features of the Nintendo 64:

► Expansion Pack for RAM Upgrade

► Support For Memory Cards

► Four Controller Slots

► Force Feedback Through Rumble Pack

Okay so one thing that always bothered me was the sheer hatred quite a few had for this console. Many a claim has been made that the Nintendo 64 had inferior software than the Playstation, but it's almost taboo in this case to say that everyone has their own opinion, because I (and nearly everyone else who defended it) would get huge technical lectures. It seems that this generation was one of the more heated, with Nintendo and Sony dueling it out on the front lines while Sega sat silently in the corner strategizing a comeback that would never come. It always seemed that the Nintendo 64 was the best made for 3-D games, with it's stronger hardware specs than both the Playstation and the Saturn. This is likely because the Nintendo 64 was the last to the market out of the three.

One unique aspect to the Nintendo 64's graphical prowess was the inclusion of some tool (I don't remember what it is called) that softens textures. In a time where games looked jaggy and rough edged, the Nintendo 64's games all looked smooth. This led to problems later on though, as the blurring of the textures became a nuisance to some developers who were less savy with the software development process. Games began to look washed out and overly blurry as time progressed, and though this did look distinctly different from the other two consoles games, this look really began to get on people's nerves. When Nintendo made games though, the blurred textures looked almost stylish though, as they proved with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario 64.

Nintendo's biggest problem from the said generation was loyalty from third parties. More often than not, major developers would slate a title for release across the Playstation and Saturn, but would leave the Nintendo 64 out in the cold. These were the games that the masses saw as "cool" in this time, so this also severely damaged Nintendo's public image. Game's garnering huge amounts of publicity (Resident Evil and Tomb Raider come to mind) only worked to push the Playstation ahead (the titles would release too late on the Saturn to help Sega out). It seemed as if the only one Nintendo could trust was itself, and the companies that were forced to remain loyal to their console.

Now this is just a personal opinion of mine, but I always saw the Nintendo 64 as the weakest link when compared to the Playstation and Saturn, with the latter console being my favorite while until after it died. In more recent times, the Nintendo 64 actually caught up to the Playstation in the sheer amount of attention I paid to it, which was mainly due to the fact the console was recieving some of the best games from that generation. The games that really pushed the Nintendo 64 for me were Zelda, Goemon, and just about every game that Rare developed (except Jet Force Gemini, that game sucked). The Nintendo 64 became the only console I'd play with friends because of the sheer multiplayer aspects it carried with it. To this day, there is still no system better for friendly gatherings than the N64.

Hardware
The Nintendo 64 (or N64 from now on, I'm lazy) was a perfect showcase for it's generation. It could pull off 3-D, polygonal based games like a champion, and quite a bit of the time it made the other consoles look bad. Super Mario 64 was the first game released on this console, and it was at the forefront of Nintendo's advertising. Who really, could resist such pretty graphics? Plus it was a Mario game for crying out loud, who's going to pass up on the best looking, best playing Mario game to date? I certainly wasn't, and luckily I didn't. Needless to say, the N64 could pull off graphics like none other back in it's heyday.

The console itself looked distinctly different from it's competitors. The design itself features a rectangular base, with four circles in each of the corners. In the exact middle of the console was the cartridge slot, and in front of this was a sloped section with a small compartment for the expansion pack. The system itself was black, with four controller slots in the very front of it, divided on to both sides, separated by the green, blue, yellow, red N64 logo. From that generation, I'd say that the N64 was easily the most attractive cosmetically, while the Playstation was the ugliest. The N64 had a very solid design, and even through the constant abuse this console took from falls, spills, and much more, there was never even a dent, and mine still works perfectly to this day.

Not too far into the console's life, Nintendo announced plans for an add-on. What we're talking about here is the infamous Nintendo 64 Disc Drive. The add-on would read cartridge like discs that could function with a N64 cartridge on top of being able to play by themselves. The plans for this add-on sounded really cool at first, with online, game expansions etc. Furthermore, Dragon Quest VIII was planned to release on it, but was soon switched to the Playstation console. This add-on was released exclusively in Japan, and didn't take off in the least to the already abismal N64 audience. The only thing I'm bitter about is the wasted resources Nintendo put into this useless piece of hardware when they should have been making standard N64 games instead.

Because it uses cartridges as it's media format, there was very little need for memory cards. Nintendo did however, manufacture memory cards for it's console nonetheless, but most games didn't even support them. These storage cards plugged into a slot in the back of each Nintendo 64 controller, and their primary function was to allow players to transport and plug in their save data into another person's game. One classic example of this involved Perfect Dark, and the ability to keep a character on a memory card for use at a friend's house, should a game break out you'd be able to use your already saved character without swapping game cartridges. Though the memory cards were a cool and professional approach, they went mostly ignored and were most often unnecessary.

The slot located in back of the N64 controllers served more than one purpose though. One of Nintendo's blockbuster titles, Star Fox 64 was made even more famous for being packed in with what is called the Rumble Pack. If memory serves me correctly, this was the first time that force feedback had ever been incorporated in home consoles. Though this pack was rather bulky and weighed down the controller quite a bit, this was a very unique and cool feature for it's time. One major drawback to the rumble pack is the fact that it requires two AAA batteries in order to work, and though it drains them rather slowly it's still a nuisance to be forced to waste batteries for something such as the rumble pack.

The limited cartridge storage capacity didn't help the system at all, except when it comes to the fact that this eliminated loading times and the need for memory cards. At one point, Squaresoft actually showed off a polygonal, 3-D version of Final Fantasy VI to showcase what they could do with the hardware. This is of course before they pledged exclusive support for the Playstation. Later on, Capcom finally began supporting the N64, and proved to the world that even the biggest games could fit on the cartridges by releasing a port of the two-disc Resident Evil 2 game. With this release, they didn't take anything out of this massive game. This is probably the biggest statement any company was able to make with the Nintendo 64, even if they were forced to do a LOT of compressing.

In the latter half of the Nintendo 64's life-span, Nintendo released a RAM expansion for the console, which plugged right into the slot on top. Quite a few games took advantage of this extra power, and often times the graphics in some games would easily match those of the much more powerful Dreamcast console. This expansion pack was actually packaged in with Rare's Donkey Kong 64 game, though you could purchase it separately. Some games actually REQUIRED this expansion pack in order to run correctly, while most others just offered enhanced graphics with it's use. If you own an Nintendo 64, but not this expansion pack than you've just missed out on a few of the console's greatest games.

Now we're at what is probably the worst feature of this console; it's controller. Nintendo created what was easily one of the most awkward controllers, with three separate grips. Since you only have two hands, it's obvious that you'll only be able to hold on to two at the same time. The far left grip allowed for access to the directional pad and the L button. The center grip was more often used than the left, and contained the joystick and Z button. On the right we have four different camera buttons, A and B, and the R button. It's a bit difficult to have full access to all of the camera buttons, as they are placed far too close together for comfort. The games would either have you use the middle or left grip, and so there was never a need to switch in mid game. Still, this is one awkward controller that only worked really well for platformer and first person shooter games.

The Games
Hey I don't care what anyone else says, consoles are all about THE GAMES. Here's the top ten games that I felt were worth mentioning.

Super Mario 64 1996
Developer: Nintendo

Maybe this makes me a little biased, but Super Mario 64 is my favorite platformer title of all time. I have yet to see anything that comes close to re-creating the magic of having so many diverse worlds to explore, and such imaginative ones at that. Super Mario 64 was a golden moment in platforming, and is easily my favorite Mario game ever. Now if only Super Mario Sunshine had turned out to be half the game this one is. This was also the N64's flagship launch title, and I don't think the system would have taken off in North America like it did if it hadn't have been for this awesome title.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 1998
Developer: Nintendo

Okay so I'm not exactly disproving my bias toward the N64 when I say that this is my favorite Zelda title of all time. I must confess though, the game looked much more fun at it's earlier stages of development, but I'm still overjoyed with the end project from Nintendo. As far as I'm concerned, this is Nintendo's shining achievement, as few times has a game re-shaped an industry so much as this one has. I mean seriously, it's likely that we'll still be seeing the game targetting system Ocarina of Time implemented in thousands of other action games for years to come. This is, the perfect reason to own the N64.

Resident Evil 2 1999
Developer: Capcom

As I mentioned earlier, Resident Evil 2 was a shining moment of achievement for the cartridge format. This game blasted on to the N64 in 1999 with improved resolution, more features, and even managed to keep both quests on just one mere cartridge. This is still the version of Resident Evil 2 that I think is the best, mainly because of the lack of loading times and extra features. This really was an excellent gesture towards Nintendo fans after years of neglect.

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 2000
Developer: Nintendo

As one of Nintendo's last efforts for their dying console, they released yet another Zelda title. This one requires the expansion pack to work, but the upgrade is very noticeable. Firstly, this is a side quest to the series. While the gameplay structure has been copied directly from Ocarina of Time, much was different in this terrific title. Firstly, young Link is forced to deal with a looming rogue Moon on a straightforward path to smash itself right into the surface of the planet. It's up to Link, with the help of his handy ocarina of time to continuously travel back in time to avoid certain destruction. This is a very unique title, and should definitely not be missed by fans of the Zelda series.

Starfox 64 1997
Developer: Nintendo

I never used to be a fan of shooter games, but Starfox 64 changed me. Because of the lack of good games in the beginning of the console's life-span, I decided to give this title a chance. What I found with Starfox 64 was a truly rewarding and fun play experience. It also really helped that this game was the first to showcase the awesome powers of the rumble pack (which was bundled in with this game). I still say that Starfox 64 is one of the greatest shooter games ever created, and I openly await the release of Starfox Assault for the Nintendo Gamecube, hoping that this upcoming title is half the game it's predecessor was.

Goldeneye 007 1997
Developer: Rare

This is THE game that prevented the N64 from ever getting old, and is the game that I spent the single most time with probably ever. Goldeneye 007 was one of the main reasons for the N64's sheer level of success. What's odd is that I never liked (and still don't like) first person shooter titles, but Goldeneye is the one game that I couldn't put down. As a matter of fact, every once in a while I STILL bust out the dusty 64 to give this game another whirl, provided I have friends around to experience the multi-player aspects, which are to be frank, godly.

Perfect Dark 2000
Developer: Rare

Just when everyone was believing that it would be impossible to surpass Goldeneye 007, Rare brought something else to the table. As one of their numerous games requiring the expansion pak, Perfect Dark is easily my favorite of any titles the developer has ever released. Though it came very late in the system's life, Perfect Dark is every bit the game Goldeneye was, and more. This title featured more elements than any other console FPS ever had, including tons of bots, personalities to assign them, character customization, deep stat tracking, and a campaign mode to die for. This is my favorite N64 title.

Diddy Kong Racing 1997
Developer: Rare

I confess that I am a bit of a Sonic R fanboy, but Diddy Kong Racing is the best cartooney racer made for the N64. Yes, in my mind it even surpasses the legendary Mario Kart 64. What this title did so right was in offering multiple racing vehichles, vehichle specific shortcuts, an adventure mode, and a just plain fun racing engine. In Rare's sea of Nintendo copying titles, I find this one to be the best, even surpassing Nintendo's own work by expanding much to the engine.

Conker's Bad Fur Day 2000
Developer: Rare

What began as another Nintendo copying platformer title from their second party eventually turned down a much, much different path. Conker's Bad Fur Day was one of the last titles to hit the N64, and is also one of the more mature to ever grace a Nintendo system. It seems that Rare really went all out with what they had, and the end result was one of the most fun experiences on the N64. Though the platforming mechanics leave a bit to be desired, the humor and style of this game put it over the top, especially when it comes to matrix references. Because it was one of the last titles released for the console, this was one overlooked title. Conker's Bad Fur Day is now being remade exclusively for the Xbox, so you may want to hold out on buying a copy of the N64 game.

Super Smash Bros. 1999
Developer: Nintendo

I was quite surprised when I first heard of Super Smash Bros. The idea of a fighting game with Nintendo characters sounded interesting enough, and it turned out as good as anyone could expect, maybe even a little better. This is one of the reasons the N64 is such a great multiplayer console, with four player simultaneous options for gameplay and several different characters/levels to choose from. This game is ranked pretty obsolete now that Super Smash Bros. Melee has been released on the Gamecube, and so this is a title that I cannot recommend picking up if you own a Gamecube, as you should just go with Smash Bros. Melee instead.

Final Recommendation
The Nintendo 64 is an aged, yet extremely solid control. Nintendo it seems has learned from it's mistakes, but who's to say that all mistakes are bad? The Nintendo 64 is a trophy of a console that will always be remembered by it's fans.