N64 Retrospective – Reader Mailbag

Earlier this week, we invited you guys to send in your favorite Nintendo 64 memories. Well, the results are in and they are fantastic.

Click past the cut to read our ten favorite submissions and add your own memories after!

Previous Articles in this Feature

By: Catherine Harmsen (Caeke)

I was not blown away by Star Wars Ep. I. I was however blown away by Star Wars Ep. I Racer.

From the start you can pick your favourite alien or Podracer. The detail and aesthetic variety of these vehicles is pretty varied, so there’s something for everybody. Then there’s the scope of upgrades you can do to your racer – and If you run out of money, you can sell your motor part back to Watto and buy another. You can change the feel of your pod, upgrade how strong it is, which comes in handy when you wrap yourself around a pole, or slam into a floating chunk of rock.

But all that pales in comparison to the racing itself. Screamingly fast, reflex testing speeds can be attained, with 800kmph or mph being the average I think, on some of the most beautiful and epic tracks ever. There’s an awful lot of detail and atmosphere on the courses, ranging from naturalistic settings like beaches, swamps, gas lakes and deserts (the race from the movie is very convincing) to cities, spice mines, and some freaky magnetic field or zero gravity industrial areas on small moons.The tracks are pretty long winded, so there’s room for big wide expanses where you just want to see if you can go even faster, and twisting multiple path sections, or doors that could close on you at any second. There are shortcuts to discover, some of which are frustrating to pull off, but pay off well. There’s some cool cheats and unlockables, if you care for that sort of thing.

As you race, vocanoes explode in the distance, transport ships are coming and going from somewhere nearby and on and on with eye candy. Most of the time your aural accompaniment is the eerie whine of your vehicle. The graphics are incredibly beautiful considering, but because I guess the N64 is being pushed to the limits, there’s some pretty heavy fogging going on, and I don’t even want to think about how smoothly it runs without the expansion pak.

Complaints? Let it be said, the AI of the two racers coming last is moronic. Italicised, bold and underlined moronic, if you want to get precise. But what business do we have that far at the back of the pack? Ummm. ^_^;

I think this is a nice alternative to karting, with a huge dollop of the fantastical, but still sort of serious. It’s not overly Star Wars-y when you just get down to racing. Totally pretty and I loooove how fast you can go. I don’t know how well this game was recieved in general but It’s just so much fun to play with my brother, as well as appealing to my Star Wars geekiness and aesthetist ways.

By: Chris Alexander

Hurrah and all that, for it was only a week to go until Zelda OOT was released, I was at university (UK) at the time and most likely driving everyone in my halls crazy with my rabid Nintendo fever, but was too delirious to notice or care.

I was so excited, It was like waiting for Christmas day, only with less turkey but more elf hats (a reasonable trade). The days where counting down (slowly) The last two I remember being pure torture, I tired to sedate myself with large helpings of Mario 64 to little avail.

11 Dec 1998 (Launch day). I rolled out of bed early (rolled = jumped excitedly) got dressed and ran into town with my pre order ticket in hand. I wondered into the shop but couldn’t see any game boxes on the shelve which I thought was a little weird but hey, they must all be pre ordered so no boxes to put out. I walked up to the game counter and handed over my receipt ready to redeem my prize…

But wait! what’s this! The game has been delayed a week?! I couldn’t believe it. How didn’t I know? I was completely gutted. I dragged myself back home, checking the date on my
Zelda promo postcard to see I had the right day, I did. I couldn’t believe I had to put myself through another week of waiting, it was more than I could cope with.

18 Dec 1998 (Real Launch day). Feeling a little weary I wondered down town again, back into the shop, looked around and again I couldn’t see any game boxes, getting ready to pull my arms off in frustration I wondered over to the games counter and feebly asked for my beloved Zelda…

The rest you all know, over the next few weeks I enjoyed possibly the best game ever made, the likes of which I haven’t experience since but hoping to again sometime soon…

Love the site guys, keep up the good work!

By: Cronotrigger913

The fondest memory I had with the N64 was actually one of the scariest moments I’ve ever had. It was around Thanksgiving, and I decided to give Resident Evil 2 a try. It garnered rave reviews when released for PS1, so I wanted to see what all the hub-bub was about. Little did I know it would change my life forever…

Well, maybe not my life, but I definitely needed to change my under-garments a few times while playing this terrific survival horror adventure. Man, I’ll never forget the moans that the zombies made when you were outside on the streets. That was some freaky stuff.

The setting that Capcom created was one of the best I’ve ever seen in a video game. I only wish I could forget the whole thing and start the game with a fresh mind (and aforementioned underwear).

Scariest Scene: the licker behind the mirror. That still scares the bejesus out of me! And I know Jeepers Creepers stole that whole idea from RE2!

By: Dave

I have many good memories with my N64 and friends (and perhaps way too many nights with GE 007 and PD).

I’d say my 1st (and best) memory is how I got my N64; that’s what I first recall when thinking of the N64.

It just so happened that my 1st trip to Japan was going to coincide with the release of the N64 in Japan, that summer of ’96. I asked my friends mom to help me reserve a system in Japan but we didn’t know any phone numbers for any places that sold games and such. So we used the international operator for 411 for a toy store. They asked for what city; I said Tokyo. The gave me a listing for a place called xxxxxxxxx. After we got the phone number, my friends mom called and made the reservation for me (which included 2 N64s, 2 copies of Mario 64 and 2 copies of Pilotwings 64 – 1 for me and one for my friend). So the reservation was made.

I landed in Japan about 10 days after launch and I was going to pick up the N64s on the 4th of July. I asked my host mother where this xxxxxxxxx place was and she told me “on the other side of the country”. Well damn. Not only was it my first trip to Tokyo but it also became my first trip to Kanazawa (you can Google map that place for comparison).

So I took the bullet train (also first time), followed by 3 hours of local trains (lots of pretty scenery in the countryside). So I get to Kanazawa, I get off the train, no clue where I am, I ask 2 girls where X-department store was and they proceed to take me there without me even asking. We parted ways, I went in and plunked down more than a grand for all the games and systems plus 6 extra controllers even though there were no 2 player games then (that was also the most cash I had ever carried in my life).

I go back to the train station but as it was 7pm, I was hungry and tired from the day. I got a room at a business hotel and then proceed to find some food. I went to probably the best Japanese restaurant I’d ever been to and then went back to the hotel. I then found a way
to plug in the N64 to the hotel TV set (which was not easy!) and played for several hours of pure joy. I then spent July 5th checking out Kanazawa (that has a lot of old samurai castles and stuff) and went back to Tokyo for the rest of my home stay (1 month) and had one of my best summers ever.

When I got back to CA, another cool thing was that, my friend and I made the money back that we paid for our systems and games by charging our friends and neighborhood kids $5 each to play for 15 minutes (since we had the systems about, what was it, 2 or 3 months before they could play/buy it in the states). That was especially great because it was like we got the system etc for free and now had extra money for new games (but man, it took a long time for KI: Gold and Wave Race 64 to come out that fall).

That’s my story… I gotta hankering to go get my N64 and fire up some Mario and PilotWings 64 now.

By: Jason Rice

How the N64 Changed my Life!

I was a teenager during the era of the N64 and while I had played games almost my entire life I was very focused on sports and competition during those years. Gaming for me was social and it was about competition. I have 4 younger brothers and we used to take turns playing Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and the NHL hockey games from EA on the SNES whenever we played. When the N64 came out however, everything changed. With 4 ports and brilliant 3D graphics we were able to play 4 at a time for hours and hours on end. My gaming time went from occassional fun to hardcore multiplayer. We played GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. endlessly and with 5 brothers total the system was simple. The last place brother after each challenge sat out for the next one and the player in 3rd picked the next challenge. We played all the games a lot but Super Smash Bros became our obession after it came out.

Fast-forward several year later and my passion for SSB translated over the new version for GameCube and a job directing SSB:Melee tournament for Major League Gaming. I have since moved on to become the company’s senior staff writer and pro-gaming analyst, responsible to write the majority of the content you see on our website. If it weren’t for the N64 providing such an amazing multiplayer experience during my teenage years, I would probably be sitting in a cubicle someplace working 9-5 instead of getting to analize competitive gaming for a living. Now I get to hang-out not just with gaming celebrities, but with professional athletes, famous musicians and actors who are fans of MLG that come out to watch. The N64 changed my gaming habits, which eventually changed my life. For all it gave me the N64 will always been my favorite system.

By: John Doe

Dude, Star Fox 64 is the best game I have ever played even compared to RE4 and Halo this is definitely my fave. Well anyways here’s my memory….

I had just beaten Andross’ Brain when my cousins from the deeper south came. I was so proud of myself and all my stats and everything and the little runt erases my game!!! So after crying for like a good 2 hours I said hey I beat Andross once i can do it again so I play it again and wind up beating it and i get higher stats….eh I guess it’s not that good of a memory but still Mario Tennis and Starfox are the games that are best played on the N64. Good graphics cant compete with good gameplay.

By: Kyle Wallace

What I Think of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Times in my life really stick out. One particular time was when I got The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It was November or December of the year it came out and I remember countless snowy nights in my pajamas, laying on my bed with a strategy guide and my golden, shiny collectors edition Zelda box sitting next to the TV. I’ve lost track of that box and I regret that but the time I spent with Ocarina of Time was amazing. My memories of the opening scene and Hyrule Castle can be played back in my head over and over again, with entire dungeons mapped out in my mind. Not many other games can have that kind of effect on someone but Zelda did. It was the first Zelda I had ever actually played and since then I’ve been playing the old ones and the new ones. In one swift switch of my N64 on button I was finally in love with video games. Zelda really brought everything amazing to the table and still is one of the best games I’ve ever played. I just love the fact that I can’t name one terrible thing about my experience and I know it sounds corny but it really is forever a part of me. Something that epic is just mind-boggling but Zelda was one of those rare games that accomplished the unthinkable. It emotionally attached you the characters and the world. You hated Ganondorf and felt sorry for Zelda and believed you had full control of Link’s fate. From fishing to riding Epona, OoT truly had all the workings of an amazing game. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time will forever stand the test the time and will go down in history as one of the best games ever created.

By: Matt Murray

Many moons ago, when I was just a wee lad (11, to be precise), I was what most would call a casual gamer. I owned a Playstation and an N64, but was usually duped into buying pure garbage such as the South Park game simply because I was still just a tad too young to know any better, but still played through the game just so my mother wouldn’t yell at me for a few days for having wasted fifty dollars. One game changed all that for me though, and because of it I would finally take the plunge into becoming a “hardcore” gamer. That game was Paper Mario.

One Sunday morning my friend called me and told me I had to “get down here as fast as possible; I rented this wicked cool game, you have to see it.” Without delay I rode my bike to my friend’s house, and when I came in he led me to the N64 and turned it on to reveal Paper Mario in all of its glory. He played while I watched. Of course, being 11, watching someone else play a game that looks fun is rather boring. My friend, being an aspiring actor, suggested that we each pick certain characters and do the voices for them. Even back then I realized such an idea might not be the epitome of coolness, but as I said, I was really bored and went along with it anyways. After a few minutes of debating who got to do the voice of who and figuring out what their voices should sound like, we started the narration, and after a few minutes we started having a blast. Bowser sounded like the Cookie Monster, Goombario was based off our friend with a lisp, and Twink had an annoyingly high pitched voice. We got through the Koopa Bros. castle and then I had to go. Before I left though, we mutually agreed that there was no way the game was going to be played without both of us there together to do the voices.

So everyday for the next week I either went over to his house or he came to mine with his rental Paper Mario cartridge (he ended up having to pay like two weeks of late fees for it), taking turns playing and each doing the voices for our own characters. Whenever we got a new party member or got to go to a new area we were absolutely thrilled to be able to make up new voices and read the excellent dialogue. It was the first single player game that I ever played with someone else the whole way through, and just typing this up brings a whole lot of memories back.

Aside from being the game that really got me to follow the game industry as a whole and simply an amazing game by itself, it also reminds me of how, despite misinformed beliefs, games aren’t an abomination of society and an attack on children’s social life; given the right games, they can truly bring people closer together, and it’s something that I’ll never forget.

By: Naveed Farbakhsh

Ok, so when I got my N64 for my birthday back in 1996 I remember I got Golden Eye and Super Mario 64. I beat both of them instantly! It was totally awesome and I was addicted to my N64. Then my uncle came over and showed me Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and it was awesome! After a few months I beat that game too. My parents owned two video stores so I basically had every game in the N64 collection and I could rent them out for as long as I wanted. I went through snow board kids, Mario kart, blitz, wave racer, star wars pod racer, fifa 98, and so many many more! Any N64 game, you name it, I have probably played it. N64 is a great system that I spent many hours on. But my favorite will always be the SNES. I only wish my parents still owned those video stores so I could still have that endless collection of video games.

By: Will Moore

The N64 is my favorite console ever. It was the first one I ever played, and I can recall the experience like it was yesterday.

I was in Kindergarten. My friend had his 6th birthday party at his house and his parents got him an N64. In no time, 10 little tykes were screaming and giggling over Mario’s antics in Super Mario 64. I had never played video games before that day, so when my turn to play came, I was pretty excited.

Something clicked. I don’t know if it was the soothing, melodic music of Jolly Roger Bay or the great graphics or what. I was in love. They could simply not get me away from that black box. But, as many 6-year-olds are, I was flat broke. No way could ever afford one of these, and my parents would never buy me one.

A year passed, and Mario Kart 64 came out. Another N64-owning friend of mine got it, and invited me over to play it. After playing I was no longer in love, I was addicted. I must have played that thing for 8 hours straight. When I got home I ran to tell my brother how awesome
it was and how we needed to get one.

After an endless number of video store rentals of systems and copies of Mario Kart 64, I finally got one when Mario Party 2 came out. I loved it. My parents still would rarely buy any games for me, so I rented mostly. But that didn’t stop me from playing all the greats of
the system. Super Mario 64, StarFox 64, Both Banjo games (my God, they were awesome!!!), F-Zero X, Pokemon Snap, Paper Mario, and many others.

The N64 will always go down in my gaming heart as the champion of all systems. The Wii will have one heck of a time beating it out. It may have that great controller and prettier graphics, but nothing can ever compare to the memories. Happy 10th anniversary, N64!!

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