Buying a Nintendo64 this week. Recommendations?

[Territorial]

So I've kinda realized the only games that interest me are some of the old-school games I grew up with.  Outside of Final Fantasy, I haven't really used the PS2 in years and upgrading to a recent gen Playstation or X-box doesn't appeal to me.  I'm planning to take a trip down to the vintage games and consoles store in the area and pick up a Nintendo 64.  Mostly, I'm interested in the N64 for Donkey Kong 64 and Mario 64, but I'll branch out.  

 

What other games are worth picking up?  I'll probably pick up a wrestling game?  What are the better WCW games?  No Mercy is a no-brainer, but I loved WCW in the 90's (aside from Hogan and his cronies), so I'd really like to pick up a good WCW game.

 

Heard a lot about Goldeneye and Star Wars Shadow of Empire.  Besides that, nothing is really on my radar.

 

Is the expansion pack used on most games?  I know I need it for Donkey Kong 64, Perfect Dark, and a few other games, but it doesn't sound like most games made use of it.  I'm going to pick one up, but I don't know that the local shop has it on hand, so I might have to order one from Ebay.

 

Along those lines, are there many Super Nintendo games that hold up.  I'd like to go back and play the Donkey Kong Country games, but I don't know that there's much of interest to me outside of those three.  Super Mario Bros. maybe?  For old school systems, N&4 seems the better bet,

 

Thanks.  Anyone have any old system?  Recommend some titles. 

[RIPPA]

Well the big one you didn't mention specifically by name is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 

There is also Mario Kart 64

 

Shadow of the Empire was fun but obviously I don't know if it holds up. Rogue Squadron was also really fun but does get somewhat repetitive.

 

On the WCW game front - WCW vs. NWO: World Tour would be the one to get. Clearly No Mercy was the much better game but I did enjoy the Japanese roster in World Tour (all of them using fake names)

[Raziel]

The Super Nintendo might've been the greatest console ever, just because of the sheer amount of games that held up and are still awesome to play.  Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy III(VI), hell, just about *any* JRPG that was released for that system, Super Mario World (which I'll fight for best 2D Mario Game ever), Zelda: Link to the Past, the Donkey Kong Country's, even the WWF games are still fun.  And Ninja Turtles IV was fun too.

 

Damn, I wonder if we redid the best games of each Generation lists on new board if we'd have a bigger sample size than we had first go round.

[J.H.]

Do yourself a favor and hunt down a copy of Mischief Makers.

You can thank me later

 

James

[Lazlo Woodbine]

I still love 1080 Snowboarding, but that game is death for the analogue stick.

 

Diddy Kong Racing, Turok, Pilotwings, Wave Race and Lylat Wars all come straight to mind as fun games.

 

If you can find a copy - Conker's Bad Fur Day.

[The Z]

We're this many posts into this thread and noone has mentioned Ocarina of Time, yet?

Also Majora's Mask, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

[Raziel]

We're this many posts into this thread and noone has mentioned Ocarina of Time, yet?

 

 

RIPPA, on 30 Dec 2013 - 08:26 AM, said:

 

Well the big one you didn't mention specifically by name is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Neil Koch]

The expansion pack came out near the end of the system, so not many games use it.  Some games used the memory card to save, so you might want to get one of those as well.

 

My favorite N64 game is Blast Corps.  Bascially it's an action/puzzle game where you use vehicles/mechs to clear the way for a nuclear missile.  Sounds stupid but it is soooo addictive.  I really wish it would have gotten released on the Wii Virtual Console, but it's a Rare game, so that's a no go.

Starfox 64 is a good shooter.

International Superstar Soccer 64 was one of the first sports games I really got into.

A lot of people shit on Castlevania 64, but I think because they held it up next to Shadow of the Night.  On its' own, it's actually a fun game.

A more obscure game I like is Body Harvest, an action/shooter hybrid with a bit of open world flavor to it.  It's done by DMA, who worked on the first Grand Theft Auto games.

Beetle Adventure Racing looks like a kiddie game, but it's one of the best racers on the system.

Doom 64 is probably the best console version.

Gauntlet Legends is a fun hack n slash, kind of like a toned down version of Diablo with not as many bells and whistles.

Killer Instinct is the best fighting game on the system.  A lot of people still play Super Smash Bros though.

NFL Blitz is still really fun.  Orignally you could take the memory card from the home version and put it into the arcade machine.

Ogre Battle 64 is good if you like RPG/strategy.

[The Z]

 

We're this many posts into this thread and noone has mentioned Ocarina of Time, yet?

 

 

RIPPA, on 30 Dec 2013 - 08:26 AM, said:

 

Well the big one you didn't mention specifically by name is Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops, I guess I missed that.

[Lazlo Woodbine]

I remember not being into Killer Instinct when I played it, but I adored Fighters Destiny.

[Brian Fowler]

Ogre Battle 64 is my favorite game ever, and pretty much the only reason I still have my N64.

 

WCW/NWO Revenge was also really good.  Avoid the WCW games that came out after they left AKKI, 

[RIPPA]

Good call on Pilotwings.

 

Since I just played it again recently with my son - Paper Mario is a perfectly fine RPG to play.

[Matt D]

I've been playing some of the 3D N64+ Zelda games for really the first time despite playing almost all of the isometric overhead ones dozens of times and I just am not feeling it. It feels like too much work to play these games, finding the button to go into a secondary screen that pauses the game so you can't really run and gun to use the boomerang or bow or whatever. There's something so organic to the original zelda/link to the past/the GBA games that's just completely lost here.

[Death From Above]

Ogre Battle 64 is my favorite game ever, and pretty much the only reason I still have my N64.

 

This is a great game, though at least around here the cartridge goes for nutty prices. I have no idea about what the EBay rate is. On this same front, my favourite SNES game is the original Ogre Battle. It's like all those tactics games, except actually fun and not insanely tedious.

 

Perfect Dark is better than Goldeneye, though the Bond liscence is cool. Perfect Dark is an outside contender for best game on the system. Goldeneye's single player mode is HARD. Which isn't a bad thing, but be prepared.

 

F-Zero X should be on the list. Also, Diddy Kong Racing is a relatively serious arcade racer disguised with a children's game outer skin, though I'd rank it a level behind all time greats like Mario Kart 64 (which is at worst a top 5 game on the system) and F-Zero X, it's still good.

 

I second Starfox 64, again it has a bit of a kiddie skin. Which is disguising a great old school game where you shoot 30 trillion enemies and can actually set a goddamn high score. I liked when games were about a score and not a cutscene. In general it's a really solid space shooter, with several possible paths through it.

 

The Turok: Dinosaur Hunter series were decent FPS for the system. I really dug the setting in Turok 1. I mean if you're going to have to deal with fog, put it in a misty assed jungle full of things trying to kill you.

 

I plugged No Mercy in just for shits and giggles during the last few months and the gameplay really does hold up well. As a guy that post-64 went to XBox, which has a pathetic selection of wrestling games, you can nearly weep for joy at how much better No Mercy is than all the stuff on that. I don't know whose idea it was to turn all wrestling games into QTE timing counter reversal games, but they done fucked up. A lot of those games are just unplayable.

 

The Expansion Pack is unnecessary for the most part. The percentage of games it does anything for is very small.

[Neil Koch]

A lot of people bitched about fog and other graphic trickery the N64 used but I think it has made the games hold up better than similar stuff on the PS1.  I recently got the original Twisted Metal and those early PS1 3D graphics are but-ugly.  Also the lack of an analog stick makes control kind of a pain.

 

I spaced about F-Zero, that is a cool game.  Didn't they do a version of Wipeout for the N64 as well?  Also I recall the Star Wars pod racing game being surprisingly good.

 

Another one I forgot was Resident Evil 2.  Controls are clunky now but the atmosphere is still top notch.

 

 

WCW/NWO Revenge was also really good.  Avoid the WCW games that came out after they left AKKI, 

 

The later WWF games like Attitude were pretty bad too, really only notable for having very crude create a wrestler modes.  ECW Hardcore Revolution (which uses the same engine) is pretty much the worst wrestling game ever no matter what system its on.

[Ace]

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, but you'll need a gameshark.

[Bustronaut]

Try to get a copy of VPW 2 that's already been translated too.

 

VPW's boxing/shoot mode was fun too.  (Am I running those two together?)

[Territorial]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'll probably grab a game or two from whatever they have on hand, then pick up a few games off Ebay.

 

Apparently, the store has SNES consoles on hand too, so I'll probably grab one of those too.  Definitely planning to do that if they have Donkey Kong Country in stock.

[ebbie]

 

 

 

Also,

 

Paper Mario is one of the Mario games. It's unique mesh of RPG/platforming makes for an interesting gaming experience. The story is your typical Mario saves the world, but it is well written and has it's funny moments.

 

Pokemon Stadium 2. Hey, you can play Pokemon Silver if you have one of those transfer pack things. Good enough for me. But you can also help select Pokemon through the N64 game if you have them in your party on the GB game.

 

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Don't get me wrong, Ocarina of Time is awesome, but Majora's Mask is a player's game. The story is many, many sub quests inter-weaved together. The masks all have a (often tragic) story to them and it is up to you make sure that there is resolution for pretty much every person involved in the game. Oh, and don't forget about the moon that's about to crash and kill everyone. Luckily, you can manipulate time.. But only for the span of 3 days. Which makes for a non-linear game. So, if you fuck up, there's no excuse as to why you didn't fix it.

 

For me, this is the swan song of the N64 and I wish more people appreciated back then.

[Zimbra]

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, but you'll need a gameshark.

With 5 minutes and a Dremel you can mod the cart so that it fits in a US N64.  I'd recommend this method since the N64 Gamesharks were janky as all hell.  I highly recommend VPW2, as well.  Best wrestling game on the system.

[Jiji]

 

 

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, but you'll need a gameshark.

With 5 minutes and a Dremel you can mod the cart so that it fits in a US N64.  I'd recommend this method since the N64 Gamesharks were janky as all hell.  I highly recommend VPW2, as well.  Best wrestling game on the system.

 

My grade 9 ass could do that, so anybody could. Virtua Pro 2 was and still is fucking awesome and probably the best game for doing high flying matches.

[caley]

One of my favourite games for N64, but it's not for all tastes, is Pokemon Snap.  You go through levels (repeatedly if you need to...and you will need to) taking pictures of different pokemons.  But, some pokemon need to be evolved or tricked to get a shot of them, so you also get food, a flute, and pester-balls to annoy them.  You get points based on how close the pokemon is in the pic, whether or not he's framed right, or doing a special pose of some sort.  My siblings and I played endless HOURS of this game, trying to get a perfect score.  That said, I don't know a single other person who loved it as much as us.

[Neil Koch]

 

 

 

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2, but you'll need a gameshark.

With 5 minutes and a Dremel you can mod the cart so that it fits in a US N64.  I'd recommend this method since the N64 Gamesharks were janky as all hell.  I highly recommend VPW2, as well.  Best wrestling game on the system.

 

My grade 9 ass could do that, so anybody could. Virtua Pro 2 was and still is fucking awesome and probably the best game for doing high flying matches.

 

 

If we are talking about imports, then you have to add in Sin and Punishment.  Awesome shooter game.

[Antacular]

Superman 64.

[Salads]

First off, to be blunt the N64 isn't on the Super Nintendo's level. Nintendo plus third party was a killer combo and the SNES is one of the greatest systems no nostalgia needed. I have Super Play magazine's top 100 SNES games issue on my shelf somewhere which I've always rated as a good attempt at the impossible and some kind soul has interneted it so I'll leave that there to do the talking. (Though you mentioning Donkey Kong Country highlights the glaring omission of DKC2)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_64_accessories#Expansion_Pak lists everything the expansion pak does but I was perfectly happy investing in one just to play Perfect Dark and Majora's Mask. Less of a PC-style upgrade and more of a Mega CD-style add on that costs less and has better games.

 

Personal N64 top listmania:

- Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, F-Zero X, Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, Mario Kart 64,

Best of the rest:

- Majora's Mask, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo Kazooie, Doom 64, Paper Mario, Lylat Wars

 

I spaced about F-Zero, that is a cool game.  Didn't they do a version of Wipeout for the N64 as well?  Also I recall the Star Wars pod racing game being surprisingly good.

 

Wipeout 64 was like Doom 64 - a thoroughly worthy entry to a series associated with other platforms and so largely overlooked. I remember enjoying Star Wars Episode 1 Racer at the time but I have zero desire to go back to it.