What did the N64 do better than the PS1 and Saturn?

[AppleQueso]

- Arcade racing, which I'd include kart racers and beatle adventure racing (minus the chitty soundtrack).

Yeah... I love BAR, but that soundtrack is pretty awful. They really dropped the ball there.

[sevin0seven]

N64 kicks ass. What's with all the haters?

Only 6th gen console without load times and the easiest/most affordable to collect games for. Amazing game library too. Hell, the Zelda titles alone make it worth owning.

the N64 is part of the 5th gen consoles actually..and yes it was the most advanced (spec wise) console in that generation. graphically it was as powerful as a 3DFX video card for PC. It introduced the "Rumble Pak" in a controller, Various color selections and the four player port in a console. Lack of third party support from it's former predecessor (SNES) over shadowed it's real potential that can only be seen in the first (and some second) party support. The innovation 3D controller is a love and hate among players (which i actually love). But like B.O.B. (feat. Bruno Mars) said in the lyrics of his song called "Nothing on You" :

"Ive been to London, I've been to Paris
even way out there in Tokyo
back home down in Georgia to New Orleans
but you always steal the show
and just like that girl you got me froze
like a Nintendo 64
if you never knew well now you know..know"

..the potential of the N64 still is growing to this day with it's flash carts (64drive, Everdrive64, etc) homebrews apps/games and a HDMI/DVI/VGA adapter currently in the works:



and their best homebrews/patch so far are:

Wonder Project J2 English translation:


Animal Forest English Translation:



Goldeneye 007 patched into Perfect Dark called "Goldeneye X":


you can also play old DOS games with it's ScummVM 64 emulator app:

Flight of the Amazon Queen:


Beneath a Steel Sky:


^with N64 mouse support.

all can be played in a flash cart, btw.

[fastbilly1]

So much unneeded N64 hate here. The N64 was a great little console and the king of parties for a long time (in the USA atleast). I own a couple of them and 100 something titles for the console, and because of that I have logged more hours into it than my Saturns and PSX combined. Honestly what games you are interested in really depends on if you will ever play multiplayer on it. If not, you can cut out a good chunk of the library because the games are not strong enough on their singleplayer alone. That said, each console has games that are worth playing on them.

Note – I apologize if these were mentioned in the guides, it has been so long since I read them.

Single player recommendations:
Space Station Silicon Valley – ONLY if you do not have an expansion pack (the game will bug out and crash with one). It is a bizarre 3d platformer where you take over different animals on a space ship to complete puzzles. So you might be in a rocket powered sheep with wheels to go off a jump, then get into a mouse so you can go through a labyrinth of underground tunnels. It’s a really clever and neat game that has not been ported.

Body Harvest – Think Grand Theft Auto 3 meets Timesplitters. You are fighting giant insect like aliens throughout time, and can steal vehicles.

Blast Corps – A game about blowing stuff up in big vehicles. Its old school arcade fun, for the N64 generation.

Robotron 2084 – Arcade classic Robotron, done in 3d, with twinstick support via two controllers.

Banjo Series – They are considered the go to 3d platformers on the console other than Mario 64, but I will admit they are alittle collect quest full for my taste.

BattleTanx – If you like vehicle combat, 3do out did themselves with this series. The first game has a superior storyline but a lackluster two player multiplayer. The game is all over the place with tank combat and destructible environments, but it is a hoot.

Excitebike 64 – Still one of the best technical dirtbike racing simulators. Sadly does not have the NES music.

Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine – A fantastic Indiana Jones adventure as a 3rd person shooter/beatemup. The pc version is better, but is a bit tricky to get working.

Nuclear Strike – One of the last of the The Strike series and a fantastic title on its own. It becomes punishingly difficult in the higher levels, but it is a great title if you can find it.

Star Wars Shadows of the Empire – Once you get passed that it is a 3rd person shooter with 3d platformer controls, this is an awesome game. I highly recommend the N64 version over the PC one since the PC one was buggy at last check. Even if you don’t like Star Wars this is a great adventure.

Shadowgate 64 – First person adventure rpg. If you have ever played Shadowgate you will enjoy it, if you have not, play Shadowgate first to see if you like the gamestyle – it is not for everyone.

Multiplayer recommendations:
1080 – Semi Arcadey snowboard racing. Cool Boarders 4 is often said to be superior, but 1080 is still a fun game on its own.

Army Men Sarges Heroes – Play it in four player multiplayer only. It’s a cheap title, but played as an alternative deathmatch game it is actually quite good. It has slightly floaty controls, but its kinda like Micro Machines for the NES/Genesis – still a fun romp, even if it isn’t the best game.

Battletanx Global Assault – Take the original game, screw up the single player, amp up the multiplayer, add in a dozen tank variants, and finally make it fourplayer split screen, and you have the fourth best four player game on the console – after Mario Kart, Goldeneye, and Perfect Dark.

Bomberman 64 Second – The proper 3d Bomberman title. It fixes all the issues that the first one had and has a pricetag to represent that. If you like the first, this is that but so much better.

Bomberman 64/Baku Bomberman – If you really want a 2d Bomberman on the console, this will run you $100+ easy. I don’t think its really worth the money, spend it on Saturn Bomberman and multitaps instead.

Dr Mario 64 – 4 player Dr Mario. Skip if you import Gamecube games and have the Nintendo Puzzle Collection.

Extreme G2 – Futuristic motorcycle racing that goes fast and is a fun run in multiplayer – often goes for sub $10.

Flying Dragon - Like AppleQueso said, the 3d is wannabe Virtua Fighter. But the 2d is an awesome fighter with a good bit of customization. There is a Japan only sequel to it called SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu which does not have the 3d version and has much more in the 2d one, but as Ack can attest it is super rare. It took Hiyarashi several months to find him a copy.

Gauntlet Legends – unless you have it on the Dreamcast – the PSX version is crap, but Gauntlet Dark Legacy on the Xbox has almost all of Legends in it and is the best home version.

Goldeneye/Perfect Dark – Honestly I prefer Goldeneye since Perfect Dark made everything so complicated. But both are excellent titles. PD however was ported to XBLA.

Mario Golf – Unless you have Cube version – I view it as better than Hot Shots Golf, but they are really similar.

Mario Tennis – Best Mario Tennis, even better than Cube. It is a blast to play with multiple people. It is a light version of tennis made for power moves and yelling obscenities at your friends.

Road Rash 64 – 4 player makes this game shine. Its like the original Road Rash titles, but in 3d and with many options of bikes: from scooters to super bikes. Youll get to the point that you try to accomplish races by hitting the ground as few times as possible as you fly through the air sideways.

Snowboard Kids 2 – its 4 player “kart” racing snowboarding. It sounds silly, but it is as competitive as Mario Kart 64.

Star Fox 64 – In multiplayer this is an arcade shooter that is free roaming. You can unlock a tank and on foot combat, but ship to ship combat is very solid. It was released on the 3ds with more stages and better graphics, but you would need four 3ds’s to really play multiplayer. The Gamecube sequel is not as good.

Winback – 3rd person cover shooter before they were cool. It is also on the PS2 with better graphics, but it controls better on the N64.

THQ/AKI Wrestling games – Revenge and Wrestlemania 2000 are the two of note. Solid wrestling games through and through, and will not wear out your sticks since they are played with the Dpad.

Turok 2/Rage Wars – Fun in multiplayer, as an alternative to Goldeneye for FPS action, but have some balance issues. Still, there are few things more satisfying than getting a headshot on the player who is the raptor as they jump at you. That and the Cerebral Bore

Tom and Jerry - its more family friendly Powerstone in the Tom and Jerry universe.

If you are looking at N64 fighters, PM Ack. He owned all of them, and we played through a chunk together. There are very few super rare N64 games, and of those there are very few worth hunting down. If you want a really interesting game to just add to your collection, try finding a copy of Last Legion. It does not work on any emulator, and it plays kinda like Virtua On. It pops up on ebay every few months for a stupidly high price - like $150.

[BoringSupreez]

Nothing?

It did Nintendo franchise games better.

Rayman 2 was much better on N64 than PS1. It had better Star Wars games. It was the king of 4-player that gen. Also had the best non-PC shooters.

Racketboy as a whole isn't so fond of the N64, despite being an old Nintendo system. A PS1 vs N64 argument here will usually be dominated by people arguing for PS1.

[fastbilly1]

..the potential of the N64 still is growing to this day with it's flash carts (64drive, Everdrive64, etc) homebrews apps/games and a HDMI/DVI/VGA adapter currently in the works:

Tell me more about HDMI adapter?

[AppleQueso]

Space Station Silicon Valley – ONLY if you do not have an expansion pack (the game will bug out and crash with one).

Woah, really? Never heard of that before, I didn't know that there were any games at all that had problems with the expansion pack.

I can see that my comment about Clay Fighter being the only game to break triple digits definitely only applies if we're only talking US releases. There's also a lot more interesting Japan exclusive N64 imports than I thought.

[Hazerd]

So much hate for the N64 in this thread, i love the controller its hell of alot better than a Saturn 3D or Dreamcast controllers, and unless your hardcore into Fighters and Shmups, i dont see how you could hate the N64.

Personally i dont have a Saturn, but it hardly has anything i really want, im not into JAP only games, seems more trouble than its worth to mod a Saturn then track down the JAP only games, id rather just play whats already available to me.

While the N64 doesnt have anything worth importing, i can enjoy all its glory right here in murica!

[AppleQueso]

So much hate for the N64 in this thread, i love the controller its hell of alot better than a Saturn 3D or Dreamcast controllers, and unless your hardcore into Fighters and Shmups, i dont see how you could hate the N64.

I agree, I don't like the Saturn 3D pad or DC pads either. Love the normal Japanese Saturn/"model 2" pad though.

Personally i dont have a Saturn, but it hardly has anything i really want, im not into JAP only games, seems more trouble than its worth to mod a Saturn then track down the JAP only games, id rather just play whats already available to me.

You don't need to mod a Saturn for imports. A pro action replay 4-in-1 is all you need. It doubles as a RAM cart for the games that require it too! I like my Saturn a lot.

While the N64 doesnt have anything worth importing, i can enjoy all its glory right here in murica!

Virtual Pro Wrestling 1 and 2, Sin and Punishment, Rakuga Kids, SD Hiryū no Ken Densetsu...

N64's definitely got its fair share of worthy imports.

[fastbilly1]

Space Station Silicon Valley – ONLY if you do not have an expansion pack (the game will bug out and crash with one).

Woah, really? Never heard of that before, I didn't know that there were any games at all that had problems with the expansion pack.

It freezes at completely random times. But it and some Japanese exclusives have issues.

I can see that my comment about Clay Fighter being the only game to break triple digits definitely only applies if we're only talking US releases. There's also a lot more interesting Japan exclusive N64 imports than I thought.

Ofcourse. I remember Beast Wars going for alot too, aswell as Bomberman 64 2 - but Bomberman hasnt been triple digits for a while, it stays at around $60 pretty steadily.

[FerretGamer]

I remember borrowing Rush from a friend and not liking it. Cruisin' USA is where it's at. "WE'RE GONNA CRAAAASH!"

I'll back you up, Ziggy. The Cruisin' games were awesome in a guilty pleasure kind of way.

I'll never forget the Cruisin' World theme song. CRUISIIIIIN CRUISSIIIN THE WOOOORLD YEA YEA!